Chapter 175 - 174: Fang Can’s Greed

Chapter 175: Chapter 174: Fang Can’s Greed

CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG!!!

DANG DANG DANG DANG DANG DANG DANG!!!

As the flashes of their spears collided, the two fought a running battle, leaving a path of ruins and trenches in their wake.

Seeing Fang Can struggling to hold on, his body already taking hits from the relentless assault, Xiang Longtao laughed boisterously.

"Fang Can, you’re already on the losing end. Stop trying to resist. Just give up and submit to me."

"We both use the spear, and while your technique is incredibly refined, you’re no match for my Overlord Spear will, which is fused with my Heart Image. You’re destined to be suppressed."

In response, Fang Can said nothing, only letting out two cold laughs before gripping his spear and charging forward.

At that moment, on his status panel, the countless techniques he had just learned were being converted into fuel and fed back into him.

[Seventy-Two Paths of the Overlord Spear] Analysis: 75%

Fang Can was greedy. Unimaginably so.

He wanted more than just victory.

If all he wanted was to kill him, Xiang Longtao would have been dead long ago.

He wanted to meet him head-on and utterly crush him in his own area of expertise.

’You claim to be the best with a spear? Then I’ll beat you with a spear.’

’Your Heart Image is invincible? Let’s see if mine can match it.’

To surpass him—that was the true essence of this fight.

Seeing Fang Can’s stubborn defiance, Xiang Longtao made a silent judgment and put even more force into his spear.

’I will break Fang Can today!’

A wide grin spread across Xiang Longtao’s face as he watched the boy gradually falter. But in their very next clash, a thrust from Fang Can—one fused with a wild, savage spear will—left him stunned.

He stumbled back two steps in disbelief, his eyes locked on Fang Can. "Impossible! How did you learn my Chu family’s Overlord Spear Skill?"

"Weren’t you the one teaching me, Eldest Prince?" Fang Can sneered. "I’ll admit, it was a little difficult. It actually took me the better part of half an incense stick to learn. You should be proud of how hard it was."

"You learned it... just now?"

Recalling the move Fang Can had just made, Xiang Hongtu knew it was, without a doubt, the most orthodox Overlord Spear Skill.

Seated atop the Twin Imperial Towers, a flash of killing intent crossed the eyes of the current emperor of Great Chu.

Not even the Great Derivation Divine Monarch, who had dominated an entire era, possessed such an ability.

’With talent like that, this boy is destined to become an enemy of Great Chu. He has already sealed his own fate.’

"Impossible!" Xiang Longtao couldn’t accept it. His denial was met with another spear thrust from Fang Can, who held nothing back.

The all-too-familiar spear will made him instinctively jerk his head to the side.

A few strands of hair by his ear were severed. The terrifying residual force flew more than ten meters and shattered the courtyard wall behind him.

A thin cut appeared on his right cheek, and a trickle of blood oozed out, filling the air with the faint scent of iron.

"Don’t just stand there gawking. The fight’s just getting started."

Fang Can’s white hair danced in the wind. The wounds he’d sustained had already healed. He gave his spear a light flourish, his smile serene.

In a flash, the two clashed once more. But now, having learned the Overlord Spear will, Fang Can wielded his spear with ever-growing proficiency.

Xiang Longtao’s expression darkened as he felt the overwhelming power behind Fang Can’s relentless attacks.

He could clearly sense the terrifying rate at which his opponent’s technique was improving.

The battle raged on, but the tables were turning. The scales of victory began to tip, bit by bit, in Fang Can’s favor.

If this kept up, the white-haired boy before him would inevitably be the victor.

’How is this possible! How can I lose! I’m carrying the weight of my father’s expectations!’

As Fang Can’s assault grew ever more ferocious, Xiang Longtao’s mind drifted back to the previous night, when he had gone to the Imperial Palace for an audience with his father, the Emperor.

"Father, for what reason have you summoned me?" Xiang Longtao asked.

"I am aware of your duel with Fang Can tomorrow," Xiang Hongtu said, his voice low as he clenched his fist. "Therefore, I have a task for you."

Xiang Longtao looked up. "What is it? Please, Father, give me your command."

"You must kill Fang Can."

Seated upon the Dragon Throne, Xiang Hongtu stated coldly, "Even if you are ultimately defeated, you must use your own life to inflict a fatal wound upon him."

"As for the rest, we will leave it to others to join forces and finish him. In short, we absolutely cannot allow Fang Can to win the tournament’s grand prize. The consequences would be endless."

’Father thinks I can’t beat Fang Can? Impossible! How could I ever lose to him?!’

Xiang Longtao looked up, confused, only to see Xiang Hongtu’s face morph into Fang Can’s, wearing a mocking smile.

"You dare get distracted while fighting me? Did you really think I’d give you an opening for a dramatic flashback?"

With an upward flick of his spear, Fang Can sent the Dragon-Turning Spear spinning from Xiang Longtao’s unsteady grasp. The weapon flew from his hands and plunged into the earth. In the next instant, the tip of Fang Can’s spear was at the prince’s throat.

’I, the master of the spear... was just defeated in a contest of spears?’

Xiang Longtao’s mind went blank, but then he saw Fang Can slowly withdraw his spear.

"That wasn’t nearly enough. Let’s keep going."

With that, Fang Can kicked the spear beside him, intending to send it back into Xiang Longtao’s hands.

But the humiliated and enraged prince slapped the incoming spear. With a sonic boom, the weapon tore through the air and vanished from sight.

"...Interesting." Fang Can looked momentarily stunned, then smiled. He plunged his own spear, Xuanhong, into the stone ground and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Done with spears? Fine. In that case, you pick."

"What’s next? Fists? Palms? You can pick the battlefield, too. Ground or sky, it’s all the same to me."

"Because in the end, I’ll be the only one left standing."

Fang Can’s tone was utterly relaxed. He had always been greedy; it wasn’t enough to win—he had to win in style.

「In the Great Derivation Imperial Palace」

Following Fang Can’s victory, Prince Qing raised his cup to toast Liu Qingmeng from across the room. "Allow this prince to congratulate Sect Leader Liu’s brilliant disciple on securing his first win."

"Fang Can is not my disciple," Liu Qingmeng said, shaking her head. "I merely offered a little guidance. The Cultivation Technique he uses is his own creation. His current achievements are all thanks to his own innate talent. It has nothing to do with me."

"So you’re saying Fang Can hasn’t joined any Sect yet."

The Sect Leader of the Inverted Gate Sect smiled. "I see his Horizontal Training has given him an impressive physique. Why not have him join my sect for advanced study? His future accomplishments would surely be limitless."

"If Fang Can wishes to join, I will not stand in his way," Liu Qingmeng replied, her tone flat.

「Meanwhile, back at the fight.」

Seeing Fang Can’s casual demeanor, Xiang Longtao gritted his teeth, feeling as though he was the one being insulted now.

"Fine, fine, fine," Xiang Longtao spat. "I admit you have some skill."

Fang Can tilted his head. "Just ’some’?"

Xiang Longtao: ...

With no more words to waste, Xiang Longtao’s iron-hard body tensed. The next moment, he charged at Fang Can, unleashing his terrifying power to its fullest. The ground beneath him instantly crumbled.

A new battle began, only this time, Xiang Longtao’s mindset was completely different.

「Several miles away」

A young woman in white sat cross-legged, her brow tightly furrowed. She was only a single step away from the Heaven-Ascending Road.

All she had to do was break the shackles of the Profound Gate to step into the First Turn. Then, she would turn illusion into reality, her mental power transforming into tangible energy. The difference would be as vast as that between heaven and earth.