Book 4, Chapter 135: Moving Tide

Qi Qianyang had thought that his previous boost in power would be enough to fight against Chen Chuan, so he hadn’t expected to be sent flying the moment they exchanged blows. When he returned to the fight, he fused with all the remaining power he absorbed.

The fusion didn’t just give him a simple boost in power. It became a part of him and made his mental energy and techniques stronger. After all, when a martial artist had enough mental energy and an outstanding physical body, they would be able to perform with more precision and intricateness.

Qi Qianyang needed a moment to get used to this sudden, huge boost in strength. Fortunately, the more refined forces he received with the Submission Force, the more perfect his mutated tissue became. With all the refined forces he endured and the recovery abilities he possessed, his durability and defenses had increased by leaps and bounds.

When Chen Chuan saw that he wasn’t injured, but instead appeared even livelier and stronger than before, he knew that Qi Qianyang had used some kind of secret technique.

Even so, he wasn’t worried about it. Only powerful enemies could help him climb to greater heights, after all.

He stood still. The white smoke turned thicker and didn’t dissipate even after rising into the sky.

Eventually, Qi Qianyang arrived in front of him. Wisps of smoke were also rising from him. Clearly, he, too, had activated the Furnace Breathing Technique.

Unlike Chen Chuan’s, though, his smoke was black, like it was filled with ash and soot.

He grabbed an extendable whip from his waist, and, with a flick, the retractable rings extended.

When they were about to start fighting, the remaining members of the Linacrox Union and the Union retreated while keeping their eyes glued on them.

Both Chen Chuan and Qi Qianyang were major problems. Since they had decided to fight each other first, there was no need for them to interfere. Either one of them dying would be a good thing for them. Of course, it would be much better if both of them died.

***

Xu Chan and the three squad captains saw everything from their cliff. Captain Lu, Captain Hai, and Captain Hu could not recover from the shock.

What was it that they just witnessed?

Everything had happened way too quickly. In the blink of an eye, Chen Chuan killed some of the martial artists from the Linacrox Union and the Union like he was mowing the lawn.

Suddenly, they had a feeling that Chen Chuan could deal with this problem alone. He did not need their help whatsoever.

***

After a brief standoff, Qi Qianyang was the first to move. He bent his back, spread his arms, twisted his waist, and swung the whip with all of his body. It cut a huge circle and let out a series of loud cracks with frightening momentum.

Chen Chuan didn’t dodge but stepped forward to meet it. With an upward swing, he struck the whip, and two lights flickered upon the weapons’ contact.

Whips were incredibly flexible. If any part was struck, the remaining section would come snapping at the enemy. Even if a flexible weapon struck a whip, the whip wielder could yank it over.

This time, though, the moment the two weapons met, a refined force surged forward from the Frost King Saber to intercept the refined force from the whip. Because of it, even if the remaining section snapped back, it would be harmless. Chen Chuan had also swung the saber upward with a hook-and-strip move, which made the remaining section snap up.

When Qi Qianyang saw that his attack had been interrupted, his eyelids twitched. With a flick of his arm and a snapback, he brought the whip careening back. Whips were long-distance weapons, so they could attack from far away, but to use their full power, one needed to swing them in circles and channel refined force forward. This was a long process, and such a weakness could only be covered by attacking continuously.

Chen Chuan, of course, immediately seized the opening. He moved with the whip’s movements and got past its optimal attack zone. In an instant, he arrived in front of Qi Qianyang and thrust his saber forward.

Qi Qianyang’s eyelids twitched again; he couldn’t let Chen Chuan continue getting closer. He twisted his waist to drag the back section of the whip to block the Frost King Saber.

At that moment, the yielding force in the whip shifted to a firm force, and it turned as hard as stone.

Bang!

A loud explosion came from the point of contact. Lights shot up and started eating each other like sparks.

Since Qi Qianyang hadn’t been able to gather the whip’s full power, it only stayed firm for a moment. The saber shifted and shot at him through an opening.

Qi Qianyang’s expression changed. He had thought that his chances of winning against Chen Chuan were pretty high, since he had already withstood and survived Chen Chuan’s refined force in a previous encounter. That was why he had fought at full power from the moment he stepped back into the fight. He intended to catch Chen Chuan by surprise and seize the upper hand.

But Chen Chuan was using a different refined force from last time. This difference forced him into a defensive position after their first round.

The moment martial artists at their level made such a mistake, it was incredibly difficult to turn the tide. Qi Qianyang would have to spend the rest of the fight defending passively.

He spun on his feet to make the whip snap and block the saber, which kept trying to get close to him. Whenever the weapons crashed, the saber trembled, and the whip twisted.

But things were getting more difficult for him, because every centimeter that the saber got closer to him made it more dangerous. Chen Chuan was slowly cutting the distance between them, and once Qi Qianyang was within the saber’s range, he would end up losing his head.

Qi Qianyang was focusing all his energy on defending against Chen Chuan’s attacks. He didn’t have any energy or chances to do anything else. All he could do was watch death crawl toward him.

He wasn’t going to just take it lying down. His eyes suddenly turned bloodshot, and his skin turned red. Wisps of blood red air mixed into the black smoke. This was his final trump card, which he had never expected to be forced to use.

A short spear shot over. Chen Chuan swung his saber to the side and sent it flying.

Clang!

Qi Qianyang’s irises turned entirely white, and he used the chance to widen the distance between them. When he turned over, he saw that Heros had sat up. He was the one who threw the short spear, and it made him raise an eyebrow in curiosity.

Heros was still covered in thin cracks, so he hadn’t recovered from his injuries. He had attacked because he could tell that Qi Qianyang was at a disadvantage, and the moment he died, no one would be able to fight against Chen Chuan. He had thrown the spear to help him get out of danger.

Chen Chuan, too, cast Heros a glance, but his gaze remained calm. A moment later, he returned his attention to the fight at hand.

Qi Qianyang huffed in amusement and unfolded his whip. Then, he stared at Chen Chuan with utmost seriousness. This time, he wouldn’t make the same mistake.

Just then, they heard loud noises from the distance. A large flock of birds and insects came from the forest and turned the sky dark.

This attracted Chen Chuan, Qi Qianyang, and everyone else’s attention. The merged space was exceptionally dangerous, so they couldn’t overlook any strange events.

The creatures seemed to be running from something, since they were flying over their heads like dark clouds passing through this region. They weren’t the only ones escaping. Some of the creatures hiding in the forest ran out as well. Everyone could sense that something was about to go very wrong.

A moment later, the ground trembled. Then, they heard loud rustling sounds. It sounded like a rising tide but also like tons of sand rolling forward.

Qi Qianyang’s expression changed. He had lived in the merged space for a long time and knew certain situations well. He already knew what was coming. Even though he had never encountered this particular thing before, he had heard about it.

Around ten seconds later, everyone saw a black line at the far end of the forest. It was spreading like a rising tide. Since they had great vision, they soon saw that it wasn’t water, but an endless swarm of black beetles.

They were headed toward them.

Chen Chuan’s gaze sharpened.

Was that... an insect flood?

There were two kinds of insect swarms that were particularly terrifying in the merged space. One was a moth swarm, and the other was this one, a beetle swarm moving so rapidly that they were like a flood. No matter the terrain or time, they would fill up every nook and cranny, and no matter how strong a person was, the moment they got caught inside, they would be gnawed to bits in an instant.

Insect floods were rare. If one appeared right now, it was highly likely that they came because of the artifact.

Everyone’s expression changed. Even if they didn’t know what the insects were, they could tell that it was impossible for them to win.

Qi Qianyang turned to Chen Chuan. “Looks like we will need to postpone our duel, Lead Investigator Chen.”

He then turned and ran away.

After Heros was defeated, the artifact had fallen out of his hand and rolled to the side. It was Qi Qianyang’s target.

He whistled, and the bird circling above them dipped down. It seemed like it was about to nab the artifact and fly off.

After just a few steps, Qi Qianyang sensed something coming at him, and he spun on his feet to block it with his whip.

Bam!

A pebble exploded upon contact with the whip. It had come at him with such strength that it was like a cannonball. His whip-wielding arm was shoved back a bit, and he nearly lost his balance as he stumbled a few steps back.

Then, he turned around to see a saber coming straight for him. By the looks of it, Chen Chuan had absolutely no intention of postponing their fight. Qi Qianyang cursed under his breath and turned around to swing the whip. It drew a huge arc in the air before snapping toward Chen Chuan.

Boom!

A loud explosion shot up from the point of contact.

This time, though, it didn’t affect just the two weapons. The ground under their feet seemed to have come alive. Earth rose up with loud rumbles, and the artifact rolled into a crack on the ground.

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