Winning the championship
"So, how did you lose, brother?"
After learning that Pei Yingguan had lost, Xiao Wan'er immediately asked him about the details.
"The person opposite is also a sword cultivator, and his cultivation is higher than mine." Pei Yingguan's voice was a little muffled.
Losing due to absolute lack of strength is undoubtedly the worst case scenario.
"I understand." Xiao Wan'er didn't ask any more questions and returned to her room to continue meditating.
It wasn't until the next day, when the sky was already bright, that she finished her training. She walked into the courtyard, looked at the simple little yard, and let out a long sigh. After waiting for a moment, Pei Yingguan also walked out of the house.
The two of them didn't exchange any words, but walked silently to the competition ring together.
Only four people came to draw lots this time. Xiao Wan'er glanced at the other three—two men and one woman. The woman, carrying a sword, was most likely the swordsman who had defeated Pei Yingguan. All three were clearly quite old, and judging by their aura, they had all long since entered the Transcendent Realm.
No matter how you draw the three people, they will all be strong enemies.
Xiao Wan'er opened the slip and saw a large "two" before stepping aside. A monk also temporarily walked away. Pei Yingguan, who was in the crowd, saw Xiao Wan'er stray from the swordsman who had defeated him and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Xiao Wan'er watched the first match carefully. That woman was indeed the sword cultivator who had defeated Pei Yingguan. This sword cultivator was truly formidable, her understanding of the sword far surpassing Pei Yingguan's. She was a cultivator who had truly grasped the sword's essence. Throughout, she employed a single-sword strategy to shatter all formations. Every formation cast by the formation cultivator she faced was shattered by her, giving her no advantage from beginning to end.
The battle ended, and the entire crowd fell silent. The sword cultivator gradually walked down the stage until he reached the waiting area for the monks participating in the competition. Some of the people in the sea of people who had unconsciously held their breath finally began to breathe again. The servants from the villa walked up to the stage and carried the unconscious sword cultivator down.
Xiao Wan'er stood up and walked towards the ring.
The monk opposite had a middle-aged appearance. He bowed to Xiao Wan'er and said, "I am Huai'an, a poor monk. I would like to ask for your guidance."
"I am Xiao Wan'er from Biyun Temple. Please give me your guidance." Xiao Wan'er returned the greeting.
The old man shouted, and the two men attacked simultaneously. Amidst the shimmering Buddha light, Xiao Wan'er felt a sense of familiarity. After several exchanges, Xiao Wan'er retreated several steps, her eyes gleaming.
"What is the relationship between Master and Huai Ming?"
The monk still had a kind look on his face. "Donor Xiao is indeed perceptive. I am Junior Brother Huai Ming."
This wasn't good news. Huai Ming's first disciple had died at the hands of Senior Brother Xiao Wan'er, and several of his disciples had subsequently rebelled, only to be suppressed by Xiao Wan'er. If you counted carefully, the blood of Huai Ming's disciples on the hands of Biyun Temple disciples was undoubtedly abundant. Thinking of this, Xiao Wan'er became even more vigilant.
"Don't be nervous, benefactor." Huai'an seemed to see Xiao Wan'er's thoughts. "Master told me when Senior Brother left that no matter what happens after entering the court, it has nothing to do with the sect."
After saying this, his kind face was also tainted with fighting spirit.
"I have long heard of the name of Biyun Temple. If I have the opportunity to fight you today, I will definitely give it my all!"
Xiao Wan'er said nothing, merely forming hand seals, and a spell instantly unleashed. Huai'an's body was enveloped in a radiant Buddha light, dazzling even more than before. He waved his hands in front of his chest, and the Buddha light transformed into a shield, blocking the attack of the spell.
It's evenly matched again.
As Xiao Wan'er cast her spell once more, Huai'an shifted from defense to offense. Her palm, shrouded in Buddha's light, struck the roaring fire dragon, only for the flames to die out, leaving a faint red tinge on her palm. As Xiao Wan'er's gestures shifted, countless sharp metal blades descended from the sky, hurtling towards Huai'an at speeds exceeding sound. Buddha's light enveloped Huai'an's body, and only a few swords pierced his defenses, leaving scars of varying depths on his body.
Xiao Wan'er couldn't help but sigh inwardly, what a strong defense.
She clearly realized that if she couldn't break through the defense, she would lose sooner or later. With her current strength, breaking through the defense with brute force was no easy task. As Huai'an pondered, he no longer limited himself to simple defense. Instead, Xiao Wan'er, fighting while thinking, seemed to be at a disadvantage.
The two fought for a long time with Huai'an attacking and Xiao Wan'er defending. Just when everyone thought Xiao Wan'er was doomed to lose, Huai'an suddenly stopped, stood stiffly on the ground, his eyes wide open.
"What's going on?" A spectator in the crowd suddenly asked in horror.
As if in response to his question, a formation suddenly lit up on the stage. Those who knew the intricacies of formations quickly determined that it was an illusion.
At this time, most people remembered that when Xiao Wan'er was casting spells to resist Huai'an, she had always only used her left hand to make hand gestures.
He divided his mind into two parts, focusing more on setting up the formation, releasing the spiritual energy compressed into liquid with his right hand, and completing the movements that could draw the formation during the battle. Finally, after Huai'an stepped into the formation, he activated the formation.
It seemed like the victory was reversed in an instant, but in fact it had always been under Xiao Wan'er's calculation.
The old men and sword practitioners who were watching the competition couldn't help but straighten their bodies and their expressions became more serious.
The illusion was complete, but Xiao Wan'er didn't wait around. Instead, she drew her sword. She concentrated all her strength on the sword and used the back of the sword to knock Huai'an out of the ring.
The moment he left the illusion, Huai'an also woke up. However, he was knocked away so quickly that he didn't have enough time to react. As he fell outside the ring, the result of the competition came to an end.
"Biyun Temple, Xiao Wan'er wins," the old man announced in a booming voice, "The final competition will begin at noon tomorrow. I hope you two fellow Taoists will be there on time."
Just as Xiao Wan'er was about to leave with Pei Yingguan, Huai'an came over.
"Master Xiao had clearly already controlled this poor monk, so why did you still want to knock me off the stage?"
"Because I'm afraid you'll be able to break free from the illusion," Xiao Wan'er told the truth and then asked, "Is that actually the case?"
"Good," Huai'an also smiled, "Donor Xiao has such strength at such a young age. I admire him very much."
Xiao Wan'er replied humbly, "Master, you are too kind."
After returning to her residence, Xiao Wan'er didn't start practicing immediately. Instead, she set up a formation. Then, she walked into the formation with her divination tools, sat cross-legged, and began to divine.
After a full hour, she finally opened her eyes, her face pale. After completing the divination, the first thing she did was to open her personal space, take out several healing pills, and swallow them all in one gulp.
After regulating her breathing for another half an hour, her complexion returned to normal.
Xiao Wan'er cleaned up the formation and meditated until noon. She prepared the necessary tools for battle, and when she opened the door, Pei Yingguan was already standing in the yard.
The morning dew soaked his clothes, but he seemed oblivious and held out his hand to Xiao Wan'er, "Let's go."
The two of them walked in silence until Xiao Wan'er walked towards the ring, and Pei Yingguan suddenly called her.
"Junior sister," he said with a firm expression, "you will definitely win."
Xiao Wan'er smiled, and this smile made Pei Yingguan's heart beat uncontrollably rapidly.
"Thank you for your good wishes, senior brother." Xiao Wan'er said as she walked onto the stage.
The female swordsman was already standing on the stage. Seeing Xiao Wan'er approaching, she greeted her, "Thirty years ago, I lost to Liu Yun in the sect competition. I never thought that thirty years later, I would face his disciple again."
Xiao Wan'er said seriously, "Senior, please enlighten me."
The female swordsman laughed heartily, "I don't deserve your guidance. Just let me see why Liuyun let you succeed the abbot!"
There was no need for the old man presiding over the competition to give any orders, as the battle between the two was about to begin.
The sharp sword blade pierced through the magic and rushed towards Xiao Wan'er. Xiao Wan'er drew her sword to block, but after the two weapons clashed, she took several steps back before steadying herself.
After just one encounter, he was at a disadvantage.
Seeing that she was no match for him with just magic, Xiao Wan'er, holding the knife in her right hand, engaged the female swordsman head-on, her left hand continuing to fire spells, unleashing one spell after another to disrupt and attack her. With Xiao Wan'er exerting all her might, the two were now evenly matched.
But Xiao Wan'er also knew that the current parity was only temporary. Her energy consumption far outstripped her opponent's, and if the battle dragged on, she would inevitably lose.
A way to break the impasse was still needed. However, the competition did not allow the use of ready-made formation plates or elixirs that were not personally crafted. Xiao Wan'er could only use the talismans she had drawn in advance.
Amidst the tense battle, Xiao Wan'er suddenly exerted her strength, pressing her sword horizontally over the sharp sword, pushing the female swordsman back a step. At the same time, ice and fire hit the female swordsman at the same time. The extreme cold and extreme heat hit her together, forcing her to defend with all her strength.
At this moment, Xiao Wan'er threw out a handful of talismans.
Under the influence of the talisman, thunder roared down from the sky, striking the female swordsman headfirst. Resisting the onslaught of ice and fire, the female swordsman had no time to react and was struck hard. When the smoke cleared, the female swordsman appeared before everyone, covered in wounds.
The female swordsman said nothing, but swung her sword back with her backhand, splitting it open. Xiao Wan'er was horrified as she took the blow.
She clearly has some understanding of the way of the sword.
It turned out that what she thought was not caring was just a wound for an injury. Xiao Wan'er fell to the ground, spitting blood.
"Junior Sister!" Pei Yingguan, who was standing under the ring, was shocked and frightened, and was about to rush onto the ring. Fortunately, he was stopped by Huai'an at the last moment.
"Master Pei, if you go up like this, Master Xiao will lose."
"But..." Pei Yingguan looked anxious, and Huaian pointed to the ring.
"Look, Donor Xiao hasn't lost yet."
Xiao Wan'er produced pile after pile of talismans. The first stack she threw immobilized the female swordsman. The second, several thick vines emerged from the ground, binding the woman. The third time, she placed just one talisman on the woman's body, and she instantly lost all sense of her spiritual energy. Xiao Wan'er then stopped throwing talismans and, unexpectedly, merged her heart's blood into the water, forming a formation on the spot.
The female swordsman, worthy of being the formidable figure who had defeated Pei Yingguan, immediately mobilized all her spiritual energy after the talismans that sealed her spiritual energy expired, forcing her to forcefully break through the first two stacks. However, at this very moment, the final stroke of the formation was completed.
The strongest killing formation Xiao Wan'er could currently set up was activated.
The female swordsman unreservedly channeled her sword dao into her sword moves, finally breaking the formation. By this time, Xiao Wan'er was already at the end of her strength, no longer able to fight. Facing the female swordsman's all-out attack, she sighed and affixed a talisman to herself.
The moment the sword move landed on her, Xiao Wan'er and the female swordsman were both seriously injured.
"Anti-injury talisman?" The female swordsman was stunned. "You actually know this?"
"I'm not very good at this. I barely managed to learn it, and I only have this one. Even with the anti-injury talisman, I still got hurt. You're truly powerful, senior."
Yes, the female swordsman actually broke through the limit of the anti-injury talisman and caused considerable damage to Xiao Wan'er.
"You and I should be too weak to fight now, right? How about we just call it a draw?" The female swordsman also had no strength to fight anymore, and seeing that Xiao Wan'er was in the same situation, she asked her this.
Then, she saw Xiao Wan'er take out another stack of talismans.
In an instant, a strong wind blew and the female swordsman was blown off the stage.
Xiao Wan'er on the ring finally felt relieved when she saw her being rolled to the ground, and fainted directly on the ring.
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