"Hurry, there's a signal at twenty degrees northeast!"
Following Chen Chuan's transmission, the ship carrying the field creatures sailed outward as fast as it could. Guided by the telegraph signals, they fortunately located an expanding field after traveling just over two li.
After the relay station was destroyed, other vessels carrying field creatures had headed this way out of concern that a single ship's field strength would be too weak.
The moment the field signal connected, they immediately transmitted the situation here outward.
Over on Jibei Dao's side, after a few flickers across the field screen, two facing figures appeared above the sea. The image was somewhat blurry and frozen in that single instant, remaining motionless thereafter.
Yet everyone present could identify them: Chen Chuan, and Zhao Zhenye, who had appeared in their intelligence files long before.
Solemn expressions settled over the room. According to existing intelligence, Zhao Zhenye was exceptionally powerful, having already defeated Mr. Zhuan when the latter pursued him.
Qi Weizhao glanced at Qiao Yang, who immediately said, "Haidong Dao has been notified. They replied that Master Fenghe is rushing over."
"Going there is useless."
The crowd before the field screen was taken aback, looking up to see that it was Yao Zhiyi who had spoken.
"I'll be blunt," Yao Zhiyi said. "This fight between the two of them isn't something Fenghe Shou can meddle in. Going there will only cause trouble."
Though he could only see a frozen image of the two men, he could intuitively sense through the screen that Zhao Zhenye was completely different from before. Just looking at him produced a suffocating pressure. Something about him had undoubtedly changed, and having defeated Mr. Zhuan earlier, his strength had definitely taken a significant leap.
When Chen Chuan stood there, he did not give off quite the same impression, yet Yao Zhiyi had some understanding of Chen Chuan's current power. Neither of these two men could be compared to any martial artist currently existing across both daos.
Qi Weizhao pondered for a moment and asked, "Has Mr. Zhuan—the one who sent us the message earlier—been found?"
"Chief, the dispatched airship rescue unit has found him," Qiao Yang answered.
Qi Weizhao said, "Inform Haidong Dao immediately. Have them prepare all necessary medicines and do everything possible to help him recover from his injuries."
The others nodded. That might still be of some use. Since Mr. Zhuan had been able to pursue Zhao Zhenye, his strength could not be far behind. If he could join the fray later, things would be safer.
Yao Zhiyi, however, shook his head. He did not think it would help much. He had a feeling that this battle would not last very long; perhaps the next transmission would bring the final result.
Out upon the vast ocean, Chen Chuan hovered in the sky, his long saber pointing forward. The surrounding atmosphere was forced outward in concentric ripples, steaming white vapor rising into the air and cloaking the spirit manifestation behind him in flowing clouds of mist.
On the other side, Zhao Zhenye's expression had turned exceedingly grave.
The aura and field intensity Chen Chuan radiated made him seem like another living martial artist who had reached the Longevity View.
Yet how could that be possible?
The spirit manifestation behind Zhao Zhenye, which had initially drifted like formless smoke, gradually condensed under this stimulation, its entire form swathed in flowing silver-white radiance.
High in the heavens, it seemed as if a blazing sun and a full moon had appeared at the same time.
Having unleashed all his power, Chen Chuan saw that Zhao Zhenye made no move, so he launched the attack himself. The spirit manifestation overhead shifted with a thunderous rumble, blasting apart dense layers of mist. Shrouded in brilliant radiance, it leaned forward and led the charge, cleaving toward Zhao Zhenye's position with its saber.
Zhao Zhenye's spirit manifestation stepped forward as well, opening its arms to trail streams of flowing light as it surged up to meet the blow.
Chen Chuan kicked off, crossing the distance between them in a fraction of an instant. Tucking his long saber behind him with one hand, he balled his other fist and drove it straight toward Zhao Zhenye's face. As he charged, the blazing white-gold radiance seemed to concentrate entirely upon the knuckles at the very fore.
His eyes remained locked onto the figure opposite him. This punch was crucial; it all depended on how Zhao Zhenye chose to respond. If the man chose to clash head-on, that would be the ideal outcome.
Based on the psychic experience Mr. Tang had provided earlier, Chen Chuan had discovered that once his second self merged with him, his absolute strength surpassed his opponent's, and his speed was slightly superior as well. If Zhao Zhenye chose to meet him head-on, Chen Chuan would seize the initiative right from the start.
He had not charged in recklessly on hot blood this time; he had conducted rigorous tactical discussions and analysis with Hongfu beforehand.
In their deductions, a head-on clash was the most likely choice. From Zhao Zhenye's battle against Mr. Zhuan and his partner, it was clear that beneath his modest exterior lay immense pride. Matching Mr. Zhuan and his companion with identical speed and power was not merely due to some restraint placed upon his own strength; more likely, he believed he could defeat both men on equal terms through skill alone. A man of such supreme self-assurance would almost never yield in a frontal clash.
Still, anything could happen in battle, so if Zhao Zhenye made the low-probability choice, Chen Chuan had another plan ready.
Facing Chen Chuan's assault, Zhao Zhenye indeed made no attempt to dodge. For one, Chen Chuan's displayed speed was exceptionally high; if Zhao Zhenye dodged now without checking him, he would be forced to keep dodging, which would put him at an extreme disadvantage.
Beyond that lay another crucial factor: Chen Chuan's punch utilized the force of the Grand Firmament Forms. This was unmistakably a junior issuing a challenge to a senior. Neither his pride nor his dignity would permit him to back down. Fixing his gaze upon the incoming fist, he met it with a Grand Firmament Forms strike of his own!
*Bang!*
The two fists collided. Flickering streams of light and white-gold brilliance burst in all directions, detonating into an enormous flare in midair.
This was a pure clash between combatants of the exact same lineage. Zhao Zhenye had long mastered the Grand Firmament Forms to consummate perfection, allowing him to draw out greater power. Yet Chen Chuan's blow carried not only the force of the Grand Firmament, but also the augmentation of the Grand Radiant Light Forms, along with raw power pushed to an extreme!
In a contest of such utterly pure force, neither side had any room to maneuver. Superiority and inferiority were decided instantly. Zhao Zhenye's body shuddered violently; even though his fire of spirituality blocked the bombardment, he could not avoid absorbing some of the shock.
After that punch, Chen Chuan seemed entirely unaffected. Releasing the Xuejun Saber with his other hand and letting it hover behind him, he clenched his fingers and drove another fist forward in rapid succession.
This was one of the reasons he had forced Zhao Zhenye into a direct clash. Zhao Zhenye would inevitably be constrained and affected by the recoil of their forces, whereas Chen Chuan had his second self to shoulder the entire impact. With his current output surpassing his opponent's, he had to exploit this advantage to attack relentlessly and keep him suppressed.
Seeing Chen Chuan's second punch come in even faster and fiercer than the first, Zhao Zhenye narrowed his eyes, swiftly adjusted his breath, and raised his other fist to meet it squarely. An instant later, the sky shook with a roar as fist slammed into fist in another brutal collision.
Flames of spirituality surged forth, crashing and compressing where knuckles met, dissolving and disintegrating each other before scattering into flying sparks.
Chen Chuan's second self blurred slightly. Just as his second punch made impact, he twisted his torso, channeled his force, and followed through with a third punch without the slightest hitch!
Zhao Zhenye caught his breath. Facing the ferocious blaze crashing down once more, he chose not to trade blows this time. Instead, he raised his arm to block, executing a subtle deflecting technique.
Just as they made contact once again, a tremendous detonation rang out overhead almost simultaneously!
Only at this moment did the two spirit manifestations collide. Their colossal size meant greater power, but in both movement and strikes, they could not match the speed of their masters below; only after several exchanges between the martial artists did the figures above finally clash.
Countless motes of spiritual fire showered down like scattered fireworks. A spirit manifestation at the Longevity View could generate the fire of spirituality on its own, wielding a power far beyond the reach of martial artists below that realm.
Yet once Chen Chuan merged with his second self, the density of his fire of spirituality was in no way inferior to Zhao Zhenye's, making them evenly matched. As a result, the manifestation above was held in check as well, unable to intervene below.
Zhao Zhenye had now been forced into a rhythm of raw power attrition. With every punch Chen Chuan delivered, a portion of the fire of spirituality cloaking him was shattered, steadily diminishing as the fight wore on.
Because Zhao Zhenye had no time to recover after absorbing each shock, he could not draw forth more power from within his body. This inevitably caused the spirituality he could deploy on the surface to wear thinner and thinner. No matter how profound his foundation, power he could not bring to bear was no different from power he did not possess.
This was precisely Chen Chuan's objective: to tear open a breach with a single advantage and rapidly expand it until his opponent had no way left to defend.
Zhao Zhenye had already sensed the danger. Chen Chuan appeared to possess some secret technique that rendered him immune to the impact's recoil. If this momentum continued unchecked, once the spiritual power over his body was completely worn down, even a martial artist of his realm would be unable to withstand the barrage.
At this exceptionally perilous juncture, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes beneath his bangs. His rich combat experience and acute reading of the battle seized upon a turning point.
By now, beyond the contest of raw power, their forcefields were clashing as well. His opponent possessed not only the power of the Grand Firmament Forms, but also the astonishing coordination of the Grand Radiant Light Forms.
Yet Chen Chuan could not have mastered these two styles—especially the Grand Firmament Forms—for very long. There remained a slight imperfection in his force circulation, an opening that barely qualified as one.
As the opposing fist crashed toward him once more, Zhao Zhenye employed his deflecting technique again. This time, his palm merely swept across, and the Grand Firmament forcefield wrapped around him suddenly accelerated, forming a cohesive whole that slammed into the sturdiest facet of Chen Chuan's forcefield.
With a booming crash, a tremendous counter-force erupted between the two forcefields, thrusting both men backward in that very instant!
Chapter 988