Casting immortality in the furnace

Chapter 74 Broken Blade

Chen Zhan wielded his twin blades wildly, launching over twenty consecutive attacks, yet he still couldn't break through Fan Zhou's layers of sword light. Instead, he was forced back three steps, growing increasingly anxious.

"Aww!"

He let out a low howl, and the curved blades in his hands suddenly flew up, spinning rapidly like wheels, instantly transforming into two balls of silver light, flying towards Fan Zhou from the left and right.

It was clearly a method of controlling the sword with qi.

"Let's see how you block this now!"

With a fierce determination, Chen Zhan unleashed his inner energy, causing two balls of silver light to crisscross and shift, constantly changing their trajectories. The blade energy was incomparably sharp, tearing through the air as they attacked Fan Zhou in a crisscrossing pattern.

Fan Zhou raised an eyebrow, thinking to himself, 'His move is quite clever. By detaching the throwing knife from his hands, his attack becomes unpredictable, allowing him to avoid my strengths in swordsmanship.'

"But I'll make sure you don't get your way."

Fan Zhou took a step forward and rushed towards Chen Zhan. His long sword danced around him, forming a net of swords that blocked the two balls of silver light three feet away.

Throwing knives are difficult to use at close range, so as long as he gets close to Chen Zhan, he can regain control of the rhythm.

"It's not that easy!"

Chen Zhan immediately understood his intention. He changed his hand seals, and the two balls of silver light merged into one, attacking Fan Zhou's head.

Fan Zhou had no choice but to stop and raise his sword to block.

The longsword collided with the silver light, producing a piercing sound. However, two strange forces inexplicably came to his hand, one pulling upwards and the other pressing downwards, twisting and mixing together, almost causing him to lose his grip on the hilt.

Fan Zhou looked up and saw that the two curved blades were rotating in opposite directions, and the energy they contained should be similar to the two opposing types of smoothness and roughness.

"You think you can get away with this? You've been underestimated."

He chuckled inwardly, but outwardly pretended to be outmatched, retreating repeatedly to dissipate the force.

Seeing that his unexpected move had worked, Chen Zhan was overjoyed and continued to maneuver his flying knives to attack Fan Zhou's body from all sides, keeping him busy and flustered.

"We must not let this brat Fan off lightly. We must utterly destroy his arrogance and render him utterly humiliating before General Che will be satisfied."

Chen Zhan believed that defeating Fan Zhou was only a matter of time, and he intended to show off his inner energy cultivation in front of Princess Chenxing and others, hoping to win their favor.

His hand seals changed rapidly, and the energy contained in his flying knives shifted multiple times, forcing Fan Zhou to retreat repeatedly, unable to defend himself.

Chen Zhan's heart burned with excitement. The two throwing knives flew back and forth in an instant, their silver light flashing and dazzling, shining brightly like a full moon.

Chen Chan, standing to the side, remained indifferent and said to his companion:

"Chen Zhan is going to lose."

Chen Hao was taken aback. "How could this be? Wasn't he beating that kid so badly?"

"He was too arrogant, thinking that because he was two levels higher in skill, he would definitely be able to defeat his opponent."

Chen Chan's gaze lingered on Fan Zhou:

"This Brother Fan's swordsmanship is perfect, and his internal energy can adapt to any situation. He is just pretending to be weak at this moment. When Chen Zhan's internal energy subsides, that will be his time to counterattack."

Chen Hao felt a chill run down his spine, genuinely worried for Chen Zhan, but he couldn't say anything to remind him, for fear of distracting him.

Chen Zhan was completely unaware of this, his blood boiling with rage, his only thought being to utterly defeat and humiliate Fan Zhou.

"But this guy's really holding on; he hasn't let his guard down at all."

Chen Zhan had been circulating his energy for a long time, but his breath had reached its limit. At this moment, he felt a stuffy heat in his chest, so he had to recall the two throwing knives and prepare to catch his breath.

"Now!"

Fan Zhou let out a long roar, leaped into the air, and swept his long sword down, smashing the two balls of silver light in the air.

"What?!"

Chen Zhan was shocked. He hadn't expected Fan Zhou's internal energy to be so profound. After fighting for a long time, Fan Zhou was still able to raise his power to another level.

Seeing that the throwing knife was about to hit the ground, he immediately channeled his inner energy, trying to recall the weapon.

But Fan Zhou wouldn't let him have his way. His figure swiftly descended from the sky, his long sword swirling like a dragon, mixing the four elements of hardness, softness, coldness, and heat, weaving a dense net with cold sword light to seal the two rapidly spinning silver moons within.

No matter how Chen Zhan urged it, the twin blades were nothing more than butterflies struggling in vain in a spider web, unable to escape.

Chen Zhan's face flushed red, and heat rose from his ears.

He was already on the verge of death, but now that his weapon was trapped by Fan Zhou, he could not let go of his last breath. He could only hold on and struggle to stay alive.

Fan Zhou, however, was completely at ease. Having cultivated the Longevity Technique, his internal energy was far greater than that of others at the same level. Even after using his swordsmanship to trap the two curved blades, he still had the strength to speak.

"Brother Chen Zhan, although you just called me arrogant, I'm not angry with you. As long as you admit defeat, the duel will end here, how about it?"

White smoke billowed from Chen Zhan's head, and his face turned a deep purplish-red, clearly indicating that he had pushed his inner energy to its limit and was unable to speak.

Knowing that he was unable to speak, Fan Zhou deliberately took the opportunity to humiliate him in order to avenge his past grievances.

After a while, Fan Zhou pretended to suddenly realize something and said:

"Oh, I suppose Brother Chen Zhan is too exhausted to speak. In that case, if you're willing to admit defeat, just nod."

Chen Zhan's forehead was already black, his eyes were bloodshot, and the veins on his face were throbbing, but he was still forcibly channeling his inner energy, unwilling to bow his head and admit defeat.

Chen Hao, who was watching from the sidelines, looked anxious. He knew that Chen Zhan was proud and would never admit defeat.

However, if Chen Zhan continues to push himself like this, he will inevitably suffer internal injuries, fall seriously ill, and may even lose his life.

Seeing Chen Zhan swaying precariously, he disregarded everything else and rushed out, shouting:

"Stop! We've lost this round!"

Fan Zhou glanced at Chen Hao and nodded in agreement:

"good!"

With a twist of his longsword, he knocked the two curved blades away, then with a powerful slash, he cut them into four pieces, which fell to the ground.

Chen Zhan felt as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer in the chest. He tilted his head back and spat out a mouthful of black blood. He staggered backward and finally collapsed into Chen Hao's arms, his face ashen and his breathing weak.

Chen Hao breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him vomiting blood. He quickly took out a few pills from his body and stuffed them into his mouth. Then he placed his palm on his back and used his internal energy to heal him.

Silence fell over the surroundings. The Gumi warriors fell silent, ceasing their banging of shields and chanting of encouragement.

Lou Zhenqing and Shen Yusheng looked at each other and smiled, stroking their beards with satisfaction.

Qin Zhiyuan was visibly excited. If Princess Gumi hadn't been there, he would have definitely shouted, "Well done!"

"Young friend Fan is indeed a young hero, worthy of being a disciple of the Sword Furnace."

The manager of Baihualou, Haitang, praised softly, her face full of admiration.

"Yes, his superb swordsmanship is among the best of the younger generation, far superior to my worthless juniors."

Old Manager Lu of Qingfeng Ridge stroked his beard and agreed.

The shopkeepers behind them looked at each other in bewilderment.

They tried to stop Fan Zhou from accepting the challenge, but to their surprise, he actually defeated an opponent who was two minor realms higher than him, leaving them in a rather awkward situation.

The Gumi tribe and others remained silent, while several elders and ministers stared at General Che.

General Che's face was expressionless, and he didn't even blink.

Chen Xing, who had been observing the situation, spoke calmly:

"Chen Zhan is too reckless; he needs more experience."

General Che nodded silently, his eyes dark and gloomy.

Fan Zhou, however, remained calm, his gaze sweeping over the group of people around him before finally settling on Chen Chan.

"What will we compete in this second round?"

Chen Chan walked calmly to him and said indifferently:

"In this second round, we'll compete in hand-to-hand combat. I wonder if Brother Fan is up for the challenge?"