Chapter 199: Chapter 186: Invincible Momentum
"He’s planning to use Chen Che to build his momentum!"
Outside the Daoist School, countless people cried out in alarm.
"Qiu Beixuan can’t sit still any longer!"
Li Xiaoshuang narrowed his eyes.
"Sorry, but this is how competitions work... just like swimming or running. It’s either you’re eliminated, or I am."
Qiu Beixuan’s teacher recognized Old Li and even walked over amicably to pat him on the shoulder. "If you don’t defeat all your opponents and cultivate an air of invincibility, who can confidently challenge Hua Feng?"
That said, his face showed not the slightest hint of apology. Weakness was always the original sin.
Chen Che was in the middle of the Celestial Ranking, neither too high nor too low—the perfect whetstone.
Too low, and it wouldn’t be a deterrent. Too high, and even winning would come at a cost. In fact, besides Chen Che, he had also pre-selected several other Celestial Ranking students for Qiu Beixuan to start building his momentum.
"You motherf..."
Hearing this, Li Xiaoshuang flew into a rage, but before he could finish cursing, the crowd burst into an uproar.
He whipped his head around and quickly looked at the Scroll.
"Hm?"
The other teacher was a bit slower, but he also turned to look.
With a loud BANG, the moment their palms met, Qiu Beixuan was sent flying backward. He crashed down with enough force to shatter the hard arena floor, sending up a cloud of dust and debris. He rolled several more times before finally skidding to a halt.
"Chen Che!"
Qiu Beixuan, now on the ground, was practically dazed from the blow. The instant their palms collided, he felt a surge of True Essence, more than ten times his own, suddenly blast into his body. He didn’t even have time to react!
Fall, roll, rise!
CLANG!
Letting out an enraged roar, Qiu Beixuan’s hand shot back to his hilt, and his blade was already halfway out of its sheath.
Students who had made it this far all had quick reflexes.
"Why are you calling my name?"
After sending his opponent flying with a single palm strike, Chen Che strode forward in pursuit.
In a flash, he was already above his opponent. Qiu Beixuan looked up in astonishment, only to see a large foot filling his vision.
The kick was impossibly nimble, like a dragonfly skipping across water or an antelope’s light-footed bound. To everyone’s shock, it landed on Qiu Beixuan’s face, stomping him flat against the arena floor!
BOOM!
It was like a giant boulder falling! The sound of thunder on a clear day!
The entire mountaintop trembled for a moment, and countless pebbles bounced into the air. Qiu Beixuan’s head was thrown back, and with another BOOM, the back of his skull smashed a deep crater into the ground. His upper body sank into the arena, shattered into pieces, and vanished in a flash of white light.
Countless huge cracks spread out from under Chen Che’s foot, reaching to all corners of the arena.
"How is that possible?"
"That Chen Che..."
Qiu Beixuan’s teacher looked as if his eyes were about to pop out of their sockets.
"You know, I fucking think you were right..."
Li Xiaoshuang was also slightly stunned, but he turned, patted the other teacher’s shoulder, and offered his "consolation":
"But this is how competitions work! Just like swimming or running. It’s either you’re eliminated, or I am."
...
Outside the examination area, the crowd was in an uproar, the clamor impossible to suppress.
But inside, it was dead silent. You could hear a pin drop.
Chen Che withdrew.
A faint light shone from beneath his feet as he watched the shattered arena restore itself in the blink of an eye. At the same time, he felt a sense of reassurance.
’The Foundation Establishment Cultivators of Earth Element Star are indeed a bit stronger than the ones in Yunzhou, but for me, it just means it takes one more hit.’
After a moment of silence, a heaven-shaking clamor erupted.
"Qiu Beixuan... lost? He couldn’t even withstand one palm and one kick?"
"Didn’t they say Chen Che only reached Foundation Establishment by taking pills? This strength... doesn’t seem like it... and, and..."
Although the Celestial Ranking was ordered by the time of one’s Foundation Establishment, it also reflected the students’ strength to a certain extent. There might be some discrepancies, but not to this degree. And defeating Qiu Beixuan with a single palm and kick could already be considered an absolute trouncing.
It’s just... he’s way too strong, isn’t he?
However, they soon noticed another problem.
In previous arena matches, students would leave after their fight. But Chen Che didn’t. He just stood there quietly and called out nonchalantly:
"Next!"
Everyone was stunned.
A Ninth Layer candidate who was about to go up had already stood. But when he heard those words, he sat right back down. After seeing Qiu Beixuan, number twenty-nine on the Celestial Ranking, defeated in two moves, how could he possibly dare to be his opponent?
"What is he trying to do?"
"Is he planning to copy Qiu Beixuan... and build his momentum?"
"If he builds momentum like this, who will dare to fight him in the end?"
Atop the peak, the surroundings were in an uproar. Yu Ziqing, Lei Qianfei, and the others all had drastic changes in their expressions, while the rest of the candidates were completely dumbfounded.
At this moment, they felt as if Chen Che were a Fierce Beast that had claimed its territory, and the arena beneath his feet was its lair.
Anyone who dared to take a single step onto that arena would surely suffer a thunderous blow.
"Building momentum..."
Qiu Beixuan, who had just exited the examination area, stared blankly back at the image on the Scroll. "He... he’s trying to copy me?"
"Copy you?"
Li Xiaoshuang glanced at him, crossed his arms, and stared at the Scroll without a word. ’What Qiu Beixuan did was called building momentum. Does someone with Chen Che’s momentum even need to build it? He probably got on that stage fully prepared to suppress everyone from the very start.’
"Next!"
Chen Che called out again.
One minute, two minutes, three minutes...
No one responded.
Below the stage, the numerous candidates looked at Chen Che, who stood as straight as a flagpole, and felt his aura growing stronger and stronger. Of course, they knew in their hearts it wasn’t that Chen Che was getting stronger, but that they themselves were growing timid.
’It’s come to this, and you Foundation Establishment sons of bitches are still trying to conserve your strength?’
Just as many of the Qi Refining candidates were cursing inwardly, someone below the stage suddenly spoke.
"I’ll go!"
Instantly, countless gazes converged on him.
A plain-looking student was seen slowly rising to his feet. He had been sitting there coiled up like a withered pine tree, drawing no attention. But the moment he stood, his entire being became like a drawn longsword, its sharp edge fully revealed!
"Ninth on the Celestial Ranking, Huang Min... are the top ten finally getting restless?"
"Of course! If they don’t go up now, that fighting spirit in their chests will dissipate. They won’t even have the courage to get on stage then!"
The moment he stood up, everyone felt the pressure on them suddenly lessen.
"Huang Min?"
Chen Che nodded and looked over.
He recalled the information he had on this student. Huang Min was very low-key, but his strength was not to be underestimated. He was a student renowned for his Sword Dao, and his family was said to have been a Golden Core Clan with a deep heritage before the Calamity of Heaven’s Fall.
Everything he had learned was a form of Swordsmanship never taught in textbooks, ferocious and unmatched.
As Chen Che was sizing him up, the other student was calculating in his mind:
’Chen Che must be hiding his true strength. His Celestial Ranking must be in the top ten at least, otherwise there’s no way he could have beaten Qiu Beixuan in just two moves!’
’If I can defeat him in one blow, not only will I break his momentum, but I can also take it for myself!’
At this thought, Huang Min gripped the longsword on his back with a reverse grip.
"That’s right, it is I!"
The moment his voice fell, he shot up like a surging Flood Dragon. With a single leap, he crossed a distance of over a thousand feet, flying right over the crowd and landing on the arena in one step.
CLANK!
As the longsword left its scabbard, a surging wave of Sword Qi erupted uncontrollably. To the astonishment of the crowd, his entire body was enveloped in Sword Qi, instantly transforming him into a giant sword that tore through the void, slashing directly at Chen Che!
This Sword Rainbow stretched nearly a hundred yards, like a beam of light piercing the sun, a comet striking the moon!
Unstoppable!
It seemed to tear the very heavens asunder!
"What kind of Swordsmanship is that?" many people cried out on the spot.
’Is this the gap between us and the Celestial Ranking students?’
Even from hundreds of yards away, the students below the stage could feel the Sword Qi rushing toward them!
’Can he block it?’
Everyone looked at Chen Che.
But the sword was too fast. Before many could even react, it was already in front of Chen Che. With a sound like tearing silk, SSSSSS, Chen Che’s Protective True Essence was ripped apart by the blade’s edge in an instant.
Then, it slammed directly into Chen Che’s body.
BOOM!
It was like the heavens were collapsing and the earth was splitting apart!
A vast wave of Strong Qi swept out from the center of the arena. The floating clouds surrounding the Stone Peak were instantly shredded. The weaker students were sent flying, with only a few Foundation Establishment Cultivators managing to hold their ground.
"What happened?"
Not even bothering to get up, everyone scrambled to look forward.
And every one of them stared with wide eyes.
Chen Che was still standing there, completely unmoved and seemingly unharmed. His hands were pressed together, tightly clamping a beam of sword light. The light was half an inch from his chest, but it could not advance any further, no matter what!
"Not good!"
Huang Min’s heart trembled violently.
When his strike failed, he immediately abandoned his sword and fled. He believed his own strength was considerable; if he could find an opening, he might still have a chance to turn the tables! But the thought had barely formed when he saw Chen Che leisurely raise a hand and chop down.
Huang Min tried to retreat again, but it was impossible.
His entire body was split in two from shoulder to hip, and he instantly turned into white light and vanished.
The entire scene fell dead silent!
No one had expected this result.
Before, when he defeated Qiu Beixuan with a palm and a kick, one could argue his opponent had underestimated him. But taking Huang Min’s full-powered strike head-on was undeniable proof of his overwhelming strength, far surpassing that of an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator.
’Who said he only reached Foundation Establishment by taking pills?’
’This strength... I’m afraid he’s already at the Foundation Establishment Second or Third Layer, right?’
It was the same outside the examination area.
Questions bubbled up endlessly, like air in boiling water.
’How is he so strong?’
Qiu Beixuan looked as if his eyes were about to pop out.
"Next!"
Chen Che’s voice remained as calm as ever.
And now, Yu Ziqing had already stood up.
Fifteen seconds.
All twenty-one strings of the Ancient Zither in Yu Ziqing’s hands snapped in an instant. He spat out a mouthful of blood and fell right off the arena.
"Next!"
Lei Qianfei shot to his feet and stepped onto the arena.
He nearly turned the entire arena into the eye of a thundercloud storm, but in less than half a minute, he was sent flying off the Stone Peak by a single palm strike from Chen Che.
All in all, in less than ten minutes, Chen Che had defeated four Foundation Establishment Cultivators in a row. Among them were top-ten Celestial Ranking candidates like Lei Qianfei, Yu Ziqing, and Huang Min. The overwhelming power he displayed from start to finish was especially shocking to everyone.
"A Great Demon King! This is a Great Demon King..."
"What kind of strength is this?"
"Which son of a bitch ranked him thirty-fourth on the Celestial Ranking? You can’t trust the independent media, they spread rumors all day! With this kind of strength, shouldn’t he be in the top five? No, top three!"
Inside and outside the examination area, there was a complete uproar.
"Someone hurry up and beat him!"
Qiu Beixuan was so angry he was hopping mad. "Hua Feng, are you still not going to go up...?"
As he spoke, someone’s gaze shifted to the figure sitting cross-legged in a corner of the arena. Then a second person looked, a third, a fourth...
At the same time, atop the Stone Peak, the other candidates also turned their gazes in that direction.
Perhaps only Hua Feng, whose fame was on par with Ye Zhihan’s, could defeat him.
At that moment, Hua Feng, who had been sitting cross-legged for two days without moving an inch, finally stood up slowly. As he rose, a surging aura swept out from him. This aura was several times stronger than that of Huang Min, Yu Ziqing, or Lei Qianfei.
In an instant, it even surged to the level of the Foundation Establishment Third Layer!
And the Wooden Token in his hand, amid a wild flash of light, transformed into a graceful longsword.
"Good!"
"I originally thought only Ye Zhihan was qualified to fight me, but I never expected a candidate like you to be in this competition... I hope you won’t disappoint me!"
His voice was thunderous, sweeping over the crowd like a tidal wave and making countless eardrums tremble.
"What’s wrong? What’s happening?"
"Who is it? Who is Hua Feng going to fight...?"
Even the candidates on the other nine mountain peaks were shocked and turned to look.
Before the astonished eyes of the crowd, Hua Feng took a single step forward.
The massive Stone Peak instantly began to tremble violently, as if on the verge of collapse. At the same time, he flourished his sword, and with a resonant HUM, all the students felt their weapons respond, forcibly breaking free of their control and shooting into the sky.
Fueled by his immense True Essence, they multiplied in the blink of an eye, becoming thirty-six thousand blades!
They wove an inescapable net in the sky, sealing off the entire arena. And this, shockingly, was just the most basic Sword Control Technique!
