Blind Spot
Chapter 311 - 291 Intense Battles Eleven

Chapter 311: 291 Intense Battles Eleven

Dragon Whisker Sect resting area.

Just when Li Chengyi encountered Utopia’s Minister Chen Zonghan.

A red shadow, silently approaching this resting area.

Under the moonlight, the figure of the red shadow slowly became visible.

It was a tall man dressed in a full suit of red armor.

Without a patch of skin exposed, it was unclear whether he was a fully reinforced human or just a lurker in an exoskeleton.

But regardless of which, daring to infiltrate this resting area at this moment meant he was harboring malicious intentions.

In the moonlight, the man’s red armor was marked with conspicuous flame-like patterns.

His shoulders were also adorned with flame-like spikes that bent outward, as if the whole body was emanating the light of burning flames.

In the darkness, a pair of red lights from his helmet shone, quietly watching the resting area in front of him.

Following the winding paths and corridors of the resting area, his direction was unmistakably towards where Li Chongnan was resting.

At this time, around nine o’clock in the evening, entering without notification and so stealthily, his purpose was clear.

Meanwhile, inside a room in the resting area.

Li Chongnan had just finished showering, dried his hair, changed into pajamas, and sat cross-legged on the bed, quietly reading a book.

*

*

*

On the street, in front of the hotel’s entrance.

Li Chengyi’s eyes were calm as he sized up the long-robed old man blocking his path.

Chen Zonghan? Never heard of him.

The two stood a meter apart, surrounded by the hustle and bustle of the crowd, yet no one paid them any attention.

The flow of passersby glided past them like water.

Li Chengyi extended his hand in a gesture of shaking hands.

"Mr. Chen, may I know if the elderly gentleman is related to Yan Bagua Gate’s Chen family?"

He had previously gauged the strength of Hai Sha through a handshake, realizing Li Chongnan couldn’t deal with him, thus he decisively chose to disable him that night.

And now, he was once again employing the same tactic.

"Cut from the same cloth, Chen Jiahan is of my grandchild’s generation," Chen Zonghan smiled, looking at the hand extended by Li Chengyi but did not shake it.

"No need for a handshake, I would rather not end up severely injured like Hai Sha unexpectedly," he said plainly, not hiding his speculation about Li Chengyi.

"Then there’s nothing to discuss," Li Chengyi withdrew his hand.

"Young friend... the saying goes, it’s better to dissolve an enmity than to perpetuate it. Why not sit down and talk, to clear up any misunderstandings between us?" Chen Zonghan narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

"Sit down and talk, and you’ll give up first place?" Li Chengyi raised an eyebrow.

"...."

"In this world, people like you invariably end up with one of two outcomes," Li Chengyi turned around.

"Either I kill you, or you kill me."

"Is everything black and white to you?" Chen Zonghan asked, not quite understanding.

"It’s not about black and white; it’s about victory or defeat at this very moment," Li Chengyi replied.

Li Chengyi sped away with big strides.

Knowing that standing behind the other party was Chen Jiahan from the Yan Bagua Gate and it was somewhat related to Star Lake or Utopia as he had suspected, he realized that no matter who the other party was, there was no value in any exchange.

It was simply a matter of killing them or being killed by them.

"...An interesting little devil," Chen Zonghan exhaled lightly. Standing in place, he didn’t leave, instead a woman dressed in black with long hair approached from behind him.

"Mr. Chen, shall we not keep him here?"

"Jiu Yi is watching from above, nothing escapes the Heavenly Eye. To make a move now would be more trouble than it’s worth," Chen Zonghan said indifferently, "So, the timing isn’t right yet."

"He’s ruthless and decisive, not the slightest bit hesitant—a troublesome character. If we don’t deal with him sooner, there may be problems later on," the dark-haired woman frowned and said.

"Hai Sha has no opportunity left, what’s done is done. Now it’s all up to Ah Han," Chen Zonghan spoke ominously, but his expression showed no sign of worry.

"Aren’t you worried at all?" The dark-haired woman couldn’t help asking.

"Why should I be worried?" Chen Zonghan laughed, "Ah Han cannot lose, even Hai Sha was just a smokescreen for the real Ah Han."

He turned and walked towards a distant flying vehicle.

"Let’s go, in the vast night, why not relax with a little wine."

The dark-haired woman stared blankly as he left with ease, not worried about being reported or exposed; for a moment, she didn’t know how to react.

At the same time.

Dragon Whisker Sect resting area.

The red-armored individual about to force his way through the door suddenly paused.

It seemed that a faint communication sound came through his earpiece.

His reaching hand ultimately retracted back in.

Swoosh!

In a blink of an eye, his figure vanished from the spot, leaving the dwelling and disappearing from view.

Seconds later.

Not far from where he had been standing, Li Chengyi’s figure emerged slowly from a corner’s shadow.

Li Chengyi walked to the very place the red-armored man had been standing, right in front of Li Chongnan’s room door.

He sniffed lightly.

There was an almost indiscernible trace of a familiar scent lingering in the air.

"Thinking of taking advantage while the guard is down?"

A cold smile played at the corner of his mouth.

Tomorrow is the match between Dragon Whisker Sect and Nuclear Fission Palm Team. He guessed that the red-armored man might come.

But he didn’t expect to encounter that old man who claimed to be Chen Zonghan halfway.

From that old man, he could feel a sense similar to the sensation he’d felt from Han Qi initially.

Be it Han Qi or that old man, they both had the air of someone who could decide the fate of the entire situation, a commanding presence.

It was as if everything around them were merely pawns in their hands, and all the elements of the world their chessboard.

That aloofness, as if they were above all, calmly overlooking everything beneath them, was particularly annoying to him.

"I really want to see what you can do, want to do, and dare to do!"

He turned around and returned to his room.

After a short while, Li Chongnan opened the door in surprise, glanced at the empty corridor outside, found it somewhat strange, and wondered if he had sensed something wrong.

He quickly closed the door again.

*

*

*

Early the next day.

Massive music and heavy drumbeats shook the entire venue into a frenzy.

The final match had begun.

Only twenty teams were left among the competitors, but the audience seats were still full.

Many had already made support banners for some of the players and would periodically lift them up in unison, chanting slogans.

The warm-up dance team consisted of a hundred strong men and women combined. The men were bare-chested, wielding greatswords; the women wore tight martial arts uniforms, wielding short knives.

Sword dances and knife battles, men and women combined, calling out shouts along with the loud music on the tournament grounds.

"Currently warming up is the Ancient Battle Dance Orchestra from Fengling Mountain Music Academy. They choreographed a historical classic dance called ’A Thousand Mountains and Seas’ specifically for this grand competition..."

The host and commentator were still carefully introducing the details to the audience.

All the teams preparing for the final match were also ready.

A total of twenty teams, minus the exchange teams, which makes nineteen. Matched by the random system, they would pair off for the duels.

As the champions of the last grand competition, Yan Bagua Gate ranked first with three members undefeated, thus they were exempt from competing and awaited the final showdown.

This time the match was not like before with a group of teams together, but solo appearances.

One duel after another.

All the details of the matches were broadcasted live by major television channels, and gigantic floating screens magnified the footage for viewers.

"The first match, according to points ranking and drawing lots will soon feature the team ranked nineteenth, Dragon Whisker Sect! Facing, the team ranked eleventh, Nuclear Fission Palm!"

The host shouted loudly, announcing the players for today’s first match.

Wow!!

The audience erupted into cheers.

Right at that moment, in the center of the Martial Arts Hall’s square ring, a huge cylindrical pillar slowly rose from the ground.

The silver-black pillar, made entirely of metal, continued to rise until it reached a height of twenty meters before slowly coming to a halt.

Bang!

A ring of circular flames shot up along the pillar.

"Nuclear Fission Palm, Ying Chanru! Nuclear Fission Palm, Ying Chanru!" A tremendous and orderly cheer emanated from the sidelines. At least a few hundred people were shouting in support together.

"Li Chongnan! Li Chongnan!" On the other side, quite a few people were also shouting Xiao Nan’s name.

But it was not nearly as loud as the other side.

Next to the cylindrical ring, on a floating platform, the hosts and commentators began to discuss the situation of both sides.

"Speaking of which, this first match of the finals is also very intriguing," said the commentator, a middle-aged woman in a purple long dress with an elegant demeanor and a hint of valiance, clearly practiced in combat.

Displayed clearly on the virtual screen nameplate in front of her: Director of the Yi Country Combat Association—Gu Xiangzhi.

"What makes you say that? Sister Gu, don’t tell me you think Dragon Whisker Sect has a chance to defeat Nuclear Fission Palm?" the host Xiao Lei asked with skepticism. "Looking at their points, isn’t there quite a big gap?"

"Judging by their records alone, indeed, there are two players on Dragon Whisker Sect’s team whose strength isn’t sufficient to have made it to the finals, leading them to the most defeats among the finalist teams. Compared to Nuclear Fission Palm, the gap is significant. But..."

Gu Xiangzhi smiled.

"Don’t keep us in suspense, Sister Gu. Are you suggesting that Dragon Whisker Sect’s final person has enough strength to defeat all three of Nuclear Fission Palm’s top experts? That doesn’t seem likely, does it?" Host Xiao Lei expressed his disbelief.

"In a battle for victory, what determines the outcome isn’t just physical strength or stamina..." Gu Xiangzhi smiled and said, "The strongest in Nuclear Fission Palm is also their last contestant, Ying Chanru. Ying Chanru began martial arts training at the age of ten, comprehended Soft Qi at thirteen, and entered the level of combining hardness and softness at fifteen. Now nineteen years old, she took on the responsibility of carrying the banner for her sect after the injury and withdrawal of Hong Ye, the grandmaster sister from the last competition. Once she entered the stage this time, she showed explosive power. None of her opponents have been able to withstand more than three moves from her palm."

"So you think Ying Chanru will win?" Xiao Lei asked.

"Dragon Whisker Sect’s Li Chongnan has also performed spectacularly, with none of her opponents able to stand against her for more than ten seconds. The specific outcome between them is like two swords capable of cutting through metal and stone facing off—until they cross, no one knows which is sharper..." Gu Xiangzhi shook her head.

Down by the ring.

The teams from Dragon Whisker Sect and Nuclear Fission Palm entered from two separate passageways.

On the Nuclear Fission Palm side, a beam of light descended from the sky and shone on three figures.

The first was Fang Cheng, a bald man with a sturdy build and a reserved, reticent demeanor.

The second was Qiu Yuyan, a woman of slight build and a beautiful appearance, yet with eyes as dull as dead fish.

The third was the strongest disciple of Nuclear Fission Palm, Ying Chanru.

The name Ying Chanru might give the impression of a gentle and beautiful woman when many heard it.

But in reality, she was a muscular woman nearly two meters tall, her muscles twisted like tree roots, bald headed, wearing sunglasses, and dressed in a black tank top and shorts.

From a distance, if not for the slight trace of feminine chest features and the complete lack of any bulge below, it would be nearly impossible to recognize her as female.

"So uninteresting," Ying Chanru looked at the Dragon Whisker Sect team from afar. "Such opponents managing to make it to the finals is a disgrace to this competition."

"Bad luck for us to draw such a lot," Fang Cheng said coldly.

"A boring match needs a bit of passion injected into it," Ying Chanru licked her lips, "otherwise wouldn’t all the cheering and expectations of our many friends be wasted?"

"What do you suggest, Senior Sister Ying?" Fang Cheng looked at her, puzzled.