Chapter 54: Chapter Fifty-Six: The First Clash Between the General and the Time Princess

The Longmen Black Dragon List, carrying over the early name of Hong from the 'War God Training Camp', is a strength ranking compiled from the challenge results of all public venues in Longmen.

Unless deliberately concealed, the Black Dragon List basically represents the strength ranking of Longmen War God-level students.

Those like Cang Yue Er who have broken through to planet-level are considered to have temporarily graduated from the 'Longmen Kindergarten', and generally would not remain on the list.

The doctor who had been offline for a long time finally completed her graduation 'credits' in the month after returning to Longmen, and the position of the Black Dragon List champion, which had been held for a long time, seems finally to be relinquished.

However, only two months have passed, and everyone still doesn't know how Chu Chen managed to reach first place in such a short time.

But upon reflection, Chu Chen already possessed the strength to independently slay high-level lords when he arrived; achieving such a feat in two months seems not hard to accept.

The clearance records of the Challenge Tower, the depths in the Gravity Abyss that War Gods cannot reach, and the Martial Lecture Hall's martial discussions can yield insights even at planet-level.

Before seeing Chu Chen, no one thought he could actually accomplish anything.

After seeing Chu Chen, everyone would wonder what he couldn't do.

Jiang Jiang: ……

Isn't that too exaggerated!

Such an obvious background-board setting would never have any plot in the story!

Of course, it's not just Chu Chen; the second batch of newcomers to Longmen in the same period are also shining in their own ways.

Ji Heng followed Cang Yue Er through the entire 'graduation credits' process, achieving thirteenth place overall; if not for someone messing up the script, Ji Heng would have broken the record for the fastest rise on the list this session.

Luofeng, due to Longmen's various resources concerning Spiritual Mind Masters, ultimately exposed his identity as a Spiritual Mind Master.

Rather than constantly hiding, it's better to take advantage of Longmen's resources to quickly improve oneself.

His biggest rivals, the Li Yao couple, are both War Gods, and have been wanted by the War God Palace; the HR Alliance has lost influence in China, and the stone weighing on Luofeng's heart has eased somewhat.

After a couple of months, Luofeng's strength has also risen in a cramming fashion; his physical quality barely reaches Initial War God, while his Spiritual Mind Master strength is two levels above his body, already touching the threshold of an Advanced War God-level Spiritual Mind Master.

Furthermore, leveraging the advantage of a Spiritual Mind Master, below planet-level he may not be invincible, but at least he stands in an unbeatable position.

In the past month, Jiang Jiang has accepted over forty consecutive arena matches, currently with a record of 43:0.

Because of the challenge agreement, neither side keeps battle footage, but forty-three consecutive wins already make the point clear.

Externally, information about Jiang Jiang's strength and fighting style can only be spread through the mouths of challengers.

Some say Jiang Jiang's advantage lies in speed, achieving suppression through high-speed attacks. (Because he is developing a new battle method)

Others say Jiang Jiang's strength is not that great; if you block his first strike, the next chance is a counter-kill. (Those who say this are all instantly killed by the Single Heart Flow, and they make up the vast majority)

Still others say Jiang Jiang's attack pattern is flexible and versatile, balancing offense and defense. (There's no desire to see Jiang Jiang go all out)

While accepting challenges daily, Jiang Jiang does not waste a single moment of training time; his current Black Dragon List ranking is 27th.

Although it appears far inferior to Ji Heng's, the loss mainly comes from points dropped in things like setting up martial lectures; placed in any previous session, this would still be competitive for the fastest climb on the list.

And today, Jiang Jiang's final opponent is likewise a newcomer of this session, yet the strongest person he has had to face over the past month or so, and also the one Jiang Jiang deliberately scheduled last.

Ji Heng, currently thirteenth on the Black Dragon List.

Naturally, there is a reason for placing Ji Heng last.

Ji Heng is an outstanding figure among Chu Chen's new pursuers; although this guy has been coming and going for two months without ever crossing swords with Chu Chen, Jiang Jiang understands all too well the habit of a love‑cheating cat (according to the TV drama); this is merely the other party feigning indifference to lower their guard.

But she surely never imagined that Chu Chen wouldn't fall for this at all.

Against such an opponent, one naturally must devote twelve‑percent spirit; losing to others is no matter, but losing to a love rival is absolutely unacceptable.

Unlike Jiang Jiang, who dislikes making his battle footage public, Ji Heng has left several battle records in the arena, and Jiang Jiang has snatched moments to watch each of them repeatedly.

After Jiang Jiang's careful study, his own chance of a sure win is no more than fifty percent, not even reaching fifty percent.

Some unnamed celebrity once said, 'If Ji Heng can't even pass this stage, what will she use to face Chu Chen's fiancée!'

So Jiang Jiang has been painstakingly practicing Dual Heart Flow combat for this month, all in preparation for today!

……

Turning to Ji Heng's side, Jiang Jiang arranging himself last is completely within Ji Heng's expectations.

Since the day of the newcomer assessment, Ji Heng has been quite concerned about this girl named Jiang Jiang.

First, Ji Heng has never given up the idea of becoming the future 'Earth Lady', but because the top priority now is to raise strength and the schedule is tight, she hasn't had a chance to get closer to Chu Chen.

Called the Time Princess, Ji Heng possesses the most pathological time‑management drive on Earth, and precise time scheduling has become second nature to her.

In the time Ji Heng has planned out, not only do others not see Ji Heng, but Ji Heng herself also does not see anyone outside her planned schedule.

That is why Ji Heng has not launched any further offensives against Chu Chen after the newcomer assessment and banquet.

The only viable strategy is to challenge Jiang Jiang. The dueling arena is also part of the daily schedule, and facing Jiang Jiang also gives Ji Heng a rare opportunity to test herself.

Among this session's newcomers to Longmen, only Jiang Jiang is suitable as an opponent.

Among the current top five in overall strength, it has been confirmed that two are Spiritual Mind Masters: one is Luofeng, and the other is Diwak from India.

Ji Heng is not completely lacking confidence in facing Spiritual Mind Masters, but before planet‑level, having to contend with Spiritual Mind Masters like Luofeng and Diwak holds little meaning for her.

As for Chu Chen, all that can be said is that he is temporarily beyond Ji Heng's comprehension.

Only Jiang Jiang is a pure martial artist, with strength comparable to hers; moreover, her weapons and fighting style are virtually unmatched elsewhere in Longmen.

Fighting different martial artists often supplements her more efficiently than battling monsters, which is likely why she accepts a challenge each day in her routine.

From this perspective, Ji Heng likes Jiang Jiang, for she not only possesses outstanding talent but also exudes a sense of effort.

In Longmen, many people work hard, after all, merely having talent is not enough to get here.

But if one truly pushes oneself to the limit, aside from herself, only this girl named Jiang Jiang does so.

Even if Ji Heng and Jiang Jiang have little contact, that attitude of grasping every second, every breath, is something she knows all too well.

From this point of view, Jiang Jiang is a remarkably rare and respectable opponent.

In the Life‑and‑death Arena, the two arrived almost simultaneously, exchanged a glance at the gate without a word, and entered together.

In the Semi‑simulated Environment, Chu Chen must use the Spiritual Link to assist in achieving it, because his strength is still limited, the area he can cover is small, and only the Challenge Tower and the Life‑and‑death Arena serve as experiments.

Unlike the Challenge Tower, in the arena the virtual synchrony created by the Spiritual Link must link the two combatants; this difficulty surpasses even the construction of the Challenge Tower itself, and it remains merely a field Chu Chen is exploring.

Heartnet, spiritual link, life cycle—these are all great treasures mastered by Chén Chén, each a "golden finger" after reincarnation, and also the greatest reliance for dealing with dangerous starry skies after passing the "newbie period".

Inside the arena, Jī Héng and Jiāng Jiāng were both ready.

In Jī Héng's eyes, this was a battle of mutual respect between opponents, whether as romantic rivals or martial artists.

The judgment was not accurate.

In Jiāng Jiāng's eyes, this was a fight to protect spousal rights, the most primal battle for living beings, and also an opportunity to test her strength after entering Dragon Gate.

To some extent, the judgment was quite accurate.

In the spectators' eyes……

Normally, because of Jiāng Jiāng's challenged-rights demand, there would be no spectator seats, but any fight in the arena would naturally not escape Chén Chén's notice.

Chén Chén certainly didn't come here to watch women fight; this man wasn't that bored—it just happened to be the day for observing and simulating a "semi-virtual" construct.

In the simulation space, scenes could be freely swapped, but because Jiāng Jiāng had placed the challenge permission under confidentiality regarding battle content, the battlefield location became completely random.

The "random" venue selected for them was quite classic: an octagonal cage on the platform.

"Beep, both sides ready, life-and-death match—begin."

Ji Heng had only just caught a glimpse of Jiāng Jiāng when her blade's radiance obscured Jiāng Jiāng's figure.

Hearing the sound of the blade slicing the air, it was like a fish swimming in water—not lacking strength, but the gap cut in the airflow by the blade's edge hid all its power.

Was it an attack that breaks surface by point, just like mine?

Ji Heng instantly understood why so many people couldn't block even a single move from Jiāng Jiāng, and why so many thought that if they could block this strike, they'd have a chance to defeat her.

An offensive style that abandons all defense, with speed, strength, and precision pushed to the extreme—even I could be instantly killed by that move.

Just the first strike head-on would force me to reveal my trump card.

The sharp sword aura tore the air, exploding with a sound; this sound was not Jiāng Jiāng's power bursting forth, but another force from the collision of the sword tips.

Blocked.

Most people thought that if they could block Jiāng Jiāng's strike, the subsequent response would shift from difficult to easy; although Ji Heng had little contact with Jiāng Jiāng, she also held her in high regard as much as possible.

But no matter how highly she was regarded, it still wasn't enough.

In attack mode, the better Jiāng Jiāng's opponent defended, the faster her next strike would come; derived from the Bloodstrike attack style, after the One Heart Flow's first strike was blocked, the other sword switching from defense to attack would gain the perfect offensive opportunity.

And this sword was already aimed at Ji Heng's neck.

In the flash of lightning and flint, Ji Heng's spear thrust halfway; the black metal spear shaft dared not meet Jiāng Jiāng's blade tip, instead attacking her arm.

Trade death for injury.

The two figures crossed; Ji Heng did not die, and a sweep of her spear butt was easily caught by Jiāng Jiāng.

The two figures separated again; Ji Heng's combat uniform at the neck had been cleanly cut, three centimeters below, blood slowly seeped out, and the neck inside had been sliced by a wound over one centimeter long—not yet fatal for Ji Heng.

But without the combat uniform's protection, if the next strike had a chance to hit that spot, I would surely die.

Time was pressing; once Jiāng Jiāng launched another wave of offense, my defeat would be certain.

However, Jiāng Jiāng's side was not as urgent as Ji Heng's.

Although in the semi-virtual battle, trading injury for life is absolutely a profitable deal, that is not a fighting style Jiāng Jiāng would choose.

Pursuing a kill when victory isn't certain is a gamble, trading one's own injury for a chance to slay the opponent; but if it's merely an opportunity, a peak-condition Jiāng Jiāng would never take that gamble.

And in the current situation, the one who should be anxious is not me.

To stop me from launching the next attack, the opponent must be faster than me—even exposing more flaws doesn't matter.

Betting death for life, just as Ji Heng did when blocking the second strike, forcing Jiāng Jiāng to gamble with her.

This is the "flaw" Ji Heng seized, and also her only chance to win.

A mere two-meter spear isn't long, the octagonal cage platform isn't large either, a hint of cold light—this speed seems even faster than Jiāng Jiāng's earlier attack.

Ji Heng's steps weren't fast; an ordinary eye could still see a bit of movement, but after just two steps, her spear tip was already before Jiāng Jiāng's eyes.

Jiāng Jiāng couldn't feel the spear tip's force, yet she felt this move made her heartbeat speed up by multiples.

Cannot meet head-on—

Many attacks aren't dodged because even upon reaching War God Stage, the speed and power a body can exert while evading are far inferior to an incoming attack of the same stage.

While sidestepping and raising a short sword, the sword aura was about to merge with that "slow" spear tip when a sudden boom erupted—the spear tip half an inch suddenly burst forth with speed and power many times greater than when the spear was swung.

Fortunately, Jiāng Jiāng never took it lightly; the forward force was deflected a bit, and the wind from the spear tip piercing through happened to cut off several of her black hairs.

Ji Heng's spear isn't fast, but if it were merely dodged, yet if "caught up," one would have to meet head-on her inch-long spear strike; Jiāng Jiāng felt that no War God could block that strike head-on.

Formula alternation.

And this is the gamble Ji Heng wants to wage.

If Jiāng Jiāng refuses to gamble, the two will have to return to the same starting line.

Jiāng Jiāng must break through the spear's blockade with her body to reach the distance, then touch the "weak point" she just left.

Outside the arena, many also paid attention to this battle.

Besides the ordinary win/loss relation and the opponents' wagers, the life-and-death arena battle also concerns one thing: the ranking on the Black Dragon List.

As long as one cares to know, one will realize that the Black Dragon Ranking, besides displaying strength in Dragon Gate, has another function.

That is, it is a training ground outside public venues, and also a place that requires spending Dragon Gate Contribution Points to cultivate.

And the way to obtain Dragon Gate Contribution is fixed: one must slay monsters of Lord-level or higher to gain it.

And the Black Dragon Ranking's placement relates to the extra contribution earned when slaying monsters—the higher the rank, the greater the multiplier of that extra contribution.

For example, the current top-ranked Chén Chén can earn two thousand Dragon Gate Contribution Points from slaying a high Lord-level monster, whereas an ordinary person would gain only one thousand.

A one-hundred-percent bonus is the benefit of being at the top of the Black Dragon List.

It doesn't sound like much, but once one truly experiences the consumption of Contribution Points, when they see others pulling ahead, everyone will know how precious they are.

So far, among newcomers, the only one who has gotten ahead is the one who, by following Cang Yue Er to grind tasks, early used Contribution Points to experience Dragon Gate's paid items—and that is only Ji Heng.

Not only does Jiāng Jiāng greatly value this duel, but Ji Heng has also made preparations……

Although opinions about Jiāng Jiāng's strength and fighting style vary, one thing is certain: she wields two short swords.

Although even I haven't really come into contact with such martial artists, but when it comes to dealing with short weapons, I recommend you go comprehend the artistic conception of water.

These were the original words left by Cang Yue Er before her departure, and Jī Héng indeed did exactly that.

Time returned to the present arena.

The battle between Jī Héng and Jiāng Jiāng gradually entered a white-hot state; in their mutual attacks, Jī Héng gained no advantage, while Jiāng Jiāng also did not advance even a bit.

If it were before entering Dragon Gate Enlightenment, even if Jī Héng had withstood that killing move just now, afterward it would merely be the dying struggle of trash time.

Jiāng Jiāng's attack is very strong, strong enough that many war gods skilled in defense are still instantly killed by a single move; although Jī Héng is confident, she still lacks confidence to achieve that.

In mutual attacks, Jī Héng herself believes she cannot win.

Jiāng Jiāng's speed is very fast, so fast that many opponents don't even have time to react to her attack before dying under her sword.

Can I win in a speed contest?

Jī Héng likewise lacks confidence.

To win, there is only defense; hold the domain controlled by the long spear, and you can neutralize Jiāng Jiāng's offense.

Integrate the comprehension from the artistic conception of water into the spear technique created by Jī Héng herself; this is the second form of the spear technique she created.

Soft Water.

Although the offense and defense of both sides have not yet switched, the initiative has already returned to my own hands.

That is to say, the opponent missed that just‑now life‑or‑death plan against me, so she no longer has a chance to execute that strike again.

Jī Héng's spear is only two meters long, but combined with her body technique and speed, the entire octagonal arena can be brought under control.

Although the cramped space seems to eliminate any chance of escaping battle, at this moment, using this 'formation', the narrow space is just right for me to employ; the one who should be anxious is not Jī Héng.

Next, I only need to find a counterattack opening within the opponent's ever more urgent attack rhythm.

Jī Héng can clearly feel that the opponent's attack rhythm is continually speeding up, attempting to break through her defense with rapid attacks.

Then……

At this moment, in the instant of exchanging moves, Jī Héng clearly sees Jiāng Jiāng's face, clearly sees Jiāng Jiāng's expression, her expression seems to be saying:

"I know, your next words are."

"Next, I only need to find the …… opening within it."

However, you no longer have an opportunity.

After regaining consciousness, it is exactly the same as that first strike at the beginning.

Drip, drip.

That is the sound of my own blood hitting the ground.

This is the first time in Jī Héng's life that she has lost to someone in a direct confrontation.

As Jī Héng thought, narrow terrain would indeed be advantageous for Jiāng Jiāng under normal circumstances, but because Jī Héng has comprehended her second spear form, she has successfully reversed the advantage.

However, Jī Héng misunderstood one thing: she mistook Jiāng Jiāng as having a personality that does not dare to take risks.

Or rather, the reason the first strike was abandoned was to lay the groundwork for this misconception, which itself is part of Jiāng Jiāng's plan.

To survive while sacrificing something—this is the ultimate test for a survival master; Jiāng Jiāng simply does not want to wager victory on uncertainty.

With consciousness turning, Jī Héng has already collapsed to the ground; although Jiāng Jiāng also suffered injury in the half‑virtual arena constructed by Chén Chén, in reality feedback only her left shoulder is temporarily unable to move.

"You're really strong."

Jī Héng's consciousness is still quite clear.

"Of course."

However, it's still not enough.

In order to secure a steady win, Jiāng Jiāng secretly did something outside the plan: she used mental power to interfere with Jī Héng's judgment at the critical moment, although only for that instant.

Because for Jiāng Jiāng, there are also some things more important than life.

Just as Jī Héng was developing a feeling of mutual admiration and sympathy toward Jiāng Jiāng, Jiāng Jiāng then spoke again.

"How about you be my concubine?"

Jī Héng: ……

Huh?

Perhaps she hadn't reacted in time, Jī Héng remained silent for a long while.

"Next time, don't lose to me."