Han Sen did not say anything more, but he found the idea of killing Huang Mian to be distasteful. It was just as Chen Ran thought, though; Han Sen did want to use words to bring about an end to the fight and conserve his energy. He didn't want to reveal his secret weapon to Chen Ran by using it on Huang Mian first, either.
Han Sen had come to learn a lot about Chen Ran; he was a smart, old fox. If Han Sen brought out his peacock crossbow to end the fight against Huang Mian now, he'd be running off before the corpse of his most ardent follower hit the ground.
The skills of the Chen family were no joke, and they were amongst the best the Alliance had. Han Sen did not believe he had what it took to keep the old fox where he was.
But the old fox had dared to come after him, and so, Han Sen would not let him escape so easily.
Han Sen realized Huang Mian had made his decision and was not willing to budge, regardless of the consequences. He had no choice but to continue fighting.
Han Sen was aware of the old man's true intentions, however. He knew Chen Ran wanted Huang Mian to drain him of all his energy by keeping his gene lock open. And so, when Chen Ran made his move, he'd lack the energy required to fight back.
But Han Sen wasn't concerned about this plan Chen Ran had concocted, because he had learned the Third Mantra "Long Live" and Jade-Sun Force. He could have his gene lock active for far longer than usual. Even if he was too tired to open his gene lock against Chen Ran, Han Sen would only have to summon his peacock crossbow, take aim, and pull the trigger to blast him to smithereens.
If he could not use words to send Huang Mian away, he would continue his current engagement and take the time to learn what he could from him, from his posture with the sword to the details of his sword skills.
Han Sen's sword skills were powerful, but he was not particularly great when it came to the acute wielding of the weaponry. Now that he had seen what a true master could do with a sword, he believed he had learnt a lot more.
Just by watching Huang Mian use a sword, he preferred to think of this entire ordeal as an educational experience.
Han Sen didn't allow his mind to be led astray by anything else. He remained focused on the observation of his opponent's movements and thought about what he could learn and adopt. Through this fight, he hoped he would be able to employ a thing or two of what he had seen.
As Han Sen continued to fight against Huang Mian, Chen Ran was firm in the belief that Han Sen did not have any more skills to use or tricks up his sleeve.
If he had, how could he not have beaten Huang Mian by now? If he continued going like this, even if he did manage to defeat Huang Mian, he would be too worn out to resist capture.
Chen Ran was not in a rush, so he continued to watch. He wanted to ensure Han Sen's capture and was willing to wait as long as it took.
One hour later, Huang Mian's power was beginning to wind down. With constant fighting, the time one could keep their gene lock open was considerably shorter. This was happening to Huang Mian, and he was struggling to maintain his composure.
Han Sen was not going to let this opportunity pass him by, so he exerted more and more power into his attacks in order to strike Huang Mian down.
Chen Ran noticed how Huang Mian was struggling to keep up, and he had seen enough. He knew all about the power of Han Sen's fighting abilities, so he did not hesitate to summon clouds to swirl around his body and bring out his Anser sword. Then, he leapt into the fray to fight alongside Huang Mian.
The skills of the Chen family were powerful. Compared to Chen Ran, Zhu Ting was just a rookie. Chen Ran was like some strange bird, swerving from left to right in an unpredictable manner.
Han Sen's two swords now had to block Huang Mian and Chen Ran's attacks simultaneously, which made him clumsy. Chen Ran's movements were too strange, and he didn't even have to touch the floor. He was flying, more often than not, and the entire spectacle didn't even seem human. He made many unexpected moves.
Dong!
The silver snake sword clashed against the Anser sword, and it was a strange sensation. Chen Ran's sword felt like a cloud, and Han Sen briefly thought his sword had hit a spring. After hitting it, his sword bounced back strongly, which forced him to take a few steps back.
"Han Sen, if you surrender now, I will spare your life. You are friends with Zhu Ting, after all." Chen Ran attacked as he tried to talk Han Sen into submitting and to extinguish his will to continue fighting.
"Old Chen, if you leave now, I will spare your life. You are related to Zhu Ting, after all." Han Sen was not mad, instead, he smiled as he spoke.
"You are a stubborn boy." Chen Ran's eyes went cold and he applied more strength to the fury of his Anser sword.
Han Sen was battling two opponents at once, and despite the disadvantage, neither of them was able to deal any damage to him. Han Sen's body was unbelievably light and graceful, and it was startling to see him remain calm under the attacks of two elites at once.
"You really know Heavenly Go, don't you? Did Queen teach you? How dare they break the oath that was sworn! It looks to me as if Huangfu Xiongcheng doesn't want to live," Chen Ran shouted.
"Even if Queen did teach me Heavenly Go, what does it have to do with you? This skill is a legacy of the Huangfu family. They can teach whomever they please; there is no need for them to adhere to your petty, mistaken whims," Han Sen sternly rebutted.
It seemed as if Heavenly Go had something to do with the Chen family; otherwise, why would Chen Ran care so dearly? For this, Han San wanted to push it. Han Sen had always wondered why the Queen was the only who had been able to learn it. No matter how difficult the skill was to learn, there were many students in the Ares Martial Hall. It would be impossible for them not to select another student to learn Heavenly Go.
"Huh, Huangfu family is teaching Heavenly Go? If it still belonged to the Chen family, none would be able to dodge our Seven Twist," Chen Ran said.
"Everyone knows Heavenly Go belongs to the Huangfu family. Since when did it become a skill of the Chen family? Come on! Don't bullsh*t me," Han Sen said, in an attempt to further aggravate Chen Ran.
An old fox like Chen Ran knew what Han Sen was trying to do, but he coldly said, "You don't have to try to push me. After I capture you, I am going ask Huangfu Xiongcheng himself. Then I can see what reason he has for not giving me back my Heavenly Go."
After that, the clouds blazed out of Chen Ran wildly. The attacks of the Anser sword came faster and faster. He wasn't aiming for Han Sen's weak spots, either; he was going for his limbs in an attempt to disable him.
Han Sen was able to deal with Huang Mian's attacks, but as for the old fox, he really was displaying the power of someone who had lived in the Second God's Sanctuary for over a hundred years. His fitness was so powerful and the progress of his gene lock was incredible.
Han Sen's hands became numb every time his swords went up against Chen Ran's. His chest rumbled, as if he was going to spill blood.
"What an asshole. He is so powerful and only conspires to hurt others," Han Sen swore in his heart.
But now that Han Sen thought about it, Chen Ran wasn't too dissimilar to who he himself was. This realization quelled his swearing.
"Old Chen, you can leave now. Cease your attacks immediately. If you don't, don't blame me for what happens next."
"Assuming you don't mind, I'd like to see what happens next." Chen Ran coldly laughed. He believed Han Sen had reached the end of his tether, and his gene lock was on the verge of exhausting him fully.
"I don't mind." Han Sen took a step back and summoned his peacock crossbow. He pulled a raven feather out of his quiver and loaded it, as quick as he could.