Chapter 88 Graceful in Victory, Cool in Defea (1/2)
t
”I didn't expect the swordsman's level of cultivation to be so high. He won without even using his full strength,” Yu Wude said emotionally.
”Lu Qianchen did not use his maximum power as well. Why is this so?” Lyu Hao asked, extremely perplexed.
”Perhaps he knew that he was no match for his opponent, even if he did,” Zhao Changge said as he stroked his chin.
”That was secondary. I overheard their conversation just now, and Lu Qianchen seemed to have understood that Leng Yueyan's strength was definitely enough to defeat him. As such, he didn't want to find out how much power Feng Tianming actually possessed,” Wang Bugui said. He had used his spiritual power to separate the zonal barriers to tell his sworn brothers the truth.
Zhang Changge and the others frowned as they heard him. Feng Tianming's had considerable power. At the very least, according to their observations, they could only defeat him by using all of their skills. Why would Lu Qianchen think that such a powerful foe would have no chance of beating Leng Yueyan at all? How powerful was she actually?
”In that case, Big Brother, how much chance of beating Leng Yueyan do you think you have?” Zhao Changge asked Wang Bugui as he poked him with his elbow.
”I'll have to see how powerful she is before I can say. After all, she's in a similar position like me. So far, no one has forced us to use much of our real powers yet,” Wang Bugui replied as he turned to look in Leng Yueyan's direction. He could sense that the unique lady was definitely strong. At the very least, she was the only one who had detected that he was concealing great strength.
After a break of about 10 minutes, the competitors that had progressed to the next round were decided upon. Yu Wude and Lyu Hao took in a deep cold breath as they looked at the draw, and even the eyebrows of Wang Bugui leaped once. The three of them turned to look at Zhao Changge, and he was standing with his mouth agape. His eyes were so wide open that they looked like they were going to leap out of their sockets.
”It...can't be this coincidental!” Zhao Changge said as he spat. He stared at his opponent's name glowing in the skies and could not believe his bad luck.
”Zhao Changge of the Dragon Spear Sect versus Leng Yueyan of the Sect of the Nine Heavens!” He gazed at the huge words that gave of a gold glow and could not help hissing. He secretly cursed himself for mentioning the woman's names so many times earlier today. Now, she was going to be his opponent in the next round.
Leng Yueyan and Lu Qianchen were still conversing at the other corner. ”Why didn't you use your maximum strength, Senior? I noticed that both of you are not that far apart in terms of power. You even have the Thunder God Technique; you would have stood a chance,” she said softly.
”Junior Yueyan, you know that I learned forbidden art, but have you considered that of Feng Tianming? He should have already taken 'that step' in cultivating his sword craft, and I'm no match for him unless I have more in depth knowledge about the use of lightning. Furthermore, you don't need me to test him for you; you can surely defeat him! Not only him, but everyone else as well!” Lu Qianchen said with a laugh.
”Since you've already made your choice, I shall not question you any further,” Leng Yueyan said softly. Her tone was pretty unemotional and icy like her master's. After speaking, she shifted herself away stealthily and prepared to enter the arena again.
Lu Qianchen smiled as he stood behind her, and Leng Yueyan nodded slightly. A puddle of water appeared in the center of the arena and rose rapidly, forming a simalucrum of herself. The Leng Yueyan which stood in front of Lu Qianchen gradually dissipated into a mirage and vanished. The wonderful magic caused all of the practitioners who were present to exclaim in amazement.
”Changge, this woman is simply too powerful. Take care,” Yu Wude said as he patted Zhao Changge on his shoulder and shook his head.
”Her magic is strange, be careful!” Lyu Hao advised as he frowned.
”Remember not to dally and strike as soon as you can. Keep it close, otherwise you'll be completely suppressed by her!” Wang Bugui reminded him carefully.
”Right. Let me be the guinea pig to test this little nun's power!” Zhao Changge said as he laughed bitterly. He then turned, leaped into the middle of the arena, and looked Leng Yueyan in the eye.
The other practitioners standing outside the arena started various discussions as they watched the two combatants. Most of them believed that Leng Yueyan would win, as she had beat her opponents in each battle rather quickly. Except for Jing Yu, the junior of Ning Zhe from the Buddhists, none of them could take more than three blows from her.
Zhao Changge took a good look at the beautiful ice queen in front of him and spoke. ”Little Taoist nun, why are you so quiet? Go easy on me later, give me some face, alright?” he asked.
”You can surrender immediately if you're afraid. I don't give in to anyone in battle,” Leng Yueyan replied, her lips only moving slightly. Her dark eyes were perfectly calm and did not display any emotion.
”That's it. He even dared to tease her. I think he'll suffer a terrible defeat,” Yu Wude said as he smacked his mouth. Wang Bugui and Lyu Hao looked at him and were speechless.
”Clang!”
The sound of an old bell rang out and reverberated in the training ground. Zhao Changge had shot like a flying arrow toward his opponent the moment the bell rang, and he appeared in front of Leng Yueyan in an instant before piercing with his spear, his attack as quick and ferocious as that of a dragon's.
Leng Yueyan did not dodge the fearsome attack. She raised her horse tail duster, and no one could notice any spiritual energy being formed; it looked like a very ordinary move. The momentum of Zhao Changge's spear was completely stopped by the motion of her duster, however, and his weapon would not move, no matter how much strength he channeled into it. As such, he immediately retracted his spear and tried a sweeping move instead.
An icy ray of energy shot toward Leng Yueyan, but it stopped about one meter in front of her. Zhao Changge frowned slightly and began to twirl his lance with both hands at great speed. He made dozens of attacks from every direction. In a matter of seconds, he had dug, slashed, pierced and swept at his opponent, but no matter what he did, he could not break into the meter wide protective barrier of spiritual force surrounding Leng Yueyan, and she swept away all of his attacks with her horse tail duster.
”Rain of Pear Flower Spear Strikes!”
As Zhao Changge was flying backward, he made use of the momentum to backflip and realign himself before leaping forward again with a step. He was twirling his lance at a speed many times quicker than before, and the spectators could see mirror images of him appearing in the air, all of them stabbing at Leng Yueyan with their spear. It looked like the falling of flowers from pear trees, but the ferocity of the attacks were like that of a gale and storm.
He had made hundreds of attacks in a few seconds. Leng Yueyan merely raised her horse tail duster slightly and waved it around a few times, absorbing the blows with her Tao powers. She then spun around and retreated a few meters away. She began chanting and thrusted her elegant arms upward, causing dozens of golden beams of power to appear in the skies.
They swooped down viciously toward Zhao Changge, and he evaded two of them by leaping backward. He struck his spear against the ground and held onto it as he stood upside down, before spinning backward and soaring into the air to avoid another two energy beams. He regathered his lance in mid-air with spiritual force and swept away the other six beams of power as he spun with weapon in hand.
Zhao Changge retreated as he blocked the attacks, and he had stopped all of the energy beams within seconds. He then charged at his opponent again. Even though he was an opportunist, it did not mean that he would only remain reactive if there were no openings. He was more than capable of creating his own chances.
He then unleashed his ”Seven Entries and Coiled Snake” spear technique. It was created by Zhao Yun and divided into the ”Seven Entries” and ”Coiled Snake” skills. The former was actually made up of seven lethal offensive strikes, while the latter symbolized the user continuously twirling his or her spear like a snake circling around its prey, thereby creating a impenetrable barrier. Combined together, it formed an all-rounded technique.