My crazy Cultivation Path

CHAPTER 145- A good manipulator must be a good actor.

"You know, Tony, what sets us four apart from the other rank eights in the abbey? It’s that we use our abilities and powers to the fullest, creating techniques—not just fighting by raising and lowering our swords.

But I still haven’t used my affinity card, so I’m still not at one hundred percent," Liara declared, slicing her hand.

"If you’re just starting rank eight, I’m almost rank nine."

Bam.

She whipped so hard that even the air screamed.

A whip of blood struck Tony so fast that he was thrown into the wall, almost piercing it.

Hikiri was shocked. He barely saw the whip form and strike before Tony was already embedded in the wall.

"So, Tony the madman, what do you think? That’s why I never hold back.

I’ve worked so much on this that it’s become an extension of my body," Liara exclaimed, sheathing her sword.

As he got up, Tony saw that his right ribs were visible—his skin had simply been torn.

He concentrated multiple streams of lightning into his legs.

And yet, with every movement, the whip hit him.

No matter how much he doubled or tripled his speed, the whip struck him every time.

After a while, numerous pieces of Tony’s flesh fell to the ground.

His veins, now glowing orange from the fire flow, were visible to the naked eye.

His breathing grew more labored with every movement.

He felt it—he was completely outmatched.

With the pressure his body was putting on him, he knew he wouldn’t hold out much longer.

In front of him, Liara’s wounds had stopped and were slowly regenerating.

Struck by a crazy idea he knew was unlikely to succeed, Tony found one that seemed promising.

Raising his hand into the air, about twenty condensed flames formed into miniature dragons beside his hand.

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Thunder Dragons.

Lowering his hand, the dragons launched toward Liara.

She tried to destroy them with her whip, but they passed right through.

"Hooo… I see. Nothing too complicated."

The blood whip, returning to liquid form, clung to Liara’s skin,

who decided to walk toward the dragons.

What happened next shocked Hikiri.

Tony’s fire dragons did nothing to Liara—yet they touched her and exploded on contact.

But nothing.

Other dragons combined to form one massive fire dragon, opening its jaws to swallow Liara.

But with a simple wave of her hand, an incredible amount of blood shot out, sweeping away the dragon.

Tony appeared behind Liara and attempted a straight strike.

But Liara simply observed without moving.

Looking at Liara’s skin, Tony saw blood covering her like armor.

Suddenly, in front of Tony, the blood began to float as tiny droplets.

"Get away… and endure: Myriad of Blood."

At her words, the blood droplets simultaneously shot toward Tony.

Tony used his Ignition from his feet to propel himself,

and the Domain of Fire, enveloping him in a five-meter radius of pure flames.

Yet, some droplets pierced the Domain of Fire and struck Tony’s already weakened body.

Hahahahaha.

Hikiri laughed internally. She had never taken her seriously; she was literally playing with them.

Tony felt it—the limit was here.

He had burned all his endurance.

He was not yet fully accustomed to rank eight, so his attacks lacked power.

And above all, his body was horrible to look at without the fire and lightning holding his wounds together.

He could die at any moment.

Liara, whose smile finally faded, declared:

"You entertained me more than I expected.

And Kurdes, you should stop playing dead… but now, you will die."

Her expression was dark—not anger, only desolation.

Raising her arm into the air, her blood followed and condensed into mini daggers, each splitting until there were about fifty,

filling the space around Liara.

Hikiri was simply incredulous. She couldn’t believe her eyes.

She wondered how Liara was still not rank nine.

"You know, Tony, your madness was interesting to observe, and it even gave me an idea of what I’ll do in the future.

Your rigid goal gave you enough willpower to reach this level.

And I’ve decided what I’m going to do.

But first, I must reach rank nine, then leave this planet."

Liara exclaimed.

You’ll leave this planet as ashes, Tony thought.

He had decided to go all out.

Concentrating fire and lightning in his spine, he felt a massive wave of pain, forcing him to bite his tongue to avoid screaming.

He condensed it, pressing it to the maximum.

He spread his legs to maximize his stance,

placed his left palm forward as if aiming,

and extended his right arm toward his abdomen.

Everyone knew: after this attack, it would be over.

On the ground, Hikiri watched the two exchange attacks.

Boom.

But before they could launch anything,

the abbey’s roof was ripped off.

The rising sun illuminated the one who had torn it away.

It was a massive monkey, who smiled upon seeing them.

In Tony’s mind, a question he had left unanswered resurfaced:

Tell me, Kurdes… what was your original plan?

Liara thought of the time Kurdes had used luck.

She wondered what the exhaustion condition had been.

Suddenly, Kurdes opened his mouth and spoke loudly:

"If you are not a god or a cultivator from unknown realms, and you use luck excessively, you will bring upon yourself misfortune worthy of the luck you used."

Liara and Tony quickly turned to Kurdes, standing with arms outstretched.

"There is a limit to using luck. I am only human. It’s normal for my luck to diminish.

So I lured him here and used my luck to the maximum so that misfortune would fall upon us," Kurdes shouted, his face cold, eyes shining.

"You never intended to kill me personally. You just wanted me dead, no matter the means," Liara asked.

Ignoring her, Kurdes took a sword and positioned it just in front of his heart.

As he was about to stab himself, as if by chance, the blade broke.

With satisfaction, he looked at Liara and said:

"Liara, a good manipulator must be a good actor.

Earlier, when I laughed, you thought it was real.

Sorry, but it was fake.

And now that I’ve used luck again, the place where I stand will be struck."

As he said it, the enormous monkey raised its hand high into the sky,

then brought it down on the upper part of the abbey.

But simultaneously:

Liara launched:

Myriad of Daggers.

And Tony launched:

Dominant Pillar of Fire and Lightning.