Chapter 15

At dusk, the semifinals were about to begin.

The first to take the stage were Bai Luoyin and Bing Xian.

Both women were exceptional beauties. Merely standing together on the platform was enough to draw everyone’s attention, even before the match began.

“City Lord, she also made it into the semifinals.”

Xiao Sheng was looking at Bing Xian.

Wen Wanxi followed his gaze, and her eyes instantly turned cold.

“Keep a close watch on that old fox surnamed Bing.”

“Yes.”

After saying that, Wen Wanxi withdrew her gaze.

Among the crowd of disciples watching the matches, she quickly found Song Qi.

Song Qi was only eighteen, but she was fairly tall, with a pretty and charming appearance. Even in a crowd, she was easy to spot at a glance.

Combined with her perpetually Read on BaiLianTaleslively and cheerful manner, she resembled a small sun blazing atop the summit of Tianshan.

Gong—!

The bronze gong sounded.

Bing Xian and Bai Luoyin attacked at the same time.

Both beauties practiced light and graceful styles of swordsmanship. Their movements seemed as gentle as an evening breeze, yet countless hidden killing opportunities lay beneath them.

Their tightly woven sword techniques were exchanged and dismantled at astonishing speed, leaving everyone in awe.

This was not Song Qi’s first time seeing Bing Xian.

She had caught sight of her earlier when all the disciples gathered together, but it had only been a fleeting glimpse, and she had not looked carefully.

Now that she saw her properly, she realized that Bing Xian truly was beautiful.

Her face was as radiant as peach blossoms, her appearance peerlessly lovely, her figure light and graceful, and her movements like those of an immortal maiden.

She was indeed an extraordinarily rare beauty.

Even so, Song Qi felt that she was still slightly inferior to Wen Wanxi.

She lacked that sense of mystery and danger—the attraction that fascinated Song Qi so deeply.

Clang—!

Their longswords collided with a crisp metallic sound before both women sprang apart, opening the distance between them.

Bai Luoyin and Bing Xian were evenly matched.

After exchanging dozens of moves, both were already beginning to tire. The flush on their faces and their uneven breathing betrayed them.

Song Qi thought to herself, Whoever can hold on longer will win this match.

At this point, it was no longer a contest of swordsmanship.

It was a contest of endurance.

The two women became entangled in combat once more.

This time, Bai Luoyin even used A Light Boat Passes Ten Thousand Mountains.

The technique demanded enormous physical strength, but its power was equally immense. It was clearly a desperate attempt to stake everything on a single decisive assault.

Bing Xian had not expected Bai Luoyin to try defeating her in one continuous burst.

She admired that courage and consequently respected her opponent even more.

“Ha!”

Bing Xian gave a soft shout.

After retreating several steps in succession, she cleverly knocked Bai Luoyin’s longsword aside.

Bai Luoyin had already exhausted her strength. With that final deflection, her sword was sent flying from her hand.

Technically, she had already lost.

However, Bing Xian was equally drained. Her footing became unstable, and she pitched forward.

Bai Luoyin reacted quickly and wrapped an arm around Bing Xian’s waist.

She used her own body as a cushion, allowing Bing Xian to fall on top of her.

Bing Xian’s final reaction was to brace an elbow against the ground, preventing herself from crushing and injuring Bai Luoyin.

Bai Luoyin looked at Bing Xian.

Those clear, simple eyes shimmered with watery light, as though one could see straight through them.

Even though Bai Luoyin was also a woman, she could not help being captivated by Bing Xian.

Bing Xian looked back at Bai Luoyin as well.

She had not expected this person to wrap an arm around her waist at the very last moment to keep her from being injured…

Below the platform, Song Qi stared silently.

【Why do I feel like pink bubbles are floating around the two of them?】

【You’re seeing lesbians everywhere through shipper-tinted eyes.】

【Wait, when did I become a shipper?】

Song Qi found it extremely strange.

She had never even shipped any couples before. How had she become someone who saw romance everywhere, according to Hutu?

Hutu: 【It seems… it seems you haven’t.】

Song Qi: 【…】

The entire venue suddenly fell silent.

No one knew who had won the match.

Had it ended in a draw?

Bai Luoyin swallowed lightly, then gently pushed Bing Xian.

Only then did Bing Xian return to her senses and roll off her before standing.

“I lost.”

Those were the first words Bai Luoyin spoke after getting to her feet.

Whispers immediately spread among the audience below.

“My sword was knocked away first. I lost.”

Bai Luoyin conceded.

Although Bing Xian had also lost her footing at the end, Bai Luoyin had been the first to lose her weapon.

That was an undeniable fact.

In a genuine fight, she might already have lost her life.

Bing Xian watched Bai Luoyin retrieve her Blackwater Sword and slowly leave the platform.

One of Bai Luoyin’s hands remained pressed against her abdomen, suggesting she might also have been injured.

The disciples of the Flying Flower Sect swarmed around Bing Xian.

Bing Xian responded to each of them, yet her gaze remained fixed on Bai Luoyin.

“Are you all right?”

Song Qi supported Bai Luoyin.

She could tell that Bai Luoyin had completely exhausted herself and feared she might collapse if she tried to keep walking.

“I’m fine.”

Bai Luoyin claimed she was fine, but she still allowed Song Qi to hold her up so that she would not fall face-first and embarrass herself.

Fortunately, after regulating her breathing, Bai Luoyin’s footsteps gradually became steadier.

She glanced toward the Flying Flower Sect and sighed.

“In the end, I still lost by half a move.”

Yu Mingshun also came over.

First, he comforted Bai Luoyin. Then he praised her performance before offering a few pointers, fulfilling his responsibility as her teacher and sect elder.

Song Qi might as well have been invisible.

Had she not been Song Tianxing’s younger sister, Yu Mingshun would never have spared her a second glance.

“Take good care of your senior sister.”

Yu Mingshun gave Song Qi that one instruction before leaving.

He was preparing to watch the match between Song Tianxing and Xiao Sheng.

Song Qi glanced at Yu Mingshun’s retreating back.

Although keeping a low profile had been her intention, being looked down upon so blatantly still made her somewhat angry.

“Just now, did you notice anything?”

“Huh?”

“…Never mind.”

Bai Luoyin coughed softly twice.

Song Qi gently patted her back.

She felt the action was probably completely useless, but her hand had moved naturally before she could think about it.

“Were you asking about that final move? Staking everything on one attack is fine, but the last strike of A Light Boat Passes Ten Thousand Mountains has no defense. I think that’s the technique’s weakness.”

Drawing on the original Song Qi’s martial knowledge, Song Qi continued speaking seriously.

“If the sword’s momentum were pulled back slightly during the final strike and then immediately linked into The Sword Illuminates the Bright Moon, the technique could balance both offense and defense.”

The Sword Illuminates the Bright Moon was a very ordinary sword technique.

It was not especially powerful offensively and was mainly used for defense.

However, if it followed directly after A Light Boat Passes Ten Thousand Mountains, the combination would provide both attack and protection.

Bai Luoyin stared blankly at Song Qi without saying a word.

Her gaze made Song Qi increasingly uncomfortable.

“Uh, that’s only my humble opinion. Just pretend I was talking nonsense!”

Song Qi had never tested the idea in practice, so she did not know whether it would truly work.

Still, she had mentally rehearsed it once, and in theory, there should be no problem.

Bai Luoyin continued saying nothing.

Unable to endure being stared at any longer, Song Qi said, “I’m going to watch my brother’s match.”

Then she ran off.

She left Bai Luoyin sitting on the steps and completely forgot that she had been ordered to look after her.

That was what made Bai Luoyin frightening.

She clearly had many things she wanted to say, but she refused to speak.

She would simply stare at someone in silence until their heart began to panic.

Not long after Song Qi left, Bing Xian arrived.

She held a pale-green porcelain bottle and sat beside Bai Luoyin.

“Thank you for what happened earlier.”

“It was nothing. Merely an instinctive reaction.”

Bai Luoyin did not look at Bing Xian.

Bing Xian’s fragrance was too close, making one side of Bai Luoyin’s body feel warm.

The other woman took her hand and placed the pale-green porcelain bottle in her palm.

“So Miss Bai’s instinctive reaction is to wrap your arms around other people’s waists.”

Hearing Bing Xian tease her, Bai Luoyin did not respond.

She pushed the porcelain bottle back.

“I appreciate the thought. I’m not seriously injured.”

Bai Luoyin’s attitude was cold, but Bing Xian only smiled and placed the bottle beside her.

“In any case, thank you. I’m very glad to have met you.”

“Mm.”

Bai Luoyin had never spoken much.

She always wore an icy expression that made most people instinctively avoid her.

Aside from the shamelessly persistent Song Qi, Bing Xian was the only person willing to approach her.

“Was that your junior sister just now?”

“Mm.”

Bing Xian looked toward Song Qi, a smile appearing at the corners of her lips.

She had already noticed Song Qi earlier.

The girl was noisy and lively, almost like a child.

Bing Xian often thought that having a younger sister like Song Qi might not be bad. The household would certainly become livelier.

“It might be nice to have a younger sister.”

Hearing this, Bai Luoyin revealed a rare smile.

Yet the meaning behind it was difficult to interpret.

“One like Song Qi?”

“Mm.”

“You would regret it.”

“Hm?”

“Nothing.”

Bai Luoyin gently shook her head.

Song Qi certainly had her extraordinary qualities.

But if someone had to spend every day with her, they would probably be exhausted by all her commotion.

Song Qi still had many secrets.

Most notably, how had she obtained Wucheng’s healing medicine?

Wucheng would never casually give it to an outsider.

Bai Luoyin’s gaze fell upon Wen Wanxi on Tianshan’s ceremonial platform.

She wondered inwardly, Could Wen Wanxi have ordered Song Qi to injure Xu Yan?

But why Song Qi?

The match between Song Tianxing and Xiao Sheng had begun.

Xiao Sheng’s swordsmanship was exquisite.

He used Wucheng’s Netherworld Sword Art, attacking as swiftly as lightning while moving with strange and unpredictable footwork.

Determining the direction of his next attack was genuinely difficult.

Song Tianxing was no weak opponent either.

His foundations were solid, and he used sword techniques with exceptional flexibility, never restricting himself to their original, rigid forms.

Defeating him would also be difficult.

Song Qi watched the battle on the platform.

Song Tianxing used Straight to the Point to dissolve one of Xiao Sheng’s attacks.

In that exchange, Song Tianxing had been slightly more skillful.

However, the longer Song Qi watched, the more something felt wrong.

She had the constant feeling that she had overlooked something.

Everything seemed perfectly normal, but why…

That was it.

Xiao Sheng also knew a sword art called Flowers in the Mist.

At this point in the story, he should already have comprehended it.

If he used Flowers in the Mist together with the Netherworld Sword Art, he would be able to defeat Song Tianxing.

But he was not using it.

He was hiding his strength!

Song Qi turned toward Wen Wanxi on Tianshan’s ceremonial platform.

She was watching the match calmly, as though she had known from the beginning that Xiao Sheng would not use Flowers in the Mist.

Why was Xiao Sheng hiding his strength?

Could it be that Wucheng did not care about winning the Young Heroes’ Assembly?

The novel had once said that Song Tianxing defeated Xiao Sheng while displaying all his brilliance, causing Wen Wanxi to re[Read on BaiLianTales]member him as an obstacle in her path.

But now, Wucheng clearly did not want to win.

In the novel, Xiao Sheng had also refrained from using Flowers in the Mist during the martial arts tournament.

Then why had Wen Wanxi regarded Song Tianxing as an obstacle at all?

A sudden possibility flashed through Song Qi’s mind.

Perhaps Wucheng’s objective had never been to win the championship.

Wucheng had already become a thorn in everyone’s side.

If Xiao Sheng also seized first place, then every movement Wucheng made afterward would probably fall under the close scrutiny of the entire martial world.

That was why he had to conceal his strength.

They were hiding their abilities to remain less conspicuous.

But why did they need to keep such a low profile?

And what exactly had Song Tianxing done that caused Wen Wanxi to remember him?