Chapter 914: Sudden Suspension

"I was planning to save this for Zhu Ziyuan, but it looks like you'll be getting a taste before him!" Fang Chan chortled with a wild, animalistic look in his eyes.

Gu Qianxun's expression remained unchanged, as if she couldn't even see Fang Chan's transformation, and she sprang forward while his transformation was taking place to plunge her golden spear into his back.

However, as soon as the spear struck the crimson energy circling around his body, it was instantly stopped cold in its tracks before sliding away to the side.

Fang Chan swung one of axes around in retaliation to strike the golden spear, and a resounding clang rang out as Gu Qianxun stumbled back in retreat, with her spear almost wrenched out of her grasp.

Fang Chan then immediately pounced at her, moving far faster than before, reaching her in the blink of an eye before swinging his axes viciously down upon her.

The crimson energy around him surged onto the pair of axes as they sliced through the air, causing the space in their wake to tremble violently.

Gu Qianxun hurriedly dodged to the side, only just barely managing to evade the pair of axes, which crashed down onto the platform, slicing it apart like a giant piece of tofu.

"Everyone, get back!" E Kuai ordered in an authoritative voice as he rose to his feet, and the people gathered around the platform hurriedly dispersed, while Han Li also retreated into the distance with the other spectators.

Even though the platform had collapsed, the battle was still far from over, and at this moment, Fang Chan was like a deranged demon, swinging his axes through the air with devastating power.

Gu Qianxun didn't dare to fight fire with fire, so all she could do was take evasive measures.

Thankfully, with the platform destroyed, the battlefield had increased significantly in area, granting her more space to maneuver around in.

One giant rift after another was sliced into the ground, sending loose rocks flying in all directions, while the spectators in the stands hurriedly fled for their lives.

On the elevated platform, Chen Yang was looking on with an anxious expression, while Sun Tu was also intently observing Fang Chan with a grim look of concern on his face.

Fang Chan's expression was becoming more and more deranged by the second, and the entire area around him was filled with countless ax projections.

Gu Qianxun was made to resemble a small raft in a vast and turbulent sea, looking as if it could capsize at any moment, but she was always able to evade Fang Chan's attacks right in the nick of time.

After unleashing such a ferocious barrage of attacks, much of the crimson energy around Fang Chan's body had already faded away. A look of agitation flashed through his eyes as he let loose a furious roar and swung his axes toward Gu Qianxun from both the left and the right, trying to end the battle in one fell swoop.

Gu Qianxun's eyes instantly lit up upon seeing this, and she twisted around in mid-air, adopting a very strange pose to just barely evade the pair of axes, following which she pounced forward with her golden spear extended in front of her.

The spear passed through the gap between the pair of axes, then pierced through the layer of crimson energy around Fang Chan en route to his throat.

"I've got you now!" Fang Chan chortled as he brought his axes back in the blink of an eye, positioning in front of himself to form a barrier that kept the golden spear at bay.

At the same time, a burst of even more formidable white soundwaves erupted out of his nose and mouth toward Gu Qianxun, while the crimson energy around him transformed into a volley of crimson arrows that rained down upon her, encompassing the entire area within a radius of several dozen feet.

The arrows produced a terrifying screeching sound as they raced through the air, leaving trails of black marks in the space in their wake.

A grim look appeared on Chen Yang's face upon seeing this, while Sun Tu's eyes lit up with elation.

However, right at this moment, Gu Qianxun suddenly twisted around once again, and she darted away to the side at an incredible speed, almost as if there were some type of external force dragging her away. To everyone's astonishment, she was able to evade all of the soundwaves and crimson arrows to outflank Fang Chan.

Fang Chan was completely caught off guard, and he hurriedly attempted to turn around, but all of a sudden, a pained look appeared on his face. At the same time, the crimson light radiating from his profound acupoints began to tremble as his entire body stiffened in agony.

Gu Qianxun immediately pounced on this opportunity as several dull thumps rang out within her body, and her arms abruptly swelled to around twice their original thickness as she thrust her golden spear toward Fang Chan's temple at an astonishing speed.

After unleashing that all-out attack, most of the crimson energy around Fang Chan had faded away, and what little remained was no match for Gu Qianxun's spear.

The golden spear pierced through the thin layer of crimson energy with ease, yet right as it was about to plunge its way into Fang Chan's head, a thin beam of white light hurtled through the air to strike the spear from the side, instantly knocking it away.

Gu Qianxun hurriedly grabbed onto the spear with both hands to prevent it from flying out of her grasp, following which she turned her gaze to the elevated platform.

On the elevated platform, E Kuai lowered his arm, and the speck of white light on his fingertip faded away as he said, "Let's end the battle there. The winner is Gu Qianxun of Green Goat City."

Gu Qianxun cupped her fist in a salute toward the elevated platform upon hearing this, following which the golden spear in her hand reverted back into a golden bone chain that she wrapped around her own waist.

At this point, Fang Chan had also recovered from his immobilized state, and he began tapping various parts of his own body with his fingers, upon which his enlarged body quickly shrank back down to its original size.

After such a grueling battle, Fang Chan was left looking extremely pale, and he turned to Gu Qianxun as he declared, "I underestimated you this time, but you won't win next time."

All of the nearby spectators were running for their lives just a moment ago, and it took them some time to register what had just happened before all of them erupted into thunderous cheers.

The Green Goat City cultivators were all ecstatic, and they immediately swarmed Gu Qianxun to congratulate her.

Meanwhile, Han Li was still observing Gu Qianxun from the spectator stands, thinking back to the last evasive maneuver that she had displayed with a contemplative look on his face.

On the elevated platform, Chen Yang was barely able to contain his own excitement.

He had gone into this round mentally prepared for both Han Li and Gu Qianxun to be eliminated, so this outcome was an incredibly pleasant surprise.

Mistress Liu Hua also heaved a sigh of relief as a hint of elation appeared in his eyes.

Sun To naturally wasn't very pleased by Fang Chan's unexpected loss, but he remained composed as he rose to his feet and cupped his fist toward E Kuai in a grateful salute.

"Thank you for saving my disciple, City Lord E."

"Your disciple is a very bright talent, so I naturally had to save him," E Kuai replied with a dismissive wave of his hand.

Sun Tu thanked E Kuai once again, then offered his congratulations to Chen Yang before sitting back down.

Right at this moment, a black-robed man hurriedly rushed over from afar with an urgent look on his face, and he swooped onto the elevated platform before whispering something into E Kuai's ear.

E Kuai's expression instantly changed slightly as he sprang to his feet, and he cast his gaze out of the city with a grim look on his face.

"Did something happen, City Lord E?" Chen Yang and the other city lords hurriedly asked.

The black-robed man had spoken to E Kuai using voice transmission just now, so they hadn't heard what was said, but it was clear from E Kuai's reaction that a crisis was afoot.

......

"From this moment onward, the Five City Martial Gathering will be temporarily suspended. Everyone, return to your homes, and do not come out unless it's absolutely necessary!" E Kuai ordered, and his voice rumbled across the entire Asura Arena.

Everyone was rooted to the spot upon hearing this, and the two combatants fighting on the other platform also stopped what they were doing with confused looks on their faces.

All of a sudden, the entire arena had fallen deathly silent.

Han Li's brows furrowed slightly as he cast his gaze up toward the elevated platform, where E Kuai had turned to the other city lords, and he ordered, "Take your people and return to your respective courtyards. From now on, all of you are forbidden from wandering in the city!"

Meanwhile, the black-robed man flew away like a giant eagle, vanishing into the distance in the blink of an eye.

The other city lords' expressions changed slightly upon seeing this.

The speed displayed by the black-robed man exceeded even their own.

After everyone had a chance to register what E Kuai just announced, a commotion slowly began to ring out within the Asura Arena, and the spectators began to file out of the venue.

The other city lords also gathered their subordinates before departing from the Asura Arena to return to the courtyards that they were staying in, and not long after their departure, the sound of a drum began to ring out from deep within Profound City.

As soon as the sound of the drumming was heard, the entire city instantly erupted into a frenzy, with shops hurriedly closing their doors and pedestrians rushing back to their homes.

"That's the sound of the Heavenly Might War Drum... What's happening?" Chen Yang asked with a grim expression.

"The Heavenly Might War Drum is only struck during times of crisis. Could it be that Profound City is under attack?" Sun Tu mused.

"Perhaps we're being attacked by Puppet City," Qin Yuan speculated.

"That's definitely a possibility. If so, then they sure came at an interesting time," Sun Tu said as he clasped his hands behind his back.

Han Li paid no heed to the discussion taking place between the four city lords as he cast his gaze out of the city, and it was unclear what he was thinking.

"In any case, let's follow City Lord E's orders and return to our courtyard," Gu Qianxun said.

"You're right, Fellow Daoist Gu. Let's go," Chen Yang said, then bade farewell to the other three city lords before promptly departing.