Chapter 571: Instant Kill
“Ha ha ha! Xiao Chen, do you feel my rage? I have to thank you. Without you, I would not have been able to comprehend such a powerful Martial Technique. My flames, rage!”
“Bang!”
In an instant, the raging emotion was pushed to the limit. A huge arm appeared on the ground. This arm was at least a hundred meters long. The moment it appeared, it covered half the sky.
Xiao Chen’s tall, slender body looked minuscule beside the flaming arm. He was like an ant before the arm, so small it could smash him to death in one hit.
The huge arm of raging flames moved with a thunderous sound as it headed for Xiao Chen.
Xiao Chen remained calm. His mind was like still water; there was not a single ripple at all. The purple crystal whirlpool in his body spun quickly together with the peak state of thunder.
A crystal saber Qi condensed on the saber and spewed out.
The long, purple crystal saber Qi was as thin as a cicada’s wings. It moved in a flash and chopped the arm that came out from the ground in half.
Its might undiminished, the crystal saber Qi continued heading for Xie Ziwen, who was in the air. The saber Qi shattered his Essence shield with a loud ‘bang.’
Countless bolts of lightning erupted, blasting Xie Ziwen beyond recognition. Then, he fell from the sky.
“Ka ca!”
After defeating Xie Ziwen in a second, Xiao Chen sheathed his saber. At this moment, the remnant fire and electricity mixed together and exploded.
A purple-and-red energy wave spread out, contained within the barrier. It looked very beautiful from afar.
When the energy wave scattered and its light faded, a calm bladesman stood in the middle of the dueling ring. He did not appear joyful or sorrowful, neither excited nor frustrated.
The cool breeze from the commotion earlier made Xiao Chen’s clothes flutter about. When combined within his calm expression, he gave off a faintly discernible aura of experience; he seemed free and at ease.
“Victory goes to Xiao Chen. You gained another two points!”
The referee of group six suppressed the excitement in his heart as he calmly announced the results. A true rising star finally came out of group six; it was no longer a group of trash.
As the referee for this group, he felt slightly satisfied.
“Damn it, did I see wrong? He managed to defeat Xie Ziwen in one move. Where exactly did this white-robed bladesman come from?”
“No matter what, Xie Ziwen was still ranked forty-seventh in the previous Five Nation Youth Competition. He should be able to reach the top twenty this time.”
“From the looks of things, this Xiao Chen still has not used all his strength. Who knows how much of it he used?”
“Probably at least seventy percent. Otherwise, it is too horrifying.”
Those who paid attention to Xiao Chen’s match erupted in excitement. They had not expected such a conclusion.
In the first half of the elimination round, Xie Ziwen was still cocky, astonishing the spectators. From the looks of things then, he was about on par with Xiao Chen.
However, when Xiao Chen truly made a move, he managed to defeat Xie Ziwen in an instant. This thoroughly shocked the audience.
Up in the spectator stands, the Evil Moon Pavilion’s elders all wore unsightly expressions. First, one of their elite disciples was played for a fool by Jin Dabao. Then, Xie Ziwen, whom they had entrusted their hopes to, was defeated in one move.
As a great sect, such things happening consecutively was like their faces were being slapped.
Bai Zhan was speechless. Despite being told that he was no match for Xiao Chen, Xie Ziwen had still insisted on humiliating himself.
When Xiao Chen returned to the spectator stands, Yun Kexin had yet to recover from her shock at the power he had displayed. She asked curiously, “Xiao Chen, how much of your strength did you use earlier?”
Xiao Chen smiled faintly. “Not even half. Maybe not even half of half.”
Yun Kexin could not help but succumb to shock once more. Half of half, that meant he had not used even a quarter of his strength. Exactly how strong was he now?
At a spectator stand far from Xiao Chen, the three geniuses of the Myriad Fiend Palace had also watched his match.
Xiao Bai’s bright eyes seemed to have stars flickering in them. She said joyfully, “Elder Brother Xiao Chen became even more powerful. Xiao Bai has to work harder, even harder. Then, Xiao Bai can meet Elder Brother Xiao Chen in the finals.”
Mu Xinya, Jiang Zimo, and Chu Mu all shook their heads and smiled bitterly. They speechlessly exchanged glances.
After they left the Ancient Desolate Land, the three had worked very hard with Xiao Chen as their target. Now that two years had passed, the three of them had improved. However, the gap between them and Xiao Chen seemed to have become even wider.
It felt like it would be impossible to close this gap. Since Xiao Chen had overtaken them, they would never catch up.
For someone of the same generation to have Xiao Chen as their target, this was a sorrowful matter.
After defeating Xie Ziwen in one move, Xiao Chen rocketed to fame. In the following three matches, his opponents all chose to concede.
After all, there were twenty matches they had to fight, all happening in a short period. Since they knew that they would lose, there was no point in them risking injury.
It would be wise to preserve their strength and prepare for the next match, so they could do their best there.
“A genius bladesman appeared in group ten. He is very powerful.” After Xiao Chen sat down, Liu Suifeng, who had been carefully watching the matches immediately informed Xiao Chen.
Compared to Xiao Chen, Liu Suifeng and the others were undoubtedly much more relaxed. They could freely watch the matches and fulfil the role of investigators, helping Xiao Chen and the others spot geniuses that they needed to pay note to.
A genius bladesman?
The Heavenly Saber Pavilion was famed for their bladesmen. Being immersed in such an environment, Liu Suifeng naturally had a good eye for bladesmen. Someone who caught his attention and was described as a genius by him would be pretty good.
When the elimination round started, many genius swordsmen could be seen. However, genius bladesmen were rare.
Xiao Chen said interestedly, “Is he a disciple of the ten great sects’ Divine Saber Gate?”
Of the ten great sects, the Divine Saber Gate was famed for bladesmen. Their accomplishments in Saber Techniques were several levels higher than the Heavenly Saber Pavilion’s.
Liu Suifeng shook his head and said, “No.”
Feeling surprised, Xiao Chen responded, “Then he must be from the Bai Clan.”
The Bai Clan was a Noble Clan famed for bladesmen. One of their ancestors, Bai Shuihe, was a Saber Emperor. Their Four Season Saber Technique was hailed as the closest Saber Technique to a Heaven Ranked Saber Technique.
Although Heaven Ranked Saber Techniques were strong, under normal circumstances, only a Martial Monarch could practice a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique.
However, the Four Season Saber Technique was clearly an Earth Ranked Martial Technique, but it had the might of a Heaven Ranked Martial Technique. Given this, someone with the strength of the Four Season Saber Technique would stand out prominently among a large group of half-step Martial Monarchs.
The Four Season Saber Technique was simply an exceptional Martial Technique. This was also why Bai Qi dared to challenge Sima Lingxuan.
As a Noble Clan of bladesmen, it would not be surprising if they managed to produced a few bladesmen just slightly weaker than Bai Qi.
However, Liu Suifeng still shook his head and said, “He is not, either. This person is called Lin Fei. He is not from any sect nor is he affiliated with any clan. His Saber Technique is very exquisite. Although he is a Superior Grade Martial King, the combat prowess that he showed cannot be matched by regular half-step Martial Monarchs.”
“It is his turn to fight again. He has already won ten consecutive victories. I wonder if he can continue this streak,” Mu Heng, who was at the side, chimed in.
He has no sect or affiliation with any clan. Not a disciple of the Divine Saber Gate or the Bai Clan. There really are a lot of new stars in this Five Nation Youth Competition.
Xiao Chen could not help but look over. He saw two youths standing in the dueling ring.
One of them was wearing embroidered clothes with two small sabers criss-crossed on the chest. Xiao Chen knew that that was the emblem of the Divine Saber Gate.
The other person was dressed in green and held a saber that was 1.33 meters long and three centimeters wide. He looked very ordinary.
This person’s eyes were hooded, like they were a hidden volcano waiting to erupt at any moment.
This green-robed man had to be the Lin Fei that Liu Suifeng mentioned.
“There are not many experts in group ten. However, this Lin Fei’s consecutive victories might come to an end here. His opponent is the Divine Saber Gate’s elite disciple, Ma Yuan, who was ranked thirty-ninth in the previous Five Nation Youth Competition.”
“Furthermore, he is also a bladesman. So he is familiar with his moves. The situation does not look good for him.”
“The most important thing is that the Martial Techniques and Cultivation Techniques of a great sect would be good. He is different from the others.”
Naturally, Lin Fei was quite famous. Before the match began, many of the cultivators near Xiao Chen started to discuss him.
Ma Yuan held a slender, scarlet saber. He looked at Lin Fei and said, “Sorry, I will end your winning streak.”
Lin Fei smiled and said, “Where does your confidence come from? Make your move. Let me see how many of my moves an elite of the Divine Saber Gate can endure.”
“You are just a nameless brat! How dare you be so arrogant?”
Ma Yuan shouted a ferocious warcry and his aura immediately exploded forth. The hand he used to hold his saber shook and a scarlet killing Qi spread from his body.
“Traceless Blood Shadow!”
From the moment Ma Yuan attacked, he did not have any intention of holding back. He immediately used a Superior Grade Earth Ranked Martial Technique of the Divine Saber Gate—Traceless Blood Shadow—to start off the match.
Instantly, scarlet saber lights flew out of the saber. Soon, the dueling ring was covered in scarlet lights.
The scarlet lights contained a sharp killing intent. Every strand of killing intent locked on to Lin Fei, not allowing him much opportunity to dodge.
Liu Suifeng sighed and said, “How wonderful to be a disciple of a great sect in the Great Jin Nation! The moment he attacked, he used an Earth Ranked Saber Technique. Look at the advantages and state of this Saber Technique. It is not something that an ordinary Saber Technique can compare to.”
Xiao Chen agreed with Liu Suifeng’s words in his heart. This was the Blood Shadow Saber Technique. The blood represented killing Qi, and the shadow, a formless and swift trajectory. This was only the first move and it could fill the place with killing intent, like snow drifting to the ground in winter.
This Ma Yuan was indeed capable. However, whether he could obtain victory would depend on himself, on how deep his comprehension of the Blood Shadow Saber Technique was.
The great sects could provide one with a Martial Technique that was normally hard to find. However, how much of the Martial Technique they could bring out would depend on their individual talent.
Lin Fei remained expressionless. Only, at this moment, his previously unlively eyes became very spirited. He quickly looked at the saber lights in the air and Ma Yuan.
Then, Lin Fei swiftly made a decision. He revealed a cold smile and drew his saber.
In an instant, Lin Fei sent out ten sharp saber Qi. They were like sharp arrows that could not be blocked and they all struck the weak points of the saber lights.
Metallic clangs rang out. Lin Fei had shattered the saber lights filling the air. He had broken the starting move of the Blood Shadow Saber Technique.
Xiao Chen said, “Ma Yuan is going to lose.”
Mu Heng and the others felt it was strange. The match was clearly just starting. Why would Xiao Chen say right away that Ma Yuan was going to lose?
Ma Yuan looked clearly dispirited. He had just begun his Blood Shadow Saber Technique. Before he could unveil its might, it was broken. How was he to continue fighting?
