CHAPTER 732: CHAPTER 737: BATTLE OF THE TOP FOUR (5)

"Ling Chen!"

"Ling Cheng!"

Seeing Ling Chen injured and lying on the ground, Qiu Yong, along with porridge girl, all stood up from their chairs, their faces filled with worry and concern as they watched Ling Chen, their brows slightly furrowed.

"Big brother, Ling Cheng seems to be in critical condition, we should let him step down," Xia Yue said anxiously.

Qiu Yong nodded, quickly walked over to Su Mei, and whispered in her ear. After he finished speaking, Su Mei acknowledged with a nod and then looked up to give a signal to the referee on the stage.

The latter immediately understood and raised his right arm high, declaring loudly, "I announce that this duel..."

"Wait!" Before the referee could finish, Ling Chen’s voice rose from the ground: "I... I can still go on." As he spoke, Ling Chen slowly stood up from the ground. However, his legs were weak, and his body was wobbly, as if he might fall at any moment.

Seeing this, Yang Zhe put down the broad-backed saber he was holding and said, "Don’t stand up, you’re already hurt. Just admit defeat and go get treated. Considering that you helped me last time, I don’t want to hurt you."

Ling Chen shook his head and said, "Thank you for your kindness, but I can still hold on."

Hold on?

Yang Zhe frowned and said, "How can you hold on like this? Ling Chen, let me be clear, I will not go easy on you. If you insist, don’t blame me for being ruthless."

Ling Chen forced a slight smile and said faintly, "No need to hold back, I wouldn’t want to win unfairly."

With that, Ling Chen took a deep breath to ease his body’s pain. Then, he raised his fists and nodded at Yang Zhe, saying, "Come on!"

Ah!

Seeing Ling Chen prepare to continue fighting, Qiu Yong couldn’t help but sigh softly.

"Forget it! Since he still wants to continue, let him persist a while longer. Pavilion Master, if..."

Before Qiu Yong could finish, Su Mei interrupted, "Don’t worry, I know what to do. If Ling Chen can’t hold on, I’ll have the referee announce the result. Besides, Yang Zhe knows Ling Chen, he won’t go too hard."

Bang! Bang!

Just as the two were talking, suddenly two loud noises came from the stage. When Qiu Yong and Su Mei looked over, they saw Ling Chen lying on the floor, clutching his chest, his body writhing, his face full of pain.

Seeing Ling Chen in such agony, porridge girl felt the most unbearable. Biting her thin lips, her gaze hesitant, she stepped forward a little, intending to go to the stage to rescue Ling Chen.

However, before she could move, Su Mei seemed to see through her intentions, stepping in front of her to block her path.

"What are you doing?"

"Don’t do anything foolish. The rules of Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion can’t be broken arbitrarily. Bringing you here was already an exception; don’t make it difficult for me."

Hearing this, porridge girl sighed helplessly and had to suppress her urge to intervene, quietly watching Ling Chen on the stage.

At this moment, under the watchful and sighing eyes of the crowd, Ling Chen struggled to his feet, looked straight at Yang Zhe, and said in a weak voice, "Again, I can still hold on."

"Ling Chen!" the referee said sternly, "You’re already like this, don’t keep acting tough. Just admit defeat and don’t delay the treatment."

"No." Ling Chen gently shook his head, his hands once again clenched into fists.

"I..." Yang Zhe lowered the broad sword in his hands, just about to try and persuade him, but before he could say anything, Ling Chen suddenly sped up, charging towards Yang Zhe. He closed the distance in an instant and was immediately in front of Yang Zhe.

Throwing a steel fist, Yang Zhe slightly sidestepped, effortlessly dodging Ling Chen’s attack. At this moment, after a round of exchanges, Yang Zhe still maintained a full spirit in contrast to the repeatedly injured Ling Chen, whose speed and strength were far inferior to Yang Zhe’s.

Ling Chen threw several punches in quick succession, but each one was deftly dodged by Yang Zhe, posing no threat at all.

Just as Ling Chen was about to throw another punch, the nimble and quick Yang Zhe swiftly made his move, accurately locking onto Ling Chen’s wrist. Without waiting for Ling Chen to react, Yang Zhe violently flung him, and Ling Chen’s body immediately soared into the air, heavily crashing onto the floor.

Pu!

Blood spurted out, and Ling Chen’s face instantly turned pale, losing the strength even to stand.

"Declare him defeated immediately!" Porridge girl and Qiu Yong said almost in unison.

Su Mei nodded, making a gesture to the referee on the platform.

However, the keen Ling Chen noticed the small exchange between Su Mei and the referee and immediately, enduring the pain, got up from the floor. Next, Ling Chen gathered his breath and quickly rushed towards Yang Zhe.

At this moment, even the referee couldn’t declare Ling Chen defeated. As long as the martial contest hadn’t ended, he had no authority to intervene in the match between Ling Chen and Yang Zhe.

Seeing Ling Chen running swiftly towards him, Yang Zhe sighed. Although he admired Ling Chen’s perseverance, admiration aside, he felt no sympathy and also had no interest in wasting more time on the platform.

At that moment, Yang Zhe flipped his wrist, turning the blade of the broadsword towards the handle, striking directly at Ling Chen’s chest.

However, just then, Ling Chen noticed Yang Zhe’s sagging eyebrows and eyes, his own gaze suddenly brightened, bursting with an unmistakable sharpness.

Feeling the sparkling sharpness in Ling Chen’s eyes, Yang Zhe instantly felt a pang in his heart, a bad premonition.

But it was too late, just as the handle was about to hit Ling Chen, Ling Chen’s feet suddenly turned, swiftly rotating his body, and moved to Yang Zhe’s left side.

So fast!

Yang Zhe’s face showed shock, and before he could react, Ling Chen’s iron fist fiercely struck out, targeting Yang Zhe’s waist.

The punch of iron met flesh, and Yang Zhe’s face immediately changed, his steps shuffling back several times in pain, his face contorted in agony, cold sweat dripping from his forehead onto the ground.

Seizing this moment, Ling Chen bent down, his right hand scooping up the Tianling Blade that had fallen onto the floor, and stabbed towards Yang Zhe.

By the time Yang Zhe reacted, the sharp tip of the sword was already at his front, unavoidable.

Seeing such a result, everyone was stunned, and it took a while for them to regain their senses.

Ling Chen had actually turned the tables.

This was something that nobody had anticipated.

Yang Zhe was clearly at an advantage, yet just by taking a punch from Ling Chen, he ended up in this state, which was really baffling.

Could it be that Yang Zhe was deliberately losing?

Considering this, everyone felt that this possibility was very high. Apart from this explanation, they couldn’t find any other.

"Brother Yang, admit defeat!"

Ling Chen retracted the Tianling Blade and cupped his fists towards Yang Zhe.

Yang Zhe wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and, with furrowed brows, asked, "How did you know?"

"I..."

"Forget it! You don’t need to say it, I know already, it must be him who told you." Saying this, Yang Zhe gave a bitter smile and shook his head, "It’s not your fault, I only have myself to blame for being so careless."