<h4>Chapter 1197: Chapter 1204: Ling Ren’s Decision (2)</h4>


    Ren Han didn’t give Ling Chen much of a chance to catch his breath. He lifted his steel de and swiftly closed the distance, shing toward Ling Chen’s shoulder.


    The Nine Yang Qiankun Step lost its effectiveness, and Ling Chen had no other choice but to forcefully withstand Ren Han’s attack. ng! With a crisp sound, the edges of their steel des collided, sparking bursts of fire. Ling Chen focused his gaze and his expression changed.


    As expected,pared to Ren Han’s weapon, his own steel de waspletely inferior. After just one strike, the edge of his steel de was already chipped. Without time to think further, Ren Han leaped into the air, his steel de slicing through the air. The Lianyang Saber Technique unfolded instantly, like a relentless river, strike after strike, each one deadly. Furthermore, when Ling Chen’s steel de touched the opponent’s, it seemed as if a strong suction force emanated from the opponent’s de.


    It was as if Ling Chen’s steel de was stuck, the rhythm entirely controlled by Ren Han.


    Damn!


    Facing this situation, Ling Chen couldn’t help but curse under his breath. He had seen many formidable saber techniques, but never one as strange as this. He understood clearly that once he fell into the opponent’s rhythm, defeat was only a matter of time.


    After enduring over a dozen moves, Ling Chen’s footsteps continuously retreated. With no choice, as the opponent’s offense was too fierce and coupled with Ren Han’s upper hand in weaponry, Ling Chen could only adopt a passive defense. Yet, even so, he felt extremely strained.


    Looking at his chipped steel de, Ling Chen gritted his teeth and abruptly moved back, widening the distance between them. Before Ren Han could close in again, Ling Chen shook his wrist and thrust his steel de toward the ground. In an instant, the de shattered into more than ten sharp steel fragments.


    Seeing Ling Chen’s action, Ren Han was slightly taken aback, not understanding what Ling Chen intended to do.


    Taking advantage of the moment, Ling Chen quickly bent down, scooping all the sharp steel fragments from the ground into his hands, gripping them tightly.


    Huh? At this moment, the sharp-eyed Ling Chen suddenly noticed a red light shing on the floor. Taking a closer look, it appeared to be a microchip. After a brief moment of shock, Ling Chen quickly realized. It must have fallen out of the handle when he shattered his steel de.


    To think a microchip was hidden inside a sword, this was something he had never encountered before. As his mind raced, Ling Chen’s gaze turned towards Ren Han, a hint of suspicion in his eyes. This sword was prepared in advance by Ren Han; he must have known about the microchip.


    Could it be... Ling Chen’s eyes darted back and forth as he instantly understood the function of the microchip.


    Earlier, when he executed the Nine Yang Qiankun Step, Ren Han had seen through his movement technique twice. He initially thought Ren Han had mastered a way to counter his technique, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case. It was likely the microchip at work.


    The microchip could provide precise positioning, and by relying on the signal from the microchip, Ren Han could urately determine his location,unching attacks in advance. ording to Ling Chen’s earlier n, he intended to shatter the de into many pieces to use as hidden weapons, never expecting this unexpected discovery of a microchip.


    Hmph! You call this a fair duel? Damn!


    Ling Chen spat disdainfully, ring coldly at Ren Han, "Chairman Ren, I thought you were a gentleman. I didn’t expect you to be so deceitful, using such despicable means."


    Exposed by Ling Chen, Ren Han felt no shame and instead said, "Victory belongs to those who are prepared. Using tactics is not shameful; as long as I win, anything goes."


    "Is that so? Chairman Ren, you’re truly shameless. I can’t imagine how someone like you became the Chairman of the Martial Arts Association."


    "Enough talk. Today, you’re not leaving this room." With those words, Ren Han raised his steel de high and approached quickly, ready tounch another attack.


    Whoosh!


    A whistling sound pierced the air, and Ren Han quickly stopped, brandishing his de to block. With a crisp ’ng,’ a steel fragment was deflected away.


    Seeing the fragment miss its target, Ling Chen immediately shifted sideways. At the same time, he executed the Nine Yang Qiankun Step once more, transforming into a series of afterimages, rapidly moving around Ren Han. Without the microchip’s assistance, Ren Han was left to rely solely on his skills.


    Watching Ling Chen’s rapid movements around him, Ren Han kept turning his head, trying to lock on to Ling Chen’s position. However, Ling Chen was too fast for his eyes to catch. Seeing this, Ren Han suddenly swung his de forward, executing a sweeping move that forced Ling Chen back several meters.


    Taking this opportunity, Ren Han suddenly elerated, rushing towards the back of the gym.


    Trying to escape?


    Without a word, Ling Chen slid forward, immediately following behind Ren Han. However, after pursuing only a short distance, Ling Chen abruptly stopped.


    By this time, Ren Han had reached a position against the wall, with the wall providing defense. He only needed to defend from the front without worrying about attacks from behind. Yet, seeing Ling Chen stand motionless in the center of the room, Ren Han was momentarily puzzled. He thought Ling Chen would pursue him, yet he showed no intention of doing so.


    Sensing Ren Han’s bewildered gaze, Ling Chen spoke in a detached tone, "Chairman Ren, do you take me for a fool? Duped once, would I fall for it again? Are you luring me over there to use underhanded tactics against me?"


    Ren Han said nothing, but from his gloomy eyes, it was clear that Ling Chen had seen through his intentions. Indeed, he had prepared a ’surprise’ gift for Ling Chen around himself. If Ling Chen followed, it would certainly neutralize him, making him his prisoner.


    But Ling Chen wasn’t falling for it, rendering his carefullyid ns ineffective.


    Whoosh!


    The sound of something piercing the air arose, and a steel fragment shot from Ling Chen’s hand toward Ren Han.


    Ren Han immediately raised his steel de across his front, deflecting the fragment away. After being blocked by Ren Han, Ling Chen continued the same method of attack, steel fragments constantly flying towards Ren Han. At this moment, in Ling Chen’s eyes, Ren Han was like a stationary target.


    Ren Han dared not leave his position against the wall and could only cower there unless he had confidence in dealing with Ling Chen’s Nine Yang Qiankun Step. Otherwise, as long as Ling Chen didn’t enter his trap, Ren Han could only take a beating passively.


    Soon, Ling Chen used up all the steel fragments in his hand. Looking at the equipment around, Ling Chen’s eyes lit up, and he quickly walked toward a set of dumbbells. These dumbbells wereposed of very heavy tes, each weighing ten kilograms, the lightest being five kilograms. For Ling Chen, they were undoubtedly the best weapons.