The gap in their cultivation was still too obvious.
After a bout of intense fighting, the situation between the two on the stage was plain for the audience to see.
“Senior Sister…”
Yu Qingyao watched Wu Yan kneeling on the arena, her eyes unable to hide her worry.
“Eldest Senior Sister won’t be in trouble, will she?”
Su Qianqian’s concern was even more direct. After all, she had just helped Wu Yan treat her injuries two days ago, and now Wu Yan had suffered such heavy trauma again. That Little Divine Doctor from Medicine King Valley complained every day about how stubborn Eldest Senior Sister was; Su Qianqian had originally thought it was an exaggeration, but she never expected it to be the reality.
“Have faith in Eldest Senior Sister.”
Gu Jian trusted Wu Yan as much as ever. Even Elder Sun, who usually didn’t get along with Wu Yan, rarely refrained from saying anything discouraging. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the arena.
The violent spiritual power gradually returned to tranquility, leaving the once-sturdy arena covered in scars. Dense sword marks divided the stage like a clear boundary. Wu Yan and Ji Xuerou each occupied one side, with shattered rocks scattered all around and the entire scene broken into pieces.
Wu Yan had heard countless people repeating warnings in her ear, but she remained deaf to them.
“Phew—”
Ji Xuerou let out a long breath. She cast her gaze toward the girl opposite her, whose clothes were tattered but whose eyes remained determined, and a sincere smile appeared on her face.
“Fellow Daoist Wu.”
Her voice was raspy, yet more solemn than ever before. “I knew you were powerful.”
“If we were both at the late Golden Core Stage, I am afraid I would not be your equal.”
At this moment, Ji Xuerou’s eyes were exceptionally bright. Within those glazed-colored pupils, everything was reduced to its most basic form. The composition of the arena’s defensive formation, the flow of spiritual power in the air, and the spiritual power nodes on Wu Yan’s body were all laid bare before her.
“I admit, when I first approached you, I had a specific purpose…”
Wu Yan leaned on Wu Nian, struggling to stand up. She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and Wu Nian emitted a low *humming* sound. A cold, white airflow swirled within her eyes as a massive Divine Sense, far exceeding the Golden Core Stage, covered the entire arena.
Ji Xuerou’s every move was caught within Wu Yan’s Divine Sense; even the sensation of being peeked at was fed back to her.
Light spiritual power gathered on Bixiao, the tip of the sword pointing directly at the sky. The sky suddenly darkened, and then a beam of pure gold, as thick as a jade pillar, fell from the void.
“HEAVENLY LIGHT !“
Ji Xuerou’s voice rang out from within the beam of light.
” LOCK !”
In an instant, several thick chains extended from the light pillar. Their ends were tipped with massive anchors that flashed with a blinding light as they coiled toward Wu Yan.
Wu Yan kicked off the ground and leapt into the air. The chains slammed heavily into the piles of rubble, sending dust flying.
As she flew into the air, her Divine Sense perceived spiritual power gathering within the pillar of light—it was another round of Streaming Light Thousand Blades.
The air behind Ji Xuerou rippled violently as countless light swords broke through space, shooting straight at Wu Yan. These light swords were completely different from before; every strike was aimed directly at the circulation nodes of Wu Yan’s spiritual power.
Rumor had it that Ji Xuerou’s Glazed Pupils could ignore all illusions and perceive the spiritual power nodes of all things. These nodes were the key to the smooth flow of spiritual power; once struck, a living being’s combat power would drop significantly. If compared to the real-world, it was roughly similar to the “Mystic Eyes of Death Perception” from Type-Moon.
Wind surged from the ultimate limit. A green storm galloped past Wu Yan, clashing head-on with Ji Xuerou’s golden rain of swords. Sword met sword, and wind met light.
” ETHEREAL SWORD ARTS: JINGHONG !”
A cold light flashed, and in the next heartbeat, Wu Yan appeared in front of Ji Xuerou.
Faced with the sharp sword tip, Ji Xuerou did not dodge. Bixiao broke free from her hand, autonomously blocking Wu Yan’s strike.
Ji Xuerou struck out with a palm, sending both Bixiao and Wu Yan flying back.
“Fellow Daoist Wu, you must be careful with this next move.”
Bixiao quickly returned to her side, hovering above her head. The golden light curtain grew increasingly radiant as a glazed light spilled down from the sky.
” BIXIAO HOLDING THE SUN !”
In the eyes of the spectators, the arena—which had been filled with the grand momentum of light swords and shadows—suddenly fell into darkness. Then, a glimmer tore through the dark, expanding at an alarming speed until it finally converged into a brilliant sun ten feet in diameter. It was pure white, with a gold and red halo flowing around its edges.
” EVERLASTING ETERNAL LIGHT !”
Ji Xuerou’s Glazed Pupils reflected the blazing sun as she swung her long sword down. The sun carried ten thousand tons of pressure, crashing toward the ground like a meteor. A golden trail dragged through the air, the light so scorching that there was nowhere to run.
The scalding heat wave burned several holes into Wu Yan’s plain white stockings.
To others, Wu Yan was already in a desperate situation, but within that desperation, there was still a chance for life. She felt the whistling of the wind—pressure difference was the purest source of wind.
Since she could not meet the attack head-on from the outside, she would dismantle it from the inside. Wu Nian scoured the surrounding wind, transforming it into a high-speed rotating Astral Wind shield compressed onto her body’s surface.
Wu Yan turned into a tornado, charging into the heart of the blazing sun against the heat wave.
Xia Lingshuang watched Wu Yan’s suicidal attack, her eyes filled with disbelief.
Inside the scorching sun, Wu Yan released her spiritual power wantonly. Wu Nian absorbed the wind and waves at an incredible speed, and the high-frequency rotating tornado tore a passage through. Sharp pain surged from her limbs, and her chest felt an unprecedented pressure, but she did not stop.
“Break!”
A crack was split into the originally flawless solar disc. At first, it was just a thin green line, but then a wild wind erupted from within the blazing sun. The gold and red heat flowed along the path of the wind, forming a visible spiral pattern of flames.
The sun fell, and the rubble, soil, and iron were instantly vaporized. A ring of blazing gold light swept out from the impact point, melting everything in its path.
As the light dissipated, the arena was once again smooth as new. The martial arts arena fell into silence, and the scent of blood suddenly filled the air.
A startling trail of blood spread across the center of the arena. Amidst the crimson, Ji Xuerou maintained her sword-swinging posture, the blade of Bixiao shimmering with light.
Less than half a foot in front of her, Wu Yan looked absolutely wretched. Her spiritual power was nearly exhausted, white steam rose from her entire body, her Daoist robes were ruined, and her arms were a bloody mess. The white stockings on her legs were almost fused to her skin.
However, her hand was exceptionally steady.
The residual Astral Wind from Wu Nian blew the hair back from Ji Xuerou’s forehead. The sharp tip of the sword was pressed against her brow, carving out a tiny wound.
Ji Xuerou was slightly stunned. Her eyes were stained red by the blood from her forehead, reflecting Wu Yan’s blood-soaked figure.
“Ji Xuerou of the Lingxiao Sect concedes.”
Ji Xuerou spoke calmly, and Wu Yan’s taut nerves finally relaxed.
Clang—
Wu Nian fell in front of Ji Xuerou, and Wu Yan collapsed straight forward.
Ji Xuerou threw aside Bixiao and pulled Wu Yan into her arms, just as she had done in the Cangwu Secret Realm.
In the final moment before her consciousness drifted into sleep, she saw Ji Xuerou’s nervous expression and the sunlight spilling down from the sky once more.
‘It’s so blinding.’