Chapter 26 : Semi Final

When Chen Fan arrived at the arena, he immediately noticed that there was now only one large arena. The majority of the audience seats were already filled, signaling the crowd's eagerness to watch the final match. Chen Fan quickly found his seat, positioned below the audience and beside the arena, where the top 10 competitors were to be seated. He noticed two empty seats next to each other. Looking at the group of eight who had already arrived—six men and two women—he observed that they were all eyeing him. Some offered polite smiles, while others showed curiosity about the man capable of defeating the Saint of Azure Sky.

Chen Fan smiled back in return and took a seat next to one of the top four, Zhou Yuze, leaving the seat on his right empty. Zhou Yuze, who appeared nervous, glanced at Chen Fan with an awkward smile. "Is it okay if I sit here?"

"Ah, yes, of course," Zhou Yuze replied softly, his voice tinged with nerves.

Noticing Zhou Yuze's unease, Chen Fan sensed he wasn't the most sociable type. "Feeling nervous?" Chen Fan asked casually as he settled into his seat.

Zhou Yuze was taken aback by the question. "Yeah... I didn't expect to make it this far."

"But it's pretty exciting, right? It's not every day you get to face tough opponents," Chen Fan remarked.

"Yeah," Zhou Yuze agreed.

"Have you already joined a sect, or are you planning to?" Chen Fan asked, continuing the conversation.

"No, I haven't joined one yet," Zhou Yuze replied.

"Which sect are you thinking of joining?"

"I plan to join the Jade Spirit Sect," Zhou Yuze answered.

As their conversation went on, Chen Fan kept things light and casual. At first, Zhou Yuze only spoke when directly addressed, but as time passed, he began to speak more freely and even initiated a question.

"Are you new here?" Zhou Yuze asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Yes, it's my first time. I heard about the competition, and here I am," Chen Fan replied with a smile, openly admitting his desire to compete and test himself against others.

"You're truly amazing. Defeating the Saint of Azure Sky is no small feat," Zhou Yuze said, openly admiring Chen Fan. Having watched Chen Fan's match and seen how he emerged victorious without a single injury despite being at a lower cultivation level, Zhou Yuze was convinced that Chen Fan was one of the most talented individuals he had ever encountered.

"Aren't we the same? You're in the top four too, right?" Chen Fan replied with a smile.

Zhou Yuze scratched his head awkwardly, a sheepish grin on his face. "I'm just lucky, haha," he said, though inwardly, he was thrilled to receive praise from someone like Chen Fan.

At that moment, both of them noticed a woman quietly sitting next to Chen Fan. Her face was expressionless as she stared ahead, seemingly oblivious to their presence. The oppressive aura she exuded made Zhou Yuze feel uneasy, causing him to grow slightly nervous and hesitant to speak. Chen Fan, too, was taken aback by her presence—this was his next opponent. He remembered her name, which coincidentally was the same as the previous tenant of his current home. He considered asking her about it but decided against it. It was likely she preferred to keep her private life to herself.

Just as he was about to greet her, a voice suddenly echoed from the center of the arena. It was the old man from the previous day.

"Let's proceed with the next match. Bai Mulan and Chen Fan, please come to the arena."

Upon hearing this, Bai Mulan immediately stood up and walked toward the arena. Unbeknownst to Chen Fan, Bai Mulan felt a sense of relief as she distanced herself from him. When she first arrived and saw that the only available seat was next to Chen Fan, she had been tempted to curse aloud. However, remembering her image, she decided to sit quietly. Is it the power of the plot? she thought to herself.

Watching Bai Mulan leave and recalling the rumors about her cold, distant personality, Chen Fan found her behavior unsurprising. He decided to follow her toward the arena. As he was about to move, he heard a noise and glanced back to see Zhou Yuze awkwardly trying to cheer him on, which made him chuckle.

"Let's meet in the next round," Chen Fan said with a smile before turning back toward the arena.

Soon, they were face to face, and without hesitation, the old man signaled the start of the match.

Swish!

Chen Fan had initially planned to ask her about the house and discuss the items she had left there, but before he could speak, he was taken by surprise as countless ice needles shot toward him. He quickly launched a fireball in response, but before it even reached the ice, the fireball was instantly extinguished.

Well, there's no way I can match her extreme ice control with my meager elemental control, Chen Fan thought, watching the fireball vanish completely. With the ice needles closing in, he acted swiftly, grabbing two nearby needles and imbuing them with his qi to destroy the majority of the incoming projectiles. This caused the ice to scatter around him, and some of the needles flew past him.

As if anticipating this, Bai Mulan swiftly spread her qi across the arena, freezing the entire floor. Chen Fan realized that the ice had turned into a mini domain of her creation, allowing her to summon ice from anywhere within the arena.

Chen Fan immediately leaped forward, his legs imbued with qi, and his figure blurred as he left an afterimage in the arena, moving with lightning speed. In the spot where he had been moments ago, two ice spikes shot up from the ground, their sharp tips aimed to pierce him if he had stayed longer.

As Chen Fan sensed the shifting qi throughout the arena, he quickly realized he needed to keep moving at high speeds to avoid the continuous barrage of ice spikes that Bai Mulan was summoning. Her control over the arena's qi made predicting the next attack possible, but it required constant movement.

His nerves tensed as he sensed the qi in the arena shift once more. Acting swiftly, he leapt into the air just as the ground beneath him erupted, with 1-meter-long ice spikes shooting up from all sides, leaving only a small gap near Bai Mulan. He knew, however, that she had already created a reinforced ice wall around herself, far stronger than the rest of the ice in the arena, making it almost impossible to break through.

Chen Fan's gaze sharpened as he looked at the giant ice spikes covering the arena, each larger than his leg. He kicked the body of one of the spikes, using it as a springboard to accelerate. The narrow gaps between the spikes allowed him to gain speed with each successive kick, his momentum building with every movement. As he kicked off from one spike after another, he focused his qi into his right fist.

Moving like a flash of lightning, just above the ice spikes and accelerating with each passing second, Chen Fan rapidly closed the gap between himself and Bai Mulan's ice wall. With all the momentum he had gathered, he delivered a powerful punch, shattering the wall of ice instantly under the sheer force of the blow.

Bai Mulan stared in stunned disbelief as Chen Fan appeared beside her. She had expected him to overcome her attacks, but not in such a swift and unexpected manner. Exhausted from the energy she had expended, she couldn't form a strong barrier in time. Chen Fan's palm struck her abdomen, sending her crashing into the ice wall with a resounding crack. As she saw his incoming kick, she quickly released all the ice in the arena, knowing her disadvantage in close combat, before being sent flying across the arena by the force of his blow.

Regaining her composure midair, Bai Mulan launched a massive ice ball high above the arena. Clenching her fist, she detonated it, causing countless ice needles to rain down from above. With a swift wave of her hand, she directed the barrage of needles toward Chen Fan, leaving no space for him to evade or deflect the oncoming assault.

Chen Fan quickly realized that his elemental attacks wouldn't be enough to defend against or destroy the ice needles. He considered compressing the fire, but there was no time. In an instant, he created a thin plate of annihilation with a diameter of one meter above him, sending it soaring toward the descending needles.

When the storm of ice needles finally fell, a perfect circular area remained around Chen Fan, untouched by the silver projectiles that had pierced the arena floor.

Sigh, Chen Fan thought, feeling a sense of disappointment at having to resort to using annihilation. He quickly turned his attention to Bai Mulan, who was panting heavily. It was clear that the area-wide attacks she had unleashed had drained her qi reserves.

"I surrender," Bai Mulan admitted directly. Given Chen Fan's earlier move that had obliterated her ice needles and her dwindling qi, she had no hope of winning.

As soon as the words left her lips, the crowd, who had been completely absorbed in the intense battle, snapped back to reality. A thunderous cheer erupted, reflecting the overwhelming appreciation for the brief but fiercely contested fight. The speed and intensity of the combat had kept the audience on the edge of their seats, captivated despite the match's short duration.