Chapter 224: Xia Qingyue vs Xiao Kuanglei
"It wasn't Ling Jie who voluntarily gave up—it was actually Ling Feiyu!" Yun Che was also quite surprised. In the previous battles, Ling Feiyu had displayed astonishing strength. This group already had far fewer experts than Group Two, and Ling Feiyu was recognized as the strongest in Group One. Whether in the thirty-two-man round or the sixteen-man round, he had easily defeated his opponents within five moves. In this match against Ling Jie, anyone would have thought that Ling Jie would lose, or that Ling Jie would voluntarily give up. No one expected that it would be Ling Feiyu who conceded!
"Then that means Junior Brother Yun's opponent tomorrow is Ling Jie?" This result made Cang Yue subconsciously let out a small sigh of relief, after all, a Spirit Xuan Realm Level 6 did sound much less threatening than a Spirit Xuan Realm Level 9.
"Could it be because Ling Jie is the Villa Master's son, and Ling Feiyu didn't dare to defeat him openly, so he voluntarily conceded?" Xia Yuanba scratched his head and asked in confusion.
"No! If Tian Jian Villa were such a frivolous place, it wouldn't have become the number one power of Cang Feng Empire." Yun Che furrowed his brows slightly and began to reevaluate Ling Jie, who was grinning as he walked down from the Sword Discussion Platform. "There's only one possibility: Ling Jie's strength surpasses Ling Feiyu's, and by a wide margin... It seems tomorrow will be a tough battle."
He turned his gaze toward the seating area of Tian Jian Villa and found that Ling Yuefeng and Ling Yun both had calm expressions, showing no surprise at this outcome at all.
The second match ended at an unexpectedly fast pace and with an unexpected result. The third match followed immediately, with the combatants being Tian Jian Villa's Ling Yun and Bing Yun Fairy Palace's Shui Wushuang.
This was a clash between a core disciple of Tian Jian Villa and a core disciple of Bing Yun Fairy Palace. Such a duel would normally appear only in the final battle, but due to the imbalance in average strength caused by this random grouping, a duel that should have been saved for the finals was now happening early in the eight-man round.
And this duel concluded even faster than the second match.
"Wushuang, just concede this match directly." Just as Shui Wushuang was about to leap onto the Sword Discussion Platform, Chu Yueli suddenly spoke up.
Shui Wushuang was silent for a moment, but she did not resist. Instead, she softly said, "Yes."
"Three years ago, your Senior Sister Mu's strength was far greater than yours is now, yet she suffered a crushing defeat at Ling Yun's hands. Now, three years have passed, and Ling Yun's strength has made a tremendous leap. You are simply no match for him. If he puts in even a little effort, he will defeat you completely within five sword strikes. In that case, it's better to just concede directly."
Even though she was telling a 'core disciple' in the eyes of others to concede, Chu Yueli spoke with exceptional calmness, with no trace of reluctance or lament in her beautiful eyes, as if this were merely an insignificant decision.
"Yes, Martial Aunt. Your disciple understands." Shui Wushuang slowly nodded, then sat back down in her seat.
Shui Wugou then announced: "Bing Yun Fairy Palace's Shui Wushuang concedes the match. Tian Jian Villa's Ling Yun wins without a fight and advances to tomorrow's four-man battle!"
Although this result caused some discussion, it wasn't too surprising. After all, Ling Yun's strength was simply too terrifying. Even though Shui Wushuang was Bing Yun Fairy Palace's core disciple this time, she had no hope of putting up a fight. Directly conceding was the wisest choice. However, this meant that Bing Yun Fairy Palace was left with only one remaining disciple—Xia Qingyue, who also had the lowest profound strength among the three participating disciples. Her opponent was Xiao Kuanglei, a core disciple of Xiao Sect whose profound strength surpassed hers. If she lost, Bing Yun Fairy Palace would be completely excluded from the four-man battle, and their ranking would fall to fourth place.
Up to this point in the competition, the only match that had actually been fought was Yun Che's battle against Fen Juebi. But now, three of the four participants for tomorrow's four-man battle had been decided: Ling Yun and Ling Jie, the brothers from Tian Jian Villa, and Yun Che from Cangfeng Mystic Palace.
Two people from Tian Jian Villa entering the top four was not surprising. But among the top four, there was a disciple who wasn't from any of the four great sects—someone from Cangfeng Imperial Clan, which had always ranked in the middle or lower in previous ranking battles. This made this entire ranking battle extraordinarily unusual. The Cangfeng Imperial Clan, which had never shone in ranking wars and only suffered disgrace, now relied on a completely unknown seventeen-year-old disciple to pull off one jaw-dropping result after another, breaking into the top four of the individual competition. The Cangfeng Imperial Clan's ranking in this battle's power standings was already guaranteed to be in the top three!!
As long as one wasn't blind, one could clearly see that after Yun Che defeated Fen Juebi, the usually steady Qin Wushang was grinning so wide that his teeth were practically falling out.
"Fourth match of the eight-man round—Bing Yun Fairy Palace's Xia Qingyue versus Xiao Sect's Xiao Kuanglei! Both combatants are requested to enter the Sword Discussion Platform within thirty breaths, or they will be considered to have forfeited!"
As Ling Wugou announced loudly, the murmurs on the Sword Discussion Platform ceased, and silence fell.
Xia Qingyue and Xiao Kuanglei were the last remaining disciples of Bing Yun Fairy Palace and Xiao Sect, respectively. Whichever side lost would see their sect disqualified from the top four.
"Although Bing Yun Fairy Palace's Xia Qingyue has astonishing talent, having reached Spirit Xuan Realm Level 8 at just seventeen—only one level below Ling Yun back then—Bing Yun Fairy Palace is still Bing Yun Fairy Palace. They cannot possibly nurture a true 'Ling Yun.' She is too young, too inexperienced, and with her profound strength rising so quickly to Spirit Xuan Realm Level 8, it must be very unstable. As long as there are no major surprises, you will win this match easily. But never underestimate your opponent. In previous ranking wars, there have been countless so-called genius disciples who fell to the word 'underestimation.' Understand?" Xiao Juetian instructed Xiao Kuanglei.
"Third Brother, do your best. Fen Tian Gate has already suffered a disastrous defeat. If you win this match, our overall ranking will at least be in the top three, and there's over a ninety-nine percent chance we'll take second place. This is a historic breakthrough for our Xiao Sect!" Xiao Kuangyu patted Xiao Kuanglei on the shoulder and said solemnly.
"Don't worry. In this match, I will only win; there's no way I can lose! Don't forget, I haven't even revealed my Jing Chen Sword yet. If I do, let alone that Xia Qingyue at Spirit Xuan Realm Level 8, even a Spirit Xuan Realm Level 10 peak, I cannot lose." Xiao Kuanglei said with full confidence.
"In terms of weapons, we may not have an advantage." Xiao Wuji frowned. "We have the Jing Chen Sword, but don't forget, Bing Yun Fairy Palace has the 'Ice Phoenix Qionghua Silk.' Shui Wushuang has already conceded unwillingly. In this match, Bing Yun Fairy Palace has even less room to lose than we do. That Mystic Heaven artifact of Bing Yun Fairy Palace will certainly be given to Xia Qingyue."
"Hmph, that's a completely unnecessary worry. The 'Ice Phoenix Qionghua Silk' requires at least the Earth Xuan Realm's profound force to control. Even in Xia Qingyue's hands, it's useless. Also, that Xiao Kuangyun... the Xiao Sect has wasted who knows how many resources on him, yet he hasn't even reached Spirit Xuan Realm. If Xiao Sect's future is to be inherited by Xiao Kuangyun, it will probably be completely ruined. Xiao Sect wouldn't be so foolish. The future sect master will definitely be one of Xiao Kuangfeng, Xiao Kuangyu, or Xiao Kuanglei. But once that happens, there will be another round of open and covert struggles, and maybe even brother killing brother..."
As Xiao Kuanglei stepped onto the platform, the focus of discussion was not on the upcoming match, but on Xiao Kuanglei. In most people's eyes, the upcoming battle held no major suspense.
"Try to conserve your strength as much as possible, don't expose too much, to prevent tomorrow's opponent from being prepared." Chu Yueli's instruction to Xia Qingyue was only one sentence.
"Yes, Master."
Xia Qingyue bowed gracefully, her delicate body turning. With a graceful shift of her silhouette, she landed lightly in front of Xiao Kuanglei, her movements and figure incredibly enchanting. A completely transparent ice sword silently appeared in her hand. An ice sword had almost become the hallmark weapon of Bing Yun Fairy Palace's disciples. The main weapon of Bing Yun Fairy Palace was also the sword, but their swords were entirely like ice and emitted varying degrees of cold aura. Chu Yuechan's sword was like this, and Xia Qingyue's was as well. However, Xia Qingyue's ice sword was inferior in grade to the one Chu Yuechan had used during her desperate battle against the twin flood dragons in the Death Wasteland.
"Alright!" Ling Wugou nodded, then raised his right hand. "The final match of the eight-man round—Bing Yun Fairy Palace's Xia Qingyue versus Xiao Sect's Xiao Kuanglei. Begin!"
"I, Xiao Kuanglei, shall now experience Fairy Xia's Ice Cloud Art!" Xiao Kuanglei gave a hearty laugh, pointing his long sword forward. A layer of rapidly spinning, emerald-green vortex swirled around his body. Behind him, the faint image of a particularly domineering eagle appeared. His entire aura surged to a degree that left people in awe.
Bing Yun Fairy Palace was known for its gathering of beauties. Although Xia Qingyue's face was covered by a white veil, just looking at her figure, her eyes, and the small patches of snow-white skin exposed was enough to judge that she was undoubtedly a stunningly beautiful young woman with a countenance that could topple cities. In the presence of a beauty, any normal man with a bit of strength would want to show off. If he could win her favor or even admiration, it would naturally satisfy his vanity immensely.
Xia Qingyue's movements were much more straightforward. She thrust her sword flatly toward him, and at the tip of the ice sword, a magnificent ice lotus bloomed.
...