Chapter 23 Showing One's Edge With Junior Sister absent, it seems even victory holds little meaning...
On Wanjian Peak, the air was filled with the sounds of voices. Hearing that there would be a competition on the long-silent peak, and knowing that the challenger was a nominal disciple of the Nine Branches True Monarch, many outer disciples called their friends and gathered at the foot of the arena.
Aside from a few martial arts fanatics and inexperienced disciples, many present knew of Lin Fenghua's misdeeds, and some young men who had benefited from him came to support him. Several equally low-ranking inner disciples were tidying his clothes and cheering him on, occasionally scolding those waiting to see a good show, much like drooling domestic dogs.
The area below was full, so a few people stopped on their swords on the steep mountainside, unwilling to miss this good show. Private duels between students were not uncommon, but it was rare for them to escalate to a duel on the arena.
The sunlight was exceptionally bright today, piercing through the white mist and falling on the field. The people talking about Lin Fenghua gradually quieted down, while the other person who had issued the challenge was still nowhere to be seen, seemingly a new disciple who had only recently joined the sect.
Suddenly, someone flew in from the sky on a sword, breaking through the clouds and bringing a gust of wind straight into the arena.
"She's here!"
"Is that the one who issued the challenge? Wait a minute, behind her..."
"Early Foundation Establishment stage... This Lin Fenghua is truly shameless, constantly harassing his disciple who is weaker than him!"
Several teenagers huddled together and whispered among themselves. Qiao Yanshen heard them. She smiled and shook her head, saying to the people behind her, "When I go a little lower, you jump down."
Shen Lixia held her waist tightly as before and replied in a muffled voice, "Okay."
It was so high that she felt a chill run down her spine when she looked down.
Although the summit was extremely cold, going up from the bottom felt like crossing seasons and stepping into late autumn.
The sword stopped at the edge. Shen Lixia let go of her hand, jumped to the ground, and looked up, just in time to meet the eyes of a young man who was staring intently at her.
"Hi." She smiled and waved her hand twice, but her voice was cold, causing the boy to turn his head away and look away.
Lin Yuxian touched the tip of her nose and then noticed that Shen Lixia's eyes were a different color. They were sharp like gold, and the pupils had a cold, serpentine quality that was both lingering and sinister. They looked the same color as the sun, but were extremely cold and indifferent.
On the field, the two were already in position, each holding a sword facing each other. Qiao Yanshen had nothing to say to him, and immediately channeled his spiritual power, his eyes shimmering with a watery blue light that mingled with the sunlight to create a clear and bright luster.
The thought that he could be beaten into the ground and never be pulled out, his teeth embedded three feet deep, seemed to slightly improve my previously terrible mood.
"Wait!" Lin Fenghua called out.
Qiao Yanshen paused, his hand, which was about to be raised, stopped. "What is it?"
"As your senior brother, and with cultivation surpassing Junior Sister Qiao's, I'll let you have one move first." Lin Fenghua bowed with apparent elegance, his moon-white robe fluttering in the wind, exuding the air of a refined gentleman.
As soon as he finished speaking, he felt a chill run through his body. He subconsciously traced the source and saw that spiritual energy was wrapped around Qiao Yanshen's longsword, and the radiance gathered and contracted into a beam.
She twirled her sword, then spun her arm until the blade was completely covered in a dazzling aquamarine blue, before suddenly slashing at Lin Fenghua. In an instant, the sword's edge moved like lightning, and before anyone could catch a glimpse of its afterimage, they heard the sound of air being pierced as it hurtled towards Lin Fenghua. Startled, the man, though he had already raised his sword, still took several steps back, completely forgetting his earlier boast of letting the other party have a chance. He had been on high alert ever since Qiao Yanshen swung his sword.
Runes lit up on the longsword in the man's hand, gradually spreading from the tip to his hand, until his entire body was enveloped in a faint white light. Qiao Yanshen clashed with him, sword to sword, producing a clanging sound. The powerful attack from before had been blocked by this longsword, but its owner appeared uneasy; his face was deathly pale, cold sweat poured down his back, and he nearly dropped the sword.
Before Lin Fenghua could even catch his breath, Qiao Yanshen withdrew her sword and retreated, another surge of spiritual energy swirling around it. She leaned forward, focusing her power on her hand, her movements swift and agile, thrusting rapidly towards Lin Fenghua's weak points. He struggled to defend, but still failed to succeed. The sword pierced his long robe, nearly drawing blood from his shoulder, when it was suddenly stopped by a white light, unable to advance any further.
Qiao Yanshen did not give up. A powerful sword aura, like a waterfall, emanated from the tip of her flying sword, pressing down on Lin Fenghua with immense fear, making her dare not relax even slightly. The white light on his body weakened, and the runes on his longsword, which resembled a magical artifact, gradually dimmed, as if it were about to lose their effectiveness.
In this situation, the man was in an even more disheveled state. He rolled and crawled on the ground every time he tried to dodge, showing no trace of his previous elegant demeanor. He was forced to the point of having no power to fight back by Qiao Yanshen's continuous sword moves.
His face was covered in mud and sweat, and his long robe was dusty. In contrast, Qiao Yanshen's clothes were still clean, his robes fluttering in the air, and his long hair was slightly flying but not messy, forming a stark contrast with the man.
Someone nearby exclaimed in amazement, "She used only basic sword techniques, yet she created many subtle differences."
"With such comprehension, is she truly just an outer disciple? Did we really learn the same lesson from her?"
The two people on the cliff nodded slightly at the scene on the platform. The woman with white hair and white clothes spoke up, "Her spiritual power is profound. Although her techniques are lacking, her sword energy is sharp. If she has only been practicing for a few days, then she must be a diligent person."
The woman in black beside her remained silent, listening intently while her gaze followed Qiao Yanshen's figure, never once glancing at the student registered under her name.
The two swords clashed once again. Qiao Yan frowned, searching for an opening. Blue light shone from his hair and clothes, and his whole demeanor was unusually cold.
The opponent had been at the Foundation Establishment stage for a long time, and although his body was built up with elixirs, the protective spiritual energy was still difficult to break through. His magical artifact seemed to be a gift from an elder in his family, and it was extremely sturdy. Moreover, while his sword skills were lacking, his legs and feet were agile, darting around like an eel, making him somewhat troublesome.
Clearly, basic sword techniques are insufficient to handle the situation.
Taking this opportunity, Lin Fenghua saw the sword in Qiao Yanshen's hand clearly and was certain that it was not a spiritual weapon, but an ordinary iron sword from the mortal world. He suddenly had an idea. Before Qiao Yanshen could deflect his sword, he bent his knees slightly, rotated his wrists to press the blade against the iron sword, and pressed down with all his might.
Sensing the opponent's intentions, Qiao Yanshen saw that cracks had appeared on the surface of the longsword in his hand. It was no match for the opponent's sturdy magic weapon, so he quickly channeled his spiritual power and advanced instead of retreating. Beams of light wrapped around the sword, and the originally gentle water spiritual power became bright as if burning with flames. He slashed towards Lin Fenghua's side with an irresistible force.
A soft cracking sound rang out, and then the iron sword finally succumbed to the attack, emitting a sharp cracking sound.
The sword surged with spiritual energy, which it used to strike its opponent. Lin Fenghua was swept by the sword energy and was hit squarely, instantly flying several steps away.
His spiritual energy was not yet depleted, and his wounds slowly healed. He actually stood up again, staggered a few steps, and tried to take advantage of the moment when Qiao Yanshen's sword broke.
The woman looked at the broken sword in her hand; half of it was shattered and unusable. However, she showed no panic. Instead, she held the broken sword horizontally in front of her, watching Lin Fenghua's charging figure, her surging spiritual power showing no sign of retracting.
Someone noticed something was wrong and exclaimed in surprise:
"Her sword didn't break!"
Lin Fenghua had already swung his sword with all his might, slashing forward with murderous intent. The elegant longsword in his hands was like a fire poker, driven entirely by brute force. Qiao Yanshen gripped the hilt of his sword and stepped forward to meet him.
The man's sword was clearly aimed at thin air, but it seemed to have struck something. A gust of wind erupted from the point of impact, sending surrounding pebbles flying several inches away, landing on passersby below. Lin Fenghua looked on in astonishment. In the instant before Qiao Yanshen's sword sent him flying, he finally saw that the man's broken sword had been connected to a silver-blue stream of energy, constantly swirling and flowing, shimmering in the sunlight.
Then, like a kite with a broken string, he arced through the air before landing headfirst with a thud, and was pushed twice by the remaining force before finally lying flat on the ground.
A young boy nearby mustered up the courage to find a branch, poked him, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that he was still breathing.
The white-robed cultivator on the stage remained calm. Throughout the entire process, sweat had soaked through his fingertips, especially when the sword broke. Qiao Yanshen lifted the broken sword, examined it, and after confirming that it was no longer usable, casually tossed it onto the stage. The brilliant blue light emanating from his body gradually faded, and a moment later, he suppressed his previous sharp aura.
The outcome is already decided.
Many students believed that her sword was formed from spiritual power and began to discuss and speculate about her spiritual root attribute.
Watching the battle from the edge of the cliff, Chi Yueying crossed her arms and looked at Lin Fenghua, who had just fallen flat on his face and was trying to climb back onto the stage. She said calmly, "That's sword intent."
Yan Xueya nodded, pursed her lips slightly, and a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.
“You look somewhat similar to me.” Chi Yueying glanced at her, knowing what she was thinking, and shrugged. “You can send the message yourself later. I’m going to clean up this mess.”
With that, she flew up onto the field on her sword, leaving Yan Xueya alone above the flowing clouds, gently stroking his chin in thought.
The first thing Qiao Yanshen did after tidying up was not to speak, but to look at the crowd below the stage.
Over here...
No, it's not there.
As their gazes swept across the crowd, some looked dejected, some were amazed, and others cheered.
But she wasn't there.
The joy that had filled his heart with victory quickly cooled down. After carefully looking through the last corner and still not finding anyone familiar, Qiao Yanshen suddenly felt a silence around him, and the cheers in his ears abruptly faded away.
Everything came rushing in like a tide, but she found herself on a deserted island, isolated from it all.
Everything around me has become utterly dull and uninteresting.
"I... haven't used my full strength yet!"
Supported by the young man, Lin Fenghua returned to the stage, spitting out the blood-tinged mud and sand from his mouth. He shakily took something out of his storage pouch. Qiao Yanshen slightly raised his eyes and saw that what he held in his hand were talismans, cinnabar, and some miscellaneous materials.
They're planning to draw talismans and set up an array.
Ignoring the jeers and curses from below, the other person continued to draw with flying ink and brush, gritting his teeth as he worked. Qiao Yanshen, not seeing Shen Lixia in the audience, was rather uninterested and waited to see what he could produce.
A few breaths passed, and there was no movement.
After a while, Qiao Yanshen grew somewhat puzzled and looked at the other person with his arms crossed.
"Look... what are you looking at? It'll be finished in a minute." Lin Fenghua was sweating profusely, his hands were unsteady, and he accidentally drew a line on his own clothes.
He suddenly felt the pen in his hand become light, as if someone had used spiritual power to pull it out. He was about to look up and curse when he was so intimidated by a powerful aura that he held his breath and dared not move.
Chi Yueying stood at the edge of the arena, giving him a cold glance. The pen, controlled by spiritual power, floated in the air, with cinnabar dripping from it like blood.
"Stop embarrassing yourself and go back."
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