Dust Explosion

What followed was far too disgusting, far too brutal, far too horrifying, far too gory, and far too tragic for human eyes. Frowning deeply, Yu Xian watched—practically wishing he could back away from the light screen—as Zhang Shou was submerged amid screams by the self-destructing explosions of countless Dung Slimes. In that moment, he understood. He understood why Zhang Shou hadn't continued competing in the tournament. Just then, the server brought out their steaming, aromatic dinner. Zhang Buyao closed the forum with a smile. "Stop looking at the forum. Let's eat first." "..." Looking at the beef rice bowl before him, Yu Xian had completely lost his appetite. After a moment's thought, he said, "Yaoyao, in your upcoming matches, if you run into a player named Shi Bao, forfeit immediately." "Shi Bao? Is he really strong? Besides, this tournament doesn't have an option to forfeit, does it?" Holding her chopsticks and spoon, Zhang Buyao paused in surprise and asked. Yu Xian sighed. "The forfeit option will be there tomorrow." ... ... The next day. As soon as nine o'clock struck, countless players began queuing up for battle. Neither Yu Xian nor Zhang Buyao left the inn. After washing up, they had an NPC deliver breakfast to their room, deciding to finish eating right there before entering the tournament. About a minute later, the light screen before Yu Xian quickly shifted. [Match Found] [Opponent has declined your wager] [Opponent has not placed a wager] [Teleportation commencing!] Yu Xian smiled at Zhang Buyao beside him. "I got a match. Off I go!" The next moment, he vanished in a flash of white light. ... ... Yu Xian materialized on the left side of the arena stage. The moment he appeared, cheers erupted from the spectator stands. "Go, Fish God! Fish God is the strongest! Fish God rocks!" "Fish God, I love you!" "Fish God! Aaaaaah, it's the living Fish God!" Listening to the roars of the crowd, Yu Xian looked around curiously. To his surprise, he spotted quite a few familiar faces in the stands. For instance, sitting right in front were Niu Kaitian, You Xinghun, and Sima Gao—Transcendents from the Death Calamity Sea. On the other side, many people from Crescent Bay were cheering and shouting just as passionately. It looked like the Fengxian clan really had broadcast the event across the myriad worlds. Next, he looked across the ring. His opponent was a brawny giant over three meters tall, carrying a pillar on his back. One glance was enough to tell he possessed immense strength. [Yu Xian (136 Points) vs. Tang Tianzong (58 Points). Match Start!] In the next second, Yu Xian and his opponent were both freed to move. Yu Xian instantly activated Forward Light Shield, then rode the shield as he hurtled toward Tang Tianzong. Unfortunately, this was no longer day one. Last night, plenty of players had already analyzed the secrets of Forward Light Shield and deduced that this technique could not be blocked head-on. Thus, when Tang Tianzong saw Forward Light Shield slamming toward him, he had zero intention of taking it directly. Despite his towering, hulking physique, he was anything but clumsy—in fact, he was extraordinarily agile. Unslinging the pillar from his back, he hurled it forward and immediately took off at a sprint. The pillar collided with Yu Xian's light shield and exploded instantly, turning into a sky full of dust that blocked vision. Just as Yu Xian emerged from the dust, he found Tang Tianzong nowhere to be seen. In the next second, Tang Tianzong transformed into a five-meter-tall colossal brown bear, burst out of the dust, and brought both paws slamming down toward Yu Xian's back. Yesterday, Tang Tianzong had specifically studied the abilities of the top ten contenders. That pillar was not actually a weapon, but a giant piece of chalk formed from compacted flour. Originally, he had wanted to find chalk to make it, but the problem was that the Zhen Realm had no chalk whatsoever, so he had to substitute flour instead. Fortunately, because he had compressed it firmly enough, the giant piece of chalk was ultimately registered as a weapon by the system and permitted into the arena. This giant chalk was a weapon he had tailored specifically to counter Yu Xian and others like him. Whenever Yu Xian or similar opponents initiated an attack, he would decisively block with the giant chalk. Once the chalk shattered, he would use the dust cloud's cover to slip around behind and launch a surprise strike. Despite his enormous size, his movements were remarkably fast—and after shifting into a giant brown bear, his speed was even greater. Furthermore, in giant bear form, his extra-thick paw pads allowed him to move completely in silence. "Die, Yu Xian!" "Twin Slaughter Bear Palms!" With feral glints in his eyes, Tang Tianzong brought both paws crashing down. Yet at that razor's-edge moment, a smile appeared on Yu Xian's face. He simply leaned backward slightly, his body passing right between the two descending bear paws, making it look almost as if Tang Tianzong were hugging him from behind. A bear's forelimbs could never be as flexible as human arms. On top of that, Tang Tianzong's transformed giant bear was simply too massive; bringing both paws down left his centerline wide open, practically defenceless. Seeing his strike miss, Tang Tianzong immediately tried to adjust his stance, but how could Yu Xian give him the chance? The next instant, Yu Xian spun around, channeled power into his right arm, and drove a punch straight into Tang Tianzong's abdomen. Tang Tianzong felt as though all his internal organs were pulverized by the blow. His body staggered back uncontrollably until he crashed heavily into the dust. Seeing the suspended dust all around, Yu Xian's eyes lit up. He immediately maneuvered Forward Light Shield to take to the air, simultaneously pulling out two stones and hurling them downward as the power of Grand Dao Myriad Phenomena took effect. The two stones collided in midair with tremendous force, sending sparks flying in every direction. Do not forget: Everything below was filled with fine dust. When sparks met the dust, an instantaneous dust explosion erupted. Tang Tianzong, who still believed he was safe within the cloud, was blasted off his feet. Only in the second before being blown apart did Tang Tianzong recall why he had originally wanted real chalk to make that giant stick: real chalk was made of limestone, non-flammable and stable under normal conditions, making it incapable of exploding. Flour dust, on the other hand, was combustible. Regret was entirely useless now. Tang Tianzong's health bar drained to zero, and he vanished in a flash of white light. In the next second, cheers roared from the spectators. This match had been spectacular—especially that dust explosion, which was an absolute visual treat. [Congratulations to contestant Yu Xian on securing a victory] [Continue competing?] Yu Xian landed on the arena floor, and a new light screen popped up before him. Smiling faintly, he immediately chose to continue. Although he had lost the advantage of catching opponents unaware with his opening tactic, with his strength, as long as he didn't encounter Shi Bao or Shenshang Chai, he had little to worry about. Returning to his original spot, he waited quietly for matchmaking while pondering Tang Tianzong's weapon. That contraption had actually been quite clever. Under normal circumstances, a mere dust explosion could never have killed Tang Tianzong. After all, the giant bear Tang Tianzong transformed into was no ordinary brown bear from nature, but a thick-hided Transcendent colossal bear imbued with supernatural power. Forget a regular explosion—even an armor-piercing shell designed for tanks wouldn't pierce Tang Tianzong's hide. However, Yu Xian had infused the power of Grand Dao Myriad Phenomena into the dust explosion, vastly amplifying its blast power. That was why Tang Tianzong had suffered such terrible misfortune, blown to pieces by the very weapon he had brought into the ring. Inspired by this, Yu Xian thought he might carry more odd and unconventional items in the future. His spatial backpack was large enough anyway, and perhaps some inconspicuous little weapons could become the decisive factor in turning a battle around.