"It’s true. However, Brother Song, your strength is indeed just a bit stronger than Li Tai from the capital. Forcing me to use sixty percent of my strength, you’ve actually done quite well," Ling Chen continued, appearing indifferent.
"Li Tai? Are you referring to Li Tai, one of the ’Ten Heroes of the Capital’?" Song Hailan looked at Ling Chen with some doubt. He couldn’t determine whether Ling Chen was telling the truth or not. However, one thing was for certain—he didn’t believe that Ling Chen had only used sixty percent of his strength.
"Tianhe, lend me your sword." Song Hailan turned to Yun Tianhe, determined to recover his face.
"Yes." Yun Tianhe obediently unstrapped his sword and handed it to Song Hailan.
Song Hailan narrowed his eyes. "Ling Chen, since you claimed that you could beat me by only putting forth sixty percent of your strength, you should be able to defeat me this time as well."
"Are we going to fight again?" Ling Chen shook his head. "Hasn’t a victor already been declared?"
"The last round doesn’t count." Song Hailan lifted his long sword, pointing at Ling Chen. "This time, I’ll use my most powerful move to end the fight."
"No matter how many times, the result will be the same." Ling Chen was somewhat resigned; he put away his Heavenly Emperor Heavy Sword, picked a dry twig from the ground, and used it as a weapon.
"What are you doing?" Song Hailan’s complexion slightly darkened; he probably guessed what Ling Chen was about to do.
"You all claimed that there was a problem with my weapon. If that’s the case, I’ll use this twig as my weapon. If you lose again, you won’t have any excuses left," Ling Chen said calmly.
"Arrogance!" Song Hailan’s face turned ashen with anger. "If I lose despite you using a mere twig as a weapon, I will kill myself right here."
If he couldn’t even beat Ling Chen using a twig as a weapon, what face would he have to continue living in this world?
"Brother Song, recklessness is the devil." Hearing Song Hailan utter such grave words, Yun Tianhe, Yang Song, and the others quickly stepped forward to dissuade him.
However, this only served to make Song Hailan even angrier. Did these people actually think he would lose under such circumstances?
"Go away!" Ignoring their advice, Song Hailan was determined to fight Ling Chen to the death. This time, he had to avenge his previous shame and repay the humiliation tenfold.
"Brother Song, remember, these are your own words." A smirk emerged on Ling Chen’s face. It looked like an interesting show was about to start.
"Qingfeng Violent Dragon!" After gathering his True Qi, Song Hailan swiftly attacked, stabbing towards Ling Chen’s forehead.
Ling Chen leaned back, avoiding the sword, and stabbed out abruptly with the twig in his hand, aiming directly at Song Hailan’s right hand holding the sword.
Song Hailan stepped back to avoid Ling Chen’s twig and immediately counterattacked, his long sword ruthlessly slashing towards the twig in Ling Chen’s hand.
Stray wisps of sword qi had already landed on Ling Chen’s body even before the sword struck, poking small black holes in Ling Chen’s robe.
Ling Chen certainly wouldn’t allow this strike to hit the twig in his hand. If it were a direct clash, the twig would undoubtedly be severed.
Dodging continuously, Ling Chen avoided the vital areas and backed off about ten steps.
His strength has really improved significantly. Ling Chen was secretly amazed. Song Hailan, fighting with all his might, was actually giving him quite a bit of trouble.
"Ling Chen, how about it? Can you still boast now?" A delighted smile appeared on Song Hailan’s face. To think Ling Chen believed a mere tree branch could defeat me; he had clearly underestimated me!
"Don’t speak too soon." Raising the branch in his hand, Ling Chen deployed the third move of the Dragon Seeking Sword Technique – Seeking Dragon without Shadows.
He darted swiftly, leaving behind a dragon shadow, then appearing in front of Song Hailan like a phantom, the branch in his hand thrusting out as fast as lightning.
At this sight, Song Hailan’s pupils contracted. Even though it was only a branch, it was infused with sword qi; if it hit, he would still be injured.
However, Song Hailan was fully focused. He reacted faster than Ling Chen, avoiding the attack at the crucial moment and retaliating with his sword.
"Defeat!" Song Hailan broke Ling Chen’s sword technique and snapped the branch Ling Chen held.
The next moment, though, he sensed something wrong. For an instant, it felt like something was pressing against the back of his head.
It’s an afterimage. Song Hailan realized in an instant. Ling Chen’s move was so fast. When did he manage to circle behind me?
"He’s too quick; Song Hailan had no time to react before being defeated," a disciple watching the fight said excitedly.
"Indeed! He only used a tree branch as a weapon, yet his strength is terrifying!" another disciple exclaimed. Although the onlookers hadn’t seen the process clearly, the result was blatant: Ling Chen had won, even with just a branch as his weapon.
A mischievous smile appeared at the corner of Ling Chen’s mouth. "Brother Song, according to your promise, shouldn’t you be..."
Before Ling Chen could finish speaking, Song Hailan fell to the ground, seemingly having fainted.
"How could he faint so easily? He can’t take a hit, can he?" Xiao Muyu was puzzled. Ling Chen hadn’t injured Song Hailan just now. How could he have fainted?
"If he hadn’t fainted, he would have had to fulfill his promise and commit suicide on the spot," Ling Yin explained.
"I see; this fellow is pretty clever." Xiao Muyu laughed. If he hadn’t pretended to faint, it would have been really hard for him to get out of this. He couldn’t possibly commit suicide in public.
Ling Chen knew exactly what was going on, but he was too lazy to expose him. Now, it was likely that no one could wake this guy up.
"Brother Song, Brother Song!" However, Yun Tianhe and Yang Song were still desperately shaking Song Hailan’s body, trying to wake him. This made Song Hailan want to leap up and beat them both. If these two exposed him, he was done for.
"Quickly take your Brother Song away. He won’t wake up anytime soon," Xiao Muyu walked over at that moment, speaking with a playful smile.
"Damn it, Ling Chen! What did you do to Brother Song?" Yun Tianhe glared furiously at Ling Chen.
Ling Chen laughed scornfully. "What could I have done to him? Once he wakes up, you can ask him."
"You just wait; this matter won’t end so easily." Yun Tianhe took a deep breath, glaring at Ling Chen with boundless rage. He couldn’t comprehend how Song Hailan had fallen so easily before Ling Chen. This guy, who I once trampled underfoot, had actually become so powerful?
Now it seemed that someone of Song Hailan’s caliber was no longer a threat to Ling Chen.
To deal with Ling Chen, it seemed they could only ask their Second Senior Sister, Yu Qingxuan, to step in. Their Second Senior Sister, Yu Qingxuan, was a young expert who held a place on the Heavenly List. For a nobody like Ling Chen to dare fight them, the only outcome would be death.
Yun Tianhe cast a deep look at Ling Chen, then he and Yang Song lifted Song Hailan. Amidst the many discussions, they dejectedly left the training field.