The draw results for the top ten were announced on the evening of the rest day.
Next to Lin Zhiyue's name was written the Piaoyin Sect, and her opponent was Gu Xuening, the younger senior sister of the Peach Blossom Fan whom she had met a few times before.
Although this younger senior sister of the Piaoyin Sect did not hold a high seniority in her sect, she traveled frequently and had a lively personality. Lin Zhiyue had met her in Qingxia Town when she first entered the cultivation world, and they had run into each other again in the Northern Realm Secret Realm, making her a familiar face.
The arena matches the next day started slightly later than usual.
When Lin Zhiyue stepped onto the arena, the younger senior sister of the Piaoyin Sect was already standing opposite her. She wore a peach-pink gauze dress and held her signature Peach Blossom Fan. Seeing Lin Zhiyue walk up, she smiled. “Junior Sister Lin, long time no see.”
Her tone sounded as if she had run into an acquaintance on the street and was casually greeting them, completely lacking the tension typical before a major tournament. Standing on the other side of the arena, Lin Zhiyue also replied, “Long time no see.”
Once the referee announced the start of the match, Gu Xuening made the first move.
The moment the Peach Blossom Fan unfurled, the peach blossom patterns on its surface seemed to come alive, flowing with movement. Several illusory pink peach blossom petals drifted from the edges of the fan, scattering across the arena and quickly weaving extremely fine threads of spiritual energy in the air.
The threads grew denser as they wove together, gradually forming layer upon layer of light and shadow within the sensory range around her.
The edges of the arena, which Lin Zhiyue could originally perceive clearly, began to blur, as if she were looking at distant outlines through a thin mist. A sweet, cloying fragrance even began to permeate the air.
Instead of trying to break the illusion by force, she willed a change of clothes, putting on the ocean-blue long dress of the Mermaid's Love Song.
The mermaid-tail hem of the dress shimmered with a deep luster under the sunlight. She spun the conch flute half a turn in her hand, raised it to her lips, and blew a long note.
The sound was not loud, but it possessed a piercing power that penetrated the soul, spreading outward along the surface of the arena.
The moment the sound of the flute touched the dense illusions of peach blossom petals wrapping around her, they began to peel away from the edges, slowly drifting apart like floating leaves swept away by a current.
The weaving speed of the spiritual energy threads visibly slowed down. The closing illusion ground to a halt, unable to advance even a single inch further.
Gu Xuening's fan paused mid-air at the sound of the flute. She felt an invisible thrust; not only did the threads she was weaving stop, but even the parts that had already formed were rapidly dissolving.
Maintaining the rhythm of her flute, Lin Zhiyue took a few steps forward as the illusion gradually peeled away.
Watching the illusory peach blossoms disperse in patches and the outline of the arena slowly emerge from the illusion, a flash of surprise crossed Gu Xuening's eyes, but she did not panic.
Instead, the smile at the corners of her mouth deepened slightly. “Junior Sister Lin, with your musical talent, you really should have joined our Piaoyin Sect—”
Before she could finish her sentence, her wrist snapped, and the closed Peach Blossom Fan suddenly sprang open again. A row of silver needles as fine as cow hair shot out from the edges of the fan ribs, flying straight toward Lin Zhiyue's face with a whistling sound.
Without stopping her flute, Lin Zhiyue glided backward several yards like a swimming fish.
The silver needles struck the spot where she had just been standing, corroding the hard stone slabs of the arena and leaving behind several small holes that hissed with green smoke.
“Since my illusion can't trap you, let's try close combat!” Gu Xuening let out a soft laugh. Tapping her toes against the ground, she transformed into a pink afterimage and lunged forward to close the distance.
Her movement technique was extremely fast. The Peach Blossom Fan in her hand blocked like a shield one moment and slashed like a sharp blade the next. The fan ribs clashed against the flute, producing crisp metallic rings.
Forced to stop playing her flute, Lin Zhiyue summoned her cold, gleaming Azure Scale Sword and engaged in close combat with Gu Xuening.
Gu Xuening's moves seemed graceful, but they were actually incredibly tricky, specifically targeting Lin Zhiyue's joints and wrists, clearly aiming to disable her ability to cast spells.
The two clashed on the arena for dozens of rounds as fast as lightning. The pink spiritual energy and the ocean-blue sword qi intertwined, dazzling the spectators below the stage.
Gu Xuening slashed downward with her fan, but Lin Zhiyue sidestepped to avoid it. The wind from the fan swept past her cheek, lifting a few strands of her hair.
Seizing the opportunity, Lin Zhiyue countered with a backhand strike, the tip of her sword pointing straight at Gu Xuening's throat.
Gu Xuening's waist bent with incredible flexibility as she leaned backward at an unbelievable angle, barely dodging the fatal blow. At the same time, she snapped her Peach Blossom Fan shut and struck Lin Zhiyue's wrist hard.
With a loud clang, Lin Zhiyue's wrist went numb, and her sword nearly slipped from her grasp.
Both of them leaped backward simultaneously, widening the gap between them.
Gu Xuening stabilized her stance, panting slightly as a layer of fine sweat beaded on her forehead.
She looked at Lin Zhiyue, a flash of admiration in her eyes. “Junior Sister Lin, your swordplay is excellent. However, my spiritual energy is nearly depleted. If we keep fighting, my defeat will only look more embarrassing.”
Lin Zhiyue also sheathed her sword and calmed her breathing. “Thank you for the match, Senior Sister Gu.”
Gu Xuening shook her head, slipped her Peach Blossom Fan back into her sleeve, and turned to walk down the arena. Her steps were still light, but they carried a hint of exhaustion that wasn't there before. “Alright, I'm done. Your flute broke my illusion, and your swordplay is so sharp. I concede.”
The referee's clear voice echoed over the arena: “Top Ten Tournament, Lin Zhiyue wins the first match!”
Without forcing herself to hold on any longer, Gu Xuening tapped her toes and transformed into a slightly frail pink afterimage, flying back to the Piaoyin Sect's seats.
The moment she landed, her fellow female disciples immediately gathered around her.
Someone handed her a handkerchief, while another offered her some spiritual tea. One of her junior sisters took a silk handkerchief and carefully wiped the fine beads of sweat from her forehead and temples.
Senior Sister Gu, who was usually all smiles and full of energy, now looked as if all her strength had been drained, slumping weakly against the back of her chair.
Weaving such a complex peach blossom illusion inherently required a massive amount of mental focus and spiritual energy, making it Gu Xuening's trump card.
To stabilize the illusion and prevent it from being dispersed by the flute, she had secretly overdrawn more than half of her spiritual energy early on.
The subsequent close-quarters combat had completely exhausted whatever little energy she had left.
Now that the match was decided, the sheer willpower holding her up crumbled, and an overwhelming wave of exhaustion instantly rushed over her.
With her eyes half-closed, Gu Xuening did not even have the strength to lift her hand. She could only let her junior sisters fuss over her, her somewhat unfocused gaze fixed on the ocean-blue figure in the center of the arena, her lips curving into a helpless yet relieved smile.
Who could have known that Junior Sister Lin would be able to break her peach blossom illusion? In the past, not a single opponent had ever emerged from it unscathed so easily.
Gu Xuening sighed softly in her heart. She had truly underestimated her.
Lin Zhiyue changed from the Mermaid's Love Song back into her ordinary clothes and turned to walk down the arena.
Lin Zhiyue walked over to the resting area and sat down. Cen Xi'er handed her a water flask and whispered, “Junior Sister, I can't believe your flute actually countered Gu Xuening's peach blossom illusion!” Lin Zhiyue took the flask and took a sip. “It was just a fluke. Senior Sister Gu's peach blossom illusion is indeed formidable.”
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