Free Web NovelChapter 333: Chapter 169: Rematch with Dongfang Zhen, How Much Am I Like Before
The final battle.
The winner would be crowned the chief of this year’s training camp!
The countdown numbers slowly ticked down between the two fighters.
The instant it hit zero, Dongfang Zhen vanished!
Just as he had in their first duel twenty days ago, he erupted with his ultimate speed. In a flash of lightning, the halberd in his hand was already sweeping toward Lin Ye’s chest with the force of a landslide.
But this time—
CLANG!
A deafening roar erupted as a violent shockwave swept out in all directions.
Dongfang Zhen was sent flying back several meters. He stumbled a few more steps upon landing before managing to steady himself.
His hands, gripping the halberd, throbbed as if they would tear apart, and a sore numbness radiated up his arms.
Across from him, Lin Ye stood his ground, not having moved an inch.
The layer of ever-flowing golden Gang Sha covering his body had absorbed the full force of the attack.
The golden Gang Sha flowing around Lin Ye’s body barely even rippled.
The calm in Dongfang Zhen’s eyes as he looked at Lin Ye was gone, replaced by pure, unadulterated shock.
Twenty days ago, he could still match Lin Ye in strength, perhaps even hold a slight advantage.
’But now, he just stood there, took my all-out attack, and I was the one who got knocked back?’
’What kind of complete transformation has he undergone in the past twenty-odd days!’
"Good!"
After the initial shock, an even fiercer fighting spirit ignited within Dongfang Zhen’s chest.
He roared, not the least bit discouraged, and slammed his Thunder Pattern Halberd deep into the ground.
RUMBLE—!
Blinding electrical light erupted from the halberd, instantly forming a Thunder Domain far larger and more terrifying than the one he had used against Wei Shuying.
The electrical serpents dancing within it were also far stronger than during his previous battle with Lin Ye, transforming the entire arena into a veritable Thunder Purgatory.
A pair of ferocious, archaic silver Fist Armor materialized over Dongfang Zhen’s knuckles. Intricate thunder patterns swirled across their surface, mirroring the Thunder Domain beneath his feet.
Lin Ye’s heart tightened.
’So he really wasn’t going all out in our last fight.’
’Twenty days have passed. I’m not the only one who’s improved; so has he.’
CRACKLE!
Countless arcs of lightning, like ethereal serpents, slithered through the domain. Even with his golden Gang Sha Body Protection, Lin Ye could still feel a tingling numbness penetrating his defenses and reaching deep into his muscles.
With a single thought, Lin Ye’s steady spear stance shifted. An invisible, sharp aura erupted from the Star-Piercing Spear as he adopted the wide, sweeping [Breaking Army] stance.
The instant he switched stances, the fleeting feeling of paralysis and sluggishness vanished from his body.
’Switching stances counts as using a skill, which instantly activates the one-second passive effect of [Unstoppable].’
He had nullified the paralyzing effect of the Thunder Domain through what was essentially a clever trick.
Having confirmed this, Lin Ye vanished.
Dongfang Zhen’s pupils shrank to pinpricks!
’He was certain that inside his Thunder Domain, the electricity had to be getting to Lin Ye. It was impossible to be completely immune.’
’And yet... he seems completely unaffected!’
Lin Ye’s speed was absurdly fast.
But Dongfang Zhen was no longer the man he was twenty days ago; he had long since mentally elevated the threat of Lin Ye’s speed to the highest possible level.
He could still react, even as Lin Ye pulled the same trick again!
THUD!
With a dull thud, Dongfang Zhen advanced instead of retreating. Gang Sha erupted from the silver Fist Armor on his right hand as he met the tip of Lin Ye’s thrusting spear with pinpoint accuracy.
However, the instant the spear tip and Fist Armor made contact, several condensed, golden blades of wind violently split off from the shaft of the Star-Piercing Spear!
SLICE! SLICE!
Before Dongfang Zhen could even react, the sudden blades of wind had carved several bleeding gashes into his arms.
At the same time, an even more ferocious force surged from the spear tip, sending him stumbling back again.
Lin Ye had a realization.
’Just as the one-second of crowd-control immunity from switching stances was about to end, I activated [Horizontal Slash] to extend the duration.’
’I’d always thought this skill wasn’t very useful against a single opponent.’
’Turns out I was wrong.’
’If this spear strike had landed on one of Dongfang Zhen’s vital points, [Horizontal Slash] would have indeed been useless.’
’But when the attack is blocked, the radiating blades of wind can still cause damage!’
Dongfang Zhen shook out his arms, his brow furrowed in a deep frown.
He felt not only excruciating pain from the cuts, but also an incredible sluggishness whenever he circulated his Gang Sha to those areas.
Even stranger, his innate lightning affinity felt as if it had met its natural predator; a sense of blockage made it difficult to mobilize and circulate!
He acted decisively, retreating at top speed. Once out of Lin Ye’s attack range, he immediately channeled his lightning affinity, forcefully cauterizing the wounds to staunch the flow of blood.
Using the distance he had created, his body flickered with electricity. His hands once again formed a complex spell as he bellowed, "Celestial Thunder, descend!"
The last time they fought, it was this very thunder-summoning attack that had exhausted Lin Ye’s stamina and ultimately led to his defeat.
But this time was completely different.
Lin Ye had lost almost no stamina whatsoever.
WHOOSH!
Lin Ye flickered across the arena, each movement leaving nothing but a blurry afterimage.
The furious Celestial Thunder, powerful enough to blast solid rock into dust, never landed; he would vanish from his position the instant before each bolt crashed down.
Dongfang Zhen’s eyes were electric, locked onto Lin Ye’s figure. The Dharma Seals his hands were forming changed constantly, targeting every one of Lin Ye’s potential landing spots.
He had even given up on simply chasing him and started trying to predict his movements.
But it was no use!
From his perspective, Lin Ye’s high-frequency bursts of speed had to be an extremely taxing Secret Technique or martial skill; it was impossible to use it continuously.
He had no idea that the current Lin Ye wasn’t even using Instant Body.
He was simply dodging the Celestial Thunder using his regular speed, which he achieved by infusing his legs with his own Gang Sha.
As Lin Ye dodged, he continuously tried to close the distance to Dongfang Zhen.
But he soon discovered it wasn’t that simple.
Although Dongfang Zhen looked like a Warlock, Concentrating and Chanting to call down endless bolts of thunder, he was, at his core, a genuine top-tier Martial Artist.
His speed, agility, and masterful control over distance were nothing like that of a squishy Warlock.
Whenever Lin Ye was about to charge into attacking range, Dongfang Zhen would always take a perfectly timed step back, summoning another bolt of Celestial Thunder to force Lin Ye to dodge and widen the distance once more.
Offstage, Zhang Daoxuan’s heart was a tangle of complex emotions as he watched Dongfang Zhen fight Lin Ye to a temporary standstill.
’When faced with that same impossibly fast, explosive thrust from Lin Ye, Dongfang Zhen had blocked it with his fists. He’d only ended up with injured arms, and now he could still deploy his domain and summon Celestial Thunder to fight a war of attrition. He still had the strength to fight back.’
’But as for me...’
’...I was instantly defeated by that same spear thrust, sword and all.’
Zhang Daoxuan came to the bitter realization that even if the monster that was Lin Ye hadn’t appeared out of thin air, he still wouldn’t have been able to defeat Dongfang Zhen.
The man he had always seen as his only rival had, without him even realizing it, already left him in the dust.
As he was lost in thought, the situation on the arena shifted once more.
A purple glint flashed in Lin Ye’s eyes, gone in an instant.
The next moment, a Purple Crystal Rhombus materialized in mid-air. Its surface was covered in irregular facets, both ends were pointed, and its edges were lethally sharp.
Lin Ye knew that if this battle dragged on into a contest of endurance, he would surely win.
But Lin Ye demanded more of himself. He wanted to win this fight directly, in what he considered Phase One.
’There’s only one reason I can’t get close to him.’
’Dongfang Zhen’s Body Technique is solid, and with the boost from the Thunder Domain, his speed is almost on par with mine.’
’Add to that the endless Celestial Thunder falling from the sky to pin me down, and it’s no wonder I can’t get close.’
’In that case, I’ll just have to find a way to pin Dongfang Zhen down as well!’
