64: Chapter 64 Reversal

"Boom!" Two sword energies exploded in the center of the Arena, the shockwave spreading in all directions like a hurricane. The stone tiles beneath my feet cracked into spiderwebs, and I flew backward like a kite with a broken string, rolling seven or eight times before barely coming to a stop.

A metallic taste surged in my mouth. I raised my hand to wipe it, and it came away covered in blood.

It hurt, really hurt, but not dying was a win.

I struggled to get up from the ground and looked up—Long Aotian wasn't doing much better. He had retreated five or six steps, each step leaving a deep pit in the ground. The giant sword in his hand was buzzing, and blood was seeping from the web between his thumb and forefinger.

He looked down at his hand, then back up at me, his expression as if he had seen a ghost.

"Impossible!" Long Aotian stared with wide eyes, his voice cracking. "You're just a Level 22 kid, how could you block my Mad Dragon Slash?!"

I was puzzled too, to be honest. I had unleashed that strike with a "kill or be killed" mentality. When Sky Breaker and Moon Slash fused, I didn't even know what the effect would be. But the result was indeed unexpected—the power of the Sword Saints Three Styles was much fiercer than I had imagined.

Level isn't enough, use Sword Intent to make up for it. I would have thought that was nonsense before, but now it seemed, damn it, it actually made sense.

"Ding—System Notification: Sword Intent comprehension progress +10, current progress: 15/100."

Heh, it actually went up by ten points! Not a loss this time.

I spat out a mouthful of blood and grinned. "Long Aotian, is that all your Mad Dragon Slash amounts to? It looks just like you—pathetic."

This was pure bravado. My legs felt like lead, and my HP had dropped to less than 30%. That last strike had basically drained me. But if I chickened out now, would I still be Chen Ergou? I might as well rename myself Chen Er-Coward.

Long Aotian's face was black as the bottom of a pot. He, a dignified Level 26 Berserker and the guild leader of the Dragon God Temple, had been met head-on by a Level 22 outer disciple of the Sword Pavilion—if this got out, how would he ever show his face in the martial arts world again?

"Brat, you're courting death!"

Long Aotian was furious, his body erupting with red light, his blood energy surging like a boiling pot. He gripped the giant sword with both hands, and a blood-red dragon shadow appeared on the blade, a whole size larger than the previous one.

"Mad Dragon Earth-Splitting Slash!"

Damn, this name sounds way fiercer than the last one. He leaped high into the air and slashed down. That sword energy carried a destructive momentum, heading straight for my head.

I instinctively wanted to dodge, but my legs wouldn't listen—that previous collision had rattled my meridians, making it difficult to circulate spiritual energy, let alone move.

It's over, I'm really going to die here this time.

Just at this critical moment, a warmth suddenly came from my chest.

I looked down—the black token given by Sword Saint Xiao Wuchen was emitting a faint light from my bosom. The light was dim, but it was exceptionally conspicuous against the firelight of the Arena.

Immediately after, a mysterious power poured out from the token, flowing through my meridians and throughout my entire body.

That feeling... how to describe it? It was like drinking a bottle of ice-cold beer on a hot day, refreshing all the way from my throat to my heels. The previously exhausted spiritual energy in my meridians suddenly surged, as if my Ren and Du meridians had been opened, and every pore on my body was screaming "awesome."

The longsword in my hand began to hum, and a layer of golden light appeared on the blade. That light was different from usual; it wasn't the color of spiritual energy, but rather—Sword Intent.

Golden Sword Intent.

A flash of inspiration suddenly struck me, and the fusion method of Sky Breaker and Moon Slash became incredibly clear in my mind. Before, I had been forcibly mashing the two styles together, like stewing tofu and pork; although edible, it was always lacking something. Now it was different; the Sword Intent was like seasoning, perfectly fusing the two styles.

The speed of Sky Breaker, the sharpness of Moon Slash, plus the enhancement of Sword Intent—

"Sky Breaker · Moon Extinguisher!"

I roared and thrust my sword out.

How fast was this strike? Even I couldn't see the trajectory of the sword tip. The golden sword energy turned into a crescent moon, carrying a destructive momentum, and collided head-on with Long Aotian's Mad Dragon Earth-Splitting Slash.

"Crack—"

Long Aotian's blood-colored dragon shadow seemed to be bitten by something, and a gap cracked open directly. The golden sword energy pierced through the dragon shadow, its momentum undiminished, and slashed fiercely onto Long Aotian's chest.

"Pfft—"

Long Aotian spat out a mouthful of blood, flew backward, smashed a ten-meter-long gully into the ground, and finally crashed into the Arena's guardrail with a "clang."

The whole place was silent for about two seconds.

Then—it exploded.

"Holy crap! What kind of sword technique was that?!"

"Chen Ergou is awesome! Chen Ergou is awesome!"

"He knocked Long Aotian flying with one sword! Level 22 fighting Level 26! Is this guy even human?!"

The crowd in the stands was going crazy, their shouting making my ears buzz. The brothers and sisters of the Dawn Guild were even more excited, jumping up and down, several standing directly on the stands, waving their fists and howling.

I stood in the center of the Arena, panting heavily. Although that strike was cool, the price was not small—the spiritual energy in my body had completely bottomed out, and my legs were shaking like a sieve, relying entirely on one breath to keep from collapsing.

Long Aotian crawled up from beside the shattered guardrail, half his body covered in blood, but his eyes had become exceptionally fierce.

"Good... very good..." He gritted his teeth and said word by word, "Chen Ergou, you forced my hand."

He threw away the giant sword in his hand, spread his arms, and a golden dragon aura began to pour out from his whole body. The dragon aura grew thicker and thicker, finally condensing into a huge golden dragon phantom behind him.

"Dragon God Possession!"

The system prompt sounded at the right time: "Warning! Target Long Aotian has activated the skill 'Dragon God Possession', entering an invincible state for 30 seconds, with all attributes increased by 200%."

Damn, 30 seconds of invincibility? All attributes tripled?

My scalp went numb. In my current state, let alone 30 seconds, I couldn't even hold on for 3 seconds. If I let him fight freely, I would definitely be hammered into a meat patty.

The corner of Long Aotian's mouth hooked into a cruel smile: "Chen Ergou, game over."

Just at this critical moment—

"Stop!"

An angry shout came from outside the Arena. The voice wasn't loud, but it clearly drowned out the noise of the whole venue. Everyone followed the sound, only to see an old man in grey robes descending from the sky, landing steadily in the center of the Arena.

Mo Wentian.

Sword Pavilion Elder, Mo Wentian.

Behind him followed a dozen Sword Pavilion enforcement disciples, each with a serious expression and murderous intent.

Long Aotian's face changed instantly: "Elder Mo, what is the meaning of this?"

Mo Wentian swept a cold glance at him, his voice low, but every word fell on people's hearts like a hammer: "Long Aotian, according to the conclusive evidence obtained by the Sword Pavilion Enforcement Hall, the mole you planted in the outer sect—Senior Brother Liu Qing—has been confirmed as a traitor to the Shadow Pavilion and has now been locked in the Sword Pavilion dungeon."

The crowd was in an uproar.

Senior Brother Liu Qing is a traitor? The head disciple of the Sword Pavilion outer sect was actually a person from the Shadow Pavilion?

Long Aotian's face turned completely white. His lips trembled a few times, wanting to say something, but he couldn't say a word.

Mo Wentian continued: "In addition, the series of actions by the Dragon God Temple in Tianqi City recently—including but not limited to bribing the city guards, secretly manipulating the auction house, and attempting to subvert the fairness of the Martial Arts Tournament—has seriously violated the Tianqi City regulations. As the guardian sect of Tianqi City, the Sword Pavilion has the responsibility to maintain the dignity of the city regulations."

He turned to look at Long Aotian, his eyes like knives: "Long Aotian, from now on, all special privileges of the Dragon God Temple in Tianqi City will be revoked. You and the core members of the Dragon God Temple will be restricted from leaving the city, pending further investigation."

"You—!" Long Aotian pointed at Mo Wentian, his fingers trembling.

But he didn't continue to act out. Because he knew very well that in front of Mo Wentian, he was just a little brother. Mo Wentian was a master above Level 30, and an elder of the Sword Pavilion; if he really moved, he wouldn't even be able to run.

Having lost Senior Brother Liu Qing's intelligence support, and with the Heavenly Net Array weakened by the formation-breaking incense, the morale of the Dragon God Temple was already low. Now that Mo Wentian announced this, the members of the Dragon God Temple completely collapsed—several people directly dropped their weapons and raised their hands to surrender.

Ye Liuli seized this opportunity and gave an order: "All personnel, attack!"

The brothers and sisters of the Dawn Guild had been holding back a belly full of fire, so why would they be polite at this time? They swarmed up and smashed the remaining defense line of the Dragon God Temple into pieces.

The battle ended quickly.

The moment the referee announced that the Dawn Guild had won the championship of this Martial Arts Tournament, the entire Arena boiled over. Cheers, shouts, and whistles rang out together, shaking the clouds in the sky as if they were trembling.

I stood in the center of the Arena, listening to the tsunami-like cheers around me, but my mind was blank.

Won?

We actually really won?

Ye Liuli walked up to me, the corners of her mouth slightly raised—this was the first time I had seen her smile so clearly: "Congratulations, Chen Ergou."

"Congratulations my ass," I grinned, "I almost died here."

She rolled her eyes at me, but there was a smile in her eyes.

Subsequently, the referee group of the Martial Arts Tournament announced the individual awards. I took the title of "Best Individual Performance" without any suspense—Level 22 facing Level 26 head-on, and knocking the other party away, if this isn't the best performance, then what is?

I stood on the podium holding the trophy, looking at the black crowd of people below, and suddenly felt—

The days of setting up a stall seemed to be getting further and further away from me.

But I knew, this was just the beginning.

The Shadow Pavilion, Senior Brother Liu Qing, the black token of Sword Saint Xiao Wuchen... there were still too many mysteries waiting for me to solve.

But that was a matter for the future. For now—

I rubbed my grumbling stomach and thought: Is there any prize money for the champion? Let's get a bowl of beef noodles first.