Chapter 139: Chapter 139: Fang Chen... Falls

Ding Yan knew what this meant—Fang Chen was condensing Sword Qi into a single finger.

It was a blatant threat, forcing her to surrender!

But a sense of humiliation far stronger than her fear violently surged into her heart. As a Yellow-rank Martial Artist and an elite of the Cyan Simurgh Society, when had she ever suffered such indignity?

"Bastard!"

Hostility flared within her. Clenching her teeth, she recklessly bit down hard on the finger in her mouth! Even if it meant shattering her teeth, she was going to make this arrogant newcomer pay the price!

However—

SWISH!

The instant her teeth touched his skin, the fully charged Heaven-Cutting Finger Sword Qi erupted silently!

"Ah—!!!"

A short, agonizing scream tore from Ding Yan’s throat!

The needle-like Sword Qi exploded inside her mouth at point-blank range, effortlessly piercing through her right cheek! A bloody hole instantly appeared, spraying a mixture of blood and shattered teeth!

This scene made all the onlookers gasp, a chill running down their spines.

What in the world was this? This was the kind of ruthless brutality reserved for life-and-death blood feuds! Shoving Sword Qi directly into Senior Sister Ding’s mouth to fire it off? Just thinking about it made their scalps tingle with dread!

Fan Yutong’s heart pounded as she watched. She subconsciously covered her mouth, her mind involuntarily flashing back to the martial arts exam arena, where Fang Chen had mercilessly smashed her into the ground like a sandbag.

This man... towards his enemies, especially those who stood in his way, he had absolutely no concept of "showing mercy to the fairer sex" or "holding back"! But she also knew that with a tournament slot and his own martial path at stake, there was no room for soft-heartedness.

The excruciating pain and the flow of warm liquid left Ding Yan momentarily stunned, followed by boundless terror. She could feel that Fang Chen’s finger, which was still lingering in her mouth, was once again condensing that lethally sharp True Essence at an astonishing speed!

This time, the Sword Qi was aimed right at her throat! If this blast of Sword Qi fired off inside her mouth, right against her throat, she would undoubtedly die!

All her fighting spirit, anger, and humiliation crumbled before the icy premonition of death.

"I... I surrender!"

The muffled, slurred whimper, accompanied by the sound of air leaking and bubbling blood, was squeezed out of her throat with great difficulty.

Hearing her surrender, Fang Chen didn’t linger. He instantly withdrew his finger and used the momentum to violently dodge backward and to the side! Almost at the exact moment he dodged, Xu Xiao’s furious, panic-stricken blade struck the ground, narrowly brushing past Fang Chen’s afterimage and cleaving a deep trench into the sturdy bluestone floor!

Missing his strike, Xu Xiao looked up, only to see that Fang Chen had already darted several meters away, watching him coldly.

And on the Cyan Blade in Fang Chen’s hand, that intertwining cyan and yellow Sword Aura lit up once more, pointing straight at him! With his other hand, Fang Chen had already deftly swapped in a spare Crystal Stone.

Xu Xiao then glanced at Ding Yan, who was slumped on the ground to the side. Her right cheek was a mangled mess of flesh and blood, her face covered in gore and terror. She had completely lost the will to fight.

Xu Xiao’s heart gave a violent shudder. He roared in his mind, "What... what kind of monster is this?!"

Although Fang Chen had managed to dodge some of his relentless attacks, he had still landed at least three saber strikes and five palm strikes! Yet the freshman before him didn’t look injured at all. He still stood perfectly straight, his gaze as sharp as a blade, the aura on his sword as dangerous as ever!

This completely defied logic! It was beyond his comprehension!

Looking at the terrifying bloody hole in Ding Yan’s face, and feeling Fang Chen’s icy stare—one that seemed to know neither pain nor fear of death—an uncontrollable chill, mixed with cowardice, quietly crept into Xu Xiao’s heart.

When Fang Chen, dragging his seemingly heavily injured body, took another step forward and locked his Sword Aura onto him, Xu Xiao involuntarily took a half-step back.

With that single step back, all the fight left him. It was as if he could already see that if he continued this deathmatch, in the next second, that Sword Aura or invisible Finger Sword would land on his own vitals.

He asked himself, "Will a hole be blown through my face too?"

Panic quickly overtook him. "No, maybe he’ll just cripple me entirely? Or maim me for life?"

Finally, he rationalized, "Forget it. I can just exchange 2,000 points for a weapon anyway. There’s no need to risk my life here!"

It wasn’t worth it!

"...I..." Xu Xiao’s grip on his saber loosened, then tightened, before finally dropping dejectedly. Avoiding Fang Chen’s gaze, he said in a hoarse voice, "I yield, too."

Hearing this, the string in Fang Chen’s heart that had been pulled taut to its absolute limit finally loosened slightly. He thought to himself, "It’s finally... over."

Only he knew just how terrible his physical condition was right now. "Running on fumes" wasn’t even enough to describe it. His continuous injuries were so severe that they could no longer be suppressed merely by nourishing them with True Essence. Because of this, "resting" in the Time Stop Domain would only exacerbate his wounds.

If Xu Xiao had mustered the courage to launch three more attacks—no, not even three; just one more sufficiently heavy blow—Fang Chen absolutely would have collapsed on the spot.

Fortunately, he had won the gamble. He had shattered his opponent’s psychological defenses.

He slowly lowered his blade, the dual-colored glow on the metal extinguishing completely. Looking like an empty shell drained of all its strength, he barely managed to stay on his feet as he gave a slight nod to the Speakers on the platform, particularly to Li Su.

Dead silence filled the training room. Ding Yan had already been carried away to the infirmary by a few students. Only Xu Xiao’s heavy panting could be heard.

Everyone stared at the figure standing tall in the center of the arena, their gazes incredibly complex. Shock, fear, awe, bewilderment... A myriad of emotions intertwined.

"Xu Xiao and Ding Yan have explicitly surrendered. According to the verification rules, I declare—Fang Chen is the victor," Li Su announced, his solemn voice breaking the silence as his gaze fell upon the figure in the arena. "Congratulations, Fang Chen. You have rightfully earned the third recommendation slot to represent our Four Societies Alliance in the academy tournament.

"According to the terms, any rewards you win in the tournament—be it weapons, combat suits, Cultivation Technique Jade Scrolls, or other resources—are entirely yours to dispose of. The alliance will not force you to hand them over.

"However," Li Su continued, his tone shifting as he laid out the conditions, "as the price for this recommendation slot, and to convince the masses, you must complete tasks of sufficient value for the alliance over the next year, accumulating at least 1,000 contribution points. This is essentially you trading for this slot on credit at the bare minimum. You must repay these 1,000 points. Do you have any objections to this?"

Fang Chen met Li Su’s gaze. "I have no objections. It is only fair."

"Good!" Li Su nodded. "Then, Fang Chen, you must head to the infirmary immediately to treat your injuries. Do you need someone to escort you?"

Fang Chen tried to stand a little straighter, saying lightly, "It’s just a minor injury. It’s fine, I can go by myself."

"Fang Chen, even minor injuries cannot be delayed," Li Su said in a deep voice. "There’s nothing else to do here anyway. You may leave."

Seeing this, Fang Chen didn’t insist. He gave a slight bow to the Speakers and walked out of the training room.

"Fan," Li Su said, looking at Fan Yutong after Fang Chen left. "Follow him and keep an eye on him. See if he needs any help."

"Yes, Senior Li!" Fan Yutong immediately responded, stepping quickly out of the crowd.

She trotted out the door, looking left and right, and immediately spotted that familiar figure not far ahead, pressing against the cold wall and moving at a snail’s pace. She opened her mouth to call out, but in the next second, the words caught in her throat.

Up ahead, Fang Chen, who had just been walking steadily, suddenly swayed without warning, like a stack of wooden blocks whose supports had been pulled away. He tried to prop himself up against the wall, but his arm merely slid down weakly.

Then, under Fan Yutong’s abruptly shrinking pupils, Fang Chen collapsed face-first onto the ground, stiffly and without any brace to break his fall.

THUD.

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