Chapter 1757 - 2059: Mysterious Helper (1)
Before the old man could react, Chen Younian’s wrist slightly shook, and the sleeve arrow instantly shot out, piercing through the old man’s arrowhead and splattering a trail of blood. At the same time, Chen Younian waved his large hand, an invisible force surging out, directly pushing the old man’s body back several meters.
"You’re a Heavenly List expert of the Zhu Family, bound to join the Netherworld Snake sooner or later. I don’t want to harm you," Chen Younian said flatly. Indeed, if he wished to be lethal, that sleeve arrow just now would not have pierced the old man’s shoulder, but his heart.
Having defeated a Heavenly List assassin, Chen Younian slowly turned his head and cast his gaze toward another old man.
"Do you want to try as well?"
Hearing this, the old man hesitated. His companion was easily defeated, making any attempt futile and only adding to casualties. "Enough!" At this moment, Zhu Qian said in a deep voice, "We accept this defeat..."
"Wait!"
Before Zhu Qian could utter the word ’defeat’, a strange voice suddenly cut through the crowd. Ling Chen looked toward the source of the voice and saw a middle-aged man striding out from the back of the crowd. Who is this person? Ling Chen scrutinized him, feeling a bit puzzled, as he had never seen this middle-aged man before. He then turned his gaze to Zhu Qian, looking inquisitively. Could this person be an aide invited by the Zhu Family?
Feeling Ling Chen’s gaze, Zhu Qian understood and lightly shook his head, indicating he didn’t know the person’s identity either. Strange! How could no one know where this person came from, or when did he join the Zhu Family?
The suddenly appearing middle-aged man seemed to be in his forties or fifties, with well-maintained skin, a slender build, and regular features. A faint smile on his face gave people a refreshing spring breeze feeling.
As the man stepped into the martial arena, Chen Younian glanced at him and asked, "Are you also an aide invited by the Zhu Family?"
"I came uninvited," the middle-aged man replied with a slight smile, looking at Chen Younian. "I’ve been watching from the sidelines just now. You have good skills, so I’m thinking about learning a trick or two from you."
"Alright." Chen Younian nodded, pointing toward an incense stick at the side of the venue, "We have some time, so I don’t mind sparring with you."
Seeing the middle-aged man taking the initiative to challenge, Ling Chen and the others were left stunned. Who on earth is this guy? Didn’t he see Chen Younian’s terrifying prowess?
While pondering various thoughts, the middle-aged man had already walked up to Chen Younian, clasping his fists in a greeting. However, Chen Younian remained upright, showing no sign of returning the gesture. "I’m making my move!" said the middle-aged man, and with a light step, neither too fast nor slow, he headed directly toward Chen Younian.
Seeing his straightforward approach from the front, there was a wry smile on everyone’s faces. Isn’t this courting death?
Chen Younian stared at the rapidly approaching figure of the middle-aged man, still unmoved, standing quietly with hands behind his back. Only when the man’s fist was about ten centimeters from his face did Chen Younian suddenly move, instantly locking the man’s wrist. In that moment, the middle-aged man’s feet seemed glued to the ground, unable to move forward.
"Your strength..." Chen Younian opened his mouth, just about to say something, but before he could finish, his expression drastically changed. Immediately, he let go of his grip, swiftly stepping back three or four meters in a row.
Witnessing this, the onlookers were all dumbfounded. What... what just happened? Chen Younian, having already fought two bouts, couldn’t be resisted for even a round by either Wang Teng or the Zhu Family’s Heavenly List experts in front of him, let alone forced to retreat. However, the middle-aged man seemed to use some unknown method that compelled Chen Younian to back off voluntarily.
"Who exactly are you?" Chen Younian asked, staring at the middle-aged man with a newfound seriousness in his eyes.
"Since you didn’t ask earlier, there’s no need to ask now." The middle-aged man replied with a smile, gesturing provocatively at Chen Younian.
Chen Younian was silent for a moment, then nodded and said, "Good, very good! I didn’t expect to meet a true expert today. Even if we don’t bring the Zhu Family into the fold, it’s not a wasted trip."
A true expert? Hearing Chen Younian’s evaluation of the middle-aged man, Ling Chen was intrigued. For Chen Younian to say such words, it seems this middle-aged man’s strength is no small matter. Could he also be... As the thought crossed his mind, Ling Chen quickly shook his head, wondering how there could be so many abnormal people in the world.
However, besides this, it seemed there was no other possibility. Since interacting with these people, Ling Chen had gained some understanding. Although they had lived for hundreds of years, they all maintained the appearance of middle-aged men, never aging. Whether it was Ling Gengqiu, Chen Younian, or that Zhu Yuzhi from the Dangyang Sect, they were all like this. Among these people, perhaps only Su Cheng’en was an exception. The reason was simple, Su Cheng’en managed to survive so long, not because like Ling Gengqiu and the others, his body reached a certain realm and acquired immortality. As Ling Gengqiu once stated, Su Cheng’en forcibly extended his life using some unorthodox method, which was why he couldn’t change his appearance.
While pondering, Chen Younian and the middle-aged man had already begun their battle. However, their battle was rather peculiar, both standing still with hands behind their backs, neither taking the initiative. But what amazed people was that the minute particles and dust on the ground around them seemed to float up, hovering around them like a special effect in a movie.
This... Watching this scene, everyone was taken aback, as what unfolded before them completely exceeded their understanding and imagination of martial arts. Even the martial arts veterans like Ren Donglin and Golden Dragon were taken aback, staring in awe at the two on the field. What kind of state does one have to reach to achieve this?
Martial artists are in pursuit of the highest martial arts realm, and in their eyes, the Heavenly List realm was the limit. However, after witnessing the abilities of Chen Younian and the middle-aged man, they suddenly realized that there is no end to martial arts. Above the Heavenly List, there may exist realms yet unknown to them. For a moment, everyone’s eyes were filled with not just shock but also excitement, a yearning and exhilaration for pursuing unknown realms.
At this time, on the other side of the martial arena, Chen Qinghua seemed to realize something and quickly led the Netherworld Snake members to retreat. Ling Chen saw this and immediately stood up, saying, "Everyone move back."
As everyone retreated more than ten meters, there was a sudden ’boom’ sound like an explosion from the venue. A powerful blast of air burst forth, mixed with dust and stone particles.