Free Web NovelChapter 428: Chapter 158: Breaking the Force, Severing a Life
As Chen Chuan’s blade fell, it felt like he had struck something both incredibly resilient and solid.
His eyes narrowed as he looked at the scales covering the man’s body.
He recalled the Secret Snake Sect’s documents on Power. They stated that when the Profound Snake Force was cultivated to its peak, a Fighter could cause their Mutated Organization to surface and form solid scales, rendering even sharp blades ineffective.
Clearly, Xu Xianwen had not yet reached that level of mastery; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been wounded moments ago. But now, it seemed he had used some method to enter that very state.
His assumption was correct. Xu Xianwen had released all the medicinal power accumulated in his body at once, activating a pre-arranged ritual. This allowed him to elevate his Power by a whole level for a short period, during which his solid scales made him fearless of any blade.
Having blocked the blade, Xu Xianwen dispersed the incoming Power and twisted his arms, attempting to seize the weapon itself.
This was because even though he could block the slashes, the weapon’s length meant Chen Chuan could strike him while he couldn’t reach Chen Chuan. This put him at a huge disadvantage, so immobilizing the weapon was his first priority.
But Chen Chuan gave him no such opportunity, swiftly withdrawing his blade and slashing again.
Xu Xianwen didn’t give up either. With a savage expression, he fearlessly charged into the path of the Sword Stance. Each time he met the blade, his muscles would tremble violently, forcibly repelling it.
Chen Chuan now felt the difference in his opponent’s Power. Every time his blade cut into the man’s body or arms, it felt as if a slippery force was deflecting it, preventing the full might of his blow from landing.
Furthermore, a shuddering force was transmitted back at him with each impact. If he didn’t use his Second Self to absorb it, his Sword Stance would lose its flow, forcing him to readjust after every single strike.
Meanwhile, Xu Xianwen was constantly looking for an opening to press inward. His arms snaked forward, probing and seeking, trying to entangle Chen Chuan in close-quarters combat.
After a few exchanges, Chen Chuan found that with his enhanced Power, Xu Xianwen was indeed more troublesome. However, there was a key weakness: the man was unarmed and needed to get in close to be a threat. So, Chen Chuan immediately adjusted his tactics.
He began to consciously increase his speed and use more space, creating distance between them. Then, he would use his forward momentum to power his slashes.
With this change, Xu Xianwen was immediately put on the defensive.
The boost to his Power hadn’t made him any faster than Chen Chuan. He had tried everything to close the distance, but now he was in the awkward predicament of being unable to catch up.
And each of Chen Chuan’s slashes, empowered by his rapid movement, was immensely powerful. Though Xu Xianwen could block them, the force of each blow knocked him backward or to the side.
Under this relentless, high-impact assault, he couldn’t mount any effective offense. He was forced to abandon his plan of closing in on Chen Chuan and instead focus on rapid evasion, hoping to find an opening.
The two chased and clashed back and forth along the lakeshore like a pair of attracting magnets, pulling apart only to rapidly converge again. Each collision created a massive disturbance, startling nearby birds into frantic cycles of flight and landing. The ground where they fought became pockmarked with craters, blasted open by the force of their steps.
After fighting like this for a good five or six minutes, Xu Xianwen was starting to feel the strain.
Although his scales could block ordinary slashes, fighting an armed opponent empty-handed put him at a huge disadvantage. Each block required him to expend far more stamina and Power to neutralize the force of the blade.
A short while later, the euphoric rush caused by his surging Mutated Organization began to fade, and his mind gradually grew calm again.
He realized that even with his more profound Power, he still couldn’t compensate for the lack of a weapon. Moreover, the open space was a disadvantage for him, giving Chen Chuan ample room to unleash his wide, sweeping Sword Stance.
So, after blocking another slash, he used the blow’s momentum to push himself away, then turned and ran once more. This time, he sprinted directly toward the lake.
Chen Chuan wasn’t about to let him escape so easily. He readied his Long Blade and gave chase.
They were already close to the lake, so it only took a few breaths for them to reach its edge. Neither man stopped, instead running straight out onto the water’s surface as if it were solid ground, leaving two continuous wakes of exploding spray behind them.
After running for several miles across the water, Xu Xianwen’s gaze flickered. He seemed to have found what he was looking for—his planned escape route. Beneath Lu Lan Lake were several underground rivers; if he could reach them, no one would be able to find a trace of him.
He turned his head and shot a grin at Chen Chuan, who was running alongside him. Then, with a forward dive, he pierced the water with a SPLASH and vanished in an instant.
Chen Chuan had no intention of letting him get away. He ripped off his soaked outer clothes and leaped into the water as well, diving deep in one smooth motion. He naturally switched to internal respiration, and with a gentle push of his hands and feet, he cut a path through the water, swiftly following the trail his quarry had left behind.
Xu Xianwen noticed Chen Chuan pursuing him, but he wasn’t concerned at first. As a member of the Secret Snake Sect, he was an excellent swimmer. However, after swimming for a few miles, he was shocked to discover that, just like on land, Chen Chuan was getting closer and closer.
A savage glint appeared in his eyes. While swimming at high speed, he spun around, circling in a wide arc to appear on Chen Chuan’s left. Then, using his momentum, he threw a powerful punch.
In his current state, not only could he operate underwater for extended periods, but his Power was even more potent beneath the surface.
Chen Chuan didn’t dodge. He transferred his blade to his left hand, clenched his right into a fist, and, using his own forward momentum, turned his body and met the attack with a punch of his own!
In that instant, their fists collided!
Just like the underwater clash between the members of the Wilderness Sect and the Implant Faction, the immense destructive force of the collision was absorbed entirely by the two combatants.
The muscles and scales on Xu Xianwen’s body rippled as waves of water radiated outward from him. Meanwhile, Chen Chuan’s Second Self flickered translucently. A shockwave erupted in the water from the point of their fists’ impact.
The force pushed them both backward, but they simultaneously kicked off, spun once in the resulting vortex, and shot toward each other again, colliding with immense power!
This impact was even more powerful than the last. The spreading shockwave instantly killed the small aquatic creatures nearby.
But neither man stopped. They continued to press forward, clashing again and again. Each time, they gathered all of their Power into a single point and unleashed it upon their opponent.
The battle had inevitably become a contest of attrition, a test of who had the stronger willpower and endurance.
This was unavoidable. Because Chen Chuan was faster, Xu Xianwen would be caught no matter what. If he wanted to escape, his only option was to defeat Chen Chuan first!
This assault was the absolute limit of his abilities underwater; he had to hold on, no matter the cost.
Chen Chuan, on the other hand, had even less reason to retreat. He had his Second Self to offload damage, making him fearless of injury and prolonged exertion. He could keep up this contest indefinitely.
After a dozen more head-on collisions, Xu Xianwen felt waves of fatigue emanating from his Mutated Organization. It was becoming sluggish. This all-or-nothing style of attack was simply too draining.
Furthermore, the Power granted by the ritual was beginning to fade. Yet, caught up in the rhythm of the battle, he felt he couldn’t stop.
More importantly, he couldn’t think of any better strategy. All he could do was grit his teeth and endure, hoping Chen Chuan would be the first to collapse.
He continuously drew upon the Essence Blood from his heart to replenish his lost stamina and maintain the high energy consumption of his Power.
After countless more exchanges, the two charged each other again. But this time, as Xu Xianwen tried to summon his Power, he felt a profound emptiness in his body. When their fists collided once more, the bones in his hand shattered with a sickening CRACK. The fractures spread up his arm and into his torso as the flesh and scales covering them burst open, spraying blood into the water.
He didn’t retreat this time. Instead, he pushed through the immense impact, his expression savage as he lunged toward Chen Chuan.
’If I can just get close,’ he thought, ’I can use the Profound Snake Force’s Capture techniques! I still have a chance to turn this around!’
Seeing him approach, a glint flashed in Chen Chuan’s eyes. He didn’t retreat either. Instead, he used the force of the impact to spin in place, whipping out the Snow Monarch Blade like a lash!
The sheer Power he channeled into the strike created a visible shockwave that followed the blade’s edge!
Startled, Xu Xianwen scrambled to dodge, but the blade still grazed him. A shower of blood gushed out, drifting away with the current. The gash ran all the way to his chest; his shoulder was nearly severed from his body.
This single blow completely extinguished any hope of a counterattack.
But he knew escape was hopeless. So, instead of retreating, he seized the moment after the blade passed to lunge forward, trying to grasp that one last, desperate chance. However, the moment he moved, a fist met his face, sending him into a daze and draining all the strength from his body.
In his hazy consciousness, he suddenly felt a hand touch his head. Alarmed, he instantly used Emitting Force to bat it away.
Seeing this, Chen Chuan clipped the Snow Monarch Blade to his belt, grabbed Xu Xianwen by the hair, and drew a short blade with his other hand. He plunged it violently into his throat, piercing clean through his neck!
Xu Xianwen’s eyes flew wide. Summoning a final burst of strength from somewhere, he grabbed Chen Chuan’s arm, as if trying to struggle.
However, while Chen Chuan had removed his outer garments, he was still wearing his Protective Clothing. The ritual inscribed within it immediately began to absorb Xu Xianwen’s Life Force and blood.
In just a few moments, Xu Xianwen’s grip went slack.
Chen Chuan casually brushed his hand aside. He then grabbed Xu Xianwen’s hair, pulled the short blade out, circled it swiftly around his neck, and with a single jerk, severed the head from the body. The headless corpse finally stopped struggling, its limbs drifting limply in the water.
...
...
