When the clash began, Uzai displayed the tremendous technical capacity befitting an Origin Heart expert. The air instantly turned into thousands of invisible blades, and every cultivator below the Lord realm—except Mais—watched the manifestation of this immense technique with intense interest. There were even Lords present in the area, alongside those secretly watching from afar. Some were merely curious to see if Plain City would soon claim a new city lord, while others simply wanted to witness a rare battle between Lords.
Even in the capital, witnessing a battle between Lords was a rare occurrence. Moreover, battles taking place outside the capital often carried far greater significance. While it was difficult to clearly see the wind turning into sharp blades, perceiving the form of the wind was not difficult for these Origin Heart Lords.
Ursul extended his hand with interest. One of the blades rushed toward him at full speed, colliding with the very finger he had "coincidentally" redirected.
PAATT!!
A loud sound reverberated through the surroundings, but Ursul remained rooted to the spot like Mount Tai, without even breaking his stance, let alone taking a step back. A few drops of deep red blood flowed from the tip of his extended finger onto the ground.
"How... can this be?" one of the watching commanders, Hanma, blurted out in astonishment.
The others were equally shocked. How could they not be? They knew Uzai's technique better than anyone. An Origin Heart Technique!
"Sea of Sharp Winds... You know, my father learned this technique too. It's a mid-tier technique, and according to its stage in the city library, a powerful one that only city lords are permitted to learn. How sad that it is now in your hands."
City Lord Uzai also stood there in shock. Obviously, it was absurd for Ursul to stop the technique with a single finger. Uzai was a 4th-stage Lord. With his technical knowledge at the Major Success stage, the power of his technique should have been equal to a 7th-stage Lord like Ursul.
'How? No—why was my technique so weak?'
Uzai knew his own technique and comprehension better than anyone. He realized in an instant that his technique was weaker than it should be. It felt as if it were only at the Minor Success stage instead of Major Success.
"It seems Ursul has his own unique abilities as well," Lord Regal said. He pressed his right hand under his chin, supporting his right elbow with his left hand. As he rubbed his chin, he smiled as if he were seeing something highly intriguing. The fight had captured his attention more than ever due to Ursul's ambiguous technique.
"It's just one blade, and you're already flying high!" Uzai was not one to give up so easily.
Thanks to the "Stepping" stage he had reached in the Wind Tao, his movements resembled a deadly dancer rather than a warrior. One would expect the Wind Tao to possess delicate movements in harmony with nature, wouldn't they? But Uzai's manner of movement was definitely not delicate. Like a commander, he pointed out the directions the wind blades would go. Ursul remembered his father using this technique as well. These movements took a different direction in the Stepping stage of the Wind Tao and were a method completely unique to the Sea of Sharp Winds. Ursul remembered his father using it for the last time in his fight against Uzai. That struggle hadn't taken place in public like this fight. But everyone knew.
Uzai still utilized the technique efficiently, bending the wind. He was more successful compared to the previous City Lord. With every step he took, he used the wind like a whip, turning the area around him into a meat grinder for Ursul. The splashing of the earth into mud particles around and onto the hem of Ursul's clothes could be seen by everyone at the Sage Realm and above. However, Uzai could not establish the absolute dominance he expected. Ursul's movements were exceedingly fast and effortless. Uzai could see that he wasn't using a technique, yet Uzai inexplicably couldn't utilize the capacity of his technique's Major Success stage. 200 blades. 200 wind blades were normally the limit, and Uzai couldn't increase it by even a single one. He felt as if a boulder was sitting on his heart, preventing him from bringing out his potential.
As Ursul leaped from side to side beneath the wind blades, deep gashes opened across his body despite everything, his clown outfit growing heavy with the mixture of blood and rain. With every strike, he let out a louder laugh, and with every wound, he jingled his bells more joylessly. Faced with his opponent's unshakeable madness, Uzai changed his strategy and focused on defense. Rather, he decided to take precautions against any sudden attack. As an Origin Heart Lord, of course, he hadn't developed comprehension in just a single Tao, and he possessed the talents to stand out among other Lords and kill the previous Lord. Other Lords might have only reached the Stepping Stage in one Tao, but Uzai was different!
He activated the "World Layers" technique, which was based on the unshakeable will of the Earth Tao. The earth beneath his feet suddenly came alive, climbing up his legs and sealing onto Uzai's body like armor harder than metal. Uzai condensed this layer further with every passing second, adding new layers upon it, turning his armor into an impenetrable fortress with his Tao comprehension. Simultaneously, he pinned the young Clown into a corner with his attacks. A Lord who had reached the Stepping stage in two Taos was very rare even in the entire Forgotten Kingdom. This kind of talent demonstrated pure combat prowess and showed why this man was the leader of this city.
Despite all his combat capacity, Ursul was in a position where he couldn't go on the offensive. The 200 wind blades synchronized with each other, reaching a point where they could inflict serious damage on him. Sometimes Uzai would approach and strike with his spear. Ursul wouldn't respond to these either. Or while trying to deflect the spear, he would be wounded by the wind blades. However, at the darkest moment of the fight, the rhythm of the rain suddenly changed.
Ursul changed.
He paused. The mad smile on his face widened completely, and he raised his hands. The wind blades were coming at him. Uzai was coming at him with his spear. And Ursul was laughing.
Then, Uzai felt his spear tremble. Although he hadn't reached the necessary stages in the Water Tao, he had seen the Tao Trace. Therefore, he noticed the change.
"Uzai!" shouted Ursul, laughing in the midst of all these attacks coming at him.
Uzai felt the wind blades strangely lagging behind him. At this point, Ursul was looking directly at him, and he was forced to attack him directly with his spear.
"Winning this battle was never in your destiny!"
What happened next was not Ursul evading the tip of the spear, but rather leaping directly onto it. His hands moved like a snake over the spear, gripping its shaft. Before Uzai could even react, Ursul pulled him off-balance toward himself and slammed his kick violently into his torso.
POHH!!
"Cough...!"
Uzai felt himself struggling to breathe. He was sent flying backward by Ursul's kick, feeling the pain of Ursul's strike despite the earth armor protecting him.
The spear was no longer in his hand. Ursul tossed the spear aside. At that moment, when Uzai raised his head, he understood what had happened to the wind blades.
The wind blades hadn't lagged behind. The raindrops had simply blocked and stopped them.
"The Stepping stage."