Chapter 145: All Roads Lead to the Same End

Hun Jiangcheng was full of confidence and radiating intense arrogance, looking like an entirely different person compared to his previous rageful self.

At his core, this arrogance was actually Hun Jiangcheng's true nature; his earlier fury had merely been a natural reflex when faced with the unknown.

Faced with Hun Jiangcheng's haughty demeanor, Qinchuan simply replied calmly, "Actually, you really don't need to put on such an act. Whether you have a name or not is completely unimportant to me, seeing as you're going to die soon anyway."

Qinchuan's words sounded like a mere statement of fact, yet they nearly made Hun Jiangcheng vomit blood in fury, because no matter how he interpreted them, he felt utterly belittled.

No, even worse—despised.

"I, a dignified branch leader of the Black Wind Cliff, am actually being looked down upon by a nobody? This is simply unforgivable!"

"No, his crimes are already unforgivable!"

With that, Hun Jiangcheng tightened his grip on the Earthfiend Saber and shouted furiously, "If I don't chop you in half today, I'll change my surname to yours!"

Qinchuan merely chuckled in response, which only further provoked Hun Jiangcheng beyond endurance. Brandishing his saber, he lunged forward to slash.

Although Qinchuan was only at level 34, his baseline stats were quite respectable, bolstered by the bonuses of a four-star senior elite, which granted an extra 10 points to all attributes per star.

Ever since entering the territory of the Black Wind Cliff, he had accumulated a vast amount of merit points and vital energy. Aside from upgrading his navel chakra once, he had not spent any of them yet.

Killing the outer sect elites had just yielded a 1.5 multiplier to his merit points, and from the grand avenue entrance up to this moment, he had amassed a total of 50.25 billion merit points.

Combined with the merit points farmed from his previous sweeps, his total had now broken through the hundred-thousand mark, equivalent to one hundred billion experience points.

Sharpness: 941 + 1317.4 (140%) + 470 (50%) = 2725+
Toughness: 881 + 925.5 (105%) + 264.3 (30%) = 2070+
Speed: 851 + 893.55 (105%) + 340 (40%) = 2080+
Merit Points: 101,000
Vital Energy: 25,000
Slaughter Points: 25,600 / 40,000

Judging by the data, both sides had their own strengths and weaknesses.

However, Hun Jiangcheng's footwork held a distinct advantage, surpassing Qinchuan's by nearly 300 points.

Therefore, this battle would inevitably rely on the application of skills and the control of the combat situation.

At that moment, Hun Jiangcheng slashed downward with his saber, moving at an incredible speed, akin to a phantom.

Qinchuan did not hesitate either. Having anticipated Hun Jiangcheng's slashing angle well in advance, he directly swept his sword across to meet it.

"Clang!"

"Ugh."

Both combatants stepped back a few paces, neither suffering any damage.

However, the penetrating effect of the blow proved a bit too much for the Earthfiend Saber to comfortably absorb, causing the weapon to emit an involuntary, muffled groan.

"Master, this red spirit weapon is quite bizarre. Although I didn't suffer any durability loss, it really hurts."

"I know."

Meanwhile, Hun Jiangcheng's heart shook violently, a look of utter disbelief crossing his face.

Yet, as long as his spiritual defense remained unpenetrated, it was nothing major—after all, the weapon felt no physical pain. What truly shocked him was Qinchuan's raw strength.

Qinchuan's basic attacks could not breach Hun Jiangcheng's defense.

Likewise, Hun Jiangcheng's attacks could not overcome Qinchuan's toughness value.

Consequently, the first round ended in a dead heat.

"I suppose I must reevaluate you."

Hun Jiangcheng's gaze turned somewhat gloomy as he reluctantly admitted the fact.

For someone as proud as him, letting go of his arrogance was by no means an easy task.

Yet, haughty though he was, Hun Jiangcheng was far from stupid.

The corners of Qinchuan's mouth curled upward in a faint smile as he calmly replied, "I'm glad you can see the facts for what they are."

Hun Jiangcheng gritted his teeth fiercely, forcibly suppressing his surging anger.

To his ears, Qinchuan's words sounded gratingly harsh.

"Even so, I still have every confidence in defeating you!"

"Victory has never been won with mere words."

Qinchuan's tone remained utterly level, yet it choked Hun Jiangcheng to the point of nearly coughing up blood.

Every single thing Qinchuan said hit back like a counter-strike, leaving Hun Jiangcheng feeling intensely miserable.

Hun Jiangcheng suddenly realized that conversing with Qinchuan not only yielded zero advantage, but practically drove him to the brink of a qi deviation from sheer rage. Thus, he simply shut his mouth.

Instead, Hun Jiangcheng began pondering how he could effectively lock down Qinchuan.

"Judging by that last exchange, Qinchuan possesses astonishing predictive abilities."

"He didn't even budge from his spot. I don't even know how fast his footwork truly is, let alone his sword techniques."

"No, I need to continue probing."

Qinchuan stood at ease, holding his sword horizontally. His opponent's movement technique was uncanny and clearly superior to his own.

Therefore, watching quietly and adapting to changes was the optimal strategy.

Qinchuan had not yet fully unleashed his aura. While bursting forth with intimidation could narrow the distance, it would forfeit the element of surprise and prevent him from achieving the best possible result.

For now, Qinchuan still hadn't upgraded his heart chakra, intending to use this fight to temper his physical coordination.

After all, there were distinct differences between operating in a humanoid state and a sword-body state.

Up until now, Qinchuan had yet to encounter a genuinely high-quality battle, making this match the finest whetstone he could ask for.

Hun Jiangcheng would never have guessed that Qinchuan merely viewed him as a sparring partner.

Though he had already consciously elevated his estimation of Qinchuan's status, Qinchuan's actual mindset was still leagues ahead of him.

At this point, their intentions happened to align: one wanted to probe, and the other wanted to temper himself.

"Take this blow!"

Accompanied by Hun Jiangcheng's angry roar, the second round of combat commenced.

"Clang!"

As their figures crossed paths, Hun Jiangcheng forcibly steadied his stance, spun around in a rapid pivot, and slammed the Earthfiend Saber heavily into the ground, shouting, "Sky-Shattering Strike!"

This move by Hun Jiangcheng was also a probe rather than a combined saber technique, meaning it would only inflict a 30% slowdown effect upon hitting.

At that moment, Qinchuan was four meters away from Hun Jiangcheng. As the Earthfiend Saber struck the ground, a wave of razor-sharp saber Qi surged toward him.

Everything transpired in the span of a lightning flash.

Hun Jiangcheng had calculated this meticulously, launching the attack precisely at the moment their figures crossed.

Just as Qinchuan turned around, he saw the Earthfiend Saber slamming into the ground.

Drawing upon his vast combat experience, he easily deduced that this was a crowd-control saber technique.

At that exact moment, the saber Qi was about to reach his body, and the Earthfiend Saber was about to complete its impact.

A triumphant smile had already blossomed at the corners of Hun Jiangcheng's mouth.

Yet, in the very next instant, Qinchuan's figure vanished into thin air.

"Blink!"

"Boom!"

Qinchuan used Blink without the slightest hesitation, immediately following up with a standard sword slash.

The Earthfiend Saber slammed fiercely into the ground, kicking up a series of shockwaves, but it failed to achieve any effect whatsoever.

A flash of surprise crossed Hun Jiangcheng's eyes. He wasn't overly disappointed by the miss; rather, he was astounded by the spirit skill known as Blink.

He had witnessed countless kinds of spiritual entities, but he had never encountered a technique that allowed for instantaneous spatial displacement—let along one that integrated so perfectly with a human body.

Alongside his astonishment, a surge of wild euphoria washed over Hun Jiangcheng.

If he could acquire the Dragon-Patterned Cold Crystal Sword, perhaps through comprehension, he too could master this very same spirit skill.

Comprehension represented another facet of human potential, commonly known as insight.

Armed with formidable insight, one stood a chance of awakening extraordinary spirit skills.

This was somewhat analogous to the mutated skills Qinchuan had acquired.

All in all, different starting points led to the same destination.

To be capable of pondering such complex thoughts in the midst of a life-or-death crisis showed just how unfazed Hun Jiangcheng truly was.

While executing his move, Hun Jiangcheng remained in a semi-crouched position. He immediately rolled across the ground, propelled his body upward, and vanished into a blur of phantom afterimages several meters away.

Qinchuan's descending sword strike cleaved deep into the earth, leaving behind a profound gouge.

"Blink!"

Utilizing the third tier of Blink, Qinchuan closed the distance once more like sticky tar.

Since his opponent had unleashed a crowd-control skill, Qinchuan returned the courtesy without holding back, relying on status immunity as if operating with cheats enabled.

"Clang!"

In the nick of time, Hun Jiangcheng pressed the Earthfiend Saber against his waist, managing to block the incoming sword strike.

"Ugh!"

The Earthfiend Saber emitted yet another muffled groan, its spiritual core flashing incessantly from the pain.

Nevertheless, Hun Jiangcheng used this parry to escape a fatal predicament; had Qinchuan managed to stick to him, it would have been game over.

Though these successive exchanges made the battle appear evenly matched on the surface, the tide of the combat had already begun to shift imperceptibly.