140: The Second Battle (Part 2)

Yu You moved almost at the exact moment the proctor's voice fell!

He didn't roam around like Wu Ying; instead, he charged straight forward! However, his path was eerie and unpredictable, darting left and right like a snake or a scurrying rat, making it impossible to anticipate.

Simultaneously, he flicked his fingers repeatedly, and dozens of cold stars shot out from his sleeves. They weren't aimed directly at Chen Linsheng, but at the empty spaces three feet around him!

Those cold stars were actually poisoned steel needles as thin as cow hair, glinting with a ghostly blue light under the sun. Even more bizarrely, the needles didn't fly in straight lines; they collided and refracted off each other, their trajectories changing unpredictably until they finally swarmed toward Chen Linsheng from various inconceivable angles!

"The hidden weapon technique 'Star-Studded Chessboard'!" someone knowledgeable on the sidelines whispered. "This Yu You is even more troublesome than Wu Ying!"

Chen Linsheng's eyes remained calm as his [Tracking Perfection] perception fully unfolded.

In his eyes, the flight paths of those steel needles, their collision angles, their final landing points, and even the slight reflections from the poisoned tips were as clear as the lines on his own palm.

He didn't use his spear, nor did he even use a Movement Technique to dodge. He simply reached into the leather pouch at his waist and grabbed seven or eight ordinary pebbles—ones he had picked up casually while practicing by the river that morning.

In the next moment, with a light flick of his wrist, the pebbles were fired in a rapid chain!

The first pebble knocked away three steel needles; the second pebble split mid-air, its fragments deflecting five more; the third pebble curved in an arc, shooting down two iron caltrops Yu You had released afterward... "Ding ding ding ding...!"

The dense, crisp sounds were like rain hitting banana leaves!

With only seven or eight pebbles, Chen Linsheng intercepted all dozens of steel needles and iron caltrops! The force, angle, and timing of every single pebble were perfect to the extreme, as if he had calculated the trajectories of all the hidden weapons long ago!

Even more astonishingly, his pebble-Throwing technique carried a hint of the charm of the Overlapping Waves Archery—the pebbles didn't just travel straight; they carried subtle rotations and tremors. Upon impact, the force erupted like layered waves, precisely destroying the core momentum of the hidden weapons.

Yu You's expression finally changed.

This 'Star-Studded Chessboard' technique of his had caused many experts to suffer defeat, yet it had never been broken so effortlessly!

He suddenly retreated and yanked at his waist. Two gray cloth bags burst open, and two clouds of dark green poisonous sand spread out like mist, enveloping the space ten feet ahead! The poisonous sand emitted a pungent, fishy stench, clearly indicating it was incredibly toxic!

At the same time, he tapped his toes and leaped backward, intending to use the poisonous sand as cover to pull away and plan his next move.

However, Chen Linsheng had been waiting for this exact moment!

In the instant Yu You released the sand and his body was about to move, Chen Linsheng acted.

It wasn't the elegance of the Crane Ape Illusory Wind Steps, nor the etherealness of the White Crane Wind and Cloud Song, but another more direct and explosive footwork—

Eight Steps Catching Cicada!

With one step, the bluestone beneath his feet cracked! His body shot forward like a cannonball, charging directly into the cloud of poisonous sand!

"Is he crazy?!" someone cried out in shock.

But in the next moment, everyone saw that Chen Linsheng was enveloped in a layer of faint golden light—while [Golden Bell Shield Perfection] wasn't being fully exerted, it was enough to protect his nose, mouth, and the surface of his skin.

As the poisonous sand touched him, it was entirely repelled and purified by that faint golden halo!

By the second step, Chen Linsheng had already pierced through the poison mist, closing in to within five feet of Yu You!

Yu You was horrified. He frantically threw his hands up, and his final twelve life-saving 'Bone-Piercing Nails' shot out, aimed directly at Chen Linsheng's eyes, throat, heart, and other vital points!

Chen Linsheng neither dodged nor avoided them. His left hand traced an arc in front of him, the Hunyuan Palm force held in reserve to form an invisible vortex.

"Swish swish swish..."

The Bone-Piercing Nails entered the vortex as if sinking into a swamp, their speed dropping sharply until Chen Linsheng's left hand swept them up, catching them all in his palm.

By the third step, Chen Linsheng was already in front of Yu You.

Yu You gritted his teeth, his palms turning a greenish-black color. He had clearly trained in a malicious palm technique and struck out desperately at Chen Linsheng's chest!

Chen Linsheng raised his right hand and pushed forward with a flat palm.

It was still the 'Suppressing the Mountain' move from the Hunyuan Palm, but for this strike, he utilized thirty percent of the spiral penetrating power of Python Dragon Strength.

The palms met.

There was no world-shaking explosion, only a muffled "thud."

The force of Yu You's poisonous palm dissolved instantly like snow meeting the morning sun. The spiral force penetrated his body, causing him to shudder violently. He stumbled back seven steps and collapsed onto the ground, his face deathly pale as blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.

The Life Talisman at his waist quietly shattered.

Chen Linsheng withdrew his palm, gently placed the twelve Bone-Piercing Nails on the ground, and cupped his hands. "I yield."

From start to finish, it had taken no more than five breaths.

Hidden weapon against hidden weapon, using pebbles to break steel needles; ignoring the poisonous sand to charge through with physical cultivation; and finally, a single close-quarters palm strike to win cleanly.

The entire process was as smooth as flowing water, making difficult feats look easy, forming a sharp contrast with Yan Chen's previous violent suppression.

The sidelines went silent for a moment before erupting into enthusiastic cheers and applause!

"Beautiful! That is true skill breaking through trickery!"

"Chen Linsheng's control over his internal force has reached the Transcendent realm! That pebble-Throwing technique matches the essence of archery—incredible!"

"What's even rarer is this composed bearing. He clearly could have ended it faster, yet he chose the most stable and energy-efficient way to win... this boy's combat intelligence far exceeds his peers!"

On the viewing platform, Judge Li nodded slightly and whispered to the Prefect beside him, "This boy has a steady Heart-Nature and clear tactics; he truly has the potential of a general."

The Prefect stroked his beard and smiled. "What's even more commendable is that benevolence. If he had thrown those Bone-Piercing Nails back just now, Yu You would be dead or crippled. But he simply caught them and put them on the ground... A Martial Artist with martial virtue is the one who will achieve greatness."

Eunuch Cao fingered his prayer beads, his narrow eyes watching Chen Linsheng as he calmly returned to the group. He said slowly, "Hiding his sharpness in the scabbard, yet possessing his own brilliance. This old servant is starting to look forward to his duels with Yan Chen, Mu Qingxue, and the others."

...The second round of the competition continued.

"Group B, Number 2 and Number 3, take the stage!"

Mu Qingxue walked slowly onto the stage.

Her opponent was a burly man wielding dual short halberds. His halberd technique was fierce, clearly following a path of pure strength.

"Begin!"

The burly man clashed his halberds together with a loud metallic clang, then charged forward with great strides, his halberds swinging like a whirlwind! The wind from the halberds whistled with heavy momentum, clearly intending to use force to overcome skill and suppress Mu Qingxue's swordplay.

Mu Qingxue remained standing still until the halberds were within three feet of her body; only then did she finally move.

She didn't use her fingers; she drew her sword.

"Zheng—!"

A clear, resonant sword hum, like an icy spring flowing forth, instantly drowned out all the noise in the arena!

The longsword in her hand was finally unsheathed!

The blade was about three feet two inches long, entirely ice-blue like condensed autumn water, with a cold, moonlight-like luster flowing along the edge. The sword was named 'Han Yi,' one of the famous guardian swords of the Qiushui Sword Sect.

The moment the sword appeared, the temperature around the arena seemed to drop by several degrees.

Mu Qingxue flicked her wrist, the sword tip tilting upward in a simple 'Crane Crossing the Cold Pond' move. The sword light was like cold moonlight on frost, sweeping through gracefully.

"Ding! Ding!"

Two crisp sounds rang out almost simultaneously!

The burly man felt two icy-cold yet needle-sharp forces travel through his halberds. His grip was shaken, and the dual halberds were uncontrollably knocked to the sides, leaving his center wide open!

He turned pale with shock and hurriedly retreated.

But Mu Qingxue's second strike had already arrived.

The second move of the Autumn Water Cold Light Sword—'Cold Moon Condensing Radiance'.

The sword light was no longer a single line but transformed into a hazy moonlight that enveloped seven major acupoints on the man's upper body. The sword momentum wasn't fast, yet it carried a suffocating beauty and lethality.

The burly man frantically swung his halberds, trying to block.

"Ding ding ding ding..."

A series of dense clashing sounds rang out like pearls falling on a jade plate!

With every clash, the man took a step back, his grip splitting and blood flowing. After seven sounds, he had retreated to the edge of the stage, unable to hold his halberds any longer as they flew from his hands!

The tip of Mu Qingxue's sword now rested gently three inches in front of his throat.

The icy Sword Qi caused goosebumps to rise on the man's skin; he froze in place, not daring to move an inch.

"I surrender..." the man said hoarsely.

Mu Qingxue withdrew her sword and sheathed it, the movement fluid and natural, as if she had never drawn it at all.

"Group B, Number 2, Mu Qingxue wins."

The crowd below went silent first, then erupted into cheers more enthusiastic than any previous match!

"So beautiful! That swordplay... it's simply like a poem or a painting!"