Pyrrhic Victory

Chapter 35: A Pyrrhic Victory

What do I do? What do I do? Feeling the gale behind him, which felt like it would smash into his back the very next moment, countless thoughts flashed through Chen Yun's mind, but he couldn't find any way to deal with the current situation.

Am I going to lose? Chen Yun thought, unwilling.

He believed that while this blow wouldn't be fatal due to his body's resilience, it would be enough to defeat him.

No! I can't lose! Chen Yun roared inwardly, unwilling.

Ever since his Dragon Bloodline awakened, the arrogance, dignity, and unyielding spirit contained within it had seeped into his soul, slowly influencing his personality.

As a Dragon Blood Warrior, the honor of his lineage did not permit him to fail.

At this moment, no one in the audience made a sound. The place was dead silent. Everyone held their breath, their eyes wide open, staring intently at this thrilling moment.

Niya was so anxious that tears were about to fall from her eyes.

Bright frowned, his eyes filled with worry as he looked at Chen Yun on the stage, his robes rustling in the wind from the hammer, his hair disheveled.

Lia, unable to bear it, closed her eyes.

France, on the other hand, was so nervous his face turned red and his neck bulged. He clasped his fists tightly in front of his chest, his body slightly hunched, muttering in a low voice, "Boss!"

Guke was the calmest. His face was expressionless, his sharp eyes fixed on Chen Yun's slightly trembling body, a hint of confusion flashing in his gaze.

He didn't believe Chen Yun would lose; it was an intuition.

Moreover, he could faintly sense a familiar aura from Chen Yun at this moment.

"Boom!" A world-shattering roar echoed, and many were so shocked they clutched their chests.

The colossal sound was like an iron hammer smashing into people's hearts. Those with lower cultivation levels in the audience turned pale, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths. Fortunately, it didn't cause any unnecessary casualties.

At this point, the stage was obscured by a cloud of dust, making it impossible to see what was happening inside.

The crowd below craned their necks, straining their eyes, trying desperately to see through the dust.

Before long, the dust on the stage gradually dissipated, revealing a straight, spear-like black figure – Chen Yun.

Although Chen Yun was in a sorry state, his robes somewhat tattered, and the entire sleeve on his right arm was gone, Clinton was already lying on the ground, twitching uncontrollably, clearly unable to get up.

Yet, this scene still made the eyes of the audience bulge.

How... how is this possible? This question involuntarily arose in everyone's minds.

Guke stared intently at Chen Yun. He hadn't seen clearly what had happened.

However, Guke distinctly felt a familiar aura flash and disappear in the dust. Although that aura was mixed with an unfathomably profound and mysterious aura, making it different from his memory, it still shocked Guke to the core.

How... how is this possible? Could he also be... Guke thought, filled with disbelief and uncertainty.

At that moment, as Clinton's War Hammer neared Chen Yun's back, Chen Yun's hair stood on end, and a strong sense of crisis surged from the depths of his heart.

He hadn't expected Clinton's attack to be so powerful, reaching the very peak of an Emperor's strike.

Although his current comprehensive strength was comparable to an ordinary Emperor-level expert, the further one cultivated, the greater the gap between realms. Even a Body Sect cultivator who had reached the Fifth Order in physical cultivation would surely die if they endured a peak Emperor's strike.

A strong sense of death rushed to his head. His Dragon Bloodline was about to erupt, but at that very instant, Chen Yun's mind went blank with a boom.

Tai Chi: using softness to overcome hardness, breaking its rigidity.

Suddenly, Chen Yun felt as if he had been enlightened, his mind becoming clear and empty.

Following this, Chen Yun's entire body began to tremble unconsciously with the Tai Chi mantra that sounded like a sacred voice in his mind. The Battle Qi and Internal Qi within his body circulated simultaneously, faintly forming a translucent Tai Chi phantom. The black and white yin-yang fish, connected head to tail, slowly revolved, emitting wisps of mysterious aura.

However, the entire Tai Chi phantom looked extremely unbalanced. The black yin fish was almost nonexistent, faded to the extreme, while the white yang fish was slightly more visible in comparison.

All of this seemed to take a long time, but in reality, it happened in the blink of an eye.

Just as the changes within Chen Yun's body were concluding, Clinton's War Hammer struck Chen Yun fiercely, a tremendous force surging out with terrifying Battle Qi energy.

But what happened next filled Clinton with horror.

He felt as if his attack had hit a ball of cotton. This feeling of having nowhere to exert his strength made his heart feel incredibly heavy.

Moreover, his War Hammer was inexplicably guided slightly to the side. This subtle shift caused Clinton's War Hammer to miss Chen Yun's body.

Otherwise, Chen Yun would have been in grave danger.

Chen Yun was unaware of everything happening outside. He was currently in a peculiar state, every cell in his body undergoing subtle changes. The Battle Qi and Internal Qi within his body were merging along an extremely mysterious trajectory, circulating slowly and stiffly.

But at this moment, a terrifying force suddenly transmitted.

Chen Yun subconsciously extended his right hand and slowly reached towards the War Hammer emitting violent energy fluctuations. This seemingly slow movement was extremely out of sync with the rapidly approaching War Hammer.

However, Chen Yun's right hand seemed to be imbued with magic. It landed precisely on Clinton's War Hammer and gently pushed it aside. Then, he slightly shifted his body, formed his left hand into a palm, and lightly pushed it out, landing it precisely on Clinton's chest.

Clinton was immediately sent flying by this seemingly gentle palm strike, crashing heavily onto the ground.

Chen Yun also instantly broke free from that state.

Although Clinton's hammer did not hit Chen Yun head-on, the terrifying energy contained within it could not be entirely diverted by Chen Yun's current state. A small portion of the energy still impacted Chen Yun and entered his body.

The Tai Chi phantom within Chen Yun's body had initially formed precariously, and its circulation was stiff. The invading Battle Qi energy immediately caused the Tai Chi diagram to collapse.

The Battle Qi and Internal Qi that originally belonged to Chen Yun became chaotic, and a violent backlash raged through Chen Yun's body.

Chen Yun couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Despite the severe injuries, Chen Yun endured it, standing perfectly straight. Even though he was trembling uncontrollably, it wasn't apparent from the outside. All that could be seen was him spitting blood.

However, Clinton lay on the ground, unable to rise.

To outsiders, it was clear that Chen Yun had won. But who could have known that Chen Yun's injuries were actually more severe than Clinton's?

The previously silent crowd erupted into an uproar, like a pot boiling over, with everyone chattering.

Brian and the others also breathed a sigh of relief.

Niya rushed onto the stage. Seeing Chen Yun spitting blood, her heart ached.

Just as Niya rushed onto the stage and reached Chen Yun's side, wanting to help him up.

A stern voice sounded in her ear, "Don't touch him!"

Immediately after, a burly figure abruptly appeared beside Niya, his rough hands blocking her outstretched ones.