Chapter 577: Xiao Chen versus Gong Yangyu
Of course, in order to truly determine who was stronger, the two had to fight. One could say that an explosive type of fighter was flamboyant but their strength should not be underestimated.
Naturally, the genius bladesman Lin Fei heard the crowd’s discussion. His lips curled up in a disdainful smile. “All of them like to put on a pretense. Wait until I trample all of you under my feet. Let’s see what you can say after that.”
In the following matches, Lin Fei seemed to be trying to compete with Xiao Chen. In every one of his matches, he defeated his opponent in three moves, no matter how strong they were.
That unpredictable Earth Vein Saber Technique appeared once again in the dueling ring—one saber coming from above and one from below. Although there was only one saber strike, there were two saber Qi. Furthermore, the attacks came from tricky angles that were impossible to defend against effectively.
Lin Fei immediately became the focus of group five. He was the person most people discussed. They were all astonished by the strength that he displayed. His fame even overshadowed Xiao Chen and Gong Yangyu.
“Ha ha, this is interesting. Xiao Chen used four moves to defeat Ma Yuan. Now, Lin Fei fought Ma Yuan again. In the end, he defeated him with three moves. This Ma Yuan is really unfortunate.”
“This Lin Fei seems to be trying to compete with Xiao Chen. He dealt with all his opponents with only three moves, coincidentally one less than Xiao Chen.”
“This is the result of his youth, trying to compete for fame. One is the second rank in the newcomer ranking list and the other is the ninth rank. He definitely does not want Xiao Chen to overshadow him.”
“I feel that he is showing off too much. What is the point of doing this? If he wants to show who is stronger, they just have to fight.”
As the crowd discussed Lin Fei, many of them were full of praise for him. However, there were also some who thought he was too shallow. Even so, no matter what, everyone recognized his strength. They felt that he truly deserved his ranking as second.
Xiao Chen did not care about this. He only cared about defeating the opponent in front of him. If he met an interesting opponent, he would be filled with joy. Not only did he not end the fight quickly, he would drag out the fight to see the exquisiteness of his opponent’s moves.
Only when he met an opponent that was much weaker than him would he end the match quickly, considering it a waste of time.
Xiao Chen did as he pleased, doing what he wanted, moving as his heart willed, moving his saber as he intended. His heart was unconstrained in style and his Saber Techniques extraordinary.
There were many heroes and experts under the heavens. In the world Xiao Chen was at, there was an ancient saying, “If three walked together, one can be my teacher.” There might be something worth learning, even from a weak opponent.
[TL note: If three walked together, one can be my teacher: This means there is something to learn from everyone.]
This Five Nation Youth Competition was a rare chance for all the experts of the world to gather together. This was a good opportunity for Xiao Chen to gain a broader perspective.
Victory was important. However, what was more important was to continuously increase his experience, to keep expanding his horizons. When the experience accumulated to a certain level, it would erupt as terrifying power.
Gong Yangyu, who had been famous since long ago, had not invited many splendid battles at all nor was he fierce like Lin Fei. However, he had yet to lose a match. Furthermore, the limits of his strength had not yet been seen. He simply smiled and did not take this matter to heart.
“Next match, Xiao Chen versus Gong Yangyu!”
The battle between true experts in group five finally started. Some of the cultivators who were watching the other dueling rings immediately looked over. They could not wait for the match to begin.
Along the way, Xiao Chen had piqued the crowd’s curiosity. They wanted to know exactly how strong he was and how far he could go.
As for Gong Yangyu’s strength, that went without saying. He was an expert veteran. He had become famous at a young age, building a firm reputation. In the previous Five Nation Youth Competition, he had cemented his position as a giant of the younger generation.
His talent was astonishing and he had a great sect behind him. Such a person did not require many words to describe him.
He was a giant of the younger generation. However, he could not compete with people like Bai Qi, Liu Xiaoyun, and the disciples of the eight Noble Clans.
“Finally a good match appeared in group five. The newcomer Xiao Chen against the giant Gong Yangyu.”
“It is time for Xiao Chen’s winning streak to end. With the appearance of the seeded participants, the other newcomers’ streaks of victories were ended. In the hands of a giant, their facade of invincibility was destroyed.”
“That’s right. Although the newcomers were strong, they did not have enough time. Compared to the expert veterans, that is how far they’ll go.”
Before the eyes of the audience, the two calmly walked up into the dueling ring. There was no changes in their expressions.
Lin Fei stared at the two, his eyes ablaze with fighting spirit. He thought to himself, My two greatest opponents have unexpectedly met with each other before they met with me. Luck is on my side.
“I am Xiao Chen, from the Great Qin Nation’s Heavenly Saber Pavilion. Please show me your guidance.”
“I am Gong Yangyu of the Great Jin Nation’s Supreme Yi Palace. Please show me your guidance.”
The two greeted each other with cupped-fist salutes. Then, Gong Yangyu twirled his staff before pointing it at Xiao Chen; he was not in a hurry to attack.
Xiao Chen took two steps back and tilted his body forward. He placed his right hand on his saber’s hilt as he watched the tip of his opponent’s staff, which now looked like long straight line.
“Hu! Hu!”
The two’s auras clashed in the air, creating a strong wind that blew wildly.
The strong wind ruffled Xiao Chen’s fringe, revealing the blue cloth around his forehead. He looked as calm as ever, not anxious at the prelude to battle.
There were no openings in the auras, so they could only create an opening.
Gong Yangyu never had the intention to search for an opening in Xiao Chen’s aura. He raised his staff and initiated an attack, quickly moving his feet.
He took one step and twirled his staff around. A strong wind blew and an afterimage of him was left behind.
Then, he took a second step and pointed his staff at Xiao Chen. A peal of thunder sounded in the wind and he left behind another different afterimage.
Finally, he took a third step. The strong wind howled and thunder roared. He sent out a staff strike containing the might of wind and thunder. All the afterimages on the ground leaped into the air and single-handedly smashed the staff down towards Xiao Chen’s head.
Gong Yangyu took a total of three steps, executing one move per step. His momentum rose with every step. When he took his final step, his momentum already reached its peak. That staff strike contained the speed of wind and the rage of thunder.
In those short three steps, Gong Yangyu’s momentum rose to such an horrifying level. Furthermore, that was not all due to his move. The afterimages from the earlier two steps were not that simple.
Xiao Chen saw everything clearly and thought to himself, There is more than meets the eye to his simple staff strike.
When the staff was about to reach Xiao Chen’s head, he moved. He drew out the Lunar Shadow Saber by about seven or eight centimeters. There was a loud bang as he blocked the powerful staff strike.
When the two forces clashed, a powerful shock wave rushed outwards. Formless ripples spread out and the space seemed to have torn.
The shock wave surged and strong winds howled. No one noticed that there were seven cool breezes flowing into the distance together with the shock wave.
“Something From Nothing! Break!” Gong Yangyu shouted and the two afterimages behind him merged together. The staff strike that had already exhausted its energy was rejuvenated by two fresh sources. The might of wind and thunder was hidden in the energy. It surged over, each wave stronger than the one before.
The referee on stage nodded his head slightly. He thought to himself, It looks like Gong Yangyu’s attainments in the Supreme Yi Palace’s Everlasting Staff Technique have surpassed some of the elders.
“Boom!”
This surging energy carried the might of wind and thunder. With a loud bang, it smashed the Xiao Chen standing there into pieces. When the staff landed on the ground, it immediately opened a crack that extended continuously. Dragon Qi emanated from the crack.
A dragon roar resounded in the Wind Cloud Arena. The winds blew and clouds churned; the sky changed color.
The cultivators in the spectator stands all drew a sharp, deep breath. How powerful did this staff strike have to be for it to make a crack in the Wind Cloud Arena, even exposing its Dragon Qi?
Gong Yangyu frowned heavily. He withdrew his staff and muttered, “A clone?”
The strong wind blew continuously and the dust scattered.
Gong Yangyu looked around and saw that at some point in time, seven Xiao Chens had appeared at the periphery of the dueling ring. The Lunar Shadow Saber, which was previously only partially drawn, was now completely drawn.
The referee on stage opened his eyes wide in shock. He thought to himself, When did he switch over? Unexpectedly, even I did not notice.
“Roar! Roar!”
As the dragon roared, the seven Xiao Chens turned into cool breezes. The weapon disappeared and all the killing intent vanished. The seven cool breezes headed for Gong Yangyu. They seemed very gentle as they blew at him.
Clear wind, cool breeze; only seeing the cool breeze and not the saber.
Gong Yangyu’s expression turned grave. The gentle, cool breeze did not bring any comfort to him.
The long staff spun and moved like a flood dragon. As it swung all over the place, it created a boundless strong wind. Then, Gong Yangyu took seven steps back, leaving behind an afterimage with each step. Thunder roared in the nine heavens above.
“Dang! Dang! Dang!”
Before the eyes of the cultivators in the spectator stands could react, there were seven squealing sounds from the dueling ring.
The sounds were ear-splitting, loud like thunder. It went through the Wind Cloud Barrier and entered the ears of the crowd. They felt their eardrums shake painfully.
The crowd’s expressions revealed the fear they felt. If not for this Wind Cloud Barrier, this sound would have deafened them temporarily. How strong exactly are these two monsters?
“Roaming Dragon’s Nine Transformations, merge!”
“Everlasting Changes, merge!”
The two shouted at the same time. All of Xiao Chen’s clones and Gong Yangyu’s afterimages merged together in that instant.
A staff strike containing a peak state of wind and cloud, together with the power of the seven afterimages, tore through space. It smashed down like a tall mountain.
The staff strike moved with great momentum. What was heavy momentum? This staff strike was the very epitome of that.
It had great momentum. Strong winds howled and thunder roared; the winds and thunder resounded together. The thunder rode on the might of the wind, creating a boundless momentum.
This was a move of the Everlasting Staff Technique. Every afterimage created was a peak attack of Gong Yangyu’s. Now that seven afterimages merged together, Gong Yangyu’s offensive power increased sevenfold.
With a threefold increase, Gong Yangyu could already crack the Wind Cloud Arena and expose the Dragon Qi. Winds blew, clouds churned, and the sky changed color.
How much stronger would be a sevenfold increase be?
Gong Yangyu was very strong. However, how could Xiao Chen be weaker than him? The earlier killing intent burst forth explosively the instant Xiao Chen’s clones merged.
The sharp killing intent created an illusion of a boundless scarlet sea. The air in the dueling ring seemed to have solidified. This killing intent slowed Gong Yangyu’s staff strike that was full of boundless momentum.
When the cultivators in the spectator stands saw the scarlet scene in the dueling ring, they all felt their hearts pounding incessantly. What more Gong Yangyu, who was the focus of that killing intent? What kind of pressure was he enduring?