Chapter 111 - 56: 180,000 Spirit Stones, Mistakenly Entering the Celestial Family

Chapter 111: Chapter 56: 180,000 Spirit Stones, Mistakenly Entering the Celestial Family

Not only had she lost, but this time it wasn’t a sneak attack. She had been suppressed and decisively defeated by Jiang Xuan in a head-on confrontation.

What Su Xingying found most difficult to accept was that the root of her defeat was not her Cultivation, not her Sword Techniques, but her mentality—her Soul Intent.

’Defeated by someone weaker again... So, is my Heart Nature not as firm as I thought? I believed I wasn’t some sheltered canary, but in the end, it makes no difference!’

Such thoughts surged through her, and a wave of bitterness and confusion washed over Su Xingying. However, this vulnerability lasted only a moment before her expression hardened, a stubborn light igniting in her eyes.

’Fine, I’ll be a canary. But I didn’t stay home to spar with my seniors. I came to this Martial Arts Arena specifically to face my own shortcomings, acknowledge the gap, and then break free to surpass it all, didn’t I?’

’I won’t stay like this forever!’

’Jiang Xuan... His victory helped me see my own inadequacies. This is actually a good thing.’

At this thought, her gaze grew even more determined. Without a hint of hesitation, she sent another duel invitation to Jiang Xuan.

Jiang Xuan, of course, did not refuse.

However, before the duel, he spoke up to confirm one thing: "The terms we agreed upon still stand, right?"

"They do!" Su Xingying’s response was crisp and decisive, without a trace of hesitation.

The moment her words fell, Jiang Xuan’s expression instantly turned as sharp as a sword. A bone-chilling pressure erupted from him, seeming to freeze the very air. Even the afterglow of the setting sun seemed to take on a sharp chill as it fell upon him.

"..." Watching Jiang Xuan suddenly radiate killing intent, Su Xingying’s mouth twitched. She was speechless. ’It’s just a hundred Spirit Stones. Is there really a need to amp up your killing intent so much?’

Before she could finish the thought, Jiang Xuan’s figure shot out like a Frost Ghost.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The sound of clashing metal pierced the twilight as two slender figures once again tangled in combat beside the reeds at dusk.

The sword-wind howled, slicing through the air. A biting chill carried shattered reeds flying in all directions. With one attacking and one defending, one advancing and one retreating, they had already clashed for twenty breaths in the blink of an eye.

Having already seen Jiang Xuan’s patterns and prepared herself mentally, Su Xingying lasted longer this time.

But Jiang Xuan’s progress was just as rapid. Relying on the purity of his Heart·Sincerity (Sword) and the enhancement from the Three Purification Mantra: True Communication, his perception of Sword Techniques was astonishingly sharp. Every swing was precise and ruthless, with no wasted movement.

Moreover, not only was he improving at a shocking rate himself, but with the aid of his two Divine Techniques, he also keenly identified the inexperience in Su Xingying’s Swordsmanship during their successive clashes.

’Her Swordsmanship is powerful and her fundamentals are solid. But in the heat of battle, she’s too fond of using overly flashy techniques... That’s an opening.’

Furthermore, thanks to the aid of the Clear Heart Mirror (Observing Oneself) and his Nine Breath Qi Ingestion Technique—which had reached the level of a Four Realms Expert and could redirect Power—Jiang Xuan was able to slightly alleviate the immense pressure on his heart and lungs. By using the Circulation of Heaven and Earth of his Magical Power, he silently shifted the burden from his heart and lungs to the meridians throughout his body, thus distributing the strain.

This allowed him to endure for a few moments longer when he entered the critical state of Qi Burst for the second time.

Having figured out his opponent’s style and grown stronger himself, Jiang Xuan won the second battle as well.

Then the third match, the fourth, the fifth... the seventh.

Within this Illusion Realm, the two of them fought a total of eleven matches.

Jiang Xuan did not win all eleven duels.

After all, Su Xingying’s raw power was far greater than his, and the gap was immense. All he could rely on was a power burst that lasted for about thirty breaths.

If Su Xingying could just hold out, what awaited Jiang Xuan was either heart failure or death by his body exploding from his Spiritual Power running rampant.

At times, if his luck was bad, his heart would beat too fast in the middle of a fight. The pressure in his veins would surge, rupturing a vital blood vessel, and he would die instantly in the heat of combat.

But what made Jiang Xuan see Su Xingying in a new light was that she actually had a very easy path to victory—stalling.

As long as she avoided direct confrontation, focused solely on defense and delay, and refused to clash head-on with Jiang Xuan, her odds of winning would increase by more than fifty percent.

Yet from beginning to end, Su Xingying never even considered it.

Of course, she scorned the idea.

True Sword Cultivators all have a certain pride deep in their bones.

And Su Xingying, who saw herself as a chosen prodigy, would never deign to use such a despicable tactic.

Even the fact that she was fighting Jiang Xuan with her superior raw strength, rather than competing on the basis of Swordsmanship alone, brought her a sense of shame.

’I will defeat you one day. On equal footing, using only Swordsmanship and Sword Intent, I will beat you fair and square!’

Clinging to this resolve, Su Xingying challenged Jiang Xuan time and time again. Despite suffering defeat after defeat, she never once flinched.

Ultimately, the eleven duels concluded with Jiang Xuan winning six and losing five.

And in the end, it was Jiang Xuan who was the first to give out.

While the Mirage Mirror: Three Thousand Realms could perfectly restore physical damage, it couldn’t replenish a drained spirit.

To say nothing of the fact that when he fought Su Xingying, Jiang Xuan was like a blazing firework. With every breath, every second, his Heart Spirit was burning, overclocking.

Furthermore, the One Qi Sword Technique contained not only the Five Viscera Origin Qi, but also the Sword of the Spirit he gained upon becoming a Clear Heart Swordsman. Using it to stimulate himself and then to control his body after it went berserk from releasing his limits—all of this took a tremendous toll on Jiang Xuan’s Heart Soul.

As such, a mere eleven duels had been enough to burn his spirit to cinders. He now found it difficult to even lift a finger.

Su Xingying, in contrast, was merely breathing a little heavily, her aura only slightly disturbed.

’The gap in raw power... it’s just too big!’

The immense gap prompted Jiang Xuan to subconsciously ask about her Realm.

"How many acupoints have you opened...?" The words had barely left his lips when he remembered that the number of a Cultivator’s opened acupoints was a taboo topic. He quickly added, "I’m just curious. You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to."

"It’s fine. It’s not something that needs to be kept secret." The series of battles had earned her respect for Jiang Xuan, so she answered his question. "I’ve opened 101 acupoints, but I’m still in the Spirit Core Initial Stage. I intend to find every acupoint for my first Spirit Core before advancing."

As if she knew why he was asking, she went on to explain why she was so powerful, despite being only in the Spirit Core Initial Stage and having opened just a dozen or so more acupoints than him.

"When I was born, my parents used countless Heavenly and Earthly Treasures to baptize and temper my body. On a daily basis, I also wear a Star Stone, which subtly strengthens my Flesh Body, acupoints, meridians, and even my Soul Spirit."

An item that good made Jiang Xuan’s eyes light up. He asked about the price of the Star Stone, and promptly discovered he had stumbled upon a Celestial Family.

One hundred and eighty thousand Low Grade Spirit Stones, and you needed connections on top of that to even have a chance of buying one.

That number completely extinguished any thought Jiang Xuan had of acquiring a Star Stone.

At this point, Jiang Xuan no longer had any complaints about his raw power being less than Su Xingying’s.

She had been preparing for cultivation since childhood, and two to three hundred thousand Spirit Stones had already been invested in her. It only made sense that she was powerful; it would be strange if she weren’t.

’In fact, her strength isn’t just a temporary thing. That Star Stone, worth 180,000 Low Grade Spirit Stones, didn’t just boost her to her current Realm. Most of its benefits have likely been converted into her cultivation foundation—a foundation that could probably support a dominant rise all the way to the Purple Mansion Golden Core Realm.’

’Someone from such a powerful family... Even with my Profession System, I can’t afford to slack off in this Cultivation Realm!’

...