Chapter 26: Advancement Mu Fuyun's name was listed last. ...
If nothing unexpected happens, this should be the last match of the points race.
The eliminated disciples and the other exhausted disciples who had been watching the battle all perked up and stared at the trial stage again, waiting for the final battle.
Yu Cen is the only remaining student in Class C. He is a humble person and therefore has a very good reputation in Class C.
Seeing him stand up, more than 20 students from Class C gathered to his side to encourage him.
"Yu Cen, we all believe you can win!"
"The hope of our Class C rests on you!"
All the other disciples except Class A and Class B also stood on Yu Cen's side.
The outer sect's class divisions have always been based on strength; the stronger the student, the higher the ranking.
This rule was originally established just to make it easier for instructors to teach students according to their aptitude and to develop more reasonable teaching plans for each class of students.
However, over time, as the number of elders and disciples in each peak of the sect gradually increased, the competition in the outer sect became more and more fierce, and the trend of teaching students in accordance with their aptitude gradually changed.
Both teachers and disciples began to focus on innate roots and the accumulation of learning before entering the sect. As a result, in recent years, the flow of disciples between classes has become smaller and smaller. Except for Class A, there are fewer and fewer disciples from other classes who can stand out in the outer sect assessment every year.
Many things seemed to have been destined since the first day we stepped into the outer gate and were assigned to different classes.
People like Yu Cen have some talent for cultivation, but they come from ordinary families and did not receive good guidance before entering the outer sect. This is why they have performed mediocrely for a long time.
Right now, he seems to have become the hope in the eyes of all the frustrated disciples.
Compared with the hustle and bustle on Yu Cen's side, Mu Fuyun's side seemed much quieter.
Although she was considered a member of Class A, during the past three or four months, except for Xu Huaiyan who treated her as a classmate, most of the others treated her with a cold and critical attitude, and naturally would not support her at this time.
Moreover, the disciples in Class A have always been arrogant. Apart from looking up to strong people like Zhan Yao, they mostly keep their distance from each other. Naturally, they are not willing to lose face and encourage a "weakling" like Mu Fuyun.
Only Xu Huaiyan, who was standing several feet away, quietly clenched his fist and made a gesture to Mu Fuyun when her gaze swept over.
Mu Fuyun didn't care about other people's opinions, but when he saw Xu Huaiyan's action, he couldn't help but smile slightly at the corner of his eyes, and his originally serious and indifferent expression softened a lot.
Song Xinghe stood on a high place and saw the subtle interaction between the two people. He felt unhappy, but in order to avoid losing his composure, he had to force himself to look away and look at the distant mountain.
"Junior Brother Song, don't you want to see the final outcome of this competition?" A direct disciple of Taiqing Peak noticed Song Xinghe's movements and asked casually, "I thought you were quite close to Mu Fuyun."
Everyone remembered that it was him who brought Mu Fuyun to the trial platform on his sword the day before yesterday, and it was also him who took Mu Fuyun away in public when he fainted.
Unexpectedly, when Song Xinghe heard this, he immediately felt like his tail was stepped on, and hurriedly distanced himself from her: "Who is close to her? Don't talk nonsense!"
The disciple did not expect his reaction to be so intense. He said "Oh" in confusion and said nothing more.
"I've watched a few matches with this kid named Yu Cen. Although he started a little late, he's a promising prospect." Elder Han from Purple Cloud Peak sat up straight and said, "He has dual spiritual roots of gold and earth, so he's a good match for Purple Cloud Peak."
"Has Elder Han already picked the seedling he wanted? In that case, when he wins, you can take him away. We won't take away what is good for others." Elder Qin joked with a smile.
At this time, Yu Cen and Mu Fuyun had already stood behind the red lines on both sides of the competition field, each drawing their swords, ready to compete at any time.
As the drumstick in the instructor's hand fell, the two men tapped the ground on their toes almost at the same time, and rose up in response, forming their first fight in mid-air.
Compared with the first two opponents who were ranked lower, Mu Fuyun clearly felt that Yu Cen's sword intent was more solid and powerful than theirs. His sword moves had been honed through thousands of trials and tribulations, and every action was executed perfectly.
The spiritual energy in the sword's edge shot out, forming knife-like marks on the stone surface.
Although it was still not as good as the ice sword in the pond, Mu Fuyun knew very well that this was an opponent that should not be underestimated. Presumably, the strategy of holding back before attacking and then taking advantage of the opponent's impatience to directly confront him head-on and win with one move would not work on Yu Cen.
Sure enough, after more than a dozen moves, Yu Cen's sword was still as steady and firm as at the beginning, without any signs of being impetuous due to lack of progress.
"As expected of Yu Cen, I remember last month, he and Zhan Yao fought for a full thirty-five moves."
"That's right. Yu Cen Ke is different from the people in Class A. He is best at endurance and fighting a protracted war. That's no problem for him."
"Mu Fuyun has met her match this time, right? Her first two attempts were simply due to luck. She didn't encounter a truly strong opponent, and the opponent underestimated her, so she managed to win by chance."
The students in Class C raised their voices and discussed as if they were speaking on purpose for everyone to hear.
Mu Fuyun watched Yu Cen's moves intently and responded meticulously, while listening to what these people said.
Just as she had observed over the past two days, Yu Cen's style was somewhat similar to hers. Both were somewhat passive in the fight, but at the same time, they could become stronger when facing a stronger opponent.
In terms of endurance, she had the problem of sudden loss of spiritual energy, so naturally she could not compare with Yu Cen; in terms of strength, she had just reached the late stage of Qi Refining, so naturally she could not compare with Yu Cen.
We can only look for flaws elsewhere.
Fortunately, she was not unprepared.
Over the course of two full days, she watched a total of eighteen of Yu Cen's matches.
During these eighteen competitions, every move and style that Yu Cen used was firmly engraved in her mind.
Among them, when finishing the sixteenth move of Fengban Liuyun Sword, he would always delay for a moment before thrusting out the sword due to the twisting of his right little finger.
If she could seize this split second of opportunity, she could get through his defense and put the sword to his neck.
Now, we have to lure him into using this move first.
Mu Fuyun recalled in his mind all the moves that could be countered with the sixteenth move of the Fengban Liuyun Sword, intending to try them one by one in series.
This time, there were more than ten moves.
The outer sect disciples watched for a while, and seeing that neither of them had any intention of disrupting the rhythm of the exchange, they couldn't help but relax a little.
"If this continues, how long will the fight last?"
"Yu Cen is cautious and will not easily break the balance."
"Mu Fuyun seems a bit unskilled. Why do his sword moves look a bit stiff?"
"Yeah, there were two moves that shouldn't have gone right. Luckily, they held steady. Otherwise, she would have been defeated by now."
However, the elders standing on higher ground saw something.
"This girl seems to be deliberately leading Yu Cen in a certain direction." Jiang Hanqiu frowned.
Elder Han stroked his beard, and he also felt something strange in his heart. After pondering for a moment, he shook his head and said, "It shouldn't be. She's just a little girl in the Qi Refining Stage. There's no need to speculate about her based on the thoughts of us old guys."
Elder Qin was much more straightforward: "Elder Jiang, you think too highly of her. The head brother has long said that this girl's bones are too weak and not suitable for cultivation. No matter what method she uses to make progress, I still believe in your judgment. What you said is just an illusion."
Jiang Hanqiu glanced at him and didn't argue with him, but he was somewhat skeptical of his judgment.
Is it really just an illusion?
Another six moves.
After exchanging forty-two moves, Mu Fuyun finally waited for Yu Cen to use the sixteenth move of the Fengban Liuyun Sword.
The string in her head was stretched to the limit, her heart was burning with anxiety, but her face remained calm and she waited patiently.
Finally, when his right little finger was slightly pausing along his wrist to release the force, she immediately seized the opportunity, suddenly changed her sword style, threw away all the rules, stretched out her right arm, and went straight through the gap he left, placing the sword steadily on his shoulder.
The sword blade was only an inch away from Yu Cen's neck. It didn't really hurt his vital parts, but it was extremely threatening and immediately froze Yu Cen's movements.
The others were still immersed in the fatigue of watching the protracted battle and hadn't reacted to why she suddenly stretched out her sword.
Obviously, no one present felt that she used too much spiritual power.
"Senior Brother Yu, you lost." Mu Fuyun said, calmly put the sword back into the sheath, turned his head and looked at the instructor with wide eyes.
The instructor was stunned, and after a moment of eye contact with her, he suddenly woke up and said loudly, "Mu Fuyun wins this match!"
Yu Cen lowered his head and looked at his right hand holding the sword, unable to come back to his senses for a long time.
If he loses, Mu Fuyun will get all his points, and his points will be deducted from Mu Fuyun's original points.
Although Mu Fuyun's points were extremely low and he had not been eliminated after deductions, he had little time left in the clepsydra. He had no chance to challenge again and return to the top fifteen, which was almost the same as being eliminated directly.
"How did she do that?"
"Am I dazzled? Yu Cen seemed a little slow to react just now, so she took advantage of the opportunity."
"How could he be so slow when he was fine? This has never happened to Yu Cen before when he was fighting with others."
"Yes, it's clear that Mu Fuyun never had the upper hand from the beginning to the end."
"Yu Cen has already competed in several matches, so he must be a little tired. Mu Fuyun is only competing in his first match today."
"He's the only one in our Class C."
For a moment, the students in Class C were filled with frustration, and their eyes looking at Mu Fuyun gradually became more dissatisfied.
Yu Cen stood on the stage for a long time before slowly accepting the fact that he was squeezed out of the top fifteen.
He tightened his grip on the sword, slowly sheathed it, gritted his teeth and took a deep breath, then looked up and bowed to his classmates to apologize: "It's my fault that I'm not skilled enough and have let you down."
"I don't blame you!"
"Yu Cen, you've made it this far, and we've already impressed you!"
"Some people are really going too far and taking advantage of others..."
When Mu Fuyun heard these words, she felt a moment of guilt.
However, she soon figured it out. She hadn't broken any rules and had defeated her opponent fairly and honestly based on her own abilities. There was no reason for her to back down, even if the opponent was truly someone worthy of admiration.
At this time, the time in the clepsydra had arrived, and a deep and long bell sounded inside and outside the Qinglu, heralding the complete end of the points race.
On the stone tablet, the sixty-five names that had dimmed gradually disappeared, leaving fifteen names, which were arranged neatly and were the list of names entering the final competition.
Mu Fuyun's name was listed last.
At the same time, in the uninhabited Lingshanze in the distance, Xie Hanyi seemed to have sensed something, woke up from his long meditation, and stretched out his hand to gently wave on the smooth water surface.
A water mirror suddenly emerged from the calm water surface, with light and shadow flowing. The mirror reflected the picture of Qinglu, like a pair of eyes, passing through the bustling crowd and finally stopping on a familiar face.
She stood on the winner's stage, looking very excited.
Xie Hanyi's brows twitched slightly, then he withdrew the water mirror and closed his eyes again to meditate.
"The first stage of the martial arts test has concluded. The final competition will take place in three days. The Sect Master will be in attendance to observe the competition. Please prepare well."
After Instructor Wu gathered the outer disciples together, he announced loudly.
The elders from various peaks who were watching the battle above left one after another.
Before leaving, Elder Han still glanced at the dejected Yu Cen with a reluctant look, and shook his head, saying, "What a pity for a good seedling of mine."
"But he lost a competition. If Elder Han really thinks highly of him, just take him in." Jiang Hanqiu said.
"How can that be? Even the top fifteen can't guarantee entry into the inner gate, how can he get in?" Elder Qin objected subconsciously.
"The sect's rules only say that the top fifteen may not necessarily enter the inner gate, but they don't say that those who are not in the top fifteen will definitely not be able to enter the inner gate."
After Jiang Hanqiu finished speaking, he took his disciples away on his sword, leaving Elder Han standing there in deep thought.
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