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Could this man truly possess eighteen special skills, a fusion of both spear and blade techniques?
How truly troublesome…
As Yan watched Guan Ying stand there, formidable with his guandao in hand, he found himself frowning slightly, his expression growing somber.
Despite that, it was highly improbable that every single special skill would be an offensive powerhouse like [Forceful Mountain Splitting Blade]. Surely, no other move could inflict greater damage than that.
Furthermore…
“With special skills consuming such a high amount of mana, there’s no way you could unleash all eighteen blades.”
Yan thoughtfully stroked his chin, making a quick mental calculation.
“At most, two would be your absolute limit.”
“Indeed, but what does that matter?”
A faint smile played on Guan Ying’s lips as he gracefully swept his guandao in a gentle semicircle before him.
“Now, the only question is whether you can bind me with your combos first, or if my blade will be the one to strike you.”
“Hmph, had I not been momentarily careless just now, how could your [Forceful Mountain Splitting Blade] have ever struck me?”
Yan’s grip tightened on his spear as he spoke, his eyes sharply scanning for an opening to launch his own assault.
“Oh? To utter such bold words, even while completely ignorant of my abilities…”
Guan Ying’s gaze, now alight with curiosity, fixed upon Yan.
“I’m genuinely curious, what method will you employ to evade me now?”
“Why, that would be…”
With a sudden, forceful thrust, the spear in Yan’s hand shot forward.
“A direct assault!”
Before the words could fully leave his lips, the spear he’d launched sliced through the air, embedding itself in Guan Ying’s form in the blink of an eye.
“Are you attempting a [Flying Thunder God]?”
Guan Ying’s brow furrowed. He braced his formidable blade before him, poised to unleash a skill and cut Yan down the instant he teleported forward.
Guan Ying had witnessed Yan’s tactic before—hurling his spear, then instantly using [Flying Thunder God] to close the distance. Xiao had been defeated by that very move, a match Guan Ying had observed with keen attention, missing nothing.
Yan hadn’t employed the skill [Secret of Determination] to hurl his spear. Instead, he had launched it as a direct “free attack,” purely to catch Guan Ying off guard.
After all, [Secret of Determination] wasn’t an instant-cast skill; its wind-up motion with the spear was quite noticeable. Anyone who had witnessed Yan use it could easily react, parrying with defensive skills like [Flowing Water] or [Body Bind].
However, a “free attack” would likely leave few opponents capable of reacting in an instant.
Indeed, who would ever anticipate a spearman abruptly discarding their weapon mid-combat?
Observing the spear lodged in Guan Ying’s body, Yan let out a quiet sigh of relief, a hint of lingering apprehension in his gaze.
It was fortunate that Nan Shi had previously served as his experimental practice subject; otherwise, he truly doubted he could have struck with such precision.
Yan had now honed his skill to achieve perfect accuracy when throwing his spear within forty yards. With merely twenty-five yards separating him from Guan Ying, the spear had found its mark with unerring precision in a mere flash.
“Even if you’ve landed a hit, what then?”
Guan Ying paid no mind to the spear embedded in him; the “free attack” auto-attack damage was negligible. A faint smile playing on his lips, he met Yan’s gaze.
“Do you dare to use [Flying Thunder God] to close the distance? I fear the moment your feet touch the ground, my guandao will already be upon you.”
“Ah, indeed…”
Yan offered a helpless shrug.
“I genuinely wouldn’t dare to teleport up there.”
“Hmph.”
A triumphant smile spread across Guan Ying’s face.
“Given that, having willingly relinquished your weapon, there’s no longer any point in continuing this fight, is there?”
“Even if I were to launch an assault now, you’d be utterly defenseless, unable to counter or even cast a single skill.”
With his guandao held ready and maintaining his combat stance, he slowly, deliberately advanced upon Yan.
“Just concede defeat!”
Yet, Yan suddenly chuckled, his expression unwavering as he watched Guan Ying’s steady advance.
“You’ve made one crucial error in your assessment.”
“What…”
Upon seeing Yan’s subtly mischievous smile, Guan Ying instinctively perceived a flicker of danger. He abruptly halted his advance, remaining rooted in his stance, his gaze now fixed on Yan with extreme vigilance.
“That would be…”
Yan lifted both hands, seemingly grasping something unseen in the air before him, as if an invisible spear materialized there.
“Even if my spear isn’t in my grasp, I can still unleash my skills!”
“Spear Uplift!”
His right hand, still grasping the empty air, suddenly pressed downwards. Concurrently, the spear embedded in Guan Ying’s body seemed to animate, its tip abruptly flicking upwards, violently sending Guan Ying, who was still twenty yards distant, soaring into the air!
“What!?”
Feeling his body abruptly suspended in mid-air, a jolt of alarm shot through Guan Ying.
Yan observed the stunned Guan Ying, a subtle smirk playing on his lips.
This was a partial effect of his companion skill, [Agile Manipulation] (TL Note: A skill that allows the user to manipulate objects with agility): even when detached from the body, the weapon could still manifest 10% of its inherent abilities!
After striking a target with the spear, it could inflict a crowd control effect from a distance!
This particular move, though, Yan had never once deployed since first developing it with Nan Shi.
He hadn’t anticipated it finding such a perfect application here.
With that thought, Yan allowed himself a small smile, then instantly activated his next skill.
“Flying Thunder God!”
Even though the control effect was reduced to a mere 10%—lasting only 0.1 seconds—it proved entirely sufficient to shatter Guan Ying’s stance, leaving him momentarily vulnerable and exposed!
In that fleeting instant, Yan utilized [Flying Thunder God] to teleport directly before Guan Ying, and the spear, still embedded in his opponent, seamlessly returned to Yan’s grasp.
“Shattering Thrust!”
Yan unleashed another skill, sending Guan Ying flying once more. This time, it was a genuine crowd control ability, boasting a full one-second duration!
“Rapid Thrusts!”
Yan swiftly manipulated the spear shaft, activating [Rapid Thrusts] and seamlessly weaving it into his skill combo.
“Blast it all, what in the world is happening?”
Guan Ying, ensnared by Yan’s relentless combo, retorted with a mix of frustration and indignation.
“How are you manipulating your weapon from afar? Are you some kind of Sword Immortal (TL Note: A mythical figure in Chinese martial arts fantasy capable of controlling flying swords with their mind)?”
“Well, not exactly…”
Yan offered a wry smile, continuing his combo without pause, denying Guan Ying any opportunity to retaliate.
Once trapped within a combo, escaping was exceedingly difficult; few professions, aside from mages, possessed skills like [Ice Shield] (TL Note: A common fantasy game skill that provides a defensive barrier, often with crowd control breaking properties) that could break free from such binds.
Yan, therefore, even found himself with enough composure to engage Guan Ying in conversation.
“Actually, this is also part of my companion skill: even after the weapon leaves my body, it can still generate 10% of its inherent power. I didn’t use it against Xiao before, so it’s understandable you wouldn’t know how to defend against it…”
“You mean, even when facing ‘Xiao,’ you still held back?”
Guan Ying’s brow furrowed, a look of disbelief crossing his face. After a moment, he let out a soft sigh.
“Sigh…”
“Ah, just how incredibly strong are you, truly? Xiao’s defeat at your hands now seems entirely justifiable…”
“I’m convinced.”
****
In the very next instant, Guan Ying’s body inexplicably broke free from Yan’s skill. He, who should have remained suspended in mid-air under control, suddenly dropped to the ground.
This unlooked-for turn of events sent a faint tremor through Yan’s heart.
He warily prepared to unleash another skill, but just then, the system’s notification chimed.
“Victor: Yan”
“Phew, so it was just time running out…”
Yan let out a sharp breath, having been so engrossed in the fight that he hadn’t noticed the clock.
He had feared Guan Ying possessed some peculiar skill that broke crowd control and shattered combos.
He had been terrified, almost convinced he was about to die. After all, with his current health, another [Forceful Mountain Splitting Blade] would have certainly been the end for him.
“We’ve been fighting for so long, and neither of us died?”
Guan Ying remarked, a hint of helplessness in his tone.
Indeed, when Yan’s combo had first snared Guan Ying, the latter had been at nearly full health.
Yan, however, hadn’t sustained any further damage since taking that initial [Forceful Mountain Splitting Blade].
Had Yan not been the defending champion, this match would have surely been his loss. Yet, as the defender, Yan simply needed to hold out for ten minutes to claim victory.
“We’ve fought long enough. Look at the time; this event only has thirty minutes left. Anyone knocked off the arena now will miss out on the top ten.”
Guan Ying spoke, seemingly without particular intent.
“Ah… my apologies…”
Yan, assuming Guan Ying was complaining about him, offered a苦笑 (TL Note: a wry, bitter smile) in response.
“No, I’m not bothered…”
Guan Ying smiled, shaking his head slightly, as if to indicate his previous words held no such meaning.
Blue light shimmered around his form, a prelude to being teleported out of the map after his defeat.
“Look up at the other arenas.”
In the second before Guan Ying’s figure vanished from the stage, he left Yan with that final instruction.
“Hmm? What’s wrong with the other arenas?”
Yan muttered to himself, puzzled, as he lifted his gaze to survey the other battlegrounds.
“Right, Arena One’s An Dong is still on a winning streak. That guy’s incredible, is he going to win from start to finish? Truly worthy of being the tank player with the strongest ‘Perseverance’!”
“The melee mage in Arena Two has also secured their champion’s seat. What was their name again? Didn’t their name display when they won just now? Ah, I remember, I think it was Ivan. He’s got some tricks up his sleeve, that little shota (TL Note: A Japanese term referring to a young, attractive boy, often used in fandom contexts to describe a character’s appearance).”
“Arena Five’s champion is still Lian. Is she and An Dong going to win from start to finish too? So strong! Wait, she seems to be in a tough fight right now. Well, I can only wish her good luck.”
“Is that Qing Bai still on Arena Four? Looks like she’s going to clinch a spot in the top ten. Ah, another challenger has appeared. I hope that unruly young lady’s spirit can hold up.”
Yan jested, his gaze fixed on Qing Bai’s arena. His relaxed expression, however, vanished the moment his eyes landed on the newly arrived challenger in Qing Bai’s match.
In a flash, the lightness in his eyes evaporated. Yan’s eyes widened abruptly, and he unconsciously clenched his fists.
How could it be…
“Xiao?”