Chapter 169: Giving No Chance
By the time Fang Yun arrived at Battle Peak,
Feng Tianrui was already standing on Dueling Platform Number One, with Bai Qinying beside him.
At first, Bai Qinying had wanted to come over with Fang Yun today.
But after some thought, she gave up on the idea.
She knew Fang Yun would be with Song Qiaoqiao.
Now that she was an Elder, it wouldn’t be appropriate to go over and say anything to Fang Yun. If she were still a disciple, she would probably be down below the Dueling Platform, chatting with him and the others.
"Junior Brother Fang, Junior Sister Song, over here!"
Wu Junxin shouted, waving his hand.
Seeing this, Fang Yun led Song Qiaoqiao over.
Yao Shuixiao was on a mission and therefore not present. To Fang Yun’s surprise, however, Yang Yingjie was standing right beside Wu Junxin.
This was the mission expert, the one who was always out on assignment.
"Senior Brother Yang, I didn’t expect you to be here," Fang Yun said, surprised.
"I heard from Senior Brother Wu that you were having a ranking match, so I decided to head out tomorrow instead," Yang Yingjie explained. He then added, "Junior Brother, I’m sure you’ll win!"
Yang Yingjie was speaking from the heart, not just offering polite words of support.
He’d heard most of the surrounding disciples’ discussions about the ranking match between Fang Yun and Zhou Hongchang.
The common opinion was that while Zhou Hongchang might not be able to break Fang Yun’s defense, Fang Yun was sure to lose a battle of attrition.
’These disciples have no idea how powerful the offensive Magical Artifacts Junior Brother Fang refines are!’
With the help of the Upper-Grade Magical Artifacts Fang Yun had refined, his missions in the Celestial Demon Sect’s territory were not only safer, but also far more efficient.
Higher mission efficiency meant that, over time, he earned greater rewards.
More Spirit Stone and Contribution Point rewards meant more cultivation resources for him. He was now not far from the peak of the Qi Refining Ninth Layer and had a good chance of reaching it within the year.
Without Fang Yun’s help, reaching the peak of the Qi Refining Ninth Layer would have taken him much longer.
"The time has come! The ranking match between Fang Yun, third on the Inner Sect Ranking, and Zhou Hongchang, first on the Inner Sect Ranking, will now begin. Both combatants, to the Dueling Platform," Feng Tianrui’s resonant voice boomed across the grounds.
"Go for it, Junior Brother!"
Song Qiaoqiao offered Fang Yun some last-minute encouragement.
"Mm."
Fang Yun nodded at Song Qiaoqiao, then stepped onto the Dueling Platform.
At that moment, the noise from below the Dueling Platform grew even louder.
"It’s finally starting!"
"I got here two hours ago just to get a good spot."
"The last ranking match between the top three on the Inner Sect Ranking was three years ago."
On the Dueling Platform.
Fang Yun and Zhou Hongchang had each taken their positions.
"Fang Yun, Qi Refining Eighth Layer."
"Zhou Hongchang, Peak of Qi Refining."
Half-Step Foundation Establishment was just a saying, not a true Realm. No one would announce their Realm as Half-Step Foundation Establishment during a Magical Combat duel.
Realms were determined by one’s aura.
In terms of aura, Zhou Hongchang’s was still that of the peak of the Qi Refining Tenth Layer.
Fang Yun’s aura, on the other hand, was close to the peak of the Qi Refining Eighth Layer.
"Junior Brother Fang, I’ve been looking forward to this Magical Combat with you," Zhou Hongchang couldn’t help but say.
"I won’t disappoint your expectations, Senior Brother Zhou."
"Very good!"
Zhou Hongchang had already entered his combat mode, ready to attack Fang Yun at any moment.
The moment Zhou Hongchang entered this mode, Fang Yun instantly got into the zone as well, the enhancement from his Combat Talent activating.
Seeing that they had said their piece, Feng Tianrui announced,
"Ranking match, begin!"
For this Magical Combat, Fang Yun’s strategy was simple.
A swift and decisive battle!
In the eyes of the disciples and Elders, he didn’t have the qualifications to fight a war of attrition anyway; a swift and decisive battle was his only strategy.
His opponent surely understood this point as well.
But whether his opponent could withstand his assault was another matter entirely.
"Go!"
Under Fang Yun’s control, seven identical, pale yellow Long Swords flew out in succession from the Storage Pouch at his waist.
"Senior Brother Fang is going all out from the start?"
"Is he not planning to defend at all?"
"In less than a year, Junior Brother Fang has improved so much. He truly lives up to the name of the Seven-Aperture Exquisite Body!"
Many of the disciples hadn’t expected Fang Yun’s opening move. They had assumed that, facing a Half-Step Foundation Establishment cultivator like Zhou Hongchang, Fang Yun would first defend against a wave of attacks before looking for a chance to strike back.
The moment Fang Yun made his move, Feng Tianrui watched him with a satisfied expression.
’From the looks of it, Fang Yun can already precisely control seven Upper-Grade Magical Artifacts.’
’But controlling Magical Artifacts like this consumes a great deal of Spiritual Power.’
’A swift and decisive battle is indeed the best strategy for him, considering he’s facing Zhou Hongchang, who is at Half-Step Foundation Establishment.’
Faced with Fang Yun’s assault, Zhou Hongchang chose to defend first.
Based on the information he had on Fang Yun, many of these identical-looking, Upper-Grade Magical Artifact Long Swords possessed different abilities.
But under his powerful defense, it made no difference.
Holding a pale blue sphere, an inverted bowl-shaped shield immediately appeared around him.
In an instant, he had fully activated the power of this supreme-grade defensive Magical Artifact.
One sword, two swords, three swords.
The interval between each sword strike was incredibly short.
By the third sword strike, Zhou Hongchang sensed that something was wrong.
’How is the power of these pale yellow Long Swords getting stronger with each strike?’
’It feels like the swords’ power is stacking, especially when they’re all attacking my barrier at once.’
Zhou Hongchang’s mind raced. Before the fourth sword even hit, he understood—this was the effect of a set of combination Magical Artifacts!
Fang Yun was truly a gifted Artifact Refiner, taken as an apprentice by the Celestial Cloud Sect’s best Artifact Refining Elder for a reason.
Even with his years of combat experience, he couldn’t have predicted the combination of these refined Magical Artifacts; he had to face them directly to understand.
Originally, Zhou Hongchang had thought his defensive measures could block Fang Yun’s assault. Now, he’d changed his mind.
He couldn’t block it!
’I have to find a chance to counterattack!’
Activating a Spell, a golden bell materialized around his body, encasing him within it.
"Here it comes! Senior Brother Zhou’s double-layered defense."
"He was forced to use that move already? Just how powerful is Junior Brother Fang’s assault?"
"The Spiritual Power fluctuations are too subtle. I can’t judge it."
"I get it! It’s a sword set!"
Fang Yun controlled each sword to attack from a different angle, not just from one direction.
Zhou Hongchang desperately looked for an opening to counterattack, but couldn’t find one.
When his outermost barrier was holding back five swords, it was already on the verge of collapse.
And there were still two more swords yet to strike.
Thinking quickly, Zhou Hongchang realized that in this situation, his only option was to risk it all. There was no other way.
The moment all seven of Fang Yun’s swords came down at once would be his chance to make that gamble.
However, in the next instant, Zhou Hongchang fell into despair.
It was as if Fang Yun knew exactly what he was thinking and wasn’t even going to give him the chance to risk it all.