Chapter 420 - 218: Defeating Leng Zhi, Temporarily Ranked First

Chapter 420: Chapter 218: Defeating Leng Zhi, Temporarily Ranked First

Shi Zheng’s charge slowed noticeably within the field, but he didn’t stop. He didn’t need to.

Sun Chen’s Spell changed. Five golden Qi Blades materialized from thin air, slashing at Shi Zheng from different angles.

Shi Zheng didn’t dodge. He didn’t even slow down. The five Qi Blades struck the protective shield around his body, letting out an ear-piercing shriek.

Sun Chen retreated again and unleashed another volley of Qi Blades. Shi Zheng still didn’t dodge.

From the very beginning, his saber had remained in a stance, gathering power. The golden flame trailing from the blade grew ever more intense, ever more ferocious, as he calculated the distance needed to end the fight with a single strike.

Sun Chen saw his intent.

He pushed his Six Jia Art to its limit, increasing the slowing field’s intensity. At the same time, the golden motes left scattered in the air from the shattered blades began to form into even finer threads of Spiritual Power at his command, wrapping around Shi Zheng’s limbs and saber like a spiderweb.

Shi Zheng could feel it. Each step was more difficult than the last, each swing of his arm heavier.

Yet he continued to press forward. After more than ten seconds, he was less than fifty feet from Sun Chen.

Sun Chen’s footwork changed again. He moved about the platform like a butterfly flitting through flowers, constantly maintaining his distance from the slow but unstoppable blade. At the same time, he sent out a wisp of his Divine Sense to lay one slowing trap after another in Shi Zheng’s path.

His plan was simple: use the Six Jia Art as a net to trap his opponent and drain his momentum and Spiritual Qi bit by bit.

Shi Zheng sensed Sun Chen’s strategy, but he didn’t stop. His fighting style had always been this way: either fell his enemy with a single strike or collapse from exhaustion.

「Two minutes later.」

Sun Chen’s back was to the edge of the platform.

At that moment, Shi Zheng finally struck. The blade, trailing a ten-foot-long golden flame, crashed down on Sun Chen with the force to split mountains and shatter stone.

A golden light suddenly erupted around Sun Chen. He had recalled all the power from his Six Jia Art and poured it into his protective Spiritual Light.

"CLANG—!"

The blade struck the golden light, producing a deafening clang of metal on metal. The light trembled violently and was spiderwebbed with countless fine cracks, but it didn’t shatter.

The force of the blow knocked Sun Chen back three steps. He came to a stop just at the edge of the platform.

Shi Zheng didn’t press his advantage.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, but that he couldn’t.

That one strike had expended all the momentum he had spent so long building. He needed a breath’s time to gather his power again.

In that single breath, Sun Chen’s Six Jia Art unfurled once more. His form drifted to an open space at the side, and the unseen slowing field enveloped Shi Zheng again.

Shi Zheng felt himself sinking into that invisible quagmire once more. Every step was heavier and slower than before.

He took a deep breath, tightened his grip on his saber, and began to gather his power once more. Another charge, another strike, another time being stopped in his tracks by the slowing field.

He was simply repeating what had just happened.

In the Martial Arts Arena, everyone watched the scene in silence.

They watched Shi Zheng charge, again and again. They watched him bring his saber down, again and again, only to fail, again and again. They watched the stone tiles beneath his feet get trampled to dust. They watched the golden light around him gradually dim. They watched his breathing grow heavier and heavier.

And they watched Sun Chen, moving about the platform, laying one slowing trap after another. They watched him push his Six Jia Art to its absolute limit. They watched the fine beads of sweat forming on his temples.

This duel had no dazzling exchanges of Magic, no heart-stopping reversals.

「Half an hour passed.」

On the platform, the slowing field once again stopped Shi Zheng thirty feet from Sun Chen. His saber was still held high, but the golden flame on its blade had dimmed to resemble a candle guttering in the wind.

His Spiritual Qi was nearly depleted, but he didn’t stop. Each step was more difficult than the last, each one wringing out the final dregs of his strength.

Sun Chen watched him. His own Spiritual Qi was also running dry.

He had been running his Six Jia Art at its limit. His forehead, his neck, his back—every inch of his skin was drenched in sweat.

At that very moment, however, two figures appeared on the platform almost simultaneously. Qin Huaiming stood beside Sun Chen, and Lei Yue stood beside Shi Zheng.

The two men exchanged a look.

Then, Qin Huaiming spoke. "If this goes on, they will both be grievously injured."

Lei Yue nodded, and Qin Huaiming immediately announced in a clear voice, "The second match of the fourth round: Sun Chen of Xuanyue versus Shi Zheng of the Beixuan Sect. A draw."

The moment his voice fell, Shi Zheng, like a soldier given a command, immediately lowered his saber. He then turned and walked back to the Beixuan Sect’s seating area.

The Five-Colored Sparrow flew up from the back of a chair and landed on his shoulder, gently pecking at his ear.

Sun Chen took two deep, gasping breaths. Red Shadow bounded up to him happily, its fluffy tail wagging like a fiery red cloud. He bent down, scooped up the little fox, and carried it back to the Xuanyue Lineage’s seats.

Qin Huaiming then announced the final match of the fourth round: Wu Qing versus Lin Xiyun. Unsurprisingly, Wu Qing chose to forfeit once again.