"Ye Mo, you killed our young mistress, our young master, and several members of our clan, then you even had the gall to extort us and deeply injure Liu Sen! Today, I will break your dreams before breaking you." Liu Zhi said with a haughty snort as he heard the gong, the spectators being too far to hear him.
Treeman Metamorphosis battle skill!
Immediately, bark grew on his skin, his height increased, and his hair turned into light green leaves.
His eyes became jade green in color, and his aura changed, becoming one of a fearsome forest guardian more than nine feet tall.
But Liu Zhi didn't stop here and followed with another martial art.
Self Army battle skill!
Out of his feet, roots wiggled out like tentacles and entangled each other around Liu Zhi, growing briskly until they took the form of treemen, identical to him.
On Liu Zhi's side of the arena, more than a dozen treemen appeared with a single battle skill.
"Liu Zhi's skills have much synergy together. Originally, the Self Army battle skill would only duplicate the user and take his appearance, but because he used the Treeman Metamorphosis battle skill first, they all became monsters as well. It's going to be hard on Ye Mo." Lan Xue analyzed from the distance.
The treemen slowly marched towards Ye Mo, their presence was imposing and would inspire fear just from sight.
"Treemen are strong and durable but rather slow, I will test their abilities first." Seeing them approaching, Ye Mo's gaze shone with a sharp light.
Even though treemen are powerful, he was not afraid.
Wind Flow.
Air currents gathered around his body and as he moved forth, his speed increased drastically.
A treeman raised its enormous claw and slammed it from above towards Ye Mo, its end looking like sharp tips of broken sticks.
Ye Mo dodged on the side at the last moment, feeling the wind created by the treeman's attack hitting the side of his face as its claw whipped the ground, lacerating the blocks of the arena and sending broken fragments flying.
He couldn't be said to be very fast, but Ye Mo was still better than the treeman who was left unguarded after his strike.
Stone Breaking Punch.
Arming his fist, Ye Mo countered with a straight right, fracturing the bark of the beast as it was sent crashing out of the arena.
"They possess the strength of a mid-tier rank 1 treeman, then..." Ye Mo turned his gaze towards one specific treeman.
From the beginning he always kept his attention on it even when attacking its ally an instant ago.
It was the original treeman Liu Zhi transformed into at the start of the fight!
Ye Mo charged forth, ignoring all other treemen on his way.
Those he would pass by attacked him, but often he would be able to dodge and continue his progression.
However, the treemen were too numerous, and as he charged in the middle of their group without hesitation, they quickly surrounded him.
At this time, Ye Mo still punched one or two of them, sending those flying out of his way before he continued his rush.
In a short time, he reached Liu Zhi in his form of treeman and immediately attacked.
He leapt up and punched, his fist covered in violent winds as it reached his opponent, shattering the tree in two as both parts rolled to the end of the arena before lying dead.
Ye Mo looked at the lifeless treeman broken in two, frowning.
This is it?!
No, it can't be this easy.
Liu Zhi is a 9th layer cultivator and has several high-tier battle skills, he has shown nothing yet. This is not the end!
His thoughts sparked in a flash as his doubts grew when suddenly, a strong wave of wind assaulted Ye Mo's back.
"A strike!" In that split second, his hair stood on end and a red alarm rang in his heart as he felt an intense threat loom over him. Without a second thought, he instantly jumped forward.
He could feel a giant claw rip his back open and draw blood as he landed on the ground, rolling against the stone tiles, before he flipped around and faced his opponent.
"Hehehe, Ye Mo..." The treeman who attacked spoke with a very low voice, yet it became evident it was Liu Zhi talking, "I bet you thought you had a chance against me, that you would use your body and brute strength to get out of every situation like you always do, but let me tell you, you won't even touch me in this fight! Let's not waste time and admit defeat now, there's no hope for you."
"It appeared, Liu Zhi One Soul Investitude battle skill!" Witnessing this, someone screamed in excitement.
"Even if Ye Mo charges at him, it is pointless. Liu Zhi can easily take over the body of any of his treemen and change position... There is no flaw in this battle tactic."
"He's not a senior disciple for nothing, although I heard he's a defensive cultivator, the treeman metamorphosis battle skill gives him enough firepower to kill someone like Ye Mo while his defense stays unbreakable."
The One Soul Investitude battle skill was a technique that gave the user the ability to instantly swap with the body of creatures deeply connected to him and make it his.
It only worked with beings with the same morphology as the user and that were linked to him, sharing both his qi and his will, being of one heart and one mind. The treemen were Liu Zhi's creation through the Self Army battle skill and possessed his essence and qi, they were directly connected to him, and he could control them by will. With the conditions met, he could use the One Soul Investitude battle skill to take their bodies and change position.
In essence, every treemen he summoned was a substitute body he could freely transfer into at times of danger or to confuse the opponent.
From the outside, it would seem like he just possessed the body of a treeman, but actually it was not the case, the one he targeted became Liu Zhi while the one he transformed into previously would return to an ordinary treeman.
This change was immediate and couldn't be felt from the outside. It was a very unorthodox battle skill, but Liu Zhi has been a student for years and took time to choose his martial arts carefully. All of them complemented each other and created an unbeatable strategy.
"He wouldn't have been able to move that fast nor make that much damage with the abilities of an ordinary treeman, this one is at the level of a high-tier blood beast."
"His sneak attack was truly sinister, had my reaction been just a tad bit late and my spine would have been cut open as well. At this point, even if I didn't die, Lan Xue would have stopped the fight and it would have been my loss."
Despite Ye Mo having a calm character, he couldn't help breaking out in a cold sweat right now. If it were not for him learning a healing battle skill, just this wound alone would be enough for him to lose the fight.
The claw entered deep in his flesh, and he could feel the blood flow down on his back without showing any sign of stopping.
Endless Vitality.
He willed and in a breath of time, the blood loss ceased and the wound healed, leaving only three long slashing tears giving view to his skin on the back of his tiger martial suit.
Seeing the cut on his back vanish, lines appeared between Liu Zhi's jade eyes as he was both surprised and annoyed that Ye Mo actually learned a healing battle skill.
Every time he appeared, this kid would be much stronger than the last.
At this moment, Liu Zhi realized why he asked for a one-week delay before the fight took place.
"But that doesn't change anything, you will just suffer longer."
Liu Zhi commanded, and the treemen marched towards Ye Mo.
"Information is also strength. The main problem here is that I know nothing about him while he has heard much about me. I will have to learn directly while fighting."
As he thought, Ye Mo rushed forward once more and attacked!
Bam!Bam!Bam!
His hits were like firecrackers, resounding loudly in the arena as he directly confronted the treemen with punches and kicks.
His fists were powerful and lasting, straightforwardly maiming the beasts facing him or sending them rolling out of the arena.
Still, the treemen's most common trait was their durability, and some, even after taking the Stone Breaking Punch head-on, could resist and attack once again, only falling down after a second or a third strike.
Because their movements were slow, Ye Mo could engage and avoid their strikes while hitting them successfully.
However, at some point during the fight...
"A gust of wind!"
Surrounded by foes, Ye Mo could feel a strike behind him.
This attack was much faster and powerful than the abilities of mid-tier treemen.
At this moment, Ye Mo rotated and decisively raised his shoulder while he punched forward at the same time with all his strength.
Under this direct confrontation, the claw of the treeman penetrated his shoulder in two places, left from the other side and pierced his chest. While the beast took his fist directly on its belly and was sent sliding back before falling on its knees, only supporting itself with its hands.
Treemen were tall, and their claws were big. With quick sudden movements, generating wind was inevitable.
However, it was faint and brief, to sense and react to them, it needed acute senses and extreme concentration.
The treeman quickly grew small and returned to Liu Zhi's original appearance.
Immediately, he vomited a mouthful of blood on the white stone tiles and breathed roughly.
Ye Mo could break treemen with his fists alone and send these giants flying. If Liu Zhi survived, it's only because he had the abilities of a high-tier treeman under his metamorphosis battle skill; otherwise, he might have been broken in two like the others.
Yet, he still received significant damage.
"You can't invest the body of another treeman if you're attacking, in that split second, I can still deal with you." Ye Mo smiled as he commented.
The injuries he sustained in their confrontation were much more important than Liu Zhi but he was still standing and could even talk.
Using Endless Vitality, the results were even more noticeable than previously as the gashes on his body started resorbing at a fast rate.
"What kind of battle skill is this? The effects are even more formidable than previously." Someone exclaimed in curiosity.
"Wait, isn't it Endless Vitality?"
"Really? I went past this one a few times but never picked it because it can't even heal minor wounds, to think that's the one he would take."
"Hmph, of course, for us, minor wounds occur much more often than heavy injuries. If a healing battle skill can't even heal them properly then it's too much of a flaw. Only a maniac like him that deliberately put himself in harm's way to take down his opponents would choose something like that."
"His brain must have overheated from the sun, he could have died here."
"He's too daring, too daring..."
On the stage, Ye Mo stood on the spot, wounded and surrounded by ennemies but serene and unwavering.
To say he wasn't hurt was the biggest of jokes.
His lung was pierced, his breathing was difficult, his blood flowed uncontrollably, and he couldn't even raise his left arm.
The pain he was going through was much greater than Liu Zhi, the only difference is that he was enduring it all too well, impassive, as if he wasn't the one actually going through it.
"Pain is just pain, senses sent to my brain. As long as I have fists, as long as I have feet, I will punch and kick, fighting until the end, making my place in this world."
Ye Mo chanted in his heart, giving his body the time to heal.
"Get him!" Liu Zhi growled, looking at Ye Mo with bloodshot eyes.
Seeing Ye Mo's serene disposition after being hit like that, while he was still sprawled on the floor catching his breath, he was both unnerved and infuriated.
When he gave his orders, the remaining treemen attacked him like enraged beasts while Liu Zhi concentrated his qi and used an healing battle skill.
His right hand shone brightly as he placed his palm against his stomach.