He Chen's Strength

He Chen's fist collided with his enemy's; the ground cracked beneath them.

"Who's that?" asked Qin Meng, peering at He Chen's opponent. He had dark hair and cold eyes. He was tall and robust. His every attack was deadly. Each time he struck, he tried to find He Chen's vitals. He Chen couldn't help but fall into the defensive every time.

"He is called Zeng Li," Yan Yunjie replied. "He is the leader of House Zeng's team."

Qin Meng nodded and narrowed his eyes. Both of them were hiding their strength. None of them had released their Martial Spirits yet. He shook his head and turned towards his companions. "It seems you have to wait a few more days to get your revenge. This is still early in the competition. They won't risk being injured."

And as Qin Meng predicted, soon the duo halted their fighting.

"I think we need to stop fighting, or we would just let others to benefit from our battle," He Chen laughed and stood a few meters away from Zeng Li.

Zeng Li's eyes were still cold; then he took a deep breath and walked away with his companions. "Why does he look furious?" asked Qin Meng. "What did He Chen do to infuriate him?"

"Oh, He Chen is a real bastard. Trust me," Yan Yunjie said, shaking his head. "Zeng Li and his team hunted down a peak grade 1 monster after a lot of struggle, and just when he was about to land a finishing blow, He Chen finished the target."

Qin Meng looked at the vanishing shadow and shook his head. He Chen was indeed a cunning fellow. He eyed his companions and also left the scene.

However, just fifteen minutes later, he again heard the sound of battle. He stared in the distance and frowned. "Isn't that the direction in which He Chen went?"

His companion nodded.

Qin Meng pondered and then rushed in He Chen's direction, Yan Yunjie and others on his toes.

"Bastard!" shouted an angry voice. Qin Meng curled his lips; he recognized the speaker. Then, he found a decent place to hide between the thickets with his companions and looked at the ongoing battle.

Zeng Li was attacking intensely, pushing He Chen back continuously. This time, however, he wasn't alone. There was someone else to help him—the newcomer had blond hair and wore a gauntlet in his hand. Qin Meng also found some familiar faces fighting against He Chen's group. "Fang Shi," Qin Meng muttered. Then he narrowed his eyes at the blond hair man. "Fang Xue?"

"Yes," replied his companions.

Previously, He Chen could easily block Zeng Li's attacks, but now, he could only stumble back miserably. He was no match against Zeng Li and Fang Xue.

"How dare you fight against us?" said Fang Xue arrogantly. "Kneel down, and we may let you leave the competition with some dignity?"

He Chen clenched his teeth in fury, and his eyes turned cold. He glared at Zeng Li and said, "I let you leave, and this is how you repay me?"

"You let me leave?" Zeng Li burst into laughter. He was in a pleasant mood at the moment. "That is the funniest joke I've heard in a long time. Would you let me leave if you could defeat me?"

"You think I can't defeat you?" said He Chen and then a violent energy burst out of his body.

Zeng Li and Fang Xue tumbled back and their gleeful expression froze. "You—you have broken through to the 10th Motif Stage?!" shouted Fang Xue with wide eyes. Zeng Li was also horrified. They were still 9th Motif Stage, after all, and there was a huge gap between 9th and 10the Motif Stage. All this time, He Chen was hiding his cultivation!

"Aren't you people from Five Great Houses arrogant? Then come, show me your arrogance!" He Chen declared, and then pulled the saber on his back free—as soon as he held the saber, another powerful energy burst out of him.

He had released his Martial Spirit.

Behind He Chen's head was floating a black saber, and seven silver lines were etched on its surface.

"Weapon type Martial Spirit?" This was the first time Qin Meng had seen a weapon type Martial Spirit. "Grade seven?" he muttered and nodded. Only a few people had a Martial Spirit above 7th grade. Leng Yueyan was a miracle with two 9th grade Martial Spirits.

"Listen brother He Chen, we can talk it through—" Before Fang Xue could finish his sentence, the saber flashed in front of him. Left with no choice, he also revealed his Martial Spirit. Snow Wolf with seven black dots on its skull, indicating its grade.

Then, Fang Xue shouted and met the saber with his gauntleted fist. The sparks flew in the air and then a sound of bone cracking resounded and Fang Xue screamed—"Bastard Zeng Li, I'm going to cut you into thousand pieces—" before collapsing with wide and terrified eyes.

Zeng Li had just revealed his Tiger Martial Spirit when he heard Fang Xue's agonized shriek. He widened his terrified eyes—because, He Chen was already standing in front of him. "Now, do you believe I let you leave?"

"I-I believe—"

He Chen kicked into Zeng Li stomach, tears crept out of his eyes due to pain, and then, he also collapsed. He Chen, however, didn't stop and started to battle Zeng Li and Fang Xue's people.

Though, most of them escaped as soon as they found that their leaders were defeated. Only a few of them had left. He Chen didn't take long to deal with them. After that, he snatched the points from their bracelets.

Although he dared not break their bracelets. They were from Great Houses, after all. There would be consequences, otherwise. There was a tinge of jealousy inside his eyes when he remembered it.

After that, he eyed toward the thickets and said, "How long more are you going to hide?"