Today’s sunlight was particularly generous, spilling through the clouds and onto Yu Qingyao’s face. It was just bright enough and comfortably warm.
‘It really is a good day,’ Yu Qingyao thought to herself.
First of all, 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.
Secondly, through her diligent cultivation, her soul strength had successfully broken through to the Soul Transformation Stage. At this point, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that her soul was on par with any of the accompanying Elders present.
Finally, she had made it into the finals of the Foundation Establishment Group, while Bai Zhiqiu was set to face Ji Xuerou in the semifinals.
“Qingyao, congratulations on making it to the finals.”
Seeing the joyful expression on Yu Qingyao’s face, Wu Yan assumed she was simply happy about advancing and offered her congratulations.
Hearing this, Yu Qingyao immediately snapped back to reality, her unrestrained expression softening 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 shifted to the two figures on the stage.
Ji Xuerou stood quietly at the edge of the platform. She wore a narrow-sleeved, long dress made of gold and white cloud silk that perfectly accentuated her tall figure. The fabric was embroidered with subtle gold thread patterns in the shape of floating clouds.
Standing opposite her was Bai Zhiqiu, who still carried the large black abacus on her back. She held an Ink Jade Compass in her right hand while her left hand scratched at her head. Her short boots, worn over white socks, shifted restlessly on the ground.
“Ji Xuerou of the Lingxiao Sect. Please enlighten me,” Ji Xuerou said in a cold, clear voice that made Bai Zhiqiu subconsciously shiver.
“Bai Zhiqiu of the Tianyan Sect.” Bai Zhiqiu sighed and patted the large abacus behind her. “I never expected to run into you in the semifinals. This is just terrible luck.”
“Oh, oh, oh! It’s the battle between rank one and rank two of the Heaven’s Pride List !“
“Intense! Being able to see a match of this caliber here makes the ticket price worth it, even if I die right now!”
“You guys have no idea. Even though Ji Xuerou is rank one on the Heaven’s Pride List, I heard that Bai Zhiqiu actually gave up the spot on purpose!”
In the spectator stands, an old man leaned in and whispered to those around him, immediately piquing their curiosity.
“Oh? How so?”
The man didn’t speak immediately. Instead, he reached out his right hand and rubbed his thumb and forefinger together. The people around him understood the gesture instantly and fished a low-grade spirit stone out of their Storage Bags to hand over.
After collecting enough spirit stones, the man finally spoke slowly. “It’s said that before the Heaven’s Pride List was written, they originally intended to put Bai Zhiqiu at rank one. However, because Bai Zhiqiu wanted to remain humble and play the role of a hidden expert, she specifically paid money to change her rank from first to second!”
The crowd broke into an uproar. No wonder the area behind the second rank on the list they bought always looked like it had been edited; so this was the truth!
Because of this tip, they all began to cheer for Bai Zhiqiu, causing those who were unaware to increase their bets on her.
Seeing this, the old man quietly placed a bet of 2,000 middle-grade spirit stones on Ji Xuerou and then slipped away.
‘Zhiqiu, thank you for contributing to your Martial Uncle’s great plan to get rich! I won’t forget you once I’ve made my fortune!’
On the stage, Ji Xuerou lowered her stance slightly, her right hand already gripping the hilt of her long sword, Bixiao.
The Ink Jade Compass in Bai Zhiqiu’s hand emitted a series of crisp clicks as the needle began to spin wildly from side to side.
Tianyan: Pre-reading.
A flickering golden phantom suddenly appeared before her, thrusting a long sword toward her left shoulder. Even though Ji Xuerou had not yet moved, in Bai Zhiqiu’s eyes, the attack had already happened.
‘Three inches to the left, lower your head.’
Her brain instinctively issued the command.
In the next instant, sword light flashed like a bolt of lightning.
Ji Xuerou’s movements were identical to the phantom’s. She thrust her sword, but it struck nothing but air, merely shearing off a few strands of Bai Zhiqiu’s hair.
“Oh?”
Ji Xuerou was somewhat surprised. Although the other girl’s movements looked extremely close to the limit, her **Glass Sword Heart** told her that her opponent seemed to have calculated it in advance, as if she were guaranteed to dodge the strike.
“The divination techniques of the Tianyan Sect are truly formidable,” Ji Xuerou remarked.
Bai Zhiqiu overheard her and gave a hollow laugh. “Haha, just luck, that’s all.”
Ji Xuerou didn’t pause. With a flick of her wrist, she pointed her sword toward the sky. Thousands of golden sword glints suddenly appeared in the air.
**Flowing Light Thousand Blades!**
This was Ji Xuerou’s famous sword technique. It was said that she once used this single move to wipe out a small-scale beast tide.
“Oh, oh, oh! It’s Saintess Ji’s signature move!”
“Great! I didn’t expect to see this move here!”
The audience cheered, but Bai Zhiqiu, standing directly beneath the rain of swords, couldn’t share their joy.
“Tsk, the speed and amount of Spirit Chi are both off the charts.”
The Lopan was spinning so fast it was almost smoking, yet Bai Zhiqiu couldn’t find a single safe spot. No matter where she went, she would be hit by the attack.
“No choice then!”
Bai Zhiqiu reached for the abacus on her back, plucked six beads, and threw them above her head.
The beads shattered instantly, turning into an inky fluid that coalesced into a massive black shield, protecting her from above.
Heavenly Defense: Adhering to Rules.
Boom — !
The golden rain of swords slammed into the black shield, causing the originally curved surface to become pitted and uneven.
After only two breaths, the sword rain pierced through the shield and poured downward like a cloudburst, kicking up a thick cloud of dust.
As the dust settled…
Bai Zhiqiu was no longer within the area covered by the sword rain. Using the brief two breaths of time the shield had bought her, she had successfully escaped.
She now stood at the edge of the stage looking quite disheveled, her scholar’s robes torn in several places.
“A very impressive defensive method,” Ji Xuerou praised sincerely. This was the first time she had seen someone block that strike.
“Thanks for the compliment!” Bai Zhiqiu shouted. She then threw three beads directly at Ji Xuerou’s face.
Heavenly Strike: Three Talents Deceptive Bullet.
The three beads suddenly split apart, spiraling through the air as they struck toward Ji Xuerou’s ankles, throat, and wrists.
Facing this sudden attack, Ji Xuerou did not panic. The three ink-colored streaks of light moved like slow motion in her eyes; she only needed to swing her sword to cut them down.
And that is exactly what she did.
However, the moment the beads touched her blade, they suddenly transformed into six streaks of light that attacked her ankles, wrists, dantian, and throat respectively.
“Hmph, I knew you’d do that!”
Although Ji Xuerou reacted in time and dodged most of the attacks, she was still grazed once on her ankle and once on her wrist.
Having landed a hit, Bai Zhiqiu naturally wasn’t going to miss the opportunity. She took twelve beads from her back in one go and smashed them onto the stage beneath her feet.
The moment the twelve beads hit the ground, they turned into powder. Immediately, twelve thick, hideous vines erupted from the earth, sweeping toward Ji Xuerou and surrounding her completely.
Heavenly Prison: Dragon Locking Array.
Since everyone claimed Ji Xuerou was a Child of Destiny and a True Dragon Incarnation, she would show her whether this Dragon Locking Array could actually lock her down!
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