"Mages usually fear close combat, and Taoists are probably the same!" Su Fan muttered to himself. He seized the opportunity to quickly close the distance.
Qian Zhongjun, seeing Su Fan approach, immediately retreated, unwilling to engage in close-quarters combat. Su Fan chuckled; the arena was only so large, how far could the opponent run?
Soon, Qian Zhongjun was forced to the edge of the arena. Exceeding the boundary meant immediate defeat.
"Wind, Fire, Thunder, Lightning! Gale and Torrent, go!"
Qian Zhongjun retreated while casting, his hand seals already formed before Su Fan could catch up. Wind projectiles condensed around him, shooting towards Su Fan like a gale and torrent. The wind projectiles weren't powerful individually, but their density was overwhelming. Su Fan couldn't dodge them all. He could only try to retreat, but even so, he was hit by several, losing hundreds of health points.
Su Fan frowned. He was a fragile character; if he couldn't get close to a mage, it seemed he was at a disadvantage!
Seeing that his attacks were effective, Qian Zhongjun continued with the same skill.
"Wind, Fire, Thunder, Lightning! Fire Rain!"
A yellow talisman flew into the sky and burned above Su Fan's head. Flames rained down, enveloping him.
"Damn it!" Su Fan cursed inwardly and used his sprint to escape. The fire rain grazed his body, hitting him several more times. At this rate, Su Fan would eventually be worn down by Qian Zhongjun.
"Wind, Fire, Thunder, Lightning! Thunder Vine!"
Another yellow talisman ignited, and a lightning vine snaked towards Su Fan. Faced with a barrage of attacks, Su Fan could only keep running, with no opportunity to counter. This time, he dodged. His speed had increased significantly from continuous running, nearly doubling.
"Wind, Fire, Thunder, Lightning! Lightning Net!"
Qian Zhongjun used another talisman, and bolts of electricity formed a large net, cast over Su Fan. Su Fan quickened his pace, trying his best to avoid further injury. With his increased speed, he easily evaded it this time; the lightning net didn't even touch his clothes.
Qian Zhongjun's brow furrowed slightly as his attacks proved ineffective.
"Thunder Magic! Nine-Nine Thunder Punishment!"
Qian Zhongjun immediately unleashed his signature technique, Thunder Magic. A small thundercloud gathered above Su Fan, crackling with lightning. Su Fan was startled. Could the opponent summon a heavenly tribulation?
*Boom!*
A deafening thunderclap echoed, and an arm-thick bolt of lightning struck towards Su Fan. Su Fan moved quickly; the lightning missed, striking the stone floor and creating a small crater. Su Fan breathed a sigh of relief. This heavenly tribulation wasn't unavoidable; sufficient speed could allow him to dodge.
Bolt after bolt of lightning descended, eighteen in total. Su Fan's constant movement allowed him to evade them all, inflicting no damage.
"So fast!" Qian Zhongjun began to be surprised by Su Fan's speed, which had more than doubled since the start.
Su Fan, having reached his speed limit, immediately charged towards Qian Zhongjun. Qian Zhongjun frowned.
"Wind Fire Vortex!"
Qian Zhongjun threw a talisman and thrust his wooden sword forward, piercing it. A fiery tornado swept towards Su Fan. Su Fan dodged with a sidestep. By now, Su Fan's speed had reached a new level. Qian Zhongjun's casting times were becoming lengthy, allowing Su Fan to prepare and dodge with ease.
After evading the fiery tornado, Su Fan instantly closed the distance to Qian Zhongjun and thrust his sword. This time, Qian Zhongjun didn't retreat but met Su Fan's attack with his own sword.
*Clang!*
The two swords clashed. Su Fan felt a powerful force surge through his sword and was pushed back nearly ten steps. Qian Zhongjun, however, only retreated three steps. In a direct melee confrontation, Su Fan had lost to the Taoist Qian Zhongjun? Although he hadn't used any skills, his raw damage was already five to six thousand. Qian Zhongjun seemed completely unharmed? Was this guy a melee mage? Su Fan looked at Qian Zhongjun with surprise.
Qian Zhongjun's right hand trembled slightly, and behind his back, his left hand clutched a talisman. Su Fan was astonished, but Qian Zhongjun was even more surprised. He had used a Giant Spirit Talisman and it hadn't dealt any damage to Su Fan? If Thunder Magic was his most powerful offensive skill, then the Giant Spirit Talisman was his most powerful support skill, yet it had no effect on Su Fan. How could he not be astonished?
"Improvise!" Su Fan immediately increased his damage and charged forward again. Qian Zhongjun frowned, and with some distress, used another Giant Spirit Talisman. He only had three of them, and he had already used two.
"Wind, Fire, Thunder, Lightning! Gale Sword!"
Besides the Giant Spirit Talisman, he also used Wind Magic to boost his speed. Su Fan clashed with Qian Zhongjun again, and this time, the exchange was even. Qian Zhongjun was even more shocked. This Su Fan was so powerful. With the Giant Spirit Talisman and Gale Sword, he hadn't managed to budge Su Fan at all.
"Force Breaks All Armies!" Su Fan roared and used his skill for another strike. This time, Qian Zhongjun finally couldn't withstand it. Su Fan's sword strike was immensely powerful, numbing Qian Zhongjun's arm. His wooden sword even showed cracks. This wasn't an ordinary wooden sword; it was made of golden fir wood, harder than a thousand-times-tempered steel, yet it had been chipped by the opponent! He himself was forced to his knees by Su Fan's sword.
"Wait!" Qian Zhongjun hastily called out, fearing that Su Fan's next move would be to kill him. Su Fan's sword stopped at Qian Zhongjun's throat.
"I concede!" Qian Zhongjun admitted defeat without hesitation. The brutal rules of the martial arts tournament demanded swift action for survival. Otherwise, the next move might be fatal, and sometimes opponents were killed even after conceding. Qian Zhongjun could only hope that Su Fan wasn't a bloodthirsty individual.
Su Fan was certainly not bloodthirsty. He glanced at the spectators and motioned for Qian Zhongjun to leave the arena himself. A simple declaration of surrender wasn't enough to end the match; either one party was incapacitated, or one party stepped out of the arena. These were the only two ways to determine a winner. Qian Zhongjun immediately got up and walked out of the arena, lest Su Fan change his mind.
Su Fan sheathed his sword and sat down to rest. He still had another match to fight and needed to recover his full state. However, Su Fan didn't need much rest; as long as he was out of combat, he could quickly recover his full strength. The effects of the blood pool and mana pool were quite evident.
Soon, the other nine participants also finished their matches. Apart from Su Fan, none of them were unscathed. At least they had minor injuries, and some had even lost an arm.
"Su Fan, you've certainly surprised me." Xu Fengnian, watching from the stands, laughed as he saw Su Fan win the match without a scratch. As he had expected, this Su Fan was very strong.
"Would you gentlemen be interested in a wager? I'll be the bookie. Ten thousand taels, I bet on Su Fan to win." Xu Fengnian asked the young lords present with a smile.