Long Chen vs. Tao Lihua

All of them were in the backyard of Ren Yue's manor.

Tao Lihua and Long Chen faced each other with nearly 100 meters of distance between them.

Ren Yue stared at the two from the sidelines. She was accompanied by her guards Hu Jie and Peng Gen.

The task of her guards was relatively simple. They had to block all attacks coming towards Ren Yue and stop Long Chen and Tao Lihua forcefully before they could heavily injure each other.

The two are at the peak of the 3-Star Rank, so stopping a couple of 2 Star Warriors could be considered easy for them.

'I can also test my illusions on her,' Long Chen naturally hadn't halted his illusion training in this one week.

He had tried to learn how to make his illusions move according to his wishes. The motion was a lot smoother than previously.

It could even be compared to the time when Long Chen created the illusion of ten kilograms of those five power stones turning to dust. At that time, Long Chen's Mental Energy and Ardor were significantly boosted by the energy from the power stones.

However, he could now create that illusion without requiring external assistance.

The battle began quickly as Long Chen launched tens of throwing knives at Tao Lihua.

Tao Lihua blocked those knives with a Water Wall technique. This is one of the simplest defensive water techniques that all water elemental warriors learn.

Tao Lihua's eyes widened as those knives easily passed her Water Wall. She quickly jumped back to dodge those knives.

However, just as she dodged this set of knives, Long Chen had already thrown another set of throwing knives at Tao Lihua.

Tao Lihua immediately countered by coating her arms with Ardor and striking those knives quickly.

She was startled to see those knives actually phase through her body.

Tao Lihua finally understood what was going on.

She stared at Long Chen with a foul expression, "You are using illusions."

"That's correct," Long Chen responded truthfully. There was no need to hide this fact.

"You have lost then. Now that I know you are using illusions, I can easily break them and defeat you," Tao Lihua confidently spoke.

"My illusions aren't so easy to break. So, it changes nothing. In fact, you are in an even worse position," Long Chen spoke.

He suddenly placed his hand inside his coat and launched his throwing knives.

"Kai!" Tao Lihua shouted as she stimulated her entire Ardor to break this illusion.

However, her eyes showed a trace of terror as she saw those throwing knives still heading toward her.

She immediately dodged to the side and was startled to see them phase through the ground.

'They were also illusions?!' Tao Lihua was shocked. This implies she couldn't break Long Chen's illusions by stimulating her Ardor.

When she raised her head to look at Long Chen, Tao Lihua saw hundreds of throwing knives headed toward her. These throwing knives had spread over a large area. There was no way to figure out which ones were real and which were illusions.

She was a little dazed and quickly tried to raise a Water Wall ahead of her body. All the real throwing knives should be blocked by this.

However, Tao Lihua failed to keep track of her surroundings. She suddenly felt someone touching her shoulder and a voice humorous voice whispering in her ear, "And you are dead, Miss Tao."

Tao Lihua was so shocked that the water wall instantly collapsed, and all the throwing knives phased through them.

She stared in Long Chen's direction and saw a victorious smirk on his face as he headed toward Ren Yue.

Tao Lihua was so embarrassed as this was the first time someone had humiliated her terribly!

Meanwhile, Ren Yue instantly approached Long Chen and spoke, "Woah! That was a really nice battle style. I don't think I have ever seen someone use illusions in battle like that. I couldn't see the illusions you showed Lihua, but it should have been amazing enough to grab her entire attention and allow you to roam freely."

Even Ren Yue's guards felt the same. They had honestly never seen such a bizarre battle style. However, it didn't scare them much since there were other methods to break illusions than just stimulating Ardor. Striking the illusionist is a good method. The best method to break the illusion is to experience sharp pain.

Tao Lihua soon walked towards Long Chen. She stretched her hand for a handsome with a wronged look on her face, "I would have won if we fought properly."

She naturally found it impossible to accept her loss since the other party had used tricks like illusions.

A frown formed on Ren Yue as she heard Tao Lihua's words. Before she could respond, Long Chen spoke out, "If this were a battle to the death, you would have died. Nobody would have cared about the methods used by the opponents. Besides, utilizing illusions is part of my strength."

Tao Lihua understood this, but she still had an aggrieved look on her face, "…You are right, Sir Long."

Long Chen noticed it and thought, 'It will be bad if she continues to think in this direction. I need to convince her of her defeat.'

"…Since Miss Tao thinks that you can defeat me if we fight traditionally, then very well, I will take you up on that offer."

"What?!" Ren Yue was startled to hear his words.

"There is no need for another spar. You have already proven your point!" She added with a decisive tone.

"…Please, young lady. Give me another chance," Tao Lihua spoke.

"Yes. I think that this battle is necessary, Miss Ren," Long Chen spoke seriously while gazing at Ren Yue.

Seeing his solemn gaze, even Ren Yue was a bit rattled. She was trying to save him, and he was actually requesting another spar?!

"This time, I won't accept any excuses!" Ren Yue spoke coldly.

Tao Lihua was extremely delighted to hear these words and nodded readily.

Long Chen and Tao Lihua took their respective positions in the field.

"…Begin!"

Tao Lihua instantly rushed toward Long Chen with quick speed. Long Chen guessed that she was utilizing someone similar to the Nimble Steps.

He remained calm and stayed his ground while gazing at her.

Long Chen suddenly clapped firmly, releasing an Intense Wind Burst towards her.

"Intense Gust!"

Tao Lihua wanted to approach Long Chen and quickly put him on the defensive. However, this strategy backfired. She was thrown backward with significant momentum by the intense gust.

Tao Lihua created a thin Water Ardor around her body that prevented her body from making direct contact with the ground.

However, this was merely the start.

While Tao Lihua was on the ground, she saw Long Chen leaping toward her. She was astonished to see him cover this significant distance in a single leap.

"Water Wall!"

Tao Lihua created a Water Wall to halt Long Chen.

However, Long Chen expected this to occur and suddenly launched throwing knives at Tao Lihua. These throwing knives were coated with sharp Wind Ardor and easily cut apart the Water Wall.

Tao Lihua was startled as she felt a throwing knife graze her cheek.

The Water Wall soon dispersed, and Tao Lihua utilized her Nimble Steps to approach Long Chen.

She punched Long Chen with multiple Swift Bear Palms.

Long Chen easily dodged the first few palms.

With an amused smile, Long Chen started speaking, "Your posture is all wrong. You should put your left leg forward before striking with your right palm. Like this."

He suddenly countered with a Swift Bear Palm. This palm struck Tao Lihua's gut so firmly that she couldn't breathe for a few seconds.

"Ah…W-What…?!"

Tao Lihua was shocked for two reasons. Firstly, she couldn't understand how he knew the Swift Bear Palm technique. This was a technique that belonged to the Storm Desert Sect. Secondly, why was this Swift Bear Palm so much stronger than her version?

It was nearly twice as powerful as her own.

She was soon on the ground, clutching her stomach with a look of extreme pain.

"The battle has ended!" A shout suddenly resounded as Ren Yue and her guards arrived to help Tao Lihua get up.

Long Chen slowly moved closer to Tao Lihua and touched her head. He utilized the rest of his Ardor to heal her.

The painful look on Tao Lihua's face faded, replaced with a terrified expression. She asked, "W-Who are you? How are you so strong?"

"I am just an ordinary guy," Long Chen responded casually.

He then asked her curiously, "Based on what you saw, what would be my standing in the Storm Desert Sect?"

"…I don't know. But based on what I know, you should barely enter the top ten even if you utilize your illusions," Tao Lihua answered truthfully. She had a look of respect in her eyes as she gazed at Long Chen.

She now understood that he was being kind to her by utilizing illusions.

"I see," Long Chen spoke.

"Well, you must train a lot to become the strongest in the outer sect. Fortunately, your potential is good enough," Long Chen spoke as he gazed at Tao Lihua.

When Ren Yue arrived, Long Chen turned towards her, "From that battle earlier; I can see that she needs to work on her composure, reaction speed, awareness, and basics of martial arts. Her strength and speed are good enough and will only increase as she trains."

"I see," Ren Yue spoke. She was genuinely shocked by this battle. She never expected Long Chen had such a good battle sense.

For some reason, a sudden urgency to grow stronger rose in Ren Yue's heart. She wasn't confident of defeating Long Chen if the two were on the same rank.

"Alright, come inside. Let's create a training schedule for Lihua," Ren Yue spoke.