Chapter 42: Xiao Chen Battles Xue Ren

Ding Jiu was still a minor, but his body was more than twice as fat as his peers. When he ran, his entire body of fat shook. Ding Jiu couldn't even jump onto the stage; he had to climb up instead. The more Xiao Chen watched, the more disheartened he became. Encountering such an opponent was truly unlucky.

The result of the fight was the same as before. Ding Jiu's attacks were completely ineffective, and his movements were slow. In the end, Xiao Chen picked up the fat Ding Jiu and threw him off the stage, once again causing the whole crowd to burst into laughter.

After Xiao Chen advanced, the subsequent battles saw Liu Feng, Su Gutian, Zhang Feng, Bai Yifei, and others also advancing. With the end of the second round, 25 more people were eliminated, leaving only 25 contestants. The third round was about to begin.

The third round had a slight difference. Those who drew blue number 12 and red number 12 would fight together with number 13, making it a three-person battle, with the last person remaining on the stage advancing.

The first match of the third round was Zhang Feng versus Bai Yifei. Both were in the fasting stage, with equivalent cultivation levels. However, Zhang Feng had the advantage in this match, using his ability to instantly increase his speed to successfully defeat Bai Yifei.

In the second, third, and fourth matches, Ling Zhan, Liu Feng, and Su Gutian appeared, respectively. Their strong cultivation levels allowed them to easily defeat their opponents and advance, which was no surprise. Losing to these three was not dishonorable.

Xiao Chen drew the blue number five, so it was his turn to fight. His opponent this time was Xue Ren, who was in the initial fasting stage, making Xiao Chen somewhat relieved.

"Haha, it's that Xiao Chen kid again. I wonder if he'll throw his opponent off the stage this time too!"

"That's hard to say. Xue Ren is in the initial fasting stage. Maybe it'll be Xiao Chen getting thrown off the stage this time! Haha!"

"Xiao Chen's been pretty lucky, advancing twice by facing relatively weak opponents. This time, his opponent is in the fasting stage. I wonder what the result will be!"

"Begin the match!" the referee announced loudly.

"Xiao Chen, I'm not as weak as your previous opponents. You better be careful!" Xue Ren said with a smile, beginning to mobilize his true energy.

The Heart Movement stage couldn't compare to the Fasting stage. No matter how strong someone in the Heart Movement stage was, they couldn't match a Fasting stage opponent. Each level of cultivation brought exponentially greater strength.

Xiao Chen smiled slightly. "I know, go ahead."

"Alright! Then I won't hold back!" Xue Ren shouted, moving quickly to the left, then forward, planning to attack Xiao Chen from behind.

Attacking from behind wasn't that easy. Xiao Chen didn't turn around or look back, but just as Xue Ren was about to hit him, he moved to the left, perfectly dodging the attack.

"Go Xiao Chen!" As the fight began, Moye was the first to cheer excitedly for Xiao Chen.

"Quick reflexes! You managed to dodge my attack! But it's not over yet!" Xue Ren laughed. Though surprised by Xiao Chen's evasion, he wasn't deterred. He launched a series of stronger attacks with renewed vigor.

"Bam! Bam! Bam!"

Xue Ren drove his true energy more powerfully, attacking Xiao Chen relentlessly, as if aiming to defeat him in one go and secure his advancement without any surprises. A series of muffled sounds echoed on the stage.

Xiao Chen defended against Xue Ren's attacks unhurriedly, retreating step by step under the onslaught.

"Wow? Didn't expect Xiao Chen to have some skill, dodging Xue Ren's attacks like that!"

"Haha, we underestimated him earlier. Thought he was just brute strength! Now, seeing such an exciting battle, we realize he's also in the Fasting stage!"

"What's going on? Xiao Chen is losing ground. How is that possible? He drove Ge Fei back with a single sword strike. How could he be at a disadvantage against Xue Ren?" Moye thought anxiously, not understanding the situation.

"Is Xiao Chen also in the initial Fasting stage? How is he being suppressed by Xue Ren?" Su Gutian wondered, looking at Xiao Chen with a strange expression.

Liu Feng shook his head. "No, you're missing the point. Xiao Chen hasn't exerted himself yet, and his expression is calm, not the least bit flustered. Staying composed in such a fierce battle shows he's not simple."

"Liu Feng is right. His eyes are steady, and his breathing is even. On the surface, he seems to be losing, but in reality, he's observing his opponent. My father said not to underestimate him," Ge Tianming said, approaching them.

"Tianming, how's your injury?" Su Gutian asked happily upon hearing his voice.

"Hehe, much better," Ge Tianming replied with a smile.

On the stage, the intense battle had lasted for a few minutes. After the two exchanged a punch, they each retreated to a side. Xiao Chen's expression remained unchanged, very calm. Each time Xue Ren's attack seemed about to hit Xiao Chen, he narrowly avoided it, escaping danger every time.

"This Xiao Chen seems extraordinary. He narrowly avoids his opponent's attacks every time. It's definitely not luck or coincidence. He hasn't even mobilized his true energy. His strength is considerable," Ling Zhan muttered to himself from the pavilion, watching Xiao Chen's battle closely.

"What's going on? Since the start of the battle, he's been suppressing me, but I haven't landed a single hit. He's evaded every one of my attacks, no matter the angle. This is really strange!" Xue Ren thought, his expression growing more serious. He was beginning to realize Xiao Chen wasn't simple. He couldn't believe it was just Xiao Chen's luck avoiding his attacks.

"Flame Slash!" After staring at Xiao Chen for a moment, Xue Ren gave up on close combat. He immediately mobilized his true energy, gathering it in his right arm, which glowed with a red hue. A powerful aura emanated, and he shouted loudly, slashing towards Xiao Chen.

"Hmph! You can't dodge this at such a short distance!" Xue Ren thought with satisfaction, while the crowd held their breath.

"Whoosh!"

A red energy slash shot out from Xue Ren's right arm, moving at incredible speed. With only three meters between them, it seemed to reach Xiao Chen instantly.

"Hmm? The speed of this Flame Slash is so fast!" Xiao Chen was also surprised. The Flame Slash was upon him in the blink of an eye. He quickly leaped high, his speed increasing instantly, narrowly avoiding the Flame Slash again.

"What?" Seeing Xiao Chen dodge his Flame Slash, Xue Ren's face changed drastically. The Flame Slash was his most powerful martial skill, one he was confident in. Xiao Chen's evasion was shocking.

"Oh! Xiao Chen dodged it! The Flame Slash was so fast, but he evaded it!" a cultivator exclaimed in surprise.

"Impressive! Such a short distance, and he still dodged it!"

"So fast! In that instant, his speed increased!" Liu Feng said, the more he watched Xiao Chen, the more he felt Xiao Chen was extraordinary.

"Indeed, he has some skill! Haha," Su Gutian said with a smile.

"Whew! That was close, almost got hit!" Xiao Chen said with a laugh, still in mid-air. Luckily, his reaction was quick; otherwise, he would have been struck.

"Let's see you dodge this time! Flame Slash!" Missing the first attack, Xue Ren launched a second one. Another powerful Flame Slash shot out.

Seeing the second Flame Slash coming quickly, the ancient white tiger shouted urgently, "Xiao Chen, be careful!"

"Oh no! Got too excited!" Xiao Chen's face changed as he saw the second Flame Slash. He couldn't fly, and in mid-air, he couldn't dodge. He could only brace himself for the hit.

Xiao Chen's hands and feet moved quickly, as if trying to swim like a fish to avoid the Flame Slash, but his movements seemed to step on something.

"Bang!"

With no time to think, the Flame Slash was upon him. Xiao Chen hurriedly protected his head with his hands. With a loud bang, the powerful force sent him flying.

"Great! I hit him!" Xue Ren rejoiced at the sight.

"Xiao Chen, be careful not to fall off the stage!" the ancient white tiger warned loudly.

"Heh! Not that easy!" Xiao Chen chuckled. His body, which was flying out, seemed about to fall off, but he performed a backflip in mid-air, his right foot landing on the edge of the stage, stabilizing himself. Half his body was outside the stage, nearly falling off.

"That was close! Almost fell off. It would've been so embarrassing to fall like that!" Xiao Chen patted his chest and laughed, as if he hadn't been hit by the Flame Slash at all.

"This kid is really lucky, not falling off even after that."

"Not simple! I don't know who this young man is, but his strength is not bad!"

"Damn! Almost won! But he...he seems unharmed!" Xue Ren was shocked, staring at Xiao Chen, almost in disbelief.

Steadying himself, Xiao Chen exerted force with one foot, jumping back onto the stage. The edge of the stage where he had stepped showed cracks.

"Huh? Just one step and he cracked the stage?" Ling Zhan in the pavilion frowned, seemingly the only one who noticed.

Seeing Xiao Chen return to the stage unscathed, Xue Ren couldn't help but ask in shock, "Xiao Chen, does it not hurt?"

"Hurt? Not at all," Xiao Chen replied without thinking, then regretted it, realizing it might scare others.

"What? Not hurt?" As expected, Xue Ren was taken aback. Being hit by his Flame Slash, Xiao Chen said it didn't hurt!