'By this point, the benefit of the Northern Dark Ice Soul Physique is almost gone,' Fang Yuan noted, as his attacks had grown weaker with time.
Liu Nan noted this as well. 'Could I have been wrong? Maybe he doesn't have the Northern Dark Ice Soul Physique, and is using some other kind of method to boost his gu worms. Whatever it is, it seems to have weakened. Or is this some kind of trick that he's using to lure me into a false sense of complacency? Given his craftiness I can't really tell.'
The match had devolved into Liu Nan chasing Fang Yuan around the arena, with the latter sending out ice blades, which the Poison Perspiring Mountain Monarch Moth either withstood or deflected by Liu Nan.
"What is Fang Yuan thinking? It's like watching an ant trying to fight an elephant," someone else commented.
"Maybe he's trying to see whether Liu Nan's primeval essence runs out?"
"I doubt it. Liu Nan has the advantage on him by two minor realms between the two of them. He's definitely at a disadvantage."
Five minutes of Liu Nan chasing Fang Yuan around the battlefield passed before Fang Yuan's eyes flashed. It was time to bring out his own mount. A massive snake emerged from his aperture with wings that blew away most of the poisonous mist that it cleared using steam coming from its nostrils.
"White Form Immortal Snake!" Shang Yan Fei said, his eyes widening. To see two first-class mount-type Rank 5 gu worms here was beyond his expectations.
"Fang Yuan had better not let anything happen to that," Bai Ning Bing said. It was her White Form Immortal Snake simply borrowed by Fang Yuan at quite a high price for the sake of this battle.
The White Form Immortal Snake was able to counter much of the Poison Perspiring Mountain Monarch Moth's mist using its own wings and steam. Fang Yuan rode atop its back, the two creatures glaring at each other as they circled above the arena
By this point, the crowd went absolutely wild.
It was one thing to see fights between Gu Masters on the ground - that was common enough, no matter how strong they were.
It was another thing entirely to see aerial fights. Most Gu Masters did not understand the intricacies of flight. Only those who were Rank 4 and higher knew how difficult it was to control one's attacks and body while flying, which involved utilizing all three directions.
When it came to flight, it was clear that Fang Yuan was superior to Liu Nan, out-maneuvering him and putting his Poison Perspiring Mountain Monarch Moth in a difficult situation.
As they soared above the arena, the Gu Masters on the ground who were tasked with controlling the fight scratched their heads, wondering what they could possibly do. Now, many of the defensive methods in order to protect the crowd only worked when they were close to the ground. With the fight having gone to the air, what could they do?
"I think we can both agree to limit our strength so that the crowd won't be harmed," Fang Yuan suggested to Liu Nan.
"Understood, Fang Yuan," Liu Nan said. Liu Nan did not want to harm the crowd; he was a righteous path Gu Master, after all. Fang Yuan did not want to do so either, as doing so would cause far too much trouble for him.
Their battle had caught Shang Qing Qing's full interest. Although this fight could not compare to that between two Immortals, the fact that they were both flying in the air and using powerful mounts indicated that she might have to intervene if it got too violent.
The blows of the two mounts against each other echoed throughout the arena, sounding like two meteors clashing against one another.
One advantage of being in the air was that the impacts could not be transmitted through the ground so the damage was limited. This also had the drawback that the crowd would not really be able to feel how powerful each blow was. However, based on how Fang Yuan and Liu Nan moved against each other and the size of those things, it was clear that what they were watching could have destroyed a massive area.
"No wonder they say Rank 5 Gu Masters are strong as mountains," one of them said.
"I didn't think I'd be able to see such a sight in my life. If I saw something out in the wild like this, I'd definitely turn tail and run."
"To think that they're not even using their full strength right now, by limiting it for our sakes."
Liu Nan was getting increasingly frustrated, as Fang Yuan's better control over his mount in the air had now put him at a disadvantage. "It's time to use that, then," Liu Nan thought, activating several Poison Path Gu worms within his aperture, creating a Mortal Killer Move.
Rank 4 Poison Gunk Gu!
Rank 3 Poison Blood Gu!
Rank 5 Poison Armor Gu!
Rank 4 Sludge Moves Like Water Gu!
Rank 4 Sludge Stream Gu!
Rank 5 Poison Plague Gu!
Mortal Killer Move - Venom Moth Tyrant!
Liu Nan spouted out a massive amount of poisonous sludge, which first coated him and then merged him and the Poison Perspiring Mountain Monarch Moth, fusing the two of them together in one massive, sticky, gooey creature, which then hardened.
At first, it looked like the moth would fall to the ground, given it could no longer flap its wings, but then the goo hardened and its wings became free, the poison around it intensifying to the point where it seemed to be visible just how toxic it was, the fumes seeming to bend the air itself.
"So this is your trump card, then," Shang Yan Fei said. "Let's see just what it can do. Fang Yuan, how do you intend to counter it?"
Fang Yuan looked at the Mortal Killer Move with no fear in his eyes.
'Still playing brave, Fang Yuan?' Liu Nan thought to himself.
For a moment, Liu Nan hesitated.
Fang Yuan couldn't have a way of countering this, could he? It was one of his proudest creations, taking almost five years to perfect.
Yet Fang Yuan was unmoved.
"Let's see what you can do then!" Liu Nan said. He would have to control its impact in order to protect the bystanders watching them, but it would be vicious nonetheless.
"Well, then, I surrender," Fang Yuan said, his voice ringing over the arena.
Gasps arose from all around.
Liu Nan interrupted his Mortal Killer Move so quickly that he nearly caused himself to undergo backlash.
"Eh? Did I hear right?"
"Fang Yuan surrendered?"
"The match is over?"
"Ah, just when I thought I would see something interesting..."
"The killing intent was so bad, I thought I'd die just from that!"
"No wonder Fang Yuan gave up..."
Shang Yan Fei stroked his chin. He had been expecting something other than a surrender from Fang Yuan. He had also wanted to see how the mortal killer move worked so that he might be able to create a counter to it. However, he had only seen the beginning of it, but that was more than enough to give him pause were he to ever fight Liu Nan.
'Not just Liu Nan,' Shang Yan Fei thought. 'Fang Yuan is also quite strong.' Shang Yan Fei would rank himself above Fang Yuan, but below Liu Nan when it came to strength. Then again, he knew how Liu Nan fought, but Liu Nan did not know how Shang Yan Fei fought giving the latter a slight advantage. 'I would need to be Rank 5 Upper Stage at minimum to go toe-to-toe to him, however.'
Liu Nan placed the Poison Perspiring Mountain Monarch Moth back in his aperture as Fang Yuan landed as well.