The King of Battle: Space Spiritist

Liu Mu's face was deathly pale, sweat plastering his long hair into sticky strands. He floated up with difficulty, retreating to another corner of the sealed space.

Xiao Chen was in agony now, his body truly on the verge of shattering. But trapped in the space Liu Mu commanded, he could not yet conceive an escape. With immense effort, he raised his right hand—the terrible spatial force made it tremble, veins bulging hideously. He forced it upward and fired a brilliant sword-beam toward Liu Mu, hoping to pierce him through.

Liu Mu, too, had long lost his composure. His entire body was drenched in sweat; the moisture rose as steam, nearly engulfing him. When he saw the dazzling sword-light coming, he struggled to spread a layer of cyan radiance before him. "Clang!" The incoming divine light vanished, and the cyan barrier shattered in midair—the power of space had blocked that lethal strike.

From the start of the battle until now, though time had been brief, it felt as if a century had passed for both combatants. Each felt on the verge of collapse.

Liu Mu felt near exhaustion. He had never expected to meet such a formidable enemy—even the Art of Spatial Annihilation could not finish him. Gritting his teeth, he traced a series of complex, unfathomable patterns with his hands. Threads of cyan divine light emerged, coalescing into dazzling blades like heavenly sabers that spun and slashed toward Xiao Chen.

It was a rain of blades formed from spatial spiritual power! If the energy were strong enough, it could utterly shatter the void. Though Liu Mu did not yet have the power to rend space itself, such formidable spatial blade-light was more than enough to dominate any opponent at the same cultivation level.

In that moment, Xiao Chen truly felt death approaching. The sickly-looking Liu Mu was terrifyingly powerful—the most fearsome enemy he had ever faced.

But Xiao Chen had never considered surrender. Even in the last instant before death, he would fight with everything he had—that was his nature.

His arms were nearly translucent; one could see the blood flowing within, the bones trembling, the primal energy circulating—they threatened to shatter at any moment. Yet in this critical juncture, Xiao Chen had no choice. He pushed his Mortal-Shedding Fifth Heaven power to its absolute limit, and his hands actually broke through the spatial confinement.

Even though his body might collapse, Xiao Chen did not hesitate. He swung his arms, striking out mysterious, unfathomable hand seals one after another.

Radiant starlight flooded the space. Seven of the brightest constellations materialized before Xiao Chen, the stars of the Big Dipper spinning rapidly around him, forming a brilliant light screen! The entire space blazed with divine radiance.

Xiao Chen was deeply stirred. He named this seven-star light curtain "Sealing Divinity." On ordinary days, it was nearly impossible to execute successfully. But in this life-or-death crisis, his latent potential erupted fully, and he actually succeeded in unleashing the "Big Dipper Sealing Divinity."

Spatial blade-light formed from condensed spiritual power—at a sufficient level, it was said to cut through all obstacles. At the highest realm, even gods could not block it. Though Liu Mu had not yet reached such heights, this terrifying rain of blades was astonishing enough.

"Shiiing—" The splitting air sounded like the death knell, piercing the soul! But something astonishing happened. When the relentless blade-rain struck the Sealing Divinity light screen, it merged into the dazzling barrier like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea.

The light before Xiao Chen was as blinding as ten suns blazing at once, forcing the eyes shut. The spatial spiritual power that had formed the blade-rain dissolved into pure energy within the "ladle" of the Big Dipper, then flowed toward the "handle" of the constellation!

Xiao Chen's hands traced arcane, mysterious patterns, as if they would tear the very fabric of space! The Big Dipper diagram became hazy, and then suddenly erupted with a terrifying wave of energy. It fused with the spatial power before him and shot out from the end of the handle!

Xiao Chen's own strength and Liu Mu's power had become叠加—combined! The brilliant beam, like an unstoppable heavenly sword, grazed past Liu Mu's ear and slammed violently into the light wall behind him.

With a thunderous roar, the hundred-square-meter pocket dimension shattered and dissolved. When all fell silent, Xiao Chen stood amid the field of white bones. His entire skeleton crackled and popped, but his body had held—it had not broken apart.

He stood like a drawn blade, staring at his opponent before him.

Liu Mu swayed a few times, then planted himself firmly on the ground like a nail. He, too, fixed his gaze on Xiao Chen. After a long silence, he spoke: "You won. I never imagined that a Spiritist at the Fifth Heaven of Mortal-Shedding would lose to a martial practitioner at the same realm." Yet there was no dejection in his voice. "But my strength is not inferior to yours."

"Are Space Spiritists that special?" Xiao Chen found the sickly Liu Mu's pride somewhat excessive.

Liu Mu smiled bitterly. He had lost, after all. "I admit defeat," he said with self-deprecation, "but you don't need to mock me. Space Spiritists are known as undefeated among cultivators of the same level—the kings of their generation. You and I are both at the Fifth Heaven of Mortal-Shedding, yet today... I lost to you. It shames me."

"I wasn't mocking you. Before this, I had never heard that Space Spiritists are kings among their peers. I come from the Mortal World..."

Xiao Chen could see that Liu Mu bore no grudge over his defeat, that he did not consider him an enemy. So Xiao Chen gradually relaxed. If not absolutely necessary, who would want to make enemies?

"You're from the Mortal World..."

Through brief conversation, Xiao Chen finally understood what a Space Spiritist truly meant. They were indeed kings among cultivators, as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Yet he had defeated one today—a Space Spiritist said to be invincible at the same cultivation level. His heart filled with confidence. Legends could be broken.

At the same time, Liu Mu learned from Xiao Chen what had happened recently on the outer reaches of Dragon Island. He had ventured deep into the island long ago and had been cultivating near the divine stele ever since the island was sealed.

"Alliances? Restrictions? Blood will still flow sooner or later. Most people on Dragon Island will probably not survive."

"Since Brother Liu has already guessed as much, how about we look out for each other in the future?"

"Good. I would not want someone like you as an enemy either." After the great battle, Liu Mu's face was even paler than before.

"Nor would I want someone as terrifying as you as an enemy," Xiao Chen said truthfully. A Space Spiritist at the Fifth Heaven of Mortal-Shedding was the most formidable opponent he had ever faced.