Chapter 170: Silence is the Martial Arts Arena Tonight (Thanks to Alliance Leader

Chen Shu stood in the designated position, staring at Senior Brother Ji opposite him, calculating silently in his heart.

Senior Brother Ji had also only recently advanced to the Fifth Stage, so he should only be at the early Fifth Stage, at most the mid Fifth Stage. But even if he were only at the early Fifth Stage, the overall capability of his Spirit Sea was still not something a "noob" like himself, at the mid-to-late Fourth Stage, could compare to.

However, the Spirit Sea cannot be directly equated to combat power.

This has been the case since ancient times.

In ancient times, due to the monopoly on knowledge, a Fifth Stage cultivator from an ordinary sect might not necessarily be able to beat a Fourth Stage cultivator from a top-tier sect. Or, a young genius who spent almost all their time and energy on cultivation might not necessarily win or lose against a Fourth Stage veteran who had been struggling and climbing for decades.

It is a different situation in modern times.

Many Modern Cultivators do not spend much energy on "personal combat power."

Chen Shu had learned a bit about Senior Brother Ji over the past few days.

Although this senior brother was a disciple of the Spirit Sect and came from a top-tier sect, and possessed high talent, he was passionate about spell development, especially fond of developing some strange but useful spells, and had even registered many spell patents and won many awards.

Chen Shu had already "freeloaded" several such spells from Senior Brother Ji over the past few days.

For example, the Untying Technique specifically for solving "the dead knot in the takeout bag," the Ultrasonic Teeth Cleaning Technique to prevent dental calculus, and the Bathing Scrubbing Technique.

According to Senior Brother Ji, he was also recently researching a Seawater Purification Technique that could separate pure water from seawater using only spells, as well as a Seawater Salt Extraction Technique that could extract salt directly from seawater, to fill the gap where there was only equipment for this type of thing but no such spells.

These spells sounded easy, and their functions were simple, but in terms of Spell Principles, they were truly not easy.

Development is difficult.

The spells are also complex, and they are difficult to learn.

Therefore, not many people go to develop such spells, and after they are developed, not many people are willing to take the trouble to learn them.

Only Chen Shu was full of anticipation for this.

In short, this senior brother did not spend all his energy on offensive spells.

Just as Qingqing also said—

He is someone he can beat.

Chen Shu felt a bit complicated inside.

Sorry, Senior Brother Ji, although you gave me several spells, and although you treated me to a late-night seafood snack, that is Qingqing's black silk after all... You know, no one can resist the temptation of Qingqing's black silk.

Chen Shu couldn't help but glance at Qingqing outside the arena.

……

Ji Guanhe was also quietly glancing outside the arena.

The Martial Arts Arena was circular and sunken, surrounded by a circle of tiered spectator seats. The first row was occupied by teachers and leaders from various schools, as well as deacons, elders, and so on from the Sword Sect, Spirit Sect, Daoist, and Buddhist Sect. Ji Guanhe saw several familiar sect deacons and an elder sitting below.

Clearly, they were here to watch him.

He had to perform well.

Ji Guanhe thought to himself.

His luck in this round was already good enough; if he had unfortunately drawn to be on the same stage as those few, he would definitely have been beaten very badly. Fortunately, he drew Junior Brother Chen. Although Junior Brother Chen's strength was also very strong and could be called a peerless genius, he was only at the Fourth Stage after all. A Fifth Stage fighting a Fourth Stage should not be much of a problem.

After finishing this round, he would definitely face one of those few later, and he clearly couldn't beat them, so this was his only chance to perform.

At the same time, after finishing this round, he would directly enter the top three, which would sound better when talked about.

Although entering the top three this way was a bit dishonorable, not everyone would know the inside story; more people would only know that he was in the top three. If one had to blame someone, one could only blame the school leaders for setting up a competition format that was too careless and too crude; it couldn't be blamed on him.

Sorry, Junior Brother Chen.

He had originally intended to hold back a little and let him lose more gracefully, but now he could only go all out.

It was just that he was usually passionate about developing those practical little spells, which made the elders and deacons very unhappy. If they came to watch him today and he had a very hard time fighting a Fourth Stage, he would definitely be scolded badly.

Ji Guanhe looked at Junior Brother Chen.

Huh? What is this look in Junior Brother Chen's eyes?

"Both contestants, prepare!"

Ji Guanhe couldn't care about that much anymore; he activated his Protective Divine Light, his Spirit Power surged within his body, and he locked onto Junior Brother Chen in front of him.

"Clang!"

The sound of the gong rang out.

Ji Guanhe waved one hand.

A streak of red light shot forward instantly.

This was the Tracer Technique used by the Yiguo military, which Ji Guanhe had specifically learned last month for the Martial Body competition; its power was far superior to common Tracer Techniques. It was just that the Tracer Technique used by Junior Brother Chen also seemed very strong; he should be able to experience it personally in a moment.

Almost at the same time, formless Spirit Power from the opponent also struck over, with extreme speed.

It was also a Tracer Technique.

Relying on a Fifth Stage Spirit Cultivator's powerful sensing of Spirit Power, Ji Guanhe frowned, feeling that something was wrong.

These few Tracer Techniques were very weak in power.

They were clearly weaker than the level Junior Brother Chen had shown during training before.

"Boom!!"

The two Tracer Techniques actually collided precisely.

A violent explosion sound.

Ji Guanhe suddenly realized and understood Junior Brother Chen's intention—

The disadvantage of the Tracer Technique is that its structure is unstable and it is easily detonated in advance, so Junior Brother Chen used a very weak Tracer Technique to block this Tracer Technique he had fired with almost full force. Such precise interception, very few people could do it, right?

But if you can block one, can you block ten?

Even the military's interception system isn't that effective, right?

Across half the Martial Arts Arena, Ji Guanhe saw the intense focus on Junior Brother Chen's face, and without hesitation, he began to attack with full force.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

More than a dozen crimson lights tore through the sky, firing almost simultaneously.

The distance of over a hundred meters was crossed in an instant.

Junior Brother Chen Shu struck at almost the same moment.

"Poof!"

A powerful shockwave slammed toward him from Junior Brother Chen Shu's direction; in the middle were streaks of red light dragging long tails. In just an instant, over a dozen streaks of red light collided with the high-speed shockwave, and just like hitting a wall, they exploded one after another, and in the violent explosions, the red light behind was also detonated.

"Rumble..."

The sound of the explosions was like thunder, deafening.

For a moment, dust and sand rose up on the Arena.

"Hm?"

Ji Guanhe was stunned for a moment again.

In the time it took to be stunned, invisible Spirit Power passed through the dust-filled air and struck toward him.

Ji Guanhe became alert immediately.

Fortunately, he was a Fifth-tier Practitioner; if it were someone of the same rank, under such carelessness, the outcome would likely have already been decided.

Isn't it just an Impact Technique?

I can do it too!

Ji Guanhe followed suit and pushed out a palm.

"Bang!"

The shockwave shattered the incoming Tracer Technique.

However, this Tracer Technique seemed even more powerful than he had imagined, and was not even weaker than his own Tracer Technique; no wonder Teacher Xu said that although Junior Brother Chen Shu's level had not reached the Fifth Stage, he had already surpassed all Fourth Stage practitioners in the world.

And this Tracer Technique was also very excellent.

Ji Guanhe instantly thought of the Tracer Technique of Lan Country.

Only the Tracer Technique of Lan Country was this powerful.

However, the drawback of the Lan Country Tracer Technique was that it consumed a lot of Spirit Power; Junior Brother Chen Shu was only at the Fourth Stage Spirit Sea after all, so if this continued, he likely wouldn't be able to hold on for long.

The dust settled!

Ji Guanhe snapped his fingers.

The dust and sand raised in the Martial Arts Arena fell instantly, and the view became clear at once.

Ji Guanhe suddenly discovered that Junior Brother Chen Shu was already much closer to him.

When two Spirit Cultivators bombard each other, although distance is not that important, for the weaker one to take the initiative to close the distance to the stronger one, what kind of maneuver is this?

Another streak of invisible Spirit Power struck.

"Bang!"

The shockwave once again shattered the Tracer Technique, and at the same time, the powerful force of the Tracer Technique's explosion shattered the shockwave.

Both sides almost canceled each other out.

Dust and sand were kicked up again.

Ji Guanhe felt the Spirit Power fluctuations in front of him again; they were still invisible, but no longer concentrated like the Tracer Technique, but scattered instead. This instantly reminded him of Junior Brother Chen Shu's Sword Light Technique, but he was not a Martial Cultivator and lacked Spiritual Sense, so he did not know how this Sword Light Technique would strike.

In a panic, he quickly attacked forward.

Spirit Power was consumed rapidly.

The Thousand Machine Art was pushed almost to its limit, and shockwaves and other Spells were fired off continuously.

But it wasn't until he heard the sound of air being pierced that Ji Guanhe reacted; Junior Brother Chen Shu had actually changed direction in that split second, and these Sword Lights were no longer shooting from his front, but from the side.

Fortunately, he had set up a Defense Barrier.

Generally, a Fourth Stage attack is very difficult to break a Fifth Stage Defense Barrier, not to mention that his Defense Barrier spell was obtained from the sect and had excellent performance.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

The air vibrated, continuing to emit sounds.

Ji Guanhe discovered with surprise that these Sword Lights were not only exceptionally sharp and solid, but they also possessed extremely strong penetrating power, quickly shattering the Defense Barrier.

"Spirit Wonder Golden Body!"

Golden light erupted from Ji Guanhe's entire body.

"Ding, ding..."

The remaining Sword Qi struck his body; some were blocked by the Protective Divine Light, while others penetrated the Protective Divine Light and clanged against his body.

By the time the Sword Qi dissipated, his clothes were already shredded, and he looked somewhat disheveled.

Ji Guanhe's brows furrowed tightly.

At this moment, he suddenly realized that it would likely not be so easy for him to win, at least not a victory as beautiful as he had previously imagined—Junior Brother Chen Shu's talent was truly somewhat outrageous, and he himself was far less skilled at combat than him.

Perhaps he would have to win using another, more embarrassing method.

Ji Guanhe glanced quickly off the stage.

Teacher Shi Qian, the academy leaders, and the elders and deacons of the Spirit Sect were watching the stage intently, and two deacons were even huddled together whispering.

"Emmm..."

He was indeed a bit too disheveled.

Ji Guanhe couldn't even stand to look at himself, so he began to counterattack without hesitation.

This time, he adjusted the interval of the Tracer Technique.

Firing them one by one, let's see how you block them.

"Whoosh!"

A streak of red light flashed across the air.

Immediately following it was another.

It should hit his outer Defense Barrier, right? It should be able to break the barrier, right?

Just as this thought rose in Ji Guanhe's mind, he saw these few streaks of red light fly past unimpeded; at the very instant he began to worry for Junior Brother Chen, he saw the red light swiftly brush past Junior Brother Chen and smash into the Defense Barrier at the edge of the Martial Arts Arena.

This all likely took only a fraction of a second.

"Boom!"

A huge explosion sounded.

Only then did Ji Guanhe react.

Junior Brother Chen had actually dropped his Defense Barrier, relying solely on his movement technique, like a Martial Artist, to dodge this Tracer Technique.

Several more streaks of red light arrived in succession.

Junior Brother Chen dodged and weaved, actually dodging them with ease.

The only one he didn't dodge was intercepted by him using an Impact Technique.

"This..."

Is this guy really a Spirit Cultivator!?

Ji Guanhe was somewhat stunned, but immediately reacted, adjusted his strategy again, and pushed out both palms.

"True Fire!"

"Bang!"

Crimson flames sprayed out.

This time, Junior Brother Chen finally activated his outer Defense Barrier; amidst a hissing sound, the True Fire outlined the contours of the barrier, but unfortunately, the Spirit Sect's modern improved version of the True Fire Technique not only carried high heat but also possessed extremely strong destructive power against any form of spirit power structure.

The Defense Barrier shattered.

It was propped up again instantly.

It shattered once more.

And was propped up again.

Junior Brother Chen's speed at releasing Spells seemed exceptionally fast.

The spirit power of both sides was being consumed rapidly.

Not until countless Sword Light flew out from within the flames did Ji Guanhe stop his attack, switching from full-force offense to full-force defense.

A few minutes later.

Ji Guanhe propped up his Spirit Power Defense again.

Streaks of invisible spirit power struck the invisible Defense Barrier, exploding into clusters of light as brilliant as blooming fireworks, while the Spiritual Barrier rippled with intense fluctuations like a pond into which a giant boulder had been thrown.

"Bang!"

The barrier shattered.

Ji Guanhe reactivated it.

Yet Junior Brother Chen grasped the timing perfectly; in that split-second gap, another streak of spirit power struck in.

"Boom!"

The Protective Divine Light blocked this attack.

However, Ji Guanhe was still blasted away, the intense impact and shock making his internal organs feel incomparably uncomfortable.

A Fifth Stage cultivation, a senior student in his fifth year, being beaten so miserably by a Fourth Stage junior brother... Ji Guanhe felt ashamed himself, and even regretted not listening to the sect elders' admonitions and spending so much precious time on developing Spells.

But Junior Brother Chen's spirit power must be almost exhausted, right?

Although Junior Brother Chen had been deliberately saving spirit power, he was only Fourth Stage after all; no matter how good his talent was, a Fourth-tier Practitioner's Spirit Sea was only so large. Since he himself had already used half of his spirit power, the other should have hit bottom long ago.

After Ji Guanhe stood steady, he stared ahead—

Greeting him was yet another sky full of Sword Qi!

He still has energy left!?

Very good!

Worthy of being Junior Brother Chen!

To think he is so good at saving spirit power!

A few minutes passed—

This is no longer a matter of saving spirit power or not, right?

Ji Guanhe shifted from Surprise to disbelief.

A few minutes passed—

Ji Guanhe's True Fire was blocked by a layer of earth wall; he had no expression, already feeling somewhat numb.

This junior brother definitely has the Genius Disease!

A few minutes passed—

Ji Guanhe began to feel a little afraid.

Could it be that he is going to lose?

How is that possible?

A few minutes passed—

Ji Guanhe was almost gritting his teeth, squeezing dry the spirit power in his Spirit Sea, even feeling pain because of it, and all his spirit power was poured into the Defense Barrier.

Outside the barrier was thunder like a heavenly net, covering the entire barrier, the light it emitted making it impossible to open one's eyes.

This Thunder Method, which should have had no lethality against a Spirit Cultivator, for some reason, actually had a powerful destructive effect on spirit power defense. Although he had propped up his defense, he could still feel his hair standing on end, and the Defense Barrier was teetering on the verge of collapse.

Ji Guanhe had a faint feeling—

This is the final clash!

His own spirit power was nearing exhaustion, and Junior Brother Chen had also used his full strength—this unexpected Thunder Method must be the winning move he had prepared, right?

Must hold out!

Must hold out!

Finally—

The thunder filling the sky dissipated.

The noisy sound of thunder exploding in his ears vanished, the blinding electric light also vanished, and the Martial Arts Arena suddenly became quiet.

Even outside the arena, it was deathly silent.

"Hoo..."

Ji Guanhe's Defense Barrier suddenly dissipated.

Even the Protective Divine Light on his body flickered twice, dim and bright, and nearly dissipated as well.

Because of the excessive consumption of Spirit Power in his Spirit Sea, his Spirit Power reserves were now less than 2%, and the aftereffects of extreme depletion began to manifest—a tearing pain in his Spirit Sea, while the Spirit Power throughout his body was forced to flow back into his Spirit Sea; his body, accustomed to Spirit Power, could not adapt all at once, and began to feel all sorts of soreness, exhaustion, and discomfort.

Junior Brother Chen opposite him was about the same.

How is this counted now?

A draw?

That would be too embarrassing, right?

Ji Guanhe panted and looked up, only to see a figure gradually turning from blurry to clear amidst the dust filling the sky; a few seconds later, he saw that although Junior Brother Chen was also in a very disheveled state from head to toe, his expression was firm and terrifying as he walked toward him step by step.

And he was holding a Sword in his hand.

Where did that Sword come from!?

How could a Spirit Cultivator have a Sword!?

Referee! He's cheating!

Ji Guanhe widened his eyes and opened his mouth, but could not make a sound.

Fortunately, at this moment—

"Ding~~"

Junior Brother Chen threw away that Sword.

Does he want to concede?

Ji Guanhe thought as much, and just as he let out a sigh of relief, he saw Junior Brother Chen clench his fists with both hands and start walking toward him again, his head suddenly tilting to the left, pausing for half a second, then suddenly tilting to the right, and his shoulders also began to loosen up.

"This..."

What do you want to do?

What do you want to do again?

We are all Spirit Cultivators! There's no need for this, right?

Don't come over!

Don't you come over!

I still have a little Spirit Power...

"True Fire!"

Flames shot out with a roar, obscuring his vision.

Junior Brother Chen didn't defend?

Is his Spirit Power completely exhausted?

Not a drop left?

No! It seems like it didn't hit anything?

When Ji Guanhe realized something was wrong, the ground suddenly collapsed; his reaction was fast, and he jumped up quickly to avoid falling in.

And footsteps had already come from behind him.

That's right—

The ground of the Military Academy's Martial Arts Arena is ordinary ground, unlike the Martial Cultivation Hall at Yujing Academy, so earth-type Spells can be used.

I should have realized it when Junior Brother Chen summoned earth to form a wall just now.

Now it's great; I used my last bit of remaining Spirit Power to release the True Fire, while Junior Brother Chen dug a hole, not only avoiding the True Fire but also arriving behind me without me noticing.

It's over now.

Can't dodge it.

Ji Guanhe already felt someone grab the back of his neck; what the hell is wrong with this junior brother, how is his strength as great as a crude martial artist?

Everyone, come look! He's not a Spirit Cultivator!

Ji Guanhe used his last bit of peripheral vision to glance outside the arena—

School teachers, leaders, teachers and leaders from other schools, previously eliminated contestants, medical staff accustomed to seeing Arena duels, and elders and deacons from major sects were all silently watching him and the Junior Brother Chen behind him.

"Damn it!"

Ji Guanhe gritted his teeth and turned to throw a punch.

A Spirit Cultivator is also a Cultivator, and their physical fitness is extraordinary; I am one tier higher than you, so even in a brawl or a street fight, I should be the one firmly in the upper hand.

"Whoosh..."

This punch swung at empty air.

Immediately, a fist rapidly enlarged before his eyes—

"Bang!"

Ji Guanhe was dazed by the hit.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Once again, two rhythmic punches.

It's over, it's over.

This time, it is truly over.