Zhiye’s expression turned somewhat astonished when his internal energy proved ineffective.
He was skilled in this art and assumed influencing Chen Fan would be effortless, yet he had failed.
Chen Fan potted the last two balls cleanly and decisively; his internal energy seemed to vanish into thin air upon release.
For a moment, he was bewildered.
Billiards, as a sport, was highly susceptible to external factors; any disturbance could affect whether a ball was potted or not.
Yet, Chen Fan seemed to disregard his subtle maneuvers while striking, how was this possible?
Amidst his confusion and bewilderment, a waiter came to rack the balls.
During this interval, Chen Fan said calmly, “I told you, you won’t be able to pot another ball. Mr. Zhiye, in my eyes, you are trash. All this talk of internal energy control is laughable.”
Zhiye’s face turned ashen upon hearing this. He said fiercely, “Just wait and see, Mr. Chen. You’ll realize how ridiculous your arrogance is!”
“What did the kid say?”
Wu Chaoyang asked, observing their expressions with a smile.
“I called him trash, and he didn't believe me,”
Chen Fan replied.
This time, Shen Tinghao and the others clearly heard him, and their faces turned displeased.
“Chen Tian… Chen Zhuo, you’re too arrogant. You just got lucky in one game, the match is far from over,”
Shen Tinghao said with a dark expression.
“Young Master Shen, if you had found any expert from the domestic martial arts world to compete, it would have been better than finding some trash from Sakura Country,”
Chen Fan said coolly. “You are, after all, a scion of one of the seven top aristocratic families. When did you stoop so low as to seek help from him?”
Since Shen Tinghao already knew his identity, Chen Fan had nothing to be polite about.
In fact, their grievances were not shallow, and they could not be easily resolved with a few insincere words.
Moreover, Shen Tinghao was narrow-minded. Since he had already offended him, there was no need to consider his demeanor. He only needed to make him bow his head.
“You…” Shen Tinghao’s face instantly turned livid.
He gritted his teeth at Chen Fan and said, “The outcome is not yet decided, just wait and see.”
“I’m afraid Young Master Shen might renege then, and it wouldn’t look good,” Chen Fan said indifferently.
“I would renege?”
Veins bulged on Shen Tinghao’s forehead. “Given my status, would I renege? I don’t want to see some people hiding their heads and tails, deliberately changing identities to disgust others!”
He couldn’t help himself and mocked Chen Fan about the identity he was using.
The people behind him began to whisper among themselves. One of them couldn’t help but ask, “Young Master Shen, are you implying that someone is deliberately hiding their identity? What was his original identity?”
Shen Tinghao cast a cold glance at his companion, unwilling to answer.
Chen Fan smiled and, too lazy to continue the verbal sparring, proceeded to break the balls.
For this break shot, he no longer bothered with defense, and the cue ball directly scattered the rack.
The luck wasn’t great, and he didn’t pot any balls this time.
Zhiye, overjoyed, muttered, “With so many opportunities, I don’t even know how to play my shot, Mr. Chen. It seems you’re just all talk!”
With that, he bent down to take his shot.
This time, he concentrated all his attention, focusing intently and guarding against Chen Fan’s internal energy interference.
But as he struck the ball, he was suddenly startled.
The shot sounded like a bamboo tube cracking, and the cue ball’s direction deviated drastically, being an immeasurable distance from the target red ball.
As a master like him, such a basic mistake was impossible.
Yet, as his cue tip contacted the cue ball, he distinctly felt a tremendous force acting upon it, creating a force of deflection and recoil.
This was simply incredible!
He knew that Chen Fan’s subtle energy would cause him interference.
But subtle energy transmitted through the table could only disrupt the ball’s trajectory.
This time, it was as if some force enveloped the cue ball, making the stone billiard ball abnormally heavy and slippery.
He was somewhat dazed.
“A missed shot, deduct four points for the kid,”
Wu Chaoyang chuckled and reminded Fang Qiong.
Deducting points? Fang Qiong was stunned for a moment, then complied.
Chen Fan said, “This is just the beginning, Mr. Zhiye. I said you wouldn’t pot another ball, and you absolutely won’t.”
“You…”
Zhiye began to understand and asked, “How is this possible?”
“Do not use your superficial martial arts from Sakura Country to speculate about the methods of our Great Xia Nation,”
Chen Fan said calmly and potted a ball into the pocket.
“Hmph, Mr. Chen, stopping me from potting is one thing, and potting yourself is another,”
Zhiye said, placing his palm on the edge of the table, releasing internal energy.
However, the next instant, his expression turned horrified.
His internal energy was blocked at the edge of the billiard table, unable to transmit further.
How was this possible?
But that was the reality. Chen Fan calmly pocketed the black ball and said, “Mr. Zhiye, there’s no need to waste your effort. Your internal energy is nothing to me.”
“You… stored your internal energy in this billiard table?”
Realizing something, Zhiye asked with a look of dread.
“You finally understand?”
Chen Fan calmly played his shot, with ease and casualness, potting balls as smoothly as flowing water.
The sound of billiards falling into the net was crisp and pleasant.
Upon hearing Chen Fan’s answer, Zhiye found it hard to believe his ears.
Internal energy could be stored; this was unheard of.
If internal energy could be attached to an object held in hand, it could be understood, but the ability to store internal energy directly overturned his understanding.
Internal energy was formless and intangible, bursting forth like air.
Even martial arts grandmasters did not possess such a skill!
He now began to understand why Chen Fan had allowed him to play freely and pot balls repeatedly after the initial break.
At that time, Chen Fan had already begun to manipulate his internal energy, storing it in various parts of the billiard table. And the ironic thing was, he was completely unaware of it, yet felt smug.
“This… is impossible!”
He still refused to believe it.
Chen Fan, however, ignored him, steadily potting balls.
Shen Tinghao understood some Sakura Country language, and although he couldn’t fully comprehend it, he grasped some of the meaning.
Of course, from Zhiye’s changing facial expression, many clues could be discerned.
His own face also turned grim.
It was clear that Zhiye was no match for Chen Fan!
It seemed this bet was going to be lost?
His followers also fell silent.
Amidst the sounds of potting, Chen Fan made a light break.
A break of 147 points, the highest score!
“It’s two to one!”
Chen Fan smiled and said to Shen Tinghao, “Young Master Shen, it looks like you’re destined to lose this time. You really won’t renege, will you?”
“Why so much nonsense? You haven’t won yet,”
Shen Tinghao, knowing the situation was dire, forced himself to retort stubbornly.
“I will make you truly convinced.”
Chen Fan sneered and said, “Mr. Zhiye, don’t you agree?”
Zhiye’s face was ashen. “You are clearly not a martial arts grandmaster, how can you be so powerful?”
“Do summer insects speak of ice? A small country like Sakura Country dares to speculate about the heritage and methods of our vast nation?”
Chen Fan said lightly, “Mr. Zhiye, I suggest you return to Sakura Country and don’t show off your inferior skills before the capable individuals of our Great Xia Nation.”
As he spoke, Chen Fan gestured for Zhiye to break.
Zhiye, still unconvinced, struck the ball forcefully for the fourth game.