Chapter Fifty-Two: A Chance Encounter

Illusory Island.

“Finally found it!”

Nangong Yuchen gazed ahead at the bridge corridor stretching a kilometer across the river, a look of delight spreading across his face. After searching upstream for quite some time, he had finally located this bridge corridor; otherwise, crossing such a vast river would have been impossible.

He glanced up at the sky, now tinged with the hues of the setting sun, then quickened his pace toward the bridge.

The moment he stepped fully onto the bridge, he stared in astonishment at the seemingly endless stretch before him and exclaimed, “This is unbelievably long!”

Before arriving, he had thought it was merely a kilometer in length, but judging by his pace, it would take at least ten minutes to cross. On either side of the corridor, the walls resembled a palace hallway, adorned with lifelike carvings. Between each stone pillar were thick iron chains intertwined and gathered at the top, making the entire bridge appear as if suspended in midair.

“Fortunately, this is within Illusory Island, where everything is illusory; otherwise, the cost of building such a bridge in the outside world...” Nangong Yuchen’s handsome face bore a fleeting expression of awe. He shook his head and quickened his steps—there was no time to linger here.

The surrounding scenery blurred past rapidly. After an indeterminate time, a lush green expanse appeared ahead.

“Phew!” Nangong Yuchen wiped the sweat from his brow and paused to catch his breath. He had underestimated the bridge’s length; though he expected to cross in about ten minutes, he had been running nonstop for over half an hour before finally glimpsing the grasslands.

Two minutes later, he crossed the river and entered the grassland region.

At this moment, the sun hung low, slanting toward the western horizon, casting a warm, orange glow over the boundless, verdant fields, imbuing the scene with a dreamlike beauty.

A gentle breeze whispered by, carrying a refreshing scent. Nangong Yuchen lay prone on the grass, savoring this fleeting twilight.

He was utterly exhausted. Since selecting his mech and entering the forest region, he had been pushing himself relentlessly for hours, including enduring two battles along the way. Although his physical training was at the first tier, it was no match for such strain.

As he rested on the grass, suddenly a figure flashed out from beneath the bridge corridor. Moving swiftly, the attacker’s features were obscured, but two hands gripped a dagger aimed straight for Nangong Yuchen’s back.

“Who?”

Startled, Nangong Yuchen barely had time to react. He rolled to the right and simultaneously drew the purple longsword from his spatial ring. If not for his reflexes having advanced to the first tier here, he might have been caught off guard.

The attack missed. The figure halted, not pursuing further but watched Nangong Yuchen cautiously, entering a defensive stance.

Concentrating, entwining, shaping.

Nangong Yuchen gripped his Thunder Sword Veil and turned around. Upon seeing the attacker clearly, he gasped in surprise, “A woman?”

She had jet-black hair neatly tied over her left shoulder. Beneath slightly slanted bangs, her sharp oval face bore delicate features—thin cherry lips, expressive brows and eyes, quite refined. Yet her slender frame gave her a fragile appearance.

The more he looked, the more familiar she seemed. After a brief pause, Nangong Yuchen recalled and called out, “Gao Xinyu?”

Gao Xinyu remained silent but kept a vigilant gaze fixed on Nangong Yuchen. As a classmate, she knew well that he was an extremely rare triple cultivation prodigy. Were it not for seeing him resting on the grass moments ago, seemingly defenseless, she would never have acted rashly.

After her attack missed, she was uncertain how to pursue. Nangong Yuchen was the first student she had encountered here, and it was her first time wielding a weapon—a dagger.

Although their physical training classes involved combat regularly, this was her initial experience with mech weaponry, causing her to lose the initiative.

Seeing her silent, Nangong Yuchen stamped the ground and charged at Gao Xinyu.

He wouldn’t hold back just because she was a female classmate; after all, there were only three elite student slots—himself, Ke Xin, and Angel. Everyone else was an enemy to be eliminated, regardless of who struck first!

“Clang!”

Gao Xinyu raised her left dagger to block his swinging blade. Twisting her lithe body, she thrust the right dagger toward Nangong Yuchen’s chest.

Though somewhat inexperienced in her movements, her physical training favored speed, so her block-and-counter was still difficult for an ordinary person to evade.

Nangong Yuchen reacted faster, raising his left arm to intercept her descending wrist, then exerted force to shove her back. His right hand swung the longsword in a crescent arc, aiming at Gao Xinyu’s waist.

“Step!”

Suddenly, a pair of short boots shimmered with azure light at her feet. With their speed-enhancing power, she leapt up and landed behind Nangong Yuchen, stabbing fiercely at his back.

“Second pair of mech boots? So fast!”

With no time to think, Nangong Yuchen quickly positioned his purple longsword behind him, sinking its blade to block the attack. He spun around and slashed at Gao Xinyu’s head.

Now empowered by her boots, Gao Xinyu’s speed had surpassed Nangong Yuchen’s. Coupled with dual daggers, she moved like a blue assassin, constantly shifting angles to press her assault.

“Clang!”

Nangong Yuchen struggled to defend. Fatigued from his earlier run, his stamina waned. What he had expected to be an easy fight had turned challenging. With her boots boosting her speed so much, he found himself on the back foot.

Realizing this, Nangong Yuchen leapt back and drew his triangular shield. Concentrating, weaving, forming!

Shield in his left hand, longsword in his right, he began his counterattack.

“Bang!”

Gao Xinyu darted sideways like a nimble wildcat, stabbing furiously at Nangong Yuchen from the right flank.

With the shield, Nangong Yuchen felt fearless. His first-tier reflexes allowed him to sense even her swiftest moves. As the dagger approached, he pivoted sharply left, unleashing a force equivalent to 450 kilograms, pushing back with the shield.

“Bang!”

Caught off guard, Gao Xinyu’s dagger struck the shield. The tremendous impact was too much for her to bear, and she was knocked flying.

Nangong Yuchen followed closely, and before she could rise, he pressed the Thunder Sword Veil against her neck.

“You lost!”

“I lost?” Gao Xinyu froze for five seconds, then suddenly grew agitated. Her fair face flushed red with anger as she shouted, “I will never lose!”

With that, she clenched her longsword tightly, denying Nangong Yuchen any chance to strike. Her pale palm was cut, blood dripping down to stain the blade and the green grass. Yet she seemed oblivious to the pain, repeating, “How could I lose?”

“This girl?” Nangong Yuchen was momentarily stunned. He didn’t understand what was wrong with Gao Xinyu. The elite slots were important, but not enough to drive someone mad—yet this girl gave him precisely that impression.

At that moment, despite the pain in her palm, Gao Xinyu abruptly discarded her longsword and leapt into the nearby river.

“Running away?” Nangong Yuchen watched her disappear beneath the water’s surface and shook his head, not pursuing the strange girl. After all, she posed no real threat now. If she fled, she’d likely be eliminated soon enough.

Distorting, fracturing, dispersing. Folding away the Thunder Sword Veil and shield, Nangong Yuchen, utterly drained, lay down on the grass and closed his eyes to rest.