Celestial Human Diagram

Chapter 423: Chapter 153: Crushing the Strong and Trapping the Enemy

Chen Chuan glanced at the snake-shaped hanging ornament on the fallen man’s chest. It was the symbol of the Viper Organization. The files the Processing Bureau had given him included information on this team.

Before today, he had reviewed the files on these armed groups several times, meticulously studying every video and record of each individual.

He hadn’t done this alone; he had discussed each individual with the Wuyi teachers, one by one. They had gone over how to deal with each target, how to achieve a quick victory, and had drawn up specific plans for every scenario.

The man who had fallen before him was named Jin Leihan. He was from the Fuluo Peninsula and was particularly skilled in Horizontal Training.

As he recalled the man’s file, Teacher Bai’s voice echoed in his mind:

"Someone like Jin Leihan who excels at External Horizontal Training is almost impossible to defeat in a short amount of time. If you’re asking me if there’s a way to win quickly, there is one...

His type of Horizontal Training Force is the simplest ’Solid Mountain Force.’ It’s not easy to train this Power to such a level. But pure hardness has its limits. The soft cannot withstand an attack, but the hard cannot endure for long. Without a balance of both, one can never achieve greatness.

When he strikes, he gathers all his body’s Power in an instant. If his defense is breached head-on by a far superior Power at that exact moment, all the condensed tissues in his body will shatter at once. However, this is purely theoretical. Even if you have the strength, you must strike at that precise instant of maximum convergence, or it won’t be enough to work..."

Chen Chuan looked at the mangled corpse. To achieve this outcome, he had first released a simulated Domain—a signal that induces an extreme sense of danger. The stimulus forced Jin Leihan into a powerful reaction, compelling him to focus all of his strength.

At that moment, he had instantly overlapped with his Second Self, channeled the Furnace Breathing Method, and thrown a punch powered by the long-charged Cloud-Breaking Technique. It directly shattered that single, strongest point, and in an instant, the shock fractured every bone in Jin Leihan’s body.

But it wasn’t over. At that point, the opponent was merely heavily wounded—not a fatal blow for a Horizontal Training master. If he had enough accumulated Essence Blood, he might even have gotten back up. Therefore, a second surge of Power erupted from within Chen Chuan, driving deep inside. It pulverized his opponent’s unprotected internal organs and brain tissue, leaving him utterly and irrevocably dead.

To onlookers, it appeared he had only thrown a single punch, killing Jin Leihan head-on with pure shock force. This sent a powerful shock through the Viper Corps members who witnessed it.

In reality, this strike had condensed his Domain skills, the Furnace Breathing Method, and even the overlapping power of his Second Self. It was the pinnacle of his current abilities, combining both technique and power.

Not only that, but Jin Leihan had also become the first sacrifice for the ceremony. The Esoteric Ritual on his person had absorbed its first sacrifice, something that would prove useful in the battles to come.

Xiaosheng saw what had happened up ahead. Shocked, he thought in alarm, ’This is bad.’

Their usual tactic was to use Jin Leihan’s Horizontal Training to spearhead the attack, bog down the enemy, drain their stamina, and observe their weaknesses. Then the rest of them would swarm in. This tactic had never failed.

But because this tactic was so effective, they never managed to organize drills for a backup plan. Everyone had grown too lazy to bother.

But now, this weakness was exposed. What came next would surely be a free-for-all.

He was right. Sure enough, just as he stopped, a figure shot past him and charged forward.

Chen Chuan looked at the person rushing toward him. The man wore a black training uniform, had an aquiline nose and deep-set eyes. His movements were swift and agile. He wielded a long blade of Outer Ocean design, one that was even a bit longer than his own.

From his features, he identified him as Zhu Haidu, an attacker from the Viper Corps and of mixed Outer Ocean heritage. This man was very good at seizing opportunities. He must have seen Chen Chuan clash with Jin Leihan and assumed that his aura and Power were still unsettled, or even that he was seriously injured, making this a good chance to attack.

As he watched the figure approach, the words of Teacher Zheng rang in his mind:

"This person’s Saber Technique is solid, and his Saber Techniques are respectable. He’s decent, I guess. If I were to fight him? If I went all out, I could cut him in two within three strikes. At his current level, the result would be the same no matter how many times he tried.

If you’re asking if I could finish him in one strike, my answer is yes. It would just come at a small price..."

Facing the incoming slash, Chen Chuan retreated, drawing the Snow Monarch Blade from the scabbard stuck diagonally in the ground behind him. He met the attack with a slash of his own.

If it was a simple exchange of attacks, trading life for life, the opponent would surely dodge. He probably wouldn’t clash head-on, because they had numbers. All he needed to do was tie Chen Chuan down and create an opening for the others.

Even if he displayed superior speed and strength, given the distance between them, the opponent would have enough time to react if he was prepared, making a one-hit kill unlikely.

And his current speed against a Fighter of the same level wasn’t at the point where a Third Limit Fighter could crush First and Second Limits Fighters. So instead of being fast, he had to be slow. He had to make his opponent feel that he could land the killing blow first, so...

A glint flashed in Zhu Haidu’s eyes. In that instant, he had already made his judgment: his blade would definitely strike the opponent first. So he maintained his Sword Stance, slashing straight down at Chen Chuan’s head and neck.

But at that moment, he was horrified to find that Chen Chuan’s figure was not where it was supposed to be. Instead, he had abruptly appeared two steps away, just barely beyond the reach of his blade.

Sensing something was wrong, he reacted quickly. He channeled his Power, flicked his wrist upward, and swiftly changed his slash into a thrust, still aiming at his opponent.

However, as he made this move, he discovered that Chen Chuan was still in his original position. Everything he had just seen was like an illusion. This caused his pupils to shrink abruptly.

Chen Chuan moved forward, letting the tip of his opponent’s blade pass through the empty air above his shoulder. His Snow Monarch Blade flashed with two consecutive slashes. As the two crossed paths, Zhu Haidu was instantly cut into three pieces.

After taking two steps forward, Chen Chuan came to a halt and flicked his long blade clean. Behind him, the two halves of the body and the soaring head fell to the ground one after another.

He lifted his head, looked forward, and said, "The second one!" At the same time, another flash of light shone from within his clothes and mask.

After sacrificing Jin Leihan, the effect of the Secret Ceremony was to create a sensory dislocation in his opponent. By using this, he had slain Zhu Haidu without paying any price.

And now, having sacrificed another person, the Secret Ceremony gained a new effect, one he was saving for his next opponent.

The others who had been preparing to move forward and find an opening involuntarily stopped in their tracks. In the blink of an eye, a second person had fallen to Chen Chuan’s blade, and again, the fight was decided in a single move. This situation was far beyond their expectations.

Although they didn’t care about their comrade’s life, they knew his strength. This inevitably made them wary and cautious, and none of them dared to rush forward rashly again.

Chen Chuan stared at the three figures before him. The Viper Team was composed of six Third Limit Fighters in total. Of course, not all of them were experts. Including Jin Leihan, barely half of them could be considered true masters. The rest were mediocre. The main point, however, was that each one had their own specialty.

Once they combined their skills and complemented each other, they were formidable.

For experts of the same level, fighting one person versus two are completely different things, let alone several. It requires the lone fighter to have several times the overall strength to have any hope of crushing them.

Even with his Second Self to absorb damage, he didn’t want to face that situation. It was best to create one-on-one scenarios and defeat them one by one in the shortest time possible.

On the left stood Sheng Hui, who looked like a recent college graduate. His own strength was decent, and he was the brains of the Viper Team. It couldn’t have been easy for him to lead a team like this.

The bewitching woman in the middle wearing a short skirt was named Xian Quanfeng. Though her combat ability was average, she was the team’s interrogation expert and medic. As long as her teammates’ injuries weren’t fatal, she could save them. She was also suspected of possessing advanced Life Domain interference abilities, so the files recommended eliminating her first.

The last one had a peculiar appearance. His back was hunched, and his age was impossible to tell. His hands hung almost to the ground. Green Protective Clothing wrapped around his firm, slender muscles, especially his two exaggerated lats, which seemed to spread out like wings. He looked like an upright, walking serpent.

This man was called Old Han. Besides the leader, he had the highest combat level in the entire Viper Team. He was the leader’s true confidant. His strength was considerable, and he was the one who carried out many of their most difficult missions.

Previously, the Processing Bureau had needed to deploy more people—not even one less would do—mainly because they were wary of him and the team leader, Xu Xianwen.

As he was observing them, an unpredictable and ethereal Domain made contact with his Biological Domain. It seemed to carry some kind of illusory property, and it attempted to use this to further affect his mental state.

Teacher Jiang’s somewhat lazy voice came back to him:

"People who are skilled with Biological Domains often have a dual nature of caution and impulsiveness. On one hand, they are reckless when it comes to clashing Domains; on the other, they will never make a move until they’ve seen their opponent’s full capabilities.

Such people are often very careful. The moment they sense something is wrong, their first thought is self-preservation. Her companions will also support her with all their might, so she’s not an easy target to kill.

If you want to finish it quickly... hmm, unless you have a way to strongly affect her mind during the Domain clash. Though I think that would be very difficult to do, who knows, maybe such a method exists?"

The instant he felt the Domain contact, Chen Chuan’s gaze shifted to Xian Quanfeng. At the same time, the Secret Ceremony on his body was triggered by her Domain.

It had the effect of amplifying the senses and causing the spirit to ascend. It was a ritual used by Sacrificial Priests to communicate with some kind of worshipped foreign entity. Therefore, in that moment, what Xian Quanfeng saw was akin to the visions from taking a special drug, only even more absurd and bizarre. Her mind inevitably went blank for an instant.

And in that instant, Chen Chuan abruptly drew the Thunder Shock Pistol, its dark muzzle aimed at that bewitching face, which was still filled with confusion and suspicion.

As he pulled the trigger, with a BOOM, another thunderous crack echoed. Half of Xian Quanfeng’s head was instantly blown to bits. The massive sound caused the surrounding leaves to tremble violently.

Chen Chuan looked at the mangled corpse on the ground. The muzzle of the Thunder Shock Pistol in his hand was still emitting a wisp of smoke. In a calm voice, he said:

"The third one!"

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