Chapter 46: Han Fu
“Roar!”
A beast-like roar burst from Han Fu’s mouth. True qi circulated through fifteen meridians in his body, and a powerful force erupted from within him.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
...
He gripped his battle axe with both hands and strode toward Zhang Ruochen. With each step he took, the battle platform trembled slightly.
“Whoosh!”
He slashed diagonally with the axe.
Though it seemed like a brute-force strike, the axe carried a subtle, clever power, sealing off all of Zhang Ruochen’s escape routes. There was nowhere to dodge.
The realm of following the heart!
The axe moved as the heart willed.
Zhang Ruochen’s expression remained unchanged, calm and unhurried. He raised his arm, holding the sword sheath horizontally to block, and it clashed with the battle axe.
“Bang!”
A deafening sound rang out!
The sword and axe both froze in midair.
Zhang Ruochen, using only one hand to wield his sword, blocked the battle axe that Han Fu had brought down with both hands.
Seeing this, every martial artist in the Yellow-level Combat Arena was stunned beyond words. No one had imagined that Zhang Ruochen’s strength could be so terrifying.
“Han Fu is born with divine strength. Without using any martial techniques, he can unleash a force of thirty-two oxen. Could the Ninth Prince be even stronger than him?”
Hong Tao stood on the viewing platform, gently shaking his head and sighing. “So the Ninth Prince has never used his full strength from the start. His cultivation is truly unfathomable. I wonder if Han Fu can even probe how strong he really is?”
It was indeed a shocking scene. Earlier, everyone thought the Ninth Prince only excelled in the realm of sword intent, which allowed him to defeat those Yellow-level Great Perfection experts.
No one expected his strength to be so formidable.
With pure strength alone, he could match Han Fu.
“Kid, you’ve got some power. Take another strike from Han Ye!”
“Chaos World Slash!”
Han Fu’s body sprang up over six meters high, executing a Human-grade mid-rank martial technique. He raised the axe with both hands and brought it down again.
Using a Human-grade mid-rank technique, combined with the axe’s weight of one thousand two hundred pounds, the strike unleashed a terrifying force of forty-five oxen.
“Heavenly Heart Sword Bell!”
Swish!
The Flash Soul Sword finally left its sheath.
Zhang Ruochen mobilized all the true qi in his body, channeling it into the Flash Soul Sword, activating all four force-type inscriptions within it.
The Flash Soul Sword weighed four hundred fifty-three pounds.
The wildly dancing sword qi formed an illusory sword bell, enveloping Zhang Ruochen’s body at the center.
“Bang!”
Han Fu’s axe struck the sword bell. Not only did it fail to break through, but a powerful rebounding force sent him flying backward.
Han Fu felt his internal organs tremble violently, and blood qi surged throughout his body. He had suffered internal injuries.
Remember, without using any martial technique, Zhang Ruochen could unleash a force of thirty-six oxen. Using the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Palm, he could reach forty-nine oxen.
The Heavenly Heart Sword Technique was not a strength-amplifying martial art; it focused on the agility of the sword and the sharpness of the sword qi.
However, the Heavenly Heart Sword Technique was still a Spirit-grade low-rank sword art. Executing the defensive move, Heavenly Heart Sword Bell, allowed Zhang Ruochen to unleash forty-nine oxen of force. Combined with the counterattacking sword qi of the Heavenly Heart Sword Bell, it was no wonder Han Fu was injured.
“Again!”
Han Fu’s eyes turned blood-red as he activated the bloodline of the Fire Lion Leopard within him. Flames seeped out from the pores of his skin.
“Han Fu is going berserk!”
“By activating the Fire Lion Leopard’s bloodline power, his strength can reach a terrifying forty-nine oxen.”
The last time Han Fu went berserk, he had torn apart a Yellow-level Great Perfection martial artist, hacking him into a bloody mess with his axe.
For context, an ordinary Yellow-level Great Perfection martial artist could only unleash twenty-five oxen of force. One who could reach thirty-six oxen was already quite formidable.
Forty-nine oxen was even more impressive. Even some Yellow List martial artists couldn’t unleash such terrifying power.
Han Fu could have become a Yellow List martial artist himself, but in his tenth match, he encountered a highly ranked Yellow List opponent, so he failed to achieve ten consecutive wins.
If he had faced a weaker Yellow List martial artist in that tenth match, he would already be on the Yellow List now.
It could be said that Han Fu’s strength was in no way inferior to a Yellow List martial artist.
“Heh! Forcing Han Fu to go berserk—Zhang Ruochen, your strength is indeed considerable!” Liu Chengfeng watched with a mocking gaze as Zhang Ruochen kept retreating on the battle platform.
Once Han Fu went berserk, even Liu Chengfeng might not be able to secure victory. So what chance did Zhang Ruochen have?
Losing to Han Fu wouldn’t just mean defeat—it would mean death.
“Whoosh!”
Before the axe even came down, Zhang Ruochen could clearly feel a wave of heat rushing toward him. He didn’t engage head-on but instead stepped back, retreating.
If he fought head-on, Zhang Ruochen’s strength wasn’t inferior to Han Fu’s.
But Zhang Ruochen wasn’t just aiming to beat Han Fu. He also needed to prepare for the tenth match against a Yellow List martial artist. So he absolutely couldn’t waste too much true qi and physical strength now.
Han Fu kept swinging his axe, and Zhang Ruochen kept retreating, dodging each time by a hair’s breadth. It was hard to imagine what would happen if he were struck.
The Ninth Princess, standing below the platform, was deeply anxious. It was too dangerous. Why wouldn’t her ninth brother just admit defeat? Did he really think he could win against Han Fu?
At first, Han Fu indeed held the upper hand, with overwhelming momentum, completely suppressing Zhang Ruochen.
But gradually, Han Fu’s strength began to wane. The speed of his axe swings slowed, and the flames on his body grew thinner and thinner.
“Han Fu’s true qi is depleting too much. He’s probably going to lose. This Ninth Prince is quite a talent—very gifted,” Liu Chuanshen said.
Upon hearing that Zhang Ruochen had won eight consecutive matches, Liu Chuanshen had immediately come to the Yellow-level Combat Arena to see just how strong this Ninth Prince really was.
Standing beside Liu Chuanshen was a scholar wearing an iron mask, whose voice was somewhat hoarse. “If this Ninth Prince can grow, he might be able to compete with that Seventh Prince.”
“Oh?”
Liu Chuanshen glanced at the iron-masked scholar. “Sir, what do you mean?”
The iron-masked scholar said, “If Yunwu Commandery only had the Seventh Prince, ten years from now, the Martial Market Bank, the Black Market, and the Inscription Guild would all have to submit to official authority. In Yunwu Commandery, no one could contend with the Seventh Prince a decade from now.”
“But if someone within the royal clan can check the Seventh Prince, that would be a different situation.”
Hearing this, Liu Chuanshen nodded slightly, a thoughtful expression on his face. “It seems that, when necessary, our Martial Market Bank can still give him a hand. If the two princes can wear each other down, that would be the best outcome.”
“Compared to that dazzlingly talented Seventh Prince, this Ninth Prince is still too weak. We only need to give him a little support from behind. Whether he can amount to anything depends on his own potential.”
The iron-masked scholar smiled faintly. “Within three moves, Han Fu will lose.”
No sooner had the iron-masked scholar spoken than Han Fu was sent flying off the battle platform by Zhang Ruochen’s palm strike.
Ninth match, victory!
Another win. Now only the final battle remained.
If he could win the last match, his name would be inscribed on the Yellow List, making him the twenty-eighth Yellow List martial artist in Yunwu Commandery.
Of course, in that final match, Zhang Ruochen’s opponent would also be a Yellow List martial artist.
“Too strong! The Ninth Prince is only sixteen, and he’s about to become a Yellow List martial artist?”
“I heard that when the Seventh Prince became a Yellow List martial artist, the Yunwu Commandery King ordered a general amnesty.”
“Let’s guess which Yellow List martial artist will step up to stop the Ninth Prince’s ten-match winning streak?”
...
The entire Yellow-level Combat Arena erupted once more. Even martial artists who had been watching in the Xuan-level Combat Arena rushed over to witness the birth of a new Yellow List martial artist.
Such a momentous occasion—a challenge for the Yellow List—was rare, happening less than once every half month.
“Ninth brother, you must succeed!” The Ninth Princess hadn’t expected Zhang Ruochen’s strength to be so great, capable of defeating Han Fu. Now, her confidence in him soared.
Shan Xiangling’s beautiful eyes sparkled as she stared intently at Zhang Ruochen standing on the battle platform. “With the same Yellow-level Great Extreme cultivation, he’s far stronger than me. He should be able to become a Yellow List martial artist, right?”
“Useless! It seems I’ll have to do it myself.”
Liu Chengfeng walked down from the viewing platform, step by step onto the battle platform. His eyes were sharp as he stared at Zhang Ruochen. “Ninth Prince, you’ve fought nine matches already. How much true qi do you have left?”
“Enough to deal with you,” Zhang Ruochen said.
Liu Chengfeng grinned slightly. “Ninth Prince, you are indeed a prodigy. If you had cultivated to the Yellow-level Great Perfection...”