Chapter 280: Yan Qingwu
Lei Jing guessed that Zhang Ruochen's practical test earlier had ended in failure, and sighed, "Ah! You're still too young and reckless, completely ignoring my words. Even if your strength is considerable, compared to those martial artists in the 'Upper Three Tiers,' there's still a huge gap. Losing the first match doesn't matter—challenge a rank below five hundred next time, try to win one, and regain your confidence."
Zhang Ruochen said, "I won the challenge."
"Won the challenge? Don't be too discouraged, the key is to keep your mindset—uh... what did you just say? You won the challenge?" Lei Jing thought he had misheard and asked again.
Zhang Ruochen added, "I defeated the opponent ranked one hundred and thirtieth. For the second match, I want to challenge the opponent ranked one hundredth."
Lei Jing was stunned for a long moment, then nodded mechanically like a puppet, saying, "You... go ahead! Wait, take this fourth-grade healing pill first, recover from your injuries, and then challenge—there's no rush."
Lei Jing took out a pill the size of a pigeon egg and handed it to Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen didn't stand on ceremony with Lei Jing, swallowed the healing pill, and began to recover.
The fourth-grade healing pill was far more powerful than the third-grade one. After circulating his true qi through a full cycle, most of his injuries had already healed.
Once fully recovered, Zhang Ruochen entered the testing chamber again.
"This kid really surprises me. I wonder how many more surprises he has in store?" Lei Jing said with a smile.
The one hundredth rank on the Earth Ranking was a woman named Yan Qingwu.
This time, Zhang Ruochen carefully read the introduction of Yan Qingwu on the Earth Ranking, not daring to underestimate his opponent.
Yan Qingwu, the top genius of the half-saint clan "Yan Clan," studied under a half-saint of the Yan Clan.
At age two, she awakened the Cold Ice Divine Martial Mark; at nine, she reached the Great Perfection of the Yellow Extreme Realm; at fourteen, she reached the Great Perfection of the Mysterious Extreme Realm; at twenty, she reached the Great Perfection of the Earth Extreme Realm. Now, at twenty-four, she had entered the top one hundred of the Earth Ranking.
Main achievements:
1. Three years ago, she killed the Black Market Heaven Extreme Realm initial-stage martial artist "He Yunzi" with ten sword strikes, making a name for herself in one battle.
2. One year ago, she cleared the fifth level of the Nine Absolute Tower, becoming a five-absolute genius.
3. Six months ago, she defeated Yan Yunhan, a Heaven Extreme Realm late-stage martial artist of the Yan Clan.
After reading the information, Zhang Ruochen felt considerable pressure. After all, Yan Qingwu had already achieved a victory over a Heaven Extreme Realm late-stage martial artist, showing that she was formidable in all aspects and possessed the power to defeat opponents stronger than herself.
Moreover, Zhang Ruochen's current overall strength was still inferior to hers.
"What a Yan Qingwu. At just twenty-four, she's already in the top one hundred of the Earth Ranking. This battle is going to be extremely tough."
Zhang Ruochen clenched his fists tightly, and a fierce battle intent surged from within him.
"Thank you for the compliment. In the coming battle, I will use my strongest power to defeat you."
A woman's voice sounded behind Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen turned around and saw, ten zhang away, a woman with a clear and beautiful appearance, holding a long sword, staring at him from a distance.
Zhang Ruochen knew that the other party was only a spiritual phantom body, so he didn't waste words and simply said, "Let's begin!"
The battles in the testing chamber would be recorded by the artifact spirit clone of the Earth Ranking, forming a complete visual record.
For example, if Zhang Ruochen defeated Wei Wuhen, when the new edition of the Earth Ranking was released, the Martial Market Bank would inform Wei Wuhen.
If Wei Wuhen wanted to watch that visual record, he would need to spend spirit crystals to purchase it.
If Wei Wuhen was dissatisfied with his defeat, he would naturally challenge Zhang Ruochen again.
Thus, even if experts on the Earth Ranking were separated by thousands of miles, they could still communicate through the artifact spirit of the Earth Ranking.
It was said that martial artists on the Heaven Ranking had even more miraculous communication, as if two martial artists were fighting face to face.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen's current challenge data would be deleted by Lei Jing, so his exchanges with Wei Wuhen and Yan Qingwu were meaningless.
"One Sword Flying Snow!"
Yan Qingwu's first move was a spirit-grade upper-rank sword technique, the Flying Snow Sword Technique.
As the sword energy emerged, a cold wind swept through, and the entire training chamber was covered with fingernail-sized snowflakes, creating a scene of ice and snow.
Both were at the Earth Extreme Realm Great Perfection, both using spirit-grade upper-rank sword techniques, but the power Yan Qingwu displayed was far greater than Yan Lixuan's.
If Yan Lixuan were to fight Yan Qingwu, he probably couldn't withstand a single sword strike.
"Shua!"
The sword in Yan Qingwu's hand shot forward like a white rainbow piercing the sun, cutting through the flying snow with a sharp aura, straight toward Zhang Ruochen's brow.
"So fast!"
Zhang Ruochen immediately used the "Heavenly Heart Sword Bell," gathering sword energy into a large bell that enveloped his body.
The three-meter-tall sword bell spun rapidly, emitting a "humming" sound, forming a huge vortex of sword energy.
"Hua!"
Yan Qingwu pierced through the sword energy vortex and thrust her sword at the bell.
Although her sword speed slowed, it still advanced steadily, penetrating the sword bell and drawing closer to Zhang Ruochen's brow.
What a formidable sword technique.
Zhang Ruochen stood still, watching as the sword in his pupils grew brighter and larger.
Yan Qingwu was like a celestial maiden descending from beyond the heavens, her long hair flying, her aura overwhelming. Staring at Zhang Ruochen, who was right in front of her, she smiled, "You've lost!"
"Is that so? Not necessarily."
Zhang Ruochen clenched his left hand into a fist, leaving only his thumb extended, and frantically channeled all his true qi toward his fingertip.
"Solar Meridian Sword Wave!"
He pressed his thumb, and a sword wave shot out.
Yan Qingwu reacted with incredible speed. The moment Zhang Ruochen unleashed the sword wave, she immediately withdrew her sword and blocked horizontally.
A layer of light burst from the sword, forming a shield that stopped the sword wave.
"Bang!"
Yan Qingwu was sent flying backward, crashing directly into the stone wall with a muffled grunt.
Landing back on the ground, a hint of surprise appeared on Yan Qingwu's face. "No wonder you dared to challenge me. You do have some skill."
Without giving Yan Qingwu time to catch her breath, Zhang Ruochen pressed his advantage, striking again. He swung his sword horizontally, aiming for Yan Qingwu's waist.
Yan Qingwu's speed was even faster than Zhang Ruochen's top speed, almost beyond the discernment of the naked eye.
She lightly tapped her feet, leaped into the air, turned around, and thrust her sword at Zhang Ruochen's back.
Her sword technique was extremely refined, having reached the peak of "sword following the heart," making it utterly unpredictable and effortless.
"Shua, shua!"
Zhang Ruochen immediately turned, shaking his arm as the Abyssal Ancient Sword traced circles in the air, forcing Yan Qingwu's sword outside the circles.
"Break!"
With a "crack," the sword in Yan Qingwu's hand snapped in two, and the tip flew away.
The Abyssal Ancient Sword brushed past Yan Qingwu's chest, almost cutting through her clothes.
Yan Qingwu executed a swift movement technique, her body flickering as she instantly shifted three zhang sideways, dodging Zhang Ruochen's second strike and retreating to a distance.
"Space Shift."
Zhang Ruochen looked at Yan Qingwu with a hint of surprise.
The technique Yan Qingwu had just used was a ghost-grade lower-rank movement martial technique called "Space Shift."
Although she had only reached the beginner level, it was already quite impressive. After all, even among Heaven Extreme Realm martial artists, very few could master Space Shift to the beginner level.
"At the Earth Extreme Realm, you're already cultivating ghost-grade lower-rank martial techniques. Aren't you afraid of hindering your martial path?" Zhang Ruochen asked.
Standing three zhang away, Yan Qingwu held the broken sword and said proudly, "As long as one's comprehension is high enough, why can't one cultivate ghost-grade techniques even at the Yellow Extreme Realm? Empress Chi Yao had already mastered a ghost-grade lower-rank sword technique to the Great Accomplishment level when she was at the Yellow Extreme Realm. Her comprehension was so high that later generations can only look up to her. Since she could do it, why can't I?"
Although Zhang Ruochen knew that the person standing opposite him was only a spiritual phantom body, hearing the name Chi Yao still stirred a peculiar emotion within him. He said, "You only know that she mastered a ghost-grade lower-rank sword technique to the Great Accomplishment level at the Yellow Extreme Realm, but you don't know that because of this, she only opened thirty-one meridians at the Yellow Extreme Realm and failed to achieve the most perfect state of the first layer of the 'Qing Zhao Divine Art.' That was her greatest regret. Later, even she herself regretted it!"
"How do you know such a secret about Empress Chi Yao?" Yan Qingwu asked, surprised.
Damn it, I let it slip.
For some reason, whenever he heard the name "Chi Yao," Zhang Ruochen found it hard to control his emotions.
"Enough talk. Let's continue fighting! Since your sword is broken, I won't take advantage of you."
Zhang Ruochen put down the Abyssal Ancient Sword, activated his bloodline power, and a blood array nine meters in diameter appeared beneath his feet.
Yan Qingwu threw the broken sword aside, also activated her bloodline power, and a blood array nine meters in diameter appeared beneath her feet.
Those who could enter the top one thousand of the Earth Ranking were almost all the top geniuses of the Eastern Domain, naturally possessing strong blood energy and able to condense a saint-level blood array.
"Blood Qi Condenses into Soldiers!"
Yan Qingwu used her blood energy to condense a three-foot-long blood sword above her head.
The blood sword flew out, forming a crimson sword path that shot toward Zhang Ruochen.
Zhang Ruochen formed a sword seal, channeling his true qi continuously toward his thumb. In an instant, all the spiritual energy in the testing chamber was drained, gathering at his fingertip.
"Hua!"
A sword wave shot out, causing the entire chamber to tremble.
"Bang!"
The two forces collided, and Zhang Ruochen had a slight upper hand, forcing Yan Qingwu to take a step back.
Just as Zhang Ruochen prepared to unleash another sword wave, Yan Qingwu suddenly vanished from her spot.
"Not good, it's Space Shift again."
Almost instinctively, sensing the fluctuation of true qi, Zhang Ruochen reacted quickly and struck a palm toward his left side.
Sure enough, Yan Qingwu appeared on Zhang Ruochen's left, striking a finger at his palm.
"Phantom Sword Demon-Breaking Finger!"
Yan Qingwu used another finger technique martial skill. The sleeves of her hands were shredded by true qi, revealing two sections of snow-white jade-like arms.
Her hands struck rapidly, sending out finger after finger.
Before her, it seemed as if a thousand hands appeared, all attacking Zhang Ruochen simultaneously.