Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 988 The Weapon is Broken

Chapter 988: Chapter 988 The Weapon is Broken

Atop the platform, Gu Fan stood with his arms folded, exhaling heavily in a lethargic manner devoid of enthusiasm, which paradoxically lent him an air of unfathomable depth. After all, such an intense martial arts competition was about to commence, and yet this man appeared completely unfazed.

Carrying a heavy gait, Jiang Tie of the Northern Desert Sword climbed onto the platform, his eyes brimming with fighting spirit and a hint of resentment – the very image of a combatant ready for a martial arts duel.

"I’m actually going to lose to this guy?" thought Jiang Tie, his heart filled with reluctance as he slowly drew his sword, and with it, a wave of murderous look swept across the platform.

Gu Fan was taken aback, "Good heavens, such intense murderous look – could this guy actually be serious?"

"Brother Gu, you’re unarmed and I’m armed. Don’t call it unfair," said Jiang Tie with an increasingly sharp gaze, a stark contrast to his jovial demeanor when everyone had been drinking together the previous night.

Gu Fan frowned, sensing deep hostility from Jiang Tie of the Northern Desert Sword. Gu Fan couldn’t recall having offended the man, and speculated that the leader of Xuanjian Sect must have ordered him to lose the competition, which was causing his irritation.

"It’s fine. I’m impervious to swords and spears; my body and fists are the best weapons there are," Gu Fan declared, bracing himself and launching the first attack with a push from his feet.

With a loud roar, Jiang Tie also swung his blade to meet the assault.

One armed with fists, the other with a blade, they engaged in a ferocious exchange, every move packed with powerful force.

Merely ten moves in, Jiang Tie’s offensive proved superior, forcefully splitting Gu Fan’s arms and striking him with his blade, sending Gu Fan flying.

"Impressive!" Gu Fan couldn’t help but admire; Jiang Tie was stronger than any previous opponent.

However, Jiang Tie was also stunned, "How is this possible? I’ve struck so many blows, and yet I’ve not inflicted a single injury on him."

Everyone below the stage had seen clearly, Gu Fan’s Vajra Body Protection was formidable indeed; despite his clothes being slashed by the blade, his skin remained unharmed. They had all witnessed Gu Fan blocking the blade with his arms.

"Bring it on!" Jiang Tie leaped high into the air, wielding the sword with both hands, and fiercely plummeting down towards Gu Fan’s head.

Gu Fan, with keen eyesight and swift hands, caught the incoming blade barehanded, clamping Jiang Tie’s sword between his palms. Then, taking advantage of Jiang Tie’s unstable landing from the air, Gu Fan landed a kick on him.

Jiang Tie held onto his weapon and refused to retreat, gritted his teeth, and kicked back.

Alas, the disparity in power was too great; Gu Fan couldn’t withstand it, his hands released the weapon, and he stumbled backward, his face contorting in severe pain.

The strength difference was apparent, and everyone understood that Gu Fan was not a match for Jiang Tie. They felt anxious, uncertain if Gu Fan could win this time.

"I’m sorry, Brother Gu, I have to win," declared Jiang Tie as he waved his precious blade, unleashing a frenzied assault on Gu Fan.

Knowing he couldn’t block it, Gu Fan curled up his arms and legs to protect his vitals, enduring the fierce onslaught.

Below the stage, the onlookers only saw the relentless Northern Desert Sword, one strike after another landing on Gu Fan. A normal person would have been cleaved into pieces by now, but Gu Fan continued to tenaciously hold out using his Vajra Body Protection.

"No way, do you hate me this much? Did the leader of Xuanjian Sect not brief you?" Gu Fan, feeling he was at his limit, was perplexed, especially since Jiang Tie’s assault had slowed down, seemingly tired himself.

Gu Fan seized the opportunity and quickly rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the adverse situation, but as a result, he suffered internal injuries and spit out a bit of blood.

It seemed that Gu Fan was simply no match for Jiang Tie, the wielder of the Northern Desert Sword, but everyone else didn’t really care, as bets had been placed on both sides.

"Brother Gu, let’s go again!" Jiang Tie said these words through clenched teeth, wishing he could tear Gu Fan to pieces.

With one sword strike, condensing all the power of a first-rate expert, Jiang Tie’s roar was like thunder, as if he was fighting a battle to the death. The fierce energy released by his sword, that horrifying impact, was beyond anything Gu Fan could compete with.

Everyone seemed to have already witnessed the scene of Gu Fan being cleaved and sent flying; some couldn’t bear to watch.

Even Gu Fan thought he couldn’t block this strike and wondered why this guy was getting serious. Had he become impulsive and completely disregarded the leader of Xuanjian Sect’s orders?

Just as the shocking strike was about to come down, the blade suddenly shattered and then burst apart.

Seeing this, Jiang Tie was immediately dumbfounded, and his attack, missing its target, exposed a flaw.

The many martial arts experts present could see that this was a rare opportunity; it remained to be seen whether Gu Fan could take advantage of it.

Gu Fan made his move, seizing Jiang Tie’s arms and then performing a beautiful overhead throw, sending the wielder of the Northern Desert Sword flying out of the ring to land outside the platform.

All were first stunned, then incredulous, erupting into an overwhelming roar: "Kid, you’ve really got something."

"Amazing, if it were me, I couldn’t have done that."

"Keep it up, kid. I’m rooting for you. I’ll bet on you in the next match too."

Jin Yi was somewhat flabbergasted: "My God, this kid won again. What exactly is going on?"

Lu Bei offered an explanation: "Earlier, Jiang Tie’s attacks were too fierce, putting a strain on the weapon. When he finally concentrated all his attacks, the weapon couldn’t bear the load and shattered. This means that Gu Fan genuinely managed to withstand his sword breaking through his defense after surviving a hundred attacks."

Down below, Jiang Tie stood up, looking at his broken weapon and couldn’t help but sigh: "Brother Gu, to have withstood so many of my strikes, leading to the breakage of my weapon and seizing my moment of weakness in an instant—I’ve lost, there’s nothing else to say."

Having earned his opponent’s acknowledgement, Gu Fan also let out a sigh of relief: "Jiang, if your weapon had been slightly better, I would be the one defeated today. Also, if you hadn’t been so aggressive in your attacks, I would have lost."

"I underestimated you. I didn’t expect your Vajra Body Protection to be so robust." After saying this, Jiang Tie shook his head and then turned to leave, his solitary figure betraying his reluctance to accept defeat.

In fact, many could see that Jiang Tie was much stronger than Gu Fan; he had just been too casual and too aggressive, and his weapon was slightly inferior. More importantly, no one expected Gu Fan to be able to withstand so much.

What nobody knew was that this was all an act—Jiang Tie had purposely used his own power to shatter his weapon.

The leader of Xuanjian Sect and the major bookmaker, seeing the outcome, could finally relax, fearing that during the ferocity of the martial arts competition, Jiang Tie had forgotten their admonition and was fixated on winning at all costs.