fantasy novels Chapter 9: One sword strike shocked everyone!
Chapter 9: One sword strike shocked everyone!
"Shi Tie, keep a close eye on this match. Pay attention to the boy with the broken sword. If you encounter him in the later matches, remember not to attack, just defend!" Lin Mu said calmly to Shi Tie beside him.
"Yes, Master!" Despite not understanding, Shi Tie obediently nodded.
Amidst a murmur of disapproval and several undisguised sneers, two figures leaped onto the arena one after the other.
On the left, a young man named Jiang Chao held a shiny black iron rod, and a bright white soul ring rose from his feet. A faint blue vortex of wind swirled around the rod.
Eleventh-level soul power is already considered quite good among these ordinary students.
When he saw his opponent walking slowly towards him, a look of contempt immediately appeared on his face!
"Ling Chen? I never expected my opponent to be you? Haha..." Jiang Chao couldn't help but sneer, casually tapping the ground with his iron rod as he continued, "You haven't thrown away that piece of junk you're using yet?"
Upon hearing this, the crowd below burst into even louder laughter.
"It's actually Ling Chen, that piece of trash! I heard his martial soul is just a rusty broken sword, and after all these years, his soul power is still stuck at level one. He's really too useless!"
"Exactly! Even a freshman work-study student could easily crush him! Jiang Chao is really lucky to have drawn such an opponent; he's practically getting a free victory!"
"I bet he won't last three moves! No, one move! I bet he can't even withstand one move!"
"Useless trash, just surrender already, don't humiliate yourself!"
"..."
A chorus of jeers and sighs rose and fell!
Even on the high platform, several representatives of the smaller forces watching the ceremony couldn't help but shake their heads slightly, clearly not optimistic about this competition that was almost "without any suspense".
The dean frowned slightly. He hadn't expected that there would be a sixth-year student in his academy with only level one soul power.
Keep in mind, this is the minimum requirement for the college to recruit students from outside!
What does this mean? It means that his soul power has barely improved in the past six years!
If he had known there were students like this in the academy, he would have expelled them on the spot! This is a slap in the face for him, the dean! If word got out, it would definitely be a demerit point for failing to attract any more students!
There was nothing he could do; no matter how much he complained, the rules were what they were, and he couldn't say anything more! Let's just treat it as a joke for everyone's amusement!
Meanwhile, on the other side of the viewing platform, Master Yu Xiaogang's zombie face remained expressionless, but when his gaze swept over the broken sword in Ling Chen's hand, his brows furrowed slightly!
He then turned to Tang San and Xiao Wu beside him and said calmly, "Xiao San, do you see that? This is a typical case of a combination of a 'useless martial soul' and 'low soul power.' His martial soul is incomplete, and his innate soul power is only level one, meaning he has almost no potential for growth. In the world of soul masters, a person's talent determines their upper limit, and effort only allows you to approach that limit faster. This child named Ling Chen's upper limit was already determined the moment his martial soul awakened! This competition was meaningless from the very beginning!"
Tang San did not answer, but calmly looked at Ling Chen on the arena, a hint of contemplation flashing in his eyes.
Xiao Wu, standing to the side, pouted and muttered under her breath, "So much nonsense, are we going to fight or not...?"
……
On the stage, Ling Chen ignored the jeers and comments from the crowd below, because he knew they were meaningless and he would shut them all up in a moment!
"The competition begins!" the host teacher announced.
"First Soul Skill, Whirlwind Slash!" Jiang Chao clearly wanted to finish the battle quickly so he could show off his strength to everyone.
A white spirit ring lit up beneath his feet, accompanied by a whistling wind, and slashed towards Ling Chen, aiming straight for the latter's face!
A gasp of surprise erupted from the audience, who seemed to have already foreseen the horrific scene of Ling Chen being swept away by a single blow.
However, just as the opponent's iron rod was about to strike—Ling Chen moved!
No spirit rings lit up on his body, nor did he show any fluctuations in spirit power. He simply took a small step forward and dodged the powerful blow with a twist of his body. The end of the stick almost grazed his nose!
At the same time, his right hand, holding the sword, moved upwards in a gesture of drawing a knife to cut water. The movement was simple and unadorned, but the speed was astonishing!
A dim, white-gold light flashed and disappeared!
"clang--!"
A crisp, metallic clang rang out, so jarring that time seemed to freeze in that instant!
Everyone saw Jiang Chao's forward momentum suddenly stop, and the smug smile on his face instantly froze, replaced by extreme astonishment and disbelief.
The iron rod in his hand was cleanly cleaved in two! The cut surface was as smooth as a mirror!
Ling Chen stood directly in front of him, holding the rusty broken sword, the tip of which was half an inch from Jiang Chao's throat.
The entire venue fell into dead silence!
All the previous mockery and sighs towards Ling Chen were abruptly cut off by an invisible hand. Their small faces were filled with astonishment, confusion, and... deep horror.
What just happened? Jiang Chao's martial spirit was actually... severed? And it was severed by that rusty piece of broken iron with a single sword strike?
How could a useless person with only level one soul power defeat a level eleven soul master in a single move with a broken sword?
Even... their martial soul was severed! How is this possible?!
On the high platform in the distance, the representatives of those minor forces suddenly stood up, their faces filled with astonishment.
The dean also stared wide-eyed at the rusty sword on the arena, his surprise mixed with a secret delight!
The reduction of the admission stamp has been directly turned into the "addition" of the admission stamp!
For the first time, a dramatic change in expression appeared on Yu Xiaogang's stiff face. He leaned forward, his lips slightly parted, as if he wanted to say something, but not a single word came out.
His words to Tang San and Xiao Wu seemed utterly pale and powerless in the face of this sword strike.
Tang San's pupils contracted sharply, and his Purple Demon Eyes activated subconsciously as he stared intently at the broken sword in Ling Chen's hand.
Xiao Wu also stopped eating the carrot, her beautiful rabbit ears stood up, and her face was full of curiosity.
"You..." Jiang Chao's Adam's apple bobbed as he felt the cold touch in his throat, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.
He tried to move, but found himself seemingly locked in place by an invisible, sharp aura, his entire body stiffening and unable to move.
Ling Chen didn't look at him anymore, nor at anyone else in the audience.
He slowly sheathed his broken sword, then turned and bowed slightly to the host teacher before stepping off the stage under the gaze of countless stunned eyes.
He didn't say a word from beginning to end.
Only after his figure disappeared at the edge of the arena did the host teacher seem to snap out of a daze, and then stammered loudly, "The winner... the winner is Ling Chen from Class 3, Grade 6!"
There were no cheers, no applause! There was only a collective gasp and a cacophony of voices.