Chapter 1381: Refusal

Chapter 1381: Chapter 1378: Refusal

“Boundless Sword Qi!”

Whiz!

As Yue Haitang thrust forward with his sword, a nearly one-meter-thick crystal sword qi surged out, attracting the nearby illusory sword shadows to follow closely behind.

From a distance, it seemed as if a sword dragon had appeared on the martial stage, swaying its head and tail, meeting Yuan Jun’s flaming sword qi head-on.

Boom…

Amidst the crowd’s astonished gazes, the two distinctly different types of sword qi collided, instantly shattering more than a dozen strands of flaming sword qi. The fragmented qi force formed small hurricanes, tearing countless tiny cracks into the martial stage floor.

Rolls of thunderous sounds continued endlessly, and under the crowd’s watchful eyes, the crystal sword qi cleaved through each fiery obstruction, darting towards Yuan Jun with unstoppable momentum.

“It can actually self-repair the sword qi…”

Luo Feng’s pupils slightly contracted. He could see clearly that with each collision, the crystal sword qi was worn down considerably, but the surrounding illusory sword shadows would immediately merge into it, allowing the sword qi to restore itself at an astonishing speed, as if unaffected.

“Not good!”

Right upon taking action, Yuan Jun felt a sense of danger arising in his heart, immediately raising his sword in defense.

In the next instant, the crystal sword qi came piercing through, striking hard against the treasured sword in Yuan Jun’s hands with a clang.

Yuan Jun groaned, feeling as if a massive mountain had collided with him, his body uncontrollably hurled backward until it crashed heavily into the flaming light curtain with a boom.

Clang, clang, clang…

The crystal sword qi did not dissipate but incessantly bounced on Yuan Jun’s treasured sword. Each bounce unleashed a tremendous impact, seemingly about to break the sword, delivering a fatal blow, even forcing the flaming light curtain behind to form a concave indentation under the immense pressure.

Yuan Jun felt his entire body surging with blood and qi, gritting his teeth tightly, striving to maintain his protective gang energy, gripping the sword with all his might to withstand the sword qi.

The crystal sword qi persisted for three breaths before it finally disappeared.

Clang!

At this moment, the treasured sword in Yuan Jun’s hand slipped and fell to the ground, bouncing several times and making a crisp sound. It was as if he had been emptied, sliding down along the light curtain, gasping for breath with cracked hands pouring fresh blood.

The entire square was silent.

“Yuan Jun lost.”

After a moment, a young and talented voice exclaimed in amazement, deeply filled with shock.

Immediately, a buzz of discussions and exclamations erupted.

“Terrifying. Yuan Jun, exerting seventy percent sword intent, was so easily defeated by Yue Haitang.”

“Strange, so strange. Both are at mid-stage of True Yuan Realm, having comprehended seventy percent sword intent, why is there such disparity in strength?”

“I think it’s because of the sword intent.”

“Sword Intent?”

“Indeed. Didn’t you notice? Before exhibiting sword intent, both Yuan Jun and Yue Haitang were evenly matched. But once the sword intent was displayed, Yuan Jun was immediately defeated, unable to resist. This only indicates a huge gap in their sword intents. From what I know, sword intents vary in quality, and Yue Haitang’s sword intent should be much superior to Yuan Jun’s.”

“This… the gap is too wide! How did the Twelve Golden Palace disciples suddenly become so formidable?”

The crowd expressed admiration, greatly shocked by Yuan Jun’s devastating defeat.

The duel concluded, Yuan Jun picked up his longsword, dejectedly leaving the martial stage, and Yue Haitang returned to the stone platform.

At this moment, Chixiao stood up, glancing at the group, and said:

“Everyone, there is another piece of news I forgot to announce. Chi Wei and Luo Feng, while traveling from Flame Gold City to the Imperial City, encountered a Blood Demon Sect Corpse Ghost Taoist. A fierce battle ensued, and in the end, the Corpse Ghost Taoist perished; the ones who slew him were Luo Feng and Yue Haitang.”

Boom!

As soon as Chixiao finished speaking, the entire square was abuzz with heated discussions.

“To slay the Corpse Ghost Taoist! How is that possible, the Corpse Ghost Taoist ranked in the top seventy among the Blood Demon Sect’s one hundred and eight Blood Demon Generals, with unfathomable strength, rumored to be nearing the Yuan Sea Realm. How could Luo Feng and the others stand against him?”

“His Highness wouldn’t deceive us; since he personally stated it, it must be true.”

“This is astonishing. No wonder their strength is so formidable.”

The young talents present were all shocked upon hearing the news of the Corpse Ghost Taoist’s demise.

Thinking about how they previously looked down on the other party, many of them couldn’t help but find themselves somewhat ridiculous.

The Corpse Ghost Taoist was ferocious, killing countless people. Let alone slaying him, facing him required immense courage, beyond what ordinary people could achieve.

Previously unconscious and injured, Jia Kun also awoke at this moment, looking at Luo Feng on the stone platform, and felt a strong sense of defeat. Only now did he realize the vast difference between them.

On the stone platform, Chixiao took in everyone’s expressions, let out a snort, and said loudly:

“The path of Martial Arts is fraught with thorns, only those who continue forward despite numerous trials and hardships can achieve anything. This defeat is a lesson for you, teaching you that there’s always someone better, never underestimate others! Likewise, this is a test. After experiencing this defeat, I hope you know shame and have the courage to strive forward, never dishonoring our Dali Dynasty again.”

Upon hearing this, the young talents present were visibly jolted, their eyes bursting with dazzling brilliance, clearly contemplating how to train harder in the future to surpass Luo Feng and others.

Luo Feng inwardly smiled bitterly, realizing that Chixiao mentioned the matter of the Corpse Ghost Taoist to inspire the young talents present. Indeed, from the beginning, when Jia Kun challenged him, the other side had already intended this.

“Luo Feng.”

Yue Haitang suddenly transmitted a message to Luo Feng.

Luo Feng turned back, “Haitang, what’s the matter?”

Yue Haitang glanced at Chi Wei, took a deep breath, and asked, “Luo Feng, do you really intend to become the Dali Dynasty’s prince consort?”

So it’s about this matter…

Luo Feng gave a faint smile, shaking his head, “Of course not.”

“Then during the duel with Jia Kun, why didn’t you deliberately lose, instead showing your true strength?”

Yue Haitang looked down slightly, her eyebrows slightly furrowing, “Now seeing your strength, there should be no opposition to your marriage with Chi Wei.”

“Not necessarily.” Luo Feng’s face showed a knowing smile, a look of complete confidence.

“Why?”

Yue Haitang’s eyes gleamed slightly, just as she spoke, Chi Wei, standing nearby, suddenly stood up, glanced at Luo Feng, and said to Chixiao:

“Big brother, please withdraw the proposal to marry me to Luo Feng.”

This statement left the entire square in silence, everyone looking at Chi Wei in surprise.

Luo Feng’s strength was evident to all, a rare genius in a hundred years; even the young talents present had to admit it, despite their dissatisfaction—Luo Feng was qualified to marry the Third Princess Chi Wei.

“Chi Wei, don’t you think Luo Feng is good?” Chixiao was slightly stunned and asked.

Chi Yourong also showed some confusion on her face. From Chi Wei’s expression earlier, she seemed to have feelings for Luo Feng, so why suddenly oppose the marriage proposal?

Chi Wei opened her mouth but found herself at a loss for words, a slight blush appearing on her face.

She declined Luo Feng not out of true intent; if possible, she would even agree immediately, but she understood that this was impossible.

The other party never looked at her from the beginning, and to continue would only bring humiliation. Yet, Chixiao’s question caught her off-guard.

While Luo Feng was good in every way, they simply weren’t meant to be.