As time passed, an elder of Ancient Sword Mountain voiced his doubts: “This kid’s sword technique lacks any sharpness, appearing chaotic and sloppy upon scrutiny, yet he can parry the exquisite sword arts of our Ancient Sword Mountain?”
Beside him, Shang Shuqing frowned slightly at the sight. This was precisely what made him curious; according to disciples of the Return to Origin Sect, Su Yi had always countered moves with uncanny precision back then, appearing to hold plenty in reserve.
“Is dodging all you know how to do?!” Unable to break through after so long, Murong Yue grew increasingly irritated. Her sword strikes turned ever sharper, quickening by another fraction!
Yet in pursuing extreme speed, as she brought her blade down in a heavy downward chop, her foot stepped half a pace too far forward, leaving an exceedingly minute flaw—her center of gravity tilted slightly forward, delaying her recovery by a fraction!
The opening was fleeting! For most cultivators of the same rank, there would be no time to register it, let alone exploit it.
Yet Su Yi “saw” it!
Almost the exact instant the flaw emerged, his body coiled and released like a fully compressed spring, sliding half a step backward and to the side to dodge the sword's edge by a hair's breadth.
His target was not Murong Yue's body, but near her wrist, which hung slightly exposed due to her forward-shifted balance! This thrust possessed no force, much less killing intent—it was almost airy—yet its angle was tricky to the extreme, its timing immaculate down to the hair!
However, Su Yi had miscalculated one thing. While Murong Yue’s old momentum was spent and new power had yet to arise, normally making it impossible to defend instantly...
...she was a Foundation Establishment cultivator! Even having suppressed her spiritual power fluctuations to the great perfection of Qi Condensation, the “quality” and “recovery rate” of the spiritual power within her body far surpassed those of a true Qi Condensation cultivator!
No matter how meticulously Su Yi calculated, it was impossible to account for varying rates of spiritual power regeneration.
“Hmph!” With a cold snort, a minute yet refined vortex of spiritual power manifested out of thin air around Murong Yue’s wrist. It was not used to attack, but rather spun violently to pull and redirect!
Clink!
Su Yi’s tricky, nimble thrust felt as if it had pierced a miniature whirlwind. The blade was knocked off course by this deflecting force beyond his control, the trajectory originally aimed at her wrist veering sharply upward—slashing straight toward Murong Yue’s fair cheek!
The sudden turn of events drew a collective gasp from below the stage! His swordcraft was so cunning that even Murong Yue could not fully deflect it away safely.
Murong Yue herself was startled. She had only meant to parry the strike, never expecting Su Yi’s blade to be so light as to be diverted to this extent. Instinctively, she wanted to tilt her head to dodge or bring her sword back to block.
Yet in that flash of lightning, she saw Su Yi’s chest wide open due to his sword being pulled off course!
A thought flashed across her mind in an instant: An opening!
Trading a minor flesh wound for the chance to thoroughly defeat this obnoxious fellow! Worth it!
‘Worst comes to worst, so what if I end up with a scar on my face?!’
Setting her jaw, she disregarded the blade slashing toward her face. The suppressed spiritual power within her body was no longer held fully in check, erupting with greater force in a split second as the ancient sword in her hand struck with even fiercer momentum, thrusting straight toward Su Yi’s heart! She calculated precisely: striking his vitals with controlled force would trigger the sparring rules—once a blade touched a vital point, victory was hers.
In this moment, she chose to trade injury for victory!
Su Yi was equally shaken! He had never expected her to pull off such finesse under those circumstances, let alone that Murong Yue would be so ruthless and decisive!
Seeing that his sword was about to slice into her cheek while her blade tip pressed toward his heart, the chill bit down to the bone!
Imminent peril!
Su Yi’s pupils contracted sharply, intense danger stimulating his nerves. His brain calculated frantically, yet his physical body could no longer keep up with such extreme, high-speed shifts.
At this critical juncture, Su Yi displayed astonishing control.
Forcing his body to twist despite the tearing pain in his muscles, he wrenched the blade slashing at Murong Yue’s cheek several inches to the side!
At the same time, using the momentum of his twisting torso, his other hand swiped like lightning toward Murong Yue’s sword-bearing wrist in a final attempt to ward it off. But in this hurried reaction, his strength was already spent.
Riiip—!
A soft sound followed as a blade sliced through air and cloth.
Murong Yue’s ancient sword grazed past the outer edge of Su Yi’s swatting palm, its icy blade shaving along the side of his neck. It drew a string of tiny blood beads before coming to a halt against his neck, the sword qi leaving a shallow crimson line across his skin.
Su Yi’s sword swung completely wide, whistling past Murong Yue’s ear and merely shearing away a few drifting strands of hair.
Both figures froze in place.
Murong Yue’s sword pointed at Su Yi’s neck, the tip tainted with a speck of fresh red. Su Yi’s sword was suspended in empty air, his body still held in an awkward dodging posture.
The crowd below fell dead silent, everyone stunned by this sudden reversal.
Panting slightly, Murong Yue looked at the faint bloodline on Su Yi’s neck, then at the few strands of hair drifting down. She had not expected that Su Yi could still exert force under such circumstances. Had he channeled the strength used to divert his blade into countering her strike, the outcome would still have been up in the air.
Su Yi slowly straightened his posture. Feeling the faint sting at his neck, he reached up to wipe away the trace of blood. Looking at the crimson on his fingertip, he offered a helpless smile. “My vitals were touched after all. I concede.”
“Why did you divert your sword?! If you had put all your power into striking with your palm, my blade might not have reached your vitals.”
Why? Su Yi rolled his eyes inwardly. Because my mana was out, of course! Even if I blocked it, I wouldn’t have had the energy to keep fighting. It was a losing battle anyway, so I might as well end it peacefully.
After all, it was only a spar, and he didn’t want to make things ugly. If he had blocked the blow and left Murong Yue with a scarred face, even if it wasn't his fault, avoiding trouble was always better than courting it. Turning hostility into friendship was a win for both him and Divine Might Manor.
Still, with her asking so directly, wouldn't admitting he was out of gas be a bit too embarrassing?
Thus, Su Yi smiled faintly and spread his hands helplessly. “Scarring someone’s face in front of a crowd is simply too cruel to a female cultivator.”
His words were half-truth, half-excuse, but at least they concealed his predicament of being entirely depleted of spiritual power.
Down below, a chorus of suggestive murmurs immediately broke out.
Many female cultivators broke into knowing, teasing smiles. Clearly, Su Yi’s gallantry and tender consideration fit right into the romantic fantasies naive young maidens held of the dashing Young Manor Lord of Divine Might Manor.
In contrast, Murong Yue stared blankly for a second upon hearing this, evidently not expecting such an answer.
Immediately afterward, her crimson eyes fixed Su Yi with a deep, searching look, as if gazing upon something utterly incomprehensible. Finally, she spat two icy words through gritted teeth:
“You fool!”
Having said her piece, she looked at Su Yi no longer, nor did she pay any heed to the clamor below. Whipping around and snapping her black-and-crimson robes, she leapt down from the martial stage and returned to Ancient Sword Mountain’s ranks, standing with her arms crossed, her expression as icy as ever.
“Regarding what happened earlier... I was too impulsive.”
Su Yi’s sword had only been heading for her cheek, whereas hers had been aimed straight at his heart. Su Yi had the magnanimity and nerve to redirect his blade, yet she had been blinded by the desire to win. In this battle, she had failed her sword heart!
Saying this, she paused, tilting her head slightly. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at Su Yi on the stage and added, “However, this spar was not truly decided. Once you reach Foundation Establishment, this junior sister... will come to seek your guidance once more!”
With those words spoken, she fell silent, looking as detached as if she hadn't said anything at all.
Her statement silenced the crowd below for a brief second before erupting into an even louder uproar.
“Fairy Murong admitted fault? For real?”
“They even agreed to fight again? Is this 'no discord, no concord'?”
“It seems Fairy Murong truly acknowledges Su Yi’s strength...”
“Fighting again after Foundation Establishment? Now this is interesting!”
“Place your bets, place your bets! I’m putting everything on Young Manor Lord Su!”
On the elevated platform, the elder of Ancient Sword Mountain nodded slightly, seemingly quite satisfied with Su Yi's earlier conduct. It had preserved his own dignity while demonstrating magnanimity, defusing tension with Murong Yue while leaving room for future relations.
“This boy does not act on reckless impulse; rather, he has a touch of worldly tact. On the path of cultivation ahead, he is unlikely to suffer losses.”
However, Shang Shuqing and Ming Xi were not quite pleased with this outcome.
‘Still failed to draw out his hidden cards. What a pity.’ Shang Shuqing closed his folding fan, shutting his eyes slightly.
As for Ming Xi, she wiped the smile from her face for the first time, looking expressionlessly down at Su Yi below. ‘Tender toward the fairer sex? Even I can't bring myself to laugh hearing that. Someone should ask Su Yi: does he not want to laugh hearing himself say that?’
Afterward, as Su Yi stepped back onto the viewing platform, his heart finally settled. It seemed this storm had blown over for now, and the result... didn't seem bad at all?
After all, Murong Yue’s form of address had changed from calling him bluntly by name to referring to herself as his junior sister.
“Tender toward the fairer sex? It seems in Senior Brother’s eyes, I’m not worthy of any tenderness.”
An icy voice came from behind. Su Yi stiffly turned his head, and seeing the ambiguous, teasing smirk on his junior sister’s face, he let out an awkward laugh.
“What are you saying, Junior Sister? Your senior brother never said that; it was all the crowd's wild imagination.”
“Hmph, when you forced me to eat poisonous insects, did you never consider that my face might be disfigured?” Gongsun Lin turned her head away, clearly unsatisfied with his explanation.
As for Tantai Yunzhi beside them, looking at the two playfully bickering, she felt in her heart that Divine Might Manor was full of warmth and camaraderie—perhaps not a bad choice after all.
Rate on N.U.
