“Okay, let the next round begin.”
Li Mu threw a cold glare at Wu Ming. His expression had already made it clear that he did not intend to let Wu Ming leave alive.
“My man shall take the second round.”
Hu Bin waved to a person behind him and commanded, “An Men, go there and kill.”
“Yes!”
The long-haired man in red behind him marched forward.
As he headed to the square, the items tied to his shoes and trousers suddenly expanded and gradually covered him, forming a close-fitting mecha.
“I’ll fight him!” Shi Fenghou volunteered.
“Let me do it!” Ye Longyuan also said.
“This is the so-called mechanic martial artist? Let me handle him,” said Su Beimu.
Wu Ming remarked, “Don’t you see I’m still here? I’ll defeat them all by myself.”
“Swoosh!”
To prove that he was not just paying lip service to the duel, Yan Chen swiftly leaped forward and landed in front of Wu Ming.
He said calmly, “You’d better go down and take a break. If the masters on the opposite side decide to kill you in a moment, you will still have to ask for the real hero’s help.”
What he meant to say was that if Wu Ming, who had irked the other side, couldn’t defeat the next fighter, he would have to turn to Zhang Hanyang for help.
Wu Ming was also aware of this. He curled his lips and backed away.
As soon as he left, Hu Bin’s and Li Mu’s expressions became less tense. Now, they were ready to watch the second battle.
“I’m An Men from the Tiger Talisman Royal Family. Your life will be ended by me.”
As the man in red spoke inside the mecha, his voice turned into an electronic one, which sounded cold and ruthless.
Yan Chen did not respond. He just quietly gazed at the mechanic martial artist in front of him.
This was a mechanic martial artist demonstrating the most advanced science and technology of the Sea Central Star Area. When facing such an enemy for the first time, Yan Chen still appeared calm, but he was extremely vigilant inwardly.
“Click, clank….”
Everyone was dead silent. The faint mechanical noise An Men made while walking was the only sound that could be heard.
When he was 30 meters away from Yan Chen—
“Frizzle!”
In an instant, a bead with electric sparks shot out from An Men’s right mechanical arm.
The bead, like a Fire Stone, was suddenly wrapped in rising flames.
With a crack, the bead shattered and turned into many tiny bullets. Accompanied by the hot flames, they darted toward Yan Chen.
It could be said that every bullet shot by the mechanic martial artist was exceedingly destructive.
However, facing the strike, Yan Chen raised his brow.
“Why do I feel it is just a bluff?”
With a wave of his hand, a three-foot-long black light curtain shot out and blocked the bullets.
At this precise moment, an unexpected scene occurred.
When the hundreds of bullets were blocked, they instantly froze in place.
“Frizzle!”
In an instant, numerous electric arcs suddenly shot out from each bullet and interconnected with one another, forming a huge net that trapped Yan Chen.
“Huh?”
Yan Chen’s eyes narrowed. The power of this electric net was close to the peak of the Elixir Realm.
“When technology is developed to a certain extent, it can’t be trifled with.”
Yan Chen’s eyes flashed with a wisp of black mist. He raised his hands and gathered the wildly rolling energy in his palms. As he did that, the energy around continuously converged into two balls of extremely condensed energy. With the attack taking shape, a gale sprang up around him.
The gale blew and the clouds flew, as though he were going to devour this place.
Hundreds of electric arcs were shattered along with the bullets. They dissolved into huge energy waves and swept in all directions.
All the people present raised their protective covers to block the rogue energy waves.
However, the spectators on both sides of the square felt a chill run down their spines.
“This man is also very strong. He even fended off An Men’s attack. Is he really at the Elixir Realm Last-Stage?”
Under many amazed and bewildered gazes, An Men launched another attack.
“Whiz, whiz, whiz!”
His mechanical arm suddenly reflected a blood-curdling cold glint. Three enormous bullets flew into the air. From more than 10 meters above the ground, they suddenly burst apart and turned into thousands of ice bullets that fell from every part of the sky.
“Don’t make this kind of move anymore. It won’t work!”
Yan Chen’s eyes were still calm. He pressed his middle fingers and thumbs together to cast a spell. A huge pale green circular mark appeared. At the center of the circle was the image of a fierce horse. It looked like the logo of a sports car.
“Frizzle…”
Thousands of ice bullets were melted into vapor, which then wrapped around the arena.
One second, two seconds… and five seconds later, the white vapor slowly dissipated.
The scene that was revealed behind the vapor even stunned Yan Chen a little.
“When fighting against a mechanic martial artist like me, you shouldn’t have let me take the initiative,” said An Men.
“Is that so?”
Yan Chen’s eyes were burning with the urge to fight. He glanced at the 80 or so various mechanical troops that had appeared by An Men’s side.
“So, this is the real power of a mechanic martial artist? Interesting.”
“Hahaha.”
An Men laughed and then clapped his hands, as though announcing the beginning of the real battle.
“Boom, boom, boom…”
All the machines, whether they were flying in the air, quickly crawling on the ground or fixed on a spot, suddenly fired relentlessly, freely releasing their anger. Endless bullets and bombs showered the place.
Even Yan Chen, an extraordinarily talented cultivator, found it a little tricky to deal with. He ceaselessly made all sorts of defensive moves.
“Wham…”
As all kinds of thuds were heard, a burst of highly intense machine gunfire occurred.
Most of the people present were familiar with mechanic martial artists, so they did not feel very much shocked. However, Zhao Feng, Mu Xue, Deep Flame, and the others were struck dumb by the scene.
“Oh my God!” Instructor Liu said in a daze, “Compared with him, the scientific martial artists on Earth are too weak, unless they employ nuclear power. I wonder how powerful those people’s ultimate technology is.”
“Take the main shooting vessel for example,” Nina answered under her breath. “Generally speaking, in a fleet, the power of the main shooting vessel is extremely great. It can easily destroy a small planet with one strike.”
“Er…” Instructor Liu’s face froze, but at the same time, his eyes gleamed more brightly.
“I’m afraid that no one at the same level as him can defend against such a high-intensity attack. Is the advantage that mechanic martial artists have always so great? Don’t they have any weaknesses?” Zhang Mu looked at Zhang Han as he spoke. His expression turned quite grave.
Having returned to his family for so many days, he was already used to this. If there was anything he didn’t understand, he would ask Zhang Han. There were many things they didn’t understand, whereas, there was little that Zhang Han didn’t know. He found that quite strange.
“Their weaknesses are…” Nina started to ponder. She was thinking about how to phrase it so that she could explain the situation concisely.
However, Zhang Han directly pointed out, “Their souls, as well as more destructive attacks.”
“Souls?” the others repeated pensively.
“Yes. Their cultivation might seem decent, but it’s just what they show others. In a face-to-face battle, Yan Chen can kill his opponent with a single strike. An ordinary mechanic can only rely on powerful machinery. As for a mechanic martial artist, he or she also has martial strength. Even so, a machine is just a machine. If one of its parts is damaged, its overall function will be affected. One of the mechanic martial artists’ weak spots is their soul defense. Yan Chen is from the Lihun Sect and is proficient in attacking souls. He might have already noticed it, but he hasn’t taken action because he still wants to know more about mechanic martial artists.”
Zhang Han continued, “The second thing they’re afraid of is an attack with more destructive power. It’s the kind of strike that has great explosive power and works on a designated spot. If the opponent’s machine is ruined, one will not be far from victory.”
After saying that, Zhang Han took a sip of tea with ease.
Nina, who was sitting beside him, stared at him with a somewhat stupefied look.
“Uncle Zhang is really knowledgeable.”
“Explosive power that works on a designated spot…” Mu Xue, Zhao Feng, Chen Changqing, and the others were all lost in thought. They were all wondering how many ways they could think of to deal with the enemy if they were in Yan Chen’s shoes.
They reckoned there could be quite a few.
Yan Chen looked a little too occupied in the face of the gunfire. However, in truth, he was perfectly composed.
In the end, seeing Yan Chen being suppressed by such high-intensity gunfire, An Men said, “You do know your stuff. Then I’ll strike harder.”
“Buzz, buzz!”
Once again, his arms stretched to both sides, and pieces of iron flew off from the mecha. After they floated out of his body, every iron piece split into two, and then into four and more pieces. Then, like balloons being blown up, the iron pieces continuously expanded and became new mechanical troops in succession. The number of the troops was three times larger than before.
“Enjoy the fear,” said An Men in a detached voice.
His confident posture seemed to be laughing at Yan Chen.
At this time, the onlookers from various forces on both sides of the square began to talk again.
“There are more mechanical troops under An Men’s control now.”
“Not to mention someone at the Elixir Realm Last-Stage, even a man at the peak of the Elixir Realm has to be extremely cautious when facing the massive mechanical corps.”
“An Men is also a famous cultivator of the Tiger Talisman Royal Family. He used to ride the whirlwind for many years. It would be ridiculous if he couldn’t even defeat a nameless youngster. If he won, it would be just reasonable. I wouldn’t be surprised at all.”
In the eyes of the crowd, it was simply a fortuitous incident that Bei Dian in the first round was knocked unconscious. This time, they believed An Men would definitely win.
Why?
Because Hu Bin was already angry. In the Sea Central Star Area, anyone who held a relatively high rank had heard of Hu Bin. They all knew that once he was mad, there would be a bloodbath.
As Hu Bin’s subordinate, how could An Men not know this? When he attacked with all his strength, few people at the same level could be a match for him.
Therefore, these onlookers were extremely confident about their prediction.
Yet, what they did not expect was that Yan Chen no longer wanted to continue playing with the other party.
It was good to learn about the mechanical troops. But he couldn’t really keep taking blows like this. If his energy was exhausted, he might really get killed.
“Soul-swallowing Wind!”
Beams of light shot out from Yan Chen’s eyes.
A gust of light black wind whistled past him, penetrating through all kinds of repressing energy and charging at An Men himself.
“Middle-level defense!”
“Buzz!”
Layers of energy patterns rose from An Men’s body.
However, as Yan Chen already began to strike back, how could he stop?
“Soul-breaking Sky Pole!”
“Soul-poisoning Awl!”
Each of his hands cast a secret skill.
The aura of the frightening energy quickly swept at An Men, who was inside the red mecha.
At this moment, Wei Fan narrowed his eyes.
“This guy is an expert on secret soul techniques!”
“How dare you!” Hu Bin widened his eyes. He inwardly gave a moan.
He was aware of An Men’s weakness, so he knew An Men might not be able to withstand these secret soul techniques.
He decided to lend a hand. But just as the gun that appeared in his right hand began to glow, Yan Chen’s attacks had already hit the target.
“Buzz!”
“Buzz!”
“Buzz!”
Everyone sensed the energy waves emanated from An Men, who was inside his red mecha. Those energy waves were generated by the collision of his defense and Yan Chen’s strikes. It was as if at this moment, the world changed color and everything fell silent.
Only those who were proficient in secret soul techniques could feel that An Men’s soul seemed to have been pinned to the ground by a big claw, which was piercing and crushing it.
“Frizzle, frizzle, frizzle…”
The sound of electric currents came from the red mecha. All of its lights were extinguished in an instant.
An Men died.
When one’s soul was destroyed, one’s body might still be able to live for a while. Nevertheless, essentially, one was already a walking dead or in PVS.
“Bam!”
Hu Bin was beside himself. He slammed the armrest of his chair into pieces. This small change affected the function of the chair. It could no longer suspend in the air and fell to the ground.
“You’re courting death!”
Hu Bin’s face was distorted by fury. His desire to kill had never been so strong as it was at this moment.
“Ha.”
Before Yan Chen could say anything, Shi Fenghou could not help but let out half of a sneer.
Then, he said in a mocking tone, “Didn’t you say that the participants should take turns to battle? What now? You can no longer sit still after one of your men died? I haven’t fought yet. Don’t tell me that you so-called powerful forces of the Sea Dragon Star Area already run out of fighters.”
“Well, if you want to fight, I’d like to be your rival,” Hu Bin shouted. He was emitting strong murderous intent. With a stir of his mind, a large number of mechas suddenly appeared in all directions of the square. Those more than 10-meter-high red mechas floating in the air on all sides of the square manifested his determination to kill all of them.
At this time, Wei Fan spoke again.
“They are all here. They can’t run away anyhow. Why not let this game continue? Prince Hu, just stay patient for a little longer. Wait for a short time before killing the fish on the chopping board.”
“Exactly.” Li Mu suddenly laughed out loud. “Don’t you want to know if the ones who haven’t come up yet will present more wonderful battles?”
“Let’s continue,” Hall Master Zhong An of the Silver-winged Hall said tersely.
Hu Bin furrowed his brows. After a good two seconds, he motioned his subordinates to send a new chair over and sat down again. Then, he said coldly, “Continue.”
After that, he pointed at Yan Chen and said, “I call dibs on his life.”
“Don’t they like to fight?” Wei Fan said beamingly, “Then let them fight. We have so many fighters here. We can take turns to handle them. Let’s see how long they can remain this calm.”
“You wanna turn this into a war of attrition?” Without waiting for others to react, Shi Fenghou dashed out and stood at the forefront of the crowd, saying, “Okay, bring it on. If you aren’t afraid that you’ll lose too many subordinates, then, let’s continue.”
“Don’t you dare say that!”
From the members of the Silver-winged Hall, an old man rapidly raced over.
At the sight of this person, many people present exclaimed in amazement.
“It’s Shi He! How come he is here in person? He’s also brought several juniors at the Elixir Realm Last-Stage with him.”
“It seems that they are in desperate need of a victory. Otherwise, Shi He would not have come out to fight in person.”
“Yeah. If the alliance of more than a dozen forces couldn’t even defeat a few nobodies that came out of nowhere, it would be really humiliating.”
“Today, if they didn’t win, they would become a joke. Yet, for what it’s worth, those nobodies are also quite strong. Among those at the same level, they should be the top ones. They don’t look very old. But why haven’t I heard any of them?”
There were many discussions. But no one cared to listen to other people’s discussions, for all the eyes were focused on the arena.
“Remember my name.”
Shi He was wearing a cloth gown. His eyes were icy old. It was obvious that he was ready to kill. Slowly, he said in a deep voice, “My name is Shi…”
“Swoosh! Slosh!”
“Sh-Sh-Shi… Pfft.”
“Plop.”
“My name is Shi Fenghou.”
Shi Fenghou withdrew from the arena with an indifferent look on his face.
The whole process took less than a fraction of a second.
Before everyone could see his movements clearly, a mist of blood burst out of Shi He’s body and he fell hard to the square from five meters above the ground.
“He is dead?”
A dead silence took over the square.
Was it still a battle? It was simply a fast kill.
Hu Bin was petrified at this moment. Li Mu, Zhong An, and some at the peak of the Elixir Realm at the feast all showed a grave look.
They were all wondering if it were them, how they would defend themselves against an opponent with such an incredible speed.
They figured that they might have to use their trump card to fend off that attack, yet they might still even get injured.
“He is so fast!”
Nina was also left open-mouthed. She never thought a person could instantly accelerate to that kind of speed.
“Oh?”
Wei Fan, who was in the Yuan Ying Realm, also revealed a surprised look. He commented, “You’re really fast. That one attack you launched was tricky, fierce, and absolutely deadly. Not bad, not bad. You’re a promising man. But unfortunately, you guys can’t live long here. You can only serve as my playthings.”
“Cut the crap. Now it’s my turn!”
Ye Longyuan couldn’t wait any longer. He quickly entered the arena.
He finally understood that the reason why Wu Ming and the others were not flustered at all was simply that Zhang Hanyang was sitting among the spectators.
It was said that Wu Ming had some kind of friendship with Zhang Hanyang. What was more, he and Shi Fenghou still owed him money. Plus, Zhang Hanyang and they all came from Earth, so he would naturally help them if anything happened. In this case, Ye Longyuan thought there was nothing to be afraid of at all.
What he didn’t expect was that after hearing his remark, Wei Fan, who was in the Yuan Ying Realm, suddenly raised his right hand.
A second later, he curbed his killing desire and said flatly, “Let’s go on then. Just don’t put any more good-for-nothings on the arena.”
It was glaring mockery. “The more than a dozen forces have joined forces. How come they still haven’t won a single battle?”
Quite a few Elixir Realm Last-Stage cultivators sitting at the back straightened up. Some long-known figures couldn’t sit still anymore. They were ready to rush to the arena in person. At the very least, they had to win once.
“Whoosh!”
One of them quickly flew over. Without a word, he fetched out a weapon with a hook on the end. The weapon flashed with a dim light. The next second, it whizzed at Ye Longyuan carrying one of his secret skills.
“Hahaha, bear this in mind, I am Ye Longyuan, the Devil Incarnate!”
Ye Longyuan abruptly gave a wild laugh. At the moment when the two collided, the impact caused cracks to appear on the ground.
“Clang!”
His broadsword was unsheathed!
A shot of cold light flashed past. Then, the opponent’s weapon with a hook was cut into two parts.
At the same time, that man was also reduced to a mist of blood.
Ye Longyuan, who was floating above the mist of blood, threw back his head and roared with laughter.
“Hahahaha, who can withstand one strike from me, Lord Ye?”
“Hiss!”
This time, even Wei Fan’s face paled with fright.
Li Mu, Hu Bin, Zhong An, and the representatives of the more than a dozen forces looked slightly pallid.
“If I’m not mistaken, what he just took out is… a sixth-tier treasure, isn’t it?”
Li Mu leaned against the sofa and gaze at Ye Longyuan with great interest. “Not everyone can have a sixth-tier treasure. Which force do you belong to? If you tell us, we may spare your life.”
To everyone’s surprise, Ye Longyuan just cast an offhand glance at Li Mu and ignored his words. He then turned around and went back to Yan Chen’s side.
“Next.”
Wei Fan looked at Ye Longyuan with gleaming eyes, which made Hu Bin and the others feel rather aggrieved.
“I’m afraid that Wei Fan is about to acquire another sixth-tier treasure.”
Sixth-tier treasures were something that only the sect leaders of the major sects could possess! Unless with great luck, one could not obtain any. In the Sea Dragon Star Area, more than half of the giants and sect leaders from major forces did not own any sixth-tier treasures.
In some sects, in addition to their sect leaders, some elders might also get one.
To obtain a sixth-tier treasure was entirely up to luck.
Unexpectedly, this man in front of them actually had a sixth-tier treasure.
Therefore, how could any of them not be tempted?
“You’ve wielded your weapon before them. They won’t let us go for sure now.” Yan Chen smiled with resignation. “It seems that some people have to shed blood today.”
“Stop talking. It’s finally my turn. Who will my opponent be?”
Su Beimu leaped forward.
“Your opponent is me.”
A white-clothed man descended from his floating chair with great grace. His appearance stirred up an even greater commotion.
But he paid no attention to the restless crowd on the ground. He thought his little fame was not worth mentioning.
Then, he said gently, “Originally, I didn’t want to kill you. But our alliance of more than a dozen forces hasn’t won a battle yet. You are the last participant on your side, so I have to win this battle. Therefore, you will also die. Maybe this is your fate.”
“Oh, no problem. I’m all set. Come on.” Su Beimu nodded.
