High-Level Martial Era

Hoffman talked a big game, so why is he not delivering?

...

"Relying only on a saber, I can't defeat him; my momentum is dwindling," Hoffman said, his gaze ice-cold.

In a clash between experts, momentum is incredibly important, and sometimes it's all about pressing the advantage.

That's what they mean by overpowering an opponent with momentum.

"The way this is going, I will undoubtedly lose."

"I have no choice but to burst out," Hoffman's eyes flashed with ferocity," I had planned to save this for the finals, but I'll use you for practice."

He hadn't taken Li Yuan very seriously before, thinking that Li Yuan had just broken through to the Fifth Stage not long ago and could be easily defeated.

After all, for martial path geniuses like them, even with astounding comprehension, being able to break through from the Initial Rank to the Intermediate Rank within a year of reaching the Fifth Stage was already impressive.

And what of someone who had just broken through to the Fifth Stage?

But with Li Yuan going all out, his strength surpassed Hoffman's expectations, feeling no weaker than Harmon, and perhaps even more ferocious and violent.

Whoosh!

Hoffman leaped high into the air once again, and then the combat saber in his hand suddenly flew out, shooting towards Li Yuan like a massive concealed weapon at a speed close to the speed of sound.

"Clang!" Li Yuan's long spear vibrated and deflected the flying saber to one side.

A hint of confusion flickered through Li Yuan's mind.

What was Hoffman doing? He threw away his weapon?

"Haha, Li Yuan, very good." As Hoffman stepped back, he drew two curved sabers from behind his back, smaller and more agile than before.

He landed on a huge boulder.

"I had planned to save this for the finals, but your strength is worth my full effort," Hoffman's eyes shone brightly, "I will use my greatest strength to defeat you."

Boom!

Hoffman shot forward like lightning, approaching Li Yuan in a gust of wind, with two silver lights whistling towards him.

"Clang!" "Clang!"

"Clang!" Li Yuan countered attack with attack, his long spear shifting agilely, blocking each curved saber strike in a flash of lightning.

The sword technique was continuous and astonishingly fast.

If Hoffman's single saber had simply been fierce before, then his current pair of curved sabers...each individually was not as intimidating as the single saber, but in combination, their power multiplied exponentially.

And his movement technique had significantly changed, becoming more agile and unpredictable, completely surpassing Li Yuan's.

"Such a ghostly movement technique."

"Such fast twin curved sabers, this is definitely his preferred way of fighting," Li Yuan felt incredibly pressured, as he was completely dominated for the moment.

A Fifth Stage expert could quickly adapt to any weapon and reach the Fifth Stage standard, hence they didn't have any clear weaknesses.

But that's just it—they had no weaknesses.

Each Fifth Stage expert had their strongest points and weapons of choice... When using these weapons, they could unleash their full potential, increasing the synergy of their moves with the world and making their power even more terrifying.

And Hoffman was doing just that.

In this head-to-head battle, Li Yuan was completely overwhelmed; his spear was longer, but his speed was much slower compared to Hoffman.

"Clang!"

One curved saber hooked the long spear as his ghostly figure closed in, the other curved saber whooshing, trying to sweep past Li Yuan's neck.

Boom!

Li Yuan retreated rapidly like lightning, pulling back with his spear, but the curved saber still grazed his shoulder.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Rip~" It left a shocking gash, blood spattering.

With a thought, Li Yuan's muscles tightened, immediately stopping the flow of blood.

"Li Yuan, just give up," Hoffman's eyes were filled with excitement," You can't withstand my attacks."

"Really?" Despite his injury, Li Yuan showed no panic, his fighting spirit sky-high, his eyes brimming with excitement," Before the tournament, I had always wondered if anyone could force me to reveal my strongest state. Hoffman, you're the first."

"It's really great."

"The purpose of the tournament is to converse with the powerful and refine oneself," Li Yuan said with a grin, his long spear at an angle," Come on, attack again, let me test your attacks once more."

"Playing tricks." Hoffman snorted coldly, obviously unfazed by Li Yuan's words.

Boom!

Separated by only a few dozen meters, Hoffman shot forward in less than a second, bearing down on Li Yuan with a roar.

Two dazzling arcs of saber light sliced through the vast sky.

"Clang!" "Clang!" The spear light blossomed, whooshing forward, easily blocking the two saber lights' assault.

"Ha!" Hoffman roared, his form twisting as the saber light became blurred, his whole being seeming to meld into the world itself, his curved sabers slashing at Li Yuan with full force.

"Boom!"

"Boom! Clang!" With each collision, the situation completely changed, but regardless of how furiously Hoffman attacked, Li Yuan's body erupted with dazzling spear light.

The spear light shone like stars, blocking Hoffman's strikes time after time, unmovable as a mountain.

Impregnable.

"How can his defense suddenly become this strong?" Hoffman could hardly believe it; he had attacked with all his might, yet he couldn't shake Li Yuan.

Of course, with Li Yuan focusing entirely on defense and changing his spear technique radically, he also couldn't pose a threat to Hoffman.

...

"It's so exciting."

"This battle is far fiercer than any of the previous Fifth Stage battles," remarked millions of spectators in the tournament space, holding their breath.

At first, when both sides exchanged blows, Li Yuan had the upper hand; then, as Hoffman burst forth, Li Yuan was pushed into a disadvantage.

Eventually, Li Yuan finally revealed his strongest defensive stance, effortlessly parrying Hoffman's offense.

However, it seemed that Li Yuan could only defend and had difficulty in landing a killing strike on Hoffman.

...

"Li Yuan's realm seems to be higher."

"Yes, to comprehend the Meaning of the Stellar to such a degree and be just a step away from the Intermediate Rank of the Fifth Stage, Li Yuan is stronger than Dantai Feng, Jin Huguo, and Harmon. Impressive."