554 Iris's Fight
Silence descended over the arena as they all stopped to look at John. He was a Late Meridian Forging cultivator, yet he had just easily defeated an Early Heaven Tribulation cultivator. They had never seen such a thing before, and didn’t know if trickery was at hand to make such a thing possible.
However, when they thought back to how he had effortlessly blocked a full powered attack from that youths great hammer, they couldn’t help but shiver at the thought of them blocking the attack in such a way. If they had attempted to do such a thing, their arms would have most likely shattered, despite being in a higher realm.
Alderen opened his eyes as he gazed at John for a moment, looking at him in a new light. After a short while, he closed his eyes once again, resuming his calm meditation.
Meanwhile, the youth who had threatened Iris and John couldn’t help but pause as well, his wary eyes looking at John with both fear and confusion. As a genius of his sect, he almost always got what he wanted when he asked.
Iris’s refusal to join his group was an insult to his pride, and he had come into the arena to make her regret her decision. He had expected this to be an easy thing, but had clearly underestimated his opponents.
However, John’s words clearly indicated that he was not going to interfere with their battle, causing the youth to sigh in slight relief.
A satisfied smirk appeared on Iris’s face as she saw the youth before her be knocked down a peg.
“What are you smirking at?” the youth barked out, his agitation climbing. He did not like the way Iris was looking at him, as if the fight had already been concluded. She still had a lower cultivation than him, and the youth did not expect her to also have freakish combat prowess.
“I’m smirking at you,” Iris replied. “Or more, the thought of you begging me for mercy in a short while.”
“You bitch! Die!” the youth yelled out angrily, his anger instantly ignited by Iris’s words. He instantly shot towards her, his aura climbing powerfully as he prepared to unleash his first attack.
An amused smile lingered on Iris’s face as she too began to move, while her eyes began to glow with a profound glimmer. The youth arrived before her and instantly slashed his sword down towards her. He was holding nothing back, and it was clear that in his rage he did not care if he killed Iris or not.
Che!
The sword sliced forward, narrowly missing Iris by the smallest of margins. In fact, some in the crowd winced as they watched the attack, as they had assumed it had landed on her. Watching from nearby to prevent any interference, John smirked in knowing at what was to come. Iris had done the same to Aaron, who found fighting her to be the most frustrating thing in his life.
Bang!
The sword sliced down and hit the arena below, as the contact on Iris’s body that was expected did not happen. The youth’s eyes widened slightly, as he had expected this attack of his to land. However, his opponent has been able to mysteriously dodge in the perfect manner at the perfect time, almost as if she had seen through the attack.
Bang!
Iris’s right foot swung out, slamming into the waist of the youth. The youth shot backwards a few dozen yards before coming to a stop. His heated gaze stared back at Iris, while his anger continued to climb.
“Huh? You took no damage at all from that kick?” Iris said to the youth with slight surprise. “Ah, you are the Heaven Tribulation Realm afterall. I guess I can’t treat this like a game.”
A pair of straight daggers suddenly appeared in her hands, each about a foot long. They were black in color, and gave off a slightly menacing aura, as if they had claimed many lives before.
John raised an eyebrow as he stared at the daggers in Iris’s hands.
‘Dagger’s are normally bad weapons, as their short range is a great disadvantage. However, with Iris’s speed, as well as her eye talents, she can easily read an opponent and break through their openings better than anyone else could. Getting close enough to use daggers on an opponent may be hard for others, but for Iris it should be the best thing. Not only that, but the light weight of the daggers ensures she can maintain her top speed, further emphasizing her strengths. Truly a good fit.’
Meanwhile, the youth’s anger exploded even further, as Iris’s words clearly indicated she had been looking down on him.
“You dare look down on me?” the youth cried out, his reasoning and rationale completely thrown aside in his rage. “Die!”
The smirk on Iris’s face appeared once again as she watched her opponent quickly approach.
“Just don’t die too quickly and disappoint me,” Iris replied with self-confidence as she too dashed forward, fully displaying her combat prowess for the first time.
The two cultivators appeared before each other, their weapons arcing out towards each other.
Peng!
Peng!
Peng!
The youth unleashed a flurry of sharp and quick attacks, each with the power to claim Iris’s life. However, her body moved with perfect timing and grace, while her daggers did the same. Each blow from the youth was met with the perfect counter of her daggers, allowing her to block them with the least amount of effort.
Those in the crowd and arena couldn’t help but feel slight shock once again as they watched Iris hold her own against someone in a higher cultivation realm than her. Unlike John, her power and aura was clearly weaker than her opponent, but she made up for that difference with incredible speed and perfect movements.
“How is she doing that?” a female youth in the crowd asked her nearby friends. “Her movements are absolutely perfect.”
“You’re right,” one of her friends replied. “I can’t see a single flaw in any of her movements. It’s as if she can see the fight take place before it even happens, and reacts in the perfect manner.”
“Incredible,” another youth in the group replied. “Just who are these two? One of them can easily overwhelm an opponent in a higher major realm than him, while the other can hold her own as well. Where did these two come from?”
“They’re from the Heavenly Lightning Sect,” another youth replied, clearly recognizing the embroidered insignia on John and Iris’s robes.
“The Heavenly Lightning Sect? I’ve never heard of such level of geniuses coming from that sect.”
“They must have just arrived at the sect recently. Afterall, their ages and cultivations mean they’re still first years, unlike the rest of us.”
“True. I was wondering why any sect would send first years who are still in the Meridian Forging Realm, and figured the Heavenly Lightning Sect was incredibly short on geniuses and sent whoever they could. It seems as though I was wrong.”
Similar conversations broke out amongst those in the crowd as they watched the battle between Iris and her opponent rage on. The youth continued to unleash strong attacks with the intent to claim Iris’s life. However, he didn’t dare use large area of attack battle arts, as that would impact the others in the arena. If he did that, he would draw the collective ire of everyone he had attacked, and even in his rage he knew that was suicide.
However, his single target attacks were unable to even scratch Iris, as her movements continued to be flawless, as if she saw through every single attack of his. Meanwhile, an occasional counter attack from Iris’s daggers would fly out, slashing the skin of the youth. Small beads of blood began to trickle down his arms and legs from the wounds, but they were all superficial.
“Stop running you bitch,” he barked out angrily. “These measly attacks of yours couldn’t defeat me even if you sliced me up another thousand times. You have no hope of beating me by just running.”
While saying all this, he sliced out with another attack, which was flawlessly dodged by Iris. Her smiling face gazed back at the him, as if she was anticipating something. A bad feeling washed over the youth, who suddenly felt his strength slowly but surely begin to sap from his body.
“I know my attacks can’t defeat you,” Iris said smugly while watching her opponent begin to stumble slightly. “But the poison on my daggers sure can.”