Chapter 166 - 114: But I Always Show Up

Chapter 166: Chapter 114: But I Always Show Up

Chen Shang stepped off the arena and deactivated his Three Heads and Six Arms. His Spiritual Power merged back from three sensory units into one, but his Sea of Consciousness still throbbed with a dull ache.

Several new tears marred his Frost Mage Robe. The sleeves were mostly torn off, revealing patches of Purple bruises on his arms. This Rex was truly a difficult opponent, actually forcing him to use his traits directly. If it had been any other Elemental Mage, he might have genuinely lost.

The second round of battles quickly concluded. The third match wouldn’t take place until tomorrow, but the roster of opponents had already been announced.

Chen Shang looked up and saw a name appear next to his on the light screen—Alicia. The audience stands fell silent for a moment before erupting into an uproar.

"Alicia? That Ice Blade?"

"Chen Shang is in trouble this time. Alicia’s Manipulation Power is too strong."

"But Water-Fire Heaven Extremes going against Ice Witchcraft... elemental counters are hard to predict."

Evelyn leaned against the wall of the lounge. "Alicia is a tough opponent. Her Ice Blades are too fast. Even wielding a Divine Artifact, I’m not confident I could beat her."

Chen Shang didn’t speak. He was flipping through the records of Alicia’s previous matches. Not a single match had exceeded three minutes. Her opponents were either forced off the arena by her Ice Blades or compelled to concede under their siege.

Her Witchcraft form could condense the Ice Element into blades as thin as cicada wings, flying silently through the air and slicing through everything in their path. They were fast, numerous, and struck from tricky angles. Those who fought against her were often pushed to the edge of the arena before they could even see where the Ice Blades were coming from.

If it were just this, she would be manageable. The problem was that no one knew how many hidden cards this girl still had.

At night, Chen Shang practiced his Meditation as usual. He also skimmed through some of his opponent’s research papers and combat logs, ensuring he knew exactly what to expect.

The next morning, the assessment began on time.

The stands were packed with no empty seats. A sense of excitement permeated the air; it was obvious that everyone was highly anticipating this battle. One was a combat genius specializing in the Ice Element, undefeated among the Second Level Apprentices. The other was a genius favored even by Lord Haimer. Although the innate talent of Repulsive and Attractive Dual Force couldn’t manifest much combat power in the early stages, Chen Shang had already proven his formidable strength through his past two battles.

Chen Shang stepped onto the arena. He had changed into a new Magic Robe. His Eye of Truth was slightly open, and the fleeting flash of Blue deep within his pupils was a ripple originating from his Magic Spring.

Alicia wore a silver-white Magic Robe adorned with fine Ice Crystal patterns that gleamed coldly in the sunlight. Her light blonde hair was woven into a loose braid resting over her chest. She had a small face with delicate features, though it was almost entirely devoid of expression. Standing in the center of the arena, her aura was remarkably sharp.

Her hands hung naturally by her sides, her long, slender fingers emitting a faint glow. She looked up at Chen Shang, her gaze pausing on him for a moment before shifting to the referee’s Crystal Plate.

The referee raised the Crystal Plate. "Third round, Arena One. Chen Shang versus Alicia. Begin!"

The instant the Crystal Plate dropped, Chen Shang’s vision captured the world’s elements rioting all around them!

Within just a few breaths, the temperature in the colosseum plummeted from twenty degrees to minus thirty degrees. The breaths exhaled by the spectators in the stands instantly condensed into white mist. The arena itself was even more terrifying. A layer of frost rapidly spread outward with Alicia at the center, moving as fast as a surging tide. Wherever the frost passed, the air was frozen and the ground was coated in ice. Even the light seemed to become sluggish.

The frost approaching Chen Shang’s feet halted three meters away from him, stopped by a ring of Samadhi True Flame blocking its advance. He felt no joy at this, however, because Alicia’s attack had already arrived.

She merely waved her right hand in front of her, and hundreds of ice spears instantly coalesced in the air above the arena. Each one was as thick as an arm, their surfaces covered with spiral patterns and golden Runes. The tips of the ice spears glinted with blinding, cold light. The Runes on the spears slowly rotated, resembling slowly opening eyes.

"Ice System: Thousand Thorns of Sealed Demon."

With a light flick of Alicia’s fingertips, the hundreds of ice spears poured down like a torrential rainstorm.

Chen Shang’s Eye of Truth captured the properties of the ice spears. Their hollow interiors were engraved with Runes aimed precisely at his Magic Origin, locking onto the Magic Power fluctuations on his body. If they struck, they would freeze his Witchcraft Circuits.

Chen Shang summoned the Shield of Monatomic Heavy Water. A water orb instantly exploded, transforming into a Water Curtain as thin as cicada wings that encircled the five-meter radius around him. The Water Curtain possessed extremely high density, sufficient to withstand most physical and Elemental Attacks.

The moment the ice spears pierced into the Water Curtain, their speed plummeted, stripped of most of their kinetic energy by the ultra-high density of the One-Element Heavy Water. But this was no Ordinary physical attack. The Runes on the spears activated upon contact with the Water Curtain, releasing a surge of extreme, freezing Energy that froze portions of the Water Curtain into black ice chunks.

In the eyes of the onlookers, black spots rapidly appeared across the Water Curtain.

Chen Shang immediately adjusted the flow of the Water Curtain, pushing away the frozen sections and allowing fresh heavy water to replenish the gaps. However, there were simply too many ice spears. Every single spear stripped away a portion of his Defense range, and Alicia’s fingers were still flicking as a second batch of sealing spears was already condensing.

The Water Curtain shrank—from five meters down to four, and from four down to three.

Chen Shang knew he couldn’t keep dragging this out. He extended his left hand, and that familiar Water-Fire Heaven Extremes began to condense between his palms. The One-Element Heavy Water and Samadhi True Flame rapidly combined, multiplying each other’s power. Yet Chen Shang didn’t stop there. Instead, he compressed it, shrinking it from the size of a fist down to the size of a walnut. However, its internal Energy density was several times greater than before.

Chen Shang’s hands trembled as terrifying Magic Power threatened to overflow!

In the next moment, he thrust the Water-Fire Heaven Extremes toward Alicia. This piece of Witchcraft advanced slowly through the air like a miniature dark-red sun. Wherever it passed, the ground was scorched into a deep trench, adopting a vitrified state that cast a bizarre Reflection.