Chapter 45: The Spear Strikes Like a Dragon
Inside the cavern, spiritual light erupted in bursts, beast roars and furious shouts intertwining as the battle raged with earth-shattering intensity.
Outside, the cultivators crowded at the cave entrance craned their necks, not daring to blink.
"Good heavens… a Nascent Soul battle. This trip was worth it!" a middle-aged cultivator murmured, his face filled with awe.
A battle at the Nascent Soul Stage — where else would you ever get to witness something like that?
Some of the lower-ranked cultivators even felt that even if they walked away empty-handed, just watching this spectacle alone had made the whole journey a massive profit.
"Old scraggly hair! Your wrinkled mug looks like an ass crack — let me flatten it with my fist!"
"You're so ugly you're shaking your bear grandpa's Dao Heart! Take a fist to the face from your bear grandpa!"
"I'll dig up the weeds on your grave — your bear grandpa will rip them out by the roots!"
Heishan swung his massive palms at Lü Ci's face while unleashing a torrent of colorful insults directed at the man's entire family line. Whether trash talk was actually his battle strategy, no one could say.
The onlookers: "……"
If — perhaps, maybe, possibly — that black bear could just shut its foul mouth, the viewing experience might have been considerably more elevated.
"You — you animals! If you've got the guts, come fight me one-on-one!"
Elder Zhang and Elder Sun of the Liuyun Sword Sect bellowed in exasperated fury.
They were being gang-kicked by a pack of Demon Beasts.
The onlookers: "……"
Everyone instinctively looked away and turned toward the other end of the cavern, where Si Chen and Young Master Fang were exchanging blow for blow in a dazzling display of skill — which gave everyone the distinct feeling of, "Now this is a proper fight."
"Damn it, is that really a Foundation Establishment cultivator? Who'd believe it if you said so?"
"Are demonic cultivators… all this terrifying?!"
These murmurs drifted faintly into the battle circle, making Young Master Fang's expression grow even uglier.
He, Fang Heng, had been a heaven-blessed genius since childhood — resources, Cultivation Techniques, renowned masters, he had lacked for nothing. He had always been the one challenging those above his rank, never the one being pushed into such a wretched state by someone a full major realm below him.
This was an absolute humiliation!
"I'll admit it," Fang Heng said, forcing Si Chen back with a slash of his blade, his voice barely containing his fury. "You do have some ability. The solidity of your foundation is unlike anything I've ever seen."
Si Chen shook out his slightly numbed wrist. His opponent did have some real skill. He answered honestly: "You have some ability too."
But to Young Master Fang's ears, those words were nothing short of naked mockery — after all, his opponent was a full major realm below him!
"Insolent!"
He let out a cold snort. The long saber in his hand, rippling with water-like spiritual light, let out a resonant hum as his aura surged sharply upward.
"This ends here!"
Before the words had even faded, Fang Heng swept his saber in a horizontal slash. Saber-light surged forth like a tide, wave after wave!
"Limitless… Cascading Waves!"
He barked the technique's name and swung his blade.
The first slash — saber-light like a tide, carrying immense force as it cleaved toward Si Chen!
Si Chen could sense that this strike was somehow different from the ones before. Not daring to be careless, he gathered thunder-light in his right hand and conjured a Spear of Thunder to meet it head-on!
Boom!
The first slash was shattered by the Spear of Thunder. Shockwaves rolled outward, and both figures staggered.
But the second wave came right behind it, clearly more powerful than the first. Si Chen flicked his wrist and swung the spear to block again!
Boom!
Third slash, fourth slash, fifth slash…
Each one faster than the last, each one heavier than the last!
The saber-light truly cascaded like ocean waves, each one riding the tail of the previous, power accumulating continuously, the speed so relentless it left no room to breathe!
Si Chen's Thunder Smite Flash movement technique found no opening to execute against this unbroken, gapless assault!
He could only stand his ground and take each blow head-on!
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Every collision shook the entire cavern with a resonant hum, sending fragments of rock raining down.
Si Chen's arms grew faintly numb from the impacts. This Cascading Waves saber technique — the way it stacked force upon force — was truly ingenious.
And now, the sixth slash arrived!
The might of this strike was enough to draw the attention of even Heishan and Lü Ci, who were locked in their own fierce battle nearby!
Because this slash had transcended the bounds of the Core Formation Stage — it had reached the level of a full-force strike from an Early Nascent Soul Stage cultivator!
A faint, confident coldness crossed Fang Yuheng's face. His Cascading Waves technique grew stronger with each slash; among those of the same rank, almost no one could withstand more than three. That Si Chen had held on through five was already something to be proud of — but it was time for this to end!
Just as that sixth slash, carrying the might of the Nascent Soul Stage, came crashing down like a tsunami, Si Chen showed no sign of panic…
In fact, he felt something like… eager excitement.
This was the second time he had been struck with admiration by this kind of "technique."
The first time had been Zhao Qinghe.
The image of that Senior Brother of the Liuyun Sword Sect sheathing his sword and turning away, and that sword-light called "Chasing the Moon" — the one that had been fast enough to wound him for the first time since his reincarnation.
The second time was the Fang Heng before him now.
Limitless Cascading Waves — each wave stronger than the last, saber-might layering upon itself, using exquisite technique to push finite power toward an infinite peak.
"Speed" and "Stacking."
Two entirely different philosophies. Two equally breathtaking techniques.
They were like two streams of flowing light, colliding, intertwining, and fusing within the vast stellar sea of Si Chen's consciousness… all of it completed in the span of a lightning flash.
To the eyes of onlookers, Si Chen had merely shifted his stance at the last critical moment, adopting a starting form that no one could quite read — neither sword nor spear.
But in his own world, he was, with fresh curiosity, putting into practice the "answer" he had just comprehended.
The energy surging through his body rushed madly toward the tip of the Spear of Thunder.
In the instant that the sixth slash's fierce saber-light was about to swallow him whole, he stepped forward.
The spear strikes like a dragon — striking last, arriving first!
This thrust — fast!
This thrust — heavy!
In the moment the spear tip met the saber-light, the thunder-force compressed to its absolute limit erupted in a unique, resonant frequency.
One layer! Two layers! Three layers!
BOOM——!!
The entire cavern shook violently. The blinding white light forced everyone to shut their eyes.
Several cultivators and Demon Beasts who had been standing too close were sent flying by the shockwave, tumbling into a heap.
The light faded.
Si Chen and Fang Heng were both sent flying backward, slamming heavily into the rock walls and leaving two deep craters.
Pfft——
Fang Heng coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face etched with disbelief.
How was this possible?!
His most powerful sixth Cascading Wave — blocked like that?!
This kid… just what kind of monster was he?
What shook Fang Heng even more was that within that last thrust, he had distinctly sensed the essence of Cascading Waves!
Not just him — the onlookers, Chifeng, the guardian, Lü Ci, and the two Core Formation Stage Elders all stood there slack-jawed.
The Demon Race members who had been gang-kicking the two Golden Core Elders stopped in their tracks.
Even Heishan's endlessly spewing mouth went silent.
Si Chen, however, seemed somewhat unsatisfied. He wiped the trace of blood from the corner of his mouth, eyes gleaming as he looked toward Fang Heng.
He asked a question that nearly made his opponent spit blood:
"Is there a seventh slash?"