Book 3, Chapter 23: Fierce Fight

Book 3, Chapter 23: Fierce Fight

When Wu Ruo saw the chilling light spill out in all directions from Chen Chuan’s saber, it stung his skin, and it made his eyelids twitch.

Suddenly, he laughed, and his tone became gentle again. “I’ll be sure to guide you properly and keep your brain intact.”

The chandelier was still swaying, making his shadow on the floor and wall change. It created a strange and grotesque image.

Slowly, the chandelier stopped. The moment it was about to settle down, the light in the house flickered, and Wu Ruo shot forward.

After Chen Chuan drew his saber, he kept his eyes trained on Wu Ruo. Since Wu Ruo wasn’t just a Third Limit martial artist but also a lecturer at the main campus, Chen Chuan had overlapped with his second self the moment he stepped on the hill.

Once Wu Ruo charged at him, he brought the saber up and positioned it in front of him. Wu Ruo’s fist landed on the blade. Two forces collided, and cracking sounds rose. The floorboards under Chen Chuan’s feet shattered, but he remained still. Then, he twisted his shoulders and waist to deliver a spinning slash.

Wu Ruo gasped, then quickly pushed his fist against Chen Chuan’s blade, using the generated momentum to propel himself back to his original position. He cast Chen Chuan a surprised glance.

He had expected to defeat Chen Chuan with the punch, but the youth matched his speed and even blocked his attack. Chen Chuan did not even budge.

He grinned. “It seems like you’re already almost at the Third Limit. You didn’t show your true strength during the entrance exam, did you? It’s no wonder why you wouldn’t accept my suggestion. Looks like I underestimated you, but that’s good. Your brain will definitely help me realize my plans.”

Chen Chuan could sense that Wu Ruo was a whole level stronger than Tan Wang and Luo Qi. When he charged forward, the speed he displayed almost surpassed what Chen Chuan could deal with, and this might not even be his full speed.

So, he quickly adjusted his mindset and let go of his control over his emotions. This freed up all his mutated tissue, and it became incredibly active. All sorts of thoughts and emotions surged forward, but he remained calm, as if a thick layer of ice encasing a roaring flame.

He didn’t wait for Wu Ruo to attack him, but chose to move first. With a twist of his shoulders, the Frost King Saber cut through the living room and charged straight at Wu Ruo.

The average person wouldn’t be able to use a long weapon indoors to its full potential, but with Chen Chuan’s strength and speed, the furniture and walls were no different from paper. If anything were to be an obstacle to Chen Chuan, then it would also be an obstacle to Wu Ruo.

However, Wu Ruo was a proper martial artist. After their clash, he got a sense of Chen Chuan’s speed and strength and prepared to launch a series of targeted attacks.

When Chen Chuan attacked, he was faster than before, which led to Wu Ruo’s relaxed expression changing.

The tip of the saber was almost at his neck, about to remove his head from his shoulders, when Wu Ruo ducked down, as if someone had dragged him down from below. During the process, all the energy from his mutated tissue gathered together.

When the saber brushed past the top of his head, Wu Ruo stomped on the floor so hard that the house trembled, and charged at Chen Chuan again.

He had timed his charge to be right at the moment Chen Chuan’s momentum was changing and it was impossible for him to pull his saber back.

Upon seeing this, Chen Chuan removed his right hand from the saber hilt and pushed his elbow outward. At the same time, he put a foot back and lowered his center of gravity.

Thud!

Both of Wu Ruo’s hands rammed against Chen Chuan’s elbow. The powerful collision made his sleeves rip.

The clash also forced him backwards. As his feet dragged against the floor, a deep trench was formed. The wooden floorboards broke and shattered where he passed. Then, he crashed into the wall. Wu Ruo chased after him, and they ended up outside.

Wu Ruo drew close to engage Chen Chuan in a close-quarters battle.

But Chen Chuan knew that he would be at an absolute disadvantage in such a fight. Not only would he be unable to bring out the strength of his long saber, but Wu Ruo might also overpower him.

With his saber-wielding arm still held straight, he flipped his wrist inward. The mutated tissue there tensed up, and he sent the back of the blade swinging at Wu Ruo’s back like a whip.

Noticing that something was off, Wu Ruo pushed outward with his elbow, and the momentum generated from when his elbow knocked against the back of the blade pushed him further away from Chen Chuan.

The broken, flying wooden boards finally fell to the ground. One of them landed between them. The light from the house shone on it and revealed Black Orchid Co.’s advertisement attached to it. Its image had been torn in half.

Wind blew against it, making a corner of the advertisement flutter loudly.

Wu Ruo stared at Chen Chuan; he no longer appeared as relaxed as before. All sorts of emotions flickered in his eyes.

Chen Chuan, too, had his gaze fixed on Wu Ruo. He had done his homework before coming. Wu Ruo’s techniques could be found on the campus portal, along with his past battles. The most recent one had been from the previous semester.

While on the way to the house, Chen Chuan had run through multiple simulations in his head. He should have been able to land that slash just now, but Wu Ruo had dodged it, though the speed he displayed didn’t seem like his usual speed. It was more likely to be a technique that granted explosive power and speed.

It was not much of a surprise. After all, no lecturer would show their full strength to be recorded on the campus portal. Wu Ruo had to have some tricks hidden up his sleeves.

However, Wu Ruo had a chance to turn the tides around during his counterattack after avoiding the slash, but he hadn’t managed to, which meant that this explosive technique lasted for a very short time.

Wu Ruo shifted his gaze to Chen Chuan’s saber and licked his slightly dry lips. He didn’t have a weapon, which was a weakness. He had thought that he wouldn’t need one, since he was just going up against a Second Limit student he could defeat whenever he wanted, but there was something abnormal about Chen Chuan’s display of strength.

Had he taken some sort of medicine?

Even so, he was no ordinary student. Unfortunately, there had been no way to check his full resume, since Chen Chuan wasn’t his student. Otherwise, he would have had a better understanding of him.

The correct strategy now was to temporarily retreat and wait until the medicine’s effects wore off. Then, he would be able to defeat the student easily.

But he couldn’t do that, because he had revealed his true intentions. If he let up his attacks for even a moment, Chen Chuan could use the chance to send word of what had happened through his Realm Pass.

Chen Chuan adjusted his posture. As the one with the weapon, he didn’t need to worry too much, so he went forward and swung his saber at Wu Ruo.

Immediately, Wu Ruo lowered his center of gravity and began moving back to dodge. After a few slashes, he shot back until he was some distance away from Chen Chuan and smiled at him. “It’s no wonder why your marks on technique are so low. You have both strength and speed, but you lack any variation. I can easily predict your movements.”

Chen Chuan was unphased. After his mutated tissue stirred to full wakefulness, he caught up to Wu Ruo in terms of speed. Even though he lacked technique, he had a weapon. It meant that Wu Ruo couldn’t afford to make a single mistake.

He had to use his full attention to avoid even the simplest of swings. The pressure he faced and the amount of energy, both physical and mental, he had to spend was far greater.

Hence, even though it seemed like Chen Chuan couldn’t do anything to Wu Ruo, all he needed to do was to drag out the fight. It would drain Wu Ruo’s stamina, and the scales of victory would tip in Chen Chuan’s favor. Because of that, he wasn’t the one who was in trouble. It was Wu Ruo.

“You’re great at dodging. I’m learning a lot,” Chen Chuan said sincerely.

Wu Ruo’s facial muscles twitched in annoyance. While Chen Chuan didn’t have great technique, his form was standard and showed no obvious vulnerability. Wu Ruo wouldn’t be able to find a chance to counterattack if the fight continued in the same manner. He had tried to make Chen Chuan anxious through his words, but it didn’t work. This meant that he would have to use more extreme measures.

When the saber came swinging at him again, Wu Ruo narrowed his eyes. He dodged it again, but this time, after taking a few steps away, he suddenly rushed forward.

Chen Chuan had been on guard against an ambush. Since as long as he kept Wu Ruo a certain distance away, Wu Ruo wouldn’t be able to threaten him, he thrust his saber out. He wasn’t hoping to do anything to Wu Ruo with this attack. It was just a threatening move meant to force him to retreat.

To his surprise, Wu Ruo continued charging forward and allowed the saber to pierce through his stomach. Then, without batting an eyelid, he closed in and reached out with one hand to grab him while he used the other to stab at Chen Chuan’s eyes.

Wu Ruo acted decisively. Since he was at a disadvantage fighting barehanded against a weapon user, he chose to gain advantage at the cost of getting injured. If Chen Chuan refused to give up on the saber, then Wu Ruo would create a situation in which he could use both hands, while Chen Chuan would only have one. With Wu Ruo’s advantage in technique, he could instantly seize Chen Chuan and end the fight.

If Chen Chuan gave up on the saber and retreated, then even if he managed to escape from Wu Ruo’s hands, Wu Ruo would have taken away his advantage. The tides would turn after that.

During that critical moment, Chen Chuan didn’t give up on the saber. Instead, he brought a hand up to block the hand attempting to grab him while he lowered his head and pushed it forward against the fingers trying to stab his eyes.

Wu Ruo narrowed his eyes and curled his fingers into a fist to punch Chen Chuan’s forehead. He held back a bit of his strength, though, because he needed Chen Chuan’s brain. He didn’t want to destroy the brain tissue, just knock Chen Chuan out.

Shockingly, though, even after he sent a wave of refined force out, Chen Chuan remained unaffected. He even used the gap created during that instant to twist the saber.

Halfway through, there was a thud. Wu Ruo had seized the blade. At the same time, he tightened the mutated tissue and muscles in his abdomen, preventing the saber from further movement.

Chen Chuan looked up and saw a face twisted with savagery.