Chapter 1257: An Impossible Stroke

The arrival was drenched in blood, like he was wearing a robe of blood. No one knew his name and everyone called him the Bloodclad Duke.

The Purpleclad Duke of Starspace Region had been personally knighted by the Starspace King. His title was the strongest beneath a titled king, whereas the Redblood King was a title of respect that everyone in Multitude City hailed him by!

A blood-red robe was his hallmark.

Dusksnow Morningstar’s scalp was numb and he gripped his great bow tightly, a vein throbbing on his forehead.

“It looks like I’ll be your stepping stone today,” he murmured.

“I’ve killed a hundred and nine half step kings in this ring, but no one’s been able to help me ascend to full kinghood.” The Bloodclad Duke’s voice was hoarse and lacked emotion. “I hope you don’t disappoint me.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

“This will be my one hundred and tenth battle. If kinghood still eludes me, I will head to the Enforcer Alliance and seek out their venerated enforcer.” He paid no attention to Dusksnow Morningstar and in fact, didn’t care who his opponent was. Half step kings were just another notch to be added to his belt.

……

“Is the Bloodclad Duke really that frightening?” Lu Yun was surprised by the expressions and mumblings around him; despite himself, he was growing worried for Morningstar. They counted as acquaintances, after all, and he didn’t know that many people in the Hongmeng.

“There is no doubt that Dusksnow Morningstar will die,” responded the Meteorite King. “Sir, even I’m not fully certain I’d be able to take down the Bloodclad Duke. His strength has long since reached the level of a titled king, but he hasn’t set foot over that threshold for some reason.”

“Just a stronger ant,” Hua Fengwen muttered after he lifted his eyelids for a look. “One about as strong as I was back in the day.”

“You mean that he’ll be a sixth step king as soon as he ascends?” the little fox asked incredulously.

“And what of a sixth step king? All that it sees is a sand of the Hongmeng,” Hua Fengwen replied woodenly. His run-in with Hong had knocked him very off balance.

“Ignore him, he’s at a critical juncture of his life and his mind isn’t fully focused on the here and now.” Lu Yun shook his head. It was up to Hua Fengwen to pull himself out of his current state. This was a pit, a roadblock in his dao. The sky was the limit if he could cross it, and this would be the most he’d ever amount to if he couldn’t.

“Morningstar once exchanged three moves with the venerated enforcer, he’s not that weak, is he?” Lu Yun asked hesitantly.

“The venerated enforcer?” Skyfall and Meteorite looked at each other, then chorused, “Dusksnow Morningstar only became a half step king after that fight!”

“I see…” Lu Yun looked at the genius in the ring, worry flashing through his eyes.

……

Within the ring, Morningstar took to the air and pulled back on his bow, delivering a burst of radiance that rained down like a shower of shooting stars. He didn’t dare take things casually since this was the legendary Bloodclad Duke!

Thus, Dusksnow Morningstar opened with his full strength as the first move, turning the skies above the fighting ring into a true night sky. Clusters of stars twinkled and slammed brutally into the sparring ring that was three hundred million kilometers across.

The cultivators sitting closest to the ring looked on with alarm, barely suppressing the urge to run away. Morningstar was too powerful—if it wasn’t for the Bloodclad Duke being his opponent, there would be very few others who could withstand the genius.

Numerous defensive formations activated around the ring and deflected the turbulent forces. They could endure clashes between kings, so this level of disturbance from a half step king didn’t amount to much.

“So strong! Dusksnow Morningstar is a genius who tied with the venerated enforcer after three moves, alright!”

“Big deal. Of the one hundred and nine half step kings that the Bloodclad Duke killed, many of them were stronger than Morningstar!”

“The strongest of them managed to exchange nine moves with the duke before dying. I wonder how many this vaunted genius can dish out before he bites the dust!”

“When it comes to genius, the Eighth King Hua Fengwen from a hundred thousand years ago is a true genius…” Some exclaimed in awe at the display, while others sniffed dismissively.

Dusksnow Morningstar had turned into a scintillating star. Starlight danced among his freely flowing hair, having exploded from the bun atop his head. His attack continued in full force and turned the entire ring into a sea of light.

“Had enough fun yet?” a hoarse voice echoed from the light before a pillar of scarlet brilliance rushed into the skies, barreling straight for Dusksnow Morningstar.

It came swiftly and intensely, brimming with a sharp killing intent that threatened to pierce through the void. Morningstar’s eyes widened—he couldn’t avoid or block it!

The attack was too swift and forceful. In fact, he wouldn’t be able to endure any of his opponent’s blows!

“I’m also a half step king, why am I less than you?!” Morningstar ground his teeth.

Hummm!

Intangible purple light erupted from his body and he shifted three inches to the left, just managing to evade the vicious blow by the skin of his teeth.

“Not bad,” sounded the Bloodclad Duke. It was his turn to rise into the air and he landed in front of Morningstar, bringing his hand down on the other’s head. The void cracked wherever his hand passed through, shattering into spatial turbulence.

One had to know that space around the sparring rings was reinforced by various spatial formations to make it a hundred times more resilient than that of the outside world. Even ordinary second step kings wouldn’t be able to break through the void here. The Bloodclad Duke, however, smashed through the air with a single move.

The purple light around Morningstar brightened with potency and he raised his great bow, held it sideways and met the duke’s palm.

Boooom.

A circular shockwave spread in all directions, dismantling space wherever it passed through and destroying several tens of thousands of formations protecting the sparring ring.

Calm and collected, Colosseum cultivators sprang into action to repair the formations. A trace of emotion finally appeared in the Bloodclad Duke’s wan face and amazement rippled through the audience. Morningstar had taken the duke’s terrifying blow!

What happened next caused jaws to drop to the floor.

Morningstar shifted his grasp on the bow, as if he was gripping a sword, and stabbed it toward the Bloodclad Duke. An imperceptible dragon howl sounded in the air and built in pitch until it rang through the entire arena.

There seemed to be a coiled dragon in the air that lifted its head regally, ready to soar into the skies and loftily regard everything below it.

“Dragonrise! It’s your Dragonrise!” Inside the booth, the little fox shot to her feet.

Dragonrise! Dusksnow Morningstar was using Lu Yun’s move!

The Bloodclad Duke’s expression finally came alive.

etvolare's Thoughts

Oh damn, the kid really is a genius!