Chapter 35: Chapter 35: Flying Phoenix Knife vs Flowing Cloud 18 Fans (Seeking favorites, seeking recommendations!)
The swordsmanship that Lan Yu cultivated was a mediocre swordsmanship known as Yunfeng Swordsmanship among the third-rate.
With a swift twist of his wrist, his sword swung so fast that it cast a light, like a gust of wind enveloping Shi Xiaole from all directions, leaving him no room to advance or retreat.
Shi Xiaole could see that this was only a feint. If he was startled and moved his feet haphazardly, it would indeed provide Lan Yu with an opportunity.
Using the Floating Step under his feet, Shi Xiaole still resorted to the Hundred Flowers Fist Technique.
"An overconfident fool."
Lan Yu was infuriated.
Did this kid think he was Song Xian, planning to beat him barehanded?
Lan Yu’s eyes were cold, and his sword strikes were faster one after another. Indeed, after just over ten moves, Shi Xiaole was pushed to a disadvantage.
"Shi Xiaole is going to lose."
"It’s normal. He’s after all, two realms below Lan Yu. His technique is also far inferior. It’s already amazing that he’s held on till now."
To the young disciples of the Golden Phoenix Tower, Shi Xiaole’s strength was ultimately still a bit lacking compared to the top talents, despite his previous concealment. Losing was not surprising.
"Tower master, Lele is only fifteen years old. Wait till he’s seventeen, he may be capable of competing with my Yu."
The Second Master said with a smile, making comments.
Lan Yu was his grandson. Seeing his grandson defeat Shi Xiaole was as satisfying as if he had defeated Su Yanru himself.
Su Yanru was annoyed in her heart, but she was also worried in secret, afraid that Shi Xiaole would be injured by Lan Yu due to a moment of negligence.
Just as everyone was preoccupied, the situation on the field suddenly changed.
Shi Xiaole stepped back, suddenly drawing the long sword from his waist, and with a crisp clang, he forced back Lan Yu’s advance.
In the previous confrontation, Shi Xiaole had been practicing his fist technique. However, as he had mastered the Hundred Flowers Fist Technique in a relatively short time and his Floating Step was too low-leveled, he could only withstand for so long.
If the fight continued, he couldn’t afford to lose the match.
"Finally using your sword, but it’s too late. Even if you used both sword and saber, it would be useless."
Lan Yu, laughing heartily, rushed towards Shi Xiaole, his sword strokes erratic and unpredictable. Clearly, he had been holding back and was now in full attack mode.
"Yu is young and energetic, the tower master should not be bothered with him."
The Second Master glanced at Su Yanru and said smugly.
Others also noticed that Lan Yu intended to overwhelm Shi Xiaole with a thunderous momentum.
With a calm expression, Shi Xiaole lifted his sword in response to Lan Yu’s winning strike. Suddenly, a shadow of a white crane flew out from the tip of his sword, rushing forth.
Whoosh!
Lan Yu’s sword path was suddenly thrown into disarray, and he staggered backward three steps.
"Your swordsmanship, it’s reaching the peak... no, the perfection of the Transformation Phase?"
Lan Yu couldn’t help but cry out.
Given his own level of swordsmanship—just the beginning of the Transformation Phase—Shi Xiaole would have to be at the perfection of the Transformation Phase to overcome two realms and block him.
But even then, Lan Yu shouldn’t be on the losing end, right?
Lan Yu had no idea that throughout the previous fight, Shi Xiaole had been using Embracing the Origin Energy. At this moment, he switched to Fuyang Qi Skill, thus significantly enhancing his attack power and creating the current situation.
Without giving anyone time to digest, Shi Xiaole wields his sword freely,
giving others the feeling of a flowing stream.
By now, his Miao Family Sword Technique had already reached perfection. He wasn’t hindered by specific moves. In terms of understanding the sword technique, he was not at all comparable to Lan Yu.
Clang, Clang, Clang...
By the fifteenth move, Shi Xiaole’s arm shook, knocking Lan Yu’s long sword away, and his sword tip directly targeted Lan Yu’s throat.
"I... I actually lost?"
Lan Yu’s face was filled with disbelief, as if he had seen a ghost.
Was this still the Shi Xiaole he knew? Had this man been playing the fool all along, or had he suddenly risen?
"How... how could this be?"
"Perfection of the Transformation Phase, so Shi Xiaole’s swordsmanship is higher than his fist technique. This is his true strength."
Following Shi Xiaole’s continuous victories, everyone was shocked and found it difficult to digest this unbelievable truth.
Su Yanru let out a long sigh, suppressing her surging emotions, glanced at the Second Elder whose face was pale, and said with a smile: "Lele is young and lively, the Second Master shouldn’t take things so seriously."
In fact, she threw back the words that had been said to her beforehand.
The Second Master gritted his teeth and snorted coldly: "He can jump around now. When he meets the three great talents, he’ll have his share of suffering."
Many of the Golden Phoenix Tower elders frowned secretly. What was wrong with this Second Master today? His wisdom was missing, and he even spoke such disgraceful words.
"How did you reach this level?"
After stepping down from the stage, Leng Feng approached and looked at Shi Xiaole with a face full of astonishment.
Seeing people around him listening, Shi Xiaole laughed and said: "I had an epiphany. Before I knew it, I achieved this."
"An epiphany?"
Leng Feng curled his lip, naturally thinking that Shi Xiaole was not telling the truth.
Someone’s talent and understanding are almost predetermined from birth. It’s as if such a miraculous realization were a plot from a tale of the martial world. It might be popular, but it doesn’t match reality.
Moreover, even if you, Shi Xiaole, suddenly had an enlightenment, you wouldn’t go from being mediocre to becoming so exceptional, would you? After all, there’s a limit to having an epiphany.
"Lele, it’s truly gratifying that you have achieved such outstanding results. I believe you will be able to assist the new tower master in the future and bring glory to the Golden Phoenix Tower."
Sha Zongheng also came over and said with a kind smile.
Assist the new tower master?
Shi Xiaole looked at him with interest, then shifted his gaze to examine Jin Wuwei and Lan Ning. He noticed how their expressions had evolved from initial disdain to a certain kind of regard, similar to how a superior views their subordinates.
Perfect. It seems that these three had indeed successfully put themselves in the shoes of the tower owner. Witnessing his performance, their intent to recruit had surfaced?
The reality was indeed so.
In everyone’s hearts, Shi Xiaole, who had defeated Lan Yu, indeed possessed strength that could be reckoned as the top-notch one under three great geniuses. If Ye Kang had not stepped forward, it would not be outrageous to declare him as the number one under such a category of geniuses.
Such strength, such temperament, naturally attracted the attention of Jin Wuwei and the other two.
The second round ended quickly.
After this round, the twenty-three contestants were reduced to twelve, and one lucky individual was drawn to proceed directly to the next round.
The third round began.
In this round, there were a total of six competitions. Notably in the very first match, the two top fighters from Su Yanru’s lineage clashed.
Those fighters were Shi Xiaole and Leng Feng.
Before the competition had begun, Leng Feng had paid no attention to Shi Xiaole, bluntly calling him a detriment to the group. Reflecting upon this now, Leng Feng felt somewhat embarrassed.
"Brother Shi, please enlighten me."
With a swift movement of his hands, Leng Feng gave it his all right from the start.
After all, as Shi Xiaole was his aunt’s student, he had to save her face. Thus, he pretended to grapple with Leng Feng for over a hundred rounds before finally turning aside his opponent’s dual blades and defeating him with his superior skill.
In the second match, a promising young fighter from the Second Elder’s lineage fought against one from the Fourth Elder’s lineage, with the Fourth Elder’s champion ultimately emerging victorious.
In the third match, Jin Wuwei entered the arena and once again defeated his opponent with a single punch.
In the fourth match, Lan Ning was victorious.
In the fifth match, Ye Kang came out victorious.
In the sixth match, Sha Zongheng won.
With that, the final six emerged, and the competition advanced to the fourth round.
In this round, the six finalists would engage in head-to-head contests to determine the ultimate champion. In case of a tie, an additional match would be conducted.
The atmosphere at the scene was absolutely electric. Everyone present was well aware that the most thrilling duel of the tournament was about to commence.
"The first match, Ye Kang vs Sha Zongheng."
A considerable stir was created in the audience, which refused to die down after a long time.
Before this, Ye Kang had thoroughly demonstrated his prowess. Many even believed that, at this point, he was slightly superior to Shi Xiaole.
As for Sha Zongheng, it went without saying that he was one of the hot favourites for the championship.
"Brother Ye, you truly are a master of hiding your skills. Let’s begin."
Sha Zongheng spread out his hands and smiled calmly.
Ye Kang, a man of few words, didn’t bother responding. With a swift movement, he covered a considerable distance and aimed a strike directly at Sha Zongheng’s head.
"The Flying Phoenix technique... Tower Master, you are certainly generous."
The Fourth Elder looked at Su Yanru in surprise.
The Flying Phoenix technique was a flying skill created by Su Yanru herself, ranking impressively in the mid-tier of the third-rate techniques. It was even considered the best flying skill in the Golden Phoenix Tower.
The Fourth Elder didn’t expect Su Yanru to pass this housekeeping skill to Ye Kang. Moreover, it appeared that Ye Kang had already cultivated this skill to the small success of the Transformation Phase.
"Bring it on!"
Sha Zongheng laughed heartily, waving his folding fan and spinning his body.
In the crisp clanging sounds, a series of sparks shot out.
At this moment, everyone realized that the fan in Sha Zongheng’s hands was not ordinary at all. It was, in fact, an iron fan.
Despite Ye Kang’s strong assault, he lacked the internal power to match Sha Zongheng due to being only at the Hidden Qi Eighth Phase of cultivation. After failing to gain the upper hand for a while, he performed a flip in the air, resembling an inverted flying phoenix, and fiercely slashed Shaun Zongheng’s shoulder.
"Flying Phoenix Sword Technique!"
Even the Second and Third Elders couldn’t keep still at this revelation.
If Leng Feng was considered Su Yanru’s favourite apprentice, then Ye Kang was soundly her only direct disciple. He had remarkably learnt both the Flying Phoenix Flying Skill and the Flying Phoenix Sword Technique.
Leng Feng stared at the stage, his face pale, jealousy and a hint of envy growing in his heart.
"Is this my aunt’s martial arts?"
Shi Xiaole had to admit, when it came to flying skills, he was not on par with Ye Kang.
It was unavoidable, as the Floating Step was too low-tiered. Even if he had pushed it to its limit, it would have been of no use. As for returning to simplicity, that was something Shi Xiaole could not comprehend at his current phase.
Shi Xiaole felt assured that if he were to master the Flying Phoenix Flying Skill, his abilities would surely surge in a short period.
Pairing the Flying Phoenix Flying Skill with the Flying Phoenix Sword Technique, the potency was nearly equivalent to a top-tier third-rate martial arts technique. This forced Shaun Zongheng to let go of his nonchalant attitude.
All of a sudden, he spun his body, his iron fan rotating rapidly around the hub of the fan in his palm.
A middle-tier third-rate martial arts technique, Flowing Cloud 18 Fans.
"It won’t work."
Ye Kang smirked. With the combination of his flying skill and sword technique, he was like a ghost, targeting Shaun Zongheng’s weakest spots with every move.
"Brother Ye, you underestimate me."
A lazy voice rung out, and Shaun Zongheng charged forward, the iron fan in his hand stirring up a spiral gust of wind. With a boom, he forcefully deflected Ye Kang’s sword technique.
"Haha, Zongheng’s Flowing Cloud 18 Fans have already reached the full-circle phase of the Transformation Phase. Not just anyone can withstand it!"
Seeing Sha Zongheng getting serious, the Fourth Elder was finally reassured.
