Chapter 165: Elegant Solitude
Chapter 165: Elegant Solitude
Wang Yun snorted and swiftly launched a rapid attack, his techniques sharp and varied, trapping Cheng Lingyu completely.
Cheng Lingyu’s lips curled into a cold smile as he began his counterattack.
His moves weren’t fierce—they seemed ordinary, leaving him constantly suppressed by Wang Yun. The two exchanged blows, one advancing, the other retreating, with Wang Yun clearly dominating.
“Is this all you’ve got?” Wang Yun taunted, sneering.
“Even this is enough to stand here,” Cheng Lingyu shot back, refusing to yield in their verbal sparring.
Outside the Battle Platform, disciples debated the battle’s outcome.
Fang Ruohua frowned. “What’s wrong with Senior Brother Cheng? He’s fighting so weakly.”
Mu Hua whispered, “It’s strange. He’s hiding his strength.”
Wan Fang smiled. “Well done. True skill lies in balancing advance and retreat—the extraordinary emerging from the ordinary.”
At Wangyue Ridge, Qu Wei smiled knowingly. She understood Cheng Lingyu’s near-invincibility in his Realm and recognized his act.
On Feixing Ridge, disciples cheered loudly for Wang Yun, certain of his victory.
On Youxing Ridge, many also bet on Wang Yun’s success.
Lan Xiaozhu listened, her smile mesmerizing. “You’re all wrong. Wang Yun will lose everything.”
“Junior Sister Lan trusts Cheng Lingyu that much?”
“Because he’s Yunyang City’s prominent figure.”
Another scoffed, “So? Everyone in Lou Ri City has talent.”
Lan Xiaozhu stayed silent, letting time decide.
At Xingyun Ridge, Song Xuejiao stood with a group of young men.
“Sister Song, who will lose?”
“Wang Yun,” she replied calmly.
“Didn’t you hear? I asked who—”
“Wang Yun will lose. He’s no match for Cheng Lingyu.”
On the Battle Platform, Wang Yun grew bolder with his advantage.
“150 moves in, and you only dodge?”
Cheng Lingyu’s voice chilled. “Impatient? Use all your skills now, or you’ll regret it.”
In an instant, he vanished, reappearing ten zhang away, his gaze icy.
He ignored Wang Yun, locking eyes with Mu Wu on the battle platform instead—a silent command to watch closely.
Mu Wu struggled to sit up, meeting Cheng Lingyu’s gaze with burning anticipation.
Fang Ruohua and Mu Hua both noticed the change in Cheng Lingyu, immediately becoming more alert.
The crowd watching the match also sensed something shifting, their eyes locking onto Cheng Lingyu.
Wang Yun snorted angrily, “Arrogant fool! Try blocking this!”
Spinning mid-air, he became a human whirlwind, limbs blurring as he unleashed a devastating assault.
The attack tore through the void itself, warping time and space with its ferocity.
Cheng Lingyu kept his hands calmly behind his back, not even bothering to look at his opponent or assume any defensive stance.
Gasps erupted from spectators, many shouting insults about Cheng Lingyu’s recklessness.
Though his hands remained clasped behind him, Cheng Lingyu wasn’t defenseless.
As Wang Yun’s attack closed in, he suddenly leapt up, executing a simple series of kicks.
Ordinary technique, extraordinary power – the kicks cracked the sky itself, stopping Wang Yun’s assault dead.
Compressed energy waves erupted, blasting Wang Yun backward while Cheng Lingyu remained untouched, drifting like a ghost.
He hovered motionless, face betraying neither triumph nor concern.
Wang Yun stumbled upon landing, handsome features twisting with rage. “You’ve been holding back! Good – now you’ll see my true power!”
Three glowing cave heavens materialized around him in triangular formation, sucking in celestial energy. His aura octupled, combat strength becoming monstrous.
This was the cave heaven stage’s might – an overwhelming gap between ordinary fighters and cave heaven users.
Cheng Lingyu’s blank expression never wavered, provoking Wang Yun’s furious roar: “Stop pretending to be superior!”
Transforming into a comet of flames, Wang Yun dove destructively.
Cheng Lingyu sneered coldly. His right leg became a blur, kicks stretching and retracting impossibly. Overlapping phantom kicks warped reality, colliding with explosive force.
Their midair collision made Wang Yun’s three cave heavens hum like blazing furnaces.
A loud bang echoed – Cheng Lingyu stood firm while Wang Yun flew back a hundred zhang. The crowd gaped. Earlier, ninth-level disciples had bet on Cheng Lingyu’s loss. Now everything had changed.
Wang Yun’s glare mixed fury with newfound wariness. Cheng Lingyu’s calm demeanor radiated unsettling authority.
Growling, Wang Yun summoned cave heavens one after another until seven glowed around him, drawing terrifying amounts of celestial energy.
A flicker finally crossed Cheng Lingyu’s eyes – not fear, but deliberate restraint.
“Come,” Cheng Lingyu said flatly.
Now serious, Wang Yun attacked with full power. A casual palm strike ripped the void apart.
Cheng Lingyu’s cold smile returned. Radiant light enveloped him as a rotating formation appeared – Di Xuan Yin merging with a gathering formation to create a supergravity field. Space warped under multiplied gravity while the formation channeled celestial energy, mocking Wang Yun’s cave heavens without opening any himself.
Wang Yun was furious and roared, “Tyrant Dragon Drill!”
The dazzling cave heaven spun with his body, instantly transforming into a crimson vortex like a descending fire dragon that locked onto Cheng Lingyu.
The Tyrant Dragon Drill was a fearsome attack technique. When cultivated to the Great Completion Realm, it could even slay a saint.
This high-speed rotating, hyper-focused technique possessed devastating explosive power, far beyond what ordinary cultivators could endure.
A strange light flashed in Cheng Lingyu’s eyes as glowing patterns rose from the formation beneath his feet, weaving into shimmering illusions.
In a flash, the crimson vortex collided with the phantom lights, triggering a thunderous explosion that swallowed both figures in destructive chaos.
“What’s happening? Who won?”
Spectators shouted, straining to see through the swirling debris.
“Look! The result!”
As smoke cleared, a figure came tumbling out – Wang Yun.
At the explosion’s epicenter stood Cheng Lingyu, unmoved, his spinning formation neutralizing the blast’s force.
“How? Since when is Cheng Lingyu this strong?”
The crowd murmured in shock, Feixing Ridge disciples swapping cheers for worried whispers.
Cheng Lingyu soared toward Wang Yun in cold silence, his wordless approach more biting than any taunt.
Wang Yun’s pride burned. Only victory could erase this humiliation.
Leaping skyward, he channeled all seven cave heavens, pushing his combat power to its peak.
“Cheng Lingyu! Face my ultimate technique – Whirlwind Dragon Slash!”
Wang Yun’s blazing eyes locked on his foe, using provoking tactics to maximize his attack’s impact.
“You call this your strongest move?”
Cheng Lingyu’s voice held icy detachment.
“Absolutely! You dare face it?”
Wang Yun’s shout shook the Nine Heavens.
“Begin.”
Cheng Lingyu retracted his formation, arms relaxed at his sides.
“Witness Whirlwind Dragon Slash – crushing you like a stray mutt!”
Wang Yun hovered majestically, raising his arms overhead. The seven cave heavens whirled into a luminous ring around his spinning form, launching him at Cheng Lingyu like a celestial javelin.
Furious winds howled as space itself trembled. The battle platform’s energy converged on Wang Yun, forming an ultimate shockwave.
As the attack closed in, a dragon-shaped ethereal figure materialized around Wang Yun, radiating terrifying divine might.
Gasps erupted from spectators awed by Wang Yun’s cultivation level and technique.
“Since this is your best…” Cheng Lingyu’s calm voice carried across the field, “…losing to it should bring no regrets.”
Cheng Lingyu exploded into motion, delivering hundreds of kicks in an instant – overlapping blows merging into the Thousand Strikes, Divine Martial Sect’s deadliest leg technique.
Each strike held mountain-shattering strength. Combined, they formed a raging dragon that clashed thousands of times with Wang Yun’s assault, the accumulated force tearing reality itself.
When Whirlwind Dragon Slash met Thousand Strikes, their collision birthed annihilating light waves.
A deafening roar drowned all sound. Billowing smoke obscured the outcome.
Protected by Lou Ri Battle Platform’s defenses, spectators could only watch the smoke and listen to fading echoes, left guessing who prevailed.