Chen Chuan was equally perceptive when it came to jin. The moment his slash struck home, he immediately sensed something was amiss—the impact his power had on Zhao Zhenye was diminishing.
His gaze shifted slightly. Fuming Jin?
With Zhao Zhenye's skill, he could easily have concealed this trait, which might have led Chen Chuan to grow careless. Yet he had exposed it outright. Was it that he refused to let go of his pride from beginning to end, or did he feel he could not deceive Chen Chuan anyway and simply chose not to bother disguising it?
None of that mattered, however.
Chen Chuan had clashed with Zhao Zhenye's disciple, Qi Qianyang, before. Now that he was here fighting Zhao Zhenye himself, he naturally would not have failed to take this into account.
Earlier in their clash, he had primarily relied on the forcefield and force-release methods of the Grand Firmament Forms. Sensing that their effectiveness was beginning to wane, he immediately switched to the force-release methods of the Grand Radiant Light Forms.
As his blade swept down and clashed with Zhao Zhenye once more, the latter could not withstand it as easily as before. Zhao Zhenye's defensive posture shuddered. Though he still tried his best to avoid meeting Chen Chuan head-on, he was now in a suppressed state and inevitably bore more of the brunt.
A jolt ran through Zhao Zhenye's mind. Although he had clearly seen Chen Chuan deploy the power of the Grand Radiant Light Forms earlier, he had never trained in them himself and could not tell how far Chen Chuan had mastered them. Yet he never expected that the jin Chen Chuan exerted through the Grand Radiant Light Forms would be not the slightest bit weaker than that of the Grand Firmament Forms just moments ago. Had he mastered the other system through and through as well?
A sense of disbelief arose in his chest. Such physical endowment, such natural genius and talent...
This unexpected development caused a break in the flow of his tactical deployment. The counterattack rhythm he had planned was forcibly suppressed, and his inability to strike meant he was ceding the initiative to his opponent.
After several more blindingly fast exchanges, the Mind-Knocking Block in the sea rang out once again.
This chime differed from the previous two: what it stripped away from both men was the memory of their legs. Zhao Zhenye and his spiritual visage both instantly forgot their own feet.
Even though he was currently suspended in the air, floating entirely by means of his forcefield, having forgotten his legs while they still physically existed immediately disrupted his balance and bodily coordination, just as forgetting his hands had earlier.
His body froze involuntarily for an instant. And in battle, even the slightest mistake was intolerable.
Chen Chuan's eyes flashed. This was precisely the opportunity he had been waiting for, and it had finally presented itself. Gripping the hilt with both hands, he unleashed a massive spinning slash!
Having lagged by a beat, Zhao Zhenye naturally could not parry in time. The strike smashed straight through his defensive guard and cleaved into his flank, sending a violent burst of sparks scattering from his fire of spirituality.
Under the impact of this power, his body tilted to one side. Yet his reflexes were swift, and he immediately rode the force to try and disengage from the fray, which would at least spare him the next shockwave from the Mind-Knocking Block.
However, Chen Chuan held the upper hand now. How could he possibly grant him that chance? Another slash swept horizontally from the other direction.
This strike employed a yielding blade technique. It not only checked Zhao Zhenye's retreat, but the soft jin also eroded the increasingly depleted fire of spirituality on his body.
In the ensuing assault, taking advantage of the window where Zhao Zhenye was affected by the relic, Chen Chuan intensified his offensive. He continuously ground down the fire of spirituality while using the interplay of hardness and softness in his swordplay to pin his opponent in place.
When the Mind-Knocking Block had sounded just now, not only Zhao Zhenye's physical body but even the spiritual visage above him had suffered the same effect, causing it to take a solid blow. Now it appeared somewhat battered as well, seemingly unable to resist Chen Chuan's offensive from top to bottom.
Yet even in these circumstances, Zhao Zhenye's defense remained exceptionally solid, showcasing his rock-solid fundamentals. Apart from taking two hits at the very beginning before adjusting, he parried every subsequent strike. Grim as his situation was, it did not rapidly collapse, and he remained calm as he sought an opening and calculated his countermeasures.
Just then, a woman's voice suddenly echoed beside his ear: "Do you need me to step in?"
Zhao Zhenye did not reply.
The woman's voice continued: "What are you hesitating for? You spared Zhuan Liang earlier, so after this, word of you reaching the realm of Longevity View won't stay hidden anyway. What difference does one more kill make? Are you worried that my intervention will be noticed? Kill them, clean up anyone nearby, and no one will ever know I was here."
Zhao Zhenye responded in a heavy mental voice: "That is the Grand Radiant Light Forms. Even if you help me, you are very likely to suffer the brunt of that power."
"That doesn't matter. I only need to block for you once. Even if I suffer a bit of torment, it's no great issue. As long as you recover and act with a little more caution, handling this man shouldn't be difficult, right? I'm telling you seriously—when the Mind-Knocking Block chimes next time, what will you do if it makes you forget something you shouldn't?"
Zhao Zhenye's heart skipped a beat. In a heavy voice, he said, "Fine. Shield me for a moment."
These exchanges were conducted entirely through mental communication, taking merely a fraction of an instant in the outside world. Looking up, he saw a streak of blade light descending upon him and immediately raised a hand to block it.
When Chen Chuan delivered this slash, although the opponent's response felt outwardly no different from before, he detected a subtle irregularity.
Despite taking the brunt of his power, the opponent showed no trace of it in his aura, and a faint hint of ethereal blurring even appeared across Chen Chuan's second self. This was highly abnormal, putting him on high alert immediately.
In the very next instant, the spiritual radiance on Zhao Zhenye's body erupted abruptly. It not only instantly replenished the previously eroded fire of spirituality, but seemed to unleash an endless torrent of power buried deep beneath.
Having gained a momentary reprieve, Zhao Zhenye stabilized himself in an instant. Not only that, but he also channeled some support over to his spiritual visage, which had been on the verge of crumbling, and most importantly shook off the passive, losing streak he had been trapped in since the fight began.
Chen Chuan's eyes narrowed slightly at the change in him. He had not anticipated this development. After all, his tactics were analyzed and arranged based on existing intelligence; he could not prepare counters out of thin air for things that had never shown themselves.
With Zhao Zhenye's fire of spirituality blazing fiercely once more and seemingly possessing means to counter his tactics, continuing to press him seemed unlikely to achieve his original tactical objectives, serving only to squander his own strength.
Yet that was not truly the case.
A light flickered deep within Chen Chuan's eyes, for his ultimate goal was nearly within reach.
Judgment of the battlefield, mastery of technique, and combat experience were indeed crucial, yet he believed that what truly decided the course of everything was absolute power.
Overwhelming the weak with strength and defeating the few with the many was the truest principle. Thus, in the face of this battle, he needed something that could deliver a decisive, final blow.
Fortunately, he had it.
After mastering the Two Great Stances, he had faintly sensed that fusing the two complementary forces could unleash an even greater power, though he had never been able to grasp it before. Bringing it forth required casting everything aside, leaving no retreat, and detonating the power of mind and body to their absolute peak.
Under normal circumstances, executing it was exceedingly difficult, and he rarely faced opponents who could force him to risk everything.
Now, things were different.
Facing a formidable adversary like Zhao Zhenye compelled him to draw upon this power, aligning his conscious mind and mutated tissue into complete consensus.
However, this power likely exceeded the limits of what he could easily harness. It could not be summoned at will; he needed to continuously deploy the Two Great Stances, driving his power up layer by layer through relentless, full-bore bursts until it broke past an extreme peak.
Everything he had done before was indeed intended to seize the upper hand, suppress his opponent, or find an opening for victory. Achieving those would have been ideal, but failing to do so was of no consequence. They were merely the prelude.
Now, he sensed that power faintly coalescing. His accumulation was not yet sufficient, so he had to keep striking. Even though Zhao Zhenye had somehow managed to recover, as long as Chen Chuan maintained this breath and kept up this surging momentum, the final outcome would not be compromised.
Therefore, not only could he not retreat, but he also had to attack. And to ensure the offensive would not be interrupted, he needed an extra layer of insurance.
Focusing his gaze upon the white stream of light opposite him, Chen Chuan gripped his blade with both hands and slashed with all his might, the platinum radiance on his body crashing down like a tidal wave.
Seeing that Chen Chuan had not retreated in the face of his resurgent momentum, but had instead intensified his assault without the slightest fear, Zhao Zhenye felt a flicker of admiration alongside his surprise.
In his view, this was the correct choice. Backing down at this juncture would only leave Chen Chuan on the receiving end of his counterattack. His only sliver of a chance lay in betting that Zhao Zhenye's state was merely a transient burst, lunging forward to contest the offense and attempting to suppress him.
However, Zhao Zhenye could sense that Chen Chuan had used some method to elevate his own strength—perhaps an esoteric art, or perhaps some new technology. Regardless, it could not possibly be sustained indefinitely. As long as he held his ground and revealed no flaws, the winning hand would ultimately be his.
Confronted with the incoming blade light, Zhao Zhenye pulled back to evade. After dodging several strikes in succession, he raised an arm to parry, doing his utmost to avoid absorbing the impact directly and instead seeking to neutralize and disperse the force. Relying on Fuming Jin, the more jin his opponent expended, the faster he adapted.
Yet the moment he met the blade light, a flash of crimson streaked through the scene. A red-robed woman wearing a veil appeared beside him. Amidst the fluttering folds of her skirt, the long-tasseled yanling saber in her hand slashed toward him with mesmerizing grace!
Chapter 990