Gusts of harsh wind roared across the training grounds, and the sky grew increasingly gloomy. Yet, the atmosphere in the grounds was even more suffocating than the darkening heavens!
"Brother, watch out!" Teng Qingyu, Teng Qinghu, Zhuge Yun, and a few others gathered together, but Teng Qingshan merely offered a faint smile and nodded. He then executed the movement technique Tianya Xing, his entire body resembling a wisp of green smoke, floating elegantly above the crowd. With just a light touch upon the heads of two Guiyuan Sect disciples, he landed squarely upon the raised platform.
"Martial Uncle!" Teng Qingshan greeted Pang Shan with a smile!
"What light footwork!" Pang Shan’s eyes brightened with praise.
The platform was four feet high and measured ten zhang in both length and width, paved with grayish-green stone. On this vast stage, only Teng Qingshan and Pang Shan now stood. Teng Qingshan swept his gaze downwards and, guided by instinct, spotted Zang Feng standing far in the distance, clad entirely in black close-fitting armor!
Zang Feng held a long saber, looking up with a cold glare fixed upon Teng Qingshan.
"Hoo!" His body shot up from the ground like a streak of light, flickering several times before covering the distance of over twenty zhang to land on the platform.
"Commander Zang Feng!"
"Senior Brother Zang Feng!"
...
Following sparse cheers, an overwhelming wave of acclamation erupted, coming from the armored soldiers of the Black Armored Army and the core disciples of the Guiyuan Sect alike. Over the years, indeed, many had come to trust and support Zang Feng.
"Commander Teng!"
"Teng Qingshan!"
...
Numerous soldiers of the Black Armored Army roared, especially the company who had originally served under Teng Qingshan, whose shouts were the loudest. Teng Qinghu’s face was contorted with fervor. It was understood that Teng Qingshan commanded the First Territory, and naturally, the soldiers of the First Territory supported him. Meanwhile, the forces of the Third Territory supported Zang Feng.
The soldiers of the Second and Fourth Territories also cried out their allegiance.
In that single instant!
The entire training ground seemed to boil over, the rising and falling shouts sweeping across the area like a hurricane. And the platform stood as the eye of this tempest and tsunami. Teng Qingshan, dressed in a garment of cyan stone gray close-fitting armor, held a silver-gray Reincarnation Spear. Zang Feng, clad in black close-fitting armor, also gripped his divine weapon.
Pang Shan, the commander standing at the center of the platform, moved his lips.
"Platform duel. Those who step off the stage lose, those who voluntarily yield lose. Fights involving blades and spears have no eyes, but if anyone intentionally commits murder, they will all be executed!" Pang Shan's booming voice thundered across the grounds, and the roaring cheers immediately quieted.
Pang Shan turned his head to glance towards the distance. The Sect Master, 'Zhuge Yuanhong,' and others were seated on the high dais. Zhuge Yuanhong nodded at him.
"Teng Qingshan, Zang Feng, begin!" Pang Shan declared, then turned and leaped off the platform.
Only two remained on the stage—
Teng Qingshan! Zang Feng!
"Senior Brother Zang Feng, I humbly request your guidance!" Teng Qingshan bowed respectfully.
"Please!" Zang Feng returned a cold, formal bow.
...
Not a single extraneous sound drifted across the training grounds. On the high platform at the edge of the grounds, three figures sat in chairs: the Sect Master, 'Zhuge Yuanhong,' and two Enforcement Elders.
"Sect Master, look at this child Zang Feng, his sharpness is fully revealed. Even with thousands of martial artists watching him, his eyes show no trace of hesitation. Standing on that platform, he is like a honed blade. Such unwavering willpower is rare among the youth. He is much improved compared to the last time I saw him fight Ji Hong," remarked the white-haired Enforcement Elder.
The Sect Master smiled and nodded.
The indifferent middle-aged man beside him spoke, "Martial Uncle! Teng Qingshan's gaze is inwardly focused, unmoving as a mountain! Standing there with his long spear, he is completely unaffected. At such an age, truly rare, truly rare!"
"Martial Uncle, Martial Grand-Uncle, the two of you... who do you believe will win?" Zhuge Yuanhong looked toward the platform with a light smile.
"I dare not say!" the Martial Grand-Uncle shook his head.
The indifferent middle-aged man also shook his head, then added, "Sect Master, what do you think?"
"I didn't witness Qingshan killing Meng Tian myself... Perhaps today, he will display his true strength," Zhuge Yuanhong chuckled faintly. "Hmm... Feng'er has finally made his move!"
...
Indeed, on the platform, Zang Feng was gathering his strength from the start. Teng Qingshan, holding his long spear, met the challenge with a faint smile!
"Win, it must be clean and decisive!" Teng Qingshan locked his gaze onto Zang Feng.
Zang Feng's eyes were like those of a vicious eagle fixed on Teng Qingshan. Suddenly, his feet stamped down fiercely, cracking several fissures into the bluestone ground. Zang Feng himself transformed into a streak of light, rushing toward Teng Qingshan. The nearly eight zhang distance was crossed in the blink of an eye, accompanied by a sharp 'hissing' sound.
The saber shadow was like a chilling crescent moon!
A sliver of cold light from the saber edge reflected in Teng Qingshan's pupils.
Teng Qingshan’s pupils constricted! Astonishing force instantly surged through his arm—the Reincarnation Spear moved!
Whoosh!
The long spear shot out like an arrow fired from the earth, its tip tearing through the air with a piercing shriek!
"Clang!"
The instant the weapons collided, Teng Qingshan's spear tip unleashed a powerful spiraling force! It swept the saber sideways, causing Zang Feng's expression to drastically change! Zang Feng, whose initial attack carried fierce momentum, felt the saber in his hand sinking into an invisible vortex.
Swish!
The long spear lunged directly for his heart!
"No!" Zang Feng's eyes bulged wide.
"Clang!" At the moment of life and death, the scabbard on his left hand swept into an arc, striking the tip of Teng Qingshan's spear. Using the force of the impact, he pressed his foot down and immediately flew several zhang backward. Only upon landing did Zang Feng realize his forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his back was soaked.
"What terrifying spear technique!" Zang Feng was greatly alarmed.
He did not know that, in order to win cleanly, Teng Qingshan had exerted sixty thousand jin of force! Because the ninth layer of the Mang Niu Dali Jue could only unleash such strength. Such immense force, combined with Teng Qingshan’s Five Elements Spear Technique, even the Earth Ranking master Meng Tian could not withstand it.
Teng Qingshan grinned.
Hoo!
The tip of the spear flicked upward, transforming into a stream of light as it stabbed toward Zang Feng once more.
"Swish!" "Swish!" "Swish!"...
The spear shadows were like countless arrows! A thousand arrows shooting forth!
Lines of spear shadows rushed toward Zang Feng like a swarm of venomous snakes vying to strike first. Zang Feng held his saber in one hand and his scabbard in the other. His footwork was agile, constantly dodging and weaving, while his saber and scabbard continuously blocked. But there was one constant—he was continuously retreating!
"How is this possible? How can this be?"
While falling back, Zang Feng’s heart was filled with anxiety.
"I need to attack!"
Zang Feng wanted to counter-attack, but every spear thrust from Teng Qingshan contained spiraling force, as if each one hid a vortex. Moreover, Teng Qingshan had long practiced the 'Three-Body Stance,' deepening his understanding of its ceaseless, unending artistic conception. The Like-Shadow-Following-Form spear technique completely enveloped his opponent!
One spear strike after another, one vortex connecting to the next!
He managed to block strike after strike with difficulty, but the ceaseless, relentless nature of the spear technique made Zang Feng feel as though he had fallen into a massive whirlpool. Zang Feng was completely entangled; he had nowhere to flee! Zang Feng felt utterly incapable of deploying his saber arts; every block was a struggle that made him feel he might spit blood!
Let alone Zang Feng!
Even the Innate expert 'Sima Qing,' and the transformed monstrous beast 'Crimson Scale Beast,' once caught by Teng Qingshan’s Ru Ying Sui Xing (Like-Shadow-Following-Form) spear technique, found it hard to break free.
It was like a small boat caught in wave after wave of the ocean.
Struggling to fend off one wave after another... but eventually, the boat would capsize!
"Puff!"
The scabbard flew away!
Zang Feng was left with only the saber in his hand. His forehead beaded with sweat, his face was flushed red, and his eyes were wide as he stared intently at the incoming spear shadows.
"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"...
Hoo!
A saber was seen being knocked flying!
"Ah!" A low, pained cry escaped Zang Feng’s throat.
Silence!
Utter silence!
On the stage, Zang Feng sat slumped on the ground, his face pale as ash. And the tip of Teng Qingshan’s Reincarnation Spear rested precisely against Zang Feng’s throat.
"I, I..." Zang Feng's eyes gradually regained clarity. He looked back at the silver long spear before him with lingering terror, feeling the strange, warm sensation emanating from the spear tip. He had clearly seen the spear thrust directly toward his throat just moments before. "I didn't die? This Teng Qingshan... actually stopped at the very last second?"
...
The thousands of Black Armored Army soldiers and nearly ten thousand core disciples in the training grounds were momentarily stunned into silence.
This battle was very short!
Except for Zang Feng’s fierce initial saber slash, he only had defensive capability against Teng Qingshan’s torrent-like spear shadows afterward. Under the dreadful onslaught of the storm-like spear, Zang Feng resembled a fragile lamb, barely holding on for a few breaths. In the blink of an eye, his scabbard was sent flying. Following that, his saber was also shaken loose!
He was utterly and completely defeated!
On the high platform at the edge of the grounds, the three figures—Zhuge Yuanhong and the two Enforcement Elders—all drew a sharp breath.
"What magnificent spear technique!" praised the white-haired elder.
Zhuge Yuanhong’s eyes also shone, and he praised, "Qingshan used this same spear technique during the Centurion contest. However... at that time, there was none of this perfect, ceaseless artistic conception. The momentum of every spear strike was linked; once the first strike failed to break through, facing Qingshan's continuous spear shadows, one would fall into a situation with no possibility of escape!"
"The more you struggle, the more devastating the defeat!" the indifferent middle-aged man marveled. "Facing this technique, one must either use overwhelming Innate True Essence to crush it! Or use faster attacks to directly break his opening move! Alternatively, one must use extreme speed to drag oneself out of the technique's sphere of influence."
All three of them were Innate experts.
Their perspective was exceptionally high! They instantly recognized the formidable nature of Teng Qingshan's spear work. Even among Innate experts, this technique was quite terrifying.
"Actually, this child Zang Feng’s skill is not bad. His Meteor Saber technique is likely cultivated to the second layer, the 'Moon Saber' stage," the indifferent middle-aged man commented admiringly. Among the Guiyuan Sect's Innate experts, he was the only one who practiced saber arts, and he practiced the Meteor Saber himself.
"Sect Master, is Teng Qingshan really only seventeen years old? And this spear technique, did he create it himself?" The indifferent middle-aged man looked at Zhuge Yuanhong in disbelief.
Zhuge Yuanhong smiled and nodded, then looked toward Teng Qingshan on the platform: "That spear technique just now, that ceaseless artistic conception, and the way he could stop so easily at the final moment—the spear tip touching Zang Feng's throat without causing the slightest injury. That level of control, the 'Subtle Micro' realm, he has absolutely mastered it!"
The other two Enforcement Elders also nodded in agreement.
Such fierce, storm-like attacks brought to an immediate halt with the spear tip resting on the skin of a person’s throat without injury—that level of control was indeed astonishing.
"With his talent, once he reaches the Innate realm, then, haha..." Zhuge Yuanhong’s smile was brilliant.