Chen Chuan looked forward. Standing there was a rather tall, slender, fair-skinned man with an elongated forehead and chin, his hair tied behind his head in loose braids.
The man's limbs gave an impression of slenderness. He wore the traditional arm-baring robe of the Biesa Khanate, large golden earrings hung from his ears, his hair was dyed white, and strapped across his back was an enormous silver ring.
Judging purely by appearance, he did not look like a pure-blooded native of the Biesa Khanate, but rather of mixed heritage.
From the conversation between the two earlier, it was evident that he was Saibayar, the Biesa Khanate's other martial artist, and the one whose sympathies leaned toward Norland.
Had this man succeeded just now, the incident could have been spun as that figure in Center City colluding with a martial artist from Great Shun to murder Tamur. Once broadcast across international channels, coupled with covert instigation on the ground, the man before him could return to Ba'erketu draped in righteous indignation—and the entire situation might shift dramatically.
Moreover, based on their earlier exchange, he might even have been able to gain power from Tamur by killing him, which would have made matters even more unpredictable.
At this moment, Saibayar turned around, eyeing Chen Chuan with wary apprehension.
What he hadn't anticipated was that, after clearly seeing Chen Chuan depart, the man had unexpectedly returned. The realization that Chen Chuan had likely sensed his presence all along sent a chill through his heart.
His expression grave, he slowly retreated a few paces, trying to find an advantageous position, while light began naturally surfacing across his body.
Earlier, the outcome between Chen Chuan and Tamur had been decided almost instantaneously; the latter seemed completely unable to fight back. Since his own strength was not much different from Tamur's, in an ordinary clash, he likely wouldn't be Chen Chuan's match either.
Yet it was not an entirely hopeless situation.
In his view, Chen Chuan's earlier blast of the fire of spirituality must have drained a massive amount of physical stamina. Chen Chuan might not have much left in reserve. Saibayar needed to hold his ground and drag out the fight as long as possible, avoiding brief, high-explosive exchanges.
As he stepped back, a thick plume of smoke billowed from his body and engulfed him completely. Within a single breath, the smoke receded.
Standing there now was a woman six to seven meters tall. From her back sprouted brown eagle feathers, while her lower body bore wolf-like limbs covered in snow-white fur. Her upper body remained human, yet on either side of her head grew a face—one snarling in fury, the other wearing a soft sneer.
The silver ring originally strapped to her back was now held in her grasp, her entire form bathed in a soft, ethereal cyan glow.
This visage was the legendary Celestial Maiden Pila of the Biesa Khanate.
Chen Chuan was not surprised upon seeing this. The Visage of the Aberrant possessed no strict gender division; how one transformed depended entirely on one's own will. However, this transformation could reactively influence oneself; maintaining the form of a celestial maiden for too long could truly cause one to transition into an actual woman.
Of course, to many martial artists, such things mattered little. What they pursued was a higher plane of biological evolution. In the Visage of the Divine, one could eventually discard one's physical shell entirely, swapping bodies without issue, let alone undergoing a simple physical transition. After all, whether one walked the Visage of the Aberrant or the Visage of the Divine, what they preserved was the conscious self rather than the external form; only the Visage of Man adhered strictly to the original self.
From the left face of Saibayar came a series of peculiar vocalizations.
Meanwhile, the right face exhaled plumes of multicolored mist that drifted across the area, accompanied by faint crackling sounds as they surged toward Chen Chuan.
Under the influence of the sound, the white luminous aura around Chen Chuan actually trembled. It clearly had an offensive property, and the mist was obviously far from harmless.
His eyes flickered. Reaching out, he slapped the fractured wall beside him. With a bang, countless stone shards shattered outward, each wrapped in the fire of spirituality as they shot toward the figure.
Saibayar raised the silver ring to parry. To his shock, the fire of spirituality contained within the gravel was exceptionally condensed and penetrative. Every impact eroded the spiritual energy dispersing across the ring's surface, rattling the silver ring with a loud drone.
A chill seized his heart. He had never expected such concentrated spiritual power, which proved Chen Chuan hadn't depleted much at all. Chen Chuan might still be capable of unleashing another concentrated bombardment of the fire of spirituality like the one earlier. Now, Saibayar dared not play an attrition game any longer. Even knowing that close-quarters combat was likely to his disadvantage, he had to charge in; he had to press Chen Chuan relentlessly and deny him the chance to gather power.
The best choice was actually to retreat, but judging from the speed Chen Chuan had displayed and his throwing capabilities, escaping was practically impossible. It was better to risk everything in a direct confrontation.
Shifting tactics, he acted decisively. Executing a powerful, graceful spin on the spot, he hurled the silver ring toward Chen Chuan!
Chen Chuan didn't dodge. Sweeping an arm outward with a loud bang, he batted the silver ring back. By then, Saibayar had already closed the distance, snatching the rebounding silver ring and bringing it crashing down with all the momentum of his charge.
Chen Chuan watched the silver ring expand above him, cyan brilliance rippling along its circumference like a colossal wheel of fire. Still refusing to retreat, he kicked upward!
Boom! The spiritual force on his foot collided with the ring of fire. At the exact moment the strike landed, a brilliant flash of light flared across his body.
This time, he directly channeled the power of the Grand Radiant Light Forms. The fire of spirituality upon the silver ring melted away at astonishing speed, and the following jin punched straight into the ring.
Saibayar had concentrated his full jin into the downward strike, yet the point of impact and timing he had anticipated differed from reality. Chen Chuan's kick not only shattered the protection of the fire of spirituality, but struck before Saibayar could fully exert his strength.
As the jin surged through the silver ring and into his body, it threw off his momentum, forcing an instinctive adjustment to resist the blow.
Chen Chuan did not stop. Having disrupted his opponent's rhythm, he dropped his foot and lunged forward, elbow thrust outward, slamming into the giant's midriff like a cannonball.
Under the elbow strike, the fire of spirituality around Saibayar's abdomen dissolved rapidly. Though the fire of spirituality across his body converged swiftly to block the impact, the earlier disruption had thrown his combat cadence out of rhythm, making him a fraction too slow. The incoming spiritual fire could not replenish faster than it melted away. Ultimately, a portion of the force pierced through, and the colossal body was propelled airborne by the sheer rigidity of the blow.
Riding the upward momentum, Chen Chuan unleashed a barrage of afterimages with both fists. None of the blows carried overwhelming power, but their speed was astonishingly rapid. A thunderous string of detonations erupted as Saibayar's body shuddered continuously, driven higher and higher into the air.
Saibayar felt as though he could endure it; he channeled the fire of spirituality incessantly to patch the gaps blown into his abdomen. Yet every time the barrier formed, it was instantly shattered, forcing him into a relentless loop, unable to halt under the relentless onslaught.
Consequently, his life force was steadily depleted by Chen Chuan's seemingly ordinary strikes. As both reached the apex of their ascent, Chen Chuan cocked his elbow, palm edge facing out, and delivered a chopping blow to the throat—now nearly stripped of its fire of spirituality. With a muffled crack, the back of Saibayar's neck bulged outward as remnants of cyan light scattered into the air.
Using the last vestige of upward momentum, Chen Chuan vaulted above him. Making a swift midair adjustment, he drove a vicious kick downward. Saibayar's massive frame plummeted at blinding speed, smashing into the ground with an explosive impact that gouged out a massive crater, throwing billowing waves of sand, rock, and dust outward.
Chen Chuan allowed himself to free-fall, landing steadily on his feet before strolling forward.
Just as he approached the rim of the crater, a towering silhouette suddenly reared up through the swirling dust that the howling wind had yet to scatter.
Chen Chuan looked up, his gaze perfectly serene.
A moment later, a sequence of cracking pops resonated through the giant body's bones, followed by rays of platinum light bursting forth from beneath its frame.
Saibayar let out a muffled groan and staggered forward several steps. His hands clawed toward Chen Chuan, grasping fruitlessly at empty air before toppling forward with a heavy thud, crashing against the dirt. As wisps of vapor rose from beneath him, his body rapidly shrank back to its original form.
The platinum aura around Chen Chuan gradually receded. Defeating this man had cost him even less energy than his duel with Tamur, for apart from the initial strike using the Grand Radiant Light Forms, every subsequent blow matched the opponent in speed and force.
He had created an advantageous opening right at the start, and his subsequent offensive steadily magnified that advantage into an irreversible flaw, leading to the man's defeat. Thus, this battle was not won merely through the overwhelming crushing of speed and raw power, but equally through tactical decision-making and martial skill.
Initially, he had been unfamiliar with the capabilities of martial artists from the Biesa Khanate, so naturally he couldn't hold back at the outset. But having gained some understanding, he could adopt a method that required less exertion. After all, while he didn't lack accumulated energy, there was no reason to squander it.
At that moment, Saibayar, sprawled on the ground, let out a low, defeated chuckle. His internal tissues were severely damaged, yet he had not lost consciousness.
"What a pity... In the end, Great Shun won once again. It seems no matter how hard we strive, it's impossible to free our nation from Great Shun's grasp."
Chen Chuan looked down at him. "I've heard of you. They say your sympathies lean toward Norland. Even if you succeeded, wouldn't you simply be trading one master for another?"
Chapter 832