One of the inspection officers in the command center said, “We have a situation, Special Officer Liang.”

Liang Guanghai looked over. “What is it?”

“We found Gongying Changxiu of Windforest School. He’s traveling with a team of five Third Limit martial artists, and they’ve intercepted Captain Chen’s unit,” the inspection officer said nervously.

Liang Guanghai froze.

Gongying Changxiu of Windforest School?

His expression turned grave.

Things had become troublesome.

Gongying Changxiu was the most famous Third Limit martial artist of the younger generation in the island nations. Now that Chen Chuan’s unit had run into him, they would already be doing a good job if they could protect themselves. After all, they lost in terms of numbers. It would be practically impossible for them to reach the gap.

“Send three of the nearest emergency response units to the gap. Even if they can’t kill Chang Kuanghai, they must retrieve the propagated parts!” he ordered decisively.

“Understood!”

***

Right above the space in front of the manor was a gap. Red clouds commonly seen during dusk were around it, which made it look majestic and beautiful, despite it being torn at the edges.

Chen Chuan’s unit stood across from Gongying Changxiu’s team.

Gongying Changxiu cast a glance at the gap above him before sighing. “If I fight against you right here and have someone write it down, it would become a tale worth remembering.”

He then cast a glance to the side and saw that Yuan Qiuyuan was shifting away. He swung his sheathed saber in Yuan Qiuyuan’s direction.

Before the saber touched the ground, a loud hum tore through the air. A saber-type refined force shot out, and the ground shattered. The crack stretched forward twenty meters until it reached Yuan Qiuyuan and intercepted his path.

Gongying Changxiu then pulled his saber back and turned to Chen Chuan. “We need witnesses for our duel. Don’t you think so, Mr. Chen?”

The people behind Gongying Changxiu had surrounded them, so it was clear that Gongying Changxiu didn’t want Chen Chuan’s unit to leave.

Chen Chuan rolled his wrists. “Let’s start, then. I’m in a hurry.”

The Windforest School martial artists observed Yuan Qiuyuan, Qin Qingque, and Su Wei. By the looks of it, they had no intention of just watching like statues. They were going to fight as well.

Since this was a five against four, they had the advantage in numbers.

Chen Chuan cast them a glance.

Gongying Changxiu smiled. “Mr. Chen, while we have a bit of an advantage over you in terms of numbers, if you can’t get past this obstacle, I’m going to underestimate you.”

“What if I join?!”

The two teams whipped their heads to the side and saw someone walking over with a saber at his waist. His hair was done in a topknot, and he was wearing the martial arts uniform of the islanders.

The newcomer was Sancheng Huang of Fierce Wave School.

One of the Windforest School disciples turned to face him and shouted, “Sancheng Huang, did you kill Junior Brother Hui Shilang?!”

“Yes, I did,” Sancheng Huang replied sternly. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

“Then, I, Anzhong Kan, will bear witness to your skills in Senior Brother Gongying’s place,” Anzhong Kan growled.

“I accept your challenge,” Sancheng Huang replied gravely and walked over to Chen Chuan’s side to face the Windforest School group.

An interested smile appeared on Gongying Changxiu’s lips. The battle had become even more interesting. Because of this change, it became filled with uncertainties and suspense.

The Windforest School martial artists stopped advancing. The numbers on both sides were equal now, so they couldn’t be sure just who would win once they started fighting. It would be better for them to wait for a victor to emerge between the two leaders.

Chen Chuan motioned for his team to stand back, and they shimmied away to give them space. Then, Yuan Qiuyuan whispered, “Who do you think will win?”

Su Wei watched Gongying Changxiu and Chen Chuan for a moment before answering. “The captain.”

“Yeah, you’re right. It’s definitely the captain,” Yuan Qiuyuan agreed and chased away some insects with a wave of his arm. “These insects are seriously so annoying.”

Su Wei gave them a cursory glance before saying, “These things lay eggs under your skin. Don’t get bitten.”

Chen Chuan watched Gongying Changxiu. His biofield was erratic and unreadable. Even though he was standing right in front of him, it felt like he wasn’t there.

Just then, they heard a loud explosion nearby, and light shone. Another unstable gap had appeared.

It wasn’t the only one. There were multiple gaps on the street and empty plots of land. They flickered about, and powerful gusts of wind stirred around them, causing everyone’s hair and clothes to dance. More insects showed up and started flying frantically in the sky.

Chen Chuan raised his saber and pulled off the sheath with his left hand before throwing it away. Yuan Qiuyuan caught the sheath with a loud snap, just as Chen Chuan flipped his saber to the front and pointed at Gongying Changxiu with the tip.

Gongying Changxiu stared at the snow-white blade and praised it, “That’s a good saber. Does it have a name?”

“The Frost King Saber,” Chen Chuan answered.

“The Frost King Saber. Mine is Flowing Cuts Saber. I’ll show you its brilliance later,” Gongying Changxiu said as he brought his saber up.

His expression turned stern. He lunged forward, spread his fingers wide open, and grabbed the hilt, but didn’t unsheathe the saber. The wind made his sleeves dance and revealed a sliver of his forearm.

As he stared at Chen Chuan, wind from the back blew his hair forward, and he mumbled, “First Stance, Steam Stance.”

Shing!

Gongying Changxiu drew his saber, and it flashed. Suddenly, he crossed more than twenty meters. In the blink of an eye, he arrived in front of Chen Chuan. With both hands around the hilt, he swung the saber down.

Chen Chuan’s gaze remained calm as he brought his saber up to block.

Clang!

The two forces rammed into each other.

Boom!

A shockwave erupted from where they stood, and a wave shot out. The insects passing by were dragged in by the wind and torn to shreds.

Gongying Changxiu was suspended in the air. When he saw Chen Chuan’s profound gaze, he narrowed his eyes. Then, he activated the refined force in his saber to push himself back to his original position.

He then positioned his legs with one in front and the other at the back before lowering his center of gravity. As he leaned forward, he moved his saber to his waist, with the tip behind him. That was Windforest School’s Swallow Stance.

That one exchange just now had given him a general idea of Chen Chuan’s foundation. He was indeed a powerful opponent. The attack delivered using Steam Stance was the most aggressive of Windforest School’s saber techniques, but Chen Chuan had managed to block it with just one hand. It displayed superb strength.

He couldn’t fight against such an enemy headon.

Another gap appeared beside them, and he took a step to the side to position himself in front of where the gap was flashing. Then, he spun on his feet and swung his saber at Chen Chuan, even though there was more than twenty meters between them.

Boom!

As a result of the gap, a tornado formed around them. Gongying Changxiu drew it to himself with his saber and flung it at Chen Chuan. The wind churned, and the gravel on the ground shattered.

This was the Whistling Wind Force. It allowed him to inject his refined force into the wind while also moving faster with the help of the turbulent flow of the wind. If he managed to become one with the wind, his attacks would become faster and stronger.

The environment was perfect for him to use this refined force. After he delivered the attack, he moved with the howling wind to charge at Chen Chuan again.

Chen Chuan watched the wind get closer and brought his hand up to smack it away.

Boom!

The refined force exploded and shot outward in all directions.

Gongying Changxiu arrived in front of Chen Chuan and delivered nine consecutive slashes. Each attack was faster than the last.

Unlike Fierce Wave School, Windforest School paid more attention to physical damage dealt by refined force than the use of mental energy. The latter was just used to complement their attacks.

Each saber stance had a corresponding mental stance to support it. Swallow Stance was a saber technique that could bring out the full potential of its user’s agility. The attacks were as light and flighty as the wind, but also as fast as lightning.

When he saw that Chen Chuan intended to block with his blade, Gongying Changxiu avoided the saber so that he never touched the weapon. Instead, he attacked another area in order to ensure the chain of his attacks was never broken.

At the same time, gusts of wind surged toward him to press against and affect Chen Chuan’s movements. This was the Air Lock Technique. Once he got his momentum up, he could affect the wind to keep his opponent restrained.

Chen Chuan watched the saber’s afterimages flicker around him, then the wind pressing against him getting stronger. Suddenly, his breathing grew hot, and he swung his saber at an empty spot.

Clang!

He successfully intercepted Gongying Changxiu’s saber.

Then, a powerful force came charging at him.

Gongying Changxiu was airborne at that moment, and he grimaced. The muscles on his arms bulged, and he pushed against the Frost King Saber with Flowing Cuts Saber.

This was the Shocking Wind Slash, and it operated on the same principle as Fierce Wave School’s stacking refined forces. All that he had done previously was to build up power. By not having any contact with his opponent and delivering attacks, he could gather power, but if his attack was blocked, all that accumulated power would be released. While he had only attacked nine times, all that power had gathered into this one push.

Chen Chuan lowered his center of gravity, and cracking sounds could be heard. The ground around him shattered, but he managed to parry the attack with just one hand.

Then, he looked up. As if he felt no resistance, he pushed forward with his other hand and grabbed Gongying Changxiu’s lapel. He lifted him up and threw him on the ground.

Boom!

The ground caved, and cracks appeared. A large cloud of dust exploded.

Chen Chuan could sense that the moment he threw Gongying Changxiu down, a gust of wind supported him. When his back contacted the ground, he pulled his refined force together into one single entity to protect his body.

But Chen Chuan’s saber was already swinging toward Gongying Changxiu’s neck. Shocked, Gongying Changxiu twisted his waist and brought Flowing Cuts Saber forward to shield his body.

Just then, another gap tore open beside them. Countless insects charged out from within and surrounded them. At the same time, another violent gust of wind blew out.

Clang!

Gongying Changxiu blocked the Frost King Saber and used the gust of wind to slide out from underneath before rolling to the side. He also tensed his core and flipped backward to widen the distance between him and Chen Chuan.

He used his refined force to bounce off all the insects that tried to bite him as well.

Even when he was a distance away, there were still insects surrounding him. With a fling of his arm and a wave of his refined force, a gust of air pushed all them away.

Then, he turned his eyes forward and found Chen Chuan completely surrounded, as if he had become a swollen man made of insects. And even more of them were trying to attach themselves to him.

The next second, the insects froze and fell in waves. Large clumps gathered on the ground.

Chen Chuan was then revealed. Not a single injury could be found on his skin.

He straightened slowly and, having released all restraints on his mutated tissue, he turned his attention to Gongying Changxiu.

Alarm bells started ringing in Gongying Changxiu’s head, and Chen Chuan disappeared from his sight.

A chilling light arrived in front of him.