169: Chapter 169 The Final Battle

The cloud of greyish-white stone dust above the arena slowly drifted away, and everyone's gaze was fixed intently on the figure beneath the stone pillar at the edge of the arena.

The figure was half-kneeling on the ground. His build was sturdy, and his crimson martial arts attire had been torn in several places by the shockwaves. He supported himself with his right palm, and blood seeped from a long, thin wound between his thumb and index finger, dripping one by one onto the bluestone platform.

It was Chen Yixiao.

The entire lakeshore seemed to have been cast under an immobilization spell. Captain Liu of Team 3 had his mouth agape, not even realizing that the smoking pipe he was holding had fallen to the ground. The captain of Team 5, who had previously been leaning against a willow tree, now had his back off the trunk, standing straight.

Several candidates looked at each other. Someone rubbed their eyes, then rubbed them again, before squeezing a sentence out of their throat: "Chen Yixiao was knocked away? How is this possible!"

Chen Yixiao knelt half-outside the arena, his back against the stone pillar, his mind blank. He could hear his own heartbeat—thump, thump, thump—striking his eardrums with every beat.

He looked down at his trembling right hand—this hand had once shattered a millstone-sized bluestone with a single palm strike and had once snapped an opponent's fine steel longsword with his bare hands. Now, the web between his thumb and index finger was split, and his arm bone ached as if it were about to break.

He could not understand how, even after using Vajra Glare, which doubled his strength and defense, he had still been blasted out of the arena by the opponent's sword.

On the arena, Lin Tian sheathed the autumn water sword. The lightning on the blade had completely dissipated, leaving only a sword as clear and cold as water. He walked to the edge of the arena and cupped his fists at Chen Yixiao below: "Senior Brother Chen, thank you for the match."

Chen Yixiao looked up at the slender yet upright figure on the arena. He opened his mouth, his throat feeling dry, and asked in a hoarse voice: "What sword technique did you use at the end?"

"Thunderclap Sword Technique," Lin Tian said.

Chen Yixiao was silent for a moment, then slowly stood up. The wound on his right hand was still bleeding, but he didn't cover it. Instead, he pressed his left hand to his chest and bowed solemnly to Lin Tian in return. This bow was not a perfunctory gesture from a loser to a winner, but a heartfelt acknowledgment from one Martial Artist to another after being outmatched.

He straightened up and turned to walk out of the crowd. Several guards from Chixia Peak hurriedly approached to bandage him, but he waved them away.

When Lin Tian turned and walked off the arena, passing through the crowd, everyone's gaze toward him had changed. Captain Liu of Team 3 took the initiative to clear a path, the captain of Team 5 nodded slightly at him, and several candidates who had previously mocked him did not even dare to meet his eyes.

The members of Team 6 swarmed around him. Chen Lang was so excited that he couldn't speak clearly, only patting Lin Tian's shoulder repeatedly. Ma Gang looked at Lin Tian, the corners of his mouth slowly curling up, and said: "Well done."

Another duel immediately unfolded on the arena. Chen Ying faced the candidate who had advanced by a bye. The fight ended quickly—Chen Ying's speed was simply too fast. The opponent's sword technique was not weak, but every time they struck, they only hit afterimages, and then were forced back by Chen Ying with kick after kick from the side.

After three moves, the opponent was struck in the ribs by a whip kick, flying sideways and landing off the arena.

The final decisive battle would take place between Lin Tian and Chen Ying. Whoever won would be the new captain of Team 7.

The arena was simply cleaned up. Several Disciple attendants swept away the gravel and dust on the stone surface and wiped away the bloodstains left by Chen Yixiao with a damp cloth.

A lake breeze blew over, and the arena became clean and bright again. The crowd gathered around once more, even more densely than before; people had even climbed onto the branches of the crooked old willow trees by the lake.

Lin Tian versus Chen Ying—the strongest swordsman of the new generation against the fastest Ghost Shadow among the veteran Disciples. The weight of this duel needed no further words from anyone.

Lin Tian and Chen Ying walked onto the arena at the same time. One came from the eastern steps, his gait steady, the autumn water sword at his waist swaying gently with his steps. The other came from the western steps, his footsteps light and agile, making almost no sound as he stepped on the bluestone steps.

On the arena, the two stood face to face. The lake breeze blew from afar, causing their robes to rustle loudly. The noise from the crowd below gradually died down, until finally, it was so quiet that only the sound of the wind and the occasional splash of a fish jumping on the lake remained.

Chen Ying stood there, his figure lean, his cyan martial arts attire from Qingxia Peak fluttering gently in the wind. He looked at Lin Tian, his eyes devoid of mockery or contempt, filled only with the solemnity that one only reveals when seeing a true opponent.

He spoke first, his voice not loud, his tone carrying a faint sense of emotion: "I originally thought the final opponent would be Chen Yixiao. With his Great Strength Vajra Palm and Vajra Glare, I always felt that only he could keep up with my speed in the same Realm. I didn't expect it to be you standing here."

His gaze paused on Lin Tian, and then he smiled, "Junior Brother Lin, you are very strong. Liu Yidao was slashed by your sword, and Chen Yixiao was blasted by your sword. You have hidden so many trump cards; honestly, I admire you. However—" He lowered his center of gravity slightly, standing with his feet in a balanced stance, "Your journey ends here. I will not yield the position of Team 7 captain to you."

Lin Tian gripped the hilt of the autumn water sword and slowly drew it from its scabbard. The blade shimmered with a cold luster in the sunlight, lighting up half of his face. He looked at Chen Ying and said: "I don't need anyone to yield."

As the words fell, he struck directly. He unleashed the Xiaguang Sword Technique, starting with the Major Achievement Realm's Seven Lights in One Sword.

Seven sword lights appeared simultaneously in the Void Realm, spreading out in a fan shape and enveloping the position where Chen Ying stood. The sword lights were extremely fast—so fast that the spectators below only saw seven colorful light trails light up at the same time, and in the next instant, they had already pierced through Chen Ying's body.

Someone in the crowd exclaimed, thinking the battle had ended just as it began. But Lin Tian's expression sank slightly—the feeling of the sword light piercing through the body was wrong.

There was no resistance of flesh, no feedback of Internal Energy colliding; it was as if he had stabbed into thin air.

The figure that had been pierced by the seven sword lights slowly dissipated under everyone's gaze, like a wisp of blue smoke scattered by the wind. It was merely an afterimage. Chen Ying excelled in speed, and the Floating Light Sweeping Shadow movement technique of Qingxia Peak was famous for its speed throughout the entire Qixia Sect.

His movement technique was faster than Liu Yidao's blade, faster than Chen Yixiao's palm, and faster than the eyes of everyone present. The seven sword lights hit simultaneously, but they only caught the shadow he had left behind.

The hair on the back of Lin Tian's neck stood up abruptly. A gust of wind struck from behind him; it was a palm, five fingers pressed together, the edge as sharp as a blade, slashing fiercely toward the back of his neck. This palm strike was silent, but the airflow created by the edge of the palm cutting through the air had already touched the skin on the back of his neck.

Lin Tian slashed his sword backward, the autumn water sword emitting a sharp hum as it cut through the air. But while his sword was fast, Chen Ying's palm strike was faster—the blade grazed past Chen Ying's sleeve, while the palm strike had already landed solidly on his back.

With a dull thud, Lin Tian was knocked forward. He barely managed to hook his feet into the ground to stabilize himself, but the force of that palm strike was extremely tricky.

It was not the straightforward, fierce thrusting force of Chen Yixiao, but an insidious, rotating Internal Energy that knocked him flying sideways, causing him to crash heavily onto the bluestone platform.

The autumn water sword almost flew out of his hand, and he hurriedly supported himself with his left hand to keep from rolling out of the arena boundary. The spot on his back where he had been struck burned with pain, and his clothes had been torn by the palm blade, revealing slightly reddened skin underneath.

The whole audience was shocked.

Ma Gang clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking. Chen Lang's mouth was agape, the color draining from his face instantly. "He was hit!"

"Lin Tian took the palm strike! Chen Ying's palm landed solidly on his back!" "Too fast! It's impossible to see clearly! Lin Tian's sword hadn't even been retracted before he was knocked away!"

"What a pity, isn't it? They made it to the final round, and he's just going to lose like this?" Sounds of regret rose and fell from below the arena; some people sighed in frustration, while others shook their heads in silence.

Chen Yixiao stood in the crowd, the wound on his right hand already hastily wrapped with strips of cloth.

He looked at Lin Tian, who was lying on the arena, and slowly shook his head.

He had sparred with Chen Ying and knew the power of that palm strike—it looked like a palm on the surface, but in reality, the fingertips were wrapped in insidious Internal Energy, which had extremely strong penetrating power.

Once hit, that insidious Internal Energy would creep along the skin into the Meridians, paralyzing half the body.

He said to Liu Yidao beside him: "Chen Ying's speed is too fast. This kid wasn't prepared and was caught by a sneak attack. That palm strike to the back landed solidly; half of his body must be numb. Given Chen Ying's nature, he won't give the opponent a chance to get up—the next move will be the end."

On the arena, Chen Ying looked down at Lin Tian, who was lying on the ground, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly. He had won; he hadn't expected to win so easily.

While watching the great battle between Lin Tian and Chen Yixiao from below, he had been calculating several response plans in his mind, thinking that Lin Tian's Thunderclap Sword Technique was too powerful to take head-on, so he could only rely on speed to maneuver and wear him down,

waiting for a flaw to appear before winning with a single strike. But he hadn't expected that it would only take two moves, and the second move had struck a vital point. The opponent was still too young and lacked combat experience; he hadn't expected his speed to be this fast.

The people from Team 6 were completely stunned. Chen Lang's clenched fists were trembling slightly, and another team member was squatting on the ground, clutching his head, muttering "It's over, it's over" repeatedly. Ma Gang's brows were furrowed into a knot, and his eyes, usually so steady, were now filled with complex emotions.

Was it really going to end in a loss like this? He recalled that he had bet on Lin Tian going all the way to the end, and now that bet seemed shaky—

but he still had an indescribable expectation in his heart, feeling that the young man who could hide the Xiaguang Sword Technique and the Thunderclap Sword Technique so deeply shouldn't be defeated so easily.