The legendary warrior novel Chapter 180

"You used me as a mere stepping stone?" Gennadi asked furiously, his jaw clenched tight as his hands balled into fists.

"If that's how you see it, then so be it," Ricky answered as a cold smile crawled into his lips. He found Gennadi's anger quite amusing and made no effort to dissipate it.

"Damn it! You'll pay for this!" Gennadi thundered, his body visibly trembling with fury. He gritted his teeth and let out a battle cry, yet it didn't seem to faze his opponent. Then all of a sudden, he was in front of Ricky and about to unleash his first attack.

He drew out his sword and immediately activated sword-light power. The spiritual energy of fire burst from within and surrounded his whole body. He aimed his sword at Ricky, eyes full of killing intent.

Gennadi was fast, but Ricky was faster. In one swift motion, Ricky dodged his attack and pulled out Iron Destroyer from his back, wielding the flame strike. His saber then collided with Gennadi's sword.

Although it may look like Ricky was giving it his all, he was actually holding back. He did not use the innate power of his Iron Destroyer, as he wanted to fight Gennadi using only the natural strength of his saber.

A Demi-spirit Level weapon itself was enough to fight even demi-immortal warriors. There was no need to use more power than necessary.

The way Ricky was handling the fight didn't escape Elder Samuel and Elder Logan's eyes. The moment Ricky pulled out Iron Destroyer, they knew he wasn't using 100% to fight, yet they could also tell that the saber alone was enough to guarantee his victory.

"That is no ordinary saber! It's of Demi-spirit Level and it has powers that only real immortals could comprehend. This only means one thing... The saber was re-casted by Elder Alexander," Elder Samuel muttered under his breath. He still could not believe his eyes.

"A Demi-spirit Level saber made by an innate spiritual king and casting master of Spirit Level! How marvelous! I wish I could have his saber and everything else that made him so powerful.

But he's being so flashy right now. His saber is attracting a dangerous amount of attention. Isn't he worried that his saber might get stolen by other people?"

Elder Samuel's gaze switched to Elder Logan and saw greed in his eyes. He knew what he was thinking and he couldn't deny that he was tempted, too.

After all, that was not the kind of saber they could make even if they placed their lives on the line.

......

But Ricky was not concerned about those things. Right now, all he cared about was beating Gennadi.

"My master, please do not initiate the Devouring Skill. Something's wrong with Gennadi's spiritual energy. It seems fairly dangerous!" Alva exclaimed, reminding Ricky of the risk.

"Oh, really? What kind of danger?" Ricky asked, wondering what Alva was talking about.

But Ricky was not going to use the power of Devouring Fire, anyway, so there was no need to worry.

"I'm not sure, but clearly, there's an insidious wave in the spiritual energy of Gennadi's fire. You may get hurt if you try to devour it!" Alva answered, his voice urgent. He wanted to make sure that Ricky wouldn't make a wrong move as it might cost him his life.

'No wonder Gennadi chose to show how strong his fire spiritual energy's level is. It's a bait. He knows I can devour it, and that's exactly what he wants me to do. Well, too bad for him, I'm not falling for his cheap tricks, ' Ricky thought as he sent his opponent a mocking smile.

......

Gennadi answered Ricky with a smile of his own and thought, 'You little bastard, don't think you're walking out of this place alive. Come on, devour my fire! That's what you do, right? Go ahead and devour as much as you want! It's all yours!'

Gennadi didn't waste another second. He activated the spiritual energy of his fire and smiled viciously as it surged into its most extreme form.

The saber collided with the sword, sparks flying about and flashes of light dancing menacingly as the two warriors fought to the death. The sound of the saber and the sword clashing with each other reached the ears of other warriors, their hairs standing on end as they watched the fight intensify right before their eyes.

"Let's see who's the stepping stone now!" Gennadi yelled, looking Ricky in the eyes ferociously.

"If there's one thing you're good at, Gennadi, it's bluffing," Ricky said coolly, knowing that his words would ruin his opponent's strategy.

"Fire lotus swords! Three swords in one!"

Gennadi screeched as flame encircled the blade of his sword. He raised it, the spiritual energy gathering to form the fire lotus.

Then the fire lotus bloomed, bearing three flaming blades.

Ricky watched as three beads of blood dropped out of Gennadi's finger, integrating with the newly formed fire blades and making them shine bright red.

'It was normal blood and not blood essence, ' Ricky thought. 'Otherwise, he would have fallen to his knee on the arena.'

It didn't take long for Gennadi's technique to be completed. His three fiery blades merged with his sword and Ricky could feel the power emanating from it.

"This the end for you, Ricky!"

Gennadi shouted as he raised his sword and slashed at Ricky with all of his might.

'There's something fishy about how he was able to complete his technique and merge the flames with his sword so quickly. I must tread carefully, ' Ricky thought, narrowing his eyes at his opponent's weapon.

"My master, you can devour a little of Gennadi's spiritual energy while your blades were colliding. I'll see what he's hiding in the flames," Alva whispered, only loud enough for his master to hear.

"You sure it's alright to devour a little of it?" asked Ricky. He didn't want to make a mistake and give Gennadi that kind of satisfaction.

"Yes, don't worry; just leave it to me," Alva said with confidence.

"Five Beasts Art! Fierce bear strike!"

Ricky chanted as the ground started trembling with the power he was releasing. His fire spiritual energy grew bigger and wider. Other warriors could only watch in horror as it transformed into a fierce, giant bear. Once the transformation was complete, the spiritual energy let out a horrifying roar.

A terrifying smile crossed Ricky's lips.

"I'll teach you a lesson you won't ever forget!" Ricky shouted.

As fast as lightning, Ricky charged towards Gennadi, his phantom bear enveloping his body like an armor. He gripped the hilt of his saber tightly and brought it down to Gennadi, who managed to block it with his sword. The sound of metal clanging against each other rang in the air as they engaged each other in an intense sword fight.

"Such power!" The disciples exclaimed, both frightened and amazed.

"It's from the Five Beasts Arts! Oh my god! Ricky did it! He successfully cultivated Five Beasts Arts!"

"That's right. It is indeed the bear part of Five Beasts Arts. Nothing can be compared to the power of this technique."

...

BANG!

Ricky and Gennadi's blades, lathered with spiritual energy at their highest levels, collided and created an explosion with strong winds that blasted off the two wielders. Then came the unbearable heat from the flames, burning their skin and causing the disciples to wince in pain. Even if they were far away, they were not safe from the power that had been unleashed by the two.

One of them even had to use their power to douse himself with water in a poor attempt to cool his body.

Ricky then charged back at Gennadi and devoured a little bit of his opponent's fire.

The difference in the fire's spiritual energy hit him immediately.

It transformed into black and red liquid, coating his body like a venomous poison.

Ricky soon found out what the black and red liquid was truly after: his meridian. Once the liquid touched his meridian, it began to deteriorate.

Seeing that his plan seemed to be working, Gennadi started laughing. "What's wrong, Ricky? Does it hurt?"

"It's nothing I didn't expect!" Ricky answered, not wanting Gennadi to think he already won. As he watched his meridian dissolving, he thought darkly, 'Gennadi... he's evil. I will not die, but at this rate, my meridian will be completely destroyed and beyond repair. It will affect my overall strength and I may be branded as a loser.'

But wait, this was not where it would all end. He had the Heaven Melting Pagoda, after all.

He gritted his teeth and summoned another surge of flames which burned the red and black liquid. It quickly turned into steam and left Ricky's body with no visible damage.

"Alva, were you able to identify those things?" asked Ricky, wiping sweat off his forehead while keeping his eyes on Gennadi.

"My master, I think Gennadi cultivated a kind of technique that created toxins. The more he cultivated, the stronger the fire toxin gets. It also seems to grow without limits," Alva said, a deep frown on his face. "Imagine what would have happened if you had devoured the whole thing. Devouring even just a little of it already caused this much damage to your meridian. I'm afraid, in my current state, I'm not strong enough to remove all the fire toxin from your system."

"Are you saying he cultivate a method to create toxic fire? I must admit he's done a great job, but that doesn't mean I will just let him do what he wants," Ricky said coldly as he glared at Gennadi with murderous eyes. He was seeing red.

Now that he realized Gennadi wanted to kill him in such a sinister way, he felt an intense desire to return the favor. What was better than to use his saber and chop Gennadi's head in two?