Absolute Slash

When Assistant Ling finished speaking, the two blossoms around him actually emitted a hissing sound. Then their branches and tendrils slithered forward like serpents, slowly creeping along the trunk beneath his feet toward Chen Chuan. These were mind-disturbing flowers from the Confluence. While the name made them sound harmless, they were in fact ferocious predatory flora that fed on small- to medium-sized prey. Moreover, the pollen dust within their blossoms possessed a powerful ability to disrupt both the senses and the spirit. Of course, none of this was real. Yet here, within the simulated construct manifested by Hongfu, everything that appeared would express itself in an entirely real form. Chen Chuan immediately sensed that, aside from absorbing the jin behind Hongfu's strikes, his Second Self was showing further signs of blurring into insubstantiality. He understood clearly that if Assistant Ling could channel these things, he could channel others as well. As long as the field's resources were not exhausted, this could drag on indefinitely. As the assistant to the vice president, and now holding elevated clearance, Ling could likely mobilize most of the academy's field resources at this moment. Therefore, he could not let this fight drag out. He had to bring it to a swift and decisive conclusion. After parrying another of Hongfu's attacks, he noticed that in just this brief span, her strength and speed had increased slightly once more. He glanced at Hongfu's aloof eyes. If she launched an unrestricted offensive, he would hardly stand a chance against her, because her true form was undoubtedly beyond the third limit. Furthermore, even if he managed to destroy this manifestation of Hongfu, as long as the conscious entity itself remained intact and her spirit was not extinguished, she could simply recondense another form. Continuing to fight like this offered no path to victory. No wonder Assistant Ling had chosen this place as the battleground; he was indeed determined to secure a win. However... His gaze grew deep and resolute. Since he had dared to come here, he had naturally prepared for it. He had long considered how he would handle an enemy like Hongfu within the academy. At that very moment, with a shift of his will, he had his Second Self directly shoulder all the field encroachments. Without the field's resonance, in that instant, he seemed to break entirely free from the construct. In Assistant Ling's eyes, Hongfu's blade was just about to cut into Chen Chuan, but the slash passed straight through his body, as if Chen Chuan's figure had suddenly turned ethereal. Chen Chuan looked up. He was still standing inside the central garden. All the sights he had seen before—the True Form Tree, the two strange flowers, and even Hongfu—had vanished. Even the spot where Assistant Ling had stood was completely empty, with no sign of anyone. For a moment, it seemed as though he alone stood in this place. This was the first time he had viewed people and things inside a field from the perspective of an outsider. Enlightenment struck him: when a person was caught in a field generated by an active conscious entity, it was as if they had entered a separate field dimension, which was why such quasi-real, quasi-illusory scenes and entities could unfold. And among those capable of reaching this level, he had only seen Fumu and Hongfu. Among them, Hongfu was especially specialized in combat. Yet if he simply maintained this state, it meant he had stepped outside that constructed field space. While the opposition could not strike him, he could not touch Assistant Ling either. If he wished to leave now, he could probably do so. Even if Hongfu broke out of that field space to pursue him, as long as she did not raise her upper limits any higher, he was confident he could get away. However, Assistant Ling had already opened the passage leading to the Confluence, which showed he had prepared to retreat regardless of success or failure. If Chen Chuan did not eliminate him today, Ling would most likely flee for good. And since the man had already shown outright hostility, Chen Chuan would never let him escape. Therefore... With another shift of his intent, he once again opened himself to accept the field. In a flash, he found himself seamlessly reintegrated into the field space, right back where he had been. Once more, he saw the colossal True Form Tree, Assistant Ling perched on the bough above, and the gleam of the blade that had just grazed past him. Paying no heed to Hongfu as she passed him, he lowered his stance slightly and gripped the hilt of the Xuejun Saber. His eyes locked onto Assistant Ling above, and with a fierce stomp, the sturdy bough underfoot shattered beneath him. At that moment, the entire world suddenly slowed down. The broken bark and wood splinters drifted outward in slow motion. Leaning his upper body forward, he surged toward Assistant Ling's position. Behind him, Hongfu landed, spun on her heel, and sent red ribbons fluttering as she swept her blade toward the back of his neck. The arc of the slash was smooth and seamless, without the slightest hesitation, executed with exquisite grace. Chen Chuan, his eyes fixed on Assistant Ling, had no intention of turning back to parry. He merely severed his spiritual link to the field once more. The blade swept through his phantom image. Having evaded the strike, he reopened himself to the field's influence and stepped back in. From the outside, his figure seemed only to flicker faintly. As he charged forward, the scabbard remained where it had been, while inch by inch, the Xuejun Saber was drawn forth, wisps of drifting light spilling from its edge. A few strides later, with a thunderous boom, a shockwave flared out around him. By then, Hongfu had caught up again. Yet with every swing, her blade passed harmlessly through him. As he sprinted forward at full tilt, the streak of crimson light flickered repeatedly about his figure, resembling a red sash floating in his wake. In Chen Chuan's perception, two spaces alternated in rapid succession: at one moment, the deserted sky garden; at the next, the world teeming with bizarre creatures. Yet the focus of his gaze never wavered. As the Xuejun Saber cleared its scabbard completely, a chilling, razor-sharp gleam swept toward the front. Seeing Chen Chuan hurtling toward him as if completely unimpeded, Assistant Ling's pupils constricted violently. Although he could theoretically alter the terrain and surroundings at will, Chen Chuan was moving too fast. There was simply no time to invoke changes, let alone transmit commands. Ling spun his body, and a meteor hammer suddenly appeared in his hands. Harnessing the centrifugal force of his spin, he hurled it with a violent crack. The iron head detonated the air and shot forward in a straight line, hurtling toward the space between Chen Chuan's brows. Neither dodging nor evading, Chen Chuan channeled the forward momentum he had already built up and executed a subtle upward flick with the Xuejun Saber. The edge struck the weight, knocking it aside. Despite the violent impact, his forward drive remained unbroken, and the hand wielding the saber did not waver in the slightest. At that moment, his eyes flashed. He instantly released his mutated tissue, boosting his speed beyond its previous limits. He moved so fast that he even outpaced Hongfu pursuing from behind, leaving her slash slicing through empty air. His figure blurred into a phantom, appearing before Assistant Ling in an eyeblink, and slashed down! Assistant Ling had intended to stall him, but had failed. Now, there was no time for any other move. He raised the short blade attached to the opposite end of the meteor hammer's tether and parried against the Xuejun Saber's blade. It was evidently another mutated weapon. As the two clashed, the jin stored within transmitted into their respective bodies. The thick bough beneath Assistant Ling's feet cracked loudly, bark bursting in all directions. The jin he employed was known as "Void-Piercing Jin," a technique equally suited for offense and defense. When opposing force invaded his body, so long as he remained in contact with another object or stood firmly on the ground, he could divert and discharge the vast majority of the force, leaving himself unharmed. Furthermore, upon making contact with an opponent, he could focus all the jin throughout his body onto a single point and unleash it with several times the explosive power—something particularly suited to his meteor hammer. The short blade he held was part of that same set; he wielded it with consummate mastery, capable of delivering his full strength through it without loss. As for Chen Chuan, with his Second Self bearing the brunt of the jin for him, he was virtually unaffected. Thus, he made no effort to dissipate the impact, pouring every ounce of strength into his offensive. This was no ordinary sparring match, so he had no need to overthink. Following the first stroke, he unleashed another slash as swift as a bolt of lightning. Although Assistant Ling had taken minimal force, the clash revealed that his raw strength was lacking. Even so, his speed managed to keep pace with Chen Chuan's, and he parried the second blow just in time. Yet as he moved, fine threads of blood mist could be seen seeping from his skin, showing that he must have used some secret art or consumed potent medicine to force his latent potential to the surface. Chen Chuan had no intention of giving him any breathing room. Following the second slash, his breath turned scorching hot as he initiated the Furnace Breathing Technique. White vapor rose from his body, and in that instant, his physical attributes surged to a higher level yet again! In an exchange like this, being faster by even a hair's breadth was enough to decide the outcome. Technique, forms, and jin all became secondary; only pure, unadulterated power and speed mattered! Just then, the massive branch beneath Assistant Ling's feet seemed unable to endure the violent collision between the two, cracking and shattering completely. His expression remained calm, for this had been deliberate. From the moment the first slash connected, he had realized he could not withstand Chen Chuan's momentum, so he had routed all the force into the same spot beneath his feet from the start, using the collapse to drop backward. As he fell, he gave a subtle twist of his waist and back, his arm simultaneously tugging on the tether in his hand. Tugged by the cord, the meteor hammer tore through the air with a shriek, hurtling toward the back of Chen Chuan's skull. At the same time, a flash of red appeared as Hongfu caught up, her yanling saber slashing toward his neck. If he did not withdraw his blade now, he would inevitably be struck by both. Light flashed in Chen Chuan's eyes. A faint luminescence blossomed along the blade. In the next instant, he whirled around, and an incomparably swift blade gleam swept across Assistant Ling like lightning. Immediately following, a severed head vaulted into the air! …… ……