Book 3, Chapter 24: Reminder

As Chen Chuan watched the twisted face, his eyes remained calm. Their freed-up hands collided with each other.

Chen Chuan released a wave of refined force without hesitation, but it wasn’t the case for Wu Ruo. He had to stop the saber from twisting any further while also diverting some of his energy to resist Chen Chuan’s refined force. The advantage he had gained instantly turned into a disadvantage.

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Boom!

The collision caused a wave of dust and dirt to blow outward. Both of them also sank down.

Before the force from the clash faded away, Wu Ruo relaxed his abdominal muscles and used it to dip down and twist his body. At the same time, he pushed the saber out, letting the blade cut through half of his stomach before sliding free. With a stony face, he retreated to the side and away from being impaled by the saber.

The moment he pulled away, the mutated tissue around his wound pulsed to shut the wound, and the bleeding stopped soon after.

Once a Third Limit martial artist mutated their brains to a certain degree, they could speed up the growth of their mutated tissue and swiftly close and repair their wounds. Given enough time, Wu Ruo could recover completely.

Chen Chuan noticed Wu Ruo’s intentions the moment he tried to break free, but Wu Ruo was just too fast, so he had to have used that explosive technique again.

His timing was also perfect. It was right at the moment Chen Chuan had used his full strength. Wu Ruo had used it as leverage to get away. As long as Chen Chuan remained unaware that Wu Ruo would do this to get away, then even if time were turned back, he would have a hard time keeping him impaled on his saber.

But he wasn’t going to let Wu Ruo escape so easily.

Chen Chuan could make his second self absorb the damage from the refined force that charged into his body, so he didn’t stop. He flipped his wrists, swiftly bringing the tip of the saber forward. At the same time, he turned his body sideways and grabbed the saber with both hands. Then, with one foot positioned in front of the other, he pushed himself forward and went straight for Wu Ruo’s neck.

Wu Ruo’s eyes flew wide with shock. He had judged that he would be able to make it out of Chen Chuan’s range before he could summon the energy to launch his next attack, but it was a misjudgment, and he could no longer change the direction of his retreat.

The saber tip nicked his neck when he sucked in a deep breath. The mutated tissue pulled him back, making his body fall to avoid the thrust. Then, he tumbled backward to get away.

The burst of power caused his closed wound to tear apart again. Blood flowed from his waist to his ankle. Still, Wu Ruo’s expression did not change. When he planted his feet on the ground, he lowered his body to get ready for another charge.

Chen Chuan repositioned his saber and took a step back to widen the distance between them.

With a hand on the ground and his body lowered, Wu Ruo kept his gaze fixed on Chen Chuan, though the surprise in his eyes couldn’t be hidden. Chen Chuan was full of mysteries, which made him want to study his brain even more.

Wu Ruo narrowed his eyes. Before Chen Chuan could charge forward, he ran to the side. Chen Chuan tracked him with his eyes and followed after him.

Just then, they heard a tear. The howling wind and the huge gust Wu Ruo stirred up when he ran ripped off the advertisement from the wooden board. It flew between them, causing Chen Chuan to stop for a moment.

During that instant, Wu Ruo rolled forward and grabbed a key that had been hanging off a broken wall.

It was an old-fashioned bronze key. Its bow was wide and shank long. Wu Ruo grabbed the shaft tightly.

Rip!

The saber cut through the advertisement and went straight for Wu Ruo’s head. This time, Wu Ruo did not retreat. Instead, he met the attack head-on. With a clang, he parried the saber with the key.

But Chen Chuan remained unaffected. He delivered a chain of more than a dozen consecutive slashes, but Wu Ruo didn’t budge. With the shank and the bits, he parried and diverted Chen Chuan’s attacks, blocking all the slashes coming his way.

It made Chen Chuan wonder what the key was made for the Frost King Saber to be unable to cut through it, but he kept his eyes glued on Wu Ruo. After all, Wu Ruo’s outstanding use of refined force played a part in the key not breaking, though that wasn’t all. His parries, too, showed great whole-body coordination. His refined force alone wouldn’t be able to withstand the power of the slashes, which meant that he used mutated tissue to coordinate the power in his entire body. He managed to divert the power of Chen Chuan’s slashes and accurately parry his attacks without a single mistake. Their quick attacks resulted in a stream of clashes tearing through the air.

Wu Ruo’s observational skills, judgment, coordination, and use of refined force far surpassed all opponents Chen Chuan had met before. Neither Tan Wang nor Luo Qi would have been able to stand in place and parry dozens of Chen Chuan’s slashes.

He knew that Wu Ruo was waiting for a pause in his use of refined force. Then, with his burst technique, he would close in when Chen Chuan’s breathing faltered.

If that was the case, then it was time for him to use the Furnace Breathing Technique.

Since he knew he was coming to fight a Third Limit martial artist, he had taken medicine to stimulate his potential.

He had done it in case he needed to retreat if Wu Ruo turned out to be far stronger than expected. As the fight progressed, however, he gained a better understanding of Wu Ruo’s strength, and he found that he no longer needed to hold back.

Chen Chuan used internal breathing to continue making his mutated tissue generate refined force for his slashes. At the same time, he sucked in a deep breath, and his body started burning.

This change immediately put Wu Ruo on guard. He tried to retreat, but after taking just one step, he sensed the ground before him shatter, and Chen Chuan charged at him with his saber in a flash.

Wu Ruo’s eyes flew wide open, because the youth’s speed had become much faster. His mutated brain tried its best to stimulate his body so that his physiological functions could kick into gear faster.

Right when the saber was about to cut into him, he brought the key up to block.

But the activation of the Furnace Breathing Technique hadn’t just increased Chen Chuan’s speed. It also gave him a huge boost in strength. A moment ago, the key had been enough to parry his slashes, but this time, Wu Ruo hadn’t been able to divert enough of Chen Chuan’s power, so it was cut in half with a snap. The saber flashed again, and the second slash came.

Wu Ruo’s eyes and the veins on his neck bulged. He had to stimulate the mutated tissue in his body again to increase his speed and strength so that he could use the remaining half of the key to block the slash.

As for Chen Chuan, he only cared about swinging the saber. His slashes weren’t that much different from before, but no matter how simple his techniques were, with the help of even greater speed and power, Wu Ruo wasn't able to block his attacks with ease.

Wu Ruo only managed to parry some of the attacks before he started struggling to keep up. He was even having a hard time deciphering where the attacks were coming from and was relying solely on his technique and experience to defend himself.

He was forced to retreat, and they kept moving rapidly. Wherever they went, they tore up the ground, leaving behind muddy holes in their wake. The leaves and grass danced because of their movements. A violent gust of wind howled.

They gradually left the hill and reached the ruins at the foot of it.

Wu Ruo had intentionally done this. Whenever he blocked Chen Chuan’s attacks, he had to use the explosive technique and stimulate his mutated tissue, which increased the burden on his body. Not only did he feel his brain swell, but he was also having a hard time closing the wound on his waist. It opened up again, so Wu Ruo decided to use the terrain to stop Chen Chuan.

Finally, he reached the ruins of a collapsed house. With a bang, a broken cement wall flew at Chen Chuan. The next moment, it was blown apart, and the gravel came flying back.

Wu Ruo wanted to avoid it, but suddenly noticed that something was wrong. He tilted his head, and a stone grazed his cheek, but while he managed to avoid the stone, that brief pause caused a delay in his movements, and he felt a weight being removed from his shoulder.

One of his arms had been cut off. Then, in the corner of his eye, he saw the saber flash again. Just in time, he brought the key up to block it.

Shick!

The Frost King Saber cut into his neck. Since the key had blocked some of the attack, Chen Chuan hadn’t been able to behead Wu Ruo in a single strike.

Wu Ruo was staring at Chen Chuan, but compared to the savage expression earlier, he had regained the gentle one from before. He looked as if he had been freed of something.

“Thank you for the lesson, Mr. Wu,” Chen Chuan said slowly.

He grabbed the saber hilt with both hands and spun around.

With a shrill whistle, the other half of Wu Ruo’s neck was cut through, and his head flew into the air. It rolled on the ground a few times before stopping. The body stood still for a moment before collapsing sideways.

Chen Chuan exhaled long and hard as wisps of white steam rose from him. Just as he wanted to leave, he heard a voice behind him.

“Chen Chuan...”

Chen Chuan turned around and saw that Wu Ruo’s head was talking. He was manipulating the mutated tissue and muscles in his mouth to be able to speak, which was why his voice was hoarse and sounded strange.

Chen Chuan had heard that Third Limit martial artists had strong vitality. As long as their brains were intact, they wouldn’t die right away, so he asked, “Do you have something to tell me, Mr. Wu?”

While manipulating the mutated tissue in his mouth, Wu Ruo said, “I’m sorry. I made some mistakes, and this is what I deserve.

“All of my belongings are at No. 47, Liuyu Street. The password is...” He recited a string of numbers before continuing. “I have a large barrel of algae fuel beside the generator in my house. Please put me there and burn the house down. This will destroy all traces of today. Be careful of Yuan Binshu and Ling...”

But he fell silent and did not speak another word.

Chen Chuan watched him for a while before turning on his Realm Pass and asking, “Wu Bei, did he send a message to someone?”

“He was forming one, and I was going to intercept it, but in the end, he deleted it,” Wu Bei quickly said.

Chen Chuan looked at the head and said, “Got it. Thank you, Wu Bei.”

He then went over and picked up the head.

“It’s time to go home, Mr. Wu.”

Chen Chuan walked back to the two-story house.