Gongying Changxiu’s body moved faster than his mind. He swung Flowing Cuts Saber up to parry the attack when it was about to touch his face.

A powerful and vast power charged into his body, and the shock was so great that it made his refined force scatter. He couldn’t help but stagger backward.

His pupils shrank in horror. The power of this attack was much greater than before, and a wave of mental energy had also slammed into his mind. It wasn’t powerful, but it was sturdy and firm, which forced Gongying Changxiu to defend his mental gemstone.

Chen Chuan’s strength wasn’t the only thing that increased. He had gotten faster too. Before Gongying Changxiu could recollect his refined force, the second attack arrived.

Gongying Changxiu was forced to activate his blood essence to push his refined force into motion and block the attack.

Due to his excellent foundation, he managed to block several of Chen Chuan’s attacks with the help of the wind. It aided him in generating power and neutralising the attacks as he retreated. Because of that, he managed to not lose his stance.

However, no matter how good his defenses and durability were, he had to stop Chen Chuan’s attacks. If he just passively defended, he would reach his limit sooner or later.

After blocking another attack from the Frost King Saber, he felt Flowing Cuts Saber trembling faintly in his hands, as if it could no longer withstand the contact. He also found it difficult to collect and regulate his refined force.

Just then, he saw in his peripheral vision a saber flash coming at him, and a chill went down his spine as goosebumps broke out on his skin. If he didn’t block this attack, his head was going to be removed from his shoulders.

His heart started racing, and his pupils turned red. He sped up. Gongying Changxiu shot backward like flickering light.

The Frost King Saber cut through the air, and a pair of glasses sliced in half flew up before falling on the ground with a clatter. The lenses shattered to pieces.

Gongying Changxiu had retreated to where he originally stood. He looked down, and trickles of blood fell from his face.

“I’m pleased with your strength, Mr. Chen. This is what is going to make this battle worthy of being told to the public!” he declared as he whipped his head up. The gentle expression was gone. At that moment, the veins on his face bulged, and his tendons stood out prominently on his exposed forearms.

The cut on his brow closed, and only blood remained on his face. It gave him a terrifying look.

Gongying Changxiu took a step forward. He pointed Flowing Cuts Saber skyward while he positioned his body sideways in Chen Chuan’s direction. That was Windforest School’s Lone Battle Technique.

At the same time, wisps of black smoke rose from him. The gravel by his feet moved because of the wind and started dancing around him.

At some point in time, his hair had grown longer. It was mid-length now and covered a part of his face. As the black smoke rose about him, it turned into a howling, demonic face behind him.

When Sancheng Huang saw this, his expression turned grim. “Phantom Gongying, huh?”

Fear appeared on the Windforest School disciples’ faces, and they subconsciously stepped away.

Gongying Changxiu was using Windforest School’s secret technique, the Heavenly Phantom’s Power. Gongying Changxiu was at his most terrifying at this moment.

Chen Chuan stared at the large, demonic face in the air and sucked in a deep breath. White smoke rose from his body to form a white fog above him, which didn’t disperse even when the wind blew against it.

He also positioned the saber horizontally in front of him. The shining blade reflected his calm eyes. The next instant, he moved so fast that his body turned into a blur and vanished from sight.

Light shone from within Gongying Changxiu’s eyes. With the help of the Heavenly Phantom’s Power, his reflexes and power had increased.

He felt as if the world had slowed down, and he could see Chen Chuan charging at him.

He, too, brought his saber up and leaned forward slowly to parry the Frost King Saber.

The next moment, the world sped up. The black smoke and white fog clashed, and shockwaves surged outward in explosive waves. Violent gusts and light coming out of the gaps gathered and flashed violently.

Gongying Changxiu’s arms trembled, and his expression turned even more terrifying as his veins bulged out.

He had thought that once he used his secret technique, he would be able to block and even counterattack, but reality was very different from what he had expected. He felt like he had run into a solid wall and froze.

Screeching came from their sabers’ contact, and Flowing Cuts Saber was pushed back bit by bit by a solid force.

Sensing that things were going south for him, Gongying Changxiu let out a roar. His blood essence came alive, and he flung his arms outward to shove the Frost King Saber aside. Chen Chuan moved along with the force and pulled the Frost King Saber back in the direction where Gongying Changxiu had flung his arm. At the same time, he started gathering power, and his next attack came swinging at Gongying Changxiu faster than before.

Upon seeing this, Gongying Changxiu could only activate his refined force to swing down, but this meant that their sabers clashed again. He trembled violently, and the demonic face in the air swayed, as if it was about to scatter.

Chen Chuan had figured out his rhythm and was using it to force him into a contest of strength, where he was superior.

If someone could parry every attack during a battle, they could move at ease every step of the way. They could even anticipate their opponent’s movements. But Gongying Changxiu had lost control of the fight and was dragged along by Chen Chuan’s rhythm.

This didn’t mean that his technique was inferior. It was simply because he made a mistake in his predictions, and it led to him losing control in one single move. Right now, Chen Chuan wasn’t going to give him any chance to recollect his refined force. Before Gongying Changxiu could finish dealing with one attack, the next came swinging at him.

While pushing against Flowing Cuts Saber, the Frost King Saber spun, as if it wanted to push the other blade outward. Gongying Changxiu grabbed the saber tighter, but the clash of power caused him to almost lose his balance. Then, while still pushing against Flowing Cuts Saber, the Frost King Saber tried to cut into him again.

The veins on Gongying Changxiu’s face throbbed. He no longer had the time to block, so he twisted his waist and brought out a short saber he had kept hidden to block the Frost King Saber.

The Hidden Lock was a technique in which he was supposed to form a cross using the short saber and Flowing Cuts Saber. After using the short saber to block an enemy’s weapon, he would then yank off the enemy’s weapon.

But the power of the Frost King Saber was so strong that just blocking it was a herculean task. Gongying Changxiu couldn’t disarm his opponent.

Chen Chuan’s mutated tissue roared awake, and he pushed out. A wave of refined force rushed into his saber.

Gongying Changxiu couldn’t handle it. The two sabers bounced off, and he fell backward. At the same moment, he brought his leg up to swing his foot at the side of Chen Chuan’s knee.

This was the Bladed Kick. It was meant to slice through an enemy’s leg.

But even though it hit Chen Chuan’s knee, the attack wasn’t effective. Even when his refined force rushed into Chen Chuan, he managed to neutralize it immediately with his own refined force.

Chen Chuan pushed his saber forward, and Gongying Changxiu brought his leg back in a hook to stab into Chen Chuan’s calf. His mutated tissue generated power, and he spun in a semi-circle to avoid the Frost King Saber coming at him from above. Then, he thrust his short saber at Chen Chuan’s neck.

This was the Life And Death Shift. Together with the Bladed Kick, he could create a chance to survive in what was certain death. Since it was a technique to turn the tides, Gongying Changxiu had to use his blood essence and mental foundation to ensure accuracy and speed.

Before he could stab his target, Chen Chuan grabbed the short saber. Then, with a snap, it cracked inch by inch under Chen Chuan’s fingers. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The short saber disappeared from sight.

Since Gongying Changxiu had poured all his power into it, his body locked up for a moment. Chen Chuan rushed at him and slammed into his body.

Boom!

An explosive power crashed into him, and cracking sounds came from his body as his feet were knocked off the ground.

Before he could fly off, Chen Chuan grabbed him, and a cold chill pressed against his neck. With no energy left, Gongying Changxiu looked up to meet Chen Chuan’s gaze.

“Sorry, I’m in a hurry,” Chen Chuan said apologetically and swung the Frost King Saber. With a loud whistle, Gongying Changxiu was beheaded.

The demonic face above him froze for a moment, then was swept away by a howling gust.

A gunshot came from the distance.

As if Chen Chuan had detected it in advance, he smacked the bullet down. Then, he turned his gaze in the direction from which it came. Another gunshot echoed, and he saw blood splattering on the sniper’s goggles, even though he was in the building across from them. Qin Qingque was holding a gun firmly in her hand. The gunshot’s sound still lingered in the air.

When the sniper shot at Chen Chuan, she reacted immediately and killed the enemy sniper.

After making sure the threat was gone, Chen Chuan sensed something off and looked down to see something resembling a tentacle stretching out from a gap nearby to bind Gongying Changxiu’s corpse and head. With a yank, it pulled the two parts inside.

Chen Chuan’s gaze sharpened. He stepped on Gongying Changxiu’s Flowing Cuts Saber and stopped the tentacle from dragging it away as well.

With the corpse secured, the tentacle quickly left, and the gap soon vanished.

Chen Chuan stared at it for a moment.

That felt like... Forget it. No matter what it is, now’s not the time to think about it, he thought.

He spent a few seconds looking into himself and found that after defeating Gongying Changxiu and using Awakening Clarity, his mind had become stronger. He could now absorb more quintessence.

Fighting really was effective.

The stronger his opponents were, the stronger his mind became. Even his second self grew stronger.

But it wasn’t enough.

He needed stronger opponents to help him move forward.

Just then, he heard footsteps approaching, and he looked over to find that the four martial artists from Windforest School hadn’t retreated despite Gongying Changxiu’s death. Determination to fight to the death shone on their faces. They drew their sabers and walked toward them.