Roadmap to the Boundless Sky-Chapter 158Book 3, : Cutting Through His Refined Force And Killing Him
When Chen Chuan swung his saber down, he felt as if he had cut into something tough and solid.
As he stared at the scales, he narrowed his eyes.
He had read up on the Secret Python Cult’s refined force before. Once mastered, the Arcane Snake Force could make the martial artist’s mutated tissue appear as solid scales on his skin. This made it difficult for any bladed weapon to cut through it.
But it was clear that Xu Xianwen hadn’t mastered the refined force. Otherwise, Chen Chuan wouldn’t have been able to injure him in the first place. Still, he had used some sort of method to get the invulnerable effect.
Chen Chuan was right. Xu Xianwen had activated the medicine stored in his body and the ritual that he had drawn on his body. This allowed him to push his level of mastery of the refined force to another level. At that moment, he didn’t need to be scared of any bladed weapons, courtesy of the sturdy scales.
After parrying Chen Chuan’s slash, Xu Xianwen negated the refined force coming at him and crossed his arms in an attempt to seize the saber.
After all, even if he could block the slashes, the saber’s length made it so that Chen Chuan was the only one who could hit his target. Chen Chuan himself was out of reach, which put Xu Xianwen in a defensive position. That was why he had to immediately seize the weapon.
But Chen Chuan wasn’t going to let him do it. He quickly pulled his saber back and swung it again.
Xu Xianwen didn’t give up. With a savage look, he put himself in the saber’s range. Every time he parried Chen Chuan’s attack, his muscles trembled and knocked the saber away.
Just then, Chen Chuan noticed that there was something different about Xu Xianwen’s refined force. Every time he swung his saber at the muscles, it slid off, making it hard for Chen Chuan to deliver the full force of his attack.
Xu Xianwen even sent a jolt right back at him. If Chen Chuan didn’t use his second self to absorb it, he wouldn’t have been able to chain his attacks and would have been forced to readjust his stance after every attack.
Xu Xianwen was searching for a chance to close in. His arms moved like snakes, and he spread them apart to look for an opening so that he could engage Chen Chuan in close quarters combat.
After exchanging a few blows, Chen Chuan found that Xu Xianwen had indeed become a much tougher foe after his refined force became stronger. But there was one thing to his advantage: Xu Xianwen no longer had a weapon, and he had to close in to be a proper threat to Chen Chuan. So, Chen Chuan immediately adjusted his strategy.
He started moving faster and increased his movement area. Whenever he widened the distance between them, he made use of his momentum to swing the saber and deliver a series of slashes.
Because of it, Xu Xianwen remained in a defensive position.
Even though his refined force had become stronger, Xu Xianwen wasn’t able to become faster than Chen Chuan. Because of this, even though he had done his best to close in, he was caught in an awkward position where he couldn’t land any hits.
Every time, Chen Chuan used his incredible speed to make his slashes powerful and heavy. Even though Xu Xianwen could block them, the slashes forced him back or sideways.
The powerful attacks made Xu Xianwen unable to attack effectively, and he had to give up on closing in on Chen Chuan. Instead, he moved about quickly and dodged the attacks while searching for an opening.
The two kept going after each other around the lake. They were like magnets attracting each other. Whenever they broke apart, they would swiftly get close again. With each clash, a loud bang was heard, shocking the birds into flight. The ground under their feet exploded when they stomped down, and pits formed in the area where they fought.
The exchange of blows lasted for around six minutes, after which Xu Xianwen started finding it hard to continue. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺
While his scales could block normal slashes, parrying Chen Chuan’s saber with his bare hands put him at a great disadvantage. Every time he blocked an attack, he was forced to spend extra stamina and refined force to negate it.
Another moment passed, and the intense excitement that came from the drastic power-up of his mutated tissue faded away, and his mind started calming down.
Even if he had gained a boost in refined force, he couldn’t make up for the weakness of not having a weapon. This space was also not good for him to bring out his full power. Instead, it was beneficial for Chen Chuan.
Hence, after blocking another slash, he used the power from the clash to move back before turning around and running away again. This time, he headed straight for the lake.
But Chen Chuan wasn’t going to let him escape so easily. With a flick of his saber, he ran after Xu Xianwen.
They weren’t that far from the lake to begin with, so after a few breaths, they reached it. This time, neither of them stopped. Instead, they ran forward and across the lake, as if the surface of the water was solid ground. Still, two splashes exploded behind them, and the waves expanded far outward.
After about five kilometers, Xu Xianwen started looking around, as if searching for something. His backup plan was the underground rivers under Blue Reed Lake. If he could get to them, no one would be able to find him.
So, he turned around and gave Chen Chuan a grin. Then, he plunged into the water and disappeared.
Chen Chuan wasn’t going to let him run away that easily. He yanked off his drenched jacket and jumped into the water too. Then, he switched to internal breathing, and with a push of his arms and legs, he went after Xu Xianwen. A ripple was left behind in his wake.
Xu Xianwen noticed that Chen Chuan was chasing after him. In the beginning, he didn’t pay him much attention. As a former member of the Secret Python Cult, he was a great swimmer, but after several kilometers, he noticed to his shock that Chen Chuan was getting closer, just like he had done on the surface.
Ruthlessness appeared in his eyes. While moving quickly, he turned around and swam to Chen Chuan’s left. With the help of the momentum, he threw a punch at him.
Xu Xianwen wasn’t just able to move for long periods of time underwater. His refined force also became stronger in water.
Chen Chuan didn’t avoid the punch. He grabbed the saber with his left hand, clenched his right fist, used the momentum to turn to the side, and threw a punch right back.
Their fists clashed.
Just like when Gao Qiu of the wilderness faction fought against Lu Shiqi of the implant faction, two incredibly destructive forces blasted through the fighters, and they were both forced to bear it.
Xu Xianwen’s muscles and scales pulsed. Ripples spread out around him. Meanwhile, Chen Chuan’s second self blurred out. A shockwave of water blasted outward from where their fists clashed.
The force pushed them apart. Then, at the same time, they kicked their legs outward. With a spin along the swirling current, they drew close again and crashed into each other once more with a powerful force.
The impact this time was greater than the last. The tremor that spread out killed the small aquatic creatures around them.
But neither Chen Chuan nor Xu Xianwen stopped. They continued charging forward and clashing fists repeatedly. Every single time, they concentrated all their refined force on one point and attacked each other with all they had.
The fight inevitably turned into a battle of attrition and a contest of determination and endurance.
Chen Chuan was faster, so no matter what, he was going to catch up to Xu Xianwen. There was no way to escape without first getting rid of him.
This offense was also Xu Xianwen’s greatest display of strength. No matter what, he had to persevere.
Chen Chuan had no reason to retreat either. He had his second self to absorb damage, so he wasn’t going to get hurt. He could absolutely humor Xu Xianwen in this sort of fight.
After exchanging more than ten blows with Chen Chuan, Xu Xianwen’s mutated tissue started getting tired, and he couldn’t activate it as well. Fighting at full power drained his stamina too much.
The ritual’s effects were also fading away, and he could feel the boost to his refined force disappear. But since they had set the rhythm of the fight, Xu Xianwen felt like he could no longer stop.
More damningly, he couldn’t come up with a better plan. He could only grit his teeth and persevere, hoping that Chen Chuan would lose in this battle of endurance first.
He kept drawing out blood essence from his heart to replenish his drained stamina and refined force for his attacks.
The exchange of blows continued. Then, when their fists clashed again, Xu Xianwen felt an emptiness in his body when he generated refined force. His bones cracked and shattered, and the damage extended throughout his body. The scales on his skin blasted apart, and blood gushed out.
This time, he didn’t move back again. While bracing for the impact, his face twisted in savagery as he closed in on Chen Chuan.
If he could just draw closer, he could use the grappling technique that complemented the Arcane Snake Force and turn things around.
When Chen Chuan saw him get closer, his eyes glinted. He didn’t move back, but used the impact to spin around. Then, the Frost King Saber swung forward like a whip.
Since he had generated refined force from his entire body for this attack, a shockwave appeared where the saber cut.
The sight shocked Xu Xianwen, and he moved back in a hurry, but it still cut into him. More blood gushed out and flowed away with the current. The cut ran all the way through his chest, and his shoulders were almost separated from his body.
This attack ruined all chances of Xu Xianwen turning the tide.
But he knew that he had no hope of escaping, so he didn’t run. Instead, as the saber moved past him, he continued forward to seize the slim chance of survival. Yet, the moment he moved, Chen Chuan slammed a fist into his face, and Xu Xianwen saw stars. Strength seeped out from his body.
As his consciousness faded away, he felt a hand on his head, and his instincts screamed at him of danger. He immediately generated refined force to shove the hand away.
Chen Chuan clipped the Frost King Saber to his belt buckle and grabbed Xu Xianwen by the hair. With his other hand, he drew his short saber and stabbed it into Xu Xianwen’s throat. The saber pierced right through his skin.
Xu Xianwen’s eyes went wide open. A burst of energy filled his body, and he grabbed Chen Chuan’s arm to fight back.
But while Chen Chuan had removed his jacket, he still had his protective gear on, and the rituals inside immediately started absorbing Xu Xianwen’s vitality and blood.
Xu Xianwen’s arm went limp almost the same instant.
With a swing of his arm, Chen Chuan broke free of Xu Xianwen’s grasp. Then, he grabbed Xu Xianwen’s hair again and pulled the short saber out before swinging it past his neck. When he pulled Xu Xianwen’s hair up, he removed his head from his body. The headless corpse finally stopped moving and floated in the water.
