Chapter 418 - 218: Defeating Leng Zhi, Temporarily Ranked First

Chapter 418: Chapter 218: Defeating Leng Zhi, Temporarily Ranked First

After announcing the match time, Qin Huaiming turned and walked back to the Xuanyue seats.

Gu You, who was toying with his flask, paused for a moment. He gave his returning junior brother a sidelong glance. "You’re starting to carry yourself like a leader. By the way, when are you getting promoted to deputy director? You should have the seniority for it by now, shouldn’t you?"

Qin Huaiming picked up the cup of cold tea from the table, drained it, and replied, "My Cultivation is still a little lacking. I estimate it will take another five or six years to reach the Late Entry Stage."

Gu You nodded and asked, "Are you confident you can advance to the Second Realm?"

Qin Huaiming froze for a moment, then said, "I try not to think about things like that. Otherwise, I just get more and more anxious."

"That’s fair."

Gu You went back to toying with the silver flask in his hand. He glanced at Yang Wenqing, who was resting in meditation, then shot Qin Huaiming a meaningful look.

Qin Huaiming said, "We’ll let nature take its course. By then, we both might not even be around anymore."

As he spoke, he waved to a Qi Cultivator waiting respectfully in the distance, who quickly came forward to refill his tea.

...

「Soon, it was noon.」

The faint golden halo that had been hovering over the Martial Arts Arena now faded, leaving only the blinding glare of the midday sun.

Yang Wenqing sat at the edge of the Xuanyue seats. Lan Ying was perched on his knee, its small head nodding as its eyelids began to droop.

Nearby, Red Shadow was fast asleep, its fluffy tail draped over its nose, rising and falling gently with each breath. Sun Chen kept his eyes downcast, his gaze resting on the soft clump of red fur.

As one-thirty approached, he said, "...Her sword is gentle and unpredictable, with a wide area of effect. You’d best not take to the air unless you’re faster than her sword light. And don’t drag out the fight. Your recovery is astonishing, but the Sword Control Technique she uses grows more powerful over time."

Yang Wenqing opened his eyes, looked at Sun Chen, and said, "Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother."

Sun Chen grunted in acknowledgment, and the two fell silent once more.

The shadow on the Martial Arts Arena’s sundial shifted, inch by inch. When it was one-thirty in the afternoon, Qin Huaiming stood, walked steadily to the center of the platform, and announced loudly, "Time is up. Combatants, to the stage."

Yang Wenqing shot to his feet.

Lan Ying flew up from his knee, its sapphire eyes fixed on him. Yang Wenqing reached out and gently stroked its warm, smooth feathers with the back of his fingers. Then, he walked toward the platform.

At the same time, Leng Zhi had also risen and was walking toward the platform. The two came to a stop in the center, ten zhang apart.

A breeze blew in from the sea, so light and slow it couldn’t even stir the hems of their robes. Leng Zhi was the first to speak, offering a cupped-fist salute. "Junior Brother, please begin."

Yang Wenqing replied, "Senior Sister Leng, I await your guidance."

The moment the words left his mouth, his left hand formed a seal. In an instant, a ’Golden Light Body Protection’ Dharma Seal took shape.

A pale golden halo spread out from him like flowing water, enveloping his body. In the same instant the ’Golden Light Body Protection’ formed, a beam of jade-green sword light was already upon him.

Leng Zhi had struck. She was so fast it was almost impossible to follow with the naked eye.

The sword light brushed against the surface of the ’Golden Light Body Protection’ like a flowing cloud before gracefully retreating. Wherever it passed, the Water and Wood Spiritual Qi clinging to the golden light seeped through like spring rain into frozen soil, silently eroding the defensive Dharma Seal’s energy structure.

Yang Wenqing’s expression remained unchanged. With a flick of his right hand, he formed a Sword Formula. The Cyan Peak Short Sword shot from his sleeve as a streak of cyan-gold light, heading straight for Leng Zhi.

This sword strike was no probe, no feint. It was his ’Heaven’s Line’ Sword Control Technique—supremely fast and supremely sharp.

Leng Zhi leaned slightly to the side. The jade-green sword light instantly shot back to defend, colliding fiercely with the Cyan Peak Short Sword in midair.

CLANG—!

The crisp ring of metal on metal exploded outward. The two flying swords recoiled from the impact, but their masters’ wills instantly steadied them, and they stood ready to attack once more.

In that same instant, Yang Wenqing stomped a foot and shot toward Leng Zhi like an arrow loosed from a bow. At the same time, he changed his right-hand Sword Formula. The Cyan Peak Short Sword traced an uncanny arc through the air, looping around to flank Leng Zhi from behind.

A frontal assault and a flanking pincer.

Leng Zhi frowned slightly.

She lifted her left hand, Spiritual Light flickering at her fingertips. The jade-green sword light instantly split into two beams, then four, then eight. In the blink of an eye, sixteen beams of sword light spread out like an inescapable net.

Eight beams met Yang Wenqing’s Cyan Peak Short Sword head-on, while the other eight descended upon Yang Wenqing himself from all sides.

But Yang Wenqing didn’t even try to dodge. The moment the eight sword beams struck, the ’Golden Light Body Protection’ around him erupted in a blinding flash, absorbing the full force of the attack.

In an instant, Yang Wenqing closed the distance to less than three zhang from Leng Zhi.

Leng Zhi’s eyes narrowed. Executing her Body Technique with full force, she floated backward three zhang like a wisp of cloud scattered by the wind. At the same time, her right-hand Sword Formula shifted rapidly. The sixteen beams of sword light instantly retracted, weaving a dense curtain of water before her.

Flowing Clouds Splitting Light Sword: Water Curtain of Heavenly Splendor. This was her strongest defensive sword move. It layered Water and Wood Qi and could block a full-power strike from a Cultivator of the same realm.

She had just retreated when Yang Wenqing gave chase.

Yang Wenqing was faster than she had anticipated; he crossed the three-zhang distance in a flash.

Leng Zhi’s pupils constricted. For the first time, she felt that her sword might truly be unable to stop the man before her.

Yang Wenqing came to a sudden halt less than one zhang away from her. He wasn’t exhausted or hesitant—he had been waiting for this exact distance.

Then, he abruptly retracted his right-hand Sword Formula. The Cyan Peak Short Sword, which had been locked in combat with the water curtain, instantly disengaged. It shot back to his side as a streak of light—but it was no longer the same cyan-gold light as before.