Chapter 121: Chapter 121: Left Knife Right Sword (Part 1)
The exchange was more than halfway through, and all those who were supposed to take the stage had already done so.
As if coordinated in advance, everyone grew quiet.
"Brother Zhao, we still owe each other a battle."
Tang Juran stood up, his tall figure exuding an imposing pressure. His gaze, as sharp as a sword, was directed at the man opposite him.
Setting down his wine glass, Zhao Yihuan laughed and said, "I was about to extend the same invitation to Brother Tang."
Whoosh, whoosh.
In a flash, both of them almost simultaneously appeared in the arena.
Before others could react, a deafening sound that made hearts pound burst forth, scattering the wind that had been blowing in a disorderly manner.
The scent of wine also spread, and occasional birds flying by flapped their wings a few times, seemingly dazed and losing their strength.
"Excellent move!"
Someone erupted in applause, shouting praises.
Indeed, although the two outstanding youths had only just begun their confrontation, both the scene and the momentum far surpassed previous battles. Because this was a face-off between true equals.
"Brother Tang, today I will show you the true power of the soft sword."
Zhao Yihuan’s expression was calm and soft. With a flick of his right hand on his belt, he drew out a soft sword straight away.
"You will undoubtedly lose."
Shaking his head, Tang Juran, like a fierce tiger, charged forward with his heavy sword.
Unlike typical swordsmen, Tang Juran’s moves were not only meticulous, but his momentum was also as fierce as a blade-wielder’s, giving an extremely contradictory and exceptionally difficult to handle impression.
If Tang Juran was a tiger, then Zhao Yihuan was a fox.
A fox may not be as aggressive as a tiger, but it possesses the agility and cunning that a tiger lacks. This was reflected in his swordplay, which was tricky.
In Shi Xiaole’s observation, every sword strike of Zhao Yihuan seemed like the eyes of a fox, specifically aiming at Tang Juran’s most uncomfortable and hardest to defend points.
The strangeness of his sword strokes and the precision of his angles could only be described as breathtaking.
This was quite different from the Dai Sect’s methods. The Dai Sect would seek opponents’ weaknesses, but Zhao Yihuan’s sword technique was creating weaknesses artificially.
Shi Xiaole was certain that the opponent was also cultivating a secondary low-grade sword technique.
"Killing Fox Sword."
Standing beside him, Su Junhao confirmed Shi Xiaole’s speculation word for word.
The Killing Fox Sword, a secondary low-grade sword technique, the top secret technique of the Chongyang Sect.
"Bring it on."
Facing Zhao Yihuan’s constant attacks, Tang Juran gave a big laugh, waved his hand, and the mysterious sword light flickered like a kaleidoscope, almost dazzling the eyes of everyone present.
A secondary low-grade sword technique, the Truth Sword Technique.
Bang!
The snow exploded, the wind was bitterly cold.
The two sharp swords constantly collided, making a constant sound like rain hitting plantain leaves.
In just a short while, the two had exchanged countless moves.
Everyone was well aware that their heartbeat was becoming rapid along with the frequent exchanges between the two, and their eyes dared not blink for fear of missing a splendid scene.
"Both are at the Qi Absorption fifth tier, and they have learned secondary low-grade sword techniques – is this the strength of the Cloud Triangle’s Outstanding Youths?"
Shi Xiaole took a deep breath, slowly calming his feelings down.
Considering their age at twenty-two, talent no less than the Four Outstanding Youths, and cultivation at the fifth tier, it was not surprising. Given their position and mission, it was not hard to understand their decision to practice the best techniques of their sect.
Therefore, at present, if Shi Xiaole were to face either of them, he would likely lose more than win.
However, this realization not only failed to discourage him, it ignited an indescribable excitement within him.
Only motivation leads to progress.
Since crossing over to his current world, he had always been catching up fast, shaking off one person after another. Shi Xiaole believed that not much time would pass before he could surpass both of them.
In reality, only he could think this way.
Even the overwhelmingly proud Su Junhao, after seeing the strength exhibited by the Outstanding Youths, could only sigh secretly that he would not be able to reach their level in three years’ time.
Clang, clang, clang...
In the exploding snowflakes, two figures each drew back.
"Brother Tang, I recently enlightened the final technique of the Killing Fox Sword. Please experience it." Zhao Yihuan combed his sword with his hand, speaking with a serious tone.
"Haha, I too have learned the final technique of the Truth Sword Technique. Let’s see who is better, Brother Zhao."
Tang Juran’s words caused Zhao Yihuan’s facial expression to change momentarily, and then it returned to normal.
Upon hearing the two’s words, everyone grew excited.
Not everyone has an understanding as abnormal as Shi Xiaole’s.
So for the young practitioners who have practiced secondary martial arts, the strongest techniques of secondary martial arts were often more powerful than those they created themselves.
Everyone knew that this duel had reached its most crucial moment.
"Fox Killing Technique!"
His eyes seemed to narrow to a point as Zhao Yihuan made his move.
This sword technique was straightforward without any quirks, yet for those who had discerning eyes, it was as if multiple sword shadows were stabbing at Tang Juran from all directions simultaneously.
As the saying goes, return to simplicity. The last sword move of the Killing Fox Sword had seemingly lifted the trickiness and unpredictability of the sword technique to a whole new level.
"Truth is not Illusion!"
Feeling the intense pressure, Tang Juran merged his strength, energy, and spirit and swung his strongest blade of his life. The shimmering light reflected off the sword turned the surrounding snowy ground even whiter.
Clang!
Both swords clashed once more.
Zhao Yihuan’s wrist shook, the tip of her blade brushing against her opponent’s, suddenly jabbing towards Tang Juran’s shoulder. Using the force from her opponent, the light from Tang Juran’s blade flickered nonstop, vibrating at a constant frequency towards his opponent.
The victory was decided in a thought’s time, causing everyone’s hearts to almost stop.
"Stop it."
At the critical moment, an invisible force descended from the sky. A shadow fell from above, his hands pushing to the sides, forcefully separating the two, preventing a situation where both would have been injured.
Both heaved a sigh of relief.
They would never want to have both injured, they would rather win cleanly. Just that in the heat of the moment, neither could hold back their attacks.
"Thank you, Senior Brother Shen."
Thinking about it, both saluted the shadow with a fist and palm salute.
Shen Canghai lightly smiled, "If you two shed some blood, it’d ruin the atmosphere of this gathering that Yuxue organized."
Hearing this, everyone laughed, their gazes flickering between Shen Canghai and Bai Yuxue.
There had been rumors in the Martial World, that Shen Canghai had been pursuing Bai Yuxue for a long time. Judging from his behavior and actions today, the rumors seemed to be true.
Just as everyone was anticipating the end of today’s appreciation of snow and wine, Shen Canghai suddenly turned his head and said to Shi Xiaole with a smile, "Junior Brother Shi, are you interested in coming down and exchanging some moves with me?"
As those words were spoken, everyone present was stunned.
Even Shi Xiaole was somewhat puzzled and was quick to respond, "I’m honored by senior brother Shen’s high praise, but I am not your opponent."
From the way Shen Canghai handled the situation earlier, it was clear that his cultivation level was at the seventh tier of Qi Absorption. Neither of the talented ones could compare, and if he stepped forward it would be asking for humiliation.
Shen Canghai laughed, "Junior Brother Shi, please don’t misunderstand, I’m just interested in a little competition. How about this, I’ll limit my internal power to 30%, is that acceptable?"
He was fully aware of the capabilities of the two talented ones and the others didn’t raise any interest in him.
But this Shi Xiaole, keeping a low profile, is interesting.
Shen Canghai has always been led by his curiosity and he really wanted to see how good this low-key and steady youth was.
Actually, this is not only his intention, but also Bai Yuxue’s.
Upon hearing Shen Canghai’s words, the crowd had different thoughts.
Everyone knew that suppressing internal power and suppressing realms weren’t the same.
When a warrior breaks through a realm, they unlock certain joints in their body. If they suppress their realm, it’s like temporarily closing those joints, and it affects all their abilities.
But when they suppress their internal power, those joints stay open as before. It’s only the power that drops, but the speed and efficiency remain unaffected.
Given Shen Canghai’s level of cultivation and his training in second-rate lower quality internal skills, even if he suppressed his internal power to thirty percent, among the present crowd, likely only Bai Yuxue and the two prodigies would be a match for him.
The fact that they were thinking of matching against Shi Xiaole, who was only fifteen, seemed particularly unfair.
Tong Song’s eyes lit up, thinking that Shen Canghai intended to suppress Shi Xiaole and immediately laughed, "Mister Shi, Senior Shen asked you so politely, why do you still have to act so arrogant? Don’t tell me, you don’t even consider Senior Brother Shen in your eyes?"
Being openly defeated by Shi Xiaole today, Tong Song naturally felt both humiliated and angry, if he hadn’t been unable to leave midway, he would have left earlier. But if he could see Shi Xiaole get defeated before the end, it would appease his anger.
"Junior Brother Tong, don’t force others."
Another disciple of Chongyang Sect advised, seeming to mediate but actually pressuring indirectly.
Shi Xiaole completely ignored the two, standing up and saying, "Since Senior Brother Shen sincerely invited, I would be disrespectful if I refused."
Being part of the Martial World, one must always give face when it’s due.
Moreover, Shi Xiaole could tell that Shen Canghai meant no harm to him, so it wouldn’t hurt to try.
"Haha, Junior Brother Shi is really a straightforward person, feel free to make your move."
Shen Canghai held his hands behind his back, secretly mobilizing his energy, reducing his internal power to thirty percent of its usual level.
Whoosh.
Without any hesitation, Shi Xiaole’s move was so fast it surprised everyone. It was almost as if the moment Shen Canghai’s words fell, his Shattered Snow Blade was already falling down on him.
"Truly swift as the lightning wind."
Shen Canghai was slightly startled, and while feeling it interesting, he casually stepped around in the snow.
A third-rate top-tier flying skill, One Foot Movement.
His proficiency in One Foot Movement allowed Shen Canghai to move exactly one foot each time. His body was as slippery as a loach in the snow, swaying left and right due to the rapid movement, even producing layers of illusions in people’s eyes.
"What a formidable footwork technique."
"Not just the footwork, he himself is formidable."
Many people seeing Shen Canghai making a move for the first time, immediately exclaimed in admiration.
"Junior Brother Shi, your blade technique seems to be not fast enough."
While moving, Shen Canghai said with a smile.
Shi Xiaole didn’t say a word, his blade suddenly accelerated, slashing out repeatedly, causing the scattered pieces of light from the Shattered Snow Blade to merge into one.
Wild Wind Blade Technique.
"Holding back, was it?"
Shen Canghai smiled nonchalantly. He had already attained mastery in One Foot Movement. He could still discern the enemy’s location even with his eyes closed by just the sound of the wind.
If Shi Xiaole wanted to rely on speed to hit him, it would undoubtedly be a pipe dream.
"It seems my right hand won’t work on Senior Brother Shen."
After attacking for a long while without success, Shi Xiaole lightly smiled, then did something astonishing. In mid-air, his right hand loosened and the Shattered Snow Blade smoothly switched to his left hand.
The next moment, the Shattered Snow Blade in his hand stormed forward like a gale, instantly engulfing Shen Canghai’s figure.
