Just as that blast of spiritual impact was about to descend, light flared across the island, and a brilliant blue-white radiance shot up from below to meet it.
The two spheres of luminescence collided in midair, instantly unleashing an intensely blinding glare. In that split second, it seemed as if even the sunlight had vanished.
Concentric shockwaves laden with shattered stone and dust rippled outward in all directions. The entire island trembled faintly, and fine ripples stirred across the surface of the sea.
After grinding against each other for a moment, the two masses of light coalesced completely into one point of impact. With an earth-shattering, muffled boom, both collapsed together, their residual energy sweeping outward like a tempest.
Seawater surged outward, and trees across the island were violently bent and flattened. Guards at sentry posts everywhere felt their clothes whipped as if pulled by unseen hands. Wind pressure howled in their ears, making it nearly impossible to keep their eyes open.
Only after a good while did the tremendous disturbance completely dissipate.
Looking up now, even the few wisps of cloud that had lingered in the sky were gone, leaving the expanse impeccably clear and azure, as though it had been washed clean.
Further off, however, trees had caught fire, sending up plumes of black smoke. Yet no one paid any heed to that now; every pair of eyes was fixed in taut suspense on the figures aloft.
Chen Chuan lowered his gaze and saw Xiang Boqing appear above the castle. At first glance, he recognized the man—it had to be the martial artist who had fought him before the Throat of the Star Spirit that day.
For a Dongxuan View martial artist's divided power typically bore little difference in appearance from their original self.
Moreover, he could sense right now that this was a Dongxuan View martial artist possessing his full power.
And the presence of this Dongxuan View martial artist here was virtually confirmation that Gao Xinwen was indeed on the island.
Below, Xiang Boqing saw the spiritual fire enveloping Chen Chuan. Just like an ordinary Dongxuan View martial artist, it formed a dense halo covering the surface of his body.
This was the hallmark of highly concentrated spiritual fire, signifying that his spiritual power was no longer scattered, but could be drawn closely and held tightly around the body—a testament to advanced regulation and restraint.
This couldn't help but put him on guard. His battle with Chen Chuan had taken place even before the youth's clash with Krosal, and it, too, had ended in defeat. Back then, however, he had only dispatched a fraction of his power, so he hadn't believed Chen Chuan could truly threaten him.
Only later, when Chen Chuan defeated a substantial portion of Krosal's power, had his vigilance been stirred. And now, he had no choice but to treat Chen Chuan as an adversary worthy of serious consideration.
In fact, if not for the absence of certain defining characteristics, he would almost have assumed Chen Chuan had already attained the Dongxuan View stage.
A blue-white halo emanated from Xiang Boqing's body as he floated slowly upward until he reached an altitude level with Chen Chuan. In the process, a tangible mental force bore down upon the youth.
This power was vastly greater than what his avatar had unleashed before. If Chen Chuan could not withstand it, he wouldn't even qualify to stand in his presence.
Chen Chuan hovered in place as if greeted by a gentle breeze, giving no reaction whatsoever. Yet it was evident that despite the distance between them, their outermost fields were already grinding and clashing against one another, hairline fractures spidering across their edges.
Just as the two were locked in standoff, an indistinct shadow suddenly materialized from the air and shot toward Chen Chuan with blinding speed.
It was Kanbo, lurking on the periphery, launching his attack.
Prior to striking, his body and presence had blended almost perfectly into the atmosphere, clinging tight right along the edge of Chen Chuan's field.
The confrontation between Xiang Boqing and Chen Chuan had allowed him to pinpoint the precise boundaries and intensity of Chen Chuan's field. By running analyses through his active conscious entity, he had calculated the exact burst of speed and power needed to breach the distance in the shortest possible time.
Now, as he surged forward, his velocity was so extreme that everything else appeared frozen in place.
His perilous eyes locked onto the motionless Chen Chuan. The conclusion produced by the active conscious entity was that both combatants' mental force and fields were currently entangled in mutual pressure, their attention entirely focused on each other. Even if Chen Chuan remained on guard, he wouldn't be able to spare the strength to defend against a surprise attack from another peer opponent.
The only thing that could obstruct him was the dense, concentrated spiritual fire enveloping Chen Chuan. However, the active conscious entity within him existed entirely to complement his own capabilities. In accordance with his offensive intent, a pair of cone-shaped sharp talons specialized at the tips of his palms, while scales facilitating high-speed penetration sprouted across his forearms and torso—looking as though they had always been part of his body.
His allocation of spiritual fire was equally extreme, focused almost entirely on his arms and from the shoulders up facing Chen Chuan, guaranteeing that a single strike would pierce the youth's defense.
According to the conscious entity's analysis, if this strike achieved its objective and inflicted sufficient damage, their subsequent chance of victory would soar. Even if it merely inflicted minor wounds or forced an emergency evasion, it would still tie up Chen Chuan's focus and attention, allowing Xiang Boqing to seize the opening and unleash a follow-up assault, which would in turn let Kanbo mount another round of attacks.
Chen Chuan would find it virtually impossible to turn the tables under their joint siege. Thus, as long as this attack landed smoothly, the battle was practically half won.
His initial penetration proceeded with flawless precision. Yet just as the force at his fingertips tore through Chen Chuan's field and was on the verge of making contact with the spiritual fire, he suddenly saw Chen Chuan take a step back.
That single step shifted the point of impact. No matter how perfect his prior calculations had been or how coordinated his body was, the altered angle and the disruption to his kinetic chain forced him to readjust, turning his body to follow.
The active conscious entity was truly the crowning technological achievement of Progenitor Company. Even in this split second, it rapidly calculated and provided the optimal kinetic assistance. Now, all he needed was an aerial step-turn to smoothly track his quarry and resume the assault.
His consciousness and body operated in near-perfect synchrony. Midair, his body arched like a darting fish, swiveling along the trajectory of Chen Chuan's retreat with microscopic accuracy.
The force Chen Chuan unleashed in that retreat was immense, suddenly pulling open a gap. Yet he didn't continue backward or dodge; instead, just as Kanbo caught up, he took a step forward.
This step threw Kanbo's distance judgment off once again. Strictly speaking, it wasn't a mistake on his part; rather, Chen Chuan's micro-adjustments fell squarely in the transition intervals of his power delivery. Any fighter, no matter how elevated their tier of strength, had to conclude one movement before transitioning to the next, bound by this fundamental rule.
When Chen Chuan took that first step back, his hand had already fallen naturally onto the hilt at his waist. As he stepped forward, he drew the Xuejun Saber in a smooth, continuous motion, gripped it with both hands, and cleaved downward!
The blade trailed a streak of cold light, tearing through the dense spiritual flame as effortlessly as paper, splitting Kanbo straight down the middle into two halves!
From stepping back to advancing and drawing his saber, every movement was impeccably fluid, clean, and crisp, each detail visible with crystalline clarity.
Yet neither his opponent nor Xiang Boqing, watching from afar, could have anticipated this outcome.
It wasn't that Xiang Boqing hadn't wanted to act; he simply couldn't find an opening. As a Dongxuan View martial artist, he could see that Chen Chuan's execution possessed incredible technical mastery—it was nothing short of an art form. It was not merely swift, but unhurried and imbued with a seamless rhythm. Without a superior opening, rushing in would have yielded suboptimal results, so he had held back. Yet who could have guessed that a single strike would decide the contest!
Chen Chuan's strike had drawn upon observations from his external implant and recommendations provided by Hongfu.
Hongfu, the external implant, and his own mind were capable of harmonizing seamlessly. In that instant, relying on the database obtained from Alu, Hongfu and the conscious entity had analyzed Kanbo's movements thousands of times over, feeding the optimal response directly into Chen Chuan's mind. He had reacted instantly, executing the most precise counterattack.
His confidence in doing so stemmed from the implant's observation that the opponent was likewise a composite of implants and an active conscious entity. Every motion could be analyzed and decrypted; as long as the database contained sufficient information, every subsequent move could be anticipated and calculated.
The data Alula had provided had been gathered and refined by Veia State Center City over several decades, virtually the intelligence archive of half a nation. What Progenitor Company had compiled on its own was simply no match for it.
Furthermore, because the external implant had provided most of the momentum during his initial retreat, while his advance had been driven by the Xuejun Saber's inherent speed enhancement, Chen Chuan had expended very little of his own strength, retaining ample stamina. That was the real reason behind his effortless composure—he was holding back to guard against Xiang Boqing.
Xiang Boqing's pupils still mirrored that razor-sharp flash of saber light. He watched the bisected halves separate and slowly tumble to either side, platinum spiritual fire blazing along the cleaved surfaces to hinder regeneration.
Fixing his stare ahead, he knew that even if the ideal moment hadn't arrived, he had to act if he didn't want to lose this ally completely.
Although he believed he could handle Chen Chuan on his own, having an assistant at his side would undeniably shoulder part of the burden and grant a higher probability of victory.
Leaning forward, he smoothly drew a bayonet. No longer keeping his distance, he transformed into a streak of light and surged toward Chen Chuan.
Chapter 1250