Chapter 333: The Ten Great Practitioners (Three)
“Will the competitors step inside the arena!” An elderly voice called out from a mysterious location.
Jian Chen looked at the number three in his hand, he was to be the third match.”
Today was the day the top ten people would be decided, thus, the way the competition would continue would be different. Ten matches would not happen at the same time, instead, it would be one match at a time. After all, the people gathered here now were the geniuses of the continent. Not a single one of them was weak, and each one of them were spectacular in the ways of battle.
“Little brother, could you cheer me on?” Tianmu Ling laughed into Jian Chen’s ears before walking into the Space Gate. Afterward, another middle aged man walked into the other Space Gate.
The match continued straight away as Tianmu Ling took out her longsword which was blue in nature, meaning she was a water attributed cultivator. She first fought against the man with her own strength, but several exchanges later she decided to bring out her Ruler Armament. The strength of this middle aged man was stronger than her own.
Tianmu Ling’s Ruler Armament held an advantage in speed as the whip could extend and contract with ease. The whip’s mirror image could be seen almost everywhere in the ring as it drew closer to her opponent and suppressed him inside. The power of a Ruler Armament was something that scared the man, as he wasn’t strong enough to take on a blow and could only dodge it.
Mercenary City had not forbade the use of Ruler Armaments. Although its use was equivalent to using outside help, the Tian Yuan Continent was not known for being fair. No matter what was used, as long as one won, then that was the way of the king. Thus, it could be said that using outside help was still a form of strength.
The middle aged man could only dodge miserably since Tianmu Ling’s whip could cover a large area. With an explosive shout, a large amount of energy rippled out before giving him protection. Straight away, a giant sword ten meters long appeared in his hand before stabbing through the void in the whip’s path with a loud clap of thunder.
“This must be an Advanced Earth Tier Battle Skill. Judging from this, it must take a large amount of Saint Force to use.” A few men muttered beside Jian Chen.
In the arena, Tianmu Ling’s face grew serious as her whip moved in reaction. Striking at the ten meter long sword, the sword managed to take several blows from the whip before finally shattering with a loud bang as a wave of violent energy burst outward.
A wave of water attributed Saint Force flew out from Tianmu Ling’s body before enveloping her as a form of defense against the energy, but she was still forced back.
Just as Tianmu Ling moved back, her face suddenly grew pained as a large sword suddenly pierced through her chest from the back.
The middle aged man had somehow moved behind her during the explosion and used his Saint Weapon to tear through her chest.
“You’ve lost!” The man spoke as he held his sword through her chest. With his sword run through her body, if Tianmu Ling didn’t admit defeat, then the energy within his Saint Weapon would explode outward in an instant which would cause an extreme amount of damage to her.
Tianmu Ling, unable to withstand the pain anymore, nodded her head slowly in realization that she had lost.
“Aridia is the winner!” The announcer boomed as the middle aged man slowly took out his sword before leaving the arena.
Just as Tianmu Ling left the arena, two Radiant Saint Masters immediately came to her side and began to treat her wounds with Radiant Saint Force. That was because even the eight losers would have to fight for a spot in the top ten.
Thus, even though Tianmu Ling was eliminated, she still had a chance of hope.
The second match was between Zhar and Tian Qicheng. With his dominating strength, Zhar easily defeated his opponent.
The third round was Jian Chen’s match. As he entered the arena, a black robed girl entered it as well; Jian Chen’s opponent was Jue.
Jue held her dagger in her right hand with eyes as cold as ice as she stared at Jian Chen. Her entire demeanor seemed as icy as her glare, and even though she was still standing still, she gave off the impression that she was an extremely cold statue instead.
Jian Chen looked quite calm, he had been observing her for some time now, so he knew that Jue was a merciless opponent. With her icy stare, she would never let her opponent leave alive, and Jian Chen would be no different to her.
“Begin!” The elderly voice cried out through the barrier. In an instant, Jue disappeared into a black streak of light as she shot toward Jian Chen with her dagger shining in the light as it stabbed at his heart. At the same time, a strange and chilly feeling could be felt from the dagger, causing Jian Chen to feel a cold shiver.
Jian Chen secretly felt some surprise in his heart, this would be the first blow of many, but he hadn’t thought her Saint Weapon would be able to launch such a cold presence. Despite his shock however, Jian Chen’s movements weren’t lacking either as he brought out his Light Wind Sword in an instant to strike against the dagger.
“Ding!” A metallic clang could be heard as Jue’s dagger was stopped by Jian Chen’s sword. However, Jian Chen’s sword began to gain a frosty coating while making Jian Chen feel as if he was suddenly naked within a world of ice and snow.
With a look of shock, Jian Chen suddenly came to the realization that he had been underestimating Jue too much. The very moment their Saint Weapons had come in contact, his sword had been infected by ice crystals.
“Just what martial art method is this for it to have such an effect?” Jian Chen thought to himself.
But then, Jue struck out a second and third time as her dagger was poised to claim Jian Chen’s heart.
Jian Chen’s sword smashed against the dagger both times, but with each block, the Light Wind Sword grew thicker with frost. The icy chill made Jian Chen’s arm grow rigid as well almost as if it was freezing the bloodstreams within his arm.
“Her martial arts is quite strange, the longer we fight, the worse I grow. I have to end this fight straight away!” Jian Chen thought immediately. With a wave of his arm, the Light Wind Sword smashed against the ground, shattering the frost on it. Straight away, Jian Chen’s arm blurred as the entire area became shrouded with mirror images of his sword.
Jue’s eyes flashed dangerously as a cold white aura flowed out from her, making it seem as if the area around her was freezing into ice. The entire arena began to feel the effects as it instantly froze over. Even the barrier itself took on a layer of frost.
Jian Chen’s stab was immediately blocked as several clangs could be heard. Almost like a fish in water, Jue was able to move forward and stab at Jian Chen’s heart once more with her dagger.
Seeing the dagger fly at him, Jian Chen subconsciously thought of the Illusionary Flash. With a single movement, he flew forward, leaving behind a perfect mirror image in his place before he struck out with his Light Wind Sword.
Immediately turning around, Jue’s dagger blocked Jian Chen’s sword. Then, without retreating, she drew closer to Jian Chen’s body and stabbed at his heart. At the same time, a sheet of frost climbed up Jian Chen’s legs, making him immobile.
Realizing that his mobility had been cut off, Jian Chen’s face grew startled. Without a single moment of hesitation, his Light Wind Sword flew into motion as it flew out three different times. One was to block the dagger, the second and third were aimed at Jue’s heart and throat, to try and force her back.
With a grunt, Jian Chen stamped down on the ground with Saint Force aiding his feet, allowing him to shatter the ice that bound his legs to the ground. With his mobility back, he instantly used the Illusionary Flash to move like lightning toward Jue’s side with his Light Wind Sword flying straight at her to suppress her.
While Jue’s attack was by no means slow, Jian Chen was faster by a small margin. Just barely blocking Jian Chen’s strikes with some pain, the Light Wind Sword took on a sheen of frost once more, slowing down his next stab.
Just at the most crucial point, a sharp amount of Sword Qi flew out from the sword, reducing the frost on the blade into powder before flying straight at Jue.
Quickly flying backward, frosty cold air flew out from Jue’s body before surrounding the entire area around her.
With a small smirk, Jian Chen instantly activated the Heaven’s Stolen Fortune so that his strength and speed was multiplied three times over. His Light Wind Sword exploded with Sword Qi so that it shattered through the ice that had formed in the area before resting against Jue’s throat.
Seeing the strike at her throat, Jue stopped her attack and stared at Jian Chen with an expressionless face, but her eyes still reflected a frosty aura without any fluctuations of emotions.
“Jian Chen is the winner!” A loud voice called out as two Space Gates flew up on both sides of the arena.
As his Light Wind Sword disappeared, he began to walk out without speaking a single word. Jue turned to leave as well without another word.
“Jian Chen, good job!” Ming cried cried out in excitement as he walked over to greet him. As Ming Dong’s hand landed upon Jian Chen’s shoulder, he immediately retracted his hand and cried out in shock, “Good god, Jian Chen, did you just come out from an icy cavern? Why are you so cold?”
With a forced smile, Jian Chen replied, “Pretty much. That arena was essentially colder than an icy cavern. I almost found myself frozen to the ground. That Jue is not an ordinary person, her martial arts is quite magical and strange. To be able to control such a cold aura along with her fighting strength, even someone stronger than her would be easily caught in her trap.”
Hearing Jian Chen’s words, Ming Dong grew serious as he murmured, “It seems we have to be careful of her in the future.”