So She Is the One in the Recording

In such an urgent situation, she held her breath, her eyes and divine sense scanning every corner of the platform.

She threaded through the edge of the swamp amidst the vines dancing all over the sky.

She had been bound by vines, fallen into swamps, had her eyes blinded by the Flying Sand Spell, and been struck by water pillars.

Every time she couldn't break free, she would use talismans and arrays to extricate herself, refusing to be knocked off the platform.

Only because her movement technique had reached a bottleneck, and only because this was her best opportunity to break through it.

With that breath held tight in her throat, Gu Ningyun clenched her teeth, her throat feeling dry and tight.

In her vision and hearing, nothing remained but the ceaseless barrage of attacks.

The circulation of her movement technique, Wind Walk, never stopped. It was far more difficult than refining her body while climbing sheer cliffs, as she struggled to survive amidst countless traps.

Until at a certain moment, she suddenly felt the wind around her slow down.

Something, summoned by her spirit energy, gathered beneath her feet and gave her a gentle upward lift.

Her entire body suddenly felt light, and she took a step twice as far as before.

The snake-like vines sharply veered beneath her feet, but by the time they caught up, she had already moved to another spot.

“Huh?” The senior sister casting the spells uttered a soft sound of confusion, clearly noticing that something was different.

Instantly, dust billowed across the platform. Yellow sand filled her vision, obscuring even the vines right next to her.

Under the cover of the dust, the speed of the vines increased by thirty percent. Water pillars hid in the gaps between the vines, sealing off Gu Ningyun's retreat from all directions.

Behind her, the swamp gurgled and surged upward, transforming into a giant mouth that threatened to swallow her underground.

She was completely surrounded by layer upon layer of attacks. There was truly no escape to heaven and no path into the earth.

If it had been the previous Gu Ningyun facing such a desperate situation, she wouldn't have been able to break through even if she used talismans.

But now, with a shift of her feet, she leapt onto a vine.

In the past, she definitely wouldn't have been able to match the speed of the vine, or she would have been instantly shaken off and thrown down the moment she landed on it.

But at this moment, there was a layer of wind between the soles of her feet and the vine.

No matter how the vine bucked, the wind simply flowed over its surface, allowing her to easily borrow its momentum.

The instant she left her spot, all the attacks slammed into her previous position, causing the air to erupt in a loud boom.

Before the vines could pivot and launch their second wave of attacks, she turned on her toes and hopped onto another vine.

Amidst the yellow sand that blotted out the sky, she trod on the wind, running and leaping across the high-flying vines.

She tilted her body, ducked her head, and dodged three water pillars. In the midst of her leap, she spun around and waved at the vines that couldn't keep up with her.

Below the fighting platform, a crowd of spectating disciples had gathered at some point.

“What movement technique is that? It's terrifying!”

“Use your divine sense to feel the wind vortices under her feet. It should be a wind-attribute movement technique.”

“It must be a wind-attribute movement technique. Only the wind attribute could have such speed.”

“Her speed is twice as fast as an early Foundation Establishment cultivator using a mysterious-rank top-grade Swift-Walk Talisman!”

“Oh my god, a turnaround! I've been here since the beginning. This wind-attribute little junior sister was being completely suppressed by Senior Sister Wen at first. I was planning to wait until she was knocked off before going up to spar with Senior Sister Wen myself. But this wind-attribute junior sister acts as if she has an endless supply of talismans, and she just refused to be knocked down.”

“What do you mean? She has too many wind-attribute talismans and array plates and nothing better to do, so she came to Fighting Peak to waste them?” a newcomer asked, not quite understanding.

Cultivators came to Fighting Peak to improve their strength through real combat. Therefore, except for talisman cultivators and array cultivators who attacked solely with talismans and needles, other cultivators rarely used these external aids.

The previous cultivator said, “I didn't get it at first either, but now I understand. This junior sister is using Senior Sister Wen to practice her movement technique.”

“Senior Sister Wen is a well-known battle maniac on Fighting Peak. She cultivates all three elements of water, wood, and earth, and her methods are endless. Back when she was in the External Sect, she defeated all the handyman disciples without equal. After being promoted to a formal disciple, she became a regular on Fighting Peak. Don't be fooled by her early Foundation Establishment stage; even some senior brothers and sisters in the mid Foundation Establishment stage can't defeat her. This junior sister actually dares to use her to practice her movement technique?!”

“This is no ordinary movement technique; this is a wind-attribute movement technique. Terrifying indeed! Senior Sister Wen's barrage of attacks can't even touch the corner of her clothes!”

“Is another formidable opponent emerging in the Foundation Establishment stage on Fighting Peak? How are we ordinary cultivators supposed to survive?!”

“I actually want to spar with this junior sister. If she can practice her movement technique to this level, her offensive methods certainly won't be weak.”

“Exactly. Having a strong opponent is a good thing. What does it have to do with survival?”

“Senior Brother, you don't understand. I have a rather strange trait: I really need to show off, and I really need to be praised. If I soundly defeat my opponent in a match, show off big time, and get praised by the spectating cultivators, my heart will be filled with fighting spirit. I'll fight better as the battle goes on, and I can even perform far beyond my usual strength. After the fight, when I go back, whether it's cultivating or learning the four arts of cultivation, I'll feel as if I've been pumped with adrenaline, like countless top-grade spirit stones have been injected into me. My cultivation speed will be incredibly fast, and my learning efficiency will be extremely high. On the other hand, if I suffer successive setbacks and don't hear any praise, my whole body feels off, and I can't summon any energy for spell duels or cultivation. To you all, a stronger opponent is better for honing your strength, but to me, this kind of honing is useless!”

“To have such an absurd personality trait... Junior Brother, you really are quite unique!”

“Sigh, I don't know why either. I've had this temperament since I was a child.”

“Senior Sister Wen is a regular on Fighting Peak. Does anyone know the identity of that wind-attribute junior sister on the stage?”

“She looks like she's not even fifteen yet. So young, she must be a newcomer from the most recent class.”

“A wind attribute, wind spirit root, and so young... I heard that a few years ago, the Peak Master of Spirit-Attuning Peak accepted a disciple with a top-grade wind spirit root. Could it be this little junior sister?”

“I remember now! Look at the recording in the first row of the Fighting Peak platform. Although the person in the recording was younger, her appearance and movement technique look exactly like this little junior sister's!”

“So she is the one in the recording, Junior Sister Gu Ningyun!”

“It's actually Junior Sister Gu! No wonder she dares to use Senior Sister Wen to practice her movement technique. After all, back when she was only in the Qi Refining stage, she dared to gather all the new disciples to fight a rank two demon beast above their level! Not only did they fight it, but they actually won.”

“Seeing is believing. Now I want to spar with her even more.”

On the stage, Gu Ningyun was about to leap onto another vine when her footing suddenly went empty.

Surprisingly, all the vines had lost their spirit energy supply at the same time, rapidly turning yellow and withering.

It seemed Senior Sister Wen had realized the vines were not only failing to attack her but were instead aiding her, so she withdrew the vine attacks.

Just as Gu Ningyun stabilized her stance and landed on the edge of the swamp, the mountain of withered vines covering the ground suddenly dissolved into countless wood chips. Along with the yellow sand, they swept toward her from all directions.