EFB Chapter 168 Clues to the Evil Array
Chapter 168 Clues to the Evil Array
Lin Chen didn't dodge. He stood rooted to the spot, his right foot remaining perfectly still. His right hand gripped the sword, slowly raising it with a measured yet unwavering determination. Within his dantian, the core of his Star Martial Arts trembled violently, its rotation speed instantly escalating from a steady idle to its limit. Liquid Star Qi surged from his meridians, carrying the full power of the Star Origin Technique and pouring into the sword. The thickness and refinement of his Star Qi at the mid-stage of the Transformation Realm were nearly twice as thick as in the early stages. The silvery-white light on the sword suddenly surged from a thin layer, transforming into a solid pillar of light that condensed at the tip. The third move of the Star Sword Technique: Star Wrath.
The silver beam of light collided with the gray-white sword energy in the center of the arena. There was no stalemate, no back-and-forth; the moment the gray-white sword energy struck the silver light, it was as if a paper knife had struck an anvil, cracking open from the center outwards, the fragments scattering and dissipating into the air as free-flowing sword energy.
boom--!
The silver beam of light, piercing through the sword energy, continued its momentum, slamming heavily onto the bluestone slab in the center of the arena. The explosion, accompanied by a violent shockwave, spread in all directions. The arena surface shattered inch by inch, fragments of stone flying into the air, only to be stopped by the protective barrier, creating ripples on its surface. Dust and debris swirled in the air, like a sandstorm concentrated within the arena's perimeter.
The smoke and dust cleared.
Miyamoto Ichiro staggered back three steps, his katana embedded in the ground before him, the blade trembling slightly as if he hadn't yet recovered from the aftershocks of the silver light. A trickle of blood escaped from the corner of his mouth, his furrowed brow reflected in the white blade, the hilt of the sword in his hand glowing red-hot, a faint crack appearing at the base of his thumb. He looked up, his eyes filled with disbelief. His four teammates lay scattered behind him, some kneeling on one knee, some clutching their chests, some already retreating from the edge of the protective barrier—the sword formation had completely collapsed.
"Impossible..." he murmured, still catching his breath, "My combined sword formation... how could it..."
"Your sword formation is exquisite, but its foundation is weak." Lin Chen sheathed his sword. His movements were neither fast nor slow, like putting away tools after a battle, without any unnecessary showing off or lingering. "Your sword intent is all offense and no defense, concentrating all your strength into one strike. Once that combined force is broken, you will have no chance to retaliate."
Miyamoto Ichiro was silent for a moment. He drew the sword from the sheath in front of him and slowly sheathed it, the sound of the blade sliding smoothly against the scabbard. He raised his hand, held the scabbard level, then took a step back and bowed deeply, his hair almost touching the ground.
"I've learned a lot. I hope we can fight again in the knockout stage."
Applause erupted from the audience. Some cheered, some whistled, and some scribbled furiously on their papers. Leng Feng had already sheathed his sword, the blade still bearing traces of his opponent's sword energy, and his brownish-yellow protective aura was slowly dissipating. Chu Fan's array patterns suppressed the two members of the Sakura Kingdom team, and the fluctuations of his spiritual energy were gradually receding. The last flame of the pill fire that Su Ling'er had unleashed was still burning at the corner of the arena. She casually crushed the flame and patted the ash from her palm. Su Muyue dispelled the array patterns that had trapped her last opponent, the golden lines fading from the cracks in the stone as if they had never been lit.
In the group stage, Xingwu University secured first place in their group early on. The final round against the Black Robe Team was expected to be a tough battle – after all, the opposing team had the Black Crow Young Master hidden within, whose background was unknown, and no one dared to underestimate them.
The Black Robe Team forfeited. On the other side of the arena, three chairs lay empty. The referee called their names three times, but no one answered; according to the rules, they lost. They hadn't even shown their faces from beginning to end.
"Something's not right." In the rest area after the match, Chu Fan squatted on the ground, holding an array plate in his hand. The pointer on the array plate was still slowly turning, not decelerating to zero as it normally would, but rather trembling intermittently, as if something faintly was still pulling its tail. He took out a piece of paper from his pocket, on which was a map of the spiritual energy distribution under the arena that he had drawn last night, with several nodes marked in red.
"They didn't go all out today, they didn't even step onto the stage." He turned the blueprint sideways, pointing to a few nodes on the edge with his fingertip. "But the detection arrays I set up around the arena show that last night, several faint evil forces passed through the arena from beneath, all heading in the same direction towards the podium. They were very faint, so faint that they couldn't be detected unless the recordings were repeatedly reviewed. It was as if they deliberately moved along the underground pipelines, avoiding all the overt surveillance."
Su Muyue walked to his side and leaned down to glance at the blueprint. She took the array plate, channeled spiritual energy into it, and the pointer on the plate jolted violently before beginning to swing erratically, like someone searching for direction. After circling several times, the pointer finally stopped in one direction, aligning with the red dot on the blueprint.
"There's a sinister energy fluctuation underground." Her voice was deep and steady, without any panic, but her expression became much more serious. "It's very faint, as if it's being wrapped up by multiple layers of concealment talismans, accumulating energy. They deliberately forfeited, not intending to fight us on the arena—saving their energy for their preparations in the shadows."
Lin Chen didn't look at the blueprints; his gaze fell on the restored arena in the center of the arena. The stone slabs on the arena's surface had been replaced, their color a shade lighter than the surrounding old stones, like a freshly repaired wound. Beneath the arena, beneath the foundation, something was quietly spreading.
"The main platform," he said with certainty. "During the tournament, all the top officials of the Martial Arts Federation and delegations from various countries will be seated there. The opening ceremony of the knockout rounds will also be held there. The evil formation chose this location for only one purpose."
He turned around and faced the four people, speaking slowly but deliberately.
"Report this to Director Chen Feng and the Alliance Security Department immediately. During the elimination rounds, we'll take turns monitoring the movements of the underground evil formation. They chose this time to make their move; their goal isn't the outcome of the arena. We need to remove this thorn in their side before they launch their attack."
The four nodded in unison, without a word or hesitation. Chu Fan put away the blueprints and array plates, Su Muyue retrieved the array flags, Leng Feng stood up and slid his sword into its sheath, and Su Ling'er fastened the clasp of her medicine box before joining the group. Footsteps echoed out of the rest area without pausing.
Behind me, the lights on the arena remained dazzling. The announcer's voice, amplified through the loudspeakers, continued to broadcast the lineup for the next match. Cheers, applause, and whistles mingled in the stands, a scene of grand celebration, perfectly normal for any audience. But beneath that cacophony, something was slowly spreading, like an underground river meandering through cracks in the rocks, silent and relentless.