Chen Tian and the old man eyed each other's weapons. Chen Tian's dual sabers and the old man's gauntlets were each remarkable in their own way. Of course, the effectiveness of a weapon depended not on its type but on the practitioner's proficiency and understanding. Chen Tian assumed a stance with his dual sabers. The old man was puzzled by this posture; he had never seen such a method of wielding dual sabers, not anywhere in the world. Of course, the old man did not consider that Chen Tian might be from outside this world. While the old man was lost in thought, Chen Tian seized the opportunity and attacked, reaching the old man in a flash, his sabers descending.
The sudden flash of saber light caught the old man's attention, and he reacted, realizing he had been too lost in thought. Chen Tian's saber movements did not resemble any known saber techniques from this world. While dual sabers existed in this realm, the way Chen Tian held them was unprecedented. However, it was also possible that this was a technique the fellow had devised himself, as the usage of weapons was ultimately a matter of personal habit, with no fixed postures mandated.
Facing Chen Tian's dual sabers, the old man's expression remained calm. He raised his fists, his speed identical to before. Just as Chen Tian's sabers were about to reach the old man's head, a clanging sound erupted as his fists blocked the sabers, sparks flying. Chen Tian wondered what material these gauntlets were made of to withstand his dual sabers. He intensified the energy within his sabers, making it purer. The old man sensed the strangeness of Chen Tian's sabers and dared not meet the full force of the blow. He swung his arms, and Chen Tian, with no other choice, performed a series of aerial flips to regain his balance.
"Good lad, your mastery of energy is so profound that you can manifest it into tangible form. It seems you are indeed a genius."
The old man spoke with an evil smile, a smile that disgusted Chen Tian from the bottom of his heart. Chen Tian swung his dual sabers continuously, unleashing two beams of saber energy. The old man dodged left and right, his expression returning to normal. This expression was more pleasing to behold. Chen Tian's saber beams vanished into the void, detonating. Chen Tian and the old man locked eyes, then charged at each other. Chen Tian's dual sabers danced in his hands, transforming unpredictably, attacking and defending from different angles.
The old man's fists moved with powerful, sweeping motions, revealing no weaknesses during his defense. The two fought in the void for several minutes. Chen Tian slashed with his left saber and then pulled his right saber upwards. The old man reacted, spinning his fists to form a protective barrier before him. He then gathered power in his fists and, with a single punch, met one of the sabers. Upon impact, Chen Tian was forced back three steps, while the old man retreated two. Chen Tian, now at a disadvantage from his elevated position, found himself on the back foot.
This was partly because Chen Tian had not used his full strength, expending only seventy percent of his power. As for the old man? He had used his full might and only managed to force Chen Tian back three steps. Chen Tian, with seventy percent of his strength, had made him retreat two steps. In the old man's eyes, Chen Tian's current strength was his maximum, and he never considered that he might be hiding his true power. Surely, no one would still be holding back at this stage of the fight.
If the old man had known Chen Tian was holding back, he would have been furious. Chen Tian believed in showing respect to the strong, and he felt he had already extended that respect. With his full power unleashed, dealing with the old man would be simple for Chen Tian. He wanted to toy with the old man, as he wouldn't gain any information if he won too quickly. However, if the old man remained alive, Chen Tian would have ample opportunities to extract the information he sought.
Moreover, Chen Tian doubted that the person behind the old man would not make an appearance. Chen Tian had his own subtle plans, even calculating the events after the battle. However, the probability of his plan succeeding was only three percent.
Unless they were creatures with no discernible thought processes. Then again, it did make sense that monsters generally had lesser cognitive abilities and mostly fought on instinct. It was normal for monsters to crave combat and blood to grow stronger. The higher the bloodline of a monster, the more pronounced that primal urge.
Chen Tian slowly raised his hand, his dual sabers linking together instantly to form a long saber, which he held in his palm. He swung the long saber up and down, unleashing two beams of light. The beams converged, forming a massive saber edge. The old man's gauntlets glowed, and he thrust out his fists. These fists collided directly with the massive saber edge, a display of raw power overwhelming technique. With a single punch, the old man shattered Chen Tian's saber blade into pieces.
Chen Tian had never witnessed such brute force before; today, he had seen it. It was the first time he had seen someone shatter his attack with a single punch, truly embodying the principle of brute force overcoming all techniques. Chen Tian's expression grew serious. The old man's strength, amplified by the gauntlets, was terrifying. Chen Tian dared not confront it directly, fearing his body might not withstand it. After all, the old man's physical resilience was already significantly higher than Chen Tian's.
Chen Tian moved his long saber left and right, continuously projecting saber edges. The old man surged forward towards Chen Tian, facing the barrage of saber attacks with punch after punch. Three punches, then more, each shattering the incoming blades. The sheer power instilled a hint of fear in Chen Tian. These gauntlets were no ordinary items, nor were they from this world. Chen Tian had never seen such heaven-defying gauntlets capable of countering his energy weapons. Even when Chen Tian increased the energy infusion, their hardness remained unyielding.
Chen Tian's energy mastery was at the second level. The strength of weapons composed of his energy could cleave through some low-level weapons in the universe. These gauntlets were definitely not items belonging to this world. Chen Tian retreated continuously as the old man closed in. Chen Tian disassembled his long saber, and with a thought, the dual sabers merged to form a shield. The old man's punch landed on the shield, creating a dent. The shield held, and Chen Tian distanced himself.
The old man stared at the dent on the shield, a sinister smile playing on his lips. "It seems you are not from outside either. What are your true intentions behind those lies you told earlier?"
"That is none of your concern."
How could Chen Tian reveal his objective? However, from the collision, Chen Tian had noticed something. The gauntlet was incomplete, signifying it was not whole. Perhaps that gap was a weakness. Although well-concealed, Chen Tian's eyes were sharp enough to detect even the slightest anomaly.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, a dark structure loomed in the sky, resembling a legendary moving sky castle. Black light entered the castle urgently. Inside the castle, Wuyun arrived in the grand hall where many elders were seated in the main seats, along with a young man, the patriarch of their Wutian clan.
The young man, seeing the black light enter the hall, spoke solemnly, "Wuyun, this is the assembly hall. We can discuss matters later. Go back for now."
"Father, something has happened! Elder, he… Elder needs you to hurry and help him."
Wuyun said urgently. The young man rose immediately, approached Wuyun, grabbed him by the arm, and transformed into a beam of light, flying towards the exit.
In the assembly hall, the Grand Elder slowly spoke, "The Patriarch has urgent business. I will preside over this matter. Elders, what are your thoughts?"
This was a familiar situation for them. The Patriarch would often leave the assembly hall, and the Grand Elder would then conduct the discussions.
The castle gates slowly closed. As they flew, the patriarch of the Wutian clan, Wu Tianlong, said, "Tell me what happened."
"Yes, Father."
Wuyun recounted how he encountered Chen Tian, how Chen Tian attacked his guards, and how the elder eventually appeared. When he mentioned Chen Tian producing a piece of flesh, Wu Tianlong's expression changed. "Not good," Wu Tianlong roared, accelerating their speed. The increased speed made it difficult for Wuyun to endure, and they flew even faster towards the location where Chen Tian and the old man were fighting.
At this moment, Chen Tian was unaware that reinforcements were en route. Even if he were, it would not cause him any emotional disturbance. After all, with comparable strength, facing two opponents would be effortless for him. Chen Tian had intended to wait for the reinforcements to arrive, perhaps to glean some information.
After all, with only one person, the information Chen Tian could extract was limited. Chen Tian and the old man were engaged in a fierce battle. Chen Tian's body was barely holding up against the old man's punches. The gauntlets' amplification was terrifying. Chen Tian's dual sabers developed cracks upon impact, forcing Chen Tian to infuse them with more energy to repair and withstand the onslaught. While defending, Chen Tian's eyes darted around, observing the old man's attacks, searching for weaknesses.
As the old man unleashed his three hundred and thirty-third punch, Chen Tian thrust his long saber forward, transitioning from defense to offense. His left short saber stabbed out, lodging into a crack in the gauntlet with a click.
The old man's expression changed drastically upon seeing this. This spot was very hidden; how had Chen Tian discovered it?
The short saber unleashed its power, and the gauntlet made a cracking sound. Moments later, cracks covered the gauntlet, and as a punch was about to be thrown, the gauntlet exploded into fragments. The old man retreated.
"Boy, I admit you have some skill. Do you think you've won by destroying my weapon? Don't be absurd."
As the old man spoke, another pair of gauntlets appeared on his fists. These gauntlets were more complete. Chen Tian's face fell. So, he had a complete pair of gauntlets all along!
"I originally thought you weren't worthy of me using these complete gauntlets, but since that imitation was destroyed, you are qualified."
Chen Tian's face showed shock upon hearing this. The previous gauntlets were imitations? Then how terrifying must the power amplification of the real gauntlets be? Chen Tian took a small step back, feigning fear.
"Boy, it's too late for fear now. Die!"
With a roar, he lunged forward, his fists attacking with explosive speed. Just as Chen Tian was about to be hit by the dual punches, the old man stopped directly in front of Chen Tian.
Chen Tian's lips curled upwards. He appeared before the old man and slowly snapped his fingers. The sound of the snap echoed, and the gauntlets exploded.
The old man was blown away by the explosion.
"Impossible, how could this be? How did you know I had another pair of gauntlets? Did you conceal your strength beforehand?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
Chen Tian's calculations indicated a 0.01 percent probability of such a scenario. He hadn't expected there to be both an imitation and the real thing.
Chen Tian's reasoning stemmed from noticing the incomplete state of the gauntlet.
Why was it incomplete? Why would an incomplete gauntlet be concealed? Generally, flawed treasures had a limited number of uses. There was no sign of distress in the old man's eyes.
After numerous calculations and simulations, Chen Tian had envisioned three possible outcomes. However, the probability of an imitation was 0.01 percent. Who would bother creating an imitation? It was like having too much free time.
At least, Chen Tian wouldn't be so bored as to craft a replica weapon.