Nio's speed was now on the same level as 3-1-2's, even if he was reinforced. Before entering the Martial Beginner Realm, the difference in cultivation was too wide, for the skills and enhancements he got from the System were not enough to bridge said gap.
However, now that Nio was a Martial Beginner, closing the gap with the various energies in him was possible.
3-1-2 was able to block the attack, slightly being pushed back by the force of the blow. But still, he was the one with the higher cultivation, he was still a dangerous opponent. He quickly counterattacked perfectly.
With the aid of the Sharingan and his own bloodline, Nio was able to dodge and step back.
"It seems that I will have to take this seriously."
As he said that, 3-1-2's qi surged outside his body as he punched in Nio's direction. Qi flew out in the form of a projectile.
Reacting quickly, Nio stepped away from the attack, which soon exploded behind him.
But there were more coming in his direction. With the Sharingan, dodging them was easy, but the shockwaves of their explosions were still a problem.
At the same time he dodged his punch projectiles, he continuously stepped back, forming distance.
Noticing this, 3-1-2 stopped waiting to see what he was planing.
Seeing his opponent stopping his attacks, Nio also stopped and continued with his plan.
He conjured several chakra strings, all made out of wind chakra. They quickly flew fast and pierced the ground around, confusing 3-1-2, who was now tired of waiting and rushed forward, employing his Martial Technique.
But, as soon as he started closing the distance, Nio waved his left hand. The five chakra strings connected to his fingers also moved.
Using the wind chakra's natural slashing abilities to create strings highly capable of slashing an opponent to bits, and now five of them were flying at great speeds to cut 3-1-2.
However, 3-1-2 noticed it early enough to dodge by simply dashing through the gaps between the strings.
Nio waved his right hand, sending another group of strings.
3-1-2 once again dodged them and was now in proximity to Nio, who simply smirked and flipped backwards, kicking his own feet into the air, revealing several similar wind chakra strings attached to his feet.
Sensing the danger of the several strings, 3-1-2 forced his qi to rush outside his body in a golden shockwave, blowing away the strings and leaving him wide open.
Nio rushed forward with great determination.
Using chakra alone or cursed energy alone, or simply relying on his cultivation, he would never win against this opponent, he needed to use everything in his arsenal right at this very moment.
Nio delivered a punch to the gut, reinforced with everything he could use: chakra, cursed energy, qi, and breathing techniques.
3-1-2 bent forward in great pain, but unfortunately for him, Nio's offensive was not over.
Nio carefully maneuvered his body and grappled 3-1-2, throwing him to the ground before moving both his hands away and starting to concentrate.
In his right hand, chakra started revolving, forming the familiar rasengan.
On his left hand, he struggled to send qi outside his body.
Externally controlling qi was greatly taxing on Martial Beginners and was therefore more common to see Martial Disciples, like 3-1-2, use qi like that, but it was not impossible.
Originally, Nio wanted to try making a qi rasengan, but outside his body the probability of it failing was too high, so he decided on simply creating a qi blast.
Rasengan and qi blast smashed against the downed 3-1-2. Nio did not stop, he waved his hands and sent several strings to tie around 3-1-2 before pulling him off the ground and throwing him away.
After catching his breath for a moment, he once again rushed in his direction.
'I can't let him rest. I managed to close the gap between us, but he is still more experienced and slightly stronger in pure stats. If I let him sort out his mind, I will lose!'
Seing that he wasn't going fast enough, Nio improvised, sending a burst of wind chakra from his arms, launching several steps forward.
He was about to close in on 3-1-2, ready to strike with a powerful punch, when he was met with a flying knife, aimed right at his eye.
In a panic, Nio hurriedly tried to dodge, and although he was able to prevent his eye from being damaged, the throwing knife still made a cut right beside his eye, on the side of his head, and even left a cut in his ear.
The wound stung and made Nio stop in his tracks.
He soon felt a change nearby and, with his Sharingan, noticed several knives coated in golden light flying in his direction at great speeds.
Nio tried to dodge again, but he was not fast enough, some of them still hit various parts of his body.
'Left thigh, left forearm, and left shoulder. My leg was not compromised, but I can't say the same for my arm.'
He quickly used several strings to tie his arms to his torso, letting his injured arm flail around would only worsen the injury. He decided to not remove the knives either, to prevent blood loss.
'It still hurts like hell.'
3-1-2 was once again in a specific stance but still did not make a move. He was ready to unleash another martial technique, but he was waiting for Nio to make a move first.
He was getting tired, both of them were. In the last few exchanges, Nio was able to cause great damage to his adversary, but before that he had been the one to suffer the damage, and he was still at great risk of getting killed.
The next move would decide all, neither of them could afford to miss.
Nio decided to pull a move that he didn't think he would. Using his Sharingan to copy one of 3-1-2's martial techniques, using his bloodline to fully understand how exactly the qi changed in accordance to the movements.
He also used chakra and cursed energy to reinforce his body to make sure that his body was not underqualified for what he was about to do. He couldn't afford to screw up his body to try copying a Martial Disciple's martial technique.
As if they were in an agreement, both of them rushed forward, killing intent oozing off each of them.
3-1-2's martial technique was different from the one he had used before. His hand was clearly prepared for a chop motion, his qi rushing outside his body before forming a sharp golden blade around his hand.
Nio was not intimidated, his Sharingan blazed with even more vigor as he rushed forward. As he used the same martial technique 3-1-2 had used before, his body screamed in pain, protesting that this technique was too taxing on his young body. Thankfully, reinforcing his body with chakra and cursed energy allowed him to ease the burden slightly, enough to not cripple him outright.
But he endured the pain and kept going.
It didn't take long until they met in the middle. They first stared at each other's eyes. 3-1-2 was the first time staring at the Sharingan in deep detail, it didn't match anything that he had ever seen, not that he had seen much, being just a Martial Disciple and one from the Stygian clan no less.
But he didn't get distracted and was the first one to attack. Changing his motion from a cutting one to a thrusting motion, he caught Nio by surprise.
'Shit. If I dodge now, I will lose this opportunity.'
Who knew how exhausted he was? If he missed this opportunity, he might not have the energy to keep going, the wounds he suffered were taking a toll on him.
So he shifted his body slightly and kept coming closer.
Splurt
His shoulder was once again stabbed, going from the front of his shoulder to the back of it. Grunting in pain, he closed the distance and delivered a punch to the chest, reinforced with everything he had.
3-1-2 was sent flying.
"Agh!"
The qi blade stuck in his shoulder flew away with him, prompting Nio to let out a grunt of pain before regaining composure.
He rushed towards the stumbling 3-1-2, gritting his teeth.
3-1-2 regained his footing and stabilized his stance, prepared to meet Nio, or so he thought. He was already upon him, with a wind chakra blade in his hand.
'Shit!'
Splurt
He performed a diagonal slash in his torso, scattering blood through the air.
'This is it, huh? I'm sorry, my Lady. And you, 9-1-1, are really different, aren't you? Talent, will, and potential. Maybe, just maybe, you will clear one of my greatest regrets, 9-1-1?'
Nio prepared to unleash several strikes with the wind chakra blade in his hand.
For a long time, the lack of freedom had suffocated 3-1-2, and even though he was about to die, he felt like he could leave without many regrets. During the fight he had felt Nio's will and determination, he was the hope the Stygian clan needed.
'The Stygian clan is a dark clan. The thought of hope does not cross our minds unless we've experienced it from someone else. You are of the people that can illuminate such a dark clan. Another person like that . . . It could only be my Lady, no?'
'Perhaps because I'm dying, I can finally admit it. I love you.'
"Aaaaaaah!!"
With a guttural scream, Nio delivered as many strikes as he could in a short amount of time, blood scattered through the air, and when you would think there was no more blood to scatter, more would fly from 3-1-2's body.
[You have killed a Martial Disciple Realm Human, 3-1-2]
"Huff . . . Puff . . . I did it . . ."
'Good luck, become the Bright Hope for our Dark Clan, brother.'
************
Author's Note: And with this, the First Volume of Transmigrator Competition: Nio Stygian has ended. What are your thoughts on it? What did you think of the fight?
I will be making a pause on this novel for a while. See you later on the 17th of September.