Free Web NovelChapter 15: Chapter 15—Nie Han
Chapter 15—Nie Han
’Finally—I can get a glimpse of their power.’
Lei Cheng fixed his gaze on the sparring ground below. ’Even though almost a decade has passed since this memory, I can still gauge part of their abilities.’
"Begin."
Both nine-tailed foxes turned to face each other, their expressions stripped of everything casual. Their bodies tensed, muscles tightening. They glared at each other intensely, each searching for a weak point.
Yet neither moved. Several long moments passed—neither willing to expose a vulnerable spot.
"What are you waiting for? Attack." The fox on the left barked.
The fox on the right—Nie Fan—sighed slightly. "You are rank one in our generation, Nie Fo. How do you expect me to be careless?"
Nie Fo grinned. "Nie Fan—if you don’t want to attack, just admit defeat."
Nie Fan said nothing. He stared straight ahead without blinking, veins bulging across his body.
Several more moments stretched past. Neither moved.
"Boo! Boo!"
"Fight! Fight!"
The crowd erupted—unable to bear the silence any longer.
Nie Fan’s composure cracked first. He lunged forward, his front right claw blazing with golden light.
"Celestial Fox Claw!"
He swept the glowing claw straight at Nie Fo’s head.
"Celestial Fox Claw."
Nie Fo answered with the exact same technique.
Bang!
Golden claw met golden claw. Shockwaves rippled outward—the air itself stirred, a sharp gust scattering through the cave.
Fine cracks spread across the stone beneath their feet.
Lei Cheng’s eyes went wide. His mouth opened slightly. ’Strong. Far too strong.’
For the first time, he understood why humans feared the Bizarre.
’Even Mo Ming—a Level Three cultivator—couldn’t survive a single one of their attacks. The aftermath alone was enough to measure the gap.’
’Are the Bizarre truly this powerful?’
Boom! Thud!
The two foxes traded blow after blow—claw clashing against claw, golden light against golden light.
’No—it can’t be.’ Lei Cheng shook his head. ’If even Bizarre kids were this powerful, the human race would have already collapsed entirely.’ He rubbed his forehead. ’Wait—Bizarre cultivators.’ A memory resurfaced. ’The most powerful system, they should have held on against these creatures.’
’Leave it for later. Collect more information and deal with the bride—Xiao Ming—first.’
"Looks like I have to get serious." Nie Fo muttered.
Both foxes broke away simultaneously, each taking a few steps back. Nie Fo fixed his eyes on Nie Fan’s—plain and calm.
"Celestial Fox Mirage."
His black pupils ignited with golden light.
Nie Fan hummed in response and mirrored the technique immediately. "Celestial Fox Mirage." His own eyes blazed with the same golden glow.
Silence fell. Both foxes froze completely—not a single movement, not even a twitch.
’What’s happening?’ Lei Cheng muttered. The conversation around him provided the answer a moment later.
"Looks like Nie Fan trained hard."
"Indeed. He lost to Nie Fo in the illusion last time. His physical strength is comparable, but his illusion technique was always his weak point."
’When two illusion users clash—both freeze,’ Lei Cheng noted quietly. ’Which means whenever I use illusion against someone who answers back with their own illusion technique, I too will be frozen alongside my target.’
’A critical weakness.’
Several seconds stretched past. The cave stayed utterly still.
Then—
Nie Fo screamed, "Ahh."
Blood burst from his eyes. His nose bled—red drops spattering onto the ground beneath him.
"What?!"
The crowd erupted in disbelief. "How is this possible—?!"
"You lose," Nie Fan declared, a wide smile spreading across his face.
Nie Fo fell on his knees. freewebnσvel.cøm
The golden glow faded from both their eyes simultaneously. The referee stepped forward. "Nie Fan wins the match." He turned to Nie Fan. "Do you wish to continue?"
"Yes," Nie Fan replied without hesitation. "I barely spent any energy at all."
The referee glanced toward the four elders on their thrones. None of them moved or objected. He turned and pointed toward the next group.
"Rank two—Nie Han—face Nie Fan."
A nine-tailed fox, with his right eye closed, stepped forward from the group.
"Begin." The referee moved back.
Nie Fan sneered. "I just defeated rank one—the strongest of our generation. And you still want to fight me, Nie Han?"
Nie Han raised his fox head slowly toward the ceiling and shook it. "Really. Nie Fo was a fool—and so are you."
Nie Fan’s eyes narrowed to slits. "Nie Han." His voice rang through the entire cave. "How dare you! Celestial Fox Claw!" His front right claw blazed gold as he lunged forward with everything he had.
Nie Han shook his head calmly and muttered, "Celestial Twin Fox Strike."
He vanished.
Swish!
He reappeared behind Nie Fan in an instant—both front claws blazing with golden light, twin streaks of gold cutting through the air from his original position to where he now stood.
Slash! Slash!
"What?!"
Nie Fan winced as two deep cuts tore open across his body. Thud—he fell to the floor. Blood pooled beneath him, his vision blurring at the edges. He raised his head painfully and glared at Nie Han in disbelief.
Nie Han turned around slowly and appeared directly in front of Nie Fan’s dimming eyes. He sneered. "You fool. No one gave their all in the previous assessment. Only you and that fool Nie Fo took it seriously."
"What...?" Nie Fan’s vision blanked out. He fainted.
Thud!
The crowd erupted. "What?" "They weren’t fighting with full strength?" "How could it be?"
Nie Hua just smiled playfully from her place among the group.
Below in the crowd, Lin Mei had been listening to the murmuring around her. She muttered under her breath, "No matter—Young Miss Hua will rank first in the end. She hid her powerful techniques in the last assessment." She shook her head with a quiet, sly grin.
The referee waved his claw. Two foxes leapt onto the sparring ground—one picked up the unconscious Nie Fan and carried him off to be patched up, the other following behind.
The referee turned to Nie Fo. "Can you continue?"
Nie Fo’s body was shaking. He stood still for a moment. ’My ranking was never real. It was a mercy from the others—they held back. If I continue, they will only humiliate me further.’
"I withdraw," he said quietly.
His head seemed lower than before.
Nie Fo and Nie Fan were both escorted off the sparring ground.
The referee announced the next bout without pause.
"Nie Hua faces Nie Han."
Lei Cheng pushed every other thought aside and fixed his full attention on the sparring ground below.
’What kind of abilities does she possess?’
