CSMCDB - Chapter 90
Chapter 90
Step by step, she walked onto the dueling ring. Although this was far from the final match, Wen Yuncheng felt it was bound to be her most nerve-wracking one yet.
She and Lin Jinyu stood at opposite ends of the ring, both silent. Yet, the fighting spirit in their eyes grew increasingly intense. The moment Wen Yuncheng’s will to fight ignited, she also felt Lin Jinyu’s sharp sword intent—
Suppression!
Lin Jinyu’s sword intent actually gave her a sense of an indomitable, unstoppable momentum! An ordinary person would likely be scared into retreating by this intent alone. Even if they dared to attack, their strength would be diminished. Sword intent… it was truly a profound thing.
Wen Yuncheng closed her eyes, clearing her mind during the preparation period. When she opened them again, she was no longer intimidated by the sword intent. She took a slow, firm step forward, her gaze fixed on Lin Jinyu, and saw the corners of Lin Jinyu’s mouth lift into a smile.
“The match begins!”
Her focus sharpened instantly. The moment the referee’s announcement came, Wen Yuncheng shot into the air with her Mechanical Wings—just as she’d expected. The referee’s voice had barely faded when Lin Jinyu’s figure vanished. As the afterimage of Star Power dissipated, she was already charging, sword in hand. If Wen Yuncheng had been distracted for a moment to summon Number One and Number Two, given Lin Jinyu’s ability to shatter a stone giant with a single point of her sword… she’d probably be in deep trouble.
The instant she was airborne, Number One and Number Two were summoned. Wen Yuncheng tentatively had Number One use a freeze round on Lin Jinyu. She suspected Lin Jinyu might be immune to the freezing effect, but it was worth a try. Meanwhile, Number Two charged toward the center of the ring and began charging a Star Power Cannon aimed at Lin Jinyu.
Lin Jinyu casually flicked her longsword upward. With a seemingly effortless turn of her wrist, a blade of icy light shot toward the sky in pursuit. Her movements were nimble as twelve swords of Star Power materialized behind her. Splitting into two groups of six, they flew toward Number One and Number Two, forming an array!
As for Lin Jinyu herself, she tapped her foot on the ring and leaped into the air. Her Profound-rank longsword let out a soft hum as several icy blossoms stabbed toward Wen Yuncheng’s face.
And all of this happened in a mere instant! Wen Yuncheng instinctively wanted to swap positions with Number One or Number Two to dodge the attack, but Lin Jinyu had clearly anticipated it. Gritting her teeth, she threw out the Mountain River Seal, not to suppress, but as a distraction. Wen Yuncheng then tossed down a stun grenade, used her Mechanical Wings to descend rapidly, and set up the Viper Cannon on the ring.
She needed to find an opportunity to use her G-Series skills, but Lin Jinyu didn't seem inclined to give her the time.
Almost as soon as she landed, two sword glints, one after the other, shot toward her in a cross shape. Just as they were about to strike her, she gritted her teeth and teleported Number One in front of her, then rapidly retreated while forming the G-3 Predator.
The moment Number One was moved, the Star Power sword arrays surrounding its original position and Number Two’s position exploded simultaneously! Number Two was blasted, its crystalline surface pitted and scarred. It had clearly taken a heavy hit!
What did this mean? It meant that if Wen Yuncheng had tried to swap with one of the apostles just now, she would have been the one caught in the blast.
Gritting her teeth, Wen Yuncheng used her bracelet. Lin Jinyu immediately unleashed a sword technique targeting both her and Number One. Not only were half-formed ice blossoms appearing in the air, but a layer of white frost was also beginning to form on the ring. If she kept hesitating, unwilling to use her skills, she'd probably be killed in an instant—she wasn't a freak like Di Yuanhao, who could take a hit and just get more fired up.
A black shadow shot toward Lin Jinyu, momentarily interrupting her fluid sword movements. But in the next second, not only did her assault not stop, but her sword strikes became even faster. With a few flashes of cold light from the tip of her sword, a flower of frost condensed from Star Power took shape! Lin Jinyu raised her hand and slashed down with a blade of light. The ice flower and the sword glint struck Number One’s body and exploded violently!
A fierce fluctuation of Star Power erupted on the ring. The instant Wen Yuncheng saw that she hadn’t stopped Lin Jinyu’s technique, she had Number Two dash to the left and then swapped positions with it, recalling Number One. The flower of frost slammed into the ring, and the explosion of Star Power sent countless ice shards flying. Number Two had already done its best to dodge left and was some distance from Number One’s original position, but the shockwave still sent it flying. Not only was it covered in dense ice shards, but its painted crystalline shell was now riddled with fine cracks.
Too ruthless, just too ruthless. Lin Jinyu wasn’t even a Star Lord yet. What would she be like when she became one? Wen Yuncheng’s heart pounded with lingering fear. By now, the Predator was ready. With a thought, the six small machines whizzed toward Lin Jinyu—
Lin Jinyu thrust her sword into the ring. A ripple of Star Power, visible to the naked eye, spread out with her at the center. A thin layer of frost began to appear on the ring’s surface. She took out a cyan jade bead, no bigger than a bottle cap, which flashed with a dazzling green light when infused with Star Power. The small bead floated up, and rings of green light spread out, drawing the attacks of the Predators above her. Six blue laser beams converged on a single point—focused on the cyan bead, not harming Lin Jinyu in the slightest.
…It was clear that Lin Jinyu was giving this her all. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have specifically prepared such a Spirit Treasure. Faced with such frequent close-range attacks, Wen Yuncheng found it difficult to defend. The twelve-sword array once again enveloped Number Two. Seizing the opportunity created by the array, Wen Yuncheng used a Launching Slide to close the distance to Lin Jinyu and threw a flame exploder.
The flame exploder hit an afterimage of Star Power, bursting into a sheet of fire upon impact.
As expected. Since they were both projectiles, Lin Jinyu couldn’t tell what she was throwing the moment it left her hand. She must have thought that getting close meant Wen Yuncheng was going to use a stun grenade to disable her!
Thinking of the three grenades she hadn’t used, Wen Yuncheng felt she could make good use of them. Lin Jinyu was taking this battle so seriously, she must have studied her abilities in depth…
A Pursuer and a Self-Destructor appeared on the ring. Number Two began firing flame rounds at Lin Jinyu. Since freeze rounds couldn’t slow her down, flame rounds were the only option. It was a pity she hadn’t unlocked ammunition with other special properties…
On the wide ring, the Viper Cannon relentlessly fired its shells, but Lin Jinyu was too agile. Its straightforward Star Power cannons could hardly hit her.
This wasn’t working. She was being too passive! Ever since Lin Jinyu’s fortuitous encounter, her Star Power reserves were much higher than an average person’s. Trying to win a battle of attrition was clearly not feasible for Wen Yuncheng. After all, while Wen Yuncheng had plenty of blue mana, she was constrained by cooldowns.
She had to find an opening…
The Mechanical Wings took to the sky again. Wen Yuncheng, unconcerned about her mana consumption, controlled the wings to circle around from behind. However, Lin Jinyu’s attention remained fixed on her from start to finish. Even as she constantly dodged, the relentless slashes of sword light kept her on the defensive, preventing her from finding a good opportunity—
Wen Yuncheng looked at Number Two. Number One still had a one-minute cooldown. She ordered Number Two to charge, but the sword array actually moved along with it.
With a clear, ringing sound, the momentum of Lin Jinyu’s sword suddenly changed. She took just a single step forward, but her sword intent erupted violently. Wen Yuncheng felt a sharp pain in her consciousness as the Flying Sky Shuttle shot out to block in front of her. She saw a blue sword glint, nearly three meters long, slashing toward her. The sword light was bitingly cold and carried an invincible aura. Wen Yuncheng had no intention of taking it head-on, but…
The Mountain River Seal appeared in her hand, enlarged once more. Wen Yuncheng let out a shout to bolster her courage and pushed with all her might against the sword glint! A piercing crash rang out. In that instant, Wen Yuncheng deactivated her Mechanical Wings, letting herself fall rapidly. In that brief moment of displacement, as she recalled the Mountain River Seal, the sword glint didn’t dissipate but continued to slash upward into the air, where it was broken up and neutralized by the referee’s Star Power.
Wen Yuncheng’s ears turned a little red. She felt as if she had returned to the placement battle when she first enrolled, where she would use any trick and make any move to dodge an attack, resorting to any means necessary. It had been a long time since she’d been this disheveled… Why was Lin Jinyu so fierce, as if she were fighting for her life…
Wait, could it be that “giving it her all” in Lin Jinyu’s eyes meant fighting a desperate, life-or-death battle?
Wen Yuncheng was only distracted for a moment, lamenting Lin Jinyu’s stubbornness, but in that instant, the stubborn Little Ice Mountain had already executed a movement technique and appeared before her in the blink of an eye. Her Profound-rank longsword instantly split into multiple afterimages, and several points of cold light stabbed out repeatedly, aiming for Wen Yuncheng’s face and vital points!
“Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang—”
The moment Number One appeared, six deep holes from the sword thrusts materialized on its body. After so many battles, Number One’s combat awareness had improved significantly. Before Wen Yuncheng could even issue a command, it charged directly at Lin Jinyu. At the same time, Number Two fired flame rounds at her.
Lin Jinyu didn’t retreat; instead, she charged forward. She tossed her Profound-rank longsword into the air, pulled her right hand back for a moment, then struck out, landing a palm strike directly on Number One’s chest. With an explosion of Star Power, she sent the charging Number One flying back!
But Lin Jinyu wasn’t unscathed either. The Star Power in her body churned, and she swallowed the metallic taste in her throat. Executing a movement technique, she left an afterimage of Star Power in her place as the Profound-rank longsword fell back into her hand, and she charged straight for Wen Yuncheng.
Volleys of flame rounds hit the afterimage. Number Two had once again hit nothing but air.
Lin Jinyu, Lin Jinyu… Wen Yuncheng’s expression hardened. In that instant, she used a Launching Slide to close in on the charging Lin Jinyu. The moment she was near, the piercing sword intent almost made her mind go blank. She bit her tongue hard to steady herself and threw a stun grenade. She then swapped places with the still-airborne Number One and ordered it to charge!
Although Wen Yuncheng’s actions were incredibly fast, the longsword still grazed her left arm, leaving a bloody gash on her shoulder. Pain? That was secondary. Wen Yuncheng’s eyes lit up—this was her chance!
The stun grenade had hit Lin Jinyu!
Three grenades were thrown in an instant. With Lin Jinyu dazed, Wen Yuncheng couldn’t afford to save the grenades as a bluff. Number Two also charged at Lin Jinyu. Wen Yuncheng raised the Mountain River Seal high, and her Mechanical Wings instantly pulled her into the air. In a downward dive, Wen Yuncheng brought the enlarged Mountain River Seal crashing down!
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