Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 334 - 71: Don’t Overanalyze Where the Heavy Blow Lands

Chapter 334: Chapter 71: Don’t Overanalyze Where the Heavy Blow Lands

Morning of February 14, 2018

As the Li Family arrived, this unique martial arts competition of the Outer Courtyard quickly commenced.

The Shen Family dislikes cumbersome formalities, skipping all the usual pre-competition speeches by the leadership favored by ordinary organizations. Once everyone was present and their qualifications verified—no banned drugs consumed, no mass destruction talismans brought, no surgery or cosmetic enhancements to find a ringer—the competition arena, the Battle Array Map, was entered.

The Lingshan specially constructed competition-use Battle Array Map had long been prepared.

This was a pure blue space, nothing but space itself, stretching endlessly in all directions, with the ground and sky merging into a dizzying whole. Underfoot were countless neatly arranged, semi-transparent bluestone jade tiles, barely serving as spatial markers.

Walking upon these bluestone jade tiles, every step stirred the contained energy within, radiating ripples that brought a hint of dynamism to this otherwise pure but stagnant space.

When Wang Jiu led the team into this space, the Shen Family had already taken their positions, more than a hundred people neatly arranged in a phalanx, motionless, as if merged with the stagnant space. It was only upon seeing the Li Family enter that there was some slight disturbance among the crowd.

As Secretary B led the way, he introduced this peculiar space to a few people as he walked: "This space is the ’Dream Transformation Cave Mansion’ creatively developed by the Shen Family Lingshan High-tech Zone 20 years ago. Initially, we borrowed a space fragment left from the Primordial Era, blending the technology of the Battle Array Map to gradually develop it. In this space, we can freely set the Dao Laws to a certain extent, showcasing various incredible Divine Techniques. And currently, the greatest Divine Technique imposed here is to transform every real occurrence into a dream."

Pausing for a moment, Secretary B smiled and said, "Simply put, here, even if you die once, it’s just like having a nightmare, causing no serious consequences, not even leaving psychological shadows. So, it’s often used as a simulation battlefield. Due to its high realism and low side effects, it is currently the best and highest-tier Battle Array Map the Shen Family possesses, more advanced than the Battle Array Map system purchased by Mr. Xinyu. However, the Shen Family has only one such Battle Array Map, so you can only appreciate its wonders here. Fight freely here, don’t worry about pain or injury."

Secretary B was incessantly showing off the knowledge points crammed into him last night, and for a moment, several Li Family members listened with great interest.

Beside him, Shen Herong felt a bit awkward.

He said too much!

This Dream Transformation Divine Technique of the Battle Array Map can alleviate all injuries, and here, not to mention dying once, even being cut to pieces a thousand times would allow instant recovery post-battle. So... simulation battles in this Dream Transformation Cave Mansion have always been extremely fierce, with many cultivators using explosive means they would never choose under normal circumstances to seek victory. In speed-based events, those daring players naturally have a significant advantage over those who are cautious, careful, and restrained.

Most of the Outer Courtyard disciples of the Shen Family have conducted simulation battles in this Dream Transformation Cave Mansion and are already familiar with its rules. If the Li Family members were unaware beforehand and chose conservative tactics during combat, the Outer Courtyard disciples would undoubtedly have a greater chance of victory. But a few words from Secretary B made this hidden advantage disappear.

However, this is also good, as the victory or defeat will be straightforward, and the Li Family will have nothing to say if they lose.

If the Shen Family loses...

He can blame it on Secretary B! Since he leaked the Shen Family secrets!

—— 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Moments later, the crowds converged, and Shen Herong stepped forward, his form suspended in mid-air, looking down as he said:

"Next, I will announce today’s competition rules: the event is a speed trial, defeating the set target as quickly as possible. The competition field is over there."

As Shen Herong spoke, he pointed to the side, and a hundred-zhang square circle lit up on the clear bluestone ground.

"The field rule is a deathmatch; the surrounding boundaries are set as impassable, so there’s no need to worry about going out of bounds, just focus on defeating the opponent within the circle."

"Finally, I will announce today’s speed trial opponent."

Saying that, Shen Herong glanced at the people on both sides, both the Li Family and the Shen Family were attentively watching him, waiting for the answer he would announce. Comparatively, the Li Family members seemed noticeably more relaxed and confident, as if they already knew the answer...

"Shen Bailin."

As his words fell, within the circle, there appeared a tall, burly yet slightly portly silhouette.

A tall man shrouded completely in blue-black armor, with two green glows emitting from the helmet, and every seam of the armor exuding a chilling aura.

This was the young figure of Shen Bailin, the Shen Family Patriarch who had shocked the world 500 years ago. His Ice Meteor Battle Armor, from his early days, helped him rise through life and death, victorious in every battle.

Even after 500 years, despite the great development of the Immortal Dao civilization in Xiangzhou, with the cultivators and cultivation techniques of the past seeming outdated, even if this was the projection of the young Shen Bailin, with cultivation only between the Cloud Surge Realm and the Cloud Flipping Realm, inferior even to Shen Feihong and Shen Qing, when this person’s projection appeared before the crowd, it still brought immense deterrence.

"Ah Jiu, we’ll be counting on you later." Shen Qingming glanced at the opponent and knew instantly this was not someone she could defeat, naturally placing her hopes on Wang Jiu.

In fact, Wang Jiu was everyone’s hope present.

Besides Li Wanqing, the few from the Li Family couldn’t possibly contend with cultivators of Shen Feihong and Shen Qing’s level. Those two were already at the early stage of Cloud Flipping Realm, while on this side, there was still someone in the Wind-Rising Realm; the gap was as wide as between clouds and mud.

The only way to bridge the gap is the Celestial Divine Sword, and Wang Jiu had already nodded yesterday after receiving the detailed rules, indicating he had a way to help a few individuals win.

On the other side, the Shen Family secretly cheered for Shen Feihu.

He really guessed it right! It truly is a speed competition, and indeed, it’s Shen Bailin!

Thanks to this, everyone was able to prepare fully in just one or two days. In the early hours of yesterday, centering around Shen Qing, the group worked together to develop an extremely effective strategy that almost perfectly targeted the Hundred-Year-Old Ancestor. After simulations by several companions with strong Divine Sense, it was almost certain that within the same realm, no more efficient tactic could be found.

As long as their opponent is indeed Shen Bailin, as Shen Feihu predicted, they have a 100% certainty of winning.

And not just winning the top spot, but also continuously securing the top five positions in a crushing manner! Even the strongest from the Li Family, Li Wanqing, has to be pushed to sixth place or below!

The confidence of the Shen Family disciples was evident, which gave Shen Herong a slight sense of comfort.

Never fearing battle, this is what makes a qualified member of the Shen Family, and from their demeanor, it seems they are well-prepared, not merely overconfident.

This is the best possible outcome...

After a brief silence, Shen Herong spoke again: "The specifics of the speed competition are as follows: Ranking is determined by speed points, which consist of two parts. One part is time scoring: after the battle begins, there will be a 5-minute countdown; the more time remaining when the battle ends, the higher the score. The other part is damage scoring. If you successfully defeat the target within the countdown, it is a full score. If not, you gain damage score based on the damage caused within the 5 minutes. Of course, in such a case, the time score will be zero."

"These are the general rules. Does anyone have questions?"

Soon, someone raised their hand: "Who goes first?"

Shen Herong turned his gaze and unsurprisingly, it was Shen Feihu.

Who goes first is indeed a core issue because, as known from the venue, the whole process of this speed competition is public. The side making the first attempt naturally faces some disadvantages as those who follow can adjust combat strategies based on the experience of their predecessors.

To this, Shen Herong answered in a deep voice: "Of course, our Shen Family will go first. Any objections?"

Shen Feihu grinned broadly: "No objections, couldn’t ask for more. It’s just that if over a hundred of us take turns on stage, our guests from the Li Family might get tired of waiting."

"No need to worry about others. Since there are no issues, get ready... Shen Family, who goes first?!"

At this moment, Shen Qing stood up without hesitation.

"I’ll go first."

Without another word, he picked up his Silver Frost and strode into the circle.

As he stepped onto the battlefield, the projection of Shen Bailin in the center of the arena let out a hollow roar, two eerie blue beams shooting out from the helmet.

However, before these gazes could lock onto a target, they were obscured by the sweeping Warhammer. Holding the Warhammer, Shen Qing, with terrifying explosiveness, took just one step to reach Shen Bailin, completely ignoring the dispersing cold, and with the momentum of the Warhammer swing, smashed it onto Shen Bailin’s chest.

With a resounding clatter, the front of the Ice Meteor Battle Armor dented inward, and Shen Bailin let out a painful howl, swinging his arms to summon a deluge of gigantic ice shards from mid-air.

Each of these giant ice shards was condensed from pure Five Elements True Essence, weighing over a thousand pounds with a chilling aura, enough to instantly freeze a Cultivator in the Cloud Surge Realm into a corpse. Yet Shen Qing paid no heed to this imminent crisis, channeling force into his arms, he lifted the Warhammer, tracing a silvery arc upwards, smashing Shen Bailin upward, using the enormous body as a shield.

The falling ice shards kept crashing onto Shen Bailin, the lethal freezing power completely neutralized by the Ice Meteor Battle Armor, unable to harm Shen Bailin in the slightest.

Naturally, it also couldn’t harm Shen Qing in the slightest.

In mid-air, Shen Bailin, suppressing the pain, attempted to freeze Shen Qing with cold air to break the destructive Warhammer combo.

After two successive heavy blows, Shen Qing’s arms were numbed and weakened by the recoil. At this moment, he bit his tongue, fully igniting his True Essence, pouring the boiling power into the Silver Frost Warhammer. In the next instant, the Divine Weapon seemed to come alive, guiding Shen Qing’s arms upwards.

Third strike, fourth strike, fifth strike...

The dense, heavy metal clashing sounds reverberated in the arena. Finally, after the seventh strike, the projection of Shen Bailin in mid-air disintegrated with a crash, the fragments gradually vanished, and the exhausted Shen Qing was instantly teleported off the field.

The outcome was decided!

Total time: 13 seconds!