A Way to Break the Deadlock

"Chu Ge, I didn't expect us to face each other so soon."

On the arena, Ye Han held a long saber, his expression somewhat complicated.

"I thought I could put off facing you until the finals. I didn't expect it to happen in only the second match."

"Neither did I."

Chu Ge stood opposite him with his spear, his face largely expressionless.

As far as he was concerned, facing Ye Han now was fine, though facing him in the finals would have been better. Either way, the result would be the same.

As for how to fight, he had originally prepared [Draw a Circle as a Prison].

The two-star entry's mechanics were a perfect counter to [Single-Person Blind Spot]: trap Ye Han inside a confined area, and even if Chu Ge couldn't see him, he could still attack the whole area.

But after thinking it over, he abandoned the plan.

There were two reasons.

First, if he trapped Ye Han in a circle, he couldn't blast him out of the arena.

Ye Han came from one of the four great families, and neither his foundation nor his cultivation technique was inferior to Chu Ge's. Both had a hundred levels of qi and blood, so their combat strength was basically equal in a head-on fight.

Draw a Circle as a Prison would only drag the match into a battle of attrition, until it came down to who couldn't hold out first.

Second, there were limits on switching entries. If he used [Draw a Circle as a Prison], he wouldn't be able to switch back to [Instant] for a while, making the matches afterward much more difficult.

So he would stick to the old method: crushing his opponent with speed.

In the Ye Martial Arts School's spectator section.

Ye Weiyu watched the two men facing off on the arena, her face turning into a little bitter melon.

On one side was her older male cousin; on the other was the man she had a secret crush on.

A matchup like this was practically a death sentence for her.

She had already experienced this kind of torment once when Lin Luyin faced Chu Ge. She hadn't expected a second round.

After agonizing over it for a while, she called out softly twice:

"Come on, Brother Chu..."

"Come on, Brother..."

Both cheers were exactly the same volume, so fair it was heartbreaking.

Beside her, Lin Luyin watched in amusement.

Interesting.

This really was an exhilarating struggle.

Though Chu Ge was her nemesis, she would rather he won.

For no other reason than that she wanted to see for herself exactly how he would break [Single-Person Blind Spot], a technique for which even she couldn't work out a solution.

In the Chu Martial Arts School's spectator section, what Xiao Yan was doing had nothing to do with the match.

She propped up her tablet and, while the two had yet to start fighting, used a stylus to record the scene.

Xiao Lan leaned over to watch.

Xiao Yan made a stroke here, another there, then added one more.

The outline of a figure holding a spear stood on the screen.

Xiao Lan knew nothing about art, but she was deeply impressed. She even found herself thinking of learning to draw.

"Sister Xiao Yan, you're so good at drawing!"

"Nothing special." Xiao Yan didn't look up. "I've practiced for ten-odd years, and this is all I can do."

Ten-odd years of practice was only "nothing special"? Xiao Lan silently snuffed out the thought she'd just had.

On the arena.

The fight began without a sound.

Ye Han vanished into thin air before Chu Ge's eyes.

A flicker of surprise passed through Chu Ge's eyes.

He had known what [Single-Person Blind Spot] did, but only after experiencing it firsthand did he understand how absurd the entry was.

The invisibility was too thorough, so thorough that he couldn't detect the slightest trace of Ye Han.

Is this really just a three-star entry? Good thing it's limited to one person, or it would be overpowered.

Still, this so-called invisibility wasn't without a flaw.

Chu Ge exhaled and calmed his mind.

He couldn't hear or see him, but the wind wouldn't lie.

In an enclosed venue, the skin was the first to know when the airflow stirred.

He had tempered his body with Indestructible Golden Body for over ten years. If nothing else, his five senses had long since become far sharper than those of martial artists at the same realm.

Here he comes.

Chu Ge turned and swept his spear sideways.

Clang!

Metal struck metal, and the crisp sound rang throughout the venue.

The spectators collectively froze.

"What just happened? Chu Ge blocked Ye Han?!"

"A coincidence, right? Or did Ye Han forget to activate his entry?"

"Not sure. Let's watch another exchange..."

The spectators could see Ye Han. The entry only concealed him from Chu Ge, so the laymen had no idea whether Ye Han had activated it.

On the arena, Ye Han's face was full of disbelief.

What's going on?

He had clearly used [Single-Person Blind Spot] on Chu Ge. This should have been a repeat of what happened to Yang Wei: unable to see or touch him, Chu Ge should have been beaten one-sidedly.

"How did you do that?!"

He shouted aloud, taking the chance to test whether the entry was broken.

Chu Ge didn't react at all.

"Chu Ge, can you hear me?"

Still no reaction.

Ye Han was certain now. The entry wasn't broken; Chu Ge really couldn't see or hear him.

Which raised the question: how had that spear strike blocked his attack so precisely?

Could it really have been a coincidence, as the spectators said?

"Then take another slash!"

Refusing to believe it, Ye Han raised his saber and chopped at him.

He didn't believe Chu Ge could block it a second time.

A second before the blade fell, silver light flashed.

The spear moved later but arrived first, firmly stopping the saber's tip.

Clang!

Ye Han's pupils contracted.

He blocked it again?

You've got to be kidding!

The spectators in the stands wore the same expression as Ye Han.

The first time could have been a coincidence. The second wasn't.

...Even if Chu Ge couldn't see Ye Han, he had to know where Ye Han was.

"Could Chu Ge have a heavenly eye-type entry that just happens to counter invisibility?" someone began to speculate.

"Maybe he's just lucky." Someone else shook their head. "Word only just got around that he has a speed entry, and now he has an eye entry too? Two entries? I wouldn't even dare make that up."

In the Ye Martial Arts School's spectator section, Lin Luyin stared intently at Chu Ge, trying to tease out the secret from his movements.

No matter how she looked, Chu Ge was still the same Chu Ge. There was no golden light in his eyes, and no third eye had opened on his forehead.

"You rascal, Haji Ge..." she murmured. "How exactly did you do it?"

Beside her, Ye Weiyu was already so nervous she had started biting her nails.

"Come on, Cousin... Brother Chu, don't get hurt either..."

"That's a pretty comprehensive wish," Lin Luyin said.

On the arena, Ye Han took a deep breath, his gaze steadying.

Whether Chu Ge could really pinpoint his location or was simply unbelievably lucky, at most it meant he could "reach" him. Being able to reach him didn't mean he could win.

He moved.

Exploding with all his strength, he charged in front of Chu Ge in the blink of an eye, his long saber raised high overhead.

This time, the spear arrived before the saber could come down.

Clang!

The spear was so fast it left an afterimage, and its force was absurd, knocking the long saber straight out of his hand.

The moment the saber left his hand, the invisibility effect failed.

In Chu Ge's view, a saber appeared out of thin air and clattered to the ground several meters away.

He didn't look at it.

Ye Han was surely in a daze right now, wondering where his saber had gone. This opportunity couldn't be missed.

Gripping the very end of the shaft with both hands, Chu Ge swept his spear as if clearing away a thousand troops.

Eight times speed.

Silver light swept past and struck the thing he couldn't see.

Bang!

From the spectators' perspective, Ye Han went flying sideways, blasted straight out of the arena. He rolled twice on the ground before stopping.

The entire venue fell deathly silent.

Then cheers lifted the roof.

"Holy crap!"

"He's won already? That was only the fourth exchange, right?!"

"Can someone explain to me how Ye Han lost?!"

In the Ye Martial Arts School's spectator section, Lin Luyin's eyes went wide.

She hadn't even figured out how Chu Ge had stopped the first two slashes, and the match was already over.

She hadn't learned how to break the deadlock; all she had seen was a crushing victory.

Ye Weiyu's little mouth hung open, and after a long moment she managed to squeeze out a sentence:

"...S-so amazing!"

She didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

Her cousin had been the Ye Martial Arts School's greatest hope of winning the championship, but he was out in the second match. Now her older female cousin was the school's only remaining hope.

On the arena, Chu Ge looked toward the Chu Martial Arts School's spectator section.

The two young women were cheering for him.

Xiao Lan was the loudest: "Young Master is the best!!!"

Xiao Yan didn't shout. She held up her tablet, which showed a drawing of the match.

On the vast arena, a spear-wielding figure stood proudly, like an eternally undefeated god of war.

And across from him...

Huh?

Why is that stick figure not even as tall as his knee?

Is that Ye Han? If it is, that's an awfully perfunctory drawing.

The god of war's opponent didn't even deserve a face, only two lines.

Chu Ge waved to the two of them and looked in another direction.

A man lay outside the arena, blood at the corner of his mouth and his face pale.

It was Ye Han.

He was unconscious, and [Single-Person Blind Spot] had deactivated automatically.

Medical personnel soon arrived and carried him away.

Chu Ge withdrew his gaze.

During that final strike, his [Instant] had entered its third stage: eight times speed.

Even though he had held back, Ye Han was bound to have a few broken bones after that spear strike.

Only then did the referee come to his senses. He picked up the microphone and announced Chu Ge's victory.

Amid the applause, Chu Ge stepped down from the arena and entered the contestants' passage.

Yang Wei was blocking the entrance.

"Nice one, Old Chu!"

His face full of excitement, he rushed over to give Chu Ge a bear hug.

Chu Ge dodged to the side.

Yang Wei grabbed at empty air and nearly went headfirst into the wall.

He turned around and looked at Chu Ge resentfully. "The love is gone..."

"You make it sound like there was ever any love between us," Chu Ge said. "Keep that big stomach of yours back. I don't want to hug it."

"...Fine."

Yang Wei dropped the joke, leaned closer, and lowered his voice. "Old Chu, tell me, how exactly did you do it? No one in the whole venue understood."

Chu Ge knew he couldn't hide it, and he hadn't intended to. He said calmly:

"It's simple. [Single-Person Blind Spot] only stopped me from seeing and hearing him, but the laws of physics don't give him that kind of face."

"As long as he moves or swings his saber, no matter how small the movement, he'll disturb the air around him."

"In an enclosed arena like today's, movements in the airflow are much more noticeable than they are outside."

"Indestructible Golden Body is a body-refining technique, so my five senses are sharper than those of people at the same realm. Once I calm down and feel which way the air is moving, I can work out where he is."

Yang Wei stared blankly for a long moment after hearing that, then shook his head.

"Morals are declining, and people aren't what they used to be."

"What does that have to do with what I said?"

"Nothing. I just suddenly felt like saying it." Yang Wei patted him on the shoulder. "Anyway, you beat him, and you're my brother, so round that up and I beat him."

"I don't mind," Chu Ge said. "I just hope someone hasn't forgotten our agreement. If I beat him, you'd treat me to duck-leg rice for two weeks."

"I won't forget!" Yang Wei waved a hand. "Once the competition's completely over, I'll take you out to eat. We'll invite Xiao Yan and Xiao Lan."

Chu Ge returned to the lounge.

The moment he entered, every contestant in the room turned to look at him in unison.

Chu Ge had made a name for himself today.

Ye Han was well known too, and the people who had suffered at his hands before were especially eager to find out how Single-Person Blind Spot had been broken.

But none of them knew Chu Ge well, so nobody felt comfortable coming over to ask.

Chu Ge paid their gazes no mind. He drank some water, found a spot, and sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing.

Eightfold speed came at a steep price.

His muscles felt as though they had all been torn, his heart was pounding hard and fast, and his face had already gone pale. He maintained a presentable appearance only by sitting up straight.

His mind, however, was calm.

The credit for winning this match belonged to Ye Han.

Someone who had never lost trusted his entry too much.

He wouldn't pay attention to details like the movement of air.

So when Chu Ge precisely blocked his blade again and again, his Dao heart fell into disarray.

Once thrown into disarray, a person thought of everything: doubting himself, doubting his opponent, doubting whether his entry had stopped working... The more he thought, the more cautiously he fought, and the less of his strength he brought to bear.

Put simply, if Ye Han had fought him head-on without activating his entry, he wouldn't have lost so badly.

The competition continued.

Some were eliminated, others advanced, and the lounge grew emptier and emptier.

In the end, only two remained.

Chu Ge and the other contestant from the Ye Martial Arts School, Ye Weiyu's older female cousin, Ye Qingwu.

Chu Ge didn't know her well, but they had met a few times at gatherings of the four great families' younger generation and were on nodding terms.

She also attended Martial Arts No. 1 Middle School. She was in her second year of high school, in the same class as Yang Wei.

Ye Qingwu was very courteous and took the initiative to greet him before the match.

"Junior Chu, I've heard a lot about you," she said. "That girl Weiyu talks about you at home every day. I've finally met you in person today."

"...You're too kind, Senior Ye."

Chu Ge's expression didn't change, but he wondered what Ye Weiyu talked about him at home for.

To be honest, he and Ye Weiyu weren't particularly close. They might not even have exchanged ten sentences.

Their closest encounter had been ten years ago.

Back then, the four little ones-Chu Ge, Xiao Yan, Lin Luyin, and Ye Weiyu-were only eight and attended the same elementary school.

One day, a Scarlet-Eyed Giant Rat beast tide broke out, and the school became a living hell.

As they fled, a melodramatic scene unfolded.

A wall collapsed.

Seeing that it was about to crush Ye Weiyu, Chu Ge kicked her out of the way and rolled clear himself.

But it was precisely because of that kick that Ye Weiyu was injured in the fall and couldn't walk.

In the end, Chu Ge carried her on his back as he ran for his life.

The four little ones eventually escaped to the nearest shelter, where they held out for nearly a week before the beast tide subsided.

Could she have fallen for me because of that?

Chu Ge couldn't make sense of it.

At the time, all he'd thought was that the girl was heavy and carrying her made his shoulders ache.

Anyway...

Gala gave you wood. You win!

On the arena platform.

The referee announced the start of the final.

Ye Qingwu's entry was a two-star control type, Green Vine Bind: it summoned vine shadows from the ground that could be used for defense, attack, and control.

It could be viewed as an enhanced version of Blue Silver Grass, a fairly common talent among two-star entries.

Against anyone else, this move was a real nuisance.

Against Chu Ge, she had simply picked the wrong opponent.

The moment the vine shadows touched his ankles, Moment, which Chu Ge had activated beforehand, entered its second stage.

At fourfold speed, the vines might as well have been moving in slow motion.

His spear swept across, cutting them in half.

It was just like playing a grass-cutting game.

Ye Qingwu gave a wry smile, dropped her hands, and conceded.

"Speed breaks all techniques," she said. "I deserved that loss."

"Your entry is a troublesome one, Senior," Chu Ge said, putting away his spear. "Against anyone else, he'd be the one lying down today."

The referee announced that the champion of this East Sea Martial Arts School Competition was Chu Ge of the Chu Martial Arts School.

When Chu Ge went to receive his prize, the organizers asked whether he wanted to take the Silver Weapon with him.

Chu Ge thought for a moment and asked them to send it straight to his home.

With the competition over, Yang Wei kept his promise and took everyone out for duck-leg rice.

They entered a roadside Shaxian snack shop, and Yang Wei called out to the owner with a grand flourish.

"Boss, four orders of duck-leg rice, with one of every extra on each!"

"Remember, I mean one of everything on each order, not one of everything across the four."

Seeing a big order coming in, the owner came over in person to confirm it and asked with a smile:

"Are you sure? That'll cost quite a bit."

Yang Wei was just about to nod.

Xiao Lan hurriedly said, "Brother Yang Wei, a regular order is enough for me. I can't finish that much food."

She was a working woman, and the place she ate at most often was Shaxian. She knew all too well what "one of every extra" meant.

Chicken legs, braised eggs, fried tofu puffs, hot dogs, braised pork, and much, much more-so much that she couldn't finish it even if she ate until she burst right there.

Yang Wei looked at Xiao Lan's slight frame, then down at his own big belly.

When he ate at Shaxian, he usually added one of everything and was barely full, so he had instinctively assumed others could finish it too.

He turned to Chu Ge and Xiao Yan. "What about you two?"

"Just make mine regular," Chu Ge said.

"Mine too," Xiao Yan agreed.

She loved snacks and grilled sausages, but she actually didn't eat much at regular meals.

"...All right."

Yang Wei turned back to the owner. "All the extras on mine. Make the other three regular."

The owner said nothing and went into the kitchen with a dark face.

He'd gotten excited for nothing.

The four found a table and sat down.

Yang Wei asked, "Old Chu, what about the champion's prize? Did you get it?"

"No. I had the organizers send it home," Chu Ge said. "Carrying it around while we eat would be too conspicuous."

"I see." Yang Wei nodded. "So has its grade been decided? Is it a top-grade Silver Weapon?"

"You're dreaming."

The duck-leg rice happened to arrive just then. Chu Ge took a bite before continuing:

"It's only a city-level competition. A low-grade Silver Weapon would be good enough. If it really were top-grade, they'd have put it in big letters on the registration website ages ago."

"That's still pretty good." Yang Wei sighed. "Even the cheapest Silver Weapon costs five million. My dad's a deputy school head with an annual salary of two million, and he still hasn't managed to get one after all this time. I still have to ask him for living expenses, so I'm afraid there's no hope for me in this lifetime."

"What's the hurry? Keep saving and you'll get one eventually," Chu Ge said. "Your talent is pretty good among your peers, and your prospects are limitless. You might even do better than your dad someday."

"...You've got a point." Yang Wei nodded, turned his grief and indignation into an appetite, and began shoveling down his food.

Xiao Lan sat beside them, eating in silence. Every word of their conversation reached her ears.

Her understanding of the martial arts world was very limited. She knew martial artists' weapons were expensive, but she hadn't imagined they were this expensive.

Five million.

She earned eight thousand a month. Even if she didn't eat, drink, or spend a single cent, she'd have to work until she died to save that much.

For a moment, she couldn't help feeling a little down. She felt that ordinary people's lives were as different from martial arts geniuses' lives as heaven was from earth.

She lowered her head even further.

I'd better just keep working honestly. As long as I don't starve, that's enough.

Chu Ge keenly noticed the change in her mood and spoke softly.

"Xiao Lan, is the duck-leg rice good?"

Xiao Lan hurriedly raised her head, a grain of rice still clinging to the corner of her mouth, and nodded obediently.

"It's good!"

"That's what matters," Chu Ge said. "A five-million-yuan weapon is for fighting and killing. An eight-yuan plate of duck-leg rice is for living well. We'll shoulder the dangerous conflicts of the martial arts world; you just focus on eating well and living well."

Xiao Yan gnawed on a chicken leg and added indistinctly:

"Exactly. Martial artists fight and get hurt every day. It's much more comfortable to paint and eat snacks."

Yang Wei rubbed his backside and chimed in repeatedly:

"Don't remind me. My butt still hurts like hell, and Ye Han's still lying in the hospital. It's hard to say whether he'll even wake up."

"Being a martial artist is too stressful."

"In my next life, whoever wants to be one can go ahead."

Seeing everyone trying to cheer her up, Xiao Lan wiped the corners of her eyes with her sleeve.

She didn't say a word and continued eating her duck-leg rice.

But on closer look, the corners of the girl's pale pink lips had curved into a lovely smile.