Chapter 43: Absolute Strength

Claude's opponent, Victor Hannibal, didn't say anything as they stood opposite of each other. 

Whoosh!

Victor Hannibal directly shot forward towards Claude, as he punched out with tremendous force, unleashing his energy and tremendous aura. 

Claude unleashed his energy in response, and the silver sword appeared in his hands once again and burst out forward. He dared not show any neglect when fighting Victor, especially after his fight with Nathan Archer. He knew he had to respond.

He gripped the handle of the sword with his right hand which was glowing with a deadly shine and he swung it as hard as he could, shooting out a white light and causing the air to tremble as ripples spread across the scene.

Victor dared not show any neglect when facing the Invisible Sword Technique. He let out a loud shout and in an instant, devilish flames began hovering around his fist, enveloping his arm completely within it.

Clang!

The silver sword collided with the devilish fist attack and vast energy ripples swept across the scene. The massive power behind the two attacks caused the air to violently sweep across the entire platform.

Both Victor and Claude was forced back a few steps by the collision, but Claude immediately went in for another strike after regaining his posture.

Claude's body swayed, and he arrived in front of Victor in an instant as he shot his left foot high off the ground, trying to ram it into his throat.

Victor immediately crouched, avoiding the attack and shot his hand up to grip the Claude's leg, but before he could yank it, Claude raised his right leg up, and using Victor's grip as a support, twisted his entire body clockwise, spiraling in the air before crashing his foot onto Victor's head as he slammed into the ground.

Or so it seemed.

As he was slammed down by Claude, Victor stretched his other hand down to the ground, reducing the impact of the fall. At the same time, his right foot surged forward, crashing into Claude's stomach.

A guttural whisper came from his lips involuntarily, as Claude was pushed back by Victor's kick.

'Looks like he has also mastered a body strengthening technique,' Claude inwardly let out a cold snort. 

Even though Claude was cultivating the Pure Iron Technique, which made his body as hard as steel and gave him tremendous strength, Claude's kick didn't seem to have much effect on Victor.

'This is going to be a tough one,' Claude told himself. And he was right. Victor was in the third rank of the sky realm, and he was the highest ranked cultivator Claude has faced in the tournament. Although Nathan was 'special' compared to the rest of the challengers, he was nevertheless, still in the second rank of the sky realm. 

But this was different. Victor was stronger, as well as more versatile than Nathan. And with a body strengthening technique to protect him, he was a much more difficult obstacle. 

'Okay, so how do I do this?' Claude asked himself. Hard and fast, of course, but how to do it hard and fast? He was not in the business of fair fights, but this was a tournament, not a fight for survival. And versatility and experience can only get you so far in a fair match.

Whoosh!

Victor Hannibal's dark hair danced around as he dashed forward, instantly turning into a trail of light and disappeared from the scene, too fast for the spectators to keep an eye on.

Claude's eyes lit up as he raised his hands and the silver sword appeared once again. He immediately spun to his left, his sword seemingly stabbing the air. But after a split second, a massive explosion sounded out, and Victors' figure was seen for a brief second through the smoke, before being pushed backward by Claude's attack.

'Good thing I kept a close eye on his body movements,' thought Claude, smiling to himself.

Floating Footsteps technique!

Claude rushed forward with his sword held up in his right hand and in the middle of a swinging motion, ready to strike.

Victor regained his composure in an instant and swayed to the left, avoiding the sword strike and then spun around and kicked out with his right foot.

Clang!

Claude dropped the silver sword from his right hand as he was in the middle of a swinging motion, catching it from below using his left hand, and immediately raised it, just in time to block Victor's kick.

Bang!

The two combatants were pushed back once again. Their eyes made contact, and neither of them spoke a word. With a sway of his body, Claude arrived in front of Victor, and in an instant, a bright light was unleashed from his palm. 

Star Fury Palm Strike!

The palm shot forward, and Victor swung his left arm, ready to counter the palm strike. But right before the two attacks could collide, Claude suddenly threw himself inside the swing and hit Victor in the chest with his palm.

Bang!

Although the palm strike seemed powerful, it could only knock Victor a few dozen meters back. 

'It could only push him back a few steps..' Claude thought to himself as he dashed forward to take advantage of the situation. The silver sword appeared in his hands once again, and with a single fling, the sword pierced forward with lightning speed. 

But right at this moment, the powerful aura Victor was emitting turned into visible spiritual energy beams that merged together in his hands to form a golden spear, making a constant buzzing sound as he held it. Then, he stamped his foot and he thrust the spear in his hand forward with incredible strength.

BOOM!

The spear and the longsword collided, knocking Claude hundreds of steps back, and at the same time, the spear continued thrusting forwards like a poisonous snake.

'Damn it!' Claude brought his hands up in a diagonal thrust to protect his body,but it wasn't enough! The spear struck Claude, sending him flying across the arena as he crash landed next to the spectator gallery, where he fell unconscious.

Watching this scene, the people in the crowd held their breath, none daring to speak a single word.