Chapter 624: Exchange
Chapter 624: Exchange
As they approached, Chen Chuan noticed that Taru was only slightly shorter than him. Her gait was rhythmic and graceful, and combined with the glimpses of her skills earlier, it was evident that she possessed remarkable abilities.
Taru spoke with a high-spirited voice, her emotions vibrant, revealing a straightforward and cheerful personality. "Are you the one Mr. Zuan recommended, sir?"
"Yes, my name is Chen Chuan. Nice to meet you, Taru."
Taru laughed, "Just call me Taru." She explained, "Mr. Zuan recommended you to come here for training in the Rift, right?"
Chen Chuan nodded in agreement.
Taru spoke seriously, "Mr. Chen, I need to be upfront. Entering the Rift is extremely dangerous, so I must first confirm your ability to handle it."
The elder standing nearby clarified, "Mr. Chen, it's not that we don't trust you. In the past, we didn't stop anyone who wished to train in the Rift. But something happened during the previous Taru's tenure."
"One of our sect members secretly came here, claiming to be sponsored by a recommender. Out of trust for our fellow sect member, we believed his words. However, due to his insufficient skills, an accident occurred. Later, we heard that he had left the sect, and even the recommenders had gone into seclusion."
"The consequences of this incident were significant. The previous Taru felt deep remorse, so she established this rule."
"I understand," said Chen Chuan, turning to Taru. "Shall we begin now?"
Taru, being straightforward, had no habit of procrastination. She immediately agreed, picked up a can of coconut milk, took a few gulps, wiped her mouth, and walked towards the open space nearby.
Upon reaching her destination, she tightened her clothes and assumed a stance. She stretched her hands back and forth, creating a series of afterimages with her fingers and palms, accompanied by crisp cracking sounds in the air.
She took the recommendation from a fighter seriously and was not about to underestimate him.
Chen Chuan placed the Snow Lady Sword aside and emerged from the thatched hut corridor. After reaching the open space, he also did some light exercises.
Taru was indeed powerful, as he had observed earlier. Although she had already embarked on spiritual cultivation, she had not yet reached the level of Heart Energy. In this case, the outcome of the fight was almost predictable.
However, it was quite remarkable that she had achieved this level of skill.
In Central City, even with abundant resources, many strong fighters at her age had not yet embarked on the path of spiritual cultivation. Living on a remote island, Taru had limited access to resources and communication, so her progress was likely due to her own talents.
It was evident that they were about to engage in a sparring match. The children and youngsters had dispersed but remained nearby, excitedly surrounding them, anticipating the fight.
Interestingly, everyone present was emotionally inclined towards Taru, hoping for her victory. Yet, at that moment, they inexplicably felt that Chen Chuan would be the one to win, which made them feel uncomfortable.
Taru, unaffected by this, waited for Chen Chuan to approach. She performed a Solitary Stream Pavilion greeting towards him, then assumed her stance, entering a state of extreme focus.
Chen Chuan clenched his fists and bowed respectfully, taking a Standard Free Fighting stance.
After a brief standoff, Taru let out a shout, and her figure flashed, instantly covering a distance of over twenty meters to stand before Chen Chuan. She kicked out swiftly.
The kick was swift, decisive, and packed with force.
Chen Chuan raised his hand to block, precisely intercepting the kick. He immediately felt a surge of power, followed by another wave of force.
A double-layered force?
Typically, double-layered force was only used in critical moments, as excessive technique utilization could slow down one's attack rhythm, an almost inevitable consequence. It was usually reserved for crucial moments when opportunities arose, making its immediate use quite uncommon.
However, Chen Chuan quickly realized that this force was not that simple. As the power entered his body, his transformed organism produced a slight sense of stagnation.
He instantly understood that this force was not intended for damage but to target and affect the transformed organism. If the transformed organism's operation was hindered, any movement or technique would become clumsy and uncoordinated.
The first wave of force was likely to establish a connection between their transformed organisms, rather than to harm the opponent. The second wave then caused a resonance between their transformed organisms, putting the opponent at a disadvantage.
This was an ingenious use of force, not entirely reliant on technique. Chen Chuan could sense that Taru's palm exerted strong force. If this force were combined with Heart Energy, an opponent who didn't know her abilities might be suppressed from the start, and without a countermeasure, the fight would be nearly impossible.
This gave Chen Chuan some insight into his own Heart Energy.
Taru kicked out again with her second foot, and the Solitary Stream Pavilion's fighting style was relentless once initiated. However, this kick was also blocked, and Chen Chuan didn't feel any delay or hindrance.
Chen Chuan nodded to himself, recognizing the young woman's decision to change her approach as the correct one. Many people, after their preferred method of attack is thwarted, would stubbornly persist with the same technique, either due to a path dependency or an unwillingness to admit defeat.
However, what they didn't realize was that for an experienced fighter, if your rhythm and technique remained largely unchanged from the previous attack, it was almost impossible to achieve better results. A change was necessary, and increasing speed and strength was undoubtedly the best approach.
Taru, however, executed this flawlessly, a decision most people would hesitate to make.
As her blade-like palm strike approached Chen Chuan's left temple, despite her increased speed and power, it still appeared slow to him. With a slight lift of his arm, he effortlessly blocked her attack.
The sudden surge of power caused her to lose control of her strength, and the fabric of her sleeve ripped open, revealing a muscular, tanned arm.
After this unsuccessful attack, instead of continuing, she paused and looked at Chen Chuan with admiration. She took a few steps back and bowed to him.
"Mr. Chen, your combat skills far surpass mine. There's no doubt that you can enter the rift for cultivation."
Chen Chuan returned the bow and could have continued the fight, as the outcome was still undecided. As the heir to a martial arts pavilion, he was mindful of the many disciples watching and wanted to save face for his opponent, especially since he was a guest.
However, it was clear that this young woman had a straightforward and honest way of thinking. When she felt she was outmatched, she withdrew without hesitation, which seemed perfectly normal to her.
The elderly man approached and asked, "Mr. Chen, you've come a long way. Before you enter the rift, would you like to rest first?"
Chen Chuan replied, "That's not necessary. I've already rested for two days on Ro Wang Island, and now I just want to start my cultivation as soon as possible."
Taru agreed readily, "Alright, Mr. Chen, please follow me."
The elderly man bowed slightly and said, "Taru, I'll take care of things here while you're gone."
Chen Chuan retrieved his Snow Lady Sword and nodded to the elderly man before following Taru.
As they left the clearing, the trees ahead became sparse, and they walked along a narrow passage until they reached a sea cliff. Below, the waves crashed and surged against the cliff face.
Taru stood at the edge, her hair blowing in the sea breeze. "You can reach the rift by jumping from here. But recently, the rift has become somewhat unstable and even shows signs of expansion. This situation hasn't been seen for a long time, and neither I nor my teacher have encountered it before, so be cautious when entering."
"Unstable, you say..." Chen Chuan seemed to realize something. "May I ask when this started?"
"There's nothing to hide," Taru replied. "The situation began at the end of last year."
Chen Chuan nodded slightly. The timing was very close to when the World Ring's breach occurred, so it was possible that the rift's changes were influenced by that event.
However, for his cultivation, this might not be a bad thing. It meant that his spirit could directly connect to the other world, just like when the Heaven Gate opened.
"The rift's instability also affects the surrounding sea," Taru continued. "In the past two years, many fighters and trained individuals have appeared on our island and Ro Wang Island. Perhaps they've noticed the anomaly and are sent by their backers to find the rift. After all, our Solitary Stream Pavilion has been here since ancient times, and everyone knows we once possessed the rift."
Chen Chuan recalled the tremors in the seawater during his journey and the people searching for the ring on the sea. Perhaps they weren't looking for a ring at all but were using it as an excuse to investigate the real reason.
"I'm not too concerned about those people," Taru said. "The rift is well-hidden, and they'll never find it no matter how hard they search. Even if they land on the island, I can handle them. What worries me more is the Dawnlight Pavilion."
"The Dawnlight Pavilion?" Chen Chuan's eyes flickered with curiosity. "Are you referring to the Dawnlight Pavilion of the Outer Ocean?"
"Yes," Taru confirmed. "The Solitary Stream Pavilion and the Dawnlight Pavilion were both founded by the same master, Grandmaster Hongfa. The Dawnlight Pavilion was established by his second disciple, He Mi Yue, while our Solitary Stream Pavilion was founded by the first disciple, Zuan Tu."
"Each pavilion inherited a portion of Grandmaster Hongfa's secrets, but the secrets of both pavilions can complement each other. Over a hundred years ago, during a battle, our Solitary Stream Pavilion's last Fist Ancestor was killed by the Dawnlight Pavilion's Blade Ancestor. Since then, our pavilion has never recovered..."
(End of Chapter)
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