Chapter 24: Victory (Two-in-One) This time, Mu Fuyun wins! ...
Mu Fuyun's face was a little pale, and coupled with her slender body, she looked particularly frail when standing on the trial platform, as if a gust of wind could knock her down.
But for some reason, hundreds of pairs of eyes were looking at her with different expressions. Even the disciples who were competing on the fields nearby couldn't help but stop and look at the situation here.
Perhaps it was because her eyes were too calm, her red sash was too dazzling, or her expression was too peaceful, making her look imposing and not to be underestimated.
For a moment, no one in the entire trial field made a sound.
"Breakthrough?" Someone muttered, "From the early stage of Qi Refining to the middle stage?"
Soon, bursts of laughter were heard all around.
They almost forgot that more than three months ago, when Mu Fuyun first came to the sect, he was only in the early stage of Qi Refining.
With such a low realm, even if he broke through to the middle stage of Qi Refining, he would not be able to hold his head up among the eighty disciples who passed the written examination in the outer sect class.
"Not necessarily. She didn't even mention what realm she was in just now."
A student from Class A hesitated.
Xu Lian, who had just stepped down from the stage, glared at the disciple. "Why not? Have you ever seen someone break through two levels in just over three months?"
The disciple was silent, speechless.
Unlike the cultivators who began their practice after entering the sect many years ago, it is now increasingly difficult to enter the outer sect of Tianyan. Usually, the disciples who can pass the entrance examination have a certain foundation of practice at home.
They either came from a family of immortal cultivators, or had learned some basic skills from small sects or independent cultivators. By the time they truly entered Tianyan, they had almost all already refined their Qi.
Even so, in the past four years, in the entire Tianzi class, only Zhan Yao successfully established his foundation not long ago, and the rest are almost all still in the late stage of Qi Refining.
When everyone heard this, they slowly came to their senses. If she really only took less than four months to advance two levels, then wouldn’t their more than three years of study have been in vain?
Finally feeling a little relieved, Xu Huaiyan quietly moved to Song Xinghe's side, who had just landed, and asked softly, "Excuse me, Junior Brother Song, what exactly happened earlier? Is Junior Sister Mu okay?"
Song Xinghe frowned and glanced at him. He recalled Mu Fuyun's innocent and puzzled expression just now, and he was still so angry that his chest felt stuffy.
He searched for her at Fu Ri Peak for two full hours. He was angry and suspicious at first, but later he gradually became panicked. He was just worried that something might have happened to her. He almost went to Gui Zang Hall to ask the master for help.
Unexpectedly, when I turned around, I saw her walking slowly on the mountain path, and she didn't seem to be in a hurry at all.
It turned out that she fell asleep after breaking through, and had no idea how long she had slept. She thought the points race had not started yet.
He was so angry that he wanted to draw his sword right then and there.
Now, let's see how she will deal with all this.
Normally, with her foundation, no matter how hard she tried in the past few months, she would not be able to win.
Out of revenge, or some other mentality, he naturally hoped that Mu Fuyun would suffer a crushing defeat here.
In this way, she would turn back into the timid, weak and incompetent Mu Fuyun that he had imagined.
But subconsciously, he didn't want to see her fail miserably in front of so many people. He couldn't explain why, but he could only tell himself that he simply didn't want to see his senior sister brought shame upon by her presence.
He didn't know how well she had learned swordsmanship, but... she had already advanced, so it should be okay.
Just as he was about to respond to Xu Huaiyan, he heard some commotion in the trial field.
Chen Daohe came back to his senses from his initial daze, holding his sword and glaring at Mu Fuyun: "You, you're late, you've already lost!"
Mu Fuyun frowned and turned to look at the instructor in charge of this area: "Really?"
The instructor frowned, cautiously not agreeing directly with Chen Daohe's words. He simply said, "Indeed, you're late. I called you three times just now, but you didn't show up."
"I remember that the martial arts test rules clearly state that if a disciple hasn't arrived after three calls, the instructor will make a decision. The result will be finalized only after the record is completed." Mu Fuyun naturally couldn't just admit defeat. "When I arrived just now, the three calls had already passed, but the instructor hadn't made the final decision yet. According to the rules, the result should still be inconclusive."
The brother who was taking notes quickly lowered his head to look at the book in his hand. Sure enough, the drop of cinnabar only touched the "Mu" in Mu Fuyun's name, and had not yet drawn the shocking cross.
"You are being unreasonable and making unfounded arguments!" Chen Daohe didn't expect that someone would be so picky about words.
It was the first time that the instructor encountered such a disciple. Although he was a little angry, he felt that what she said made some sense. He didn't know how to decide for a moment, so he had to look up at Instructor Wu.
Instructor Wu has been in charge of the outer sect for so many years, and this is the first time he has encountered such a situation.
Since this assessment was mainly for each peak to recruit disciples, he could not make a decision on his own, so he looked up at the elders and disciples of the peaks who were still watching the battle.
"In your opinion, elders, should we give this disciple a chance to continue the competition?"
As soon as the words fell, everyone looked over, waiting for the elders to speak.
"She's the younger sister of that girl from Fu Ri Peak, right? She can't even keep time. No wonder the two sisters' situations are so different." Elder Qin of Tai Qing Peak stroked his beard and said coldly, "Why should a disciple like her stay on the trial platform and waste time?"
After he finished speaking, several people nodded in agreement.
Instructor Wu knew what was going on and was planning to announce on the spot that Mu Fuyun was eliminated.
Xu Huaiyan immediately turned to Song Xinghe, hoping that he could speak for Mu Fuyun as a direct disciple of Fu Ri Peak.
Before he could say anything, Jiang Hanqiu said, "But she just said clearly that she was delayed because of her realm breakthrough. You and I are both cultivators, and we both know that things like realm breakthroughs are beyond human control. Now that she's here, why not give her a chance?"
Elder Qin said, "What's the point of giving her a chance? The Sect Master has long said she's not cut out for this. If it weren't for Chu Ye, that child, being nostalgic, and making an exception to request that she be allowed into the outer sect, how could she be standing here today? I think that even if she wins today, no peak would want to accept her as a disciple."
As soon as he finished speaking, the elders from other peaks fell silent, as if expressing their agreement with practical actions.
Jiang Hanqiu disagreed: "Since it won't change the final result, why not let her try?"
As she spoke, she no longer tried to get others' consent and directly said to the crowd, "Just follow the rules."
The instructor on the trial platform immediately understood what she meant and led everyone to step aside and make room.
Chen Daohe said dissatisfiedly: "But she was obviously late and didn't take this competition seriously."
Seeing that he was still reluctant, a student from Class C couldn't help but joked, "Chen Daohe, you're not afraid to compete, are you?"
Chen Daohe immediately jumped up and said angrily, "What nonsense! Am I afraid of her?"
He just felt that he was unlucky. Why were the previous people who specifically challenged Mu Fuyun able to win without fighting, but when it came to him, he had to fight with real swords and guns.
I clearly wanted to take this opportunity to rest.
He walked to the side of the competition arena with his sword in hand and raised his head impatiently at Mu Fuyun: "Come on, let's finish this quickly. I still need to rest for a while."
Mu Fuyun smiled slightly, without any emotional fluctuations due to his contemptuous attitude.
"Brother Chen, I'm sorry."
She raised her head and stretched her muscles, then stepped aside and waited for the competition to begin.
The instructor picked up the drumstick with a stern face and hit it hard.
The drum sounded, but Mu Fuyun hadn't moved yet. Chen Daohe decided to make a quick decision, so he jumped up first and used a Lingyun Zhanfeng move. He took a big step over the starting line and chopped Mu Fuyun in the face from a high place.
Mu Fuyun subconsciously turned sideways, tapping the ground with his toes deftly, avoiding his attack with the force of a spring breeze and rain, then wielded his sword and attacked him from the side.
Chen Daohe bent down and took advantage of the situation, and as her sword was slashing from above, he turned his wrist and slashed towards her ankle.
Mu Fuyun was not frightened by the close attack. He just tapped his toes and moved back a few inches to avoid the sword energy. He used the move of "piercing through flowers and reflecting shadows" to counterattack gently and softly.
After practicing with the ice sword many times, she was used to dealing with other people's attacks and conserving her strength, instead of outputting spiritual power in a big way right away, so as to prevent the spiritual energy from dissipating too quickly and not being able to sustain it for long.
In the eyes of most people, it seemed as if she knew that she was not strong enough and was afraid that she could not defeat Chen Daohe, so she had to take a defensive approach and try her best to slow down Chen Daohe's steps and consume his spiritual power.
"This is not a smart move. Unless your swordsmanship is extraordinary, the difference in realm cannot be eliminated by delaying for a while." Elder Qin watched coldly and said this deliberately for Jiang Hanqiu to hear.
Jiang Hanqiu glanced at him and didn't respond.
Only Chen Daohe, who was in the competition arena, felt something was wrong.
On the surface, it seemed that Mu Fuyun was passively accepting the attack. Due to lack of strength, he was unable to take action and could only adopt a strategy of defense rather than attack. However, every time the two swords faced each other and passed through the air, he could feel the spiritual power surging underneath.
That kind of stable flow and output, as if it was there and not there, was more powerful than that of a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator like him who had studied sword for many years.
What others thought was her lack of strength to deal with the attack was not an escape. On the contrary, he felt that her moves were like a slippery fish that was impossible to catch.
If this continues, there is no telling when the war will end.
His eyes darkened and he decided not to drag it out like this any longer.
The next few moves he used with the Wind-Ban Liuyun Sword were obviously more powerful than before, and even the marks left on the stone surface were several times deeper than before.
"It seems that Chen Daohe is getting a little impatient."
"I don't know how long Mu Fuyun can hold on. I'm sure the outcome will be decided soon."
The disciples who were watching the game discussed in groups of three or four, and Xu Huaiyan became more and more uneasy.
He stood beside Song Xinghe, staring at the situation on the trial platform without blinking, his heart pounding nervously, and clasped his hands together, making a gesture as if praying to God.
He had an inexplicable trust in Mu Fuyun and felt that she would be able to defeat Chen Daohe. But when he thought about it carefully, apart from the duel with Zhan Yao, he had never really witnessed Mu Fuyun's strength, and he became more and more worried.
"Junior Sister Mu, you must win."
Song Xinghe looked at him coldly, as if he wanted to go into battle himself and cheer for Mu Fuyun, feeling a wave of disdain in his heart.
If you don’t know, you might wonder who is on the stage.
He really wanted to speak up and remind Xu Huaiyan to be careful with his words, but the situation was urgent, so he held back and just turned his gaze to the stage.
Chen Daohe's fist seemed to hit a ball of cotton.
Mu Fuyun remained calm and responded calmly, not showing any panic at all because he increased the lethality of his attacks.
After seeing the attack power of the ice sword, Chen Daohe's tricks were really ineffective.
"It seems that all this training has not been in vain." Song Xinghe muttered with a very awkward smile on his face.
The elders above also keenly noticed something.
"Her realm..." Elder Qin's originally disdainful expression gradually turned into doubt.
Most of the elders were at the Spirit Transformation and Void Refining realms or above. For them, the Qi Refining stage was just a step into the gate of immortality and was not worthy of too much attention. Therefore, from the time they watched the battle until now, except for Zhan Yao and a few others, they had not deliberately felt the realm of others.
From what I just heard from the disciples, Mu Fuyun should only be at the middle stage of Qi Refining.
But judging from the current situation, it seems that there is more to it than that.
A one-level difference is nothing, but if it really happened in just three months...
There was also a hint of interest in Jiang Hanqiu's eyes.
"This girl, is she still deliberately conserving her strength?"
Mu Fuyun was in the competition arena and didn't know their speculations, otherwise, he would really have to protest for himself.
How could she be conserving her strength? She was simply used to this method, to prevent a sudden loss of spiritual power. Furthermore, she was utterly starving, her chest clenched with hunger, and she was afraid she would faint before she could even launch her next move, so she had to restrain herself.
But the more this happened, the more Chen Daohe felt annoyed and angry that she was teasing him.
In his impatience, he felt confused and decided to just go for it. He poured all his spiritual power into the move, concentrating it into a full-strength attack, and chopped directly at Mu Fuyun's face, intending to defeat her with this move.
Everyone couldn't help but hold their breath.
Some people who were not optimistic about Mu Fuyun had even started shaking their heads. They were sure she couldn't handle this move.
However, Mu Fuyun, who was not favored, just frowned slightly, seemed a little unhappy, and then injected a large amount of spiritual power into the sword and faced it head-on.
"She, she's going to burn her boats?"
"The suppression of realm is not so easy to overcome—"
The other person suddenly stopped talking before he could finish his words.
Suddenly, the two swords collided in mid-air, and the two swords condensed with spiritual power confronted each other head-on above the sword platform.
There was a clang sound, and the sword made a crisp collision sound, followed by a continuous buzzing sound.
The two figures met in the air, then quickly separated and landed on opposite sides of the competition venue.
It happened to be behind the red line before the competition started, but the two people's positions were swapped.
Mu Fuyun looked down at the tiny crack on the sword blade and immediately remembered what Xu Huaiyan said on the first day he received the sword in the sect.
"The sword issued by the sect is indeed no good." She muttered to herself.
On the other side, Chen Daohe stared stiffly at his empty palms, his face twisted with shock and disbelief.
The good sword he had bought from outside, which should have been in his hand, had already flown out and landed on the grass under the trial platform.
The sword blade was stuck straight into the black soil, and the shiny sword body trembled in the golden sunlight, flashing a sharp luster.
It is intact.
"It turns out that you still have to use a good sword." Mu Fuyun's face turned pale. He looked up at the sword and gave the final conclusion.
For a moment, there was complete silence on and off the trial stage.
Everyone looked at the situation in front of them in astonishment, and still seemed to have not reacted to what had just happened.
Even the instructor in charge of the ruling remained silent.
The first person to react was Zhan Yao.
Just now, unknowingly, she and her opponent stopped fighting, stood on the competition stage, and watched the competition with everyone else.
At this moment, the outcome was clear. Zhan Yao retracted his gaze, drew his sword expressionlessly, and before the opponent could react, he rushed forward and put the blade on the opponent's neck.
"You lose."
After saying this, without waiting for the other party to react, he neatly sheathed the sword.
The instructor was stunned for a moment, then shouted, "Zhan Yao wins!"
The senior sister next to him quickly took notes with a cinnabar pen. The rankings and points on the stone tablet in front of the trial platform had changed again.
Everyone finally reacted and suddenly burst into discussion.
"Mu Fuyun... knocked Chen Daohe's sword away?"
"What's going on? Is she really only in the middle stage of Qi Refining?"
Jiang Hanqiu, who was standing above, asked everyone's question: "Little girl, are you really only at the middle stage of Qi Refining?"
Everyone's eyes fell on the thin figure on the trial stage.
Mu Fuyun looked up at Jiang Hanqiu, clasped his hands together, and said, "I am not talented. I only advanced to the late stage of Qi Refining yesterday."
"Late stage of Qi Refining?"
"When she came in, she was definitely in the early stages of Qi Refining!"
"Did he really advance two levels in four months?"
The discussions that followed one after another were filled with disbelief.
In terms of excitement, the duel just now was not particularly exciting. Most of the first half was even mediocre. Only the last head-on attack was somewhat exciting.
But no one thought that Mu Fuyun would beat Chen Daohe.
"This kid underestimated his opponent. What a pity." Elder Qin stroked his beard and shook his head. "He thought he had a sure win."
"What a pity," Jiang Hanqiu rolled his eyes. "If he didn't want to take advantage of the situation, he wouldn't be in such a mess."
Chen Daohe, who was standing below, only realized what was happening at this moment. He glared at Mu Fuyun angrily and demanded, "You, you're teasing me? You're hiding your realm and making a fool of me, pretending to be weak!"
Mu Fuyun had just used up a large amount of spiritual power and was now exhausted. Coupled with hunger, he was a little shaky as he stood on the trial platform.
However, facing Chen Daohe's shocked and angry look of unwillingness to admit it, he still patiently explained a few words.
"Brother Chen, I've just accepted your offer. I didn't mean to hide it, but with so many people present, no one has ever asked about my realm. I think being in the late stage of Qi Refining isn't something to brag about in the Tianzi class."
She was telling the truth, but to others, it sounded ironic.
"As for pretending to be weak, I'm not even trying to do that." Mu Fuyun was completely out of energy and simply used his scabbard to touch the ground, supporting half of his body. "I'm completely exhausted and can't hold on any longer."
After saying that, his face turned pale and he fainted.
"You fainted after just one fight? It seems you're not pretending to be weak."
"After all, I've just entered a new level, so I'm afraid it's still unstable."
"Advancing two levels in just over three months, regardless of whether or not he used any inappropriate means, it shouldn't be too stable."
While others were discussing the matter heatedly, Chen Daohe was getting furious.
"Hey, you, don't try to get away with it by pretending to be unconscious!" Although with his points, he wouldn't be eliminated immediately after losing this game, but such a shameful thing was still hard for him to accept.
"Her face is so pale, it's obvious that she is really not feeling well. Win is win, lose is lose. Daohe, why do you have to do this?" After Xu Huaiyan said this, he wanted to jump onto the stage and help Mu Fuyun up.
However, before he could go up, a figure beside him had already jumped there.
Song Xinghe bent down and picked up Mu Fuyun. Instead of leaving immediately, he stood on the stage and looked coldly at Chen Daohe, whose eyes were red across from him.
But what he said was directed to the instructor: "Hasn't the result of this competition been announced yet?"
Before Chen Daohe could argue, the instructor quickly shouted, "Mu Fuyun wins this match!"
The senior brother also wrote down a lot of words with a cinnabar pen.
The rankings and points on the stone tablet underwent subtle changes again.
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