Book 4: Chapter 55: Competition with Skadi
Solomon: So…I have a question. Do you regret it now?
He Who Knows Fate: Regret what?
Solomon: Regret tricking Nightingale into calling you Husband…
He Who Knows Fate: Sorry, there are no regrets whatsoever. Let me tell you this: it was worth it. This was a two-dimensional waifu calling me Husband, even though she had already turned into a real person.
He Who Knows Fate: Alright, don’t say anything more. I know what you want to say. But I. Do. Not. Want. To. Listen. I have a duel with Skadi; then I’ll ask her about going to Lungmen.
Kal’tsit: Skadi is not that easy to trick, right?
Solomon: No, no, no! Skadi is a killer whale, and killer whales have an innate friendliness to humans, so…
“Skadi, I’m coming. Sorry to make you wait.” Chen Heng had sent a message to Skadi after leaving Nightingale’s room, telling her to wait for him at the Vanguards’ training grounds and that he would arrive soon.
“It’s fine. I just arrived myself. Let’s begin, then. Do you want to use the weapons provided by the Vanguards’ training ground or the sword in your hand?”
As Chen Heng came over, he took out the sword he regularly used from his spatial storage.
“I’ll use my sword. I feel that if we use the provided practice swords in the training grounds, you won’t be used to them. After all, you use a heavy sword; using a regular sword would feel strange.”
After the two decided on their weapons, they chose the venue. The Vanguards’ training grounds differed from the Snipers’. The Snipers’ training grounds were practically just a range. However, the Vanguards’ training grounds were similar to a karate competition ground or a drill ground. There were also mock weapons and machines for training weapon proficiency.
All the operators in the training grounds now looked at the two, probably because of Skadi.
Skadi might not know many of Rhodes Island’s operators, but practically all the Rhodes Island operators knew her.
When mentioning Skadi in Rhodes Island, everyone would think of a beauty who inspired envy in any woman, splitting a mountain with a sword strike or brandishing a gigantic sword to cut armor open. The ordinary operators spoke of her as if she was a legendary character from a fairy tale.
Eventually, the two chose a large open space, normally used for group training. Since the two’s combat prowess was significantly destructive, a small space would be insufficient for them to go all out, hence the large drill ground they settled on.
The competition between the two attracted the attention of many operators. Most operators stopped what they were doing and watched.
“I’ll count down from three, and we will begin.” Chen Heng drew his sword and placed the scabbard to the side.
This sword was called Night Perfection. It was not an immortal sword but the strongest possible mundane sword, forged using the methods of ordinary, mundane people. Although it sounded incredible, it was not precious at all. After all, it was just a mundane sword, not even comparable to ordinary immortal swords used by Golden Core Realm cultivators. Chen Heng had spent a long time selecting it.
He had already broken Shining’s sword and did not want to break Skadi’s. From Skadi’s information, he noticed her sword was made with unique craftsmanship; he might not be able to compensate her if it broke.
“Sure.”
“Three, two, one, begin!”
Right after Chen Heng spoke, he charged Skadi. Chen Heng’s sword was an ordinary one-meter-long bronze sword, a swift and nimble weapon, not at all comparable to Skadi’s heavy sword. If he did not use his other abilities, his physical strength might lose to Skadi’s sword alone. Furthermore, her sword would be augmented by her horrifying strength, making the attack even more terrible, so he did not plan on clashing head-on.
All martial techniques in the world can fail except swiftness. The wind is silent, the breath is like still water, the light has no shadows, and the swift sword leaves no signs.
This time, Chen Heng used a move from the Chen Clan Sword Technique, the Shadowless Sword.
The mundane version of the Chen Clan Sword Technique had a total of 89 moves, each move a set of sword techniques on its own. Furthermore, the primary characteristic of the Shadowless Sword was swiftness.
Before Skadi could react, Chen Heng had already brought the tip of his sword to her throat.
Skadi reacted only after that happened. She quickly swung her heavy sword and struck the side of Chen Heng’s sword, using her strength to deflect his sword.
However, she had fallen for his plan.
Even a strong wielder could not suddenly change the trajectory of a heavy sword, what more the gigantic sword in Skadi’s hand? Even Chen Heng found it heavy when he held it; that showed its heft.
The rest of the battle followed Chen Heng’s rhythm. He used his advantage in speed to maximize his results. He cut Skadi’s arm three times and once on the face. Of course, it was just a scrape; rather, the skin had not even broken. However, he had cut off some of her soft, long, silvery-white hair.
Now, Skadi became serious, maybe because the long hair she was proud of got cut. After losing two strands of hair, she quickly took a few steps back, leaving Chen Heng’s range. Then she swung her gigantic sword with great force at him.
Skadi’s sword technique did not contain any fanciful moves. Her moves all had their roots in her combat experience. While not exquisite and refined, they were the most suitable for her way of using her sword.
If Chen Heng did not use his abilities, he would not be much faster than Skadi. At the start, he held the advantage by seizing the initiative, allowing him to suppress her.
Now, Skadi used strength to suppress Chen Heng’s speed, slowly putting him at a disadvantage, as he did not dare to clash head-on, only continuously move around.
“If speed is all you have, that is not sufficient. You won’t pass.”
“I see. Looks like I will have to show some of my clan’s foundational techniques.”
Skadi and Chen Heng both took a few steps back, opening the distance between them.
“Fight seriously against me. Bring out everything you have.”
Erm…not to mention bringing out everything. I only need to use one of my abilities casually, and you will be left sprawled on the ground. Do you believe that?
However, he did not intend to use his abilities. Instead, he chose one of the Chen Clan’s foundational techniques: sword conception. To the Chen Clan, any competition in the sword that disallowed sword conception was simply immoral and unfair.
The Chen Clan Sword Technique took the path of cultivating multiple sword conceptions. Then one would forget all these sword conceptions and cultivate a sword conception path unique to oneself. Such a method was known as conception flux.
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