Shi Lang and the sword peak disciples left. They did not care about the etiquette of the guests. Who amongst them was not a genius? How will they tolerate this breath?
Wen Lengxue arranged for the disciples of the Snow Maiden Peak to stay, and then she left too. The elders of the two sects stayed with the disciples, and they guided them to calm their minds.
...
The actions that Shi Lang took spread through the entire sect. Some praised him, and some scolded him for being too arrogant. However, his fame had grown.
Tian Lingxue was surprised to hear such a thing, but then she thought and found it good. After all, Shi Lang had defeated a demonic cultivator a few months ago, and now he stood up against the arrogant disciples of the Dragon Sword Sect to save the dignity of his fellows. This was good quality.
...
All the core disciples gathered together after returning to the Sword Peak. Liang Ping suddenly said, "I heard from Sister Maio Jing. The second Elder found the antidote, and they will arrive by the morning."
At this moment, a pleasant voice sounded, "Xiao Ping, you still believe everything I say."
Everyone turned their heads to look at the source of the voice, and they all found a beautiful lady walking over with a sword hanging on her waist. Her face was very similar to some Shi Lang knew and shocked him.
He could not help but think of Amelia. This lady had a sixty percent similarity to her face. He waited for everyone to greet the young lady and then stepped forward, "Greetings, Senior Sister Miao."
Miao Jing looked at the young man and asked, "Who might this junior brother be?"
Liang Ping introduced Shi Lang and even mentioned how he defeated Wen Lengxue and resolved the knot in her heart. Miao Jing was surprised and said, "Seems like I will have to look for lessons from you, Junior Brother Shi Lang."
Shi Lang shook his head modestly. The people began to discuss what had happened and what they would do. Hu Shan said, "Whatever they have in store. The battle system will be the same point battle. In the earlier fights, they will not send their best warriors. We will need to secure our wins."
The rest of the people nodded, and Miao Jing said, "Then why not send Junior Brother Shi Lang to face them?"
The people looked at her confusedly, and Bai Yan said, "Do you know he defeated Wen Lengxue with a wooden sword and left her bruised?"
Xu Guang sighed and said, "Junior Sister, he did not use the spiritual energy. If Junior Sister Wen was to fight at the peak of her state of mind, things could have been different. Also, even if Junior Shi Lang is stronger, it will only save us face. He can fight as long as he can and with the status of the inner court disciple, defeating the core disciples of the Dragon Sword Sect. Imagine the fame and glory?"
Miao Jing was fascinated, and Shi Lang coughed before he said, "I suggest we draw lots. Fate shall decide who will face who. Some uncertainty will temper our sword hearts."
The disciples woke up, and Miao Jing smiled, "You all still have a long way to go and learn how to walk the path of dao and not vanity."
The people nodded, and Hu Shan said, "Seems like Junior Sister has advanced in terms of her Charm sword."
Maio Jing smiled and said, "I have. Anyhow, let us draw lots and see who will get what."
...
The next morning, all the peaks sent their core disciples to the Arena, and all the elders were here too. The entire event was being projected through the sect. Everyone was looking forward to it. The Disciples of the Snow Maiden Peak were fewer in number, but they all were well versed in many fields.
They were going to compete first. The spear battle and the alchemy competitions were held simultaneously in different arenas. The women looked gentle, but when they were on the battlefield, they were unbothered by images and etiquette.
Ultimately, the Spear and Alchemy peaks leveled the score to one-one. The alchemy peak of the Spirit Heart Sect was weaker by a hair's width, but a defeat was a defeat.
Array formation peak and Forging Peak did not compete much in the eastern barren because the two other sects did not focus on them much. Even if the Snow Maiden Sect were to find a strong, talented child with the skill for array formations, they would have to ask the Spirit Heart Sect for help, and the Dragon Sword Sect would purchase their swords from the forging peak.
As they said, there is no eternal enemy or eternal friend, only lasting benefit. The triage worked around this delicate balance.
…
The sun was at the sky's peak, and it was time for the sword battles to commence. Sect Master Ling stood in the void and said, "The time that you all have been waiting for so eagerly has come. The sword battle competition will be commencing shortly between the three sects."
His voice was calm, but everyone heard it as he had infused spiritual energy in his throat. The crowd cheered, and Sect Master Ling continued, "The winner of this sword battle will be given a chance to go to a secret world and a spiritual artifact and a heaven-level martial technique, along with thousand middle-grade spirit stones."
Shi Lang exclaimed, "They are too generous."
Wen Lengxue sat beside him and spoke softly, "The three sects contribute the rewards. The spirit stones come from the mine owned by the Snow Maiden Peak, and the artifact will come from Spirit Heart Sect. As for the Secret World, that would be from the Dragon Sword Sect."
Shi Lang nodded and watched the Sect Master talk about rules and regulations. After ten minutes, the competition began. As Xu Guang said, it was the best of seven.
However, it was a round-robin. Every disciple was going to fight two battles. Collective points will decide the winner. Each battle was worth one point, and the fighters could keep fighting as long as they were undefeated or could carry on.
As the host, Spirit Heart Sect sent a competitor out first. Xu Guang stood up and walked over the stage. The people were surprised to see Xu Guang coming out so early.
The young man clasped his hands and said, "Xu Guang from the sword peak seeks advice."
Now, the Dragon Sword Sect will be sending forth their candidate. The leading disciple nodded, and a young man stood from the group and jumped onto the stage.
Xu Guang had a thin braid on the back of his head, and he wore a black hanfu. He used an Asian saber. A single-handed sword with a slightly curved blade. This was a shorter sword, but the damage it did was significant.
In contrast, the Dragon sect Disciple wore a red hanfu, and his hair was tied in a bun. He had two short swords tied to his waist. His face was calm, but his eyes were cold.
The young man in red Hanfu said, "Yan Zhili."
Hu Shan asked, "Any ideas?"
Shi Lang replied, "Specified targeting. Senior Brother Xu takes advantage in combination attacks, and the other party uses short swords to counter this style. Two blades are better than one."
The people were surprised, but they nodded, and Liang Ping said, "If this is true, then no matter in what order we ascended the stage, they already have a specific opponent prepared for us."
Shi Lang nodded, saying, "Ten moves will tell us who will be the winner."
Hu Shan was surprised and asked, "Why do you say that? Even the masters must observe. This is a sword fight. The balance can shift any moment."
Shi Lang smiled and said, "Even though I agree with you, this will be a battle of combinations. The one with more versatile and fluent combinations will win."
The people realized that Shi Lang was not talking big, but he had such logic in his thoughts. They could not help but think deeply over what he said.
The deacon of ceremonies stepped forward, explained the rules a bit, and then the battle commenced. The people who used combinations had to close the distance. Xu Guang had a wind attribute to his spiritual energy. It was easy to manipulate and served the purpose of sharpness and agility.
The other party had a fire attribute, and his swords were violent. The two people collided, and sparks flew. They exchanged blows in quick succession.
Shi Lang smiled at the display and said, "We will win."
The people were surprised and doubted. After all, even if they were all proficient in swords, they could never claim such a thing with this confidence.
Wen Lengxue asked, "Why do you say so?"
Shi Lang smiled and said, "Senior Sister, look at Senior Brother's blade and then at his body. You will know."
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