143: Arena Battle (Part 1)

While the word "Start" was still echoing in the air, Yan Chen's figure had already burst forward like a volcanic eruption!

On the arena, the thirty-meter distance seemed non-existent beneath his feet.

With the first step, the bluestone ground cracked with a "snap," charred fissures spreading like a spiderweb.

By the second step, his figure had transformed into a burning crimson afterimage; wherever he passed, the air distorted, emitting a hissing sound as if scorched by high temperatures.

"Blazing Sun Palm: Sky-Burning Stance!"

Yan Chen roared as his right palm struck down! Before the palm even arrived, a crimson palm print flew out, as large as a millstone. Carrying a scorching energy capable of incinerating all things, it completely enveloped the ten-meter area around Chen Linsheng!

This strike was thirty percent stronger than when he defeated the Iron Fist Sect Disciple yesterday; it was clearly delivered in anger, with nothing held back.

Gasps erupted from the sidelines.

"Using the Sky-Burning Stance in the first Move! Yan Chen wants to end this quickly!"

"This temperature... those near the arena feel their skin burning!"

"How will Chen Linsheng block it?"

At the critical moment, Chen Linsheng moved.

He didn't take it head-on. Instead, he deployed the White Crane Wind and Cloud Song footwork, his figure like a crane soaring through a sea of clouds as he slid six meters to the left with light and elegant grace.

It seemed perilously close, yet it was timed to perfection—the crimson palm print brushed past the corner of his clothes and slammed into the ground!

"Boom—!"

The arena shook violently! Where the palm print landed, the bluestone instantly charred, cracked, and melted, forming a scorched pit a meter wide and fifteen centimeters deep! Stone fragments and lava-like debris splashed everywhere, and the high heat scorched the air into distorted ripples.

Meanwhile, Chen Linsheng used the momentum of his slide, his body flipping like a clever ape as he circled to Yan Chen's left, striking a backhand palm toward his ribs!

Python Dragon Strength, Second Move: Flowing Water.

The palm's force was neither hard nor fierce, but dense as water and silent, penetrating directly into the weak points of the defense.

Yan Chen snorted coldly and thrust his left elbow back, the crimson True Energy at the tip of his elbow condensing like a cone!

"Clang!"

When the palm and elbow met, they actually produced the sound of clashing metal!

Chen Linsheng felt a scorching and overbearing force travel up his arm from his palm, and his skin stung instantly. However, the powerful Foundation of his Hunyuan True Body naturally surged, a faint golden light flashing beneath his skin for a moment, completely neutralizing and swallowing the invading heat.

Simultaneously, the "Flowing Water" force in his palm had already seeped into the gaps of Yan Chen's elbow joint!

Yan Chen's expression changed slightly as he felt a wave of numbness in his left elbow joint, causing a momentary stagnation in the flow of his True Energy. He roared in anger and swept his right palm across like a blade of flame, slashing toward Chen Linsheng's neck!

Chen Linsheng had already pulled back. Deploying the Spirit Monkey Hundred Changes Movement Technique, his figure moved like an ape climbing a branch; with a duck and a spin, he actually slipped through the gap of this killing blow. At the same time, his toes tapped the ground as he leaped into the air, delivering three consecutive mid-air kicks straight toward the center of Yan Chen's back!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Yan Chen neither dodged nor avoided them. The crimson True Energy on his back exploded, transforming into a flame Qi shield that took the three kicks head-on!

Airwaves surged, and flames splashed in all directions!

Using the counter-force, Chen Linsheng drifted backward and landed steadily fifteen meters away, his breathing steady and his clothes fluttering slightly.

Yan Chen stumbled half a step forward. The robes on his back were charred and torn, revealing a dark-red Soft Armor inside—clearly also a treasure, otherwise those three kicks would have been enough to make his blood and Qi churn.

The first round of the exchange happened as fast as a rabbit's leap or a falcon's dive, lasting no more than three breaths.

The entire audience was silent for a moment before erupting into earth-shaking cheers and gasps!

"So fast! I couldn't see it clearly at all!"

"Chen Linsheng actually completely dodged the Sky-Burning Stance! That Movement Technique... it's like a ghost!"

"Yan Chen's defense is too terrifying; he took three kicks directly and is actually fine!"

"This is just the beginning! Both are still testing each other!"

On the viewing platform, Vice Commander Tie Hanshan nodded slightly. "Chen Linsheng's Movement Technique has captured the essence of agility and unpredictability. What's even rarer is his grasp of timing—Yan Chen is attacking in anger and his Aura is at its peak; Linsheng isn't meeting that sharpness head-on, but is instead maneuvering to wear him down. Wise."

The Governor stroked his beard and said, "Yan Chen's Blazing Sun True Energy is indeed overbearing, but the consumption must be enormous. If Chen Linsheng can hold out past the first thirty Moves, the situation might change."

Eunuch Cao rolled his prayer beads between his fingers, his narrow eyes fixed on the arena, not saying a word.

On the arena, Yan Chen slowly turned around to stare at Chen Linsheng, the flames in his eyes dancing even more intensely.

"You're quick at dodging," he said coldly. "But the arena is only so big. How long can you keep dodging?"

Before his voice faded, he pressed his palms together, and the crimson True Energy around him surged violently! It was no longer scattered heatwaves, but condensed into lines of flame patterns that flowed and burned across his skin! His entire being seemed to transform into a sculpture forged from fire, radiating suffocating heat and pressure.

"Blazing Sun True Body: Initial Stage!" someone knowledgeable exclaimed.

"Yan Chen is getting serious! This is a core secret of the Blazing Sun Martial Arts Hall; it can increase the power of True Energy by more than thirty percent!"

"Chen Linsheng is in danger!"

Yan Chen took a step, and the arena shook.

With the second step, his speed increased explosively, turning into a crimson streak of light as he lunged at Chen Linsheng! This time, it wasn't a straight-line advance but a zig-zagging, unpredictable path; however, wherever he passed, he left a trail of charred footprints on the ground and a wake of scorching airwaves in the air.

Chen Linsheng's pupils constricted slightly.

The perception of Tracking Perfection was fully deployed!

In his perception, every muscle twitch of Yan Chen, every node of his True Energy flow, his breathing rhythm, and even the subtle changes in his gaze were transformed into a clear flood of information.

Prediction!

Three steps left, two steps right, dash forward, right palm diagonal slash... Yan Chen's attack trajectory appeared in his mind half a breath in advance!

Chen Linsheng's figure moved again.

The elegance of the White Crane Wind and Cloud Song and the trickery of the Spirit Monkey Hundred Changes Fusion perfectly. His figure was sometimes like a white crane skimming water, lightly dodging flaming palm winds; at other times, it was like a clever ape swinging between branches, weaving through gaps with barely a hair's breadth to spare.

Yan Chen delivered seven consecutive palms, each one violent and enough to shatter stone tablets or melt iron and gold.

But Chen Linsheng always managed to dodge with a fraction of a millimeter to spare at the very moment the palm wind reached him! Sometimes, he even used the thrust of the palm's airwaves to accelerate his changes in direction, making Yan Chen's fierce attacks serve as a boost to his Movement Technique instead!

"Boom! Boom! Boom! ..."

On the arena, the sounds of explosions were continuous!

Yan Chen's palm force blasted scorched pit after pit into the bluestone floor, stone fragments and sparks flying everywhere as the high heat blurred the air in the central area of the arena.

But Chen Linsheng constantly maneuvered around the edges of the explosions, his dark-blue figure appearing and disappearing amidst the flames and smoke like willow catkins in the wind—seemingly perilous, but actually composed.

Twenty Moves passed.

Yan Chen's breathing began to grow heavy, sweat appeared on his forehead, and although the flame True Energy around him was still violent, anyone with a discerning eye could see that the scorching light had dimmed slightly compared to the beginning.

The consumption was too great.

Every strike in the Blazing Sun True Body state required a massive amount of True Energy and blood Qi.

Meanwhile, Chen Linsheng always dodged and neutralized at the minimum cost. His occasional counterattacks were precise and tricky, specifically targeting the weak nodes during Yan Chen's Move transitions, forcing him to defend and further increasing his consumption.

"Bastard! Is dodging all you can do?!"

Yan Chen roared, his eyes blood-red. The rage in his chest intertwined with the anxiety of failing to land a hit for so long, causing a slight disarray in his Moves.