Chapter 11
Before seeing Bai Yueli with her own eyes, Fu Yan had always felt that the original novel’s description was far too exaggerated. Now, however, she had no choice but to admit the truth.
Bai Yueli, one of the female leads, truly was beautiful in a way that startled the heart. Especially that cold, clean temperament of hers—it really did match the original line, “as clear and bright as the moon.”
Just as Fu Yan in the corner slowly came back to herself, Bai Yueli had already stepped onto the arena. She raised her eyes to look at her opponent—Yu Heng—and gave a slight nod in greeting, but there was no extra expression on her face.
“Junior Sister Yueli,” Yu Heng greeted her with a smile as well.
Although for the past two years, he had always been pressed beneath Bai Yueli, and although Yu Heng had never stopped wanting to seize first place in the inner disciple rankings, when he looked at the cold beauty in white before him, he still felt that she could hook a person’s soul.
But he was not in a hurry. Sooner or later, Bai Yueli would be his.
Thinking of this, a trace of hidden amusement flashed through Yu Heng’s warm eyes. He seemed to have already imagined what Bai Yueli would look like beneath him. That taste would certainly be soul-stirring enough to seep into the bones.
“It has been two months since we last met. Junior Sister Yueli’s strength must have grown even more powerful. There is still over a month before our inner sect ranking competition, so today, you and I can simply have a casual spar.” Yu Heng looked at Bai Yueli across from him and spoke with an amiable smile.
Bai Yueli nodded. She still had no extra expression and merely said lightly, “Let’s begin.”
Yu Heng greatly disliked Bai Yueli’s attitude, as if she did not take him seriously at all. Now that he was also at the late Illumination stage, he naturally wanted to defeat her completely. However, none of this showed on his face.
“Then, Junior Sister Yueli, please instruct me.” Yu Heng looked like a refined young master as he politely cupped his hands toward Bai Yueli and spoke.
Bai Yueli replied, “Please.”
At this moment, everyone seated in the audience outside the arena could not help perking up. They had been looking forward to this battle for a long time.
“It’s starting, it’s starting!”
No one knew who shouted excitedly, but after that, the two people on the arena, who had still been courteous and polite just a moment ago, swiftly moved.
Yu Heng struck first. He sent a palm attack straight toward Bai Yueli across from him, but Bai Yueli easily dodged it, leaving only a faint, illusory afterimage in place.
In almost the span of a single breath, Yu Heng quickly turned his hand and threw out a punch. In the end, however, it only stirred up dust across the ground.
Bai Yueli moved across the arena like a ghost. Her speed was so fast that people could only see a cluster of white afterimages.
“My heavens, how is Senior Sister Bai Yueli’s speed this fast? I can’t even see where her real body is. I can only see a pile of shadows.”
“Me too…”
“As expected of Senior Sister Bai. Too terrifying. At that speed, if it were me, I probably wouldn’t even have the chance to exchange one move.”
Fu Yan watched the situation on the stage and was not too surprised, but her gaze had grown somewhat heated. This was what true talent against true talent looked like. Before them, her own strength was simply not enough to look at.
“It seems Junior Sister Yueli’s lightness skill has grown even faster!” Although Yu Heng had missed, he was not too disappointed. After all, he knew Bai Yueli was not that easy to deal with. He simply had not expected her lightness skill to have already reached such a masterful level.
He had not even had the chance to touch the edge of Bai Yueli’s clothes.
Bai Yueli replied, “Senior Brother Yu is too polite.”
Yu Heng smiled. Yet his gentle eyes suddenly turned serious. He spun around and drew the soft sword from his waist. Holding the sword in one hand, the currents of true essence around his body rapidly surged.
The long soft sword was like a traceless white snake—dazzling, elusive, and ghostly to the extreme. The sight made everyone feel a little overwhelmed.
Very soon, Yu Heng’s figure closed in directly before Bai Yueli. The soft sword in his hand seemed as if, in the next moment, it would slash straight across her waist.
Bai Yueli’s face remained calm and unhurried. In truth, she could have easily dodged just as she had before. However, since this was a sparring match, if she kept avoiding him, there would be no meaning to it.
In the next second, Bai Yueli gripped her Yueyao Sword in a reverse hold. Not only did she directly block the soft sword’s attack, she also followed the path of the soft sword and successfully changed the direction of its edge.
One had to know that the movements of a soft sword had always been impossible to avoid and impossible to block, because a soft sword could freely bend and turn, just like a snake. It might suddenly turn back and bite you at any time.
But now, Yu Heng’s soft sword had been completely led away from its own rhythm by Bai Yueli.
Naturally, Yu Heng did not dare be careless. He directly released the hilt, then performed an extremely fast three-hundred-and-sixty-degree spin in midair. His soft sword also spun rapidly around the edge of Bai Yueli’s Yueyao Sword, and in the end, it still landed steadily back in Yu Heng’s hand.
Bai Yueli also had no choice but to follow the momentum and avoid the sword light, her body leaning slightly backward.
Seeing this, Yu Heng before her naturally would not let such a good opportunity pass. Taking advantage of the moment before Bai Yueli had steadied herself, true essence once again burst from his whole body. His toes moved like a dragonfly skimming the water as he circled behind Bai Yueli, then struck out with a palm.
“My heavens, why does Senior Sister Bai Yueli’s situation seem a little bad?”
“Stop talking. I barely dare to breathe. But haven’t you noticed? Up until now, Senior Sister still hasn’t truly drawn her Yueyao Sword.”
As soon as those words fell, Bai Yueli on the arena swiftly turned her hand and planted her Yueyao Sword upright against the floor. Then, using the sword hilt, she flipped herself up.
Then, the instant Yu Heng’s palm struck out, Bai Yueli had already flipped behind Yu Heng. Without the slightest hesitation, she also returned a palm strike.
At this moment, Yu Heng no longer had time to dodge. He could only quickly mobilize his true essence to protect his body. In an instant, powerful currents of qi exploded violently between them, stirring up dust all over the ground. Through the blur, the people outside could only see two white figures.
“Junior Sister Yueli is still as powerful as ever. Then take another sword strike from me!” Yu Heng did not intend to keep exhausting himself move by move against Bai Yueli. His true essence suddenly condensed rapidly throughout his body.
“Snake Shadow Breaks Bamboo!”
Immediately, a tremendous sense of pressure spread across the entire arena. The dust that filled the sky had only just fallen when Yu Heng leapt up directly. A powerful sword aura also rose into the sky, as if it wanted to dye the entire stretch of air.
Sensing the terror of Yu Heng’s sword strike, the disciples below could not help revealing frightened expressions.
“What sword technique is that? Even from here, I can feel that terrifying aura. This sword strike is too frightening. It looks like Senior Sister Bai will have to use her full strength too.”
“In my opinion, this sword technique should be a high-tier human-rank technique.”
“It’s actually a high-tier human-rank sword technique? No wonder it’s so terrifying. If it were me, I wouldn’t have any power to fight back at all. I could only quietly wait for death to arrive.”
In this world, all cultivation methods and martial techniques had specific rank divisions. They were divided into human-rank, earth-rank, and heaven-rank. Each rank was further divided into low-tier, middle-tier, and high-tier.
The most common cultivation methods and martial techniques were low-tier and middle-tier human-rank. High-tier techniques were already very rare. As for earth-rank techniques, an entire sect might only have one. Heaven-rank techniques were legendary supreme techniques, and the entire Minbei Region might not even have a single one.
This sword strike was indeed somewhat terrifying. Thinking of the Thunderclap Sword Liu Chuanhan had used that day, Fu Yan could not help shaking her head. If she were facing Yu Heng, then the current her would probably truly have only one road: death.
It seemed she was still too weak. She had to improve her cultivation and strength as quickly as possible.
Fu Yan looked at Yu Heng’s sword strike on the stage. Although she was somewhat surprised, she was not too shocked. After all, he was the only son of the Shuiling Sect’s sect master and should be the future successor of the sect. Naturally, the cultivation methods he practiced would be the best.
For some reason, Fu Yan still felt that Bai Yueli could win, even though the current situation did not look too favorable, and even though this was only a sparring match.
Fu Yan believed that Yu Heng and Bai Yueli on the stage both had their own trump cards. But in this kind of match, if one exposed their trump cards too easily, then there would be no point.
However, Fu Yan clearly had no more time to continue thinking, because Bai Yueli on the stage had finally reached out and drawn her Yueyao Sword.
Bai Yueli lightly held the sword hilt with her right hand. Facing Yu Heng’s sword strike, she naturally would not be careless in the slightest. She could only use her strongest sword technique as well—the third level of the Water Lotus Sword Art.
“Lotuses Bloom with Every Step!”
In the next moment, Yu Heng in midair attacked directly with his unstoppable sword strike. Bai Yueli also leapt up, letting her white dress flutter in the wind. Holding her sword, she advanced step by step to meet him.
Two streaks of sword light rapidly collided in the air. Fierce sword radiance scattered in all directions, so dazzling that everyone could not help raising their sleeves to block their vision.
As the explosive sound in the air slowly faded, the two figures within the white sword light finally appeared before everyone again. Both of them stood straight upon the arena.
“It’s actually… a draw?”
Someone cried out in surprise. In an instant, the audience seats, which had been silent, quickly erupted into discussion again.
However, Yu Heng’s expression on the arena looked somewhat unpleasant—not because he had been injured, but because he had actually fought Bai Yueli to a draw.
Yu Heng and Bai Yueli were both at late Illumination stage. Yet his sword technique was high-tier human-rank, while Bai Yueli’s sword technique was only middle-tier human-rank. In the end, however, the result was still a draw.
This fact was difficult for him to accept.
Was this the power of a pure-yin body? Yu Heng’s gaze fell on Bai Yueli, and his eyes could not help turning obscure.
This match ended here. Although both of them still had hidden strength, the ranking competition was about to begin, so this was already the best possible result.
Since the match already had an outcome, Fu Yan naturally had no need to stay here any longer. So while everyone was still immersed in the match just now, Fu Yan in the corner had already stood up.
However, just as she had turned and was about to leave, something suddenly flashed through her mind. In that instant, Fu Yan’s face filled with astonishment, and she almost violently turned her head back.
Her gaze fixed tightly on the Yueyao Sword in Bai Yueli’s hand.
Why was that sword so familiar?
It was as if she had seen it recently, sometime before.
Comments 0
You must be logged in to comment.
No comments yet. Be the first!