Today’s sunlight was exceptionally generous, spilling through the clouds onto Yu Qingyao’s face. It was just bright enough and comfortably warm.
‘It really is a good day,’ Yu Qingyao thought with a sigh of content.
First, her physical strength had taken another step forward. Although her cultivation was still stuck at the Foundation Establishment Peak, her physical body was now comparable to a cultivator in the Golden Core Stage.
Second, through her hard work in cultivation, her soul strength had successfully broken through to the Soul Transformation Stage. At this point, it would not be an exaggeration to say that her soul was on par with the Elders accompanying the teams.
Finally, she had made it into the finals of the Foundation Establishment Group. Meanwhile, Bai Zhiqiu had been matched against Ji Xuerou in the semifinals.
“Congratulations on making it to the finals, Qingyao.”
Wu Yan saw the joyful expression on Yu Qingyao’s face and assumed she was happy about reaching the finals, so she offered her congratulations.
Hearing Wu Yan’s voice, Yu Qingyao immediately snapped back to reality, and the unrestrained smile on her face faded slightly. “Thank you, Senior Sister.”
“It’s a pity Zhiqiu ran into Ji Xuerou. I wonder if she can win.”
As Wu Yan spoke, her gaze turned toward the two figures on the stage.
Ji Xuerou stood silently at the edge of the arena, wearing a gold-and-white cloud silk dress with narrow sleeves that perfectly outlined her tall figure. The fabric was embroidered with subtle gold thread in the shape of floating clouds.
Standing opposite her was Bai Zhiqiu, who still carried the Black Large Abacus on her back. She held an Ink Jade Compass in her right hand while scratching her head with her left. Her boots, worn over white socks, constantly shifted positions on the ground.
“Ji Xuerou of the Lingxiao Sect. Please, instruct me,” Ji Xuerou said. Her voice was cold, making Bai Zhiqiu shiver involuntarily.
“Bai Zhiqiu of the Tianyan Sect.” Bai Zhiqiu sighed and patted the large abacus behind her. “I didn’t expect to run into you in the semifinals. This is just rotten luck.”
“Oh, oh, oh! It’s the number one versus the number two on the Heaven’s Pride List!”
“How intense! Seeing a fight of this caliber makes the ticket price worth it, even if I die right now!”
“You guys have no idea. Although Ji Xuerou is first on the list, I heard that Bai Zhiqiu actually let her have it on purpose!”
In the audience stands, an old man spoke secretively to those around him, immediately piquing the curiosity of everyone nearby.
“Oh? Why do you say that?”
The man didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he simply rubbed his thumb and forefinger together. The crowd understood instantly, and they all pulled Spirit Stones from their Storage Bags to hand them over.
Once he had collected enough Spirit Stones, the old man finally spoke. “It’s said that before the Heaven’s Pride List was finalized, they were originally going to rank Bai Zhiqiu as number one. But to stay humble and play the role of a hidden expert, she specifically paid money to change her rank from first to second!”
The surrounding crowd erupted in a frenzy. No wonder there always seemed to be some smudges behind the second-place entry on the lists they had bought — so this was the truth!
Because of this “exclusive scoop,” many people switched their support at the last minute, cheering for Bai Zhiqiu. Some even shifted their bets toward her.
Seeing this, the old man quietly placed a bet of 2,000 Middle-grade Spirit Stones on Ji Xuerou and then slipped away unnoticed.
‘Zhiqiu, thank you for contributing to your Martial Uncle’s get-rich-quick scheme! Your Martial Uncle won’t forget you once I’ve made it big!’
On the stage, Ji Xuerou lowered her stance slightly, her right hand already gripping the hilt of her longsword, Bixiao.
The Ink Jade Compass in Bai Zhiqiu’s hand emitted soft clicking sounds, and the needle began to spin wildly from side to side.
[Tianyan: Pre-reading]
In her vision, a flickering golden phantom suddenly appeared, lunging forward to pierce her left shoulder with a sword. Although Ji Xuerou had not yet moved, the attack had already occurred in Bai Zhiqiu’s eyes.
‘Shift 3 inches to the left, lower my head.’
Her brain subconsciously issued the command.
In the next instant, a sword light flashed like a bolt of lightning.
Ji Xuerou’s movements were an exact match for the phantom. Her sword thrust forward, but it only managed to slice off a few strands of Bai Zhiqiu’s hair.
“Oh?”
Ji Xuerou was slightly surprised. Although the opponent’s dodge seemed to be at the absolute limit, her Glass Sword Heart told her that the girl seemed to have rehearsed everything in advance, as if she could avoid the strike no matter what.
“The divination techniques of the Tianyan Sect are truly impressive,” Ji Xuerou remarked.
Hearing this, Bai Zhiqiu gave a hollow laugh. “Haha, just good luck.”
Ji Xuerou didn’t pause. With a flick of her wrist, she pointed her sword toward the sky. In an instant, thousands of golden sword glows appeared in the air.
[Flowing Light Thousand Blades] !
This was Ji Xuerou’s famous sword technique. It was said that she had once used this single strike to wipe out a small-scale beast tide.
“Oh, oh, oh! It’s Saintess Ji’s signature move!”
“Amazing! I didn’t think I’d get to see this move here!”
The audience cheered, but Bai Zhiqiu, standing directly under the rain of swords, couldn’t find it in her to be happy.
‘Tsk, the speed and amount of Spirit Chi are both off the charts.’
The Lopan was spinning so fast it was almost smoking, but Bai Zhiqiu still couldn’t find an absolutely safe spot — no matter where she stood, the attack would cover her.
“No choice then!”
Bai Zhiqiu reached back, grabbed six abacus beads from the abacus on her back, and tossed them above her head.
The beads shattered instantly, turning into an inky fluid that coalesced into a massive black shield, completely covering the area above her.
[Heavenly Defense: Adhering to Rules]
Boom — !
The golden rain of swords crashed down, slamming violently into the black shield. The impact turned the originally smooth, curved surface into a jagged mess of dents and protrusions.
After only 2 breaths, the shield was completely pierced. The sword rain poured down, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
As the dust settled…
Bai Zhiqiu was no longer in the center of the sword rain. Using the brief time bought by the shield, she had already escaped.
At this moment, she stood at the edge of the stage, looking a bit disheveled. Her scholar’s dress was torn in several places.
“A very impressive defensive method,” Ji Xuerou praised sincerely. This was the first time she had seen someone block that attack head-on.
“Thanks for the compliment!” Bai Zhiqiu shouted. She then threw three abacus beads directly toward Ji Xuerou’s face.
[Heavenly Strike: Three Talents Deceptive Bullet]
The three beads suddenly split apart, spiraling through the air. They targeted Ji Xuerou’s ankle, throat, and wrist.
Faced with this sudden attack, Ji Xuerou did not panic. Those three inky flows of light seemed to move in slow motion in her eyes. She only needed to swing her sword and cut them down.
And that was exactly what she did.
However, the moment the beads touched the edge of her sword, they split from three into six streams of light, targeting her ankles, wrists, dantian, and throat.
‘Hmph, I knew you’d do that!’
Although Ji Xuerou reacted in time and avoided most of the attacks, she still took a hit on both one ankle and one wrist.
Having landed a successful hit, Bai Zhiqiu naturally would not miss the opportunity. She grabbed twelve abacus beads from her back in one go and slammed them into the stage beneath her feet.
The moment the twelve beads hit the ground, they turned into powder. Immediately following that, twelve thick, hideous vines erupted from the earth, coiling toward Ji Xuerou and surrounding her completely.
[Heavenly Prison: Dragon Locking Array]
Since everyone called Ji Xuerou a child of destiny and the incarnation of a true dragon, then she would let her see if this Dragon Locking Array could actually trap a “true dragon”!
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