Chapter 538: The Fifth Place — Chen Jiuling

Chen Jiuling frowned, retreating while swinging his saber. The saber light fluttered like willow leaves, cleaving open the incoming cold mist, but the frost on the blade grew thicker and thicker, and every swing kicked up fine shards of ice.

He knew that if he dragged it out like this, he would undoubtedly be defeated.

Lu Zhen's cold energy was inexhaustible, and while his Clear Wind Body could increase his speed, it could not drive away the cold.

"If this continues, I'll lose both my dignity and my face; I must end this quickly." Chen Jiuling gritted his teeth, and the airflow beneath his feet suddenly became violent. His figure shot upward, flipping in mid-air with his robes flapping, the whole person suspended as if supported by the wind.

He held his Narrow Saber high above his head, the blade vibrating violently and emitting a sharp humming sound.

"Wind Twist." He let out a low shout and brought the Narrow Saber down.

Before the blade arrived, an invisible current of wind had already surged out, slashing toward Lu Zhen in a crescent shape.

The wind current skimmed across the deck, actually lifting all the accumulated frost along its path and rolling it into a silvery-white tornado that whistled as it lunged at Lu Zhen.

Lu Zhen's pupils constricted; she felt that this strike was completely different from the previous ones.

Chen Jiuling had poured all the True Qi of his Clear Wind Body into the blade; the edge did not carry ordinary wind, but rather air blades compressed to the extreme, possessing astonishing cutting power.

She crossed her fists in front of her, her cold energy surging out frantically to condense into a thick wall of ice before her.

The wind current slammed into the ice wall, emitting a sound like the heavens collapsing and the earth splitting. The ice wall was instantly covered in cracks, yet it did not shatter. Countless tiny ice crystals were swept up by the wind and shot out in all directions; several spectators who were too close were struck by the ice crystals, leaving small bloody gashes on their faces and hands, and they hurriedly retreated.

The aftermath of Chen Jiuling's attack had not yet dissipated; although the ice wall held, Lu Zhen's feet slid back a full zhang on the floor, leaving two white marks on the deck.

The Qi and Blood in her chest surged, a trace of blood seeped from the corner of her mouth, and she was miserably defeated.

"She held on?" Chen Jiuling's pupils constricted. This strike had almost drained seventy percent of his True Qi, yet Lu Zhen had actually blocked it head-on. The defensive power of the Cold Abyss Body far exceeded his expectations.

Lu Zhen lowered her arms, several fine cracks appearing on her knuckles, and fresh blood mixed with frost congealed on the surface of her fists, a shocking sight.

She raised her head, her gaze becoming incomparably cold and sharp, and suddenly pressed her palms together in a fierce clap.

"Cold Abyss."

The deck beneath her feet suddenly froze, the ice layer spreading frantically with her as the center, instantly covering a small half of the martial arts area.

Chen Jiuling hurriedly retreated, but the ice layer spread too quickly, and his soles were frozen the moment they touched the ice surface. His feet slipped, and his figure appeared to stall for a split second.

It was that very instant.

Lu Zhen's figure shot out, her right fist like a bolt of white lightning, aiming straight for Chen Jiuling's chest.

Where the fist wind passed, a string of ice crystals exploded in the air, the sound like the crisp cracking of ice on a deep winter day.

Chen Jiuling's pupils shrank violently; he knew he could not dodge this punch, but he did not retreat.

He actually plunged his Narrow Saber into the ice beneath his feet, the blade sinking into the ice layer, and pushed his hands forward violently. His entire body's True Qi rose like a gale, meeting Lu Zhen's fist head-on.

With a muffled thud, a visible wave of air exploded where the fist and palms met.

Lu Zhen only felt her cold energy strike into a bottomless wall of wind; her fist force was continuously dispersed, dissolved, and deflected by the airflow.

Chen Jiuling's robes were shredded to pieces by the cold energy, revealing his lean upper body, his skin covered in fine red marks as if cut by wind blades.

But Chen Jiuling held his ground.

A flash of ruthlessness crossed his eyes, and his body suddenly slid to the side like a sheet of paper against Lu Zhen's fist. His Wind Attribute Light Body Art was pushed to the limit, and he circled behind Lu Zhen like a ghost.

Lu Zhen's punch missed; her old strength was spent, and her new strength had not yet been born. Chen Jiuling pressed his fingers together and tapped lightly on the acupuncture point at the back of her neck.

This move did not have much force, but the Clear Wind True Qi on his fingertips precisely pierced into the cervical spine acupuncture point of Lu Zhen.

Lu Zhen's body went limp, her knees slightly bent, but she forced herself not to fall, suddenly turning her elbow to strike at Chen Jiuling's ribs.

This elbow strike used up her final bit of strength, the cold energy like needles, fiercely piercing into Chen Jiuling's body.

Chen Jiuling groaned in pain, his body stumbling backward, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

But Lu Zhen could not hold on either; she knelt on one knee, her hands supporting her on the ice, her shoulders heaving violently, vomiting blood, the ground stained more than half red by the blood.

Both of them had reached their limits.

Chen Jiuling stood leaning on his saber, his chest and abdomen a mass of blue and purple—the injury from Lu Zhen's final elbow strike.

He gasped violently, his gaze falling on Lu Zhen, and he said hoarsely, "Can you... still fight?"

Lu Zhen did not answer. She tried to stand up, but the moment her knees left the ground, her body swayed.

Although that "Wind Twist" strike had been blocked by the ice wall, the residual force of the air blades had long since injured her internal organs, and coupled with the final punch that exhausted her True Qi, her vision was beginning to blur.

The silence lasted for a few breaths.

Lu Zhen finally spoke, her voice light and hoarse: "I lost."

Chen Jiuling closed his eyes and let out a long breath. He cupped his fists toward Lu Zhen, the movement tugging at his rib injury, making the corner of his mouth twitch: "I concede the victory."

Lu Zhen forced herself to stand up and took out her Jade Tablet.

Her fingers were already frozen stiff, and the Jade Tablet nearly slipped from her palm. Chen Jiuling took out his own Jade Tablet and exchanged it with Lu Zhen's.

His was the Winner Jade Tablet, but as he held the fifth-place tablet in his hand, it felt as if he had received something extremely heavy.

At this moment, he also had no strength left.

Lu Zhen did not look at anyone and turned to walk toward the third floor.

Her steps were very slow and heavy, pausing with every step, clearly forcing herself not to fall in front of everyone.

Zhou Tieyi could not bear to watch and wanted to step forward to help, but was held back by Cheng Feng.

"Don't go," Cheng Feng said in a low voice.

Zhou Tieyi was puzzled: "She is badly hurt—"

"That is exactly why you cannot go." Cheng Feng's gaze followed Lu Zhen's back, "Helping her now would be more uncomfortable for her than taking another punch."

Zhou Tieyi was stunned, but ultimately withdrew his foot. He glanced in Lu Zhen's direction and sighed.

Chen Jiuling inserted the Jade Tablet into the number five Array Eye, and a pale cyan light lit up within the array.

He turned around and looked at Cheng Feng and Bai Wugou on the second-floor corridor, his voice not loud, but carrying clearly: "I shall rest for today. If there is leisure tomorrow, I will seek instruction from you both again."

He said "you both," but his gaze ultimately rested on Cheng Feng.

Cheng Feng smiled slightly and cupped his hands toward him: "I await you at any time."

Chen Jiuling nodded, turned, and walked into the number five Cultivation Room.

The moment the door closed, his body went limp, and he leaned against the back of the door, coughing violently, covering his mouth with his hand as dark red blood seeped through his fingers.

He looked up at the Jade Tablet embedded in the Array Eye and whispered to himself, "Face, for now, has been preserved."

Lu Zhen's performance had caused the arrogance in his heart to dissipate quite a bit.

At the very least, as both possess Different Bodies, it would come down to how one handled the other during a clash.

In fact, among the six-person team sent by recommendation, his strength ranked third.

It was nothing else; the Clear Wind Body also had the function of long-range attacks, with attack distance and force comparable to the Gang Qi Realm.

But he still had not been able to control his force very well.

Otherwise, what would happen if he really killed someone?

These were future fellow disciples, after all; who knew how the Immortal Sect would arrange them...

Outside the door, Cheng Feng was completely unaware of all this. He simply leaned against the railing, gazing at the setting sun about to fall into the sea of clouds on the horizon.

Having seized the initiative, he sat firmly on the fishing platform.

At the very least, he still had Bai Wugou below him.

Hahaha!!!