I Was Forced To Marry The Phoenix Empress-Chapter 145: The Cry of the Defeated

Noticing Feng Ning's fiery eyes, Yi Chen answered firmly.

'Don't worry, Miss Ning, I'll keep your words in mind."

Feng Ning nodded after hearing Yi Chen's response and continued to prep herself in her mind for the difficult matches that awaited her…or so she thought.

However, what she didn't know was that Yi Chen meant exactly what he had said.

'Although I appreciate your concern, Miss Ning, I'll rather bet on myself on this one, while of course, keeping your words in my mind.'

Yi Chen thought with subtle playfulness while glancing at Feng Ning's determined expression.

He was happy to see her breaking through her earlier hesitancies, but since he was confident about defeating his opponents, he felt there was no need to let Feng Ning take such risks.

"Fifth Attempt!" The Imperial Envoy's voice echoed around the arena, and soon the matches ensued once again.

Since this was their last round, all the Feng Clan's Cultivators gave their all against their opponents, not minding about conserving their stamina and Qi even a little.

However, their spirits couldn't make up for what they currently lacked, and just like a series of cards, they began falling one after another until it was finally Yi Chen's turn.

Stretching his shoulders, he soon made his way to the arena with a confident expression on his face.

"Fight!" The Imperial Envoy gave the two opponents a green light. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Looks like we misjudged you earlier. However, don't let one victory get to your head. One victory doesn't make any difference, as you're going to be defeated by my hands now!"

The Fifth Level opponent roared and rushed towards Yi Chen using a movement technique with a spear in his hand.

However, he wasn't the only one who knew movement techniques.

Yi Chen did so as well, and that too at a much higher comprehension percentage than what the other party could dream of.

BURST!

A loud, bursting sound rang from underneath Yi Chen's feet, and the next instant, his figure shifted to the side and dodged the incoming strike.

The opponent had somewhat anticipated such a move and threw the spear straight towards Yi Chen's chest the next instant with the intention of wounding him grievously.

What he didn't anticipate was that Yi Chen would be able to dodge it in the same manner without batting an eye.

BURST!

'What?! How could it be so fast?!'

BURST!

"Looking for me?" Yi Chen's teasing voice came from behind the man, which made all his hair stand on its ends.

The man tried to gain distance in order to retaliate, but Yi Chen didn't give him a chance.

A kick aimed straight towards the man's back threw him off the stage while making him cough up several mouthfuls of blood.

"It's only right for me to be a little vicious after seeing your earlier attacks, don't you think so?" Yi Chen's words were directed towards the opponent, who was struggling on his stomach with intense pain coursing through his body.

Yi Chen's attack had broken several of his ribs, making it extremely difficult for him to breathe. The man glared towards Yi Chen hatefully. However, Yi Chen didn't care and just turned towards the Imperial Envoy.

"Fifth Attempt Failed!" The Imperial Envoy declared, seeing the results, and the previously loud arena fell silent.

However, all the cultivators from the Feng clan who came to witness the tournament today were in uproar.

"He did it!"

"Yes! YES! HE DID IT! Didn't I say so earlier? Hahaha!"

"Brother, if you were so confident, why did you bet so little money then?"

"…"

Similar exclamations and exchanges filled with joy and amazement were also going on in the Feng Clan's stands, and when Yi Chen finally made his way back, he felt several piercing gazes being directed towards him from the starry eyes of his team members.

'Although I like this feeling, if you guys keep staring at me like that, my poker face will break…'

Yi Chen thought with difficulty while maintaining a confident smile on his face.

Thankfully, Feng Ning's approach reduced the intensity of the gazes that were directed towards him.

"Brother Chen…Didn't you say that you would admit defeat and conserve your energy?" She asked without mincing her words.

Although glad, she still felt concerned towards his well-being and didn't want him to hurt himself.

"Rest assured, Miss Ning, if I find things truly difficult, I'll be the first one to accept defeat." Yi Chen promised that his intentions of battling it out until the end became clear to her.

"Yes, sister Ning! Trust Brother Chen!" Qin Yao chimed from the side with happiness and pride apparent on his face.

"Yes, Sister Ning! Brother Qin Yao's right!"

"Indeed. Look. Brother Chen hasn't even broken a sweat after two matches!"

Hearing the opinions of her team member, Feng Ning naturally relented and spoke.

"Alright," she nodded with a firm expression and continued, "…just be safe no matter what, you understand?"

"Of course," Yi Chen replied with a smile as the two of them soon sat next to each other while waiting for the next attempt to start.

The Sixth Attempt soon began, and just like before, Yi Chen's turn came up pretty quickly.

Hearing the Imperial Envoy's words, Yi Chen stood up and walked to the stage where his opponent stood in wait.

"Sixth Attempt Failed!"

.

.

.

"Seventh Attempt Failed!"

"What the hell is going on? Did we nurture these bastards to just lose this shamefully against a single Fifth Level Cultivator?!"

He Peng, who had been gleefully waiting for the Feng Clan's evident defeat while enjoying his time on the first floor, was on the verge of pulling all his hair out in frustration.

"Calm down, Young Master Peng, we still have He Fan. He's just at the brink of reaching the Sixth Level, so there's no way that man could defeat him."

His aide consoled He Peng, who was breathing heavily and was about to lose himself from both anger and stress.

"Yes…you're right…Yes, there's no way that Feng Clan could win again…yes…they must not…" He Peng repeated affirmations all in the hope of lessening the worries that had begun to invade his mind.

Meanwhile, Yi Chen, who was currently sitting beside Feng Ning, had something entirely different going on in his mind.

'Shit!'

He thought while browsing through his storage ring.

"This…this is the last one…" Yi Chen muttered with a bitter expression on his face.

"What's wrong, Brother Chen?" Feng Ning, who was sitting next to him, asked with an expression which was now filled with relief and admiration.

"It's…It's nothing," Yi Chen sighed the next moment internally and took out the last remaining pair of shoes from inside his storage ring.

'I wanted to be able to use the Bursting Fire Steps for longer, but I guess I can't now…'

Yi Chen regretted not buying more pairs from the shop earlier as he wore the last pair of shoes.

Feng Ning, who had already grown used to this sight, didn't react much and soon directed her focus back on the stage.

Meanwhile, Yi Chen was checking his remaining Qi.

[Qi Pool: 220 / 330]

'Looks like I'll have to go all the way this time,' Yi Chen thought to himself. He had been conserving his Qi all this while so that he could fully enjoy the final battle and use the Bursting Fire Steps without any restraints.

However, now that he was left with only one pair of shoes, he decided to give up on that idea. He wasn't willing to go back home barefoot.

'What if a stone pricked my delicate feet? I definitely can't let that happen,' he thought with conviction.

Therefore, he had planned to use the Myriad Fire Swords, which consumed almost all of his Qi and end the next battle immediately.

Although Yi Chen's strength was strong enough to decimate his opponent, the same couldn't be said about his defences.

Just like any other cultivator in the Meridian Refinement Stage, Yi Chen too had strong bones, but his flesh was still susceptible to damage similar to that of a normal mortal.

Therefore, he had no intention of being caught in his opponent's martial technique and ending up severely wounded.

"Fifth Match!" The envoy declared with a hint of anticipation on his face.

Yi Chen's matches so far have really impressed him, and he was looking forward to seeing what he was going to do now.

"Then, I'll be going." Yi Chen nodded towards Feng Ning and got up.

"Got it. Remember, don't push yourself," Feng Ning repeated for the nth time.

Hearing this, Yi Chen sighed in an exhausted manner but still answered, "I'll make sure not to, Miss Ning."

With these words, he soon left for the stage under the cheers and well-wishes of his team members.

'I cannot allow my opponent to attack me first…' Yi Chen thought seriously as he reached the fighting stage.

When the two opponents were on the stage, the Imperial Envoy finally gave the green signal.

The moment Yi Chen heard those words, he threw his sword like a deadly spear straight towards his opponent's face.

With his 180 units of strength, this throw was anything but ordinary and made his sword tear through the air at breakneck speed.

"!!!"

The Fifth Level opponent immediately created dozens of layers of walls, completely made out of water, in front of him.

Splash!

Splash!

.

.

Tang!

After passing through each of those walls, by the time the sword reached the opponent's attack range, it had slowed down considerably, and the man easily blocked with a swing of his sword.

'Hmph!' He snorted arrogantly after showing his abilities to Yi Chen while the crowd cheered in excitement.

However, he didn't let his mind wander for long and immediately began preparing a counterattack.

But before he could do so, he saw a sword completely made out of fire with hot red edges bolting straight towards him.

With annoyance apparent on his face, he emptied more than half his Qi reserves the next instant to bring forth another defensive wall of water. This time much denser than before.

'So, what if you got a blade made of fire? Can your fire ever win in front of my water?' He grinned sadistically, knowing clearly that his element was the direct nemesis of Yi Chen's.

However, just before meeting the wall, the sword swiftly made its way around it and launched itself straight towards the fifth-level cultivator.

"Shiit!"

The opponent exclaimed, and the very next instant shouted.

"Water Blast!"

All his innate Qi burst outwards with great intensity and completely extinguished the fire blade.

Yi Chen, who had expected his attack to work without any major issues, was a little surprised by this last attack, which he thought would have finished the match.

Not wanting his opponent to find another opportunity to counterattack, Yi Chen rushed towards him and launched an intense kick directed towards the stomach, all with the aim of pushing him out of the fighting stage.

If only Yi Chen knew that his opponent's Qi pool was all emptied and he didn't pose any threat to him…

When the opponent noticed Yi Chen's incoming attack, he panicked, knowing that all his Qi was finished. In a haphazard manner, he tried to move away from the kick's trajectory but ended up inviting a fate considered worse than death by many.

Because of his sudden movements, Yi Chen's kick, which was targeted towards his opponent's stomach, ended up striking a region much lower than his stomach.

A popping sound, as if a small bubble had been popped, was clearly heard by everyone the next instant, following which a soul-shuddering scream echoed in the entirety of the arena.

The men who just witnessed this gruesome scene couldn't help but bring their legs closer as a feeling of deep sympathy rose in their hearts.

This was especially true for Yi Chen, who couldn't help but look towards his opponent.

The man was all curled up on the floor and was tightly pressing what remained between his legs while seething in pain.

"I-I….I really didn't mean to…"

Yi Chen could only manage to word out the following words as the management staff rushed to give his opponent immediate treatment.