Mediocre

"You can see it, right?" As if reaching across time, the Ji Jue within the future simulacrum looked at the Gongjiao of the past with a contemptuous sneer. "Is it any use?" The moment those very same words echoed in his ears, the weight of Tianyuan plummeted, crushing Gongjiao's body to dust. Forewarned and prepared, Gongjiao had dissolved into shadow a step ahead, flashing backward. Like a gecko severing its tail. He left behind the tattered Robe of Water and Moon, which crumbled into utter nothingness in Ji Jue's grasp. The instant he regained his footing, Gongjiao's hair stood on end. In the vision of the future, he heard Ji Jue's warning: "Next, I might appear behind your back." "Be careful." The instant he whipped his head around in horror, Ji Jue's silhouette arrived as if keeping an appointment, fashionably late. "Left," he said. Pan Ying slashed with a bloody gleam, gushing crimson flames that reflected against the heavens and shattered a primitive, verdigris-encrusted shield to pieces. Under Ji Jue's feet, shadows suddenly widened. Summoned by the creation, a man-eating shadow beast was stomped to dust before it could even fully form. "Center." The future Ji Jue proclaimed once more, and just as he had said, the present Ji Jue's palm had already reached out again, raised, aimed at his face, and pressed down! Dissociation Art: Jingzhen. BOOM! The arm he hastily raised to block snapped, crumbling to ash under Jingzhen. Amid the flying dust, Ji Jue raised his hand. Between his gathered fingers, Zhanlu's lightning burst forth again like a spear, delivering another forecast: "Heart. Watch out for dissociation on your right hand." Behind Ji Jue, hurtling blades suddenly wheeled around to strike, only to be blocked and delayed by a wall of quicksilver surging from the ground. Now, condensed lightning plunged downward, striking an ornate, eerie mirror and reflecting back, only to be reclaimed by Ji Jue as a matter of course. Ji Jue tilted his head, dodging a severed blade slashing suddenly from the void, and his outstretched palm pressed right against Gongjiao's heart. Gongjiao's flesh writhed, opening a gap, and Ji Jue's hand caught only empty air. "I told you: be careful." The voice from the future gave a soft sigh: "I'm about to interfere with your Encircled Realm. Did you notice the quicksilver?" A wisp of silvery light flickered faintly before his eyes. A massive volume of vapor had been concealed within the lightning Zhanlu had just discharged. Unbeknownst to him, tiny specks of silver light had already permeated his body, his joints, blood vessels, and creations. The minute mercury vapor re-condensed, and millions of imperceptible droplets solidified, suddenly erupting. Solid Alchemy! Gongjiao roared. Before that could happen, he slammed a palm against himself; with a violent shock, electric arcs erupted, forcibly expelling the quicksilver that had seeped into every corner of his body. A reckless, desperate onslaught without holding back! "Watch your back." The voice from the future warned once more. By the time he realized it, countless fragments shed from Ji Jue's body had coalesced within the dissolved quicksilver, assembling into a mechanical merfolk that pounced toward him. Gongjiao waved his hand. The phantom of a giant hammer flashed past, crushing the merfolk to powder, but before he could react, he heard the voice beside his ear again. "Starting now, I'm speeding up—" And so, a blood-red storm tore upward from the ground. The Burnt Offering of the Blood Wrist erupted in full force! A lightning counterattack at a hundred and twenty-six times the speed crashed down upon him! No matter how he struck back, even activating dozens of creations at once in an attempt to regain control, it was utterly useless... Within the phantom simulacra of the future, the cruel reality was laid bare to him again and again. Useless! Useless! Useless! Completely and utterly useless! "No!" The moment he realized, Gongjiao shivered involuntarily, drenched in cold sweat: his foresight was being turned against him and exploited by his opponent! Seemingly announcing his moves in advance placed him at an absolute disadvantage, yet it was precisely this vital disadvantage and his opponent's defensive preparation that made Gongjiao's originally unpredictable methods and endless creations susceptible to targeted counters. From formless unpredictability, they had become traceable! As long as one prepared for their own moves to be countered by the foe, they could factor that in, dismantling each response with composure and seizing the initiative on another level. The decisive factor was speed—being faster, faster even than his opponent! Under Chunjun's accelerated perception and the wolf's neural reflexes, time slowed down hundreds, thousands of times—more than enough for him to counter every situation as it arose. Under the insight of the Mirror of Contained Forms, everything was so clear, vividly distinct. It didn't matter if the next move was countered; so long as I can calculate the future ten moves ahead, none of it matters! Just like right now. Beside his ear came Ji Jue's final forecast: "Eyes." Roars exploded from his soul. Countless visions of the future surfaced before Gongjiao's eyes, and countless countermeasures were unleashed from his body. Yet it was useless! When he took a misstep and triggered a quicksilver trap on the ground, thunder and fire erupted. In that split second of delay, Pan Ying's furious slash crashed toward him. His frantic dodge was cut off by Chunjun's endless torrential storm, sealing every retreat. The splashing rain of quicksilver formed in an instant, Solid Alchemy turning it into chains that coiled and bound him. When he braced to endure it, six different layers of defenses and shields shattered simultaneously under Jingzhen... In less than the snap of a finger, he saw countless possibilities, countless defeats, but not a single solution! And by the time he came back to his senses, he could no longer see a thing. Snap! While he had been lost in innumerable future possibilities, all Ji Jue had done was walk up step by step, extend a hand, and press it against his face. And so, the blindfold that had practically grown into one with his soul and flesh crumbled into ash! Exposed on that pale, mutated face were only two pitch-black holes; from within shattered pupils, thick, sticky bloody fluid slid down his face. Gongjiao stumbled backward, flailing his arms wildly, howling hoarsely. Yet Ji Jue did not press the pursuit. He merely stood where he was, watching his terrified state calmly, waiting for him to recover his wits. Just like that, he casually planted Pan Ying into the ground beside him, freeing both hands, and gently beckoned to him. "Rested up?" Ji Jue asked considerately, "Let me know when you are. The match still has to go on." "..." Gongjiao trembled, his shattered expression twitching violently, unable to restrain his fury. Faces surfaced across his body only to vanish again, each one grotesque and twisted. Numerous limbs sprouted from his body, transforming into wildly different creations. Heavy armor enveloped his form, and fierce light burst from his hollow eyes. The Border Realm trembled, all phenomena seemingly reversing. Surging gravity converged upon his body like a vortex, warping line of sight. Masterwork frenzy! Amid a booming roar like shifting mountains, he stalked step by step toward Ji Jue. He saw only Ji Jue's raised palm. Right before his eyes, one of the five fingers slowly folded down, then another, and another... Like a countdown. When the five fingers clenched into a fist and the countdown ended, in the dead silence, he froze by instinct. Subconsciously, he widened his eyes, scanning his surroundings with absolute focus. Yet nothing happened. "You motherf—" Gongjiao's expression twitched violently as he opened his mouth to speak, but only at that very moment did he notice the foreign object and tearing pain on his face. His expression changed drastically. Unbeknownst to him, within the fissure across his face, wisps of faintly circulating spiritus had silently gathered, condensed, and noiselessly grown a section of... a blade?! The moment a crisp finger-snap rang out, Chunjun erupted violently, the ripples of spiritus condensed within the blade rolling outward. [Jingzhen]! Gongjiao's skull blasted apart with a roar. In a split-second of stupefaction, he felt his hands lighten as his poised Masterwork tore apart under dissociation, emitting a violent crash that wrenched at his heart. Shattered! Before he could even react, another thunderous blast echoed, and the heavy armor shrouded in mountain phantoms disintegrated right after it. When Ji Jue's palm pressed against his chest once more, the entire Encircled Realm violently shook. The Encircled Realm that enveloped his body to form a vault of endless hoard cracked. Countless creations violently trembled, soaring into the air amid wave after wave of savage impacts in the span of a finger-snap, slipping from his control. At that moment, Gongjiao finally heard Ji Jue's voice. As though hailing from the netherworld's hell. "Ready to say goodbye to your treasures?" Mutated limbs and internal organs quivered, revealing their original forms as their seals were forcibly breached, before twisting, fracturing, and annihilating inch by inch. Like opening blind boxes, countless hoarded treasures of all sizes gushed forth. And under the ravaging of those iron hands, they crumbled to dust! Never before had there been such a hearty, unbridled venting, nor such horrifying devastation. Inside and outside the silent Border Realm, shattering noises popped like firecrackers, mingled with Gongjiao's shrill, grief-stricken shrieks and wails—and Ji Jue's wild laughter. Gongjiao struggled desperately, but it was already too late. Flowing quicksilver filled his body, his Rebirth Form forcibly suppressed. As his realm fractured, the collection accumulated over who knew how many years met complete, utter destruction right before his eyes with terrifying efficiency. Not only among the Profound, but even within the Association, countless people's expressions shifted and twitched, recalling the shadows and nightmares of days past. Involuntarily, they closed their eyes. Unable to bear watching any longer. This was no longer a duel... It was an outright, unabashed demolition! When the ceaseless explosions came to an abrupt halt, the once enormously burly Gongjiao was reduced to skin and bones, battered and incomplete, leaving only a fractured skeletal frame propping up a riddled husk. Now, his last heart was gripped in Ji Jue's hand. Slowly raised. Brought before his eyes. "Want to say a final goodbye?" Ji Jue asked considerately. "Hidden all the way on the inside—you must really love it, right?" Gongjiao instinctively wanted to close his eyes, but flowing quicksilver forced his eyelids open, making him watch with his own eyes as his final treasure was destroyed. The first fracture appeared upon the heart, followed by a second, a third... taking the treasure hidden within right along with it. Just like that, amidst shrill screams and weeping wails, it shattered completely. Gone forever! Only drifting ashes slipped through Ji Jue's fingers; no matter how Gongjiao reached out in futile desperation to clutch at them, he could hold onto nothing. Completely, utterly bereft of everything. Tears still lingered on that stiff, contorted face, but it could make no sound. Quicksilver rose inch by inch from beneath his neck, creeping up over his face and freezing everything solid. His soul was annihilated. Only a statue frozen in a despairing wail remained before everyone, so gruesome that merely looking at it seemed to conjure hallucinatory cries and weeping in one's ears. "Fine items. Pity about the skill—mediocre." Ji Jue shook his head, sighing with mild regret. The Border Realm shuddered. As if an invisible torrent swept past, washing away everything, the distant Pillar of Perdition trembled violently, cracks surfacing once more. It sank down another notch! Now, victory and defeat, life and death, were finally settled. Yet he paid no heed to the Border Realm gate reopening, nor did he turn back to enjoy the cheers from Tianshu that rightfully belonged to him at this moment. Instead, he drew the sword Pan Ying from the ground, raised his head, and looked toward the Shadow of the Profound. "Next."