**Chapter 211: **
Seeing Chen Chen holding Kazusa's hand, Abe Seiya's temples throbbed violently, veins bulging on his forehead. He seemed to be forcibly suppressing his anger, taking a deep breath and stomping heavily behind Chen Chen, his eyes fixed on the man's back. "I'll show you what failure looks like! I'll humiliate you in front of Kazusa!"
As they reached the plaza, the sorcerers who had gathered to watch the spectacle automatically formed a large circle, leaving a wide, empty space in the center for the duel.
Chen Chen's body trembled slightly as he slowly stretched, a series of crisp bone-popping sounds echoing through his frame like firecrackers. After a long moment, he exhaled deeply, smiled faintly, and looked up at Abe Seiya.
After studying Abe Seiya for a moment, Chen Chen punched his fist into his palm, a look of sudden realization crossing his face. Under the puzzled gazes of the crowd, he walked to the edge of the plaza, snapped a slender piece of bamboo from the plant area, and returned with it.
"This should be enough to deal with you," Chen Chen said, tapping the ground lightly with his bamboo staff. His expression was sincere, as if he were genuinely sharing his true thoughts.
"Is Chen Chen saying he's going to defeat Abe Seiya with just a bamboo staff?"
"He's got some nerve, but does he have the skill to back it up?"
"If Chen Chen wins like this, will Young Master Abe ever be able to show his face in the sorcerer community again?"
"Chen Chen won't win, right?"
The surrounding sorcerers watched the two figures at the center with unblinking eyes, their comments flowing freely.
Abe Seiya felt like a fool. Chen Chen had toyed with him repeatedly. Glancing around, he saw the sorcerers pointing and laughing at him like he was some kind of circus attraction. In their eyes, Chen Chen was the animal tamer, and he was the monkey.
At that moment, Abe Seiya felt his fury today could surpass all the rage he had ever felt before.
Chen Chen held the bamboo stalk in his hand, casually swung it through the air, and then slowly walked forward. The bamboo dragged across the floor, producing a "shashasha" sound.
Anyone with keen eyes would have noticed that the ordinary bamboo stalk was leaving a white trail on Kamar-Taj's specially hardened floor. This alone was a terrifying feat, fully reflecting the user's astonishing strength. Unfortunately, the crowd was so swept up in the atmosphere that no one noticed this detail.
Staring intently at Chen Chen as he drew closer, Abe Seiya felt the profound and enigmatic aura emanating from him grow stronger.
The hand holding his white Cypress Fan tightened slightly, his eyes fixed on Chen Chen's steps. The moment the latter entered the ten-meter radius around him, a torrent of deep white spell energy surged from his body like viscous water.
He stomped his foot heavily, transforming into a white blur. Spell energy rapidly coalesced at the tip of his fan, and using the momentum of his charge and the fan's body, he became enveloped in the spell energy. The Cypress Fan seemed to turn into steel, its edge flashing with a cold glint like a sword.
The white spell energy fused completely with the Cypress Fan, which sliced through the air, leaving trails of silver-white marks in its wake. The "swish-swish" sound indicated its terrifying power.
When fully charged, the fan's force could shatter a boulder instantly. Yet, facing Abe Seiya's ferocious opening assault, Chen Chen remained composed and at ease. A faint, azure glow flickered beneath his feet as his figure flickered and vanished from the spot.
The sudden loss of his target caused Abe Seiya's expression to change. He couldn't even catch a glimpse of Chen Chen's figure at this speed. A flicker of panic crossed his mind; he had never encountered such speed in his life.
He couldn't comprehend how Chen Chen could enhance his speed to such a degree.
Thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning, and the Cypress Fan abruptly changed direction, swinging wildly behind him.
"Hah!"
Sparks flew with a crisp sound as the fan's thrust was caught.
*With two fingers?*
Under the astonished gazes of Abe Seiya and the surrounding sorcerers, Chen Chen's fingers firmly blocked the fan's strike. He pressed down, forcing the Cypress Fan into a deep curve, as if it were about to snap.
"To be honest, you're a bit foul-mouthed and your methods are somewhat crude, but your strength is barely passable by Sorcerer standards," Chen Chen said casually, tapping his finger on the Cypress Fan.
For Chen Chen, this was simply about toying with the so-called genius. If the battle ended too quickly, it would be boring.
Meanwhile, Abe Seiya felt the immense power surging through the Cypress Fan, his heart churning like a stormy sea. "My Cypress Fan is crafted from various magical alloys and divine beast materials—its attack power, defense, and energy conductivity are all top-tier. Yet he's suppressing it with a single finger? How is this possible?!"
Unconcerned by Abe Seiya's shock, Chen Chen swung his bamboo staff downward with a thunderous whoosh, aiming a devastating strike at the man. The normally light bamboo now danced with savage force in his hands, its movements far more agile and unpredictable than the Cypress Fan. Under the onslaught of his power, Abe Seiya was initially caught off guard, his composure faltering.
But Abe Seiya, hailed as a genius "already close to Abe no Seimei," gradually found his rhythm under Chen Chen's deliberately restrained assault. He steadied himself, unleashing a torrent of formidable spell energy that managed to block Chen Chen's devastatingly powerful attacks.
As he grew accustomed to the rhythm, Abe Seiya began to counterattack fiercely. The Cypress Fan danced like a venomous snake lurking beneath white sand—cunning, ruthless, and utterly decisive. Each strike, charged with energy, targeted vital points with precision.
In the plaza, two figures blurred and flashed, their battleground painted in streaks of blue and white spell energy. Every clash between bamboo and Cypress Fan sent visible ripples of force radiating outward.
These ripples spread, creeping across the plaza's stone floor like hairline cracks.