Chapter 154 Calming the Storm (Part 5) Why bother with other people's business now?
Everyone in the demon realm knows that King Qingping once ventured alone into the Canghai Strait of Yingzhou to retrieve the Hailing Wood Branch in order to save his wife, Jiuxing.
At that time, there were many demonic beasts in Yingzhou, and their ranks were not low. He forced his way in with the power of the Free and Unfettered Realm and broke through the realm at the critical moment. However, because there was a lot of mist and miasma in Yingzhou, it was difficult to generate pure spiritual energy. He was unable to incorporate enough spiritual power to break through the realm and was cut off halfway.
The matter of a cultivator breaking through a realm is extremely mysterious. Both a state of mind and sufficient spiritual power to impact the spiritual veins are indispensable. Therefore, the path of cultivation requires both seeking opportunities and cultivating oneself.
However, people of that time were often trapped by their own mental state, and few failed to break through to the next level due to insufficient spiritual power like he did.
When Qingping King finally retrieved the Hailing Wood branch and returned to Qingqiu, his attempt to break through to the Divine Travel Realm was no longer simply a matter of replenishing his spiritual power. After all, people's hearts are fickle, and times change. He could no longer return to his former state of mind.
His mental state was perfect, but his spiritual energy was insufficient, so his realm fell between carefree wandering and divine travel. However, he ultimately did not break through to the divine travel realm, so everyone privately referred to him as the Half-Step Azure King.
He was just half a step away from becoming the first king among all the tribes to enter the Divine Realm, but who could have predicted that an unknown person would suddenly appear, intercept and kill the previous demon king, enter the Divine Realm, and rule the demon realm.
Even if the difference is only a hair's breadth, it is still the realm of carefree ease, let alone half a step.
Prior to this, the tribal lords had tested each other. Although King Qingping was stronger than the others, he was only a few feet away from them. Therefore, when everyone suddenly saw how powerful he was today, their hearts were filled with shock.
Prince Qingping had approached everyone half a year ago to discuss the rebellion.
The group was already extremely afraid of Ru Xian and were initially unwilling, but after hearing that he had already set up a rune array and had the assistance of a "master" behind him, they were willing to travel with him after meeting that master.
Seeing his cultivation level reach this point today, I feel both ecstatic and sorrowful.
The slender-waisted king and the others looked at the blue figure, each having their own plans, but none of them stood up for the king of Putuo. They simply retreated a few steps in silence amidst the rustling dust, just like the other tribes watching from mid-air, and remained silent.
Qiu Tong's gaze also fell to the center, her eyes constantly shifting between the two of them, a restlessness rising in her heart.
If it were her in the past, she would have already rushed off with her sword, but she knew she couldn't. In this situation, no one could possibly intervene.
In the dead silence, the sword in Lin Feiran's hand rang out without any attempt to conceal its sound. It was an extremely chaotic and ethereal sound, and since they were all sword cultivators, they could naturally hear the unusualness in it.
At the same time, the chill around my body intensified.
Qiu Tong turned her head and saw Wei Changzai staring intently ahead, the Kunwu sword in his hand gleaming, and the north wind blowing past him, condensing into a few flakes of ice and snow.
This means that he might draw his sword at this moment, or the next moment.
Qiu Tong pursed her lips, when she suddenly heard an extremely sharp sword cry. She immediately turned her head to look, and her breath caught in her throat.
Clouds piled up, and glimpses of brilliance first appeared through the gaps.
In this shrouded shadow, an extremely bright sword light suddenly flashed out, like the first rays of dawn rising from the sky at the turn of day and night!
This was indeed a stunning sword strike, but in the eyes of the Prince of Qingping, it was still quite immature.
Little did they know that the cleaved heaven and earth were nothing more than a grain of sand in their hands!
He smiled and dodged to the side. Lin Feiran's sword immediately changed direction and slashed horizontally. He spun around and dodged again. Her long sword also flipped and thrust down fiercely!
Such three transformations are beyond the capabilities of ordinary people.
Qingping King raised his fingers together, and a bright blue light suddenly shone from his fingertips. The falling Golden Wave Sword collided with it and was then violently bounced back. He turned his fingers into a palm and struck Lin Feiran's right shoulder in an instant, knocking her back to the city gate!
Lin Feiran felt a buzzing in his chest, and the Golden Wave Sword flew out of his hand. Even though he had already rolled over and lay on the ground, he still couldn't stop his backward momentum until he finally stopped after leaving a three-zhang deep mark on his feet.
She slowly stood up and looked around, her gaze becoming more focused. The metallic taste in her throat was suppressed, and she straightened up again, extending her right hand.
A thin beam of light flashed past and flew straight into her hand. The Golden Wave Sword transformed into an extremely long and narrow blade, its edge cold and its back warm. She held it horizontally, her arm straight and powerful, the tip of the blade touching the ground just like a cold star reflected on the earth.
That was only three moves.
But these weren't her last three moves.
Everyone fell silent, watching this contest that required almost no calculation.
The outcome was already decided, but seeing Lin Feiran's indomitable figure, I was unexpectedly moved.
Prince Qingping remained standing there, still smiling, showing no intention of pressing his advantage.
He didn't take Lin Feiran seriously; he just wanted everyone to see that no one else could sit on the throne of the Demon Lord except him.
Lin Feiran's gaze was almost fixed on a single line.
If there was fear of the unknown and trepidation towards the powerful before, after the battle, there is only a burning desire in my heart to fight against the strong.
She once again held her sword horizontally in front of her, her two fingers tracing the gleaming, silvery blade. The spirit of the Golden Wave Sword reappeared beside her, gazing at the opposite side with her.
In an instant, the long sword in his hand shot out like lightning, pointing straight ahead, but Lin Feiran's figure vanished like a phantom.
Everyone was shocked. King Qingping frowned slightly. He formed a hand seal to block the flying sword, but his eyes were scanning the surroundings. In the midst of the gloom, a ray of light flashed from the front. He immediately deflected the sword blade, and a hidden nail appeared at his fingertip. He suddenly attacked that spot!
Just as he was about to move, a chill ran down his back. The longsword that had been deflected flew behind him in a long, crescent-shaped arc and landed in a pair of calloused palms.
Qingping King's eyes flickered slightly, but he did not turn around. As the sword blade, as cold as a glint of light, fell, a huge magic array appeared behind him, blocking the attack!
He straightened up, and the magic circle, which was half a person tall, shrank instantly, becoming as round as a pill. Without hesitation, it attacked Lin Feiran's left arm. The two were too close, and she had no way to avoid it, but she didn't intend to avoid it anymore.
The magic array on her sleeve immediately appeared, shielding her from the attack. Taking advantage of this moment, Lin Feiran changed her swordsmanship again, turning one sword into six, attacking Qingping King from all directions.
The ferocious thunder swords fell from the sky, powerful and fierce, all striking only Qingping King. At the same time, her swordsmanship changed again, and an extremely fast wind blade followed, unstoppable. She wielded her sword, and the falling sword light was dazzling.
Lin Feiran attacked with almost no mercy in his series of blows.
She used many renowned and arduous sword techniques with ease, yet they were also easily countered by Prince Qingping, though his expression was not as relaxed as before.
Even he would feel unhappy to be "ganged up" by such a person.
He spun around and unleashed his magical weapon.
It was a mace half the height of a person, engraved with runes. He stepped back, pointed forward, and the mace went out in response. With just one strike, he knocked the Golden Wave Sword back from Lin Feiran's hand. With another strike, he pressed her heavily to the ground.
"cough……"
Lin Feiran fell to the ground, coughing up some blood, which she quickly wiped away.
Biqing, who was lying next to Saitama, struggled to get up, but she was too weak. She was already panting when she picked up the quiver and had no strength to draw the bow.
Xun Feifei frowned and tightened her grip on Ping An, who was trying to leave the field: "The rules are here. If we break them first, they will have even more reason to attack us as a group."
"Your injuries haven't healed yet; you can't hold off so many of them."
Anger flared in Ping An's eyes, then he turned to Qingzhu: "How do we break this deadlock!"
Qingzhu remained silent, her gaze fixed intently on the city below.
"It's quite impressive that a young person can do this much. It's not shameful for you to admit defeat now."
Prince Qingping stepped forward slowly.
The outcome is clear to all…
"To witness what?"
Lin Feiran stood up, supporting herself with her sword. She casually tore off a tattered corner of her robe and stared intently ahead: "I haven't fallen yet, Prince Qingping, don't try to cover this up."
Prince Qingping turned to look at her, his gaze flickering with an ambiguous meaning, and said, "When I went to Yingzhou to find medicine back then, your father and I traveled together along the way. He was a man of deep feelings and true character, and we had a very pleasant conversation, so we can be considered to have some friendship with him."
Given the current situation, I really don't want to personally take my own life to end the life of my old friend's daughter.
"That's surprising. A man like my father wouldn't have a friend like you."
Lin Feiran gripped the Golden Wave Sword tightly once more.
"If he were still alive, he would be raising his sword with me today."
Qingping King raised his hand, and the Golden Thunder Mace flew high: "Of course he will. After all, he will only stand by his wife and daughters, completely disregarding right and wrong. If you tell him to go east, he will never go west."
"He's gone now, Lin Lang. As a friend, I'll send your daughter down to see you."
As the long mace fell, just as Lin Feiran was about to raise his sword again, a cold, snowy wind suddenly swept past him.
Wei Changzai, wielding the Kunwu sword, suddenly caught the falling mace. Amidst the clash of metal, sparks flew, and the sleeves of his pale blue Taoist robe unfurled, almost obscuring Lin Feiran's vision.
As the flames suddenly appeared, Lin Feiran was met with a pair of cold, dark eyes.
He simply looked at her, his gaze sweeping over the wound before falling silent again.
Wei Changzai was at the same level as her and also struggled to withstand the attack. However, he instantly activated his sword realm, and frost and snow escaped. Ice flowers grew on his long mace, and the golden flames that were sparked by the blow were extinguished. He actually managed to stop the long mace in mid-air.
Prince Qingping sized up Consort Wei, then glanced at Qiu Tong casually, somewhat surprised: "Oh? Someone suddenly intervened during the competition. Could he also be one of the envoys? Or perhaps, someone could actually be sent to assist you?"
He pointed to King Kuofeng and the others not far away: "Can they also join the formation?"
Lin Feiran raised his hand and put it on Wei Changzai's shoulder, but just a moment before he saw it, he pushed him to the side: "I never helped you before, why bother meddling in other people's business now?"
Her voice was hoarse, completely lacking the gentleness she usually showed him.
"It was just a stranger's help, an accident. Prince Qingping can make another move, and I will take it."
Wei Changzai's gaze faltered slightly, but Lin Feiran had already completely pushed him out of the battle. She took up her sword and rushed towards him like lightning, without even glancing at him.
Qingping King frowned slightly, immediately retreated, and then raised his hand to summon the long mace to meet the attack again.
By this point, suspicion had begun to grow in everyone's minds.
If Qingping Wang truly intended to kill Lin Feiran, he wouldn't have allowed her to drag it out for so long.
Could it be because he was an old friend of her father?
The Prince of Qingping was already growing impatient with being pestered like this.
He wasn't reluctant to harm Lin Feiran because he still had a relationship with Lin Lang; he had simply been warned that Lin Feiran couldn't die before a certain point in time.
Having already missed a golden opportunity by failing in the previous assassination attempt, he was even less likely to kill her here under the watchful eyes of everyone.
Since that's the case, the only option is to defeat her, but she's just too tenacious; no matter what we do, she always manages to get back up.
The two exchanged blows, and Lin Feiran's body was covered in more and more wounds. But gradually, everyone noticed that something was wrong.
The Prince of Qingping did not engage her in close combat, but instead used magic to control his long mace.
Each time Lin Feiran suffered a heavy blow, she seemed to fall to the ground, unable to get up. However, the distance she was knocked back after getting up was smaller each time, and the heavy blows she could withstand were stronger each time.
Just like...
Just like forging iron, each hammer blow sends sparks flying, which are the impurities that are smashed out after being burned. However, after withstanding this blow, the boiling iron will become harder. The heavier the hammer blow, the stronger the forging.
On the seventh time, she stood up again, her raised hand completely catching the falling mace, without moving back even an inch.
She wiped the red mark from her lips, took a lunge forward, and twisted her wrist in a strange arc. The seemingly slender and uncontrollable longsword managed to carve a gap in the mace and thrust straight at it!
As the wind swept past, Prince Qingping suddenly felt a chill on his cheek. He raised his hand to wipe it away, leaving a faint layer of red on his fingertips.
He looked at Lin Feiran, suddenly smiled, and exhaled a breath of stale air.
"The simplest thing in the world is wanting to die but being unable to. I have given you many chances, but you do not cherish them. If you insist on doing this, I have no choice but to take action."
Under the shadows, a cluster of golden flames suddenly appeared between his brows. In an instant, strange and chaotic patterns spread from his eyes and then moved across his face. The spiritual veins under his skin began to wriggle and wander, before slowly settling down after a few breaths.
He looked at Lin Feiran and smiled slightly, but that face was no longer that of the Prince of Qingping.
Author's Note: Just a brief transition; the next chapter will finish the story, but it's best to read the next chapter in one go, so this chapter ends here (orz).
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