Chapter 623 - Almighty Fiend Piercer (Patreon)

Leyvi was very satisfied with the destructive power of his water beam.

The technique compressed an enormous amount of water Qi into a thin, highly pressurized stream. When released, the recoil was directly proportional to the power of the beam. The stronger the attack, the more violent the kickback.

The only real problem right now was that he had not trained enough to handle that powerful recoil freely. During his long seclusion, he had focused mostly on Spiritual Cultivation, so he still could not swing the beam around as effortlessly as Bardan. He needed to plant his feet firmly and lock his wrist to fire it properly.

That meant if his target kept moving, he would have trouble aiming.

Vikir understood this immediately.

After reforming his Soul Body, he began circling the arena at high speed, never staying in one place long enough for Leyvi to lock onto him.

Leyvi remained still, tracking Vikir’s position with his spiritual sense.

In the next instant, Vikir vanished. A blinding streak of lightning flashed across the arena so quickly that most spectators only saw an afterimage.

He reappeared behind Leyvi in less than a heartbeat, his Soul Body fully transformed into a crackling, violent mass of lightning.

Without the slightest pause, a massive lightning claw exploded forward, its edges sharp enough to tear through steel and saturated with enough power to cripple an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator. The attack came so fast and so close that the air itself seemed to scream.

Vikir was certain his opponent would have no time to react. He held both a full-realm advantage and the natural speed supremacy of a lightning cultivator.

Bang!

The lightning claw slammed into something solid before it could reach Leyvi’s back. A deafening electrical discharge erupted from Vikir’s Lightning Soul Body, the violent crack echoing across the entire arena.

Vikir’s eyes widened in pure shock.

What? An invisible barrier? Is it an artifact?

Before Leyvi could fully turn around, Vikir had already pulled back. He shot across the arena in a blur, no longer bothering to hide his lightning Qi. Bright, crackling trails of electricity followed his every movement, weaving a glowing web of light around Leyvi like a cage of living thunder.

In the next instant Vikir closed in from the right. His Lightning Soul Body twisted, and an even faster, sharper lightning claw tore through the air with a high-pitched scream.

Bang!

The claw smashed against something solid. Sparks exploded outward in a violent burst of white-blue light.

Vikir cursed under his breath.

This time he refused to retreat. He planted his feet in mid-air and roared,

“Thunder God Wrath!”

His Lightning Soul Body detonated. A storm of pure electrical fury erupted in every direction, flooding the entire arena with blinding arcs of lightning. The sound was deafening, a continuous, rolling explosion of thunder that shook the air and made the ground tremble. Thick bolts whip-cracked against the arena walls, leaving scorched trails wherever they struck.

The protective formation around the stands flared to life just in time, shielding the audience from the deadly discharge.

When the light finally dimmed, Vikir’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Leyvi stood in the exact same place, completely unharmed. Not a single spark had touched him.

Only now could Vikir clearly see the barrier. A large, perfect sphere of invisible force surrounded Leyvi, its surface rippling faintly where the lightning had struck and failed to penetrate.

Vikir kept pouring out electrical energy, refusing to stop the assault, while his mind raced. Then he noticed something critical.

No defensive artifact had been activated. The sphere was not coming from any treasure.

It was also nothing like a normal Qi barrier. Then what in the world was it?

While Vikir’s thoughts spun in confusion, Leyvi calmly turned inside the sphere and faced him. A relaxed smile rested on his face, as if the raging storm of lightning was nothing more than a light breeze.

Vikir’s chest tightened with frustration.

How could this man look so composed while standing in the middle of a Nascent Soul level lightning storm? A Core Formation cultivator staying this relaxed against someone an entire realm higher was completely unheard of.

Dammit! At this rate I’ll become a complete laughingstock among the other Holy Son candidates!

Leyvi Leyan… just who are you?

The name suddenly tugged at his memory. His mind froze for a fraction of a second, then the realization hit him like a second lightning bolt.

Leyvi Leyan.

The greatest Spiritual Cultivation talent on the continent.

He had heard the name mentioned several times before, back when Spiritual Cultivation first became a hot topic across the continent. Every time, he had simply shrugged it off.

Spiritual Cultivation had only been introduced recently. How could anyone already deserve to be called the greatest talent? It simply did not make sense.

But now, standing face to face with Leyvi and seeing that invisible barrier with his own eyes, Vikir could no longer dismiss the rumor so easily. He began to suspect that the man in front of him was exactly the person those rumors spoke of.

The barrier matched the descriptions he had heard about the abilities of Spiritual Cultivators.

Vikir immediately stopped the continuous discharge that had been rapidly draining his Qi and put a clear distance between himself and Leyvi.

“Are you a Spiritual Cultivator?” he asked.

“So you figured it out. Correct,” Leyvi replied with a simple nod.

“Are you the Leyvi Leyan they call the greatest Spiritual Cultivation talent? Even greater than the legendary Demoness Cocolia?” Vikir asked again.

Leyvi looked mildly stunned for a moment, then gave a wry smile.

In Bara City, Gwen had never stopped calling him the greatest Spiritual Cultivation talent while guiding the new generation of Spiritual Cultivators.

He had not expected the title to spread all the way here. Thinking about it now, Gwen was probably not the only one. The other Spiritual Cultivators from those early days must have spread the same claim. That was why his name was already known even in the Central Region.

“Yes, they do call me that. But I don’t dare claim to be the greatest talent. It would be embarrassing if someone more talented than me appeared later,” Leyvi said honestly.

“Hahaha!” Vikir suddenly burst out laughing.

“Great! This is truly great! To be able to fight someone unique for my final match in this arena is exactly what I wished for! I never thought I would get to face a real Spiritual Cultivator today!”

His expression shifted, filled with fresh motivation and fighting spirit.

“Leyvi Leyan! The fact that you can block my attacks so effortlessly means you are far stronger than me. And unlike Qi Cultivation, I have no way of gauging your real power. That’s why from now on I will come at you with everything I have until I am empty! Show me how strong you really are!”

“Come,” Leyvi answered simply, while quietly beginning to gather his mental power.

Without another word, Vikir poured every last drop of his remaining Qi into his Lightning Soul Body.

The avatar swelled rapidly. Violent arcs of lightning erupted from its surface without pause, filling the arena with the constant roar and flash of continuous thunder strikes.

Then a spear appeared.

A massive spear, large enough for the enlarged Lightning Soul Body to grip comfortably, materialized in its hand. Instantly, all the raging electricity was sucked into the weapon. The spear drank the lightning greedily, its surface glowing brighter and brighter as it accumulated terrifying power. The sound of thunder grew even heavier and more oppressive.

“Look! Vikir has brought out the Almighty Fiend Piercer! Unbelievable! He’s really going all out!”

The crowd erupted in shock. Their opponent had forced Vikir to reveal his strongest weapon, a genuine Tier-5 spirit weapon.

Leyvi’s mouth twitched slightly. His spiritual hearing had caught every word. Almighty Fiend Piercer? Is that name intentionally targeting me?

Vikir vanished once more.

Using Lightning Step, he reappeared directly above Leyvi at the very top of the arena.

I don’t believe your barrier can withstand my strongest attack! This spear can amplify my power several times over! Take this, Leyvi!

“Thunder God Punishment!”

With a roar, Vikir hurled the fully charged spear downward with every ounce of his strength.

A blinding flash filled the arena.

The spear, carrying the full might of his accumulated lightning, streaked straight toward Leyvi’s head. Dozens of thick, roaring lightning bolts followed in its wake, all descending together at unbelievable speed.

Then, something unbelievable happened.

To Vikir, the next few heartbeats unfolded in slow motion.

His fully charged spear was only a breath away from smashing into Leyvi’s invisible barrier. He was certain it would shatter the defense completely this time.

Instead, the spear suddenly lost all of its momentum. It slowed as if the air itself had turned into thick mud, then came to a complete stop right in front of the barrier.

That was only the beginning.

An invisible force shoved the spear backward. Debris, dust, and every scrap of loose material on the ground were pushed in the same direction. The dozens of thick lightning bolts that had been following the spear were scattered and extinguished in an instant.

Then the overwhelming force locked onto Vikir himself.

It lifted him upward with absolute, irresistible power. He could not resist even the slightest bit.

BANG!

Vikir slammed into the high ceiling of the arena. The moment his body hit the formation-reinforced surface, his Lightning Soul Body shattered and dispersed completely.

The arena’s protective formation reacted at once. Sensing that Vikir had lost the ability to continue, it wrapped him in a gentle cushion of energy and shielded him from any further harm.

A few seconds later, the upward force vanished. Everything that had been suspended in the air began to fall.

Leyvi reached out with a large, invisible spiritual hand and calmly caught the falling spear before it could hit the ground.

You wanted to pierce me? Keep dreaming, he chuckled to himself.

Even through the spiritual hand, he could feel the violent electricity still surging inside the weapon. A weaker cultivator who touched it bare-handed would have been electrocuted on the spot.

“Leyvi Leyan wins!” the announcer declared.

The entire crowd fell into stunned silence. No one could immediately process what they had just witnessed. How had Vikir, the strongest fighter in the under-fifty category, lost so suddenly and so completely?