Chapter 168: A Casual Sword Strike

Chapter 168: Chapter 168: A Casual Sword Strike

Yi Xiaoyao slowly walked out from the crowd, approaching the area where the six disciples ranked in the top twenty of the Hidden Dragon List were gathered.

These six individuals each had a different air and posture, and there were also some disparities in the presence between them.

Yi Xiaoyao’s gaze first fell upon a young man with a very serene expression. This person’s presence was powerful, and based on the discussions of the surrounding disciples, he should be the sixth-ranked Su Xiang.

Su Xiang gave Yi Xiaoyao a faint, amused smile, and Yi Xiaoyao nodded back at him slightly.

Next, Yi Xiaoyao looked toward a young man in a red robe who was cradling a blade, his eyes closed in rest. This person’s presence was the strongest among the six. Just by seeing the cold, gleaming greatblade in his arms, one could guess that this was Sword Wind Breaker, ranked second on the Hidden Dragon List.

Sword Wind Breaker seemed to sense someone watching him. He suddenly opened his eyes, meeting Yi Xiaoyao’s gaze. After sizing him up with an emotionless look, he closed his eyes again.

A sharp glint flashed in Yi Xiaoyao’s eyes, and a trace of fighting spirit rose in his heart. ’Among these senior disciples, only Sword Wind Breaker is qualified to capture my interest.’

As for the other four, Yi Xiaoyao didn’t even spare them a glance, walking straight past them.

Perhaps two months ago, Yi Xiaoyao would have paid them close attention, but now, he had no interest whatsoever.

The four were watching Yi Xiaoyao with cold smirks, planning to defeat him and seize his eighth-place rank. Seeing Yi Xiaoyao ignore them completely, a flicker of anger instantly appeared on their faces.

The Black Robe Hall Master’s eyes shifted slightly as he noticed this. He knew, of course, what these arrogant senior disciples wanted to do.

"Since all of you are here, I’ll get down to business."

"The battle for the Heaven and Earth Fire Essence is in a few days. You are the strongest Golden Core Realm disciples of our Seven Kills Star Hall, and the ones I have the highest hopes for. Therefore, it’s highly likely the Heaven and Earth Fire Essence will ultimately fall into your hands."

As he spoke, the Black Robe Hall Master intentionally glanced at a few of them and said, "But I hope that you, as fellow disciples, will not have any internal conflicts!"

The four disciples ranked outside the top ten immediately tensed. They knew, of course, that the Hall Master’s last sentence was directed at them. Their expressions shifted, and they remained silent.

Then, the Hall Master continued, "I’ve received word that this competition will not be a simple arena battle. Parts of it will involve teamwork, so I will divide you into two groups based on your strength."

"Sword Wind Breaker, Su Xiang, and Yi Xiaoyao, you three are ranked in the top ten of the Hidden Dragon List, so you will be one group. The remaining four, including Hua Yunfeng, will be the other group."

At these words, the expressions of Sword Wind Breaker, Su Xiang, and Yi Xiaoyao didn’t change much, but the other four’s faces fell.

The strength of Sword Wind Breaker and Su Xiang was well known. Being grouped with them would naturally be most advantageous for the competition. As such, everyone would want to be in a group with those two.

But now, the Hall Master had grouped Yi Xiaoyao with them according to his rank—a rank they didn’t acknowledge at all. How could they possibly agree?

"Hall Master, I don’t agree with this arrangement!"

The four spoke in unison, protesting to the Hall Master.

The Black Robe Hall Master’s brow furrowed slightly. "I have my reasons for dividing you this way. After all, you aren’t the only ones participating in this competition. Shangguan Tianjian, in particular, will be your greatest opponent. Grouping the strongest together will give you a better chance of winning."

"Hall Master, we completely agree with what you’ve said and have no objection to it. But we cannot accept you putting Yi Xiaoyao in a group with Sword Wind Breaker and the others!" one of them said.

The Black Robe Hall Master glanced at him and asked, "Yi Xiaoyao is ranked eighth, higher than all four of you. What is there to not accept?"

"Heh, ranked eighth? He only defeated Ye Qingqing and jumped to eighth place. Everyone knows how much ’water’ is in that result. I’m afraid his reputation is empty, without the corresponding strength to back it up!"

Another one sneered, "Unless he dares to fight us head-on. If he truly has the strength to defeat us, then we will naturally have nothing more to say."

In an instant, the expressions of the surrounding disciples became a sight to behold as they erupted into a clamor of discussion.

The Black Robe Hall Master snorted coldly. "Even if Yi Xiaoyao’s strength isn’t sufficient for eighth place, it would be eleventh-ranked Hua Yunfeng’s turn to be grouped with Sword Wind Breaker. Hua Yunfeng hasn’t said anything, so why are the three of you so opposed?"

Yi Xiaoyao gave a faint, cold smirk. ’These three probably aren’t dissatisfied with the grouping, but with my rank. After all, they all think they have the strength to defeat Ye Qingqing.’

Just then, Hua Yunfeng also spoke up. "Since the Hall Master has said as much, then let me spar with Junior Brother Yi."

Hua Yunfeng was the first to disbelieve Yi Xiaoyao’s combat record. He didn’t even believe Yi Xiaoyao could defeat Ye Qingqing.

After all, Hua Yunfeng had fought Yi Xiaoyao before. Although he had lost to Yi Xiaoyao’s Sword Momentum back then, if he had used his Spiritual Power, he could have defeated him in a single move. He absolutely refused to believe that Yi Xiaoyao could have become so powerful in just a few short months.

Moreover, being defeated by Yi Xiaoyao’s Sword Momentum had been a huge blow to Hua Yunfeng’s pride. Later, for some unknown reason, news of it spread and was greatly exaggerated, causing him to lose all face.

This time, Yi Xiaoyao’s eighth-place ranking on the Hidden Dragon List had pushed Hua Yunfeng out of the top ten, dropping him to eleventh. Though only a single rank apart, the significance between them was worlds apart.

Therefore, he had to defeat Yi Xiaoyao to reclaim his face and his rank!

The Black Robe Hall Master couldn’t say much more. He nodded and said, "Very well. You two will have a fair fight here. But unless there is deep-seated hatred between you, do not be too ruthless!"

Yi Xiaoyao shrugged helplessly. Since the Hall Master had spoken, he had no choice but to accept.

The surrounding people quickly cleared out an area, leaving only Yi Xiaoyao and Hua Yunfeng in the center of the field.

"Junior Brother Yi, last time we competed in Sword Momentum, I was at a slight disadvantage. This time, we compete with true strength. You won’t be so lucky."

Hua Yunfeng gave Yi Xiaoyao a cold smile, intentionally emphasizing the two words "true strength" to show that he hadn’t used his real power when he was defeated by Yi Xiaoyao before.

Yi Xiaoyao simply replied coolly, "Senior Brother Hua, you can make the first move."

Hua Yunfeng chuckled. "Let me go first? Then you won’t even get a chance to make a move!"

But he didn’t refuse. He drew his blade directly, unleashing his Great Success stage Sword Momentum with a roar, and immediately slashed out.

This slash tore through the air with a deafening crack, its power so terrifying it seemed capable of cleaving mountains and shattering peaks.

The gleam of his blade shone under the force of his Sword Momentum, and countless streams of Sword Qi surged forth, pressing down on the surrounding disciples until their faces flushed red and they couldn’t breathe.

It was obvious that this Hua Yunfeng was much stronger than Ye Qingqing, truly worthy of his former tenth and current eleventh-place rank.

But when Yi Xiaoyao saw this slash, there wasn’t the slightest ripple in his eyes.

Then, the Bloodthirsty Sword appeared, and everyone felt the astonishingly sharp aura emanating from its tip.

Yi Xiaoyao was seen raising his sword, casually forming a rainbow-like Sword Shadow. Streams of Sword Qi burst forth, accompanied by the gleam of his sword.

This was not a Swordsmanship technique, merely the most ordinary, casual slash.

Because this was a spar between fellow disciples, he couldn’t be too heavy-handed. If Yi Xiaoyao used a powerful Swordsmanship technique, he worried Hua Yunfeng would be a dead man in the next instant.

Though it was just an ordinary slash, under the enhancement of the Bloodthirsty Sword’s power and his peak-level Sword Momentum, the aura it radiated was even more terrifying than Hua Yunfeng’s attack.

Hua Yunfeng’s expression changed drastically. How could he not see that Yi Xiaoyao’s move was just a casual slash? But why was its power and aura so immense?

In the next instant, he watched in disbelief as the Sword Qi from Yi Xiaoyao’s casual slash instantly split his own full-power Sword Qi in two, and the remaining force shot violently toward him!

"What?"

The smile on Hua Yunfeng’s face had completely vanished. He was aghast, and frantically swung his blade again to block the terrifying Sword Qi.

BOOM!

After a loud explosion, Hua Yunfeng stumbled backward several steps, his figure cutting a pathetic sight. He finally fell and sat on the ground, staring at Yi Xiaoyao with eyes full of terror.

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