Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The masked man’s third round started. He would be part of the top twelve if he could defeat his two rivals.
Since he was the first one to have caught the attention of the old man in the gray robe, half of the people present were gazing at him when he got into the ring. He’d become terribly popular.
He had to be ranked at least 19th on the Eternal Flame List, since he had defeated Princess Crimson Moon.
Among those who hadn’t finished this round, only a few were in the top nineteen.
Most of them were nervous when the masked man’s rival still hadn’t been decided. Whosever wooden token lit up, they would probably be eliminated.
Soon, someone’s wooden token shone.
He didn’t complain, nor did he feel frightened. He looked emotionless. When his wooden token lit up, he was seized with the strong desire to fight.
No one else was as eager to fight as he was. It was a formidable desire.
Even though people recognized who he was and knew he was a combative person, they were still surprised.
“Alas, your apprentice brother is extremely lucky,” Meng Feifei said.
Chu Luo shook her head helplessly. Her young lord’s opponent was the one who deserved the most serious consideration among those she had noticed, Xue Rentian.
“You insulted the princess. That’s a capital offense.”
Xue Rentian jumped into the ring. His black eyes were as sharp as swords.
“You mentioned the Black Dragon City. Another capital offense.”
He couldn’t see Jiang Chen’s expression behind the mask, but he wouldn’t care even if he could. He talked to Jiang Chen arrogantly.
The crowd knew why he was behaving like this.
Xue Rentian, General Xue Jiangtian’s son, had been in the war as his father’s lieutenant.
He had something the others on the Eternal Flame List didn’t have—military experience!
Due to his identity, Xue Rentian regarded himself as the protector of the royal family.
He was extremely unhappy with Jiang Chen, since the latter had taken off Princess Crimson Moon’s silk ribbons.
It was said that Xue Rentian, who never drank, was exceedingly drunk on the day Princess Crimson Moon and Ning Haotian became engaged, so the capital people understood why he had mentioned the princess.
As for the Black Dragon City, it was a sore spot of Xue Rentian’s that no one dared touch. Otherwise, he would be in a towering rage.
His father, Xue Jiangtian, had been a powerful man on the Master List. More than a year ago, he had gone to the Black Dragon City under orders to suppress the rioter Jiang Qingyu.
Jiang Qingyu had been suppressed by the general and the Black Dragon City in the end, but he had cut off the general’s right arm. The general’s strength had dropped markedly ever since, until he wasn’t qualified to be on the Master List anymore.
Xue Rentian had proposed that they kill Jiang Qingyu or disable him many times to the emperor of the Xia Dynasty.
It wasn’t difficult to see what kind of person he was from the these facts.
He was holding a spear with a golden tip and body. It was fifteen feet and two inches long, imposing a shapeless majesty when it was stood straight up.
The size of a spear mattered a lot. Everyone has a different height and arm length. Spears of mass production only applied to soldiers.
A spear master’s spear had to be customized.
Faced with this guy’s arrogance, Jiang Chen pointed at him and said, “You put on an act and showed off. That’s a capital offence.”
His intentional imitation and mocking tone devastated the repressive atmosphere Xue Rentian had caused. Many couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
“Some people are arrogant only because they think they’re great. It’s so sad!”
Xue Rentian was eager to fight, but he looked calm and gentle. His disdainful tone showed his confidence.
“Thunder Shakes the Nine Heavens!”
He waved his silver spear as if he was going to charge forward, unstoppable.
It was a pure spear attack, very direct, powerful enough to pierce everything.
Jiang Chen became a little more serious. This guy was pretty powerful. No wonder he had the nerve to be so arrogant.
“The Rainbow Sword Method: Rainbow Penetrates the Sun!”
Jiang Chen took a deep breath, then jumped into the air after a run-up. Both he and his sword turned into a white rainbow and travelled up to and through the sun.
The fight was intense as soon as it started.
When the spear and sword met, neither of them gained an advantage.
Both Xue Rentian and Jiang Chen were quick-minded. They exerted a new movement at the same time. In less than ten seconds, they’d exchanged ten blows.
He’s great. He pushed Jiang Chen to exert The Rainbow Sword Method.
Wen Xin was awestruck. The others hadn’t connected the masked man with Jiang Chen yet.
“The longer, the more powerful. It’s an eternal truth. The battlefield is where people pay the most attention to effective killing methods. That’s why soldiers’ weapons are either spears or lances.”
“Exactly. But long weapons are difficult to use. Some people’s arms are short. They can’t use such weapons at all. Not to mention talent.”
“Xue Rentian is ranked 15th on the Eternal Flame List thanks to his silver spear.”
“Xue Rentian and Yi Shuihan had a fight a long time ago. He won, although he was confronting a successor to the doctrine of sword.”
Xue Rentian approached his enemy and launched an aggressive attack with his spear, like a lionhearted general on the battlefield.
His spear method was ingenious, quick and full of changes.
In comparison, the sword was at a disadvantage. The swordsman could do nothing but defend.
“Spears and sticks are the most powerful weapons for martial arts. Swords and knives are only for mediocre people who can’t use spears and sticks.”
Xue Rentian was still in the mood for speeches. At the same time, the power of the spear was increasing rather than reducing.
He thrust the spear forward, then turned around after running a short distance. The silver spear followed his body and pierced in the direction of his movement.
“It’s powerful indeed!” many people exclaimed about his attack.
Hands were most important for swords and knives.
Spears and sticks relied on the movement of the entire body. Real masters could influence spears more than swords and knives.
Pah!
The spear hit against Jiang Chen’s spiritual sword, and the blade turned into a half-moon shape. The power of the vibrations arrived at his hands through the blade and he was thrown off the ground.
“Now, have your learned your weakness?”
Xue Rentian didn’t seize the chance to keep attacking. Instead, he looked over with disdain.
“How could this be? The masked man’s performance isn’t good enough.”
The crowd hadn’t taken the masked man seriously before. In each of his fights, they had thought he would lose soon, but they were surprised in the end.
This time, they had been looking forward to the masked man’s great performance. To their surprise, it ended like this.
“Is he goofing around?” they couldn’t help but think.
“No, he isn’t goofing around.”
Yi Shuihan, who was in the top twelve, shook his head.
He had fought with Xue Rentian once. He could understand how difficult it was for the masked man at the moment.
“Why?” His companions expected the successor to the doctrine of sword to solve their puzzle.
“In the last three fights, each of the masked man’s rival was in a higher state than him, and not only a little higher, but much higher.
“However, this advantage didn’t work. Maybe it was because the masked man has lots of holy points, but the gap in states is related to one’s qi and strength, not just the number of holy points.
“The root cause is that their martial arts techniques were not as good as the masked man’s, so their advantages in state didn’t matter.
“The masked man is more skilled in spears and swords than Xue Rentian.”
Then Yi Shuihan showed a helpless look and said, “But the spear is too advantageous. When you’ve just managed to approach your rival with your sword, your rival’s spear is already able to pierce your body, so it’s impossible for him to exert the power of his best sword movements.
“The length of the spear works as the spearwielder’s shield and a good weapon!
“Those skilled in spears and sticks always look down on swords and knives, since they’re practiced by many.”
