Celestial Human Diagram

Chen Chuan was currently under the influence of his opponent’s Power, his body frozen in place. Staring at the approaching spearhead, he seemed to have nowhere to dodge.

At that moment, his gaze became incredibly deep and calm. Just as the spearhead was about to pierce his face, the Second Self behind him suddenly flickered, becoming ethereal.

He suddenly raised both hands, parrying the spear’s shaft upward with a CLANG from the Snow Monarch Blade. Then, he stepped forward and lunged, swinging the blade in a fierce forward slash!

The impact had knocked the Iron Demon’s Long Spear high, leaving him wide open. But just then, a ripple went through his previously dormant Biological Domain. He rapidly twisted his body inward and, at the same time, pulled back on the spear with his rear hand, managing to block the incoming Long Blade for an instant.

He displayed astounding Spear Technique, actually using the force of the blow to retreat two quick steps. Simultaneously, he sank his waist, flicked his arms outward, and spun the spear shaft, once again parrying the Long Blade that followed up with a thrust.

But this was merely a recovery, a temporary save. He was still on the defensive. Chen Chuan had seized the opportunity he’d created and closed the distance. Even though his opponent repeatedly parried his slashes, as long as the Iron Demon couldn’t create space, he would have to face Chen Chuan’s relentless assault.

And after using the Second Self to transfer the Power, he wasn’t slowed by the impact of their weapons clashing. Thus, he could unleash his own strength without restraint.

Facing Chen Chuan’s swift offensive, the Iron Demon could only defend, unable to do anything else. Despite this disadvantage, he maintained a tight, flawless defense, a testament to his superb skill.

But at this rate, an opening was bound to appear. So, after blocking a dozen or so strikes, his eyes reddened slightly and his Biological Domain fluctuated. He made no attempt to defend, allowing the Long Blade to slam down on his neck guard.

Even though the armor plates there were thick, with Protective Clothing underneath, the immense force behind Chen Chuan’s strike still broke through, and the blade finally struck his neck!

Chen Chuan felt the blade penetrate only slightly before it could go no further. The Iron Demon, seizing the moment of the strike, brought his Long Spear back, repositioned the shaft to grip its middle section, and thrust the spearhead up toward him.

Chen Chuan parried with his blade and felt a burst of Power explode from the spear. He knew the best opportunity was lost, so instead of meeting it head-on, he rode the force and retreated.

After Chen Chuan fell back, the Iron Demon didn’t pursue. Instead, he kept his Long Spear steady while retreating himself. His hands slid smoothly back to grip the rear of the shaft. With a flick and a shake, the white tassel on it trembled. Then, he slowly extended the spearhead, pointing it at Chen Chuan.

Chen Chuan slowly brought his Long Blade, which had been off to one side, back to a two-handed grip along his centerline. The tip of the blade pointed slightly upward as he stared intently at his opponent.

From that last exchange, he knew that while his opponent didn’t practice Horizontal Training, he could achieve a similar tough, Defensive state by mobilizing his Mutated Organization with Essence Blood.

This was not an enemy who could be defeated by finding a simple opening. He probably wouldn’t fall until his Essence Blood and Divine Constant were completely exhausted.

However, he had also noticed something. When the Iron Demon had neutralized the situation just now, he had undoubtedly used some kind of explosive technique. That in itself was nothing special, but every time he did it, the Domain, which felt so solid and dense, would ripple, as if a tiny crack had appeared.

’From this, I can see he isn’t as perfect as I imagined.’ When his spirit and body were both at their peak, he was indeed flawless. But that state needed to be maintained. A person’s condition isn’t static; it fluctuates with physical exertion and mental highs and lows.

Every pillar supporting that perfection had to be in harmony. If a problem appeared in any one area and the balance was broken, then everything would collapse.

Thinking of this, he already had a plan.

The two had now reset their stances. Their feet began to slowly shuffle forward again, and then they lunged almost simultaneously. As their weapons collided once more, a shockwave of energy rippled outward.

This collision seemed to break some kind of restraint. The two of them no longer stayed in one place; they abruptly vanished.

To be precise, they vanished from the sight and senses of their respective teammates. Then, the sounds of blade and spear clashing rang out through the surrounding air.

With a tacit understanding, both began moving into the distance, away from the battlefield where their teammates fought. As they moved, dirt on the ground exploded upward, and dust filled the air, a trail of power extending far away.

With the two of them gone, the remaining four felt a weight lift from their shoulders.

This was because the Power and Spiritual Domain that erupted from both the Iron Demon and Chen Chuan during their clash were immensely intimidating. It had forced the others to divert a part of their attention, and this was true even for the Iron Demon’s two subordinates.

It was their instinctual reaction to danger as Fighters, something they couldn’t suppress at will. Now that the two had withdrawn from the area, they could finally relax a little.

Yuan Qiuyuan and Qin Qingque, in particular, took advantage of their opponents’ Defensive-oriented, rather than offensive, style. They quickly regulated their breathing, lowered their Activity Index, and then rallied their spirits to fight again.

Up ahead, the two fast-moving figures were initially some distance apart, but as they rapidly closed in on each other, they slammed together. With a deafening BOOM, they shot past one another.

Both used their forward momentum to dissipate the opponent’s Power, then turned and spun around to face each other again, beginning the next round of their exchange.

As they moved, the ground they trod upon was plowed by immense force, creating one trench after another. The entire area became a roiling, billowing cloud of dust and dirt.

In this clash, both fighters were using the force generated by their high-speed charges to suppress their opponent.

If their previous exchange was a pure contest of strength, this was now a competition of speed. Whoever was faster, whoever could recover more quickly, would be able to unleash more power.

However, Chen Chuan relied on his Second Self to transfer the force, while the Iron Demon relied purely on his own body. Because of this, with every impact, the latter’s Biological Domain could be seen fluctuating violently.

This kind of explosive output couldn’t be infinite. It was bound to consume a certain amount of his Essence Blood and Divine Constant. Even if he was Mutated in some way, he couldn’t avoid this fact.

’So, even if I don’t actively search for a winning move and just keep up this exchange, he won’t be able to maintain this state forever. I just need to wait patiently.’

He also made an unexpected discovery. His opponent’s weapon had to be a Mutated Weapon as well to withstand the force of their collisions. But as he swung the Snow Monarch Blade with all his might, the Mutated Organization within the blade and *that thing* began to gradually awaken.

And it seemed that with every clash, it was siphoning something akin to Life Force from the Long Spear. Although the amount was minuscule, it was definitely taking a little bit each time.

Perhaps because the amount was so small, his opponent was completely unaware.

He didn’t know what it was, but as long as it didn’t hinder him, it was fine.

After the two had clashed like this for about twenty minutes, their power-laden weapons collided once more. With a loud SNAP, the Long Spear actually broke at the point of impact.

The Iron Demon seemed not to have anticipated this change, but Chen Chuan was prepared. His eyes flashed as he thrust his blade forward, following through with a horizontal slash at the Iron Demon’s neck—aiming for the exact spot where the neck guard had been broken earlier.

The Iron Demon’s gaze turned grim. He completely ignored the incoming blade, grabbing both broken halves of his spear and thrusting them at Chen Chuan’s chest with both hands.

Chen Chuan’s forward Blade Stance didn’t change at all. His blade struck the Iron Demon first. This time, the attack was faster and more powerful. The edge tore through skin and muscle, hacking directly into the cervical bone. But when he tried to sever it in one blow, the blade was caught by something tough, preventing it from going any deeper.

Meanwhile, the two spear fragments stabbed into his chest, piercing straight through his Anti-stabbing Suit and Protective Clothing. A shallow, ethereal hollow appeared on the chest of his Second Self.

Chen Chuan paid it no mind. He lifted his blade and continued to hack downward. The Iron Demon did the same, ignoring the blade-strike to pull his spear tip back slightly and thrust again.

In the next moment, both fighters completely abandoned defense, simply attacking each other with their weapons while using their own bodies to weather their opponent’s deadly blows.

Yet even so, neither one could inflict serious harm on the other. Every time the Iron Demon’s flesh was cut open, it healed rapidly. As for Chen Chuan, various ethereal signs flickered across his Second Self, his skin never even breaking. The few bruises he received also faded away quickly.

This was, in reality, a contest of Essence Blood, Divine Constant, and their fundamental reserves. However, both of their reserves seemed bottomless. In contrast, their clothing and Armor became tattered and ruined under the constant stabs and slashes.

After several minutes of relentless attacks, their weapons locked together. They struggled for a moment, then pushed each other away, using the force to retreat into the distance where they stood facing off.

The Iron Demon glanced at him. This was the first time he had ever met an opponent as evenly matched as Chen Chuan. He tossed the two broken weapon fragments to the ground and removed his helmet, revealing a neatly tied topknot.

At the same time, he pounded his chest and pulled. With a few yanks, he unfastened his ruined Iron Armor. He let the heavy, severely damaged Armor fall to the ground with a CLATTER, then took off the Protective Clothing underneath, revealing a sturdy and well-muscled upper body. Only his iron mask and the tasset of his armor remained.

Chen Chuan plunged his Snow Monarch Blade into the dirt, reached up to unbutton his collar, and stripped off his damaged Anti-stabbing Suit and outer coat, tossing them aside. His mask and wide-brimmed hat had already fallen off during their earlier exchange.

He rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, then took hold of the blade’s hilt again. Raising his hands, he slowly lifted the blade to the side of his head, its tip pointing straight at his opponent.

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