Both sides on the field stared intently at the silhouette within the cloud of dust. The speed and power displayed by the newcomer were utterly astounding.
They could see the furrow gouged out behind him, stretching all the way to the edge of their vision, confirming that over this entire distance, he had maintained that same explosive speed.
This was an extraordinarily startling feat. Even for experts in the third limit, sustaining such a burst of velocity across a long distance was exceedingly difficult. The newcomer's stamina and endurance had to be immense to dare move in a manner that consumed so much energy.
And whether from the Consortium or the Linakes Federation, everyone could be certain that the newcomer was definitely not one of theirs, let alone Wilhelm, who might have arrived.
With Qi Qianyang's unexpected arrival, variables were already abundant; now, with another unknown powerhouse entering the field, Sebier already sensed that today's situation would turn extraordinarily complex, unlikely to end easily.
Qi Qianyang stared at the figure within the dust. At first he was surprised, but as the dust gradually dispersed and the silhouette became clearer, a look of mild surprise crossed his face, followed immediately by an air of total exhilaration.
Amidst the swirling dust, Chen Chuan held down the brim of his wide-brimmed cap with one hand while gripping the Xuejun Saber in the other. Though he had halted, a blast of air was still surging outward around him.
The heat accumulated from friction around him caused the surrounding atmosphere to distort slightly. In the forest he had torn through behind him, a wave of heat and a scorched smell hung thick; countless splintered branches and leaves ignited in his wake swirled in the air, scattering sparks of fire like rain.
He cast a glance across the clearing. Xu Chan and the others were not in sight, but he trusted that with Old Xu's experience and seasoned skill, he wouldn't be wiped out so easily.
On the other hand, virtually all the prominent heavyweights from both the Consortium and the Linakes Federation were gathered here, and Qi Qianyang was here as well. Judging by the confrontation between the sides, they had been clashing just before his arrival.
His gaze shifted again, landing on the sphere held in Heros's hand. The glow in the sky had originated precisely from this object. Yet now, resting in Heros's grasp, it did not seem particularly dazzling; it was as if its presence grew fainter the closer one got.
Waiting until the drafts around him gradually died down, he reached up, adjusted the brim of his cap, and fixed his deep, tranquil eyes upon everyone in the field.
Since most of the personnel from both sides who entered the convergence zone were likely right here, it saved him the trouble of hunting them down one by one.
Besides, having reached this point, it was no longer a time to talk about fair fights. He would not underestimate these people, so he intended to face them with his second self merged into his form.
On the other side, Xu Chan had long since retreated into the dense forest and met up with Captain Hai and the others who had come looking for him.
Captain Hai's group had not truly abandoned the relic; they simply refused to be the prey. Thus, they had continuously trailed behind the guide. Earlier, seeing the battle between Xu Chan and Heros from afar, they had been figuring out how to provide support, only for Xu Chan to break away on his own.
Now they had reached higher ground, watching the situation while weighing strategies and waiting for an opportunity—only to witness the astonishing sight of Chen Chuan's arrival.
Captain Lyu peered down. Obscured by dust and separated by great distance, he couldn't make out the figure clearly either, but he saw that fluttering flash of red. The scene couldn't help but remind him of that downward slash descending from the sky before the Ferris Wheel Building, mirroring the sight before his eyes.
He couldn't help asking with excitement, "Captain Xu, look—is that Supervisor Chen?!"
Xu Chan focused his gaze. Though he couldn't see clearly either, a glance at the trench that had nearly cleaved the dense forest in two allowed him to say with certainty, "It should be Supervisor Chen."
"Not good!"
Captain Lyu felt a sense of dread. "Supervisor Chen must have rushed here to reinforce us! Now he's down there all alone—how is he going to fight all those people? Captain Xu, we have to find a way to back him up!"
"Wait," Xu Chan said, pressing a hand firmly onto Captain Lyu's shoulder. His voice was exceptionally calm. "Supervisor Chen is not an impulsive man. He only acts when he is confident. There must be circumstances here we don't know about for him to show himself before them with such fanfare. Let's wait a moment."
Captain Hai and Captain Hu considered it and agreed. Without knowing the full situation, they would have cautiously closed in rather than making such a thunderous entrance.
Could more reinforcements have arrived from the rear? Yet they couldn't fathom where reinforcements could have come from so quickly. Had other Center Cities sent more help?
Xu Chan said in a low voice, "Regardless of the situation down there, we still need to make preparations. We can't let Supervisor Chen fight alone."
Meanwhile, in the clearing, Chen Chuan stepped slowly out from the dissipating dust, holding his saber. He wore a jade mask that concealed his facial features, but the mantle uniform belonging to an Investigation Supervisor of the Disposal Bureau was unmistakably recognizable.
Major General Sebier's gray eyes locked onto Chen Chuan. Before their departure, Supervisor Wen of the Disposal Bureau had already been dealt with, and this person was certainly not Supervisor Han. Evidently, the newcomer was the Jibei Dao Disposal Bureau's other Investigation Supervisor, Chen Chuan.
Prior to entering the convergence zone, he had reviewed Chen Chuan's dossier, but the records in it seemed somewhat inconsistent with the strength the man had just exhibited.
He turned to glance at Dream Master up ahead. Sensing it immediately, Dream Master looked back, and Sebier gave a tactical hand signal. Dream Master gave a nod.
Seeing that the newcomer was indeed Chen Chuan, Qi Qianyang grew even more thrilled. Fighting spirit surged through him, and he threw back his head and shouted:
"Supervisor Chen, the relic is right here—you came for it too, didn't you? But I remember we still have an unfinished duel between us. Do you want to settle it today while we're at it, or some other day?"
Chen Chuan glanced down at him and said, "Makes no difference."
"Good! Today it is!"
Qi Qianyang crouched low, fixing his gaze on Chen Chuan's position. Moments later, his muscles tautened all at once. With a deafening boom, he plowed up a billowing plume of dust from the earth.
The distance of several hundred meters vanished in a flash. In the blink of an eye, he was right before Chen Chuan, leaping into the air. Drawing his arm behind his hip, his fingers clamped into a fist crowned with faint luminescence. Without a doubt, the next instant would unleash a savage blow wrapped in tremendous forward momentum.
Watching his soaring figure leap high, Chen Chuan's eyes were like deep pools. With a shift of will, after that brief interval of halting, his second self once again merged as one with him!
Grasping the sheathed Xuejun Saber with both hands, a faint luminescence bloomed across the entire scabbard. As the incoming figure drew near, he swung upward at an angle with violent ferocity, striking Qi Qianyang squarely in the side!
Qi Qianyang's arm and torso contorted unnaturally. Following what seemed like an instantaneous pause, an explosive detonation tore through the air. Qi Qianyang was sent flying, hurtling across dozens of meters before crashing into the distant river with a loud thud, throwing up a colossal plume of water.
The moment Qi Qianyang was batted away, the people of the Linakes Federation made their move. First, Dream Master, standing in the distance, fixed his eyes upon Chen Chuan as luminescence welled up within them—unleashing a psychic strike straight at him.
Almost simultaneously, an affiliated mercenary fighter skilled in throwing, Wild Wolf, acted as well. With a sharp flick, he hurled barbed throwing knives toward Chen Chuan, while Army Ant charged forward with ferocious speed.
Among them, only Dream Master had attained the level of spiritual perception. Though he was not adept at head-on combat, his innate psychic talent had led him to focus heavily on cultivating this area. He was confident that even if the opponent wore protective gear, withstanding this psychic blast would still induce a momentary lapse of consciousness.
In the split second Chen Chuan clashed with Qi Qianyang, employing the power of spiritual perception inevitably required focusing his mind to marshal that force—making it the prime moment to intrude.
Without the enhancement of spiritual perception, one was not much different from a formidable fighter who had mastered heart jin; the physical body remained fragile, vulnerable to severe trauma from a sufficiently powerful blow!
Right at this moment, two throwing knives whistled through the air and arrived before Chen Chuan, piercing cleanly through the outer mantle. But as they drove further in, they met an unyielding obstruction and instantly twisted and deformed.
Wind pressure surged. Army Ant had already charged in front of Chen Chuan. Just as he had done against Qi Qianyang, he brought his fists together, raising heavy, specialized gauntlets high as his body's full jin surged into them, making his fists seem to swell even larger before smashing downward toward Chen Chuan's head!
Yet before his fists could land, the long saber that had just been swung outward seemed entirely unaffected by the momentum of its previous strike. It whipped back abruptly in a sweeping downward cleave. Accompanied by a flash of arc-shaped luminescence, Army Ant was cleaved in two mid-air by the still-sheathed blade!
His hooded head and body split cleanly in two, falling to either side and slapping onto the ground. Only now did the two deformed daggers, repelled by the rebound, clatter to the earth.
Major General Sebier's gray eyes contracted sharply. He glanced at Dream Master, who shook his head; clearly, the psychic strike had produced no effect whatsoever.
Chen Chuan held the Xuejun Saber in one hand and planted it into the earth beside him. With a booming resonance, stirred drafts sent his mantle fluttering as more than half the scabbard sank into the muddy ground beneath his feet. Then, shifting to a reverse grip on the hilt, he began drawing the Xuejun Saber slowly from its scabbard at an angle.
Accompanied by the scraping friction of the blade leaving its scabbard, a chilling aura of lethal slaughter seeped out, sending a numbness crawling over the scalps of nearly everyone present.
Chen Chuan looked upon the people before him. Everyone present would become nourishment along his path forward!
And at the exact moment the Xuejun Saber cleared its scabbard with a clear clang, only a dust-filled crater remained where he had stood. His figure had already vanished.
……
……
Chapter 741