Chapter 568: First Battle
Chapter 568: First Battle
"So it’s Shen Yuchen and Du Haoran. They are both geniuses in their respective Pavilions. I even had my current sword refined by Du Haoran, although I haven’t seen their battle strength yet.." Wei Cangming stated with a smile.
He thought someone among his companions would react to his words in some way, but no one paid him any attention, making him look like a fool.
Wei Cangming’s lips twitched in embarrassment. He could understand the others ignoring him, but why hadn’t Lin Feng responded? Didn’t he know that juniors were supposed to show some respect to their seniors?
He turned his attention towards Lin Feng, only to be taken aback when he saw him standing with his eyes closed, as if he had no interest in watching the battle at all..
"Junior Brother Lin, you shouldn’t waste such an opportunity. Watching these fights will give you plenty of insights that could help you improve yourself. I know you’re an alchemist, but strength is also a very important aspect for a cultivator—"
Wei Cangming’s words got stuck in his throat when he noticed Sun Xiurong turning towards him. Although her expression remained as indifferent as ever, the look in her eyes made it perfectly clear that he should shut his mouth..
Zhi Hui was stunned to see that stare, as such a reaction from Sun Xiurong was completely unexpected.
"Ah—oh well, I’ll be back shortly.." Wei Cangming immediately excused himself and went a little further away from the group.
Zhi Hui could only shake her head with a smile before turning her attention back to the arena. She couldn’t help but wonder if her junior sister had been annoyed by Wei Cangming trying to advise Junior Brother Lin... If so, then it would be quite surprising.
...
"Alright, you two, prepare yourselves.." The elder spoke before slowly flying away from the arena.
Shen Yuchen and Du Haoran glanced at each other before taking out their weapons.
Shen Yuchen held a simple array plate in his hand, while Du Haoran wielded a thick saber.
Seeing that both of them were ready, the elder waved his hand.
"Let the battle begin.."
With that, the first battle of the tournament began..
Shen Yuchen immediately began pouring his qi into the array plate, but Du Haoran reacted just as quickly. He swiftly rushed forward and swung his saber towards Shen Yuchen, clearly intending to prevent him from activating the array.
Arrays of the same grade as a cultivator’s realm could provide a considerable advantage in battle, but creating an array plate came with its own drawbacks.
Crafting a proper array plate was far more difficult than setting up the same array directly on the ground, even if one had an entire day to prepare it. As a result, the array plate Shen Yuchen was holding was most likely an ordinary one, and it would hardly be enough to guarantee his victory.
Nonetheless, if Shen Yuchen could successfully activate it, he would undoubtedly be able to restrict Du Haoran to some extent. That alone might give him enough of an advantage to turn the tide of the battle.
Unfortunately, things were not going to be that easy.
The amount of immortal qi required to activate the unrefined array plate was far greater than Shen Yuchen could manage while dealing with Du Haoran’s relentless attacks. His opponent was also far more agile than he had anticipated, leaving him with little time to focus on the array.
In the end, Shen Yuchen was forced to devote most of his attention to dodging the swift attacks of the heavy saber that tore through the air. If even one of those attacks landed squarely on him, the consequences would be disastrous.
This made his attempts to activate the array increasingly futile, and Shen Yuchen couldn’t help but regret his choice of array plate.
If he had chosen an even simpler array that only slightly restricted his opponent’s movements, he might have been able to activate it by now, even under Du Haoran’s relentless assault..
In the end, Shen Yuchen failed to activate his array and decided to endure as much as he could to wear out Du Haoran before giving up..
"I concede.."
Du Haoran immediately changed the trajectory of his attack, and his saber struck the arena instead.
BOOMM!
A crisp sound of collision echoed through the valley, but the surface of the arena remained completely intact.
This was hardly surprising, though. The arena had been constructed to withstand battles between Peak Manifestation Realm cultivators. An attack from a Peak Initiation Realm cultivator was simply too weak to leave any noticeable damage on its surface.
The elder looked at Du Haoran and asked, "Are you staying?"
Du Haoran nodded confidently.
"Alright, the next participant from the Array Pavilion, come onto the arena.."
...
The spectators were quite surprised by the outcome of the first battle.
"Damn, how does that guy move so fast while wielding such a heavy saber?"
"I mean, it’s understandable. Shen Yuchen should have used an even simpler array plate. He was too confident for his own good.."
"You’re just trying to downplay Du Haoran’s strength now.."
As the discussions continued among the spectators, the next Peak Initiation Realm cultivator from the Array Pavilion landed on the arena.
Learning from the mistake Shen Yuchen had made, he immediately took out an array plate, choosing the simplest one he had crafted..
The elder waved his hand..
"Begin.."
Du Haoran immediately dashed towards his opponent and attacked. He was following the same approach as in his previous battle..
His opponent, though, was already prepared. He dodged with slight difficulty, but this allowed him to focus somewhat on his array plate...
Du Haoran sensed this and tried to push himself further, attacking even more relentlessly. However, since the array was simple, it required a very small amount of immortal qi, and by now, it had already reached that stage.
A faint shield spread out from the array plate, and Du Haoran immediately felt slight resistance from the air surrounding him.