Chapter 15: Accepting the Challenge |
Zhuang Yu was so frightened that his face turned pale. Unable to tell truth from illusion, he only felt two sharp sword intents locking onto him at the same time.
In his panic, he rapidly retreated, both hands moving without pause as he set up layer upon layer of wind walls and lightning nets in front of himself, trying to block the attack.
The two “He Shi’an” swords almost simultaneously pierced through the wind walls and lightning nets.
“Puff! Tear!”
The sword light on the left only entered the wind wall by a few inches before dissipating, stirring up a burst of turbulence; it had clearly only been a phantom image. However, the sword light on the right was incomparably solid, silver light flickering, as it pierced through the wind wall and tore apart the lightning net like a hot knife through butter! The cold star at the tip of the sword was already pressing toward Zhuang Yu’s chest!
Zhuang Yu had nowhere to dodge. He could only grit his teeth and condense all of his remaining spiritual power into a tiny blue-violet shield placed before his chest.
“Clang!”
A crisp impact rang out. The tiny shield flashed violently, then finally let out a mournful cry as fine cracks appeared on its surface.
Zhuang Yu only felt an immense force surge into him, as though his chest had suffered a heavy blow. He was thrown backward, tumbling several times in midair before barely landing at the edge of the arena. He staggered a few steps before steadying himself. A trace of sweetness rose in his throat, but he forcibly suppressed it, though his face had already gone deathly pale.
“Thank you for accompanying me in this match.” He Shi’an sheathed his sword and cupped his hands toward Zhuang Yu.
Suppressing the surging blood and qi within himself, Zhuang Yu returned the salute with a bitter smile and admitted defeat. “Senior Brother He’s swordsmanship is profound. Zhuang Yu is fully convinced.”
He knew the other party had held back; otherwise, that sword strike just now would have been enough to shatter his protective magic artifact and severely wound him.
“Main arena: He Shi’an has successfully defended his position and continues to hold the top spot in the elite rankings!” the referee loudly announced.
The entire venue burst into warm applause and cheers.
He Shi’an’s performance had indeed lived up to expectations for the one ranked first. He controlled the overall situation, reduced complexity to simplicity, and let sword shadows interweave in a manner that inspired admiration.
On the high platform, Peak Master Leng stroked his beard, a trace of a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth. He tried hard to keep a stern expression, but the pride at the corners of his eyes was hard to conceal.
He glanced at Elder Lin and Lu Fengmian beside him and said casually, “That kid’s only so-so. He cultivated the ‘Peerless Sword Art’ to the realm of ‘Sword Shadows Following Form’, but he is still far from ‘Sword and Body as One’. Still, it was enough to deal with that boy Zhuang Yu.”
How could Elder Lin and the others fail to see that he was showing off? They all smiled and offered a few words of praise.
Lu Fengmian also smiled in agreement and said, “Junior Brother He’s talent in the sword path is extraordinary. He has already grasped Martial Uncle Leng’s true teachings. Given time, he will surely become another sword expert of our Lingyun Sect.”
Hearing this, Peak Master Leng immediately felt refreshed and pleased, and the way he looked at Lu Fengmian became more and more favorable.
Just then, He Shi’an on the main arena did not step down to rest as everyone had expected. He stood there quietly for a moment, then suddenly raised his head, his gaze piercing through the crowd and landing precisely on Lu Fengmian on the high platform.
Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, he cupped his hands toward the high platform and loudly said:
“This disciple, He Shi’an, had long heard that Senior Brother Lu’s cultivation is deep, and that he possesses both virtue and talent while leading us disciples. Today, I have had the fortune to stand in this position, and I boldly ask Senior Brother Lu for guidance!”
His clear voice echoed throughout the entire martial arena.
In an instant, the whole venue fell silent.
All eyes moved in unison from He Shi’an on the arena to that moon-white figure on the high platform.
Lu Fengmian let out a deep sigh in his heart.
He knew that this “Perfect Senior Brother” mission would not allow him to complete things so easily by merely acting as a coordinator behind the scenes.
What should come would come eventually.
Very well. Now was precisely the best time to let those who still harbored doubts see whether this “air-dropped” senior brother, aside from managing affairs, also possessed martial ability worthy of his position.
His expression remained calm, still carrying that gentle and steady look. Facing the main arena, he replied, “Since Junior Brother He has said so, then I will naturally accompany you.”
His voice fell, and he slightly nodded toward the elders on the platform. Then his body moved; with a light flick of his moon-white sleeve, he descended onto the main arena like a drifting cloud, facing He Shi’an from afar.
The moment Lu Fengmian stepped onto the arena, all the other venues instantly lost their appeal.
The disciples stopped sparring and challenging; all of them crowded around the main arena, standing on tiptoe and craning their necks, afraid to miss even the slightest detail. Whispered discussion spread like a tide.
“Senior Brother really accepted the challenge!”
“Senior Brother He is ranked first in the elite rankings and is already at the late Golden Core stage! Isn’t Senior Brother Lu only at the early Golden Core stage?”
“Shh! Quiet! Since Senior Brother dared accept the challenge, he must be very confident!”
“Who do you think will win? Senior Brother He’s ‘Peerless Sword Art’ is extremely powerful!”
“I don’t know, but Senior Brother is usually so busy. He definitely can’t devote himself to cultivation as single-mindedly as Senior Brother He, right?”
“Hard to say. Don’t forget, Senior Brother reached the Golden Core in only three years!”
As He Shi’an looked at the calm and composed Lu Fengmian opposite him, that trace of pride in his heart grew even stronger.
His own path of cultivation had indeed been smooth. His talent had won the appreciation of Peak Master Leng Ye, resources had favored him greatly, and he himself was diligent and hardworking. Having entered the ranks of the elite early on, it was inevitable that he had developed some pride.
Toward this senior brother who had suddenly appeared and seemed to devote most of his energy to handling sect trivialities, he was outwardly respectful, but inwardly he was not necessarily fully convinced.
At this moment, he said in a seemingly humble tone, “Senior Brother Lu, my cultivation has already reached the late Golden Core stage. For the sake of fairness, I can suppress my cultivation to the early Golden Core stage, the same as Senior Brother.”
The moment these words fell, another commotion rose from below the arena.
Some thought He Shi’an upright; others thought the gesture carried hidden contempt.
Lu Fengmian expressionlessly waved his hand. “No need. Junior Brother He, you only need to go all out.”
He Shi’an was slightly taken aback, then a trace of displeasure at being slighted flashed through his eyes. “Fine. Since you are being so arrogant, then don’t blame me for not holding back.”
Only then did he notice that Lu Fengmian’s hands were empty, and he had not even drawn a sword. Some enthusiastic disciples from Wanren Peak even wanted to throw their own swords up to him, but Lu Fengmian smiled and waved them off.
He Shi’an coldly snorted inwardly. Not even drawing a sword? This man was truly arrogant! I would like to see exactly what astonishing ability this disciple personally accepted by the sect master possesses!
“In that case,” He Shi’an said no more. He raised his longsword diagonally, and the blade let out a humming sound. “Senior Brother Lu, forgive the offense!”
Before his voice had even faded, his figure had already blurred. In the next moment, he appeared on Lu Fengmian’s left side, his longsword turning into a streak of silver lightning as it stabbed fiercely toward Lu Fengmian’s shoulder blade!
The sword was so fast it pierced the air, the cold light at its tip flashing—it was clear he was taking this seriously.
Faced with this swift sword strike, Lu Fengmian made a move that left everyone utterly dumbfounded.
He closed his eyes.
The crowd below the arena instantly erupted into uproar!
“Senior Brother closed his eyes?!”
“What kind of move is this?!”
“That’s too dangerous!”
However, what happened next was even more unbelievable.
At the very instant the longsword was about to strike him, as though he had foreseen it, Lu Fengmian’s body tilted by an extremely tiny angle.
“Whoosh—”
The blade almost brushed past his moon-white sleeve, yet did not even touch the corner of his clothes.
He Shi’an’s attack missed, and even he himself felt a little surprised. But his offensive did not stop. His swordsmanship instantly changed, transforming into a dense sword net that tightly enveloped Lu Fengmian’s vital acupoints!
Amid the flashing sword light, his figure once again became blurred. Two sword-wielding figures attacked in a crisscrossing pattern—truth and illusion indistinguishable, emptiness and substance impossible to tell apart!
This was the subtle brilliance of the “Peerless Sword Art”: using sword-shadow clones to confuse the opponent, waiting for the chance to deliver a fatal strike.