Zhan Long
chapter-319

The fourteenth round was about to begin. On the screen, our opponents’ usernames appeared. Now that we had made it to the 14th round, all of our opponents from here on out would be from the top 500 experts in the CBN Battlemaster ranking charts, instead of the weak opponents in the earlier rounds. In order to get to the top 32, we would have to use all our strength. This reward was a special honor that no one was willing to give up so easily.

On the screen, the pairings were shown.

Xiao Yao Zi Zai [Lv 71 Dragon City Night Watch] vs Babel Buddha [Lv 69 Wind Swordsman]

Cang Tong [Lv 70 Gold Assassin] vs Returning Taste [Lv 67 Gold Mage]

Strawberry Matcha [Lv 65 Phantom Knight] vs Mu Xuan [Lv 70 Ice Flame Mage]

……

Li Mu looked up at the screen and gulped, “She’s finished! Matcha is actually being matched against Jiu Li City’s number one beauty, Queen Mu Xuan…”

“Queen Mu Xuan?” I asked, “Who’s that?”

Li Mu clenched his fist. “Mu Xuan. Her history as a gamer is amazing. Ever since she started playing as a teenager… Just looking at the guild ranking list, her guild [Appearance Association] is ranked 7th in all of the guilds in China. Aside from Fang Ge Que, she’s the number one in Jiu Li City. Rumor has it that she’s fought with Fang Ge Que three times, where she won once and lost twice!”

“Only a 33% win rate. She shouldn’t be that great, right?” Little Wolf sneered.

Li Mu laughed, “Little Wolf, you don’t understand. Fang Ge Que’s win rate is at 92%; look at the CBN if you don’t believe me. Even Jian Feng Han only has a 17% win rate against him…”

“Ah?” Little Wolf gasped in surprise, “Damn, is he really that strong?”

I took a deep breath, “Even so… Matcha should fight with all she’s got. You might have a chance if you use your Illusionary Butterfly’s [Illusionary Vines] to root and limit her mobility. Don’t worry about breaking her defenses for now, just use your ordinary attacks. Wait until her [Mana Shield] has about 10% durability left, then use [Illusionary Vines] once more to restrict her. After that attack with [Skyshaker Slash] and [Phantom Ray]. Finally, use a [Combo] to kill her!”

Matcha rubbed her eyes, “Yea, I got it Boss…”

……

Li Mu looked at the big screen again, and continued, “Boss should be more careful around his opponent as well. Babel Buddha is also a reputed expert. He’s been quite the character in CBN’s top 100 players and as [Judgement]’s Vice Guild Master. He has the special class of Wind Swordsman, and is reputed to be extremely agile. You should be careful of how he controls the battle, since he’s an expert in manipulating the flow of battle. It is because of his skill that [Judgement]’s Guild Master, Ye Lai, has been raising him to become a top expert.”

I nodded, “Got it, I’ll be careful.”

“Let’s do our best to win this, guys!”

……

“Shua!”

I entered the arena and in front of me, a youth clad in green armor stood there smiling; his cape fluttered behind him, giving him a valiant air. In his hand he held a long sword. His arm proudly displayed an armband with the guild emblem of [Judgment] etched on it. He was the Vice Guild Master of [Judgment] – Babel Buddha.

“Xiao Yao Zi Zai, it’s time.” Babel Buddha exclaimed with a smile.

I laughed as I raised my hand and unsheathed my Emperor Qin’s Sword, “Ah, the Vice Guild Master of [Judgment]. How are you doing? I didn’t think we would be meeting so early in the tournament. It seems like only one of us will be able to leave here alive today…”

Babel Buddha smirked and moved his palms slightly. Flickers of blue wind energy surrounded his armor and boots, increasing his speed and attack power. He leered at me and declared, “My Guild Master told me that if I defeat you, he’ll treat me to the most expensive restaurant in Yangzhou. For the sake of this meal, I must defeat you… even if your CBN Battlemaster ranking is higher than mine.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. I lowered my Emperor Qin’s Sword and spoke with audible clarity, “I carry the ambitions of [Zhan Long] on my back, so I can’t lose here. Sorry, but you won’t be able to have your feast. No matter, if we get the chance, I’ll treat you instead!”

“Okay!”

Babel Buddha laughed, “Such confidence! So this is the rumored Xiao Yao Zi Zai that’s driving Jian Feng Han and Yan Zhao Warrior crazy in Ba Huang City. I’ve been waiting for an opponent like you!”

“No need to wait, we’ll duke it out in 7 seconds.”

“Okay!”

The system continued to count down.

“3！”

“2！”

“1！”

Battle start!

“Pa!” At the same time [Dragon’s Whistle of Thunder and Lightning] took effect, I rushed forward. Babel Buddha did the same, with his long sword in hand. We were both wise and chose not to summon our pets, since pets were more effective in landing the killing blow and not at the beginning of the battle. The first strike was always used to test the waters. Once my Emperor Qin’s Sword parried his, I rotated my body, throwing a kick right at him!

Babel Buddha was not slow to react either. He lifted his knee and blocked my Divine Battle Boots, forcing me back a step while he was forced back three. Even though he was being overwhelmed by my strength, he had an advantage in speed. With a slight delay, he immediately turned toward my right and attacked me. After parrying his first attack, a six star hexagram appeared and his Lv 7 [Combo] landed on my Magic Spite Armor!

729！

771！

732！

790！

Sure enough, an expert’s attack strength was different from a regular player’s. Even with my 2800+ defense, he had dealt around 3000 damage! In that same instant, with a wave of his hand, he yelled, “Fang Bear!”

Along with a fierce roar, a giant red bear was summoned and attacked me with its purple-tinted claws.. F*ck. Isn’t this a stun skill? This guy plans to finish me now?

Through the sparks emitted, I chose to advance instead of retreating. I sensed the opportunity and activated [Blade Rush], but Babel Buddha’s reaction was too fast. “Huacha! Huacha!” He simultaneously activated [Blade Rush] as well, causing us to swap positions. Right as I turned around, I activated a Lv 8 [Combo]. He managed to dodge the first attack, but not the remaining four!

MISS！

1284！

1236！

1301！

1221！

……

“Damn!” Babel Buddha looked at his depleted health bar and quickly retreated. He waved his hands and activated [Evading Winds].

“Shua!” He disappeared into thin air. A few seconds later, he appeared 20 meters away, where he drank a Lv 10 Potion to recover 3000 health.

I rushed toward him while restoring 1200 health with [Heal]. Under his master’s command, the Fang Bear blocked my path. I laughed and started sliding. “Bang!” I collided straight into the Fang Bear, pushing it back 3 meters. I then struck the ground and activated [Binding Chains], immobilizing the bear.

“Sh*t…….”

Babel Buddha was startled. He quickly lifted his sword and rushed forward with a [Skyshaker Slash]!

I couldn’t bear the brunt of this attack without retaliating, so I retreated. With a wave of my hand, a six star hexagram appeared, accompanied by a roar. Flaming Tiger God was summoned, and it used [Flame Claw] on Babel Buddha. This was the killing blow; there was no way he would survive this attack!

“Heh!”

Despite the dire situation, Babel Buddha was actually laughing! With a slash of his blade, wind energy surrounded his body, “[Wind Pulse]!”

“Hong! Hong!” Rapid winds surged around him.

A burst of wind shot out. [Wind Pulse] had a range of 10 meters. Being within range, Flaming God Tiger and I were both affected by it and entered a stunned state. Who would’ve thought that this Wind Swordsman, in addition to his escape skill [Evading Winds], also possessed a crowd control skill like [Wind Pulse]?. This was too unfair!

While I was stunned for 1.5 seconds, Babel Buddha rushed forward and activated [Skyshaker Slash] and [Flame Blade] – both of which were high damaging attacks.

1783！

2019！

Looking at the damage, a feeling of horror welled up in me. Good thing I used [Heal] and had over 6500 health. If not for these, I really would’ve died!

After recovering, I lifted my Emperor Qin’s Sword. “Peng!” Blocking his third attack, I kicked him with my Battle Boots and sent him back a few steps. At the same time, I activated [Seven Star Fragment Slash]!

Boom!!

2718！

Babel Buddha’s face turned purple as he watched me activate [Great Realm of Desolation]. Along with Flaming Tiger God’s [Burstfire Raid] and [Fierce Roar], he was sent flying into the air like a leaf, and finally dropped to the floor in a lifeless heap.

“Ding!”

System Notification: Congratulations. You have defeated player 【Babel Buddha】 and will successfully advance to the next round of the tournament!

……

“Shua!”

I returned to the waiting room with Wan Er and Dong Cheng already there. They were able to defeat their opponents in a short time. In the screen in front of us, Li Mu, Matcha, and the others were still engaged in battle!

Li Mu was at 87% health with his pet still alive, while his opponent had only 12% health left and was without his pet. The victor had already been decided. I went ahead and enlarged Matcha’s match.

On the screen, Matcha was shown fiercely chasing a Mage while being continuously slowed by her opponent’s Ice Flame Magic. The Mage’s ID was Mu Xuan. She looked to be around her early twenties and had a charming appearance that could stop the hearts of people. Her body was even better than Wan Er’s, her robe unable to cover everything. With her long hair and her pair of long, snowy legs, she was simply too beautiful.

I furrowed my brows, “This isn’t good. Matcha is being dominated. This isn’t going so well…”

One Second Hero lifted his spear, “Hey… That Mu Xuan’s legs are really white……”

I stared at the screen with a quizzical expression, “What you’re saying is true…. but don’t you feel that that’s the wrong problem to be paying attention to?”

In the arena, Mu Xuan continuously used [Ice Cone] to slow Matcha down and laughed, “Little sister, you look really gorgeous. How about you join our [Appearance Alliance]? My [Appearance Alliance] was made for sisters like you. What’s so great about that stinking man’s guild? Come and join us instead! With your beautiful body, you will definitely be promoted to be a captain!”

“Wuuu………..”

Matcha didn’t say anything. Instead, she lifted her shield enhanced with [Holy Shield], and thrust her spear forward, activating [Phantom Ray Slash]!

“Shua!”

Mu Xuan easily used [Dimension Leap] to dodge it. It looked like she was just toying with Matcha.