Blind Spot
Chapter 306: Battle of 286 VI

Chapter 306: Battle of 286 VI

Zhuang Yijing was currently just using Soft Qi, without even deploying her sect’s killing moves. She was proficient in both All-Star Dragon Shadow and Dragon Slay, both of which were techniques with explosive power.

She wasn’t using any of them now but still had the upper hand.

Clearly, it was a good trend.

Sure enough, in just a few minutes, Zhuang Yijing threw an elbow strike followed by a series of quick punches, sending her opponent flying with a direct hit to the front.

After entering the Strength Realm and undergoing various medicinal baths, taking nourishing and Strengthening Injections, and other methods of Genetic Enhancement, her strength was far beyond what Li Chengyi had first seen in this seemingly inconsequential person.

Next was the third opponent, the master of the Heart Intent Mixed Origin Sect, Chen Zhongda.

He was rich in practical combat experience, but at sixty-four years old, he had already entered his declining years. After exchanging a few blows with Zhuang Yijing and finding himself overpowered, he began to move around the perimeter.

Because of the disparity in real combat experience, Zhuang Yijing took quite a few hits, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth and her left cheek swelling. After releasing All-Star Dragon Shadow twice in succession without hitting her target, she was quickly defeated.

"She lacks adequate fighting will," Li Chengyi frowned and said.

A punch to the face was all it took for her condition to deteriorate significantly, and she was rapidly defeated.

This wasn’t an issue of skill, but rather of an overly weak battle will.

"...There’s no helping it, she doesn’t have many reasons to fight," Yu Long replied after a moment of silence. Her involvement in martial arts was too brief.

"Next up is Xiao Nan," Li Chengyi said.

Yu Long glanced at him.

He didn’t have much hope for Xiao Nan, since Zhuang Yijing was already a supreme genius in his view.

As for Li Chongnan, whom he had observed in secret before, she was just of common talent, without any remarkable features.

However, due to Li Chengyi’s attitude, he remained skeptical. After all, Li Chengyi’s strength was so formidable that he could no longer even see his back.

His approval carried weight.

"Xiao Nan, be careful, and concede immediately if you can’t hold on!" Zhuang Yijing whispered some advice as she passed by Li Chongnan.

"You’re just a teenager; there will be plenty of chances for you in the future, so don’t be too eager to show off," Zhuang Yijing added.

"..." Li Chongnan didn’t reply but just gave her a glance.

"Why waste words on her? An arrogant brat with no idea of her own limitations," Yu Yanxiao, who was behind them dressing her wounds, said coldly. "Let her take a loss; then she’ll understand her skills are worth nothing."

Initially, Li Chongnan’s ruthlessness had daunted her, but feeling it was a loss of face, she gradually disapproved of his boundless arrogance.

"Don’t say that, Xiao Nan is just young and doesn’t know how to interact with people," Zhuang Yijing tried to persuade.

Li Chengyi remained silent. He too had heard the girls’ conversation, but at this moment, he was just watching Li Chongnan, who had just entered the stage.

Li Chongnan’s Holy Spirit Technique had already reached the end of the first stage, just missing the benchmark for the intensity of intent to enter the second stage.

The improvement from Holy Spirit Technique, both to the body enhancement and to the empowerment of the Sword of Wisdom, was getting to an exaggerated level.

And Li Chongnan’s improvement would simultaneously drive the advancement of his cultivation.

Therefore, what Li Chengyi needed to ensure was that Li Chongnan kept building momentum, continually strengthening his will to reach its peak and break through his limits.

Money, resources, Strengthening Injections – his father, Li Changgu, had no shortage of these, pledging to supply them fully.

The only thing missing was the intensity of will.

Hum.

The protective force field was activated again.

On the stage now stood Chen Zhongda from the Heart Intent Mixed Origin Sect, facing the newly ascended Li Chongnan.

"You old fool, not settling down to enjoy your old age, but instead seeking death on the fighting stage?"

Li Chongnan stood with his arms crossed in front of him, chin slightly lifted, looking coldly and disdainfully at his opponent.

"Heh... such audacity from a youngster!!" Instantly angered, Chen Zhongda took offense to this ignorant junior. The best lesson for such an impudent youngster was a thrashing!

Without another word, he took a step forward and executed the Primal Chaos Skill’s chain killing move, Cloud Probing and Mist Seizing.

This move started with the palm as a feint while the real attack was with his claw technique.

But as his right palm thrust forward,

suddenly, Li Chongnan sidestepped, evading the strike and in a flash they switched positions.

Ssst.

The arena fell eerily silent.

Li Chongnan stood straight and flicked the blood from his fingertips.

"The outcome was decided the moment you faced me," he declared.

"You!!!?" Chen Zhongda looked down to see a large gash slowly opening across his chest.

The skin and breastbone were parting as if sliced by an incredibly sharp knife, blood beginning to seep out.

Boom.

He fell to his knees, clutching his chest; the strike had hit his lungs, making it impossible for him to breathe.

"Dragon Whisker Sect wins!"

The mechanical judge lifted its right hand to give the verdict.

The force field dissipated, and the surrounding audience erupted into a cacophony of noise, clearly not expecting such a swift conclusion to the match.

Li Chongnan stepped off the platform without so much as a glance at his so-called opponent and walked towards Li Chengyi amid the admiring gazes of the crowd.

Their eyes met.

In an instant, countless black Sacred Texts, visible only to them, surfaced like swarms of insects in the whites of Li Chongnan’s eyes for a moment before disappearing swiftly.

That signified the breakthrough to the third section of the Holy Spirit Technique.

"Well done," Li Chengyi said, ruffling her hair.

"It’s nothing compared to the beatings you give me," Li Chongnan replied coolly.

"What? You think you can beat me?" Li Chengyi asked, surprised.

"Isn’t that what you expect?" Li Chongnan answered calmly. "You said before that every so often you would test me personally, and if I failed to impress you..."

"Yes, if you don’t want to die, keep pushing forward," Li Chengyi withdrew his hand. "Also, remember that the core of Holy Spirit Technique is willpower. Your will must never falter. Once it does, the holy heart will be torn apart. You must kill whatever causes your doubt immediately. Otherwise..."

"Otherwise what?"

"You will die," Li Chengyi said.

Li Chongnan’s pupils contracted slightly, and she fell silent.

Just a faltering will could lead to death?! Suddenly, she sensed that there was a significant problem with the Holy Spirit Technique.

A major, major problem.

Its rate of improvement was too fast. From an ordinary person to breaking through human limits, how long had she used it? Not even a month.

Such speed was unheard of in any traditional Combat Technique.

No, not just unheard of, she had never even heard of such a thing.

"Having regrets?" Li Chengyi asked with a smile.

"....."

"I’ll tell you a secret," Li Chengyi leaned in close, whispering so that only the two of them could hear.

"Once the Holy Spirit Technique is initiated, there’s no turning back. You can only become stronger, cutting away anything that might shake your resolve. And if you ever stop, you’ll die just the same."

Li Chongnan wore a cold expression. She wasn’t a fool—she had considered these things during the days she’d been cultivating the entry level of the Holy Spirit Technique.

She just hadn’t expected that even ceasing cultivation could lead to such a severe consequence as death.

"And you?" she asked in a low voice.

"Me? I’m the exception, of course," Li Chengyi laughed, "If one day, you advance your Holy Spirit Technique to the final Holy Infant Stage, then all side effects will vanish. Whether it is willful distraction or cessation of cultivation, none of it will affect you any longer."

"I understand... Holy Infant, huh..." A flash of determination glinted in Li Chongnan’s eyes.

Leaving Li Chengyi, she headed toward the Dragon Whisker Sect’s isolation rest area.

Yu Yanxiao, who had been standoffish just moments ago, now stared at her blankly with a pale face, at a loss for words.

She couldn’t understand why, in just one moment, Li Chongnan had slashed such a huge gash in Chen Zhongda’s chest.

Zhuang Yijing, shocked at first, quickly moved forward and grabbed her hand.

"Xiao Nan, are you alright? I just saw you brush past that old man and nearly fail to avoid him—I was so scared my heart raced. Who would’ve thought you would actually win in the end! Thank goodness for you! Otherwise, we might have been struck down in the first round, and our sect could even have been disavowed!"

Her expression was genuinely relieved, and she was visibly sweating.

Li Chongnan felt her hand being grabbed, pulled away, and then grabbed again. She frowned but let it be.

Yu Long was at the side, replaying the moment of victory in his mind, utterly unable to understand how a casual swipe across the opponent’s chest could cause such severe, gut-spilling injury.

What kind of terrifying technique had Li Chengyi created?

Li Chengyi seemed to notice his gaze and turned to offer a faint smile.

"I have some things to take care of in the coming days, so I’m entrusting Xiao Nan to you," he said.

"Where are you going at such a critical time!" Yu Long couldn’t help but ask.

"To deal with matters of greater importance," Li Chengyi replied as he patted the wrinkles out of his clothes and turned towards the exit.

The competition would continue for many days, one match per day, and it would be a long road to the finals.

He obviously couldn’t stay here the whole time.

After bidding farewell to Zhuang Yijing and the others, Li Chengyi passed through several checkpoints and left the Martial Arts Hall completely.

Because he wasn’t a competitor and due to the Li Family’s influence, he wasn’t on the list of those forbidden from leaving.

Soon, night fell.

In a street district near the Martial Arts Hall.

Li Chengyi walked halfway along the street and passed through a blind spot in the patrols and surveillance, vanishing into a shadow.

Whoosh!

Exiting the shadow, his face had transformed into a dazzling, swirling galaxy.

He also changed into a different set of clothes, which included the Feilian Floral Dress.

He was now in a stacked, invisible Fusion Form.

After changing his appearance, he marched straight ahead, intent on finding and preemptively dealing with formidable opponents.

Hisss!

Suddenly, a faint sound came from not far behind him.

Startled for a moment, he stopped, turned around, and in an instant, his form blinked with a dark light and disappeared from the spot.

Seconds later, in a private courtyard hundreds of meters away.

Li Chengyi emerged from the shadows, looking at the group of burly men sprawled across the ground.

The signboard "Dragon Tiger Iron Sand Palm" was broken and lay tossed aside.

Some of the men were unconscious, some gravely injured and near death—it was total annihilation.

"Haha... I didn’t expect there’d be a straggler left..."

An electronically distorted voice floated over from the right-hand side.

"Eliminating opponents before the match? I never thought a mere stroll would lead me to encounter someone so unscrupulously shameless," Li Chengyi said in a deep voice, looking towards where the sound was coming from.

"Haha...." The mysterious person was hiding around the corner of the courtyard, revealing just the tip of a red metallic boot.

"The previous outside-the-arena attacks were your doings too, weren’t they?" Li Chengyi said, boldly casting the blame for his own acts onto the other.

"....I only arrived today...."

"Stop your sophistry. Since you’ve committed such despicable acts, do you still want to skulk around and deny it?" Li Chengyi interrupted.

"I hate it when others interrupt me," the mysterious person’s voice grew lower.

"And I detest those who skitter about, cowardly, only daring to pull off outside-the-arena tricks, you subterranean rat," Li Chengyi’s voice was ice cold.

"Haha... You’re courting death!" The anger in the mysterious person’s voice was palpable.

"Courting death? I’m standing right here," Li Chengyi spread his arms wide, "Come, see if you can touch a single hair on my head."

He leaned his body slightly forward, voice softening with a hint of mockery,

"I’ll kill myself right now...."

Click.

Around the corner, a ferocious blood-red exoskeleton suit emerged, its golden eyes locked firmly onto Li Chengyi.

"You...,"

A pale gold saber was grasped in hand, slowly raising and leveling it.

"Don’t have any hair, do you?!"

Silence.

The two found themselves in an awkward pause.

"....." Li Chengyi reached up to touch his forehead.

Right now, with his galaxy face, both face and head were missing, leaving only a huge spinning galaxy atop his neck.

Indeed, he had no hair...

"You’ve seen through it..." He chuckled awkwardly.

"Haha, dressed up like that, you must’ve had the same thought as me," the mysterious person taunted.

"How could that be!" Li Chengyi laughed, "I am a champion of justice, dedicated to saving those weaker individuals from harm."

"Sneaking into private lands, you call that the work of a champion of justice!?" the armored person continued to scoff.

"Of course...," Li Chengyi asserted, "After all, on the arena, they might be beaten to death. But in my hands, at worst they’ll be crippled...."

Once again, a silence settled over them.

The cold wind blew, scattering leaves, and for a moment, the courtyard seemed to be veiled with thinly veiled hostility.

"How about a partnership?" Li Chengyi suddenly proposed.