Chapter 15 Test (VI) - Battle Against Xie Yuzhou?
A cool breeze swept through Qingxing's hair. She raised her hand to brush her slightly itchy cheek and glanced indifferently at the huge crowd below the stage.
Her competition with Xie Yuzhou was about to begin, and many people arrived early to reserve their spots, eager to watch this exciting show.
"The last person to fight Senior Sister Qingxing was Senior Brother Su, and he lost miserably! I wonder if Senior Brother Xie can step up and turn the tide for the 'Sect Leader's Disciple'."
"Two top-grade spiritual roots! This competition is going to be amazing!"
"Forget it, what's the use of having great talent? Senior Brother Xie practices swordsmanship day and night!"
"With the restrictions and the level suppression, I think Qingxing is doomed to lose unless she can break through to the Golden Core stage immediately."
...
A shielding array was set up on the martial arts stage, so the heated discussions of these people could not reach Qingxing's ears. She held the Endless Wood in her hand and stood on either side of the stage with Xie Yuzhou.
To ensure the fairness of the one-on-one competition, Gudako was forced to stay offstage.
Before running to Wenrenxi's shoulder while grumbling, it specifically instructed Qingxing: Don't be fooled by Xie Yuzhou's appearance as a cold and aloof nobleman who never lifts a finger. In reality, he is extremely cunning. Except for when he is fighting Shen Wan, he is ruthless to everyone else!
Qingxing raised her eyes and casually glanced at the tall, elegant young man opposite her. He stood with his sword in his arms, looking like a stranger who should not be approached.
Her fingers caressed the endless wood, carefully weighing it: if judged solely by cultivation level, her chances of winning were indeed slim.
While meditating in the lotus pond to restore her spiritual network, Qingxing also tried to break through, but for some reason, there was always a blockage in her meridians from time to time. It was as if some mysterious force in her body was preventing her from cultivating.
After failing to break through by force, Qingxing decisively gave up, thinking that she could try her luck on the dueling platform and maybe gain something from it.
Thinking of this, she looked up again, only to meet the gaze of Xie Yuzhou, who was as cold as an ice sculpture, and was so startled by the icy shards in his eyes that she stumbled.
Qingxing felt confused. She looked away and thought: The author of this comic book is so unsophisticated. Even if he wanted to highlight the male lead's favoritism towards Shen Wan, he didn't have to portray her as such a cold and aloof person.
She also has the protagonist's halo, which makes her chances of winning extremely slim. It seems she still has to use some methods and try her best.
It's just that he might get injured again.
Time passed slowly, and perhaps because of the shielding array, the stage was unusually quiet. When the last piece of incense ash fell, Qingxing could even hear the sound of it hitting the ground.
Neither of them moved, but the atmosphere inexplicably became tense. The supervisor glanced at them separately, not daring to even breathe, and directly flew up on his sword, slashing at the bronze bell.
Thud—
Almost simultaneously, two figures flashed to the center of the martial arts stage, their cyan and red spiritual energies colliding and unleashing a huge wave of light.
The two moved so fast they were like afterimages, exchanging several blows in quick succession. Xie Yuzhou pressed forward relentlessly, but Qingxing was not at a disadvantage. She used her staff as a sword, focusing on defense. For every move her opponent made, she would raise her hand to parry it.
The figures of Qingxing and Hongxing fought from the center of the stage to the edge. The spectators held their breath, and many sighed in their hearts: Qingxing is skilled in array formations, but her strength in swordsmanship is unknown. However, if she only defends and does not attack, she will probably be dragged out by Xie Yuzhou until she is exhausted and has no spiritual power, and will eventually suffer a miserable defeat on the spot.
Qingxing clearly thought so too. After taking more than a dozen blows from the opponent, she finally found a gap, used the teleportation array to teleport behind Xie Yuzhou, and swung her staff to slash at his back.
It can't be teleported directly outside, but it's still okay to play around with it inside the station. Qingxing caught everyone off guard.
However, Xie Yuzhou was a top swordsman among the new generation, so he could not be defeated by Qingxing so easily. The moment the other person disappeared, he reacted and retaliated with astonishing speed, withstanding Qingxing's attack.
The sword struck the wooden staff with a dull thud.
The two remained locked in a stalemate, with Qingxing gradually losing ground. Xie Yuzhou continued to exert force, and a soft "crack" sounded at Qingxing's feet as fine cracks appeared on the martial arts stage.
This scene was witnessed by all the disciples, and some of them held their breath, silently worrying for Qingxing.
There were many disciples watching the battle from the surrounding area, including some who had seen Qingxing fight Su Lin last time. They looked at this familiar scene, smacked their lips, and felt that something was not right: Su Lin had also suppressed others in the same way last time, but he was sent away by some evil magic.
Qingxing can't possibly come up with some strange magic array again like last time, can she?
The next moment, their idea was proven true.
Qingxing tightly gripped the Endless Wood, and blue spiritual energy spread out like vines, climbing onto Xie Yuzhou's sword and tightly binding it.
Xie Yuzhou's expression changed slightly. He activated his spiritual power to ignite a raging fire, trying to pull the sword away, but the vines clung tightly to the sword as if they were not afraid of the fire.
The heat of the flames burned Qingxing's face red, and sweat slid down her forehead, dripping onto the staff, where it evaporated instantly.
Xie Yuzhou's spiritual fire grew larger and larger, but she never let go, releasing her spiritual power on her own.
As the tendrils of the vines wound around the hilt of the sword, she opened her mouth and, expressionless, softly murmured: "Incredibly itchy, it will tickle you to death, itchy vines, swell!"
Xie Yuzhou: ?
Before he could react, a green worm-like creature leaped out of the Wood God Pearl and slid along the vines into Xie Yuzhou's sleeve.
While others couldn't see it, Xie Yuzhou felt the bluish thing stretching out and moving across his body at an extremely fast speed. His limbs trembled, and his whole body was tingling with itchiness.
Then, everyone stared wide-eyed as they witnessed the most bizarre scene since the competition began that morning:
Xie Yuzhou still held the sword in his hand, but his lips twitched unnaturally, as if he was trying his best to suppress a laugh.
Disciples: ?
They're still competing! What are you laughing at!
“This magic array… I feel like I’ve seen it in a book before…” a junior array cultivator said weakly, “It’s called the ‘Itchy Array.’ Those who are hit by it will laugh non-stop until they are exhausted.”
It was just that the book's title was too abstract, so few people visited it, and it sat on the bookshelf collecting dust for years. He only opened it by chance.
His explanation shocked everyone. The shielding array on the stage was one-way, and they could hear everything the two said, including Qingxing's inexplicable incantation.
Some cultivators covered their eyes, unable to bear watching any longer!
Many of them had heard about Qingxing's spirit-summoning array and wanted to see it for themselves, but they never expected Qingxing to give them such a big surprise.
Of all the magic arrays available, why pick this one that's so offensive? It's truly laughable and a disgrace to array cultivators!
Everyone had their own thoughts, but Shen Wan, standing in the crowd, smiled slightly, seemingly finding it quite amusing.
Even though she fell for the trap, Xie Yuzhou didn't reduce the force in his hand at all. Qingxing's wrist went weak, and she used her peripheral vision to glance to the side, directly releasing the force and rolling backward.
If she couldn't defeat someone as powerful as Xie Yuzhou in one blow, she had to be prepared to fight for half a day. She didn't plan to use the high-energy-consuming Spirit Summoning Array, but instead adopted the low-level Itching Array. This was only because she couldn't withstand the opponent's strong attacks, and she planned to stall for a while to give herself a breather.
However, she underestimated Xie Yuzhou's abilities.
He slapped his right hand together against his chest, and a wisp of smoke rose from between his fingers. He then clenched his fist and threw the ashes of the vines onto the ground.
"you can."
Before Qingxing could finish hearing the whole sentence, Xie Yuzhou flashed in front of her, his orange-red sword energy rushing towards her, slicing a line across her cheek.
She couldn't avoid it in time and hastily used the Endless Wood to block it, but the newcomer had no intention of giving up. He swung his sword several times in succession. Qingxing kept teleporting, but he predicted her landing point every time, leaving her no chance to catch her breath.
Guda frowned in the audience, cursing Xie Yuzhou a thousand times over in her mind.
Wenren Xi watched quietly without making a sound, only stopping the fan in her hand from waving.
Qingxing circled the arena, the scorching sword energy relentlessly blocking her escape route. A blazing flame swept in from the side; she dodged it with a sidestep, creating a gust of wind that stirred up fallen leaves.
Fallen leaves?
Qingxing wondered: This is clearly springtime, so where did these fallen leaves come from?
She ducked at an extremely tricky angle to dodge the sword, but Xie Yuzhou's sword energy left a bloodstain on her right shoulder. Qingxing risked looking up and caught a glimpse of the Green Wind Vine behind the stage.
She had seen it in the magazine "Miscellaneous Matter". This vine flowers before it leaves, and it is present in all four seasons. Even in the cold winter, it always perseveres, swaying in the cold wind. It is the epitome of the word "tenacity".
At this moment, the green vine leaves danced on the stage. They could not escape the scorching sword wind and could only be carried by the movements of the green apricot, seeking a glimmer of hope in the smallest details.
It's just like the mortals who tried to struggle during the first destruction of heaven and earth.
Compared to the two powerful beings, the vines and leaves were insignificant; compared to the vast天地 (heaven and earth), they were insignificant.
But so what if we're insignificant?
They have the right and the courage to struggle.
Just like how she chose to cooperate with Gudako after her rebirth.
Qingxing seemed to sense something. She was observing the fallen leaves on the ground when she became distracted, giving the person opposite her an opportunity to take advantage of her.
*Pfft*
Everyone gasped. Xie Yuzhou stood high on the stage, his sword tip resting on Qingxing's crouching arm, bright red blood dripping down the blade.
Qingxing frowned slightly, indicating that she had suffered some serious injuries.
Sighs came from the audience: At this rate, the outcome is already decided. Qingxing was already ranked 100th, but unfortunately she ran into Xie Yuzhou in the first round, so she should be eliminated.
What a pity! It's such a shame that such a talented array cultivator has finally emerged. It seems we won't be able to see her brilliant performances in the future.
As everyone sighed, they didn't notice a white figure quietly approaching from behind.
Jiu Qu Chen had never cared about sect tests and had never watched any, but thinking that his disciple was participating in a sect competition for the first time, he became interested and decided to go to the Qi Yun Peak training ground to cheer Qing Xing on.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived at the martial arts arena, he heard some heartbreaking news from the whispers of the crowd: Qingxing would be fighting Xie Yuzhou in her very first match.
Jiu Qu Chen's expression twisted. He racked his brains, trying to recall everyone in Taihua Mountain with the same surname. Finally, he came to a bitter smile and a despairing conclusion: in the entire Taihua Mountain, there was only one person with the same name, "Xie Yuzhou"—the sect leader's favorite disciple, Shen Wan's childhood sweetheart, that genius sword cultivator.
He dragged his heavy steps to Qingxing's martial arts arena, and the scene before him made his eyes widen in horror: Qingxing was covered in blood, her toes darting around the edge of the arena as she desperately dodged the sword winds from the opposite side. Xie Yuzhou, on the other hand, pressed forward relentlessly, seemingly determined to severely injure her.
No way! Are young boys these days so reckless?! This is just a competition, there's no need for that!
He had already listed hundreds of medicinal herbs in his mind, planning to go back and give Qingxing a good boost, and also to comfort his good disciple: It's okay, it's just an inner sect test, there's always next year.
A dozen comforting words floated through his mind. He sighed, lowered his head, and rubbed his forehead, as if he couldn't bear to look any longer.
This slight lowering of his head made him notice the unusual activity inside and outside the training ground.
Azure spiritual energy rose from the ground, like a thin, light mist, swirling around him. Fallen leaves trembled slightly, and were gently lifted up, slowly drifting towards the platform.
"This is……"
"Hey, look!"
People around gradually noticed this strange phenomenon. They looked up and saw countless green leaves floating in the air, seemingly gathering in a certain direction.
Jiu Qu Chen abruptly turned his head to look at the green apricot on the stage, his heart trembling—
I had left her to fend for herself for two years, and in the past month I had only given her some guidance, yet she had made such progress, even achieving a breakthrough!
What kind of monstrous genius did he unintentionally take in?!
On the stage, Qingxing was still dodging Xie Yuzhou's attacks, but her movements became extremely light and agile, more and more skillful, like a butterfly fluttering among the leaves.
Before anyone could react, the wind suddenly picked up, sweeping the green leaves onto the training platform and creating a vortex centered on the green apricot.
Xie Yuzhou, who was wielding his sword, could not hide his surprise upon seeing this.
This is a sign of sudden enlightenment at the Golden Elixir stage.
This person actually achieved enlightenment and breakthrough at this moment!
When a cultivator breaks through to a higher realm, their spiritual network expands continuously, drawing in the spiritual energy of the surrounding world, resulting in a qualitative leap in strength. With Qingxing now entering the Golden Core stage, even Xie Yuzhou doesn't have a 100% chance of victory.
He closed his eyes slightly, and spiritual energy surged out of his body like a waterfall, constantly attaching to the sword. A fire dragon suddenly rose from behind him. Xie Yuzhou twirled the sword and swung it fiercely at Qingxing.
The dragon roared, its eyes burning, determined to devour the green apricot.
The disciples were shocked; this was Xie Yuzhou's signature move—Blazing Jade Dragon!
Qingxing stood in the center of the vortex, and the spiritual energy of the training ground flowed towards her continuously, like a babbling brook, constantly expanding her spiritual network and illuminating the Quchi lineage.
She spread her hands, and the Endless Wood slowly rose up, with a few tender buds sprouting from its shaft.
"When the green land arrives, the red sun rises; when a single branch breaks through, spring returns to heaven and earth."
"Azure Spirit Formation, activate!"
Swipe—
Green leaves transformed into a rain of arrows, carrying the spiritual energy of the field as they rushed toward the orange-red dragon. Upon contact with the flames, they lost their original momentum, clinging to the surface extremely slowly and lightly, like a gentle breeze caressing willow branches in spring—gentle and peaceful, yet capable of calming all restlessness.
The softest thing in the world can overcome the hardest thing in the world.
Life may be like duckweed, but I can still find peace and accept my fate. Even if the road is difficult, my heart is not made of stone. I can find a way out of the dead end and discover a brighter future.
This is the Dao that Qingxing comprehended.
The dragon weaved through the flying leaves, and gradually the flames died down.
The audience didn't dare to blink, afraid of missing even a single moment.
Such a large fluctuation of spiritual energy was not easy for the two people on the stage. Xie Yuzhou's forehead veins were bulging, and sweat dripped from Qingxing's chin, but neither of them made any concessions.
A moment later, the fallen leaves all disappeared, and the fire dragon vanished.
Exhausted, Xie Yuzhou gasped for breath, using his sword as a cane to support himself as he stood.
Qingxing knelt down, her eyes tightly closed, feeling a burning pain in her internal organs.
Silence fell over the arena, the incense and candles burned out, and the bronze bell once again rang out with a deafening long chime.
"Qingxing vs. Xie Yuzhou, a draw!"
A note from the author:
----------------------
Isn't he handsome? Isn't he handsome? Handsome! No! Handsome!
The incantation incorporates verses from poetry:
1. Xin Qiji's "Linjiangxian: Exploring Plum Blossoms," Lu You's "Spring View," and Lu Zhaolin's "Ode to the Twin Hibiscus Trees."
2. "The softest thing in the world can overcome the hardest thing in the world." — Tao Te Ching
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
