Chapter 756 - 756: The Intense Battle
Kang Yongjin dashed toward Zander, who had taken some distance from him as he evaded the fist strike. His speed was so fast that even low marquess stage cultivators had difficulty following his movements. The sound of clashes followed each movement as Kang Yongjin's fists collided with Zander's sword again and again.
Boom! Trang! Ting! Tang! Boom! Rumble! Rumble!
The arena was truly in chaos, with the terrain destroyed in many places each time they clashed. Craters formed, dust rose into the air, space trembled, and rumbling sounds echoed everywhere, yet Kang Yongjin and Zander's figures could not be seen because their movements were too fast from most of the spectators's perspective.
The spectators were in an uproar, shocked by the battle. This was truly intense! Their speed and power went far beyond the norm of the earl stage! The crowd shouted endlessly, cheering for their chosen fighter. Many supported Kang Yongjin, especially the demon cultivators, while others supported Zander with most of them sword cultivators.
In Aldrian's place, his family also watched the battle in surprise.
"This is truly intense. With this kind of power and strength, even if I were in the same cultivation realm as them, I don't think I could ever defeat them," Aldrey commented.
Irene nodded in response.
"They are truly terrifying. Still, the fact that Zander can more or less match Kang Yongjin's power is amazing. He is already fast, but he can also block some of Kang Yongjin's fists with his sword," she said.
Aldrian, who kept observing Zander, knew that as well and was not surprised. However, he also knew that Zander was still weaker in raw power compared to Kang Yongjin. Kang Yongjin was a body cultivator, and his sheer strength was tremendous, something Zander could not truly match.
Zander himself must have understood that, which was why he did not always block Kang Yongjin's attacks and instead chose to dodge them. Zander's advantage was his speed, which slightly surpassed Kang Yongjin's. Although Kang Yongjin was fast thanks to the powerful muscles and body refined by his cultivation technique, Zander's speed held the edge because of his past training with him.
He wanted to see how Zander would deal with Kang Yongjin, who was truly a difficult opponent for him. Still, he believed that Zander could do it. He sensed that Zander had a trump card, and if he could use it at the right time, he might succeed.
Kang Yongjin was already using his body technique to toughen his skin, making it difficult for the sword to pierce him easily. Zander had to find a way to break through that defense, which was very different from his battles against wild beasts in the secret realm.
In the arena, the clashes between the two men continued without pause. Zander, who had initially been pushed back by Kang Yongjin's barrage of fists, had already escaped that situation with his speed and launched a counterattack. He was now using his sword intent to enhance the power and strength of his strikes.
Kang Yongjin, who had used his hardened body technique for protection since earlier, could already feel that his technique would not last forever as time passed. The fact that Zander still had not used his sword will was proof of just how powerful his sword intent already was.
That was why he no longer dared to recklessly use his body as bait. He knew that Zander's sword strikes could truly wound him.
Still, he couldn't help but smile in the midst of evading and blocking Zander's sword strikes. This was the first time he had met someone in the same cultivation realm who made him feel this way.
'Yes, this is how it should be, the kind of fight I can truly enjoy,' he thought.
He had finally found someone who could match his pace and strength within the same realm. All this time, he had been forced to fight stronger opponents just to unleash his full potential. There was never any joy in fighting those of the same realm, as they had always fallen short.
However, at this moment, he felt a new sensation, born from finally meeting someone who could stand evenly against him within the same realm. In the past, he thought he would feel this way when he met Aldrian at the Piercing Heaven Sect. But as time passed, he realized that Aldrian was too much of a monster to compare with. Aldrian stood on a level that no one could match.
If the person he once considered a rival was actually too strong and had already left him far behind, then that meant he was never truly worthy of being called a rival at all. He was simply too weak, and Aldrian's status had already risen far beyond his reach.
But the person standing in front of him this time, this might be different. There was no way there could be two people with Aldrian's level of talent, right?
Zander, who was still pressing forward with his sword attacks, suddenly sensed something unusual from Kang Yongjin's body. A wave of pressure burst out from him, and just as Zander was about to strike again, he saw Kang Yongjin's skin turn obsidian. His sword reached the target, but—
Tink!
The blade managed to leave only a faint slash on Kang Yongjin's skin.
Both Zander and the spectators were shocked. A peak heaven-grade sword, normally wielded by cultivators at the duke stage and above, had managed to leave only a faint mark! Even though Zander was still at the earl stage and could not bring out the sword's full potential, he had already infused it with sword intent to boost its strength.
What kind of cheat technique had Kang Yongjin used now for his body to become this strong? Even the Buddha's Golden Body was not this exaggerated.
Inside one of the VVIP rooms, where Sect Master Kang was seated, he smiled proudly as he saw Kang Yongjin unleash a technique he had finally comprehended from the Heavenly Demon's Black Dragon Scripture. It was said to make a cultivator's skin as tough as a Black Dragon's scales.
The only downside was that Kang Yongjin's cultivation was still too low to maintain it, which meant it would drain his energy at a faster rate. Even so, he would have enough time to defeat the masked man without much worry.
"So this is the surprise you wanted to show?" Sect Master Ryu finally asked. He was truly astonished by this kind of body-hardening technique.
"Well, that is one of them. Just keep watching. I believe you might be surprised again," Sect Master Kang answered, causing Sect Master Ryu to raise his eyebrows. There was another surprise?
He turned his gaze back to the arena, where Kang Yongjin looked ready to counterattack. After realizing his strikes had little effect, Zander widened the distance, intending to unleash one of his sword techniques.
However, he was not given the chance, as Kang Yongjin immediately pursued him.
"Ugh!" Zander groaned slightly as Kang Yongjin's fist reached him. Before it could land, he blocked with his sword.
'How heavy!' Zander thought, gritting his teeth as he felt his hand on the verge of breaking. He vanished to gain distance, but Kang Yongjin's speed and strength had already increased compared to earlier, nearly catching him off guard.
Kang Yongjin also seemed to not care about his defense, attacking Zander relentlessly with both fists. But even without defending, every sword strike from Zander that touched Kang Yongjin's skin had little effect.
Zander decided not to hold back and unleashed his sword will. His strikes grew stronger, yet he could see that his sword only left a small slash wound. No—calling it a sword slash wound was too much. It was more appropriate to describe it as a cat's scratch.
'How hard is his skin?' Zander thought.
Still, he found hope in this. It meant that with his sword will, he could at least wound Kang Yongjin's body, even if only slightly. That meant he still had a chance. Ordinary sword strikes would not work, he had to rely on sword techniques to boost his damage.
The problem was that Kang Yongjin never gave him the chance, unleashing a barrage of fists. Some of his attacks were mixed with Fist of Void, making them even more dangerous. Although Zander had not comprehended space laws, his sharp senses still allowed him to notice subtle signs in the air that revealed the hidden fist strikes from within the void.
He was forced to dodge those attacks, as they were the most dangerous ones, while also evading Kang Yongjin's ordinary punches.
While still concentrating on defending himself from the fists, he suddenly felt danger from below and tried to dodge. In that split second, he saw Kang Yongjin actually using a kick aimed at his side rib! Although he realized it quickly, he did not have time to fully evade the kick.
'Shit,' Zander thought.
The kick landed almost perfectly on his rib, but because he blocked it with one of his palms, it was his palm that took the brunt of the force.
Crack!
Pain surged through his left hand, and Zander knew that the bones in his hand were cracked, if not broken. He held back his grunt of pain as Kang Yongjin did not stop attacking, and in that moment he decided to gamble.
He deliberately dropped his sword, which caused Kang Yongjin to be slightly stunned and glance at it in the middle of his attacks. He knew Zander had released the sword on purpose, so he spared a moment to make sure there was no trick hidden behind it.
However, that split moment was enough for Zander to slip out of Kang Yongjin's barrage of attacks. His body disappeared and reappeared beside the sword, and he immediately put as much distance as he could between himself and Kang Yongjin.
Realizing what had happened, Kang Yongjin sighed and looked at Zander with a smile. To think he had been tricked. Still, he felt satisfied, as he had at least injured one of Zander's hands. That wound would hinder his sword techniques.
Yet, Kang Yongjin could already feel the strain of maintaining his Black Dragon's Scale Form. The constant use of the form, combined with unleashing the Fist of Void many times while pursuing Zander, had consumed his energy reserves quickly. His energy had already fallen below half, now nearing only thirty-five percent. That was already too low for him in this kind of battle.
He had to end this battle quickly!
After a moment of hesitation, he decided to take a gamble. If it worked, he would win. If not, he could only bid farewell to the champion's title.