"See? What did I tell you? Ge Xiaolun and the others are the key to this match! Look, didn't they just defeat that soldier of yours?"
At the sight, Rena immediately perked up, planting her hands on her hips and puffing out her chest, her voice brimming with triumphant satisfaction.
"Defeat?"
Qin Feng reclined on the Throne without so much as lifting his eyelids, but an intrigued smile curved his lips.
"Heh, I wouldn't be so sure."
No sooner had he spoken than a dark figure burst out from the center of the dust cloud.
A conical blade tore through the gray haze, hurtling straight at Cheng Yaowen's face with a shrill whistle!
Cheng Yaowen's pupils contracted sharply.
He reacted extremely quickly, slamming both hands against the ground. In a flash, a thick earthen wall rose between him and the conical blade.
The wall was a full half meter thick, its rough surface gleaming with a dull, rocklike luster.
The Crab Shadowkhan charged out of the dust behind his Cone Hand without the slightest pause. The instant the Cone Hand pierced the earthen wall, a thunderous, muffled crash rang out. The entire wall split down the center, cracks rapidly spreading outward.
His massive claw swept across next, blasting the broken chunks of earth away. The Cone Hand continued forward with undiminished momentum, its remaining force slamming into Cheng Yaowen's chest.
"Pfft!"
Cheng Yaowen was sent flying and rolled twice across the ground before barely managing to steady himself.
He braced one hand against the ground, a trickle of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. A deep dent marked the Dark Alloy Armor over his chest.
"Yao Wen!"
Ge Xiaolun cried out in alarm.
Cheng Yaowen pushed himself up from the ground, raised a hand to wipe the blood from his mouth, and shook his head at Ge Xiaolun.
"I'm fine."
Only then did Ge Xiaolun breathe a sigh of relief.
But before he could finish exhaling, Qiangwei's voice suddenly rang out from behind him to one side, sharp and urgent. "Ge Xiaolun, get out of the way!"
Ge Xiaolun froze for a moment. Before he could turn his head, a dark conical blade had already pierced the Dark Alloy Armor over his chest, emerging from the front of his torso.
Dark red beads of blood clung to the pointed tip, gleaming coldly in the afternoon sunlight.
Ge Xiaolun lowered his head, staring blankly at the Cone Hand that had run him through.
His mouth opened, an indistinct breath escaping his throat. Then his knees buckled, and he collapsed limply. The Void Greatsword slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a dull clang.
"Xiaolun!"
Lian Feng was utterly shaken by the sight.
She abruptly turned toward Qin Feng, who was reclining on the Throne, her eyes blazing with something close to accusation.
"Mr. Qin, didn't we agree that this was a sparring match, that both sides would stop short of causing harm and no lives would be endangered?"
At her words, Qin Feng picked at his ear, his expression utterly unruffled.
"Calm down, calm down. Ge Xiaolun has an indestructible body. He won't die that easily. Besides, why didn't you call a halt when my Taxi Soldiers were being pelted with chunks of earth? For now, just settle down and keep watching."
Lian Feng clenched her fists and was about to say more when Rena grabbed her wrist and urged her in a low voice, "Oh, don't be angry. Blades have no eyes in a match. Accidents are bound to happen. Besides, Ge Xiaolun is fine."
Lian Feng glared at her. "Whose side are you on, anyway?"
"I'm just being fair!"
Rena hastily laughed it off, then abruptly pointed toward the Training Ground.
"Look, look! Qiangwei and the others are counterattacking!"
Lian Feng forcibly suppressed her surging emotions and turned to look.
Qiangwei waved both hands in rapid succession, sending several throwing knives through space wormholes toward the Crab Shadowkhan's vital points.
But the instant their tips struck his shell-like exoskeleton, crisp metallic clangs rang out, as though they had hit steel plates. The knives snapped and fell to the ground, leaving not even a white mark.
Qiangwei's expression changed. Through gritted teeth, she cursed under her breath, "Damn it! My throwing knives can't get through his defenses at all!"
Seeing this, Cheng Yaowen planted both hands on the ground again, dark energy spreading rapidly through the earth.
The next second, dozens of sharp Earth Spikes suddenly thrust out from underground, closing in on the Crab Shadowkhan like rows of fangs.
The Crab Shadowkhan neither dodged nor retreated, swinging his massive claw and Cone Hand to shatter every spike that approached.
Stones and fragments flew everywhere, but he remained completely unharmed.
After smashing the last spike, the Crab Shadowkhan darted forward and lunged at Cheng Yaowen again.
Cheng Yaowen did not dare take the attack head-on. He controlled the chunk of earth beneath his feet, riding it swiftly along a winding path across the Training Ground.
The Crab Shadowkhan pursued him at tremendous speed, but whenever he was about to catch up, Cheng Yaowen used the terrain to make a sharp turn, barely opening up some distance.
Qiangwei joined in as well, constantly changing positions in an attempt to pressure him from the side, but her throwing knives had become completely ineffective.
The Crab Shadowkhan did not even bother dodging, allowing the knives to strike his body and bounce off without disrupting his rhythm in the slightest.
The battle settled into a stalemate.
Qiangwei and Cheng Yaowen could not damage the Crab Shadowkhan, while the Crab Shadowkhan could not catch the elusive pair for the moment.
Watching this, Rena spread her hands helplessly.
"Ugh, boring. Looks like they've fought to a draw."
"Are you sure? Take a closer look."
Rena paused at his words, then looked intently toward the field.
The Crab Shadowkhan suddenly stopped his pursuit.
He stood motionless, his massive claw and Cone Hand hanging at his sides, as though gathering something.
Then the shadow beneath his feet abruptly spread in every direction, as thick as a spilled bucket of ink, instantly covering more than half the Training Ground.
At that moment, Cheng Yaowen suddenly discovered that he could no longer control the earth covered by the shadows.
Whenever his dark energy touched those shadows, it vanished without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the sea. He could not get even the slightest feedback.
Instinctively, he tried to move away from the shadow-covered area, but the Crab Shadowkhan was far faster.
The thick darkness spread rapidly like a living thing, swallowing every inch of the Training Ground in the blink of an eye.
The last patch of clear ground beneath Cheng Yaowen's feet was stained inky black by the shadows as well. He had nowhere to hide.
Qiangwei had reacted the instant she realized something was wrong.
The wings on her back abruptly spread, and she shot up from the ground, hovering more than ten meters above the Training Ground as she looked down at the churning, darkened earth below.
Standing at the very center of the shadows, the Crab Shadowkhan cast Cheng Yaowen a glance with his scarlet V-shaped Vertical Pupils, then silently merged into the shadow beneath his feet.
At the sight, Cheng Yaowen's heart sank.
The Crab Shadowkhan had used this very move to take out Qilin earlier. Now that he was using it again, his target was clearly Cheng Yaowen.
Before you continue