Chapter 47: Chapter 47: Atmosphere Shows Power (Please collect, please recommend!)
Among the Thirteen Sects of Lu Yan, the Changfeng Sect where Chu Lin resided and the Iron Sword Sect where Zhao Nanxing was affiliated were the strongest, and the Huajian Sect and Duster Gate ranked in the middle.
The two young combatants competing now were from the two weakest sects among the thirteen.
After hundreds of moves, the second senior brother from the Flying Leg Sect defeated the eldest brother from the Finger Flicking Sect.
No sooner had the two finished sparring than another pair stepped forward and commenced a new round of competition.
After about fifteen minutes, eight top players from the sects had taken their turns.
Shi Xiaole carefully observed and quietly compared, discovering that based on his current strength, without resorting to his inner power, he could probably rank in the middle among these champions.
"Shattered Air Saber!"
On the slope, He Houhua from Duster Gate leaped down from a tree, striking hard with his saber.
His opponent was none other than Zhao Nanxing, notoriously known as Iron Sword Killer.
"Well done."
With a hearty laugh, Zhao Nanxing slid swiftly through the undergrowth like an eel to dodge, while his hundred-pound iron sword vibrated ten times swiftly, attacking He Houhua at a unique frequency.
A third-rate superlative sword technique, the Ten-Strike Killer Sword.
Boom!
The sword light shattered, and He Houhua stumbled back, his face three shades paler.
In terms of martial arts realm, he was not inferior to Zhao Nanxing, but he was lacking in internal power. His opponent had already stepped into the realm of half-step Qi absorption not long ago.
"I yield."
Zhao Nanxing laughed heartily, glanced at the quiet Chu Lin, and returned to the cheering crowd of Iron Sword Sect disciples.
"It seems that the top two are still Chu Lin and Zhao Nanxing."
Many disciples in the field looked at each other, not surprised by the predicted outcome.
"Brother Yuan, please."
Chu Lin came on stage with a smile and looked at Yuan Qiuwei.
"Be careful, Senior Brother."
As the disciples of Huajian Sect reminded him, Yuan Qiuwei stepped forward.
However, to everyone’s surprise, Yuan Qiuwei demonstrated strength that was clearly stronger than He Houhua by a decent margin, even giving Chu Lin a hard time winning.
"Yuan Qiuwei."
He Houhua murmured the name, his eyes flickering.
"Haha, Junior Brother Yuan, you have hidden it well; you are nearly at the realm of half-step Qi Absorption."
Although Chu Lin was laughing, his laughter contained a shade of coldness. He said, "However, I advise Junior Brother Yuan to concede. Otherwise, one of us will surely get severely injured."
With the mission of his sect on his shoulders, Yuan Qiuwei simply said, "Please proceed, Brother Chu."
"Alright."
He retreated swiftly, creating a faint illusion in the air due to his incredible speed. The next moment, he lunged forward at an even faster speed.
"Shadowless Sword, Senior Brother Chu is using his trump card."
The Changfeng Sect disciples laughed heartily, relieved at last.
In contrast, quite a few disciples from Huajian Sect wore serious and worried expressions.
Yuan Qiuwei took a deep breath; with the strange movements of his body, his long sword began to dance swiftly, creating an array of light within a radius of three feet.
One of the unique skills of the Huajian Sect, the Windless Willow Sword.
Swish!
Chu Lin’s sword had only been thrust halfway when it was blocked by Yuan Qiuwei’s sword, and his momentum immediately became sluggish.
At the same time, Yuan Qiuwei twisted his waist and, along with the opponent’s blade, his long sword cut towards Chu Lin at an extremely strange angle.
"Not good, Brother Chu is in danger!"
The disciples of Changfeng Sect widened their eyes, as if seeing something unimaginable.
"Get lost."
Seeing he was in danger, Chu Lin suddenly growled, "Severing Sword of Radiance!" With a forceful push of his hands, his long sword seemed to break free from physical constraints, completely severing Yuan Qiuwei’s attack.
Bang!
The ground was punctured by their sword qi into a small pit several feet deep.
The next moment, an event that no one anticipated occurred. The soil around the small pit collapsed and brought down both Chu Lin and Yuan Qiuwei with it.
"Senior Brother Chu!"
"Senior Brother!"
The disciples from the Changfeng Sect and Huajian Sect were shocked while the disciples from the other eleven sects were dumbstruck.
Everyone standing around the pit saw nothing but darkness within the bottomless hole, feeling a bad premonition surfacing within them. Could Chu Lin and Yuan Qiuwei possibly have died?
"What do we do now?"
Someone asked.
Zhao Nanxing stepped forward, his eyes flickering. "We must report this matter to our masters. However, before doing so, we must first resolve the matter of the Sansen Grass. As per our prior agreement, our Iron Sword Sect will claim the first prize. No objections, right?"
"Why, did you defeat Senior Brother Chu?"
A disciple from Changfeng Sect questioned.
"Chu Lin had bad luck. Now that he cannot be found, there’s nothing I can do."
Zhao Nanxing said lightly.
The Changfeng Sect disciple cursed, "What shamelessness!"
Slap!
Before he could finish speaking, Zhao Nanxing suddenly darted forward and slapped the disciple, sending him flying several meters away. "Watch your language," he said coldly.
"Zhao Nanxing, don’t push it too far!"
Seeing this, the remaining eight disciples from Changfeng Sect were not amused.
Zhao Nanxing laughed, "Are you not convinced? Alright then, come and compete with me. If you can beat me, I will leave immediately."
The Changfeng Sect disciples were both upset and angry, their faces beet-red.
Zhao Nanxing continued, "Since Chu Lin is now missing, Changfeng Sect must select another person to compete in his place and fight for the Sansen Grass. The same applies to the Huajian Sect."
As soon as he spoke, not only did the disciples of the Changfeng Sect react, but the faces of the Huajian Sect’s disciples also changed.
Apart from Chu Lin and Yuan Qiuwei, the remaining experts in the two factions were not considered top-notch. At least in the eyes of the other disciples, it would be hard for them to be among the top five.
And this was exactly to the advantage of the other Sects. After all, it means there were two fewer powerful competitors.
"I agree."
"Agreed."
The other factions disbursed their views one after the other. The multitude disputed on both sides, and the opinions of the disciples of these two factions were directly ignored.
"Everyone, the competition can be postponed, don’t you think saving people is more urgent?"
At this moment, Shi Xiaole, who couldn’t stand it anymore, stood out from the crowd and spoke.
"I’ve said it before, saving people has to be reported to the Sect, didn’t you hear it?"
Zhao Nanxing was impatient. Honestly, he hoped to delay the matter as long as possible so the chances of Chu Lin and Yuan Qiuwei surviving would be reduced.
"Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Sister, you guys go back to the Sect and report this matter to the Sect Master. I can stay here."
Shi Xiaole completely ignored Zhao Nanxing, speaking instead to the worried Xiao Yuanbo and Mao Wenjing. The latter two were taken aback by his words.
Frankly speaking, these two were not concerned about the ownership of the Sansen Grass. But if they allow Shi Xiaole to stay here alone, there might be danger.
"Junior Brother, you go with the Third Senior Sister, I’ll stay here."
Xiao Yuanbo decisively said.
"Second Senior Brother, don’t worry. Nobody here can harm me."
Shi Xiaole appreciated Xiao Yuanbo’s kindness, but with him staying, there were no advantages. Shi Xiaole chose to stay, and it was not as simple as keeping watch.
If others were unwilling to give up the Sansen Grass, he wouldn’t mind fighting for it either.
Xiao Yuanbo and Mao Wenjing were taken aback by Shi Xiaole’s confident words.
Remembering Shi Xiaole’s previous deeds, Xiao Yuanbo nodded, "Alright! If that’s the case, Junior Brother, wait here for a while, we will be back soon."
Xiao Yuanbo and Mao Wenjing exchanged glances before departing.
This infuriated Zhao Nanxing as he glared furiously at Shi Xiaole and the others, observing Shi Xiaole especially. This unknown started, where did he get the audacity to disregard him in this critical moment?
Zhao Nanxing didn’t care about the comings and goings of the Huajian Sect. All he knew was that his dignity got trampled all over.
"Stop!"
In a fit of rage, Zhao Nanxing suddently yelled out, swinging his sword towards Xiao Yuanbo and the departing Mao Wenjing. Xiao Yuanbo turned to draw his sword, but he was repelled three steps backward, shouting, "Zhao Nanxing, what’s gotten into you?"
Zhao Nanxing chuckled, "Xiao Yuanbao, you coward, scared to compete on behalf of the Huajian Sect?"
"Second Senior Brother, you guys go ahead."
Shi Xiaole stood in the middle of the road facing Zhao Nanxing, "Your opponent is me."
"You? Hahaha, what are you? Are you qualified to be my, Zhao Nanxing’s, opponent?"
Zhao Nanxing burst into laughter, gripping his sword so hard it trembled.
"Remember this, my name is Shi Xiaole."
Without any further delay, Shi Xiaole drew his sword. He knew that only by intimidating Zhao Nanxing was there any hope for the situation to be resolved.
"Seeking death!"
Zhao Nanxing’s expression turned stern as he aimed his Iron Sword at Shi Xiaole’s Hundred Battles Blade.
CLANG!
The two mighty forces collided, causing the air to resonate subtly.
Both Shi Xiaole and Zhao Nanxing took two steps back.
"Junior Brother!"
Xiao Yuanbo, Mao Wenjing, and the other disciples from Huajian Sect were shocked. It’s only been a few days, why does it seem like Shi Xiaole’s kung fu has improved?
As for the disciples from the other Sects, they were astounded upon finding that Shi Xiaole could match Zhao Nanxing’s strength.
"Brother Shi’s skills?"
The Duster Gate’s Qi Guang, Qi Hui, and Zhao Molan were all stunned.
When they had first met two months ago, Shi Xiaole’s skills were not even comparable to Qi Hui’s. However, judging by that last strike, it was clear that he had significantly surpassed them.
"Good, no wonder you’re so arrogant. But let’s see how long you can last."
Caught between shock and anger, Zhao Nanxing tread lightly, and wielding his Iron Sword like a fierce tiger, he pounced on Shi Xiaole.
Shi Xiaole showed no signs of weakness. With the Hundred Battles Blade on his right hand, and the Heaven and Earth Net Force on his left hand, he charged at Zhao Nanxing.
The two were instantly engaged in battle, like a dragon clashing with a tiger. As swords and blades collided, sparks flew, and their cutthroat moves sent chills down the spectators’ spines.
"Die, my Ten-Thunder Absolute Kill Sword!"
After more than twenty moves, Zhao Nanxing was able to build an obvious advantage thanks to his profound internal power. However, to completely crush Shi Xiaole, he used the same sword that defeated He Houhua.
The Hundred Battles Blade was instantly knocked flying, and a few gasps of surprise echoed behind him.
Shi Xiaole remained calm, his right hand grasping the Qingfeng Sword.
With a clang, the light emitted by the cyan sword scattered instantly. For a moment, everyone felt as though they were seeing a perilous peak, with Shi Xiaole dancing with his sword on the edge, at risk of falling at any time.
A dangerous situation of ten percent!
Zhao Nanxing stared in shock, feeling as though his thinking was coming to a halt under the sword technique.
"Illusion, you can’t trick me!"
Biting his tongue, Zhao Nanxing swung his Iron Sword wildly, uncertain of how many times he did so. When he landed on the ground, although he was unharmed, cold sweat broke out on his forehead.
