Chapter 49 From Senior Brother to Master, it sounds...
Sheng Zhiyi stood on the competition field, looking at Liu Suxin on the other side.
The gentle spring breeze stirred the hems of their clothes and the strands of their hair, making them flutter and sway.
But the way they looked at each other was unusually calm.
This was the final match, and the stands around the venue were packed with people. Many elders also took time out of their busy schedules to come and witness the final winner.
This inner sect selection took everyone by surprise.
Many of the pre-competition favorites were eliminated, and the finalists were two previously unknown individuals.
One was a lowly servant in a sect, the other was dull-witted.
Some busybodies have already started making quiet arrangements:
"Come on, let's bet on who will win. Place your bets now."
"Sheng Zhiyi's sword is too fast. When I competed with her, I could hardly see her movements."
"Her movements are quite agile, making them very difficult to predict."
However, differing opinions soon emerged:
"Sheng Zhiyi's swordsmanship and movement are indeed very strong, but she has a fatal weakness."
"Yes, anyone who has fought her knows that her spiritual energy accumulation is really not much."
"If it were just within the outer sect, her spiritual power would be considered quite good. However, the competition has progressed to this point, and it's already a selection of the best of the best. Compared to that, Sheng Zhiyi seems to be lacking."
"But Liu Suxin's advantage lies in her spiritual power."
"Sheng Zhiyi's initial attack will definitely be extremely fierce, but as long as Liu Suxin can withstand the initial onslaught, the longer it drags on, the greater her chances of turning the tide."
"What Liu Suxin has in abundance is patience."
The discussions among the crowd also reached the inner sect's spectator stands, where several white-haired, youthful-looking, and vigorous elders nodded in agreement:
"What they said makes some sense."
"One is sharp and unparalleled, the other is profound and majestic; both are rare talents in the sect."
"It's a pity that there's only one spot for the inner sect selection this time, otherwise it would be a wonderful thing to bring both of them into the inner sect."
"The sect leader has his own considerations. After all, once a disciple is accepted as a personal disciple, he must teach him carefully and cannot do it for someone else."
"Ji Fuguang, what do you think?"
Upon realizing that Ji Fuguang was a disciple of the sect leader, the elders couldn't help but look over.
Ji Fuguang fiddled with a folding fan in his hand, looking at the competition venue, seemingly lost in thought.
Upon hearing this, he turned to the elders and smiled gently.
"The sect leader's cultivation has reached a bottleneck, and he is preparing to go into seclusion recently. He is busy with many matters and I'm afraid he won't have the spare energy to accept two disciples."
Although they had known this would be the case, the elders were still somewhat disappointed and asked again:
"In your opinion, who will win between these two?"
“This…” Ji Fuguang lowered his eyes slightly, his tone indifferent, “Judging from the current situation, Liu Suxin has a higher chance of winning.”
The elders nodded knowingly, agreeing with his view.
The competition began, and everyone stopped talking and looked towards the arena.
Ji Fuguang's eyes narrowed slightly.
The commotion in the stands had no effect on the game itself.
Sheng Zhiyi gripped her sword and looked solemnly at Liu Suxin opposite her.
The first time I met her was in the library. Liu Suxin was the disciple in charge of registering jade tokens. Sheng Zhiyi wanted to find Ji Fuguang, but as a servant, she couldn't go up to the upper floors. It was Liu Suxin who told her that she could find someone else to vouch for her.
Sheng Zhiyi smiled gently and said:
"Thank you for what happened last time."
At that time, she was only focused on being wary of Qin Shaoyang and hadn't yet thanked Liu Suxin.
Liu Suxin pursed her lips and slowly shook her head:
"It's alright, it's nothing serious..."
She didn't show many expressions, but she appeared gentle and reserved, and even without smiling, she didn't make people feel rejected.
However, given her appearance, she didn't seem likely to lay a hand on anyone.
Then, I will draw the sword myself.
Sheng Zhiyi slowly drew "Jinghongyu," its blade clear as water, gleaming brightly. Her expression was solemn.
"Liu Suxin, I'm sorry to offend you."
Liu Suxin's expression was also focused, her spiritual energy surging throughout her body, and she drew her sword to meet the attack:
"bring it on."
Her reaction was somewhat slow. In the past, her opponents would try to take advantage of this and launch a preemptive strike without saying a word. This was the first time Sheng Zhiyi had given such a serious reminder.
Sheng Zhiyi's wrist crackled with lightning, the sword light swirling and transforming into a dense net, aimed directly at Liu Suxin's head.
Every wisp of sword energy carried a chilling aura, blocking all of Liu Suxin's escape routes. The air was torn apart, emitting a fine, sharp buzzing sound, as if countless ice spikes were piercing the sky at the same time.
Liu Suxin's pupils contracted slightly. The overwhelming sword net came too fast and too far. The powerful spiritual energy in her body surged and collapsed instinctively, and her protective aura instantly thickened. Her whole body seemed to be wrapped in a layer of pale white light.
However, she was a beat too slow, and her forearm was already slashed by the sword energy, bleeding profusely.
Instead of choosing the most ingenious way to deflect force or cleverly break the net, she let out a low shout and stomped her foot.
She stepped on the bluestone floor and created spiderweb-like cracks!
Using this brute force, she gripped the sword hilt tightly with both hands and, from bottom to top, poured all her spiritual power into it in the most direct and clumsy way, thrusting it upwards with all her might.
This sword strike was devoid of any fancy moves, and even appeared somewhat stiff.
The sword, imbued with a powerful yet somewhat sluggish spiritual energy, formed a thick white ribbon that crashed headlong into the sharp sword net.
Amidst the flashing swords, the two gazed at each other.
Contrary to everyone's expectations, Liu Suxin did not choose to defend and exhaust Sheng Zhiyi's spiritual power, but instead chose to fight back with her sword.
This is a return gift for Sheng Zhiyi's reminder earlier.
She didn't want to drag Sheng Zhiyi down; instead, she wanted to have a competition with her that went all out.
"Swoosh—Bang—!"
The ear-piercing sounds of metal scraping and spiritual energy colliding rang out simultaneously.
The moment the white, cold light struck the sword net, Liu Suxin's body was clearly jolted backward by the enormous impact. Her clumsy sword moves prevented her from fully neutralizing the force, and she involuntarily stumbled back three steps, each step leaving deep footprints on the ground.
Although the sword light she raised was thick, it was not concentrated enough. At the edge where it touched the sword net, it was constantly torn and cut by the agile "Surprising Feather" sword beams, which were like swimming fish. The pale white spiritual energy fragments scattered and flew like broken glass.
Sheng Zhiyi's sword net was forced upwards by this immense force, causing the impenetrable blockade to falter slightly.
Her eyes narrowed, clearly not expecting Liu Suxin to respond to the enemy in such a "reckless" way.
But she changed her move very quickly. With a flick of her wrist, the sword net suddenly tightened, and thousands of sword beams seemed to be drawn by invisible threads, instantly condensing into a more refined sword light, like a venomous snake spitting its tongue, piercing straight at Liu Suxin's slightly exposed center gate due to leaning back.
The spectators were on tenterhooks, never expecting the match to be so intense and fast-paced right from the start.
Liu Suxin had just regained her footing and her breathing was not yet even when the deadly lightning was already at her chest!
In her haste, she only had time to hold the broad blade of her sword horizontally in front of her to block. Her movements were made even more clumsy by the urgency of the situation, and she even leaned forward slightly due to the excessive force exerted by her body.
"clang--!"
A deafening roar.
The sword light slammed into Liu Suxin's sword. The enormous impact made her groan, and the tiger's mouth of her hands gripping the sword trembled violently. She was pushed back again by the force.
However, she finally stopped, and white protective energy slowly emanated from her body.
Sheng Zhiyi did not immediately pursue. She stood with her sword in hand, the blade gleaming with white light, reflecting her slowly furrowed brows.
The color of Liu Suxin's aura was exactly the same as it had been at the beginning.
She also possesses such substantial spiritual power!
For a moment, all the disciples in the spectator stands showed surprise on their faces, and a thought arose in their minds simultaneously:
This time, Sheng Zhiyi is in big trouble.
If this had happened a month ago, anyone who mentioned that the two of them had made it to the finals would probably have been considered mentally unstable.
But that's how fate works; sometimes everything has meaning, and the next moment, everything changes. People get hurt and sick, loved ones are separated, and the trajectory of life can suddenly take a turn, causing one to fall from a high pedestal.
However, there is something else in life called hope.
If fate can suddenly turn bad, it can also suddenly turn good.
Liu Suxin felt the spiritual energy within her body. It circulated silently through her meridians, flowing continuously like a deep pool or a giant lake, burning with a solid and heavy white light around her.
White is an inconspicuous color, especially the pale white of burning spiritual energy, which is like a wisp of mist floating in a mountain stream, making one wonder if they are seeing things.
The spiritual energy burning around Liu Suxin was still inconspicuous, but this time, no one dared to be careless.
In the stands, everyone was watching them.
When Liu Suxin was alive, she studied the classics and learned practical skills. She was quite talented, but she knew that she was never a gifted person and could not make any progress. She could only copy classics under the dim light of a lamp and grind ink on a cold bench by a cold window.
It was a long road that required constant dripping and gradual accumulation.
She had met many talented people, but often, as they studied, they either gave up, stopped, or, after failing, refused to face the challenge again...
She was the only one who kept walking slowly down this path.
However, after entering the Tianyan Sect, faced with those graceful, agile, and swift sword techniques, her adherence to "uprightness" and "rules" became heavy shackles, making her appear exceptionally clumsy and slow.
She was also bewildered, as this path to immortality seemed ethereal and out of place for her.
But the only thing she learned from childhood was that only through persistent hard work can one make progress.
The master instructed all disciples to meditate and cultivate, but the others could not sit still. After one incense stick's time, they could not feel any increase in spiritual power, so they chose to give up.
Actually, Liu Suxin couldn't sit still either; she also wanted to get up and move around, to do something she could see.
However, she chose to continue sitting there, focusing her mind and calming her nerves, day after day.
At this moment, feeling the vast and boundless spiritual power within her body, Liu Suxin's expression remained calm.
"They're all watching me..." This thought flashed through Liu Suxin's mind, carrying a hint of barely perceptible tension, but more so, a sense of calm after everything had settled down.
"But so what?"
Liu Suxin gripped the simple yet exceptionally sturdy longsword in her hand, her gaze fixed on Sheng Zhiyi, whose forehead was beaded with sweat.
The battle that followed was in her favor.
Ji Fuguang played with the folding fan in his hand, looking at the two people in the competition area. His fingertips gently caressed the sachet on the folding fan, feeling the softness and fullness inside. The tea leaves inside had been carefully processed with magic after the tea stems were removed, and the fragrance was refreshing.
He looked at Sheng Zhiyi, the girl's face was expressionless, and her fingers gripped the sword hilt even tighter.
But he knew she was a little nervous.
Ji Fuguang's lips suddenly curled up slightly, and a hint of gloom flashed in his eyes.
It doesn't matter if he can't win; what he wants will definitely be in his hands.
Shen Qingming can't accept disciples on behalf of his master, so why can't he? It just takes a little more effort, but...
Going from senior brother to master sounds pretty good.
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