Everyone's gazes all converged on these two people.
Gongyi Tianheng's expression showed a bit of gravitas. He seemed very solemn walking forward step by step. No one knew what kind of exquisite footwork he used, but in the blink of an eye, he arrived on the platform. At the same time, a silver spear appeared in his hand. Its appearance was no longer as unconstrained as it was before.
The helpless Gu Zuo who immediately delivered the spear to Tianheng just as he heard his big brother's transmitted voice: “…”
Big brother's excellent performing skills!
When his voice was transmitted, obviously it was done very casually.
He Chengfeng also seemed very grave. His forearm moved forwards slightly and the palm of his hand gripped a halberd.
This halberd looked extremely heavy. It was over two meters long, and the end of the halberd had a double-crescent blade. It flickered with a cold light, and was very frightening.
Generally speaking, a person who used this kind of weapon would be especially confident in themselves. If they used this weapon well, its reach would be able to catch quite a few people. It would certainly be very convenient. If they didn't use it well, then it was just being wielded for appearance's sake without any substance. One would be making a fool of themselves.
And from He Chengfeng's previous performances, was he someone who could only act like he could wield it?
Certainly not.
So, he must've had a set of powerful martial skills on hand that were tailor-made for this halberd.
When Tianheng looked at this halberd, his eyebrows slightly furrowed.
Gu Zuo's expression was even more subtle.
He couldn't help thinking back to that time in the villa when his honorable big brother indeed wielded eighteen different weapons. Although there were several kinds he ultimately picked, seeing the halberd stance this rare person take was too… Okay, maybe it was normal for the other person to be more vigilant.
He Chengfeng also leapt onto the platform.
His footwork looked very heavy, but when he dropped onto the stage, his footsteps didn't issue the slightest of sounds. This was sufficient proof that his control over his own body was already brought to the peak of perfection. This caused the eyes of numerous martial artists watching below to shine. They were emotionally moved.
An expert! This was an absolute expert!
They gave it a thought. If they were in He Chengfeng's position, could they do it that flawlessly?
They couldn't.
In the face of such high-level battles, the waves in their hearts were naturally surging.
At this point, the mood was set and the whirlwind actors felt pretty good. The two moved simultaneously, and all at once, the spear and halberd clashed against each other!
The spear was like a floating dragon and the halberd was like a fierce tiger. When the spear shaft swept across, it was like a dragon crying out to the high heavens, and when the halberd chopped down, it was like a tiger roaring in the jungle. The figures of two people crossed paths: The spear slashed and stabbed, and the halberd sliced and gouged [1]!
The two fully displayed their high-level martial skills. Yet, when the spear attacked or guarded, no matter how matchlessly sharp the attacks and impenetrable the blocks, the use of that halberd was tyrannical. Each advancing step was contested through all-out attacks [2]. Between those chops and stabs, all kinds of chilling sensations spread out, which thoroughly suppressed that spear's grandeur. There was no alternative than to answer the majority of the attacks with guards, weakening the spear's a.s.sault.
In the beginning, they were indeed evenly matched. Who was it that couldn't deal with whom? Showing off additional skills all relied on upsurges in true qi. They continuously raised the power of their martial skills, upgrading them one after another.
Gu Zuo was dazzled as he watched.
In his impression, his big brother's spearmanship wasn't normally this garish. However, his flourishing strikes did look very good.
The more Tianheng fought like this, the more Gu Zuo felt relieved. He knew that everything was still under his big brother's control — If that He Chengfeng really could pressure his big brother's “lite version” [3], he'd need to worry about his big brother not being careful about taking things too far. That would put his life in danger!
The other martial artists felt that watching this was very worthwhile.
No matter if it was Gongyi Tianheng or He Chengfeng, the others from the previous matches couldn't even exert three percent of skills of these two. One used a rhythm that suppressed the minds of many people. The other used a blitzkrieg strategy, whose body suppression was also very frightening.
Currently, the mind suppression was unconstrained, and the body suppression seemed to be unable to affect the other person for the time being. Wasn't this a brilliant spectacle all of a sudden?
After exchanging blows for a long time, Tianheng's spear suddenly turned. Did it seem like the speed of that spearpoint's thrust had a subtle change?
Many of those defeated under Tianheng's hands had their hearts shiver: Come on!
He Chengfeng also discovered the change.
He sensed that his halberd techniques were receiving faint deviations.
Gu Zuo secretly shouted in his heart: Come on!
His big brother's act was just about the same, but wasn't this putting the end before the beginning?
He Chengfeng naturally wasn't willing to let himself fall into his opponent's tempo. Tianheng was someone who used his head, and needed to make this match even more convincing.
As a result, He Chengfeng's flank immediately had a hole torn into it! This was a sudden change in Tianheng's tempo, which gave him first blood!
He Chengfeng's eyes glinted with fury.
Despite being arrogant, he definitely wasn't without a sharp wit. But, he had long ago considered this thing in the bag. Even though he also acknowledged Tianheng as a formidable opponent, he also didn't feel that he couldn't defeat Tianheng.
Yet, he nevertheless received an injury first.
At this moment, He Chengfeng realized that he was being provoked.
Suddenly, a faint layer of golden mist covered the surface of his body.
Body Refinement Technique: Copper Skin, Iron Bones!
In this world, there were cultivation methods that prolonged true qi and martial skills that resisted true qi and exhibited one's strength. Yet, there was also a kind of method that could raise a martial artist's inner qualities and potential. That was precisely the body refining technique that strengthened a martial artist's physical body.
A person from a third cla.s.s empire fundamentally couldn't access that kind of special body refining technique. Ordinary cultivation methods could result in body refinement by chance, but they absolutely couldn't compare to genuine body refinement techniques that could unearth a body's potential. But as one of the meticulously nurtured geniuses of a first cla.s.s empire, He Chengfeng had learned this body refinement technique.
Gongyi Tianheng saw this strange state and his gaze deepened slightly.
He knew He Chengfeng would have a trump card, but he didn't antic.i.p.ate that this trump card seemed to be related to a body refinement technique — Even just the concept had only been learned back when he was sickly and weak, where he extensively read mounds of books. He recognized it now, but as for how to resolve this… The words in that book were merely from a superfluous sentence.
Then, continuously attacking to surpa.s.s the bottom line that the body refinement technique could reach was his only recourse.
Gongyi Tianheng did just this.
His spear changed directions. Unexpectedly, it swung towards He Chengfeng's back.
Bang!
There was a loud crunch!
It was just like metal striking against metal!
Gu Zuo quietly sucked in a breath.
If this. .h.i.t his body, there'd be lots of pain… Indeed, this was another step towards proving that the humans of this world had bodies that weren't in accordance with common sense.
Over yonder, He Chengfeng's legs were steady as a boulder. The skin where that spear struck a powerful blow had only produced a few sparks. There wasn't any negative reaction whatsoever.
After Tianheng swung his spear, he promptly soared into the air. Defensively using Heavenly Falcon Steps to rise up, he immediately dodged the strike He Chengfeng made as he turned around. Tianheng dropped to the other side of the platform.
He was well aware of the situation.
The strength exerted just now was in excess of four thousand kilograms.
Those half-step Xiantian martial artists who had a strength of thirty five hundred to four thousand kilograms were already pretty decent. And the strength of one who advanced to Xiantian would certainly exceed five thousand.
But the strength of four thousand kilograms wasn't even capable of shaking He Chengfeng's footsteps, let alone cutting through his skin's defenses.
As expected, this He Chengfeng had the qualifications to be arrogant and the resources to be a seeded player.
That is… If Gongyi Tianheng didn't exist.
Of course, there didn't seem to be any differences on the surface right now.
Although Tianheng's strength was six times that of an average martial artist. He, who had yet to advance to half-step Xiantian, had a strength that reached more than fifteen thousand kilograms. The insignificant four thousand wasn't even one third of his strength. If he was ready to release all fifteen thousand plus kilograms of strength, that He Chengfeng would inevitably be unable to be as smooth and steady like just now.
Currently, Tianheng made a few rough calculations and immediately decided on a plan of action afterwards.
He started using his own extremely exquisite footwork to maneuver around He Chengfeng's roving. With a pale face, Tianheng's spear constantly met with He Chengfeng in a fierce crossing of blades!
Gradually, many cuts made by He Chengfeng's halberd appeared on Tianheng's body. One cut after another covered his l.u.s.trously white skin. It was a horrible sight to see.
But his spear didn't remain idle. As he roved around, the unceasing hits against He Chengfeng's body repeated several times. This produced countless loud and clear banging noises. Unexpectedly, it also sounded like a certain jittery rhythm, which continuously reverberated into the air.
This match was a fierce battle between giants. The martial artists were unwilling to look away, but once they were immersed in it, they felt sick to their stomachs and couldn't have been more agitated. After repeated exposures, their complexions became flushed. It seemed like a mouthful of clotted blood was stuck in their throats, which could erupt at any time.
— Even the youthful peers watching these experts exchanging blows usually had to pay a price that wasn't small!
Gu Zuo took a step back.
His current ident.i.ty was…a useless pharmacist.
However, his psychic power's wonderful uses had appeared. He was just fine from the start!
After thinking it over, he furrowed his brows and stuck his fingers in his ears. He also used his psychic power to disguise his complexion, giving himself a deathly pale appearance.
No one took note of him, so he easily got away with it.
On the stage, the speed of Tianheng and He Chengfeng's fight was getting faster.
Their figures became like illusory shadows. In their collisions, the sounds of hand-to-hand combat were unending.
Tianheng's appearance grew more and more miserable. It looked like he was going to lose the fight, but he still wasn't willing to give up. He tangled with He Chengfeng in a bitter struggle, and unexpectedly made He Chengfeng use his halberd to unleash frightening moves several times. All of them were hard to withstand, but they only somewhat worsened Tianheng's injuries.
He Chengfeng's mood was also a little gloomy.
He only felt that he had met an unprecedentedly troublesome opponent. Those loathsome tricks were actually harder to handle than the professionals he previously fought with in first cla.s.s empires.
But how could he let a third cla.s.s empire's martial artist be placed above him?
He Chengfeng's moves subconsciously quickened and his moves grew even more vicious!
After Tianheng saw He Chengfeng's patience wane, his eyes glinted with ferocious intent. The edge of his lips carried a faint smile. But this smile didn't hold the slightest bit of warmth.
Immediately following that, Tianheng pretended that he couldn't endure any longer. He seemed to show his ruthlessness and used an even greater force — A strength of four thousand five hundred kilograms was frantically brandished towards He Chengfeng!
He Chengfeng sneered in his heart: It's useless!
Then, he suddenly and viciously attacked!
Gongyi Tianheng seized the opportunity. After taking a dozen steps back again and again, he finally fell off the platform.
At this time, he revealed a slightly forced smile: “I still lost.”
He Chengfeng held his head high as he stood on the stage.
— He was the ultimate victor!
It was just that he never perceived the numerous fragments of power that had previously entered his body with each and every strike. The fragments followed his meridians and entered his internal organs, producing many internal injuries that were hard to sense.
His body was now exhausted and definitely wouldn't be able to find any problems. When he practiced martial arts in the future, the longer he came to blows, these internal injuries would settle even deeper. Even if these internal injuries were discovered, they were very difficult to take care of. After a long period of time, they would adversely affect his cultivation speed.
Gongyi Tianheng's gaze darkened.
If He Chengfeng hadn't moved with killing intent afterwards, his final strike would've scattered the hidden energy that had entered his internal organs from his innumerable strikes. But, He Chengfeng did move with killing intent — As a result, his final strike caused the hidden energy to penetrate even deeper into his organs.
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[1] 铲 - Chan, to shovel, or in this case, an upward strike.
[2] 以攻代守 - Yi gong dai shou, using attacks to subst.i.tute one's defense. Or, “the best defense is a good offense.”
[3] 精简版 - Jing jian ban, a compact version or edition with less content.
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