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Chapter 16 – Sword Fight
At noon the next day, the Battling Plain was surrounded by people on all four sides. The news that Yi Xichen and Wang Qingqiao, representing the Medicine Hall and the Sword Refining Hall respectively, were having a match had already spread throughout the Heavenly Sword Sect. This event was related to the interests of the Four Great Halls so virtually all the disciples came to view the battle.
Before Yi Xichen even arrived, the disciples surrounding the plain had already started to discuss among themselves.
“How can that disciple from the Medicine Hall possibly win against a disciple from the Sword Refining Hall?”
“But I heard that Yi Xichen was the one that initiated the challenge. If he doesn’t have the confidence to win, why would he bear such a large responsibility? If he loses, there would be hundreds of people from the Medicine Hall and the Sword Cultivating Hall that would hate him to death!”
“But……but I just don’t see how Yi Xichen would win? What would he win with? If it was Zhangsun Zijun with the Heavenly Spirit Root, then there would be a higher probability of winning.”
“I encountered Yi Xichen the last time we went to the Maze Valley to catch monsters. He is full of strange tricks so he might really have a way to win.”
“But I heard that yesterday, the Sect Leader ordered that during the match, only the sword is allowed. All the other techniques are all going to be considered unorthodox forms of cultivation and aren’t allowed to be used.”
“What?” Even a disciple from the Sword Guarding Hall started to speak up for Yi Xichen, “Making a disciple of the Medicine Hall use only swords is so unfair……Although I don’t want to say it, our Sect Leader is way too biased towards the Sword Refining Hall. The Sect Leader might come up with a new rule one day: when you are competing, you are only allowed to attack and not defend. If it’s like that, then we don’t even have to attend the competition. All twenty ranks in the Sword Assembly can just go straight to the Sword Refining Hall!”
“Hey……look, Yi Xichen is here!”
When Yi Xichen and Zhangsun Zijun appeared in the crowd, everyone immediately made a path for them. As soon as the two of them showed up, the people around them couldn’t help but shiver when they felt an oppressing sword aura.
“This……this is Zhangsun Zijun’s sword aura?” Some said in awe, “It’s worthy of the Heavenly Spiritual Root, his sword aura is so strong!”
Yi Xichen’s face was exceptionally rosy, his eyes were like jewels and he looked very energetic. But if people were to look a little more carefully, they would realize that he is so hyperactive, it’s abnormal. The experiment from last night succeeded and Yi Xichen’s hidden potential was activated. At the moment he was overdrawing his power which is a problem because he still doesn’t know how to withdraw his sword aura. Therefore, Zhangsun Zijun has to be by his side to act as a deceiving mechanism.
This chapter is by Windyday of BC Novels. Please support the translators by reading at BC Novels. Thank you.
Wang Qingqiao has long been waiting by the Battling Plain. Not a moment later, Yuying Zhenren and the other Elders also arrived. As soon as they arrived, they, naturally, also detected a very distinct sword aura among the disciples and they gave each other an incomprehensible look.
Qiu Jian said, “Last night, behind the mountain……”
Yuying Zhenren lifted his hand to silence him, “This matter doesn’t require your input.”
Qiu Jian’s face clearly displayed his anxiousness, but since the Sect Leader has already said so, he could only swallow the rest of his statement.
Yao Budu gazed at his two disciples, his face was so dark it resembled coal. No one noticed that he clenched the corner of his clothes in his fist before, after a while, released it helplessly.
When the watch at Shennong Temple indicated that it was noon, Wang Qingqiao leaped up to the Battling Plain. Zhangsun Zijun gently squeezed Yi Xichen’s nape and whispered, “Go on. I’ll be standing right here.”
Yi Xichen nodded, jumping onto the platform with his sword.
Wang Qingqiao looked at Yi Xichen with amazement. Yesterday, Yi Xichen managed to obtain an extra day in order to practice some more and prepare for anything that can happen. Wang Qingqiao wasn’t that worried about that. ——Cultivation isn’t something that can be accomplished in a day. He isn’t afraid of losing even if Yi Xichen has an extra year. But after a single night, the Sword Aura in front of him has already reached such a strong point. Is it Yi Xichen? Or is it Zhangsun Zijun? He couldn’t distinguish it.
For Sword Cultivators, it isn’t often for there to be an actual battle. Demonic cultivators and Yao Cultivators1 are sly and scheming with a variety of tricks in their repertoire. Therefore, it is impossible to tell who is going to win or lose based only on their cultivation level. But Sword Cultivators have always been honorable. When two of them meet, they’ll display their Sword Aura and it’ll be clear who won and who lost. There isn’t a need to continue to fight. In the Heavenly Sword Sect, the whole reason there is a Sword Assembly is that, among the younger disciples, there isn’t that much of a difference in their cultivation level which gives the disciples a chance to fight seriously to differentiate their rankings.
But now, Wang Qingqiao is very clear that the Sword Aura in front of him was definitely not something he can go up against just by fighting seriously. Was it Yi Xichen’s? Was it Zhangsun Zijun’s? No, it can’t possibly be Yi Xichen’s! He has a False Spiritual Root and people with the False Spiritual Root have no qualifications to be a Sword Cultivator! The reason Yi Xichen asked Zhangsun Zijun to cheer him on has to be because Yi Xichen wants to use Zhangsun Zijun’s Sword Aura to scare him into submission!
Wang Qingqiao forcibly stabilized his trembling wrist. It’s not that he’s afraid. However, the Sword Aura has a natural deterring effect so that when the weak meets the strong, they’ll instinctively want to retreat.
“Please advise me, Shixiong.2”
“Please.”
After the two finished their formalities, the battle officially started. Neither one of them on the stage moved. Wang Qingqiao was waiting for Yi Xichen to take the initiative, but Yi Xichen wasn’t planning on making the first move.
A moment later, it was Wang Qingqiao who couldn’t hold back anymore. With a cry, he slashed right at Yi Xichen!
Under the oppression of a strong Sword Aura, Wang Qingqiao was extremely nervous and his first move was a strong attack. There were nine blades of light made out of Sword Aura stabbing towards Yi Xichen and Yi Xichen quickly retreated!
The other’s Sword Aura passed by the side of his cheek, cutting off a few strands of hair. Yi Xichen’s focus sharpened. This is the first time he battled against someone other than Lu Ziyao from the Sword Refining Hall. With just the first move, he could tell that although Wang Qingqiao is ranked fifth in his hall, he definitely isn’t someone that can be underestimated. Anyone that can get in the Sword Refining Hall can be considered the prided Sons of Heaven. And those that can be at the top 5, even if they don’t have earth-shaking accomplishments, can definitely easily pass through to the Golden Core stage.
With this one move, Yi Xichen grasped the entirety of Wang Qingqiao’s abilities. At the same time, he also came to the conclusion that Wang Qingqiao is no match for him. At the moment, his Sword Aura is fully displayed and he only needs to make a single move to push Wang Qingqiao off of the stage. However, he can’t do that. He is representing the Fifth Rank of the Medicine Hall. So if he uses his full ability, even if he can win easily, he would still be faced with suspicion on all sides. They wouldn’t believe that he is ranked fifth in the Medicine Hall and that would invalidate the whole purpose of the battle.
Therefore, while Wang Qingqiao is aggressively attacking, Yi Xichen is only dodging, in no hurry to counter-attack.
Wang Qingqiao’s attacks became fiercer, the lights coming from his sword seemingly enveloped the entire Battling Plain. The disciples around the stage all retreated, afraid that they might be injured by the Sword Aura. The essence of the techniques that the disciples of the Sword Refining Hall practice involves demonstrating the best parts of themselves and using the shortest time possible to take down their enemies. But they also have a fatal weakness; they can’t last long in a long battle. As soon as they use up all their energy, their Sword Aura weakens and they can only be faced with defeat.
With the sky full of blades of light, it was really hard for the disciples outside of the stage to see what was going on with the battle. They could only hear one after another of Yi Xichen’s tragic shouts.
“Save me!”
“Wang Shixiong be merciful!”
“Aiyo aiyo it hurts so much!”
The disciples of the Sword Refining Hall all revealed a satisfied smile, the disciples of the Sword Cultivating Hall are all anxious and the disciples of the Medicine Hall are already despairing.
However, the most distressed person was the one on the stage, Wang Qingqiao. The people outside didn’t know this, but he, who was at the center of the battle, understood this better than anyone: his sword wasn’t able to hurt Yi Xichen at all. Yi Xichen was avoiding the attacks. But his Sword Aura, that can stab through an iron wall, isn’t something that can be avoided just by dodging. As soon as his Sword Aura closes in on Yi Xichen, it would be suppressed. This can only have one explanation: Yi Xichen’s cultivation level is higher than his!
But, how is that possible?!
While Yi Xichen is moving between the blades of light with ease, he is also crying out: “Heng! Ha! Hei! Huo! Shixiong watch out!”
Originally, Wang Qingqiao was approaching exhaustion, his light blades nearly coming to a stop. However, Yi Xichen’s actions made him feel humiliated so he gathered his Sword Aura again to form tens of thousands of blades and threw them all at Yi Xichen!
Yi Xichen was also very helpless. Defeating an opponent weaker than yourself isn’t hard. Pretending that your win came uneasily is the hard part.
Even though the disciples watching the battle still aren’t clear on the happenings on the stage, the Elders flying atop their swords already have a full understanding of what is going on in the Battling Plain. After all, they could all be considered masters. Yi Xichen and Zhangsun Zijun’s little scheme couldn’t be hidden from them. They knew exactly where the oppressive Sword Aura came from as soon as Yi Xichen showed up to the battle.
“Elder Yao?” Qiu Jian was extremely shocked, “What, exactly, is going on with your disciple?”
Yao Budu’s face was dark and he didn’t say anything.
“Taking Consciousness!” Lin Zhen incredulously shook his head, “But doesn’t Yi Xichen have the False Spiritual Root? How is he able to withstand a cultivation spell like Taking Consciousness?!”
Even the Elder of the Sword Cultivating Hall, Wan Jin, can’t help but say, “Are you kidding me. They’re still a child at this age yet one of them is able to take someone’s consciousness while the other is able to withstand getting their consciousness taken. Elder Yao, what kind of people are your disciples? Can they even be considered human?”
Yao Budu still didn’t say anything.
Yuying Zhenren frowned deeply, gazing down at the battle seriously.
Wang Qingqiao was going to lose. All the Elders can see that Wang Qingqiao was approaching the end of his struggle. This battle has a set ending from the start.
Now wasn’t the time to contemplate the cultivation talent that Yi Xichen has: if Wang Qingqiao loses then the Sword Refining Hall and the Sword Guarding Hall would have accomplished nothing with their little rebellion. It’s fine if they can’t obtain any extra placings in the Sword Assembly, but according to the rules, they’d have to give resources that originally belong to themselves to the Sword Cultivating Hall and the Medicine Hall. As the Elder of the Sword Refining Hall, Qiu Jian was extremely prideful: even though his eyebrows were already knotted together, he maintained his silence. Instead, it was Elder Lin Zhen of the Sword Guarding Hall, that grew anxious first, “Sect Leader, didn’t we agree yesterday to ban unorthodox methods? But Yi Xichen……”
Wan Jin hurriedly said, “How can you call this unorthodox? You said to compete with their sword skills, so now they are doing so honestly! Yi Xichen didn’t use any schemes during this battle, right? You forbade him from using clever tricks, are you going to restrict the use of Taking Consciousness too? I’m going to say something that comes from my consciousness, is it fair to force a disciple from the Medicine Hall to compete using Swords against a disciple from the Sword Refining Hall? If you meet an enemy outside, can you also set down so many rules?!”
Lin Zhen fell silent.
On the Battling Plain, Wang Qingqiao has finally reached his limit, the blades of light slowly dispersed and his reaction slowed significantly.
The surrounding disciples were finally able to clearly see the situation on the stage. They say Yi Xichen with mussed up hair (he ruffled it himself), his clothes in disarray (he tugged it himself), his forehead covered with sweat (it’s hot), with one knee on the floor panting (pretending). Looking like this, how could it be anything other than forcing himself to remain standing with gritted teeth after a fierce and grueling battle?!
No one expected Yi Xichen would manage to endure for such a length of time. After a moment of silence beneath the stage, the crowd gave a thunderous applause!
“Wang Shixiong.” Yi Xichen’s eyes were red, filled with hot tears, “I fight for the Sword Cultivating Hall and the Medicine Hall. Even if I have to give up my life I would still fight to the end! I! Will never lose to you!” After saying his piece, he used all of his remaining energy to stand up!
There was another round of applause! Aside from the hundred disciples from the Medicine Hall and the Sword Cultivating Hall, there were many disciples from the Sword Refining Hall and the Sword Guarding Hall that couldn’t help but be touched by Yi Xichen’s determination that also participated in the applause!
“Yi Xichen! Yi Xichen! Yi Xichen!” The cheers that resembled the roars of waves shook the entire mountain!
And Wang Qingqiao, the person that was really half-dead from exhaustion and was about to lose the competition, felt as if a teddy bear has just f*cked his whole family.
Any animals, plants, or objects that manage to cultivate and give themselves a human form. I’m just going to use Yao Cultivators cause beast cultivators just doesn’t cover the scope.Just a stock phrase that is said before a friendly match.