165: Chapter 165 Showing Off One's Talent

As the group just walked out of the Thunder Marsh, the representative teams from Eagle Country and Sakura Country were already lined up and waiting at the valley entrance.

Eagle Country's captain, Kane, carried a giant axe, its blade glinting coldly in the sunlight. Seeing Zhang Wen and the others emerge, he grinned, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.

"Friends from Dragon Country, I heard you just came out of the Thunder Marsh? Perfect, why don't we take this opportunity to spar a little and let us witness the skills you've honed in the Thunder Marsh."

Sakura Country's captain, Sato, gripped the katana at his waist, his kimono hem swaying with the mountain breeze, but his eyes were sharp: "Kane is right. A spar is also an exchange. It's just the right time for us to see what exactly gives the Dragon Country representative team the confidence to firmly sit at the top of the leaderboard."

Zhang Wen swept his gaze over the two teams. The Eagle Country members were all burly, exuding a savage power of blood and Qi; the Sakura Country members were agile, their waist-worn weapons faintly shimmering with spiritual power fluctuations.

He turned to his teammates and said, "Lu Yan, guard the left flank. Su Qing, control the center. Xiao Zhan, follow me to charge the formation."

"Understood!" Lu Yan's Vajra Body erupted with golden light, his fists clenched with a cracking sound. He stepped forward first, facing that giant axe of Eagle Country directly.

Su Qing swirled her rusted sword, creating three sword flowers, with Thunder Fire flowing along the blade. Her gaze locked onto the two ninjutsu practitioners in the front row of Sakura Country.

Seeing Lu Yan accept the challenge, Kane hoisted his giant axe onto his shoulder and laughed, "This big guy looks tough!" After saying that, he stomped his foot violently, causing several fine cracks to appear on the ground, and swung the giant axe toward Lu Yan's face with a wind-breaking sound.

Lu Yan did not dodge or evade, instead raising his hand to catch the axe blade head-on. The sound of metal colliding shook the surrounding leaves, causing them to rustle down. The golden light on his arms did not diminish in the slightest: "Is that all the strength you have?"

On the other side, Sato drew his katana, the blade reflecting a cold light: "Please advise."

A flash of the blade approached Su Qing, the wind of the blade carrying pale blue chakra. However, at three feet from Su Qing, it was deflected by the Thunder Fire on her sword—the Thunder Fire spontaneously surged upon encountering the chakra, burning the blade shadow into a distorted shape.

Su Qing took the opportunity to spin, her rusted sword bringing up red-gold Thunder Fire, aiming straight for Sato's lower stance.

Zhang Wen looked at Xiao Zhan and lifted his chin: "Let's go meet their backline."

Xiao Zhan's Overlord Body Aura exploded, his casserole-sized fists clenching until they turned red. He followed Zhang Wen, charging straight at the spiritual energy masters at the rear of the Eagle Country formation.

Those spiritual energy masters were raising their hands to condense light orbs. Golden light suddenly appeared at Zhang Wen's fingertips; the Myriad Phenomena Return to Ruin Thunder transformed into fine light threads, directly wrapping around the light orbs and forcibly twisting them into golden thunder orbs, which he then backhanded into the Eagle Country formation.

"Damn it!" The Eagle Country spiritual energy masters exclaimed and scattered. Xiao Zhan took the opportunity to punch their defensive barrier; the barrier shattered at the sound, shocking several spiritual energy masters into retreating repeatedly.

Sato was forced into a flurry by Su Qing's Thunder Fire, his sword techniques gradually becoming chaotic. He suddenly bit his fingertip, and the blood dripping onto the blade glowed red: "Secret Technique: Shadow Clone!" Several afterimages flanked from left and right.

Su Qing, however, advanced instead of retreating. She thrust her Thunder Fire sword violently into the ground. In an instant, several thunder walls erupted from the ground, blocking the afterimages one by one—this was the newly unlocked "Thunder Domain Resonance." The strength of the thunder walls was thirty percent higher than usual, and the afterimages all dissipated upon hitting the walls.

Lu Yan and Kane had fought to a white-hot intensity. Every time the giant axe fell, it brought with it an Aura that could crumble mountains and split rocks, but Lu Yan stood firmly in place, blocking only with his arms. His Vajra Body was struck by the axe blade, sending sparks flying, but not even a layer of skin was broken.

He spotted the gap when Kane retracted his axe, suddenly closing in and slamming his shoulder into the opponent's chest. Kane felt as if he had been hit by a heavy hammer; the giant axe flew out of his hand, and he staggered back several meters before steadying himself.

"That's satisfying!" Kane wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and instead laughed even more intensely, "You Dragon Country people really hide some tough characters!"

Zhang Wen had already dealt with most of the spiritual energy masters on his side. Turning back to see Su Qing completely dominating her side and Lu Yan firmly suppressing Kane, he said to Xiao Zhan, "Pull back your strength, stop at the point of contact."

Xiao Zhan heard this and reined in his punch strength, but intentionally raised his voice and said, "Friends from Eagle Country, shall we continue this spar?"

Kane picked up the giant axe, looking at the golden light on Lu Yan's body that hadn't even left a white mark, and shook his head with a bitter smile: "No, no more. If we keep fighting, these old bones of mine will fall apart."

Sato also sheathed his sword, looking at the unextinguished Thunder Fire on Su Qing's sword with a complex expression: "Dragon Country's secret techniques are truly well-deserved of their reputation."

Zhang Wen retracted the Myriad Phenomena Return to Ruin Thunder, the golden light gradually fading from his fingertips: "Sparring is meant for mutual validation. If there's a chance in the future, I will ask for your advice again."

He glanced at the sky, "We still have things to do, so we will take our leave first."

Watching the receding backs of the Dragon Country representative team, Kane touched the bruise on his chest and suddenly chuckled.

He slanted a glance at his teammates who were clicking their tongues, spinning the giant axe in his palm, "In front of their captain, we reserve team members are like looking up at a high mountain. His level of strength is simply not in the same dimension as ours; it is truly unfathomable."

One spiritual energy master rubbed his wrist, which had been numbed by the thunder orb, and muttered timidly: "If Captain's 'star realm battle axe' had been used, that kid Zhang Wen's Lightning Radiance might not have been able to block it."

"Exactly!" Another member immediately agreed, "And there's Sakura Country's 'Eight-Headed Serpent Secret Technique'. I heard that Mr. Sato's Senior Brother can already summon half a Tailed Beast. If they were really serious, Dragon Country might not necessarily have the upper hand."

Kane looked at Sato, the cold light on the axe blade reflecting in his eyes: "The intelligence gathering this time is about enough—Zhang Wen's Myriad Phenomena Return to Ruin Thunder can convert spiritual power, Lu Yan's Vajra Body has amazing resistance to blows, Su Qing's Thunder Fire counters ninjutsu... these must all be recorded."

He paused, his tone deepening, "I hope Sakura Country will not fail the cooperation this time."

Sato stroked the scorch marks on his scabbard, his fingers under the kimono quietly tightening: "That goes without saying."

He looked up in the direction where the Dragon Country representative team had disappeared, a trace of gloom flashing in his eyes, "Dragon Country has been prosperous for too long; it is time... to take a rest."

The wind swept fallen leaves across the valley entrance. The Eagle Country members packed up their scattered weapons, while the Sakura Country ninjutsu practitioners vanished into the forest, leaving only a few afterimages flickering on the ground.

No one noticed that on the branch of an ancient tree, Ye Chen's black mist condensed into a narrow slit, taking in every word of the conversation just now.

A moment later, the black mist dissipated, and Ye Chen's figure appeared at the end of the returning team. He looked at Zhang Wen, who was chatting and laughing ahead, and a trace of solemnity flashed in his black mist-like pupils—it seems this global league is far more like a battlefield without gunpowder than imagined.