Extra's Strategy: Cultivate Protagonists, Become Invincible

Hissss...

Chen Yan's groan mirrored the sentiments of the audience. Among the senior disciples seated in the front rows, many had exceptionally developed hearing, and they all caught the noise of bones cracking under the weight of the whipping metal.

To Chen Yan's credit, his grip didn't go slack just because his wrist was smashed to a pulp. With a lightning-quick kick sending Han Xuhan staggering back, he took a couple of long leaps backwards and put some distance between them.

"How did you..." His gaze fell on the dimming array light inside the half-broken sheath held in Han Xuhan's hand.

"Why did the array fail?"

Han Xuhan didn't want to answer. But focusing on adjusting his wounded limbs, he realized that he needed to buy some time.

The small cuts and slashes weren't going to be an issue unless those areas were struck again. The deeper injuries, however, could lead to his fall at any moment unless he was allowed to rest for a few minutes.

Of course, Chen Yan would also recover if he were given that much time. At least his wrist would gain some mobility, even if it didn't fully heal.

But that didn't matter to him as much. Since one strike was possible, many more were probable.

So he began to explain patiently.

"Senior brother, why do you think I kept your sheath even after it split into two and let your saber draw the first blood?

Do you think you could suppress me to this extent just because of that little slash? I have fought with much worse injuries.

Did you not suspect my passive self defense could be a part of a plan, especially when you were merely using basic martial moves?

Did you think you were executing some kind of invincible strategy that I couldn't see through?

Are you so arrogantly confident in your own wisdom that you've deluded yourself into believing that none of the opponents I've fought to this day executed the same strategy to defend their dignity?

Injure the enemy, fortify the defenses, then begin a battle of attrition; such tactics are more common than you think, senior brother. I've faced my fair share.

So how could I let you corner me, knowing what's to come?"

Chen Yan pointed the saber at his injuries and said in an annoyed voice,"Who are you trying to fool? Stop posturing like you're some mythical deity of war.

You think I wouldn't be able to tell exactly how capable my opponent is after fighting for so long? If you had such capabilities, your body wouldn't be leaking blood from eighteen wounds."

Han Xuhan coughed awkwardly and put away his dramatic countenance. Intimidating an opponent was always a reliable debuff in duels; you could even spam it and stack them for greater effects.

Against someone like Chen Yan, such tactics could determine the outcome. But this guy was too cunning to fall for it.

What a pity!

Scratching his head, he held up the sheath-fragment that had just foiled Chen Yan's plans. Pointing at the dim array light inside its body, he said,

"When one picks up a tool belonging to their enemy, they should examine it first before using it. I'm sure you understand that principle, senior brother.

But how could I afford such luxury in the middle of the duel? There was only one thing I could do."

He tapped on several cracked parts of the sheath. "Here, here, and here, I could sense the qi being channeled through the array lines. So, under the pretext of defensive maneuvering, I went through great pains to make you strike at these areas."

Veins began to pop up on Chen Yan's neck. Even if Han Xuhan didn't explain further, he could deduce the rest of the explanation by then.

"While you were delighted by the prospect of suppressing me with the momentum of an expert, you were actually destroying the array lines inscribed on the body of the sheath.

Once I became certain that the qi inside the array lines had stopped flowing due to the damage, I let you lure me into the same trap that had injured me earlier.

You were under the impression that I had grown complacent by the lack of further traps, that I had become desperate for a winning move, and hence, I would fall for the same trick unsuspectingly.

So I let you follow through the plan. But since the array failed to activate during the most critical moment, your sheath couldn't split apart to give way to your saber, and that was the opening I was looking for."

As Han Xuhan's gaze fell on Chen Yan's reddened wrist, Chen Yan took a deep breath, grabbed that wrist with his other hand, and squeezed hard!

"Thank you for the guidance, Junior Brother," he said coldly. "Unfortunately for you, all that scheming led to an injury that took me only one minute to heal."

As if to prove his claim, he raised his arm, flicked that wrist forward, and pointed his saber at Han Xuhan, holding it perfectly parallel to the ground.

"It seems clear enough now, does it not, junior brother? I've let you mess around for too long. In this duel of martial skill, using schemes to win will only lead to superfluous, small victories. Is that how you wish to win?"

Han Xuhan shrugged. "Then what are you suggesting?"

"Let's set aside the tricks and mind games. Let's fight honestly and determine the true victor of this round!"

Han Xuhan sneered. Wasn't this just another trick itself? Clearly, Chen Yan was afraid of what other schemes Han Xuhan might have prepared...

Even if those schemes didn't lead Han Xuhan to an outright victory, they would humiliate Chen Yan thoroughly. He would be shamed by his own fellow disciples for the rest of his life.

Chen Yan turned to look at the arena official. "How much time is left before the first round comes to an end?"

The official replied blankly, "You didn't fix any specific period of time before the duel started..."

"Then let's fucking fix one!" Chen Yan snarled. Turning back to face Han Xuhan, he proposed, "How about ten more minutes? How does that sound?"

"I'll be a polite junior and leave the decision to you," Han Xuhan said, adopting the pose of a high and mighty expert looking down on an ant-like opponent.

The disdain in his tone made Chen Yan tremble in fury. From the corners of his eyes, he could see many in the audience laughing and jeering at him.

"Alright then. Since you're being open minded about this, I won't let those watching call me dishonorable. I'll give you as long as you need to recuperate from your injuries and join the duel at your peak condition."

With this simple maneuver, he knew he could mitigate much of the negative sentiments of the crowd directed towards him.

At that moment, Han Xuhan laughed out loud. "Wouldn't that be a waste of everyone's precious time? Our honored Elders have set aside their personal business to come here and judge the duel. How can I let them wait that long?"

Chen Yan was stunned. So were the rest of the audience.

Having given a lifeline, the weaker side dares to disregard it?

Is this righteous boldness? Or is this reckless stupidity?

Then, they heard him add, "So, I hope no one will object to it if I pop a few pills into my mouth and heal myself back to my peak condition, just as my honorable opponent here has requested me to..."