Chapter 195: Starfall
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
Surrounded by many disciples watching the competition, they were stunned by the scene before them, and then the sound erupted with a thunderous roar.
They had anticipated various scenarios in the competition, but the one thing they hadn’t expected was the current situation.
In the blink of an eye, Qian Guangji was unexpectedly knocked out by Chen Fei’s punch within a few moves.
If at that moment, Chen Fei had wielded a sword instead of his fist, there might have been a hole in Qian Guangji’s body right now.
Fan Zongzheng stood outside the martial arena, taking an involuntary step forward, looking at the unconscious Qian Guangji on the ground with a look of disbelief in his eyes.
Qian Guangji had actually lost like this. He had prepared so much just to provoke Chen Fei into competing. Yet, when Chen Fei did come out to compete, Qian Guangji could only hold on for a few moves. How ridiculous!
The Light Splitting Sword technique, this sword art, didn’t have any effect. Despite the multitude of sword lights, Chen Fei saw through the real and fake in an instant. Meanwhile, Qian Guangji’s ultimate move looked more like he was throwing himself into a fight.
The scene appeared as if Chen Fei was completely overwhelming Qian Guangji on his own.
But it was Chen Fei who had just broken through to the Visceral Tempering realm, not Qian Guangji. Moreover, Qian Guangji had already reached the Visceral Tempering realm much earlier, and his cultivation of techniques and swordsmanship had all reached a profound level.
Yet, even so, he was defeated in such a humiliating manner, and Fan Zongzheng couldn’t comprehend it at all.
Why could Chen Fei see through the Light Splitting Sword at a glance and the final killing move, Shifting Shadows? Even if Fan Zongzheng personally faced Qian Guangji, he wouldn’t be able to win as cleanly as this.
Chen Fei wins!”
Ru Lutao announced calmly, then waved his hand, pulling Qian Guangji’s body in front of him. After a brief check, there were no major injuries, and Chen Fei didn’t go too far in his attack.
Ru Lutao nodded slightly and moved Qian Guangji out of the martial arena.
“Who’s next?”
Ru Lutao turned his gaze to the eight individuals from the Lan Yunfeng, his eyes filled with a hint of amusement. They had initially thought that today’s battle would lack suspense, but Chen Fei’s punch had completely overturned the situation.
Yue Pan leaped into the arena.
Yue Pan looked at Chen Fei, his expression serious. Qian Guangji’s disastrous defeat had somewhat affected Yue Pan’s state of mind. And it wasn’t just Yue Pan; Lan Yunfeng felt the same.
Their initial worry was that Chen Fei might lose too quickly, not giving them a chance to compete before he handed over his true teachings to someone else.
Now, things had turned out differently. Qian Guangji had barely posed a decent challenge to Chen Fei, as if he were just a practitioner at the Marrow Tempering realm.
“Yue Pan!” Yue Pan took a deep breath and said in a deep voice.
“Chen Fei!” Chen Fei smiled slightly.
As soon as Chen Fei’s words fell, Yue Pan charged toward him. The initial plan was to get up close. After witnessing the power of Chen Fei’s bow and arrow, this tactical approach remained unchanged.
The only thing was that Chen Fei’s close combat skills were also formidable, making it somewhat challenging for Yue Pan to execute the plan.
“Boom!”
Chen Fei calmly watched Yue Pan, the bowstring vibrating as an arrow flew toward Yue Pan.
Yue Pan’s figure swayed, dodging two arrows, but no matter what, he couldn’t evade the third arrow and had to use his long sword to block it.
“Bang!”
With a muffled sound, Yue Pan’s face paled slightly, and his movement was momentarily halted by the impact. Despite overestimating the power of Chen Fei’s arrows, it wasn’t until Yue Pan actually took an arrow that he realized he had still underestimated it.
Yue Pan looked up, a hint of despair in his eyes. Arrows were flying towards him again, and due to the earlier arrow, his movement was impeded, leaving him unable to dodge effectively. He could only take the arrows head-on.
“Bang Bang Bang!”
Consecutive sounds of shattering arrows echoed. Yue Pan struggled to control his stance, stepping backward, and the tiger’s mouth holding the sword had cracked open, blood flowing.
His arm felt numb, and the immense force struck his chest like a massive stone, turning Yue Pan’s face bright red.
“Bang!”
Another arrow flew in, and Yue Pan barely blocked it, but the force of impact caused his arm to crash into his chest.
“Thud!”
Blood finally burst out uncontrollably. Yue Pan’s face transitioned from red to pale white. The force that permeated his entire body had been shattered by this arrow, and to recover, he needed at least a moment.
But a moment was more than enough for Chen Fei to shoot several arrows. At this moment, Yue Pan had become a lamb ready for slaughter.
“Boom!”
An arrow struck near Yue Pan’s foot, and the tremendous force created a deep pit in the ground. This wasn’t just a bow and arrow; it was akin to a cannon. The inner disciples with slightly lower cultivation nearby shivered in fear.
If such a heavy arrow were to fail on their heads, they would be severely injured at the very least, unless they managed to dodge.
Even those mid-stage Visceral Tempering realm inner disciples frowned. From their standpoint, even if it were them, with slightly weaker agility, they would have no choice but to withstand the arrows.
However, considering the force of these arrows, with their level of cultivation, few dared to claim they could charge through the arrows towards Chen Fei. This was a disciple who had just recently broken through to the Visceral Tempering realm? Even though he possessed the true teachings, his methods seemed excessively powerful.
Yue Pan’s feet trembled, nearly causing him to fall. However, he managed to stabilize himself in the end.
As the shattered force within his body regained stability, Yue Pan glanced at the ground, his expression complex.
Clearly, Chen Fei had shown restraint; otherwise, that last arrow could have easily blown a huge hole in him.
How long had it been since he last encountered such a heavy bow? Yue Pan had never anticipated that when he encountered it again, he would be challenging the last-ranked true disciple.
Yue Pan couldn’t help but recall the rumors about Chen Fei from before. There had been talk that Chen Fei displayed incredibly strong archery skills within the secret realm. Although Yue Pan had taken it into account, he was more confident in his own abilities.
Now, it seemed that this confidence of his appeared somewhat laughable.
If this weren’t an internal competition but a life-and-death battle in the wilderness, Yue Pan knew he would have died.
“Thank you for holding back, Junior Brother. I concede!” Yue Pan sincerely cupped his hand toward Chen Fei, then his figure flickered as he left the martial arena and headed to the sidelines.
Yue Pan initially considered leaving directly, as losing in such a manner was quite embarrassing. However, he also wanted to see who could stop Chen Fei’s heavy bow.
“Chen Fei wins, who’s next?”
Ru Lutao announced, and the outcome wasn’t unexpected. To get close, one’s agility needed to be excellent, but it was clear that Yue Pan’s agility was inferior to Qian Guangji’s. Thus, the outcome was predetermined.
The inner disciples below the stage all looked at Chen Fei with sparkling eyes.
One person’s result might be an anomaly, but two people’s results were undoubtedly a demonstration of true strength. When they came here, they had intended to witness how Chen Fei, the last-ranked true disciple, would be humiliated.
Yet, less than a quarter of an hour had passed, and it was the challengers, including themselves, who had been humbled.
Who could have expected that Chen Fei’s strength would be so astonishing?
Two consecutive challengers hadn’t caused any substantial trouble for Chen Fei.
Qian Guangji had managed to approach Chen Fei and executed a spectacular final move, Shifting Shadows. Regardless of the outcome, Qian Guangji was indeed powerful, but he had encountered the rather unreasonably strong Chen Fei.
On the other hand, Yue Pan couldn’t even get close, being pushed back step by step by Chen Fei’s heavy bow. He even had his strength momentarily shattered, leading to a defeat that couldn’t have been worse.
The twists and turns of this competition left the spectators among the disciples exhilarated.
At this point, the crowd began to believe that a one-versus-nine challenge might not be entirely impossible. Though challenging, Chen Fei’s displayed strength was genuinely formidable.
The position of the last-ranked true disciple seemed somewhat incongruous with Chen Fei’s demonstrated combat prowess.
“Chen Junior Brother, please!”
Lu Shouhong appeared in the martial arena, looking at Chen Fei, his voice serious.
“Please!” Chen Fei nodded.
As Chen Fei’s words fell, Lu Shouhong didn’t advance. Instead, he retreated several meters.
Witnessing this scene, everyone was taken aback. In an archer’s duel, why would someone retreat instead of closing the distance?
Chen Fei was also surprised, but upon seeing Lu Shouhong’s posture of full defense, he understood instantly.
Lu Shouhong must have realized his agility was insufficient to break through Chen Fei’s arrow blockade. So, he chose to create distance to better evade Chen Fei’s heavy bow.
Lu Shouhong’s gaze brushed past the quiver behind Chen Fei, his look concealed but still captured by Chen Fei. Chen Fei sensed the number of arrows left in his quiver, and a smile played on his lips.
After the consecutive shots earlier, half of the arrows in his quiver had been expended.
Chen Fei could have replenished his quiver before the competition started, but he hadn’t paid attention. He hadn’t expected Lu Shouhong to notice this detail.
Evidently, Lu Shouhong wanted to create distance and exhaust the arrows in Chen Fei’s quiver. Once that happened, he could close in without fearing the threat of the heavy bow.
Ru Lutao on the sidelines also noticed Lu Shouhong’s intentions and smiled. It was indeed a clever tactic. If charging head-on meant losing, it was wiser not to charge at all.
Ru Lutao turned to Chen Fei, curious to see how he would respond. Would he close the distance to increase the threat of the bow and arrow?
Chen Fei didn’t move his feet, holding the bow in his left hand and gripping an arrow in his right. Slowly, he placed the arrow on the bowstring and then pulled it back inch by inch.
Different from his swift draw earlier, the current motion caused a majestic aura to emanate from Chen Fei.
Starfall!
This was a technique Chen Fei had developed after practicing various archery methods. It wasn’t used often because it required a long draw. The longer the draw, the greater the power of the arrow. In normal battles, things happened in the blink of an eye, leaving no opportunity for Chen Fei to execute such a draw.
Unexpectedly, the opportunity had presented itself now.
Lu Shouhong sensed the change in aura emanating from Chen Fei, and his expression shifted slightly..