Boldness Born of Skill
A bizarre scene unfolded.
Those incomparably sharp Sword Qi, capable of easily tearing apart Late Stage of Sixth Grade Undying Realm expert, were neither blocked nor shattered.
They began to age rapidly within their domain.
Each Sword Qi withered away completely at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The whole process remained quiet and natural, as if it were always meant to be this way.
Chen Fan took a step forward.
His figure moved like a phantom, ignoring the still raging but now baseless storm of Sword Qi, and appeared directly in front of Jian Wuchen.
He extended his fair palm, devoid of any worldly air, and gently placed it on the blade of Jian Wuchen's divine weapon.
"Buzzing..."
The peerless longsword, which had been constantly humming, yearning for battle, and eager to utterly shatter the person before it, slowly calmed down in Chen Fan's palm, like a restless beast that had been soothed.
All sharpness is concealed.
Jian Wuchen stared blankly at his sword, then at Chen Fan's calm, still eyes, which held a mixture of rebirth and death.
A long time.
He slowly sheathed his sword.
Facing Chen Fan, this proud and arrogant swordsmanship prodigy, he bowed slightly and uttered three words of sincere admiration.
"I lost."
Upon hearing this, the entire Void Arena fell into an unprecedented, deathly silence.
The face of Old Freak Wang, the Chief Instructor of the Ancient Martial Arts School, turned as black as the bottom of a pot in that instant. His last hope, his only reliance for turning the tide, was utterly shattered with Jian Wuchen's three crisp and decisive words.
And in the stands where everyone was watching with bated breath.
Lin Xuanqing, the Chief Instructor of the Life School, slowly stood up from his seat.
On his perpetually unchanging, rigid face, a faint smile played at the corners of his lips. His gaze swept over the silent crowd and landed precisely on Old Freak Wang.
He spoke calmly, his voice not loud, yet clearly reaching the ears of everyone present.
"Old Freak Wang."
Looks like you misjudged me again!
These words were like an invisible slap in the face of Old Freak Wang.
The Chief Instructors of the other Nine Great Schools no longer looked at Lin Xuanqing with a hint of mockery, but with an intense, unyielding jealousy.
"His Dao... has already become a complete system." The Chief Instructor the Heavenly Sword School spoke in a hoarse voice, "The Life-and-Death Cycle, the end of all laws. Even Jian Wuchen's sharpness cannot break through his Dao. Ordinary Undying Realm probably don't even have the qualifications to make him take action."
"Lin the Madman, you've really struck gold this time!"
"More than a treasure, this is practically Qilin Prodigy of the Human Race! And you've managed to trick him into building that dead end... no, now it seems that it might actually be a path to heaven!"
Chen Fan was completely unaware of his mentors' discussions.
On the solitary peak, he nodded earnestly to Jian Wuchen, who had sheathed his sword.
This can be seen as recognition of this respectable opponent.
At that very moment, a magnificent Light Screen law light descended from the sky above the Lost Divine Domain.
[The competition has entered its Second Tier. The Divine Domain is beginning to shrink, and all participants will be forced to converge on the central Myriad Beast Valley!]
As soon as the words were spoken, the edge of the arena map began to collapse and vanish at a visible speed, as an invisible force pushed all the survivors in the same direction.
Conflicts will become incredibly frequent!
A gentle breeze blows atop the solitary peak.
Jian Wuchen solemnly sheathed his ancient sword before Chen Fan, his straight spine resembling a sharp sword piercing the Firmament.
"Today's discussion has been enlightening. I look forward to facing you again on a larger stage."
He is not someone who easily admits defeat, but rather a pure seeker of the truth.
For him, being defeated by a higher level of Tao was not a disgrace, but an opportunity.
As soon as he finished speaking, he didn't linger. His figure transformed into a dazzling sword light and shot towards the faintly visible Myriad Beast Valley deep within the Divine Domain, his back view lofty and resolute.
Chen Fan watched the receding sword light and nodded seriously.
This opponent is not bad.
The stands were completely silent.
The Chief Instructor of the Nine Great Schools looked at the immature figure in the Law Projection with complicated emotions.
Jealousy, regret, horror... all these emotions intertwined, ultimately turning into silent resentment towards the madman beside him.
"Lin the Madman, you've really hit the jackpot this time!"
"This young man's understanding of the Dao has reached a transcendent level; I myself am ashamed of my inferiority. After the Grand Competition, could he come to my New Martial Arts School to audit classes for a few days? He can use all the resources at his leisure!"
"To hell with you! If you're going to come, come to my Elemental Faction! I'll offer you a drop of the Source of Myriad Laws!"
In an instant, several voice transmissions containing the will of the laws rushed into Lin Xuanqing's mind.
Lin Xuanqing ignored him, his stern face showing an uncontrollable upward curve at the corners of his mouth, while his gaze lightly fell on the livid-faced Old Freak Wang beside him.
Old Freak Wang felt that gaze, but forced a stubborn retort, "Hmph! Jian Wuchen is just an exception. Specializing in one path leaves too many weaknesses! The true strength of our Ancient Martial Arts School lies in our invincible physical body and the formation of Qi and Blood into arrays! In team battles, how could he possibly stand alone!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Xuanqing smiled but didn't say anything; he simply picked up his teacup leisurely.
That smile was more lethal than any words.
Within the Divine Domain, Chen Fan was not in a hurry to travel.
The oppressive feeling of the shrinking map seemed nonexistent to him.
He concealed all his presence, and his eyes, which once held a profound understanding of life and death, regained their childlike clarity and curiosity.
He strolled leisurely through the woods like a child on a true picnic.
Sometimes I pause to watch a Primordial Era flower bloom and wither beside me, sensing the fleeting moment of life; sometimes I reach out to touch a stubborn rock that has been eroded by the aura of death for millennia, experiencing its eternal stillness.
His state of mind became increasingly harmonious and enlightened as he walked.
This back-to-basics attitude made the mentors in the spectator seats even more perplexed.
Is this kid just incredibly skilled and daring, or is he genuinely clueless?
As Chen Fan approached a swamp that reeked of decay, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
His Divine Sense detected intense and chaotic energy fluctuations coming from ahead, mixed with a familiar aura.
Several disciples dressed in the attire of the Life School stood back to back, forming a precarious defensive formation, surrounded by more than ten disciples of the Ancient Martial Arts School with powerful auras and bulging muscles.
The leader was a burly man nearly two meters tall, exuding explosive power, whose cultivation had reached the Mid-Stage Sixth Grade Undying Realm.
He looked at the trapped men with a sinister grin, his voice booming, "Today, I'll show you that before absolute power, all your fancy tricks are worthless!"