Chapter 179: Unmatched, Displaying Strength Again (I)

Seemingly evenly matched after a single exchange, Zhang Lin excitedly exclaimed, "Be prepared, I'm getting serious now."

With a sudden burst of golden blade qi from his saber, the immense recoil force sent him flying back dozens of meters. He gripped the saber with both hands, ready to charge forward.

Standing firm in his place, Chen Chu held his halberd and said in a deep voice, "Come at me."

"Eight-Armed Rotating Slash!"

In an instant, Zhang Lin transformed into a golden blur, his massive saber emitting a meter-long, razor sharp, and fierce golden blade qi.

Wherever he passed, his saber left behind a three-meter wide, over ten-meter long black rift in the air, as it was instantly cleaved into a vacuum.

However, even with Zhang Lin's increased power and speed, changing his moves dozens of times in an instant, he was still precisely intercepted mid-air by Chen Chu's halberd.

Boom!

The clash between the saber and the Eight Desolations Purgatory Halberd erupted with an even more ferocious impact.

For cultivators, combat wasn't just about exchanging blows, but also about powerful true martial combat skills.

Amid the violent shockwaves unleashed by the explosive burst of Chen Chu’s Dragon Elephant True Power, Zhang Lin's saber was forced back upon contact. His figure flashed, splitting into three identical ones around Chen Chu, all the way down to their aura.

With three sabers wielded by Zhang Lin, each shining with blade qi, they seemed like golden flashes tearing through everything as they slashed towards Chen Chu.

Illusions, reflections! Chen Chu remained unfazed, sweeping his halberd casually in the direction indicated by his gaze and effortlessly blocking the incoming saber from the left with the side of the blade.

Bang!

An instant explosion of violent true power unleashed shockwaves, dispersing the other two figures into the wind.

"Well done!" Zhang Lin's expression grew even more excited as his illusion was exposed, while Chen Chu, who hadn't exerted much explosive force, remained calm.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

With the astonishing speed from his secret art, Zhang Lin's movements were extraordinary. Using footwork resembling the Eight Trigrams, he surrounded Chen Chu with a frenzy of golden blurs, attacking from all sides. In his hands, the gleam of the blade was like lightning, and the immense saber wielded at near supersonic speeds was formidable.

Yet, Chen Chu was no less formidable. Standing steadfast, his halberd emitted black and red light, executing thrusts, chops, sweeps, slashes, locks, and various other moves effortlessly, deflecting all attacks.

It was impossible to tell that he had only practiced the halberd art for a few days; he seemed like a master of the art who had honed it for over a decade.

Especially when Chen Chu had a faster attack speed, though rooted in place. When wielding his halberd at close range, it almost reached the speed of sound, with each swing causing explosive sonic booms.

Every time the golden blade qi clashed with the black and red halberd light, a powerful shockwave erupted, true power overflowed, and fierce winds howled.

Occasionally, a rush of golden blade qi would strike the ground, tearing the earth open into rifts several meters long, while the black and red halberd light caused explosions upon landing.

Sand and stones within dozens of meters of their position flew through the air as the earth trembled, painting a picture of two raging colossal beasts.

The sight made Tang Tian and her companions in the distance tense.

Little did they know that at this moment, Chen Chu wasn’t even exerting much force. He was observing the relative strength between his Dragon Elephant aura infused with true power and the blade qi of a high-level art, as well as his footwork and combat skills.

His challenge wasn't for some ranking; he aimed to gauge his own strength against Zhang Lin, the second-year genius, to understand his opponent better.

Just then, Chen Chu, who had been on the defensive, suddenly let out a long roar. His biceps bulged instantly, and a terrifying force erupted as he swung his halberd.

Boom!

Instantly, howling winds swept through, and the rolling smoke and dust within dozens of meters dissipated instantly under the cyclonic black and red winds. Simultaneously, a golden figure burst forth.

Bang!

Zhang Lin was sent flying for dozens of meters by Chen Chu’s blow, landing heavily and skidding almost seven more meters before coming to a halt.

"Such immense power."

Watching Chen Chu, who stood with his halberd in hand, unmoved amid the wreckage, Zhang Lin took a deep breath, his expression turning solemn.

From initial disdain, to excitement after the probing move, to apprehension after hundreds of exchanges, Zhang Lin knew today might pose some trouble.

This first-year genius is strong, incredibly so, akin to a monster.

It seems I can't hold back anymore.

With this thought, Zhang Lin’s aura intensified once more, dazzling golden light converging on his saber. In an instant, the blade qi surged to two meters.

"Eight-Armed Rotating Slash!"

With a long roar, Zhang Lin was instantly surrounded by golden blade lights, resembling pairs of golden arms made of blade qi. They tore through the air in an area of over ten meters, ripping open rifts in the earth around him, like an Eight-Armed Rampage Ape suppressing everything.

Boom!

Zhang Lin shot toward Chen Chu. Wherever he went, dust and stones flew, and the earth was plowed over.

Suddenly, the golden blade qi converged around him, merging with his saber and surging to form a faster and more terrifying golden blade light, amplified several times over as it tore through the earth toward Chen Chu.

He had once used this killing move to severely injure a Level 5 beginning stage mutated beast, allowing his teammates to easily bring it down.

As Chen Chu watched the nearly earth-shattering golden blade qi, he moved abruptly. Black and red light wrapped around his Eight Desolations Purgatory Halberd, roaring like a demonic dragon.

Boom!

The violent eruption of black and red true power upon contact was like a missile explosion, merciless and mixed with countless arcs of sharp halberd light.

Though the impact of the explosion was shattered by the Eight-Armed Rotating Slash, it also destabilized the once sturdy golden blade lights, causing them to collapse.

Amid the turbulent and violent energy, the halberd descended with an unmatched domineering force onto the saber as wide as a door panel.

In an instant, Zhang Lin's face changed, feeling a terrifying force like a landslide and an earthquake, before getting blasted backward with a thunderous roar, leaving behind a string of white transparent shockwaves from how fast he was flying.

In the blink of an eye, he disappeared into the woods over a hundred meters away, crashing into and breaking numerous trees. Suddenly, the mountains and forests trembled, and large swaths of trees collapsed.

The sudden turn of events left Tang Tian and the other three stunned, frozen in place.

What's going on?

They seemed to have just seen Zhang Lin being blasted away!!

But how could this be? Weren't the two of them evenly matched just now? How could Zhang Lin suddenly get thrown that far even after unleashing the force of his combat skill?

The four looked in shock toward the distant figure standing with a halberd, surrounded by black and red light.

This freshman is so strong, Zhang Lin might actually lose.

"Hahaha

...

Come again!"

With laughter, Zhang Lin burst out of the woods, emitting dazzling golden light and almost leaving behind streaks of golden shadows from how quickly he was moving.

In addition to the skyrocketing speed, Zhang Lin was now exuding an even more powerful aura. His true power, which had originally been like the golden armor on his body, now looked like it was burning.

"Chen Chu, the three secret arts I cultivate are Strength Enhancement, Shadow of Swiftness, and Boiling True Power. Take my full-force move, the Eight Slashes of the Rampage Ape!"

After saying this, Zhang Lin let out a long roar and shot up into the sky dozens of meters away. In mid-air, he slashed out long streaks of golden blade qi at a terrifying speed. These streaks of blade qi condensed together into a golden wheel of light that descended like a waterfall, complete with a deafening roar.

Such a powerful move made even Chen Chu's expression slightly serious, and he couldn't help but take a deep breath. Suddenly, an endless stream of physical strength erupted from within, merging with the domineering Dragon Elephant True Power.

In an instant, Chen Chu's body erupted with an aura both divine and demonic, accompanied by eerie howls faintly echoing around him. In a flash, a black and red halberd shot up into the sky.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The halberd, imbued with true power, swept through everything, shattering streaks of golden blade qi with its black and red light.

The scattered golden blade qi exploded, covering a radius of over ten meters around Chen Chu and slashing the earth open into rifts two to three meters wide.

For a moment, Chen Chu was engulfed in dust, leaving only the deafening roar of the trembling earth around him.

Boom!

As the halberd clashed with Zhang Lin’s physical saber, an explosive force almost obliterated everything around the two. The ground beneath Chen Chu's feet shattered, cracks spreading ten meters around him.

With this strike, Zhang Lin had unleashed almost all of his power. His cultivation at the Fourth Heavenly Realm, coupled with the three secret arts and the kinetic energy from the downward strike, even made Chen Chu feel a slight pressure on his shoulders and arms... but that was the only thing he felt, and his stance remained unwavering.

Just then, Chen Chu's biceps swelled, and an infinite force erupted from within him, distorting the surrounding air and forming a raging gust of explosive energy.

Boom!

Zhang Lin was once again sent flying by Chen Chu's halberd, landing dozens of meters away with enough force to make the ground tremble beneath his heavy boots.

Doesn't his strength have a limit?

Watching the figure in the distance exuding an increasingly domineering aura, Zhang Lin's face also showed a look of shock.

They had been evenly matched when testing each other for the first time. Then, his full-force move had been easily countered by a single strike from the opponent. Even with the full power of his secret arts, Zhang Lin couldn't shake him at all.

That burly figure was like a real colossal beast, unshakeable.

Even the condensed true power seemed nothing like the beginning stage of the Fourth Heavenly Realm; he would have believed it if someone had told him that it was instead at the peak. It was just too profound and domineering.

Just as Zhang Lin was filled with uncertainty, Chen Chu spoke slowly. "It's my turn now."

Boom!

In an instant, the sonic boom echoed in everyone's ears.

As he entered supersonic speed with absolute power and velocity, Chen Chu felt as if the entire world had turned into a deep sea, every step filled with resistance.

In his hands, the Eight Desolations Purgatory Halberd looked like an apocalyptic blade, descending upon Zhang Lin's head in an instant.

Boom!

Zhang Lin wielded his saber to block the descending halberd. His face immediately flushed red, and under the unmatched, unstoppable force, his entire body sank, half kneeling on the ground.

Boom!

Under the unparalleled dominance, the ground within a radius of ten meters around Zhang Lin shattered, forming a ten-meter deep pit, with cracks spreading in all directions.

With one knee on the ground, Zhang Lin could only intently stare at the slowly descending spine of his blade and the approaching edge of the halberd.

When the palm-thick spine pressed down on Zhang Lin's shoulder under the irresistible force, the five-centimeter-thick protective true power on his body instantly trembled. At the same time, the patterns on his golden scale battle armor emitted a dazzling light, reflecting off of each other to form a strong and resilient defense.

Just as Zhang Lin prepared to unleash explosive force to shake off the halberd pressing down on him, the black and red rays swirling around the halberd suddenly exploded.