Book 4, Chapter 24: Break The Saber

Chen Chuan figured out the man’s status. Only the eldest disciple of Serene Radiance School could possess that degree of intimidation and mental energy. He shifted his gaze to Yejian Hong’s waist. There were two sabers there. One was long, and the other short. Chen Chuan nodded and said, “Chen Chuan of the purity faction.”

“The purity faction?”

Yejian Hong had heard the name before, but he didn’t think much of it. It did not matter to him. Whoever was here, they weren’t going to stop him from seizing the gap.

More steps resounded through the area. The other Serene Radiance School disciples had entered. After seeing Yejian Hong, they were shocked and puzzled.

He looked like his original self, but also quite similar to their master, especially his demeanor. Just by looking at his back, they thought that their master was right there.

After observing Chen Chuan a little, Shiyuan Ba walked over and whispered, “Senior Brother, what should we do?”

Instinctively, he felt that Chen Chuan was a difficult opponent. Since Single Flow School was depending on him, he should be strong. But they were in a gap, and there wasn’t anyone else around. They didn’t need to care about obeying any rules and could just attack him together.

Yejian Hong ignored him and continued staring at Chen Chuan, who was, in turn, observing him.

“I hope you’ll be a good opponent. Well then, let’s have these bystanders step away,” Chen Chuan said coolly.

Right after he said those words, light shone in his eyes, and a powerful mental energy spread out of him.

Shiyuan Ba immediately felt dizzy. Then, he started hearing people collapsing behind him. In an instant, the majority of Serene Radiance School disciples lost consciousness and crashed on the ground.

He and a few others remained conscious, but they felt lightheaded, and all of them fell on one knee. Their heads spun, and they couldn’t get up, much less fight. Shock filled his heart.

This mental energy...

Yejian Hong remained steady on his feet. He was completely unmoved by the mental energy attack. That wasn’t all; he released a wave of mental energy back at Chen Chuan, as if he wanted to subjugate him in one go.

But Chen Chuan wasn’t affected. When he released his mental energy, he knew that Yejian Hong was going to do this, so he had already prepared Hollowed Heart Mark in anticipation.

Surprisingly, while Yejian Hong’s mental energy was strong, it wasn’t focused, so it couldn’t even dispel the external defense of Chen Chuan’s mind. Then, he remembered Gan Guo’s words about mental projection, and he came to a quick understanding.

Yejian Hong was surprised and somewhat frustrated that Chen Chuan wasn’t affected, but soon, he gave up on trying to affect his mind. Instead, he bared his teeth once more. “You have strong mental energy, but I don’t like such a pansy way of fighting.”

He put his hand on the long saber’s hilt and slowly drew it out. At the same time, his eyes turned so bloodshot that his pupils disappeared.

Chen Chuan stood still and didn’t draw his saber. The Frost King Saber hadn’t awakened and couldn’t withstand his Heartborn Force or display its full power. Besides, Chen Chuan had come up with a lot of ideas over these days, and he wanted to test them out.

Yejian Hong drew his saber completely out of its sheath, then lifted it up high and slowly lowered it in Chen Chuan’s direction. The moment it was horizontal, he vanished.

He appeared in front of Chen Chuan, and the snow-white blade went straight for the head.

Chen Chuan watched the light refracting off the tip of the saber. He could feel the tremors coming from Yejian Hong’s steps. Just as the saber tip was about to touch his forehead, he brought a hand up and blocked it with the edge of his palm. Refined force came from the saber.

His feet sank, but the space was made by the lifeform, so it was incredibly sturdy. The ground wasn’t destroyed, even though it had to bear the full brunt of the force being sent down.

When Yejian Hong saw that his attack was blocked, and with a bare hand at that, he was shocked. He delivered another slash, then another. He kept attacking swiftly and fiercely, leading to a continuous wave of howls in the air. The space started echoing with the sounds and trembling from the force.

Chen Chuan was able to block every one of the attacks with his arm or his hand. The fierce saber refined forces never hurt him either.

If there were offensive Heartborn Forces, naturally, there were defensive Heartborn Forces too. So, while Chen Chuan was figuring out his offensive Heartborn Force, he also considered a defensive one. If he used the All-Encompassing Force to simulate a body-hardening-type refined force, he could use it along with mental energy to create a defensive Heartborn Force.

This way, his defensive prowess would be much stronger than before. The current fight was a good example. He didn’t even use his second self, and he blocked all of Yejian Hong’s slashes with the simulated body-hardening-type refined force.

As he faced the continuous stream of slashes, he noticed some things he hadn’t paid attention to while he was pondering over his Heartborn Forces. His refined force started transforming quietly in this dance of attacking and defending as he made adjustments.

Yejian Hong, despite seeing Chen Chuan block every slash, showed no intention of stopping.

The reason was simple: The amount of energy and stamina necessary to block his attacks barehanded was definitely more than what he, the attacker, was using. Chen Chuan couldn’t make any mistakes either. Besides, his reach was much smaller than that of the saber. When Chen Chuan was attacked, he couldn’t counterattack effectively. If the fight continued this way, it would be beneficial for Yejian Hong, so he didn’t change anything.

Besides, he was getting used to his body as well.

As he continued swinging the saber, the mental power projected on him started gathering together and fusing with his refined force due to his determination to win.

Several slashes later, a different kind of power was added to his attack.

Chen Chuan’s gaze focused. The fierce slashes just now were executed with Yejian Hong’s outstanding power and speed, but this attack contained a hint of Heartborn Force, something he had become incredibly familiar with.

If that were the case, it was time to fight Heartborn Force with Heartborn Force.

He twisted his shoulder and used his elbow to block the attack.

Bam!

The two forces crashed into each other. A great wave of power surged into him, but the body-hardening-type refined force he simulated blocked it from entering him fully. A shockwave blasted outward from the contact point. The fabric covering his elbow tore apart, and he took half a step backward.

Yejian Hong was affected as well. The body-hardening-type Heartborn Force bounced his saber back, causing his nonstop stream of attacks to stop briefly. Because of it, he wasn’t able to instantly deliver his next attack.

Chen Chuan’s eyes flashed. It was obvious that Yejian Hong had never fought against anyone who had learned the Heartborn Force before, so he didn’t have any experience. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made such a mistake. At the very least, he would have been mentally prepared for it.

Chen Chuan moved back while generating power, then took a step forward and threw a punch. Before his fist touched Yejian Hong, his refined force already hit him.

Yejian Hong’s expression changed, and he retreated to position his saber horizontally before delivering a slash. It let him cut through the refined force in a seemingly relaxed but fierce fashion. Chen Chuan switched to offense and got into Yejian Hong’s space during the gap in his offense. Because of it, Yejian Hong could not switch to defense and was a step slower.

After delivering the punch, Chen Chuan closed in the moment Yejian Hong slowed down. He moved his hands into the prime position to perform a grappling technique and reached for Yejian Hong. A refined force that caused a stinging, numbing sensation left his fingertips.

Yejian Hong’s instincts screamed at him, and the mental energy projected on him surged once more.

In an instant, he performed the most appropriate and ingenious move to deal with the situation. He swung his elbow inward and moved his saber before him to block the attack. Then, he moved his other hand to his waist to perform Serene Radiance School’s unique Yang Switching Stance.

The short saber spun around along with the movements of his fingers. The saber tip swung to the front, and the sheath shattered. At the same time, with the other arm serving as a cover, he thrust the saber upward, straight at Chen Chuan’s throat.

This was a defensive counterattack. It was sneaky and cunning, but that wasn’t all. There was a bit of a fog at the tip of the saber, which gave off an incredibly sharp sensation.

When Chen Chuan noticed it, his mind told him that if he blocked it head-on, the short saber would pierce his neck.

This was an effect from mental energy. Talu had told him some of the special characteristics of Serene Radiance School’s martial arts. One of the famous ones was the Heart’s Path.

If he was affected by it, but avoided the attack, his mind would become certain that this attack would eventually land on him. Then, even if Yejian Hong shouldn’t be able to pierce through Chen Chuan’s neck, if he attacked him again with this attack, their minds would resonate, and Chen Chuan would end up with the saber through his neck.

That was why he didn’t dodge the attack. He used the Splitting Technique from grappling. One hand was positioned below the center of the long saber, and the other was positioned on top of the center of the short saber. Then, he pushed them both outward.

The short saber had its trajectory pushed downward, while the long saber was pushed upward. After splitting the weapons this way, those skilled in grappling could press close and grab their opponent’s neck, arms, or other areas.

But Chen Chuan didn’t do that. Instead, he closed in further and used the Clamping Technique from a takedown-type refined force. He wanted to wrap his arms around his opponent to seize them. If this were just a simple takedown attack, he would need to generate a lot of power to subjugate his opponent, which would inevitably lead to a gap in his attacks, and it would be far too easy for his opponent to break free.

Chen Chuan made use of the All-Encompassing Force’s seamless transfer of power. While he was using the Splitting Technique, he gathered power, so he could release it the moment he used the Clamping Technique. If he managed to grab Yejian Hong, he could break all the bones in the man’s upper body and crush him into a limp, boneless sack.

Despite them being two different refined forces, Chen Chuan managed to chain them together and switch between them with ease.

Alarm bells rang in Yejian Hong’s mind. Due to the mental energy projected on him, an invisible wave of power seemed to have been injected into him. He retreated and spun backward. The long saber was dragged down along with his movements, and it blocked the area in front of him. Meanwhile, he switched the short saber to a backhand grip and had the tip face outward.

This was a suitable counterattack. It could stop Chen Chuan from grabbing him, but since his weapons became his cover, they were in range of Chen Chuan’s attacks. The next moment, his hands grabbed the sabers, and a wave of Heartborn Force surged into the long saber, just as another wave surged out. With the two Heartborn Forces crashing inside it, the long saber snapped with a loud crack.

Yejian Hong’s eyes widened, but he seized the chance to take a few steps back and get away.

Chen Chuan let the broken blade pieces fall on the ground with a few loud clatters. Then, he looked at Yejian Hong. “You seem to have forgotten to take a good saber with you.”

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