Chapter 16: Revealing Sharpness

After the outer gate attendant announced Wang Yue's victory, Liu Yong, who had been lying on the ground unable to get up, fainted outright.

How shameful!

A prestigious inner gate disciple, and one who had used the powerful move "Eagle Soaring Through the Sky," was actually defeated by a rookie who had only joined the Flowing Cloud Sect's outer gate for one or two months!

If Liu Yong were still conscious at this moment, he would surely be mortified to death by the contemptuous gazes and sarcastic remarks!

The surrounding outer gate disciples were even more shocked! If Wang Yue, Shen Chen's subordinate, could defeat Liu Yong, a peak third-rank Blood Fusion Realm disciple, how formidable must Shen Chen be? Subsequently, several outer gate disciples responsible for maintaining order on the square carried away the unconscious Liu Yong, and a few others helped the injured Wang Yue to leave for treatment and recuperation.

The assessment continued, with one outer gate disciple after another stepping into the center of the square to engage in combat with the twenty inner gate disciples.

Most of the twenty inner gate disciples ranked at the bottom had joined the inner gate two years ago after the inner gate assessment. Having been in the inner gate for only two years, their strength, while superior to that of the outer gate disciples, was not significantly greater.

However, among them were a few disciples with remarkable strength and talent.

It should be noted that Liu Yong, who was at the peak of the third-rank Blood Fusion Realm and could use the "Eagle Soaring Through the Sky" move, which only fourth-rank Blood Fusion Realm warriors could perform, was only ranked fifth among the twenty inner gate disciples!

"The next match: Outer gate disciple Shen Chen versus inner gate disciple Lang Zheng!" the outer gate attendant announced loudly.

"Lang Zheng? Could it be one of the four young tigers of the inner gate? No wonder he looks so familiar!"

"It must be the Lang Zheng who joined the inner gate two years ago and, in just one year, became one of the four young tigers of the inner gate! How could there be another Lang Zheng in the Flowing Cloud Sect?"

"Why is he ranked in the bottom twenty?"

"I heard that during a training session half a year ago, he was attacked by several second-rank spirit beasts. He barely escaped with severe injuries, which must have weakened his strength considerably..."

...

The surrounding outer gate disciples whispered to each other, boasting about the information they had gathered, but Shen Chen, who had only been in the Flowing Cloud Sect for a little over a month, heard everything clearly.

Because he had only been in the Flowing Cloud Sect for a little over a month, Shen Chen had little knowledge of the inner and outer gate disciples, let alone any experience in sparring with them.

The only person Shen Chen had ever sparred with was Liu Yong.

This inner gate disciple, Lang Zheng, who had once earned the title of one of the "four young tigers" of the inner gate, clearly possessed talent and strength far surpassing Liu Yong!

Although Lang Zheng's strength had significantly decreased due to his injuries, and he had fallen to the bottom twenty of the inner gate disciples, in terms of combat experience and skills, even ten Liu Yongs might not be a match for him!

As soon as the outer gate attendant finished speaking, Shen Chen took a step forward and walked toward the center of the square, observing Lang Zheng, who was slowly walking out from a row of inner gate disciples.

Lang Zheng, who looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old, had reportedly broken through to the fourth-rank Blood Fusion Realm a year ago and could challenge fifth-rank Blood Fusion Realm warriors, earning him the title of one of the "four young tigers" of the inner gate.

Although Lang Zheng's strength had significantly decreased due to his injuries, he now only had the strength of a third-rank Blood Fusion Realm warrior. However, underestimating or looking down on him would be a grave mistake!

"Salutations, Senior Brother Lang!" Shen Chen bowed respectfully.

Lang Zheng was taken aback for a moment. Seeing the sincerity on Shen Chen's face, he realized it was not a mockery, and his expression improved slightly.

"Let's begin! I won't hold back!" Lang Zheng said coolly.

"To show respect to Senior Brother Lang, I will also give it my all! I hope we can have a good fight!" Shen Chen said loudly.

Lang Zheng carefully examined Shen Chen, confirming that he had never seen him before. However, for some reason, he felt a sense of familiarity from Shen Chen, and his attitude toward him became more amiable.

Perhaps what Lang Zheng admired was Shen Chen's perseverance and courage to challenge everything, much like himself a few years ago!

With a "thud," Lang Zheng stomped his foot, and his entire body instantly transformed into a blur, charging toward Shen Chen like a wind shadow leopard.

A silver, cold light mixed with the blur, like a bolt of lightning piercing the sky, instantly slashing across Shen Chen's neck!

"Wind Shadow Sword!" Shen Chen's eyes narrowed, and his expression turned serious. He quickly rolled to the right, disregarding his appearance.

Lang Zheng's "Wind Shadow Sword" was known for its speed and unpredictability, specializing in assassination and rapid attacks.

It was no wonder that Lang Zheng could survive the attack of two second-rank spirit beasts, relying on his speed advantage!

Otherwise, a second-rank spirit beast was equivalent to a fifth-rank Blood Fusion Realm warrior. In the attack of two second-rank spirit beasts, even a seventh-rank Blood Fusion Realm warrior would only be able to flee in panic, let alone a fourth-rank Blood Fusion Realm warrior like Lang Zheng.

Lang Zheng's attack missed, and he immediately darted out again, like a ghost, following Shen Chen closely. The cold sword light, like a bone-deep sore, never left Shen Chen's vital points!

After rolling several times, Shen Chen still had no opportunity to stand up, let alone use his techniques to defend.

"Swish, swish, swish..." Silver light flashed behind Shen Chen, nearly slicing his neck several times.

"This can't go on! I'm too passive." Taking advantage of the rolling, Shen Chen suddenly punched the ground hard, using the impact to flip and finally stand up.

"Good! Your reaction is quite fast!" Lang Zheng said, and his speed suddenly increased, circling around Shen Chen like a whirlwind.

Silver sword light formed a blur, surrounding Shen Chen's body. A slight misstep would result in being pierced by the sword light, leaving a transparent hole in the body!

"Surging Waves!" Shen Chen, no longer holding back, quickly used his strongest move to date.

The punches were like surging waves, crashing one after another. The iron rings on his fists collided with the silver sword light repeatedly.

At first, Lang Zheng didn't feel anything unusual, but as time passed, Shen Chen's punches became faster, and the power of each punch did not weaken but continued to increase.

Two thousand pounds! Two thousand one hundred pounds! Two thousand two hundred pounds...

Even with Lang Zheng's peak third-rank Blood Fusion Realm strength, each sword strike had a force of three thousand pounds, yet he was still suppressed by Shen Chen's wave-like punches.

"No! I must use my ultimate move!" Lang Zheng frowned, making a decision.

Due to his severe injuries, some of Lang Zheng's powerful moves had already exceeded his current physical limits, so he had not planned to use them.

However, facing Shen Chen's increasingly powerful punches, Lang Zheng knew that if he didn't use his ultimate move, he would soon be completely suppressed and defeated!

"You are indeed impressive! You've forced me to use my ultimate move! Taste my ultimate move! Whirlwind Shadow Kill!" Lang Zheng shouted, and the silver light in his hand suddenly condensed, and the myriad sword shadows instantly disappeared, converging into a single point.

This point of sword light, like a star in the night sky, emitted an endless aura. The sword light suddenly began to spin, piercing directly toward Shen Chen!

Shen Chen's eyebrows shot up, knowing that this move must be Lang Zheng's strongest killing move. For the first time, he felt an extreme sense of danger from the sword light.

"Surging Waves!" Shen Chen also shouted, and the originally swift punches suddenly retracted. His right fist slowly extended from his waist, moving extremely slowly but containing immense power.

With a "boom," Shen Chen's fist collided with Lang Zheng's sword light, producing a deafening sound.

A visible ripple spread from the point where Shen Chen's fist and Lang Zheng's sword met!

"Thud!" Shen Chen was thrown back several meters, landing heavily on the ground.

On the other side, Lang Zheng also suffered, retreating several meters before barely stabilizing himself.

"Indeed, Senior Brother Lang is slightly superior!"

"Senior Brother Lang lives up to being one of the four young tigers of the inner gate!"

...

The surrounding outer gate disciples discussed, their eyes filled with admiration for Lang Zheng.

"Spit..." At this moment, Lang Zheng suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood, his body retreating several steps, and then he wobbled and fell to the ground.

"Uh... What... What's happening?"

"Impossible! Senior Brother Lang clearly won. Why did he suddenly spit blood?"

The outer gate disciples stared with wide eyes, looking at each other in disbelief at the fallen Lang Zheng.

Clearly, Lang Zheng had the upper hand, but he suddenly and strangely lost. Many outer gate disciples, including the outer gate attendants and inner gate disciples, could not understand the reason. However, Lu Hao, the Blue-faced Wolf responsible for the assessment, looked sharply at Shen Chen.

"This kid can actually cultivate the 'Surging Waves' technique to such a level! He can even use the second wave at the mere second-rank Blood Fusion Realm! Impressive!" The Blue-faced Wolf nodded in approval, a faint smile of praise on his face.

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End of Chapter 16