You Suqi’s eyes burned with intensity as she waited for Qian Yu’s answer.
But to be precise, what she used to look at Qian Yu was not exactly sight, but a form of perception similar to the Divine Sense of the Venerable Realm.
Her eyes were wrapped in a thin layer of grey-white gauze.
This was—Closed Eyes Ignorance, Heart’s Eye Lighting Reality.
This was rumored to be one of the abilities of the Ancient Heavenly Fox, which was later bestowed upon the ancestor of the Qingqiu Fox Tribe, who was one of the Eight Great Demon Kings at the time.
Legend had it that when cultivated to the highest level, one could see through all appearances and reach the ultimate essence of all things.
Even as a preliminary awakening, it allowed them to be invincible in battle, seeing through the opponent’s flaws at a glance and launching attacks at the most opportune moment.
You Suqi was the only one in the tribe who had currently awakened this ocular technique.
But just now, she had actually detected a similar flavor coming from Qian Yu, a mutt half-yao whose fur color was not even pure.
The opponent seemed to have mastered a divine ability that could amplify an opponent’s emotions and use them to find flaws.
Whether it was that innocent expression or that playful provocation, both served this divine ability.
As long as one found the opponent’s flaw, even a simple sword strike could erupt with destructive power far exceeding those in the same realm.
How could You Suqi, who had rarely met a match since birth, not feel pleasantly surprised by this?
This was exactly how she fought.
“They all say your victory was unearned. Fight me to prove your extraordinary nature,” You Suqi said.
Wearing a long cyan-green dress, her hair swayed gently in the breeze.
Although her Fox Tribe features were also soft and fluffy, her unique temperament made her appear like a green lotus growing in a secluded valley, untainted by the dust of the world.
“I refuse,” Qian Yu shook her head.
Although the battle with Bai Liuli just now had been an easy win, it was because the opponent had been pampered since childhood and had massive psychological flaws.
The You Suqi before her was different.
She sensed an aura from the other girl that was similar to Nalan Yunyan’s—an absolute confidence in her own strength.
Qian Yu did not want to fight such an existence.
“Sister, I think she’s just a coward. Don’t force her!”
Bai Liuli jumped out from the side and snorted coldly.
Even though You Suqi had given her a brief explanation, she still didn’t believe she would lose to a half-yao.
The small chasm between the First Realm and the Second Realm was not so easy to cross; she hadn’t even brought out her weapon yet.
“Xiao Bai, step down. You have already lost.”
You Suqi naturally knew that Qian Yu was likely not her match.
The ocular technique was only a part of her own strength, and the little half-yao’s tactics against Bai Liuli just now were probably her greatest reliance.
However, since embarking on the path of cultivation, she had never fought anyone of the same level.
Now that she had finally encountered Qian Yu, who was also in the late stages of the First Realm and could pique her interest, You Suqi still wanted to try.
“How about this? I see that your bloodline is far more cluttered than that of ordinary half-yao. Aside from your cultivation method, you likely cannot find any other suitable divine abilities. If you can last twenty rounds under my hand, I will give this sword technique to you. How does that sound?”
From the Transcendence Realm onward, all powerful divine abilities and techniques had their corresponding meridian circulation routes.
The bloodline of a half-yao, being neither one nor the other, meant they could find neither suitable cultivation methods nor suitable divine abilities.
The Nine Tribulations Returning to Origin Holy Canon did contain some innate abilities, but the inheritance collected by the Luoxia Immortal Sect was missing that portion, and even Nalan Yunyan was powerless to help.
Therefore, it wasn’t that Qian Yu didn’t want to stylishly unleash a sword light against Bai Liuli, but rather that she didn’t know how.
She could only perform a simple thrust.
Below the stage, Bai Liuli’s eyelid twitched.
She could sense that it was a top-tier sword technique sufficient to be used until the Third Realm.
If it was suitable for a half-yao, its value would be several times higher.
The killing moves she used now were only of this level.
Why should a half-yao deserve it?
“Young Mistress, please remain calm. Young Master Qi just said that the half-yao has to last twenty rounds for it to count,” the maid-slash-guard Xiao Jiu whispered in comfort.
Bai Liuli’s mood immediately brightened.
That’s right, it only counts if she lasts twenty rounds!
That half-yao couldn’t even beat her; how could she possibly last twenty rounds against her sister?
This sword technique was just bait to make her look like a fool.
The events on the stage soon made Bai Liuli stop that line of thought, and she quickly became dumbfounded.
The half-yao accepted the challenge, and she didn’t lose immediately.
As a descendant of a Demon King who mastered the attributes of wind and clouds, You Suqi was usually quiet and taciturn, but once she entered battle, her temperament changed drastically.
Even though she was only in the First Realm, she seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of Spiritual Energy.
With a wave of her hand, she could stir up countless invisible wind and cloud phenomena to slash at her opponent, making it impossible to dodge and leaving them overwhelmed.
Coupled with a pair of eyes that could see directly through the opponent’s flaws, even if a Third Realm cultivator came, they could easily be defeated before they even realized what was happening.
However, against this style of combat that had kicked Tang Qiurou off the stage in three moves, the little half-yao did not fall as expected after being “moved” into accepting the fight.
On the field, the familiar and unpredictable wind blades still swirled, but the half-yao she looked down upon was not as helpless as she had been.
It was as if the opponent had opened a heavenly eye.
Advance, retreat, parry, thrust.
Slash, push, block, deflect.
Every time she struck with her sword, she blocked the incoming wind blades with millimetric precision.
It was almost perfectly accurate.
Her youthful little face was no longer filled with the playfulness she had used to provoke her earlier, but instead displayed a seriousness that made one unable to look away.
And that wasn’t all.
As the battle intensified, the speed of the wind blades in You Suqi’s hands grew faster and faster, eventually becoming difficult even to perceive.
Yet, the little half-yao’s speed always kept up.
Wherever the sword blade passed, it left behind afterimages and sparks.
The sounds of clashing weapons were incessant.
Coupled with the howling of the unseen gales, the scene possessed an indescribable majesty.
“…”
Gradually, Bai Liuli’s gaze changed.
She began to understand why her elder sister said she was no match for Qian Yu.
The opponent was indeed not as pathetic as she had thought.
She planned to formally admit defeat to Qian Yu later.
However, to her surprise, the disciples of the Luoxia Immortal Sect still didn’t see it that way.
Their words were still filled with pessimism regarding Qian Yu and discussions about the fight being rigged.
The noise gradually grew until it even drowned out the Demon Race, who should have been the “victimized” party.
“Hey! Can you all stop shouting!”
Bai Liuli was a bit bewildered and couldn’t help but turn around to glare at the group of Luoxia Immortal Sect disciples.
She had never intended to speak up for a half-yao, but she really couldn’t listen to this anymore.
“Your fellow disciple is fighting, and instead of encouraging her, you’re constantly questioning her! Just think about it—who could have enough face to invite a Sacred Body of our Demon Race to specifically put on a play just to elevate a half-yao? Ask yourselves: are you just sore losers, or can you really not see Qian Yu’s strength!”
The disciples of the Luoxia Immortal Sect fell into silence.
If they had questioned whether there was foul play before this battle, it might have been understandable.
But at this stage, looking at that continuous string of exploding sparks on the stage, saying Qian Yu had no strength at all was a pure lie.
But they were unwilling to admit it.
Just like Bai Liuli’s previous discrimination against half-yao, most disciples of the Luoxia Immortal Sect were very biased against Qian Yu.
Many had even bullied her in secret, just like Tang Qiurou.
Having seen her in such a lowly state, how could they accept her suddenly becoming this strong?
Therefore, they simply refused to be convinced and wanted to use their doubts to trample her back to her former position.
Unless they were shown a gap they could not possibly cross…
On the Sword Honing Platform.
The twenty-round agreement was drawing near, and You Suqi’s expression had shifted from the initial appreciation of a superior to the gravity of an equal.
She had originally intended to use only the flaw-seeking method of “Closed Eyes Ignorance, Heart’s Eye Lighting Reality” to compete with Qian Yu.
She hadn’t expected that her pursuit of a winning method would instead be amplified by Qian Yu into an obsession.
She was fast, and Qian Yu was also fast.
She tried to use invisible wind blades to make Qian Yu reveal a flaw in her haste, but the opponent saw through her flaws from her very obsession.
Always, just a moment before a killing move erupted, the girl judged the flow of her Spiritual Energy and blocked it precisely.
By the time You Suqi realized the problem, seventeen of the twenty rounds had already passed.
The difficulty of this half-yao far exceeded her previous imagination.
As a true Peerless Prodigy, although You Suqi did not wantonly humiliate or discriminate against half-yao like most of the Demon Race, the pride engraved in her marrow still made it hard for her to easily accept losing to a half-yao.
Even if it was just a bet, she wanted to win.
In that case, if she wanted to settle the opponent before the twentieth round, she could only unlock her Sacred Body.
In the next moment, Elder Ling, who had already been dumbfounded by Qian Yu’s combat power, changed her expression for the first time.
Treasuring talent as she did, she could no longer care about the rules and shouted directly at Qian Yu:
“Qian Yu, hurry and surrender! A First Realm cultivation might not be able to control the power of a Sacred Body! If you keep fighting, you might die!”
As she spoke, she moved to pull Qian Yu out of the fray.
But at that moment, You Suqi’s Sacred Body had already been unleashed.
A mysterious and profound Dao Rhythm, seemingly originating from ancient times, spread across the hundred-meter radius.
The Domain inherent to the Sacred Body repelled external presences, and Elder Ling’s intervention was forced to slow down for a fraction of a second.
And it was this very moment that would decide the life or death of those within.
Elder Ling’s face turned pale.
No one would pay her back her Spirit Stones now, and a prodigy that the Sect had finally produced was about to fall.
Just as she was feeling immense regret for not stopping Qian Yu from the beginning, another unexpected event occurred.
A Domain-like aura similarly began to emanate from the small body of the half-yao.
“Hmm?!”
Upon the high platform, in the seat belonging exclusively to Nalan Yunyan, the golden-haired girl’s eyes lit up brilliantly.
Having given the other girl the Flowing Cloud Bracelet, she wasn’t particularly worried about Qian Yu’s safety, but that aura coming from her was…