Holding the Sword to Carry Away Senior Sister (Transmigration) - Chapter 50

Although the eighth battle was extremely important, the moment she realized she had the momentum to break through, Fu Yan was decisive. She surrendered directly to Duan Sixin, then turned on her heels and ran.

While this behavior left the crowd utterly caught off guard, they could naturally see the signs of an impending breakthrough on her. Thus, once they snapped out of their shock, the onlookers actually wore expressions of amusement.

As for Duan Sixin, who had won on the stage without a fight, he didn’t have a single trace of joy on his face. Instead, a breath of frustration was stifled hard in his chest; he felt stuck, unable to go up or down, and the sensation made him incredibly irritable.

One had to understand that ever since he had missed the chance to fight Fu Yan last time, he had waited for half a month. If Fu Yan’s breakthrough failed, it would be one thing, but if she succeeded, he would have to wait at least another month to find another opportunity.

Moreover, he had seen Fu Yan’s strength clearly just now. To achieve seven consecutive wins at only the Middle Opening Light stage meant that if she successfully broke through to the same stage as him, the difficulty of shattering her Qi Sea would surely increase.

By now, Fu Yan’s figure had already vanished from the Martial Market Arena. Duan Sixin, however, was forced to continue fighting on the stage; after all, he held a record of nine consecutive wins, and surrendering now would be too damaging to his reputation. At this, Duan Sixin truly felt as if he might spit blood from pure rage in the next moment.

Fu Yan, naturally, couldn’t care about any of that. Nothing was more important than the breakthrough itself. After racing out of the Martial Market Arena, she didn’t hesitate for a second, bolting straight toward the cultivation chambers.

Fortunately, when she had left last time, she had continued to pay the fee for that High-grade cultivation chamber, so her return met with no delays, and she entered the vortex portal immediately.

Once inside the chamber, Fu Yan quickly sat cross-legged on the spot. To ensure the success of her breakthrough, she directly pulled out over a dozen mid-grade spirit stones to provide an ample supply of spiritual energy for herself.

Fu Yan actually had the demon core of the Autumn Wolf, which contained massive spiritual power, but she planned to wait until she was breaking through to the Great Circle or the Hedo stage before using it.

After a quick glance at the mid-grade spirit stones on the floor and confirming she wouldn’t be disturbed, Fu Yan closed her eyes tightly. She began the attempt to break through to the Late Opening Light stage.

Although the signs of a breakthrough were a rare opportunity that “could be encountered but not sought,” it didn’t mean success was guaranteed. Many ordinary cultivators had to wait for a second omen before they could successfully break through.

However, Fu Yan was not overly anxious. Though she had been excited moments ago, the second she began the formal breakthrough, she maintained a calm and peaceful state of mind.

In the dim cultivation chamber, thick spiritual energy enveloped Fu Yan entirely. She did her best to soothe the restless True Essence in her Qi Sea, then slowly began to guide the ambient spirit energy into her body.

Having already experienced two breakthroughs, everything went quite smoothly for Fu Yan this time. She slowly guided the heaven and earth spiritual energy to circulate through all the meridians in her body, then gathered her strength to impact the bottlenecks of her channels.

As time trickled by, Fu Yan lost all track of how long had passed. When she finally opened her eyes again, a trace of joy couldn’t help but surface on her calm face.

Because, she had finally succeeded!

The current Fu Yan was officially a cultivator of the Late Opening Light stage. Though she had just broken through and her internal power hadn’t been consolidated yet, she could clearly feel the difference.

“So, this is the strength of the Late Opening Light stage!” Fu Yan stared at her hands in disbelief. She could feel that her power now, compared to the Middle stage, was a world away.

She believed that if she had participated in the Shui Ling Sect’s inner ranking tournament with this Late-stage cultivation, she would have had a real chance to break into the top ten. If she went to the Arena now, achieving eight or nine wins would likely be no problem at all.

Of course, Fu Yan didn’t let the joy turn into arrogance. Even though the breakthrough was a success, she didn’t have any immediate plans to return to the Arena for a challenge. After all, her strength wasn’t yet fully consolidated.

Furthermore, she felt that if she were to face that Duan Sixin again right now, she wouldn’t necessarily be able to defeat him. Thus, she still needed her strength to progress even further.

Thinking of this, Fu Yan prepared to go into a period of closed-door cultivation right there in the High-grade chamber for a month or two. If she could master the sword move on the remnant scroll, that would be for the best.

With her mind made up, Fu Yan took a brief moment to rest before closing her eyes again to meditate. Inside her body, the First Layer of the Frost Tempering Sutra began to circulate rapidly, as she prepared to properly consolidate her new Late-stage cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, another half a month had passed.

Inside the chamber, Fu Yan had finally consolidated her strength. However, she didn’t waste any time; she picked up the Ling Long broken sword and began practicing the Illusionless Sword over and over until it was second nature. Of course, she didn’t forget to train the Heart-Piercing Strike as well.

Only after she had practiced every sword move she knew to the absolute limit did Fu Yan finally bring out the remnant scroll she had taken from the bandit Lang Meng. She prepared to continue her attempt at comprehending and practicing the sword move recorded on it.

As for the remnant scroll she had purchased at the auction, since that specific move was missing a third of its content, comprehending it was indeed difficult. Therefore, she could only start by practicing the Wind Sweeps the Clouds, which was missing certain phrases and words.

A sword technique of the Earth-grade Low-tier was not easy to practice. But Fu Yan naturally wouldn’t give up easily. She could only painstakingly mull over the sword moves while demonstrating them back and forth.

In this manner, the time spent in closed-door cultivation flew by.

On this day, the airflow in the cultivation chamber suddenly began to move violently. Fu Yan stood there, holding the Ling Long broken sword which was covered in a layer of frost. With a light shout from her lips, she swung the sword toward the stone wall.

In the next moment, several deep sword gouges were instantly carved into the smooth stone wall by Fu Yan’s strike. It took nearly half a minute for the marks to finally, slowly fade away.

The stone of these High-grade chambers was made of an unknown material; any marks left by an attack would slowly and automatically recover to their original state, but this served as a gauge for the strength of an attack. The faster the marks recovered, the weaker the power; conversely, the longer they stayed, the stronger the strike.

“Phew…”

After practicing day and night, Fu Yan finally let out a long breath after unleashing that sword move. Her tensed nerves finally relaxed quite a bit.

“This Earth-grade Low-tier sword move is indeed formidable,” Fu Yan sighed with a smile as she stared at the disappearing marks on the wall.

Previously, Fu Yan had tested the wall with the first form of the Illusionless Sword, and the marks had recovered in just one minute. Yet, this “Wind Sweeps the Clouds” could leave a mark for nearly half a minute. One could see the terrifying power of this move.

Fu Yan didn’t know exactly how long she had been in seclusion, but fortunately, “heaven does not betray the person with a willing heart.” She had finally mastered “Wind Sweeps the Clouds.” Although she couldn’t yet exert the full power of the move, she was already very satisfied.

“Alright, it’s time to end this seclusion and leave Chaoyang City,” Fu Yan murmured to herself as she stowed away the Ling Long broken sword.

Of course, before leaving Chaoyang City, Fu Yan still intended to visit the Martial Market Arena one last time. She wanted to know what kind of record her current strength could actually achieve.

Thinking of this, Fu Yan simply tidied herself up and stepped out of the High-grade cultivation chamber. It was only when she went to pay the fees that she realized she had been in closed-door cultivation for a full two months.

Two months—that meant a fee of sixty mid-grade spirit stones. This truly made Fu Yan feel a bit of “heart-ache” for her wallet, but thinking of the strength she had gained, she felt it was well worth it.

After decisively paying the fee, Fu Yan walked straight toward the Martial Market Arena.

Two months later, as Fu Yan stepped into the Arena again, she found that many of the faces were unfamiliar. The group of cultivators from two months ago seemed to have already left.

However, Fu Yan didn’t care much. She simply watched two matches, and then once again stepped onto the stage.

Standing in the Arena, Fu Yan felt a bit of a trance, as if the scene of her being knocked off the platform happened only yesterday.

Thinking carefully, this was already her fourth time standing here. Previously, her best record was only seven consecutive wins. But today, she was aiming for a goal of ten or more consecutive wins.

Her thoughts returned to the match. Looking at the opponent before her, who only had Middle Opening Light cultivation, Fu Yan didn’t show much expression. She simply raised her sword and said faintly: “Begin.”

In the first match, Fu Yan won with a single sword strike.

The second and third matches were the same.

The subsequent matches required a bit of effort, but she won them all smoothly. Soon, Fu Yan had once again achieved a seven-win streak.

This scene left the crowd clicking their tongues in amazement.

“Where did this beauty come from? Her strength is so formidable. She’s won seven rounds in a row without even getting red in the face or out of breath. It’s almost perverse.”

“I really didn’t come in vain today. I feel like I’m about to witness an expert successfully squeeze onto the Ranking Wall. I wonder when I’ll be able to leave my own name up there.”

“Quick, look! Lu You is actually taking the stage! I remember he recently achieved an eight-win streak. This match will be something to see!”

Amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, a familiar figure slowly walked onto the Arena. He raised his eyes to look at the Fu Yan opposite him, his face showing a hint of surprise.

Because this person was exactly the Lu You who had knocked Fu Yan off the stage with a single strike after her first five-win streak.

When Fu Yan saw him, she was also somewhat surprised. She truly didn’t expect to run into Lu You again. She had a deep impression of the man who had handed her such a miserable defeat.

“I didn’t expect that after only a few months, you would have already broken through to the Late Opening Light stage,” Lu You said first, speaking slowly.

To be honest, when he saw Fu Yan’s figure from the spectator stands, Lu You was extremely surprised. However, what surprised him even more was Fu Yan’s strength. In just two short months, her power had grown so much; it could be described as meteoric progress.

Therefore, he couldn’t wait to take the stage. For Lu You, even if he didn’t have enough confidence to win this time, he was very much looking forward to this match.

Fu Yan looked at him and said faintly: “You’ve also become stronger.”

Several months had passed; naturally, no one would simply stay in the same spot. The two said nothing more and soon met with swords drawn.

Lu You’s strength was not weak, and Fu Yan didn’t dare to have any thoughts of relaxing. She gripped the Ling Long broken sword tightly and immediately executed the first form of the Illusionless Sword, attacking the figure opposite her head-on.

In an instant, Lu You countered with a sword strike. Surging True Essence erupted across the Arena as their powerful sword moves ground against each other, as if even the surrounding air was being twisted.

However, the stalemate didn’t last long. Fu Yan’s sword move was suddenly broken by Lu You’s strike. Watching the sword blade shooting toward her, Fu Yan rapidly leaned her whole body back. Her long hair flew up slightly, and a few strands of black silk were narrowly sliced off.

Seeing this, Fu Yan remained unmoved. She quickly flipped her body again, and then thrust her sword toward Lu You once more. The latter reflexively raised his sword to block, but his body was forced backward involuntarily.

With a “hiss” sound, sparks erupted from where the two swords met.

However, the two people immersed in battle naturally wouldn’t be distracted by this. Lu You mobilized his True Essence again, directly repelling Fu Yan. With a spin in mid-air, Fu Yan’s figure finally landed steadily.

Yet the moment she landed, Lu You rapidly charged at her with a sword strike. This strike clearly used his greatest killing move; even the surrounding airflow vibrated from the impact. It was full of killing intent, making it truly unavoidable.

Fu Yan had no intention of dodging. She rapidly mobilized the True Essence power within her body, and frost instantly covered the Ling Long broken sword. A powerful force exploded in an instant.

In the next moment, Fu Yan used the Wind-Shadow Steps to create a gust under her feet. The sword hilt moved in her hand with a speed that left people dazzled. It was as if layers of phantom shadows were passing over the entire Arena. Without any hesitation, the sword blades of the second form of the Illusionless Sword rapidly condensed from the surroundings, and countless blades began to strangle outward.

Lu You didn’t care. Watching the blades collapse one after another under his sword momentum, he sneered in his heart. This move couldn’t stop him. Just as he felt he was about to pierce Fu Yan’s protective True Essence with his sword—

He saw the Fu Yan opposite him suddenly vanish from the center of his sword move. The Ling Long broken sword in her hand also instantly changed its previous motion. Clearly, she had switched sword moves in an instant.

The previous sword move had only just formed, yet in the next instant, the move changed. Before Lu You could even react to how Fu Yan had done it, a sense of crisis arose spontaneously.

The intense battle in the Arena also caused those outside to crane their necks, staring fixedly at the two figures, for fear of missing anything.

In this instant, it was as if a massive explosion occurred on the Arena. A huge force actually shot straight into the sky. Lu You felt as if he was inside a meat grinder; he not only had to prevent the blades coming from all sides but also had to endure the powerful final form of the Illusionless Sword that Fu Yan was unleashing.

With a “clack” sound, amidst the massive vortex of air, everyone saw a sheathed sword fly out of the Arena and finally land below the platform.

The dust filled the air and then settled. The Arena, which had been surging with energy just moments ago, finally returned to calm. Everyone saw two figures standing on the stage, and it seemed neither was injured.

But the difference was that Fu Yan’s sword was still gripped tightly in her hand, while Lu You’s sword had already been knocked away, falling below the platform. Then, everyone heard Lu You’s voice: “I lose.”

Although Lu You was not injured, he could already feel the gap between his strength and Fu Yan’s. He was almost certain Fu Yan still had cards up her sleeve, while he had exhausted his full strength just to stand steadily on the stage.

Therefore, there was no point in continuing the fight.

Lu You lost decisively. He walked directly down from the Arena and, just like Fu Yan the first time, bent over to pick up his sword before finally turning and leaving the platform area.

This battle seemed to exceed everyone’s expectations. Seeing that the winner had been decided, the people present quickly began to chatter and discuss, whether it was about Fu Yan or about Lu You, who had once achieved an eight-win streak.

Among this group of people was Duan Sixin, sitting in a corner.

Duan Sixin had also arrived at the Martial Market Arena not long ago, but he happened to see the match between Fu Yan and Lu You. At this moment, his inner feelings were difficult to describe.

He knew Fu Yan would successfully break through to the Late Opening Light stage, but he didn’t expect that by the time she appeared at the Arena again, it would be two months later. The longer he waited, the more uneasy he naturally became.

His gaze fell on Fu Yan’s figure on the stage again. For some reason, Duan Sixin felt for the first time that this mission might not go as he wished. Facing the current Fu Yan, he could only be sure he could defeat her, but as for shattering her Qi Sea, it was unlikely to be possible.

Regardless, since he had taken this mission, Duan Sixin still prepared to give it a try.

After Fu Yan achieved eight consecutive wins, Duan Sixin still didn’t rush to take the stage. Because Fu Yan clearly still retained a great deal of strength, he could only continue to wait through a few more matches.

If the same situation as the previous two times occurred again, Duan Sixin would truly have to give up on this mission. It was simply too torturous.

Fu Yan didn’t have any chance to catch her breath. Soon, her ninth opponent rapidly took the stage. This was also a cultivator with Late Opening Light cultivation; although weaker than Lu You, Fu Yan had already consumed a lot of energy, so this match was not easy.

Fortunately, she still achieved victory.

Because Fu Yan had already mastered the three forms of the Illusionless Sword to the point of absolute proficiency, she could now easily combine the three forms in various ways, often catching her opponents off guard.

The further she went, the more powerful the challengers became. Fu Yan found it increasingly difficult to fight. By the time she had exhausted her strength to achieve an eleven-win streak, she finally felt her power failing.

Fu Yan could, at most, hold on for one more match.

Duan Sixin clearly saw the current situation as well. Therefore, after the eleventh match, he didn’t hesitate and quickly went onto the Arena.

Since he was a ranked expert, his appearance once again caused a significant stir. For a moment, this match once again ignited the passion in everyone.

Fu Yan looked at Duan Sixin’s figure and was clearly a bit dazed. Not because of his status, but because she had run into this man yet again.

To appear every time she was preparing to fight her final match—it was hard for Fu Yan not to feel that something was wrong. It was as if the other party was intentionally waiting for her weakest moment. But she was also certain she truly had no grievances with this man.

Could she be overthinking it?

Watching him raise his sword, Fu Yan still felt that this Duan Sixin likely had a specific purpose. It seemed this match would not be simple.

Fu Yan stared at the other party and calculated silently, but her face showed no extra expression. After the match began, she quickly mobilized all her remaining True Essence, not daring to have the slightest bit of underestimation.

Duan Sixin was also a cautious person. He could see the defensive intent in Fu Yan’s eyes, but he couldn’t care whether she had guessed anything. He quickly initiated an attack with his sword.

Soon, the two were locked in a fierce struggle on the stage.

After a few moves, because Fu Yan had already consumed too much of her strength, she visibly fell into a disadvantage. Duan Sixin, however, continued to press closer with every move, seemingly refusing to give her any chance to breathe.

Seeing no other way, Fu Yan understood that this match could not be dragged out any longer; she had to settle it quickly. Without hesitation, Fu Yan used her old trick again, utilizing the three forms of the Illusionless Sword and preparing to catch him off guard in the same way.

What Fu Yan didn’t expect, however, was that Duan Sixin’s strength was indeed much greater than that of an average Late Opening Light cultivator. He was actually able to steadily block every one of her shifting moves.

It was truly enough to make one click their tongue in amazement.

Watching her sword moves being crushed one by one by the opponent, Fu Yan knew she had to make one final gamble. Thinking of this, she leaped backward, quickly pulling a distance between the two.

The Ling Long broken sword in her hand was once again covered in frost. Watching Duan Sixin quickly attack again, Fu Yan didn’t plan to defend this time. Instead, she gripped her sword tightly and met him step by step.

“Wind Sweeps the Clouds!”

In the next instant, Fu Yan leaped high into the air. A small vortex suddenly appeared on the tip of the icy Ling Long sword, and countless air currents were rapidly drawn into it. The small space of the Arena seemed to have plunged into a storm.

Fu Yan’s sword momentum was like a hot knife through butter. After she rapidly swung her sword out, the approaching Duan Sixin suddenly felt a strong, oppressive aura attacking him.

Looking at this terrifying sword strike, Duan Sixin’s heart skipped a beat for no reason. What was even more terrifying was that this strike almost occupied the entire Arena; even with the fastest speed, it was impossible to dodge, especially since the distance between the two was so close.

At this critical moment, Duan Sixin didn’t dare to have any hesitation. He knew that if he couldn’t block this strike, he would likely be killed or injured. He quickly mobilized all his True Essence to protect himself, then turned his sword tip, wanting to forcefully break through an exit.

In that hair-raising moment, perhaps because the power on the Arena was felt to be too great and might break through directly, everyone saw the protective array on the platform flash with a blinding, radiant light.

“My God, this strike is too terrifying! Even the array was automatically strengthened!”

“No kidding. Now I can’t see anything of the battle on stage at all. It’s driving me crazy. I wonder if Duan Sixin can actually block this strike.”

“I feel like this move is definitely a sword technique above the top-tier Human-grade. It’s too terrifying. I can feel that aura of death and terror even from here.”

“…”

Because the commotion caused by this match was too great, people outside couldn’t help but gasp in shock, but their eyes remained fixed on the glowing Arena.

After the time of three breaths, the entire Martial Market Arena finally returned to calm. The figures of the two on the stage appeared before everyone again. The strange thing was that both of them were half-kneeling on the ground with expressions of pain, as if they could only support their bodies with their swords to prevent themselves from falling.

With two “pu pu” sounds.

Then, both of them spat out a large mouthful of fresh blood. The difference was that Duan Sixin was genuinely injured by Fu Yan’s sword move, while Fu Yan herself was spitting blood because she had pushed too hard; this strike had used all her strength, and her body was overextended.

Duan Sixin suddenly looked up. He reached out with some difficulty to wipe the remaining blood from the corner of his mouth and suddenly began to laugh. He spoke slowly: “Congratulations. Twelve consecutive wins.”

Duan Sixin accepted this defeat wholeheartedly. He didn’t say anything more; after surrendering, he stood up again with difficulty and walked down from the Arena.

At this moment, all the onlookers seemed still immersed in the spectacular battle just now, finding it difficult to snap out of it.

Fu Yan’s body was overextended, so she naturally couldn’t continue fighting. She didn’t say anything more. Without waiting for the next challenger to take the stage, she turned around and slowly walked out of the Arena.

“Quick, look! The Ranking Wall has finally changed!!” At this moment, the Ranking Wall nearby changed rapidly. No one knew who noticed first, but they let out a loud shout.

As the words fell, the crowd finally seemed to come to their senses and turned their eyes toward the Ranking Wall. Fu Yan paused for a moment upon hearing this and then raised her eyes to look at the rankings.

At that moment, seeing the rankings clearly, the corners of her mouth couldn’t help but curve up slightly.

8th Place: Bai Yueli. Record: 12 consecutive wins.

9th Place: Fu Yan. Record: 12 consecutive wins.