Chapter 14: The Peak of the Elite Rankings |
“Come!”
A cold gleam flashed through Junior Sister Yun Heng’s eyes, and she actually charged straight toward the fist seal! The longsword in her hand instantly erupted with dazzling light.
All the sword qi within her body condensed onto the sword tip, and her entire body seemed to merge with the longsword, turning into a highly concentrated ice-blue thin line that stabbed straight at the center of the fist seal!
“Condensing sword qi into a thread?!” On the high platform, Peak Master Leng suddenly sat upright, his eyes shining brightly.
Shh—!
There was no earth-shaking explosion, only a slight yet crisp sound of penetration. That ice-blue thin line actually pierced through the heavy earthy-yellow fist seal like a hot knife through butter, then continued forward with unstoppable momentum, pointing straight at Zhao Mang’s chest!
Zhao Mang’s expression changed drastically. He no longer had time to change tactics and could only desperately mobilize his spiritual power to strengthen the defense before his chest.
The ice-blue thread struck the earth-spirit light armor on Zhao Mang’s chest with a dull impact.
Zhao Mang let out a muffled groan and staggered back seven or eight steps, each one leaving deep footprints on the arena floor. The spiritual light before his chest flickered violently, and with a “crack,” several fractures appeared. Although it had not completely shattered, it had already been damaged.
Junior Sister Yun Heng’s figure appeared where Zhao Mang had been standing just now. Her face was several shades paler than before, and the hand holding the sword trembled slightly, clearly showing that the strike just now had consumed a tremendous amount of her strength. Even so, her posture remained straight, the sword tip angled toward the ground.
The entire venue fell silent at once.
“I concede.” Zhao Mang looked at the cracks on his spirit armor, gave a bitter smile, and cupped his hands to admit defeat.
“Arena Number Three, challenge match, Junior Sister Yun Heng wins! She replaced Zhao Mang at rank 273 in the elite rankings!” the referee loudly announced, his voice carrying excitement.
Cheers and discussion instantly erupted!
“She won! She really won!”
“She successfully challenged an opponent of a higher level! Junior Sister Yun Heng is incredible!”
“What was that sword strike just now? That aura was terrifying!”
“Condensing sword qi into a thread! That is an extremely high realm of swordsmanship! Junior Sister Yun Heng was only at the mid Foundation Establishment stage!”
After separately bowing to the referee and Zhao Mang, Junior Sister Yun Heng stepped down from the arena. Ignoring the noise around her, she walked straight toward the rest area, her gaze once again turning toward the high platform.
Lu Fengmian looked at her and gave her a thumbs-up.
“At the mid Foundation Establishment stage, she had already grasped the rudiments of condensing sword qi into a thread. Although it was still imperfect and the consumption was great, with this kind of swordsmanship talent, along with an Innate Sword Bone…” Peak Master Leng shook his head and sighed, “That old fellow Lingxuan’s luck was truly outrageously good!”
“This girl’s temperament is tenacious. Although her killing intent is heavy, she can control it, like an unpolished piece of jade,” Elder Lin added. “It seems that with these two disciples, Luo Xia Peak’s line will certainly shine brilliantly.”
Listening to the elders’ conversation, Lu Fengmian also felt deeply moved.
That little girl from three years ago, covered in blood and barely clinging to life, was now able to rely on the sword in her hand to make a name for herself in the sect’s small competition and enter the ranks of the elite.
Time really passed quickly.
After dealing with two disputes caused by accidental injuries in the arena and comforting one disciple whose mood had sunk so low after a failed challenge that his Dao heart had nearly become unstable, Lu Fengmian returned to the high platform.
He had just steadied himself when Elder Lin’s laughter came from beside him. “Nephew Lu is back? Ah, thanks to you taking over these trivial matters, this old man can now sit here comfortably and watch these young people compete with peace of mind. That old fellow Lingxuan finally did something wise.”
Lu Fengmian turned around and smiled modestly. “Martial Uncle Lin praises me too highly. Being able to let Martial Uncle Lin relax is both my duty and my honor.”
Yet inwardly, he silently complained: You were sitting idle, while I was so busy I was practically turning into a spinning top.
“You did better than many stewards who were specially responsible for this work,” Elder Lin praised sincerely, then watched the arena with interest.
“Speaking of which, quite a few good seedlings had indeed emerged in this year’s small competition. Junior Sister Yun Heng of Luo Xia Peak naturally goes without saying, and those lads from Wanren Peak are not bad either. Right, Nephew Lu, do you know who is currently ranked first among the elite?”
Lu Fengmian had been too busy recently and had not paid special attention to the latest changes in the elite rankings. Hearing this, he followed the topic and asked, “Martial Uncle, please enlighten me.”
Before Elder Lin could speak, Peak Master Leng, who had been watching the arena the whole time, suddenly gave a cold snort, though his tone carried unconcealed pride: “Who else could it be? Of course it was my useless third disciple, He Shi’an.”
The moment he finished speaking, as though to confirm his words, a loud voice rang out from the main arena:
“Ranked eighth, Zhuang Yu, challenges He Shi’an, ranked first!”
Everyone’s gaze instantly focused on the main arena.
Lu Fengmian also looked in the direction from which the voice had come.
On one side of the main arena stood a graceful young man—Zhuang Yu, who was at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core realm. He clearly wanted to use this chance to challenge the top expert and go one step further.
On the other side, a young man in a dark blue sword robe stood with his hands behind his back, upright as a pine tree. His appearance was not strikingly handsome, but a sharp aura showed between his brows.
He was indeed the third personal disciple of Wanren Peak’s peak master Leng Ye, who currently stood at the top of the elite rankings—He Shi’an.
“Senior Brother Zhuang, please,” He Shi’an said calmly.
“Junior Brother He, excuse me!” Zhuang Yu’s expression turned grave. Knowing full well how strong his opponent was, he immediately used the wind-and-thunder ultimate technique at which he was most skilled!
He formed hand seals, and brilliant green light instantly burst forth around him as wild winds rose abruptly. Several green wind blades appeared out of nowhere, letting out shrill whistles as they surged toward He Shi’an like huge waves!
At the same time, lightning flickered in his left palm, and a purple bolt as thick as a water bucket struck first, tearing through the air and crashing down with a destructive aura!
Wind lent force to thunder, and thunder in turn borrowed strength from wind! This was precisely the killing move Zhuang Yu had painstakingly cultivated from “Wind-Thunder Attraction”—“Interwoven Wind and Thunder”!
The attack was swift and violent; the wild wind blocked the path, and heavenly thunder descended from above. Its momentum was astonishing!
Cries of shock rose from the watching disciples.
He Shi’an’s expression did not change in the slightest. His right hand pressed against the sword hilt at his waist.
Zheng—!
A crisp sword cry rang throughout the arena like the roar of a dragon!
In an instant, a sharp sword intent shot into the sky! And it was not one strand, but two! Two nearly identical, tangible silver sword lights split away from He Shi’an’s body.
One sword light was swift as wind, turning into a spinning sword wheel that ground the shrieking wind blades into powder. The other sword light was heavy as thunder, shooting skyward, its tip striking precisely against the point of that violent purple lightning bolt!
—Boom!
Sword light and lightning collided, erupting in dazzling radiance and a deafening roar! The thunder was actually split into two by this sword, and the raging electric serpents scattered to both sides, crashing into the arena barrier and sending ripples through it.
Yet amid that dazzling radiance and chaotic energy, He Shi’an’s figure suddenly blurred. In the next moment, two “He Shi’ans” actually appeared at the same time! Both held longswords, and their aura, appearance, even their gazes, were exactly the same!
“Peerless sword art! Sword-Shadow Clone!” a disciple who recognized the move cried out in shock.