Book 3, Chapter 61: Kill

Chen Chuan noticed that while Phantom Form’s breathing was steady, it wasn’t balanced. If a martial artist had uneven breathing, it meant that their wounds were more severe than they looked. It was highly likely that his mutated tissue had been damaged.

Based on Chen Chuan’s experience, Phantom Form had gotten hurt at most half an hour ago, but he couldn’t find any signs of fighting. Unless he had a hobby of self-harming, then his injuries were likely due to the supernatural being.

It seemed like the fact that he had successfully repelled the attack had given Phantom Form his current problem.

Chen Chuan could help him take care of it.

While looking at the staff pointing at him, he plunged the sheath into the floor, grabbed the hilt, and walked forward. As scraping sounds rose, he slowly drew the saber out.

Phantom Form didn’t wait for Chen Chuan to fully draw his saber. With a stomp of his bent leg and a jerk of his body, he pushed the hand holding the end of the staff forward and shoved it ahead.

Chen Chuan brought the saber before him horizontally.

Clang!

He sensed a great power, along with layers of refined force that charged into him from his saber straight to his body. It felt as if he was pinned to the spot and couldn’t move.

If he hadn’t mastered the technique to negate refined force and instinctively used his mutated tissue to neutralize it, his saber might have been knocked out of his grasp as long as he wasn’t overlapped with his second self.

Was Phantom Form a technique-based martial artist?

Chen Chuan remembered what Mr. Zheng had said: Such opponents were incredibly annoying, and he should kill them the moment he faced them.

Phantom Form was holding the end of the staff with one hand while maintaining his stance of pushing the staff forward. Hoarsely, he said, “I knew it. You did take medicine.”

The attack had just been a test. If Chen Chuan hadn’t taken medicine, he wouldn’t have been able to take it, since he wasn’t a Third Limit martial artist yet. The simple attack would have killed him.

While the effects of medicine usually didn’t last for a long time and he would be able to kill Chen Chuan easily afterwards, Phantom Form didn’t dare to drag the fight out.

Even if Chen Chuan had come alone, he had to have come prepared. Reinforcements might come later. This place was exposed now, so he had to kill Chen Chuan as soon as possible and escape.

Chen Chuan kept his gaze trained on Phantom Form. Even though Mr. Zheng was right in saying that he should kill technique-based martial artists as quickly as possible, he wasn’t as skilled as the man was. Besides, this sort of opponent was rare. No matter what, he had to use Phantom Form to polish his saber technique.

Before, he had a time limit as to how long he could fight after overlapping with his second self. Now, he was permanently in the overlapped state. His second self could also absorb all sorts of injuries, so he didn’t have to hurry and kill Phantom Form.

After all, sparring partners were hard to come by.

He tensed the muscles in his hand and pointed the Frost King Saber forward.

While still a distance away, the tips of their weapons slowly approached each other. In the meantime, they remained in their stances and retained an even, long breathing. Just as their weapons were about to touch, they moved.

Clang!

Their weapons clashed. The moment Phantom Form used the staff to knock the saber to the side, he moved the tip of the staff slightly to the side as well.

He didn’t move his upper arm and just lowered his center of gravity. Then, he flicked his wrists. A rotating refined force came from his body, gathered together, and traveled into his long staff.

The staff had been bent a little when Phantom Form directed it outward, but at that moment, it instantly straightened. Once again, he took half a step and thrust the staff forward. All the power quickly gathered at the tip of the staff and headed straight for Chen Chuan’s head.

Chen Chuan neutralized the refined force that had charged into his saber when their weapons first clashed, then brought his saber up and positioned it in the path the staff was bound to take. Even though he managed to knock the staff to the side, the refined force that charged into his saber made it tremble. Pinpricks of refined force kept seeping into his body. Chen Chuan did his best to neutralize it, but he could still feel a stinging numbness.

As the staff shot past him, the tip tore through the curtain and was exposed to the rain outside. The rain scattered, as if it had been blasted apart, which showed just how strong the thrust had been.

Phantom Form swung his arm, turning the thrust into a swing. The staff came charging back at Chen Chuan, though he ducked to dodge. He had been planning to bring his saber up and close in on Phantom Form to cut at him, but when the staff came for another swing, he retreated again. A powerful gust, along with a dull whoosh, shot past his cheek, and even his fringe danced.

Chen Chuan had his back to the curtain, so he decided that he might as well take a few more steps back until he was on the elevated floor under the canopy.

Phantom Form followed right on his heels and stayed at a distance where the tip of his staff could reach him. Once they were outside, he moved swiftly and performed a diagonal swing. This time, Chen Chuan seized the chance when Phantom Form wasn’t able to swing his staff at will as he stepped through the door to take a step forward. He used his saber to block the staff and tried to close in so that he could launch his attack.

The moment his refined force clashed against the staff, it trembled before neutralizing the refined force. Then, Phantom Form brought it down and immediately pinned Chen Chuan’s saber down, just as he was trying to swing it up. There was a refined force in the staff, and it allowed the staff to press on the saber like it had glue on it. Chen Chuan couldn’t neutralize it instantly. The staff then twirled twice around the saber before turning outward.

Phantom Form had been gathering refined force for this attack, and after releasing it, he should have been able to send the saber flying along with Chen Chuan, but his mutated tissue was damaged. He couldn’t generate enough power and bring out his full strength.

Chen Chuan sensed a wave of powerful refined force traveling up his arms, and it felt as if someone had grabbed his saber and was yanking at it. In response, he planted his feet firmly on the floor and lowered his center of gravity. The two batches of mutated tissue generated refined force to help him plunge down, allowing him to keep a tight hold over his saber, and his body didn’t even sway.

Just then, the water droplets that had scattered when the staff hit them fell on them due to the wind blowing in their direction. The trees and curtain swayed.

After the attack, Phantom Form pulled his hands back and took a short moment to catch his breath.

As for Chen Chuan, he removed his jacket, revealing the black casual clothes underneath. The rain landed on him, and wisps of faint, white steam rose from his body. With the light under the canopy shining on him, it looked like he was enveloped by white light.

Chen Chuan held his saber in a reverse grip and supported the back of the blade with the other hand. His eyes were fixed on Phantom Form. This man was the type of opponent he wanted. Through a real fight, he could get a greater understanding of how to use the saber techniques.

Meanwhile, Phantom Form stared at Chen Chuan with bloodshot eyes. Since the raccoon was eyeing him up, he wanted to end the fight as soon as possible and put an end to his imminent crisis. Hence, after taking just a moment to compose himself, he didn’t waste even a second to talk and took a few steps forward. Then, he adjusted his grip and positioned the staff behind him before spinning around. With a spiraling redirection-type refined force, he swung his staff. The rain before him seemed to have been cut by a sharp knife, and a shockwave in the shape of a semi-circle appeared.

After retreating, Chen Chuan saw Phantom Form expanding his area of attack, and he immediately positioned his saber in the direction where the staff had gone, effectively sealing it in that area. As for himself, he stepped forward. The stone tile under him blasted apart with a bang. Before the shattered pieces landed on the floor, he dragged them forward with his movements.

Phantom Form placed a hand on the staff. His other hand was further back, serving as an axis. He pushed down, and the section of the staff he had exposed shot up, accurately hitting the tip of the saber and knocking it to the side. At the same time, he pushed down the saber again with the hand positioned at the front of the staff, and it swung down along with the momentum to hit Chen Chuan.

Due to his ingenious use of power, Phantom Form managed to guide Chen Chuan’s saber up and expose his face, but Chen Chuan didn’t try to force the saber down. Instead, he moved along with the momentum and moved his arms further up. As the staff came charging at him, he continued pressing in and bringing the saber hilt up to block the staff.

Clang!

At the moment their weapons clashed, a wave of refined force from the staff came barreling in, causing the floor to shatter and his feet to almost sink in.

Chen Chuan didn’t use all his mutated tissue to bear the brunt of the attack. He would have done that during sparring practice, but right now, he would rather have his bones and fascia endure it. That way, his mutated tissue would be free for use.

He couldn’t win through technique, but he absolutely dominated Phantom Form in terms of pure strength. This block had been the chance he had been waiting for. He drew in a breath, activated all his mutated tissue, and a powerful, indomitable refined force blasted into Phantom Form through the spot where their weapons made contact.

Phantom Form immediately sensed the change in refined force. He should have been able to neutralize it, but the damage to his mutated tissue had led to him being unable to perform this minute action in time. His staff was sent swinging up, and the force made him take two steps back.

Now that the chance for an attack was finally here, Chen Chuan wasn’t going to let it go. With his hands still in the air, he swung his saber down. Phantom Form stepped back, grabbed his staff tightly, and brought it down to position it horizontally in front of him.

Clang!

The refined force from the downward swing charged over. Phantom Form’s knees bent, and his feet sank into the floorboards. His ankles even got buried in the dirt under the floorboards, making him look as if he had been knocked down like a nail.

This was bad news for him. If he lost access to any part of his body to manipulate the staff, the power of his attacks would instantly decrease.

Chen Chuan had been trying to force Phantom Form into engaging him in a fight of brute force. With Phantom Form pinned to the floor, he immediately found the rhythm he had during training.

Once he swung his saber down, he pulled it back, then swung it up again with a flick of his wrists. Phantom Form narrowed his eyes. He grabbed his staff with both hands and quickly swung it to the side, hoping to use the momentum generated from knocking the saber to the side to pull himself out of the dirt, but there was no power in the attack, despite it being laced with refined force a moment ago.

Since Phantom Form also possessed the ability to use his mutated tissue in batches, his misjudgment didn’t end up with him using too much refined force, but the injuries he suffered made him unable to break free. When Chen Chuan swung his saber down again, Phantom Form could only bring his staff up to block it.

Chen Chuan delivered more than ten slashes, and while Phantom Form couldn’t move, he managed to block all the attacks, albeit barely. With his solid foundation, he did not make any mistakes.

Since they were exchanging blows so quickly, their attacks and movements stirred up howling gusts. The rain that blew in was sent flying out before it landed on them. Even the shattered pieces of the tiles were sent flying away. The light above their heads flickered wildly, as if it had formed a spiral expanding outwards from them.

Phantom Form was reaching his limit. Since he couldn’t move at will, he was unable to use many of his techniques, while Chen Chuan’s attacks were all steady and powerful. His mutated tissue could negate a portion of their power, but each slash still made him sink into the dirt a bit more. Now, he was almost up to his calves.

By losing control of the fight, he was unable to catch his breath and let his damaged mutated tissue recover either. So, when the twenty-first slash came swinging down, he lost control of his strength, and the staff was knocked far away from his hands. His chest and face were all wide open.

Then, a chilling glare flashed. When he saw it, the saber pierced through his heart.

He looked into Chen Chuan’s calm eyes and knew what was going to happen next. Fear shone in his eyes. “W-Wait, I—”

“Sorry for bothering you. Rest in peace,” Chen Chuan said.

He put a hand on the back of the saber, stepped back, and drew the blade out while spinning on his feet, so it would cut diagonally upward. With a wet squelch, Phantom Form’s head flew into the air before rolling all the way to the raccoon statue. After knocking into it, it rolled a bit back.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep