Chapter 225: Glass Heart, Exquisite Body
Before the two swords could close in, the sword wind and ice lotus had already collided. With a crisp "ding," the ice lotus was shredded by the violent sword wind, but it did not fall. Instead, it transformed into countless shards of hard ice, hurtling toward Xiao Kuanglei against the wind. For a moment, the wind, carrying the shattered ice lotus, swirled and danced around them, like an icy tornado.
Ding, ding, ding, ding...
Amidst a series of collisions and shattering sounds, the flying ice flowers were all shaken off by Xiao Kuanglei. However, the cold energy contained in these ice flowers was far heavier than he had anticipated. When he shook off all the ice flowers, his hands were already frozen bright red, and it took two breaths before they fully recovered. He took a half-step back and said with a smile, "I've long heard that the Ice Cloud Art of the Bing Yun Fairy Palace is unmatched in the world. Truly, it lives up to its reputation. Now, I will need to be more serious. Fairy Maiden, please be careful."
Xiao Kuanglei's proud and well-intentioned reminder did not elicit any response from Xia Qingyue. Her clear, cold eyes were as calm as still water, without a ripple, yet as beautiful as a bright moon. After Xiao Kuanglei took two extra glances at her, his heartbeat involuntarily sped up. He immediately took a deep breath, surging his profound energy throughout his body. The swirling wind around him grew faster, and the eagle image behind him became clearer, eventually appearing as solid as if it had become a physical entity.
"Wind Extreme Sword!"
Xiao Kuanglei's gaze flashed, and a storm surged around him as he charged at Xia Qingyue. His speed was truly like a gale—those among the spectators below the Earth Profound Realm could only see a fleeting afterimage like lightning. Among the four great sects, the Xiao Sect's speed was second to none!
"Heh, Third Brother seems to be getting serious. He's already unleashed his maximum speed directly. It looks like this match will end soon," Xiao Kuangyu said with a leisurely smile.
Xiao Jue Tian also nodded slowly. "It seems Lei'er hasn't ignored our warnings. He's not underestimating the opponent, nor is he holding back. Good. After he wins this match, he'll face Ling Yun. He can't win that one, so let him use this battle to fully display the true might of our Xiao Sect!"
"Hmph!" Xiao Zhen, standing beside Xiao Boyun, watched the match coldly and gave a soft snort.
Under the storm-like high-speed movement, Xiao Kuanglei's long sword swept out swiftly. A storm swirled around the blade, and with a flash of sword light, four sword auras, enough to pierce mountains and shatter rocks, shot toward Xia Qingyue simultaneously.
Clang, clang, clang, clang!
Four ice lotuses bloomed in front of Xia Qingyue, shattering and blocking all four sword auras. At that moment, Xiao Kuanglei successfully closed in on Xia Qingyue, unleashing a flurry of chain sword strikes like a violent storm. Xia Qingyue stepped back steadily and gracefully. With each step, a beautiful ice lotus bloomed beneath her feet...
"How astonishing! This Xia Qingyue is only at the eighth level of the Spirit Profound Realm, yet she has already reached the fourth level of the Ice Lotus Realm in the Ice Cloud Art, and she executes it with such ease. In the last tournament, Mu Lingxue, who was at the tenth level of the Spirit Profound Realm, had only just glimpsed the threshold of the Ice Lotus Realm. It seems Xia Qingyue is undoubtedly the most talented disciple the Bing Yun Fairy Palace has produced in decades."
"However, Xia Qingyue is clearly at a disadvantage. All her moves are defensive and parrying, with no room to counterattack. That's to be expected, given the gap in age and profound strength."
The eagle image behind Xiao Kuanglei spread its wings high. He executed one sword technique after another, his long sword dancing into a blur of countless sword shadows. Combined with his speed, his figure and sword shadows became illusory, overlapping, dazzling and overwhelming to watch. The clashing of swords and the collision of storms and ice lotuses produced a series of explosive sounds that made eardrums ring.
Green sword auras and fragments of ice lotuses continuously shot out from the storm of profound energy enveloping them. Faced with Xiao Kuanglei's astonishing speed, Xia Qingyue's movements were as light as smoke, as elegant and effortless as a fairy walking on dust, yet she was in no way hindered by Xiao Kuanglei's speed. With each step they moved, the ground gained several sword marks and pits from the impact of profound energy.
The entire arena fell silent, except for the piercing explosions and tearing sounds. Every eye was fixed on the two figures on the Sword Discussion Platform. Everyone had thought this match would end quickly, perhaps even with one side dominating, but no one expected it to be so fierce. Despite a three-year age gap and a one-level power difference, the two were currently in a deadlock.
The faces of the Xiao Sect members began to darken. Xiao Jue Tian's brow furrowed deeper, and he said in a low voice, "It seems we underestimated Xia Qingyue. Her strength might not be inferior to Shui Wushuang and Wu Xuexin."
"It doesn't matter. Even if she can hold her own against Third Brother, so what? As soon as Third Brother uses the Jingchen Sword, the outcome will be decided immediately," Xiao Kuangyu said without concern.
"Using the Jingchen Sword would be somewhat of an unfair victory. Right now, they seem evenly matched, but if this continues, the advantage is still on Lei'er's side. After all, Lei'er's profound energy reserves should be greater than that seventeen-year-old girl," Xiao Jue Tian said.
"Sis, keep going! Keep going, sis!" Xia Yuanba clenched his fists in sweat, his eyes wide as he shouted continuously. He couldn't clearly see the situation on the platform, only that Xia Qingyue seemed to be retreating, making his heart grow more anxious.
"Don't worry. Your sister won't lose that easily," Yun Che casually comforted.
"Not lose easily?" In Yun Che's mind, Mo Li's disdainful voice came: "That woman has no chance of losing. If she used her full strength, the opponent wouldn't even last five exchanges. The current situation is just her deliberately hiding her strength."
"Oh?" Yun Che was surprised. "Not even five exchanges? That's impossible, right?"
"Hmph! You can challenge across major realms partly because of your talent and comprehension, partly because of your divine meridians, divine bloodline, and divine cultivation technique. But in the realm of talent, comprehension, and physique, I have finally seen someone who completely surpasses you: this woman. She not only possesses a 'Heavenly Spirit Divine Meridian' with all fifty-four profound gates opened, but also an 'Ice Snow Glass Heart,' which is ten thousand times rarer than the Heavenly Spirit Divine Meridian. And her physique is a 'Nine-Xuan Exquisite Body,' which in the realm of gods... in the place where I was born, only appears once in ten thousand years. After tomorrow, whether your opponent will be Ling Yun is still uncertain."
Yun Che: "!!!!"
"Ice Snow Glass Heart" and "Nine-Xuan Exquisite Body"—these two terms, even though Yun Che was well-versed in medical theory and physiques in both his past and present lives, he heard them for the first time. So he couldn't fully understand their true meaning. But from Mo Li's words, he detected a clear note of shock. Something that could shock Mo Li was certainly extraordinary.
And Mo Li's last sentence completely stunned Yun Che. Because that sentence clearly hinted... that Xia Qingyue might even have the possibility of defeating Ling Yun!!
The battle on the Sword Discussion Platform had entered a white-hot phase. The eagle image behind Xiao Kuanglei spread its wings again. He let out a light cry, leaping high into the air. The storm of profound energy around him erupted like boiling water. Rings of pale green profound energy ripples spread outward, forcefully pushing away all the surrounding air. Then, Xiao Kuanglei pointed his long sword downward, concentrating all his profound energy at the tip. Instantly, the sword tip glowed with green light, and a storm swirled around the tip at an extremely terrifying speed, howling.
A oppressive aura settled over the entire Sword Discussion Platform. The spectators at the edge, merely looking at the green-light-wreathed sword tip, felt a powerful sense of suffocation.
Unable to finish the fight quickly, Xiao Kuanglei finally lost patience, but he did not draw the Jingchen Sword. As Xiao Jue Tian had said, using the Xiao Sect's number one divine sword against someone younger and lower in power was not only an unfair victory but could also invite ridicule. He decisively used his strongest ultimate move.
"Startling Swan Sword!"
Xiao Kuanglei shouted loudly, his body diving down like a storm, as if a sword god had descended. An overwhelmingly sharp sword aura blanketed Xia Qingyue...
"Oh! I didn't expect Third Brother to have cultivated the 'Startling Swan Sword' to this level... probably about forty percent mastery?" Xiao Kuangyu said in surprise.
"This is a breakthrough he just made recently. It seems the match will end soon." Xiao Jue Tian's face already wore a triumphant smile.
As Xiao Kuanglei's sword momentum descended rapidly, a crack spread wildly across the ground. Facing this terrifying aerial strike, Xia Qingyue remained extraordinarily composed. She gently raised her hand, pointing her ice sword slowly upward. At the sword tip, an ice lotus bloomed silently. But this lotus was no longer crystal clear; it had taken on a light blue color like the sky.
Boom!!
Xiao Kuanglei's Startling Swan Sword clashed with Xia Qingyue's ice lotus from a distance. A thunderous roar echoed throughout the arena. The green storm of profound energy enveloped a large area around them, and the ice lotus completely exploded, scattering icy crystals and mist. For a moment, their bodies were completely shrouded in green and light blue profound energy light, leaving nothing visible. Only the sounds of the two erupting profound forces colliding wildly could be heard...
A full ten breaths later, the green and blue lights finally dissipated completely. Their swords completed the final clash, and then the impact sent them both stumbling backward.
Xia Qingyue's expression was utterly calm. Her beautiful eyes were as clear and still as water. There were no injuries on her body, and even her white dress remained spotless. The ice spirits floating around her were not even slightly disordered.
Across from her, Xiao Kuanglei was similarly unscathed, with no wounds except for slightly disheveled hair. Despite such fierce collisions of ultimate moves, the two had miraculously not sustained any injury.
However, in terms of expression, Xiao Kuanglei was obviously not as calm as Xia Qingyue. He had not anticipated this outcome. He had used his recently partially mastered ultimate move, yet in the clash, all his sword momentum and sword auras had been completely blocked by his opponent, not even touching a single strand of her hair. This shocked him inwardly while also making him feel greatly disgraced.
In this situation, he knew that to win, he would have to use the Jingchen Sword.
"As expected of the fairy maiden from the Bing Yun Fairy Palace, truly not to be underestimated. When I was your age, I was far from your equal. But I must win this match. If I offend the fairy maiden in doing so, I will surely apologize in person after the match."
With that, Xiao Kuanglei retracted his sword and placed his right hand on his space ring, preparing to draw the Jingchen Sword. But just as his right finger touched the ring, his expression suddenly froze. His movements halted there. Then, his face paled at an alarming rate, growing whiter and whiter... until finally, like a frozen statue, he fell stiffly onto his back.
As he fell, Xia Qingyue's gaze did not flicker in the slightest. She showed no surprise.
At that moment, dozens of wounds of various sizes burst open on Xiao Kuanglei's body, and streams of blood spurted out... These wounds were all caused by Xia Qingyue's ice sword. However, under the extreme cold power of the Ice Cloud Art, these wounds had been instantly frozen upon being inflicted—no blood would flow, and no pain would be felt. Unaware of his injuries, Xiao Kuanglei had continued fighting Xia Qingyue hotly, never knowing that during the green light's cover, his body had been cut more than thirty times in ten breaths... And each of these wounds, had it shifted just slightly, could have struck a vital point. In other words, if Xia Qingyue had not held back, he would have died more than thirty times within those ten breaths.