Chapter 454: The Long-Awaited Battle (Four)

At that moment, what Ling Chen pulled out from within his clothes was a string of springs, their shape quite peculiar, resembling a "large" character and over one meter in length.

"What is that?"

The crowd looked at the object in Ling Chen’s hands, their faces full of confusion. Could this be a weapon? But they had never seen a weapon of such shape before.

At this time, on the seating of the eight eccentrics, Qiu Yong and the others watched with a hint of anticipation. Especially Wei Jiahao, who was the most excited. The device that Ling Chen was wearing, which Wei Jiahao had personally crafted, was neither a weapon nor a hidden projectile, but rather a sophisticated contraption for training one’s speed.

The springs were fixed to Ling Chen’s hands and feet, and he had to endure the tension of the springs nearly all the time. He had been wearing this device since before he began his special training; whether sleeping, eating, or even during combat, he never took it off.

At the moment Ling Chen took off that device, Qiu Yong and the others were very eager to see how he would perform.

Seeing Ling Chen throw the string of springs outside the arena, Yi Shuiyan’s eyes slightly narrowed, and for some reason, he felt a troubling sensation in his heart. He thought he had already figured out all of Ling Chen’s cards, but now it seemed that there were still many things about Ling Chen that he didn’t know.

After removing the device, Ling Chen twisted his neck, rubbed his hands together, and moved his limbs. Free from the device, Ling Chen immediately felt a tremendous relief, as light as a swallow, and indescribably exhilarated.

"You’ve been on the offensive until now, now it’s my turn." Ling Chen’s mouth curled into a smile as he said to Yi Shuiyan, "I’m curious to see how long you can last against me."

"You think you can?" Yi Shuiyan looked disdainful, scoffing, "Skill isn’t something you can just talk about."

"Let’s give it a try."

With those words, Ling Chen’s toes lightly tapped, and his body, like a swift breeze, quickly rushed towards Yi Shuiyan.

"He intends to fight Yi Shuiyan’s steel sword barehanded?" Looking at Ling Chen unarmed going against Yi Shuiyan, the audience on the platform was somewhat surprised.

"Yi Shuiyan’s swordsmanship is exquisite; it won’t be easy for Ling Chen to gain any advantage."

"Don’t be too quick to draw conclusions; Ling Chen probably won’t do anything he’s not sure of."

As they spoke, Ling Chen had already closed in on Yi Shuiyan.

"Seeking death!"

Yi Shuiyan bellowed furiously, raising his steel sword high, the sword force biting cold, slashing straight towards Ling Chen’s head.

But at this moment, Ling Chen sidestepped nimbly, shifting his body. Before the steel sword even came down, Ling Chen had already appeared at Yi Shuiyan’s side.

Seeing this, Yi Shuiyan’s pupils constricted, quickly stopping his sword force and switching from a chop to a sweep, slashing sideways, trying to push Ling Chen back. The blade of the steel sword neared, but Ling Chen’s expression remained calm, without any hint of retreating.

When the sword reached his shoulder, Ling Chen suddenly thrust upward with his shoulder and elbow, striking hard against the back of the blade. Instantly, affected by that force, the horizontally approaching steel sword bounced upwards, deviating from its course and just grazing past Ling Chen’s hair.

Seizing the opportunity, Ling Chen’s hands moved like lightning, aiming a heavy blow at Yi Shuiyan’s right shoulder.

"Bang!" Having been hit by the solid punch, Yi Shuiyan’s body involuntarily tilted, and before he could react, Ling Chen had already closed in, powering his shoulder and elbow simultaneously, crashing into his body.

In a moment, Yi Shuiyan, having lost his balance, retreated several steps before finally steadying himself.

Impossible!

Watching the smiling Ling Chen, Yi Shuiyan was utterly shocked, almost unable to believe his own eyes. The move Ling Chen had used just moments before to neutralize his attack contained an inner strength that was extremely powerful, not a bit weaker than his own.

Since he possessed such strength, why did he choose to conceal it during their earlier exchange? Could it be to feign weakness, to lower his guard?

Despite his myriad uncertainties, Yi Shuiyan had no time to ponder. Facing the oncoming Ling Chen, he hurriedly lifted his steel blade to meet the attack.

As the steel blade chopped down, Ling Chen sidestepped with extreme speed, without the slightest hesitation. Then, his fist clenched tightly, concentrated inner strength erupted like fireworks, and he swung a punch directly at the back of the blade, intending to meet steel with flesh.

However, even more astonishing was that as Ling Chen’s fist connected, the steel blade began to tremble violently. The force was transmitted along the blade to Yi Shuiyan’s hands, which made his complexion grow increasingly unsightly.

When the blade was deflected, Ling Chen’s punch drove straight in towards Yi Shuiyan’s vital points. Not only that, but Ling Chen’s strikes grew bolder and bolder, unlike traditional martial arts patterns. Each move was a lethal technique, cunning, ferocious, decisive, and utterly ruthless.

Faced with Ling Chen’s brutality, Yi Shuiyan momentarily lost his composure. He had crossed hands with many experts, with moves and countermoves, but had never seen this kind of fighting style like Ling Chen’s, which abandoned traditional moves and went straight for killing blows at vital spots. Moreover, Ling Chen knew the weaknesses of the body extremely well. Each attack forced Yi Shuiyan to respond with all his might, not daring to be careless for even a second.

Simple, yet significantly effective.

"Let go!"

Suddenly, with a cold shout from Ling Chen, before Yi Shuiyan could even react, the steel blade in his hand had dropped to the ground. Then he was sent flying with a kick from Ling Chen. Although he managed to remain standing, he staggered several steps backwards, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, his face pale, evidently seriously injured.

In an instant, the Dangyang Sect members sitting in the seats all stood up together, their faces tense, their eyes filled with anxiety.

Casting a glance at the steel blade on the ground, a slight smile played on Ling Chen’s lips. He lifted his gaze to face Yi Shuiyan, and once more advanced step by step.

Seeing Ling Chen approach, Yi Shuiyan couldn’t help but step back, his eyes flickering, unsure of what he was thinking.

"Yi Shuiyan, do you remember what I said just now?" Ling Chen spoke indifferently, "You made a fatal mistake; you shouldn’t have proposed a duel to the death. In a fight to the death, the advantage lies with me, not you."

Ling Chen has always been restraining himself, forgetting what he learned before and reacquainting himself with the knowledge of orthodox martial arts. His previous skills were all about killing; when it comes to the techniques and experience of killing, probably no one present could compare to him.

So, when Yi Shuiyan proposed a duel to the death, Ling Chen gladly accepted.

A fight to the death means no need to hold back, no need to stop at contact; as long as the opponent can be killed, there are no other restrictions.

Ling Chen might not excel in other areas, but killing... he truly excelled in that.

Now, Yi Shuiyan without his steel blade was like a wolf without its fangs, standing there flustered, unable to hide the panic in his eyes.

With his steel blade, he could not defend against Ling Chen, let alone now.

"We from the Dangyang Sect admit defeat."

At this moment, Zhu Jin’s unwilling voice came from the spectator seats.

Hearing this, Ling Chen glanced at Zhu Jin and said indifferently, "This is between him and me, what right do you have to speak for him?"

Zhu Jin was taken aback, as he had used these words to stop Qiu Yong earlier, and hadn’t expected Ling Chen to retort with the same phrase.

"As this is a fight to the death, it can’t end without witnessing life or death. Yi Shuiyan, am I right?"