txolops Chapter 537 Luck? Or just luck?
Chapter 537 Luck? Or just luck?
The sword tip pressed against Liu Xuanqing's throat, trembling slightly.
He gritted his teeth, but couldn't utter a single word.
The cold, sharp tip of the sword against his throat made him unable to move an inch; he could only squeeze out two words through gritted teeth:
"I admit defeat."
Chen Fan sheathed his sword, turned around, and walked off the stage.
He staggered, nearly falling several times, and when he reached the seat of the Shangyun Sect, he collapsed onto the chair, closed his eyes, and began to regulate his breathing.
"See that? He's reached his limit!" someone from the Golden Sword Sect shouted sarcastically. "He's already in this state after fighting Liu Xuanqing; anyone could take his life in the next round!"
"Exactly! It was just luck. Liu Xuanqing dominated him for over two hundred moves, but he was too careless in the last move. Otherwise, Senior Brother Liu would definitely have won!"
"Just good luck. Did you really think an early-stage Core Formation cultivator could defeat a late-stage Core Formation cultivator? What a joke!"
The disciples of Fenglei Pavilion, Huangsha Sect, and Baicao Valley echoed this sentiment, as if portraying Chen Fan's victory as a fluke would make Liu Xuanqing's defeat seem less humiliating.
Chen Fan ignored him.
At this moment, Li Changhe came over and handed over a pill to restore spiritual energy, his face full of worry:
"Fellow Daoist Chen Mu, you're badly injured, aren't you? Should we...?"
Chen Fan took the pill, swallowed it, nodded slightly, and said nothing.
On the high platform!
The scholar with the iron crown, Han Yueshan, sat upright in a rosewood chair, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest. His gaze fell on the gray-blue figure in the corner of Shangyun Sect, and the smile on his lips deepened.
It was discovered that this person was using the Nascent Soul stage to disguise himself as a Core Formation cultivator, and staged a dramatic victory on the arena where an early-stage Core Formation cultivator narrowly defeated a late-stage Core Formation cultivator, deceiving everyone present.
Han Yueshan admired this forbearance and scheming even more than his swordsmanship.
However, he did not expose it.
Firstly, he had no evidence, and secondly, he had no grudge against this person. More importantly, such a powerful cultivator who knew how to conceal his abilities would be of immeasurable help to him in the Great Yu Kingdom's competition if he could recruit him.
The fifth round of drawing lots began soon.
Since Chen Fan was the only one left in Shangyun Sect, and he had just finished a battle, he should be given enough time to recover according to the rules.
But the seven elders clearly didn't want to give him that chance and urged the drawing of lots to continue.
Chen Fan opened his eyes, slowly got up, and walked towards the arena again.
Li Changhe couldn't help but call out to him, "Fellow Daoist Chen Mu, you haven't recovered yet..."
"It's alright," Chen Fan said indifferently without turning his head.
Standing on the arena was a mid-stage Core Formation body cultivator from Iron Sword Manor named Wushuang.
This man was even more robust than Duan Heng, with arms as thick as buckets and muscles that bulged like the roots of an old tree, making him a wall of flesh when he stood there.
He used a heavy iron sword as big as a door panel, with no sharp edge, relying purely on brute force to smash people.
When Tie Wushuang saw Chen Fan walk onto the stage, he grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth: "I heard you chopped Duan Heng down? I've had my eye on that kid Duan Heng for a long time. But don't think that just because you beat him you can beat me. This heavy sword of mine is specifically designed to counter someone like you who wields a small sword."
Chen Fan didn't say much, he just drew his eleventh sword.
With a roar, Tie Wushuang swung his Xuan Tie Heavy Sword in a wide arc and brought it down. Even before the sword arrived, the overwhelming force caused the air to rumble like muffled thunder.
The arena floor cracked inch by inch under the immense pressure, and the rubble was swept into the air by the shockwave.
Chen Fan dodged to the side. The heavy sword slammed onto the arena, creating a large crater about three feet square. He thrust out his eleventh sword at a tricky angle, the tip touching the blade of the heavy sword, using the force against him to deflect Tie Wushuang's next attack.
Although Tie Wushuang's strength was formidable, his moves were slow to change. Chen Fan seized upon this weakness, constantly using speed to overcome slowness and skill to break through strength.
Eleven, like a swimming fish, darted back and forth between the gaps in the heavy swords, forcing Tie Wushuang to defend with every strike and making his offensive unsustainable with every attack.
The two fought for over a hundred moves.
Tie Wushuang's attacks became increasingly chaotic, revealing more and more openings. Chen Fan seized the opportunity and thrust his sword into Tie Wushuang's right shoulder acupoint, the tip of the sword releasing a slight burst of spiritual energy to temporarily seal the meridians in Tie Wushuang's right arm.
The heavy iron sword slipped from his hand and landed on the ground, creating a deep crater.
"Thank you for your concession."
Tie Wushuang clutched his right shoulder, his face full of resentment, but he could only admit defeat.
Chen Fan turned and walked off the stage, still pale-faced and breathing rapidly, looking as if he could collapse at any moment.
"They won again?" Someone from the Golden Sword Sect was no longer calm.
"Luck! It's all about luck! That brute Tie Wushuang was too slow to change his moves, who can he blame but himself?"
"Exactly! He definitely won't be able to hold on in the next round!"
The next round came sooner than anyone expected.
As the number of eliminated players continued to increase, the match schedule became increasingly tight. Chen Fan had only been seated for less than fifteen minutes when it was his turn again.
In the sixth round, his opponent was a late-stage Core Formation cultivator from Hundred Herbs Valley named Qin Wubing.
This man was as thin as a monkey, with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, and wielded a dark green dagger coated with deadly poison.
When he went on stage, he was all smiles. He said that Fellow Daoist Chen had fought a series of hard battles and that Qin should not have taken advantage of him. However, he showed no mercy and launched a series of killing moves, including a cloud of poisonous mist and a poisoned dagger.
Chen Fan tried his best to cope.
Eleven sword lights weaved through the poisonous mist, narrowly blocking each dagger attack. He deliberately let a wisp of poisonous mist brush past his left arm, corroding a large hole in his sleeve and exposing slightly blackened skin, which he forcefully suppressed with his spiritual power.
The disciples from the seven sects below the stage watched with shining eyes, clamoring that he was finally going to lose.
However, after 150 moves, Chen Fan struck Qin Wubing's wrist with his sword, knocking his dagger away.
Qin Wubing's face turned ashen, but he had no choice but to admit defeat.
Three wins in three battles. And they won every single one of them, with almost no rest in between.
Those voices clamoring for luck finally faded away.
The disciples of the Golden Sword Sect fell silent, their gazes fixed on the gray-blue figure in the direction of the Upper Cloud Sect with complex expressions.
The disciples of Baicao Valley and Fenglei Pavilion also fell silent. Even the usually arrogant Huangsha Sect remained silent at this moment.
A stroke of luck?
Once is luck, twice is chance, but three times?
A cultivator in the early stage of Core Formation defeated three opponents in the middle and late stages of Core Formation in succession, with almost no rest in between!
This can no longer be explained by luck.
On the high platform, the iron-crowned scholar Han Yueshan stopped tapping his fingers.
He sat up straight, his gaze falling on Chen Fan, the playfulness in his eyes now turning into genuine appreciation and a desire to win him over.
He thought to himself that this person was not only a Nascent Soul cultivator pretending to be a Core Formation cultivator, but also that his strength far exceeded that of others of the same level.
They won all three matches in a row, and each victory was perfectly timed!
It was neither so easy as to arouse suspicion, nor did it result in actual defeat. This precise control over the rhythm of the battle was something that ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators could not achieve.
Han Yueshan couldn't help but start making plans.
You should know that after the Great Competition of the Wilderness State, the disciples selected by each sect and the Nascent Soul Ancestors will all have to go with him to the Imperial City of the Great Yu Kingdom to participate in the Great Competition of the Great Yu Kingdom.
The competition between different prefectures and counties is not only about comparing disciples, but also about comparing Nascent Soul ancestor!
The most crucial factor in determining the rankings of each state is the contest at the Nascent Soul level.
Moreover, Huangzhou ranked last among the thirty-six prefectures, and Han Yueshan had always been overshadowed by other city lords in the officialdom of Dayu Kingdom.
If a capable person emerges this year, even if they don't win first place, as long as they rank a few places higher than in previous years, the imperial court's reward will be much more generous.
This Chen Mu might be the capable person.