Chapter 229: The Strongest Showdown
When the Beichen Peak’s Peak Master, Mu Feng, saw Xiao Chen fighting, he was full of shock as well. He originally thought, when Mu Heng made his debut, he would definitely be able to take back the position of first place. That seems quite uncertain now.
However, that was also fine. If he were able to obtain some motivation from this, causing him to restrain his arrogance, it would be good for him in the future.
Leng Tianzheng took the sight of all this in and sighed after a while, “Ruyue, you have accepted a good disciple this time. Tianyue Peak has already occupied the first place in the core disciple exam for the past ten years. Now, it will be handed over to you.”
Liu Ruyue’s graceful face revealed a happy smile. She was definitely the happiest person at seeing Xiao Chen’s growth “Martial Uncle Leng, you are too polite. Tianyue Peak is full of talent. Yours is still the Peak with the highest number of passing disciples.”
“Haha, well, we will see. Zhang Lie still has not used his saber intent extensively yet. Junior Brother Mu’s son probably has not revealed his trump card yet, either. The final result of this battle is undecided,” Leng Tianzheng laughed gently and ended the topic.
Even if Leng Tianzheng lost the first place in this exam, he would not mind it too much. After all, most of the Heavenly Saber Pavilion’s strength was concentrated there. The strength of the younger generation would continue to grow in the future. He would still be able to suppress the other Peaks as before.
“Bang! Bang!”
As everyone was discussing, there were two loud sounds coming from the drill grounds. Countless spear tips trembled and flew into the air before shockwaves crushed them into powder.
A strong wind died down and the sand settled. The three of them retreated, and their figures slowly appeared before the crowd.
Mu Heng’s face was pale, and there was some blood at the corner of his mouth. The intense purple light on his body also slowly dimmed.
Zhang Lie’s clothes were tattered and torn. There were many saber wounds of varying sizes and depths on his body. Blood flowed from them continuously; he looked very miserable.
Xiao Chen held his saber in one hand and the flag in the other. Sweat flowed down his face incessantly. There were also some saber wounds on his body, but they were not serious. With his strong physical body, they had already, more or less, recovered.
Xiao Chen was dressed in long robes which fluttered in the wind. His black hair danced in the breeze. The snow-white saber blade gave off a cold light. The flag in his hand fluttered loudly with the wind.
Xiao Chen’s aura was flourishing; his Qi and blood were vigorous. He felt incredibly delighted and wished to exchange another eight hundred moves or so.
“You are strong. If you can withstand my next move, I will take the initiative to back out,” Mu Heng said to Xiao Chen as he gently wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Zhang Lie muttered to himself for a while. Then he took out some Golden Salve from his Spatial Ring and spread it on his wounds. He said, “Same for me. If you can withstand my next move, then I will give up on this core disciple exam as well.”
“Xiu!”
Xiao Chen threw the flag in his hand violently, sticking it firmly into the ground. Then, he said, “Very well. Who is first? Whoever wins obtains the flag from my hands.”
“I’ll go first!”
Zhang Lie said softly, and he started to gather strength slowly. He grasped his saber tightly in his right hand, infusing the saber intent he had comprehended into his aura.
A strong boundless wind started blowing behind Zhang Lie. Some of the air currents seemed to have been sliced apart and gave off a ‘zizi’ sound. Zhang Lie’s saber intent merged with the wind as well.
“With your talent, you should have comprehended the sixteenth move of the Lingyun Saber Technique as well. However, my Small Perfection saber intent has infused into my Everlasting Startling Cloud. Its might is not comparable to what it previously was. I hope you will be able to survive this.”
After Zhang Lie spoke, columns of clouds appeared on the spear formation. Everyone’s vision was blocked; they could not see the scene.
Not just that, these clouds confused their five senses and Xiao Chen’s Spiritual Sense. Xiao Chen thought in astonishment, The clouds definitely contain Zhang Lie’s saber intent, as well.
Indeed, in the next moment, Xiao Chen could feel a killing intent throughout the clouds. When the clouds came in contact with his skin, they started to attack the protective Essence covering him, making an endless ‘zi zi” sound.
Xiao Chen’s right hand covered the hilt of the Lunar Shadow Saber. The Qi whirlpool in his Dantian spun rapidly, unceasingly strengthening the Essence covering him.
Within the clouds, Xiao Chen’s five senses were useless. When he extended out his Spiritual Sense, he only felt the boundless clouds. Xiao Chen was like a blind person in these clouds; he could not see anything.
With this move, Xiao Chen was temporarily in a disadvantaged position. Xiao Chen closed his eyes; he might as well not use his physical sight to observe his surroundings and simply adapt to the situation as it went along.
Zhang Lie, who hid in the clouds, locked his killing intent on Xiao Chen. He could feel each and every one of Xiao Chen’s movements. He revealed a faint smile, Regardless of whoever it is, after their five senses are confused, they will not be able to withstand this saber strike of mine.
“Everlasting Startling Cloud!”
The surrounding clouds slowly scattered and gathered towards the saber in Zhang Lie’s hand. White spots of light started to dance restlessly on the black saber blade.
“Boom!”
When all the clouds disappeared, Zhang Lie’s saber absorbed all the saber intent from them. The glow of the saber blade was now incredulously bright.
The most important thing was that this saber was already less than a meter away from Xiao Chen; the tip pointed at Xiao Chen. Ther saber created a strong wind, causing Xiao Chen’s hair to blow back.
All this happened in the time it took for a spark to fly. In the eyes of the observers, it was only a few breaths of time.
Zhang Lie waved his saber and clouds surrounded the spear formation. The next moment, the clouds disappeared, and he was pointing his saber at Xiao Chen. It was incredibly strange.
Within the drill grounds, there were very few who could understand the profoundness of what had happened. The instant the clouds appeared, Zhang Lie had made use of the time Xiao Chen’s five senses were confused to fly to an area ten meters before him silently.
Before the saber blade touched Xiao Chen, the resplendent saber light turned into a fine thread of saber Qi with a ‘sou’ sound and fired at Xiao Chen’s forehead.
“Sou!”
During the crucial moment of life and death, Xiao Chen’s tightly shut eyes finally opened. The slender thread of Saber Qi was faster than the speed of sound. At such a close distance, by the time Xiao Chen opened his eyes, it was already right in front of his eyes.
Xiao Chen pushed his feet off the saber top, and his body started spinning. His spinning body gave off a ‘hu chi hu chi’ sound as it revolved. It created a terrifying air current; a tiny tornado appeared in the surrounding space.
The fine thread chased after Xiao Chen, quickly extending in the air. Everywhere it passed, a crack appeared in the air temporarily. The slender thread of saber Qi seemed like it was about to catch Xiao Chen but was unable to do so.
Zhang Lie’s lips curved upwards in an arc, and he swung his right hand, which was holding the saber, upward. The fine thread started to become even thinner slowly. Then, he looked at Xiao Chen and laughed as he said, “It is useless. No matter how fast you run, you will never escape from my Everlasting Startling Cloud infused with the Small Perfection saber intent.
Xiao Chen continued spinning; he was not shaken by Zhang Lie’s words. The thread-like saber Qi eventually turn so fine, it was no longer visible, completely vanishing into the air.
Xiao Chen had comprehended the Everlasting Startling Cloud as well. Naturally, he did not think that the Everlasting Startling Cloud had vanished. The explosion in the next instant was the true essence of the Everlasting Startling Cloud.
Xiao Chen continued spinning, flying higher and higher. In the blink of an eye, he was more than a hundred meters high.
The Everlasting Startling Cloud was originally a Superior Grade Earth Ranked Martial Technique. Its might was close to that of a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique. This was especially so for the final three moves.
Furthermore, Zhang Lie had infused all his saber intent into it. Even Xiao Chen did not know how strong this Everlasting Startling Cloud would be.
If Xiao Chen wanted to block this move and achieve a complete victory, Xiao Chen had no other option aside from using the Lingyun Saber Technique’s seventeenth move.
However, Xiao Chen had not made a breakthrough in the Twisting Road Around Peak. He was suddenly struck with inspiration and somewhat comprehended something. He made use of this opportunity and took the risk, acting according to his feelings.
If it failed, at the very least, Xiao Chen would be severely injured by the Everlasting Startling Cloud infused with saber intent, wasting half a year of time he could use for cultivating. If it succeeded, he would comprehend the Lingyun Saber Technique’s seventeenth move—Twisting Road Around Peak. After that, he would have one more trump card in his hand.
The odds of success were fifty-fifty. Xiao Chen did not hesitate to gamble. With his current comprehensions, he had not been able to comprehend the Twisting Road Around Peak. Once, he comprehended the Twisting Road Around Peak, its might would rise to a horrifying level.
Right now, this opportunity was before Xiao Chen. If he did not grab this chance, he might not gain an opportunity to comprehend this for another ten years.
“Now!”
Zhang Lie shouted. The fine thread that originally vanished into the air reappeared. It was like a laser made of saber Qi as it pierced through the entire spear formation, penetrating everything without stopping or slowing down.
“Hu!”
A wall two thousand meters away from Zhang Lie, outside the drill grounds, was pierced by the saber Qi. The entire wall immediately started cracking and collapsed in the next moment.
Fortunately, the area covered by the fine thread’s attack was just a spot. During the period it vanished, Xiao Chen started to raise his body higher. He was now several hundred meters above the ground.
“Die! Everlasting Startling Cloud, explode!”
Zhang Lie shouted furiously. The laser-like resplendent saber Qi scattered and turned into countless lines of light, firing in all directions and causing intense explosions.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
The strands discharged out like they were fireworks. It was a very pretty scene. However, in the world, the prettier something was, the more dangerous it was. This was no exception.
“Good!” Zhang Lie’s saber intent was indeed horrifying. Originally, the Everlasting Startling Cloud was only effective in a horizontal line. Now, it had no blind spots. Furthermore, it was even mightier now. It was infinitely closer to a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique.
“I guarantee, on my status as Biyun Peak’s Peak Master, if Ye Chen is not dead, he is at least severely injured. There is no way he dodged this!”
Song Que, who’s eyes lacked light all the while, shouted excitedly when he saw this scene. It was as though he were afraid no one would know; he was startlingly loud.
Liu Ruyue also felt anxious. She did not expect the Lingyun Saber Technique to be this horrifying. Even with her strength, she would have to spend a lot of effort blocking this move. Can Ye Chen dodge this?
Every strand of light carried a horrifying amount of energy. They could easily penetrate the defenses of a Martial Grand Master. Furthermore, there were no blind spots; there was no way to dodge this.
Since there is no way to dodge, then I will break it! Xiao Chen stopped spinning and shouted, “Twisting Road Around Peak!”