Chapter 82 - 82 68 Fate

82: Chapter 68: Fate 82: Chapter 68: Fate “Is this the Axe King? He’s not as impressive in person…” Underneath his young and calm expression, there was undisguised disappointment. The youth originally had high expectations for the Axe King, after all… “…Axe King? Is this your level? Being the so-called ‘Sword King’, I feel a bit embarrassed.” Upon hearing those words, Lu Ping’an wore a troubled look. If you don’t mention “Axe King,” we can still have a conversation! Also, when did we become equals! You chuunibyou teens, do you really like these embarrassing titles? But now, he indeed didn’t have any grounds to refute. HIs axe was full of sword marks, and his right wrist holding the handle already had some injuries. Just escaping a broken hand from the previous attack could be considered lucky. Lu Ping’an was at a disadvantage during their first clash. “As expected, unprofessional axe techniques, against a true close combat expert, are still very far behind. However, Sword King…” Looking at the handsome young man before his eyes, the 32nd-ranked “Sword King” Yuan Tianzheng, Lu Ping’an increasingly felt a subtle difference. “…Both titles reek of chuunibyou and are embarrassing that people wouldn’t want to call them, but why is there always a subtle difference? To be more accurate, their style is different…” The next moment, Lu Ping’an realized that mentioning the “Axe King” always made people think of a lumberjack’s axe, along with a hyperactive red-skinned beastman who jumped and yelled around. But when mentioning the “Sword King,” people would subconsciously think of a handsome, white-haired youth with a sword or an elder martial arts master who still maintained his vigor—somehow making them feel like they would elegantly float away… “…This is discrimination! This is discrimination against weapons! This is cultural discrimination!” Lu Ping’an inexplicably became annoyed, and gave the “Sword King” opposite him a fierce glare. “Did my words anger you? But I’m sorry, I’m only stating the facts, and your anger cannot make up for the difference between us. King versus King, obviously, you’re not worthy of being called one.” The Sword King seemed carefree as he faced his opponent with double swords on his back, giving off a master-like demeanor. Yet these words calmed Lu Ping’an down. It’s not worth it to get angry or serious with chuunibyou kids or he would become a chuunibyou himself. I, Lu Ping’an, don’t want this kind of youth! I’ll let this one slide and not say a word, not one! Lu Ping’an sighed and directly threw away his axe without hesitation. He flexed his muscles and rotated his wrist to prepare to be a little more serious. This young man was Xia Qin and Xue En’s Basic Stream type, not someone who could be easily defeated by Lu Ping’an. “Yuan Tianzheng, a 2-tier dual swordsman with unknown Talent Abilities, holding two Taboo weapons. Not sure about his strength, but he’s definitely rich.” Lu Ping’an had already experienced those two Yin and Yang longswords on Yuan’s hands. One seemed to have slow-motion ability, while the other had the characteristics of sending out wind blades. Together with the “Sword King’s” at least 7-level Mastery, during their clash of three or four rounds, Lu Ping’an was nearly left with a broken hand. Of course, Lu Ping’an’s high-level All Weapons Mastery was not for show, but the disadvantage came from the type of weapon he was using. Long-handled weapons become nearly useless once swords get too close and there’s no room to move or swing freely. Lu Ping’an could only helplessly block, and then first being slowed down followed by taking a hit from the wind blade, barely managing to get away without dying on the spot with his quick response. As for why he was easily closed up on… “As we both are Runners with Shrink Land abilities and focusing purely on close-combat Battle-profession, even having similar titles, it was inevitable that the God of Knights would arrange our encounter. Now, don’t disappoint the title of Axe King and give our best in a proper fight.” This was the root of Lu Ping’an’s injury—after using the “Shrink Land” ability recently to outsmart his opponents twice, he was now outsmarted by that ability himself. Shrink Land was indeed a divine skill—as long as it wasn’t in the opponent’s hands! After finishing his warm-up, Lu Ping’an grinned and flicked his middle finger, signalling for the opponent to make a move. Seeing Lu Ping’an did not plan on grabbing his axe, Yuan Tianzheng initially froze and then burst into laughter. “You think axes are disadvantageous against me, so you switch to close combat? You’re underestimating me. I’m not one of those weak-minded 2-tiers you can defeat with your bare hands!” As soon as the words fell, Yuan Tianzheng appeared in front of Lu Ping’an the next second! For those close-combat experts who also had the Runner profession with Shrink Land, amassing “Shrink Land” energy by taking small steps on the spot was a necessary part of their basic training! “Pay the price for your arrogance…AHHHH!” His double swords barely unsheathed, not completing a full rotation, when Yuan Tianzheng suddenly flew sideways! “Bang!” He slammed onto the ground, forcefully digging a small ditch. “Huh? You survived, you’re quite sturdy…In that case, I can use even more power.” Lu Ping’an smiled as he stood with his hands in his pockets, his black cape flapping in the wind. He looked down at his opponent, seemingly not doing anything. The stone ditch on the ground and Yuan Tianzheng’s pained expression clutching his seemingly broken shoulder proved that it wasn’t an illusion. “What happened?” “What hit Sword King?” “Did anyone see clearly? What was that?” The audience outside was also utterly confused. It wasn’t a TV broadcast; there was no slow-motion playback feature. Teachers who could actually see what happened, however, wouldn’t reveal anything… Students exposing their abilities themselves was one thing, but teachers helping to expose them had different implications. “…Every time I think I’ve figured out that child, I realize I’m still too shallow, underestimating him. With just that one move, if he said he planned to ‘part-time as a close-combat Gardener,’ it wouldn’t be a waste of his talent.” Director Qian’s evaluation of Lu Ping’an improved yet again. Unaware of the audience’s confusion and the teachers’ unspoken observations, Yuan Tianzheng, who was beaten, was also at a loss. He only felt as though he was whacked by a giant object, not even knowing what hit him. “How… was it a psychic attack? A Protection system ability? It can’t be, can it? With that kind of explosive speed and power?” His face full of disbelief, Yuan Tianzheng curiously looked at Lu Ping’an, who only smiled, showing no intention of explaining. He wasn’t like those stupid villains who provided commentary while fighting. Afraid that his opponent wouldn’t figure out how to counterattack? Let him die in confusion and ignorance! “Bang!” With the same Shrink Land and instant explosion, Yuan Tianzheng was fiercely attacked! The terrifying brute force came from above, carrying close-range storms and shattered stones with it. It was a naked display of brute force, the simplest and purest form of physical power. “Buzz!” Lu Ping’an frowned, as his opponent did not die or roll out of the Secret Realm as expected. At the most dangerous moment, a light blue wind shield suddenly appeared on Yuan Tianzheng’s body, blocking Lu Ping’an’s “whipping.” Taking the hit came at a cost, and just a second later, Yuan Tianzheng’s wind-constructed shield shattered and crumbled. His Yin and Yang long sword’s left blade lost its luster, but he didn’t go down just like that. “An elemental weapon with both offense and defense? Damn, this must be a Silver-tier one, this level is not for those without money…” Lu Ping’an sighed, as Yuan Tianzheng had already safely retreated thanks to the counter force. This time, clutching his shoulder and cheek, Yuan Tianzheng finally recognized what was close at hand: the “explosion.” “Tentacles?!” “They’re roots, please don’t spread rumors, thank you.” Lu Ping’an hurriedly explained, he didn’t want to get a nickname like Tentacle Man soon after being called Axe King, as it would ruin his chances with the opposite sex during college. Since it had been clearly seen, Lu Ping’an didn’t hide it anymore. He slowly stretched out his right hand, making a gesture with his index finger pointing at the opponent. Suddenly, a gray-black “tentacle” emerged from his coat, whipping the ground, creating a small pit. Then, realizing there was no prey, it was slowly retracted. This time, Lu Ping’an deliberately slowed down the retraction speed, so people could clearly see it was a root and not a tentacle. This was a “technique” that Brother Xue En had helped him develop. Magic Plants often couldn’t move, so they seemed slow, but how could they hunt animals if they were really that slow? The burst of strength and speed when capturing prey with a part of their body… could benefit from Lu Ping’an’s All Weapon Specialization bonus! “A high-level Magic Plant?! Carrying it around? Isn’t it said that Space Bags for Magic Plants can only provide a sleep space?!” Yuan Tianzheng’s face was full of confusion and question marks, but Lu Ping’an was not going to explain anything to him. He took a step forward and asked with a smile. “Have you ever been whipped by a tree before?” With a snap of his fingers, the signaled tentacle once again tore through space and attacked forward. And this time, three came at once! The distance was far enough this time, but the continuous, crazed whipping sent Yuan Tianzheng flying once again. “This move, I call it ‘Invasion.’ Heh, it’s just summoning it to whip people.” “But just like training a dog, giving the ‘action’ a name makes it easier for it to understand, and makes rewarding it afterward easier.” In the next moment, the tentacle disappeared without a trace. Without Lu Ping’an slowing down, Yuan Tianzheng couldn’t see the retraction movement, just like he couldn’t see the attack movement. Yuan Tianzheng was sweating profusely, and his initial mastery demeanor had completely vanished. He was forced into a corner. This man just stood there, his hands still in his pants pockets, as if he had done nothing. But Yuan Tianzheng knew that as long as he was within range, that unreasonable, unstoppable brute force whipping could happen at any time! The dual sword wielder, who was mainly focused on close combat, began to fear getting close to his opponent. How to fight this? This is impossible to fight! “If you don’t come, I’ll come.” Facing Lu Ping’an’s slow approach, the wall behind him was not far away. Yuan Tianzheng was not one to sit and wait for death, and he clenched his teeth and struck first! “Whistle! Storm Blade!” After the nauseating howl, the wind blade was forced out! Although wind blades seemed like a low-level skill in many stories, they were actually as sharp as a knife and deadly in real combat. “…This works too?!” But the invisible blade didn’t achieve any results. Suddenly appearing tentacles blocked in front of Lu Ping’an, taking that wind blade and sacrificing just a small broken piece. “Dang, someone’s cheating!” This was probably the least chunni-like line from this young chunni, and it became his destined “last words.” The young swordsman had nowhere left to retreat. Smiling Lu Ping’an slowly approached him. “Brutality.” With the activation of the “code,” countless tentacles swarmed out from underneath Lu Ping’an’s coat. Up, down, left, and right, they attacked everything around them, whipping the ground and walls. In the relentless whipping of the tentacles, the young Sword King disappeared in an instant. But the mad tentacles didn’t stop there, as they still thirsted for blood and prey, constantly expanding their hunting range. “Boom! Boom!” The tentacles were never satisfied, and they whipped the ground and dug a big hole in the wall before regretfully leaving. Left on the spot was Lu Ping’an, who kept his hands in his pockets the whole time. He sighed, and walked towards the next level. Behind his coat, a tentacle subtly poked out, dragging the axe along. “Axe King? Dang, that was just a cover-up to deceive people!” “Tentacle King, no, Tentacle King!!” Someone shouted out the forbidden word first. Lu Ping’an was still unaware of the cruel fate awaiting him outside. He was just hoping to encounter a few strongmen during the next round so he could make the most of his Talent Abilities, which hadn’t been fully revealed yet, and earn more points from the masters. “Heh, who’s the lucky one next?”