Book 4, Chapter 145: Forced Custodian
Book 4, Chapter 145: Forced Custodian
She surpassed the limits of regular martial artists?
Chen Chuan paid special attention to this, because there was a limit to the human body. In other words, there was a peak they could reach, but Xue Shou was saying that the girl had surpassed it.
It was clear from the spirit sense that filled her to the brim, though.
Something worth mentioning was that even if they surpassed the limit, it didn’t mean that they were a martial arts master. Based on what Chen Chuan knew, martial arts masters were head and shoulders above regular martial artists.
The ground under his feet surged upward, and a few burnt corpses crawled out. They weren’t alone, though. Even more of them rushed over from all around him.
The first ones to crawl out charged at him.
Once Chen Chuan saw them, he flung his arm, and a deafening crackle tore through the air. The corpses were shoved by an unparalleled power and went flying backward with a bang.
It was a simple Cloud Ripping Palm, and he attacked them remotely, but the effects were stunning. Dirt rippled from a shockwave, and when the burnt corpses fell on the ground, they shattered to pieces.
Even so, the other corpses didn’t seem affected. They continued charging at Chen Chuan.
“You’ve entered the existence’s domain. Existences are very skilled in using domains. You must have used the holographic training provided by Hongfu. It’s similar, but domains in the merged space are much more stable than in Central City, and the effects are stronger.
“Being in the domain is beneficial for the girl. She can keep repairing herself while those things attack you nonstop. As long as she has the energy to keep up the domain, you will never be able to destroy these things. Mental energy is required to maintain a domain, and hers is stronger than yours, so she won’t run out before your stamina is completely drained.
“But... it’s unstable.”
Xue Shou extended a hand and smacked at empty air. A clear crack rang out, as if glass had shattered, and Chen Chuan saw cracks in the domain.
“Her technique is rough around the edges. It’s probably because she doesn’t have enough condensed power to construct the domain. This is due to her physical strength not being in harmony with her mental energy. It creates a lot of weaknesses in the domain. You just need to disrupt her energy, and you will win.”
As he said that, the domain shattered.
Once again, they returned to the campsite. This time, the girl, who was the host of the existence from the other world, was also with them.
Chen Chuan unsheathed the Frost King Saber and positioned the tip to the side as he voiced his observation. “She seems to want something.”
“It’s not her. It’s the existence who wants it. The existences need a body that can host them properly to infiltrate our world. This means either using a lot of energy to modify a body until it can host them, or snatching a suitable body from the get-go.
“The girl’s body clearly doesn’t fit its standards, so it had to eat humans to continue staying here. If it snatches the body of a martial artist, though, especially someone physically strong, it would be able to stay longer, since such a person would be able to withstand their power better. The existence clearly wants you as its next host.”
Xue Shou stared at the monstrous girl before smiling. “While the girl’s body has clearly surpassed the limits of a regular Third Limit martial artist, it’s clear that no adjustments were made for her to get used to her new strength. That’s why there’s an obvious lack of coordination.
“While she has an absolute advantage over you in terms of mental energy, her body will collapse if she uses it recklessly. What I’m saying is, your chance of winning against her isn’t 0%.
“I’ll leave the rest to you. I’m sure that you can handle it.”
“Of course,” Chen Chuan answered without hesitation.
Even if he weren’t a lead investigator in the Resolution Department, he would still be part of the purity faction, whose members had the duty and obligation to get rid of all the things that infiltrated their world.
Xue Shou laughed and stepped back. When Chen Chuan tried to find him in his peripheral vision, he saw no trace of him.
When the girl’s domain shattered, she sensed something and looked warily toward Chen Chuan, but once Xue Shou vanished, she perked up and swung at him with an animalistic cry.
There was a faint light at the tip of her staff. Chen Chuan overlapped with his second self and took two steps back.
The staff slammed into the ground in front of him.
Bam!
A shockwave spread out. The dirt was pushed outward and tumbled about with the dust.
The girl didn’t stop there. She repositioned the staff with the rebound, twisted her waist, and thrust her weapon forward.
Chen Chuan wasn’t in a hurry to engage her, so he took another step back.
The girl was using a staff technique from native Oceanlanders, which was made to fight dangerous creatures rather than humans. Because of it, she was making a lot of seemingly useless movements.
The first thrust was a good example of it. There wasn’t a lot of power in it. Instead, it was going to be followed by a lift. This was because it was a technique to flip over large beasts.
When she missed him again, the girl lifted the bottom of the staff and swung it up. Then, after making a circle with it, she swung it down at him again. Powerful staff-type refined force tore through the air.
At this point, Chen Chuan had more or less figured out her technique. It was no wonder why Xue Shou had said that she lacked coordination. She was physically strong, yes, but she couldn’t use it well.
Chen Chuan didn’t use the Frost King Saber to block the staff coming down. Instead, he clenched his fist. Light glowed on it, and he threw a punch forward.
Their spirit senses started eating away at each other.
Even though the girl had ample spirit sense, she didn’t gather much of it on the staff, because mutated tissue was required to withstand spirit sense, and there wasn’t much of it on the staff. Besides, the girl did not seem familiar with using spirit sense, which made what she could use even less. When Chen Chuan’s fist hit the staff, the spirit sense on the staff was depleted instantly, while Chen Chuan’s fist remained glowing.
Bang!
Chen Chuan took half a step back, while the staff was thrown up into the sky because of the spirit sense. It also dragged the girl back.
Chen Chuan stomped on the ground and leapt forward. In an instant, he arrived in front of the girl. She might be large and have an advantage over Chen Chuan in terms of mental energy, but due to her lack of coordination, she wasn’t agile, which was a huge weakness in a fight.
The moment Chen Chuan got close, he threw a punch at the girl’s spirit-sense-wrapped shoulder. There was much more spirit sense protecting her this time, so Chen Chuan wasn’t able to melt away all of it. Before his fist could touch the spirit sense protecting the girl, Chen Chuan let go of the Frost King Saber and threw another punch. The bit of spirit sense left on the shoulder melted away, and his fist touched the skin.
The girl was already retreating at this point, so the punch destroyed her balance. She was thrown back, and Chen Chuan grabbed the Frost King Saber before it fell on the ground, swung it up, and brought it down in a downward slash.
He cut her right where he had depleted her spirit sense. The blade sank into the skin and continued down easily.
Shing!
The girl’s shoulder and arm flew into the air.
After losing an arm, the girl had an even harder time maintaining her balance. She staggered sideways a bit before falling on her side. She used her other hand to prop herself up.
Despite the successful attack, Chen Chuan didn’t give her the chance to catch her breath. He used the momentum to charge forward, and with a flip of his saber, he swung it down at her again.
Light shone from the girl’s eyes.
His second self turned much fainter, but it didn’t affect Chen Chuan. He swung the saber at her head. As the spirit sense on it swiftly melted away, he stepped back, grabbed the hilt with both hands to gather power, and thrust forward.
The saber went straight through one of the girl’s eyes, and she wailed in pain.
Moments later, the saber ran into an obstacle.
Chen Chuan’s gaze sharpened. Without any hesitation, he jumped five meters away from the girl. With a loud bang, the staff swept by where his legs were before. Its force made the wind howl, and his clothes as well as scarf fluttered wildly.
When he landed, Chen Chuan held the saber in his right hand while looking at his enemy.
The girl had stood up. Light was spilling out of her damaged eye and severed shoulder. Her flesh squirmed, and tentacles grew out of the wound. Soon, they formed a new arm and shoulder, but they were quite different from before. The arm looked like intertwined branches.
With a howl, the girl lunged forward, brought the staff up, and swung it at Chen Chuan.
While retreating, Chen Chuan kept observing the flaws in the girl’s technique. Soon, he noticed that her technique had become significantly different from before. She had gotten rid of many unnecessary movements, which was a sign that she was adapting and changing things.
If that were the case, he absolutely could not give her more time. He had to get rid of her now.
Chen Chuan also noticed something else. While the girl had quite a lot of spirit sense, due to the lack of coordination between her body and mind, it fluctuated between being strong and weak. Her spirit sense also moved in its entirety whenever it was needed.
If so...
Chen Chuan stopped, sucked in a deep breath, and a wave of warmth coursed through his skin. He brought up the saber and positioned it horizontally in the way of the staff.