In the distance, on the spectator stand, Mei Shuangfeng's eyes narrowed as her fingers unconsciously tapped the table.
Beside her, Ji Shuying's eyes were filled with worry, her expression slightly tense.
Shen Xiuhan was on an assignment for the Ji family, and the Luo family had always targeted them.
Luo Qiance's cultivation was at the Great Perfection of the Mingjin Rank, a level above Shen Xiuhan... It was hard to guarantee he wouldn't deal a lethal blow on the arena!
At the very front, Zhao Zheng stood with his arms crossed, watching with a casual posture.
Luo Changming held his cup and took a sip of tea. When his gaze swept past Zhao Zheng, the smile at the corner of his mouth deepened a bit.
Wang Zhidao, who had originally shown little interest, and Bai Qingcang, who wore an indifferent expression, also raised their eyes at this moment, looking toward the distant arena with interest.
Under the gaze of the crowd.
Luo Qiance curled his lips and said with feigned concern, “Brother Shen, fists and kicks have no eyes, and sabers and swords have no mercy. Be careful.”
“Thank you for your concern, Brother Luo, but...” Shen Xiuhan's face was cold as he said indifferently, “You should worry about yourself instead!”
“Begin the match!” Wang Youjun's stern shout boomed.
In an instant, silence fell over the arena's surroundings, leaving only the wailing of the lake wind.
The air on the arena seemed to solidify, leaving only the fierce clash of their gazes, silently sparking intense killing intent.
Luo Qiance did not draw his saber.
In his view, he had already thoroughly grasped the youth's background.
Although Shen Xiuhan had ascended the stage with a sword chest, he had never shown any foundation in swordplay, and the Mei Courtyard had no sword inheritance.
What he relied on was nothing more than a set of brutal fist and kick techniques.
And when it came to hand-to-hand combat, Luo Qiance was equally skilled!
Since you are good at hand-to-hand combat, I will thoroughly suppress you in the very field you are most proud of, with absolute dominance!
A sharp glint flashed in Luo Qiance's eyes, and the blood qi beneath his feet exploded!
Boom!
The wooden planks shattered.
His figure moved abruptly, like a rapid current weaving through hidden reefs. Shifting left and right unpredictably, he swept toward Shen Xiuhan with a flurry of afterimages!
The Raging Sea Sect's high-grade movement technique—【Nine-Fold Raging Tide】!
The moment he closed in, Luo Qiance thrust his hands forward. As his fingers danced, killing intent filled the air.
【Entangling Silk Soft Cloud Hand】!
This martial art's power had been mediocre in Luo Wancheng's hands.
But in Luo Qiance's hands, it had truly been cultivated to the realm of "peeling the silk from the cocoon, containing lethality within softness."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Luo Qiance's hands flew, targeting Shen Xiuhan's wrists, elbows, and other vital joints to seize and lock them.
Facing this relentless, bone-clinging onslaught, Shen Xiuhan did not panic.
There were too few Mingjin Rank martial artists in Changyun County who could force him to use his full strength.
It was rare to encounter a wealthy family's disciple with such deep foundations like Luo Qiance...
Shen Xiuhan also intended to use him as a whetstone to test what he had learned!
【Heavenly Eagle Wind-Tearing Hand】!
With the sword chest slung across his back, Shen Xiuhan turned his fists into claws and charged forward without dodging.
Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!
The two engaged in a fierce close-quarters combat within a small space.
Luo Qiance was like a twisting venomous snake, his fingers and palms flying with soft and lingering movements.
Shen Xiuhan was like forged steel, his claw force fierce, open, and powerful.
Finger bones clashed, locks and grapples engaged, elbows struck, and knees thrusted...
They traded rapid blows, every move aimed straight at vital points, each strike carrying a muffled sound of bone hitting flesh.
In just a dozen or so breaths, they had clashed over forty or fifty times!
The crowd below watched with wide, dazzled eyes, not even daring to breathe loudly.
On the arena, fierce winds swept in all directions.
Luo Qiance showed nothing on the surface, but a storm of shock raged in his heart.
He had thought that with his Great Accomplishment of the 【Entangling Silk Soft Cloud Hand】 and his proud 【Nine-Fold Raging Tide】 movement technique, he could easily crush his opponent.
But Shen Xiuhan's foundation was unexpectedly powerful!
No matter how he circled and attacked, the other party could always use claw and kick techniques to completely neutralize his offensive.
Not only that, but in such a high-intensity clash, the connection between the other party's moves actually grew smoother, as if he were using him to practice!
Is this kid using me as a sparring partner?!
Realizing that Shen Xiuhan was only defending and not attacking, looking completely at ease, Luo Qiance felt a deep sense of humiliation!
“You're courting death!” he roared.
His footwork erupted. Using the recoil of their clashing fists and feet, he abruptly retreated to open up some distance.
Luo Qiance no longer dared to be careless and reached behind his back.
Clang!
With a crisp ring of the blade, his goose-feather saber was drawn instantly!
Luo Qiance's aura shifted, his killing intent locking onto Shen Xiuhan like something tangible.
In the next breath, he moved.
His body shot forward like an arrow from a bowstring, accompanied by a sharp whistle of cutting air.
The goose-feather saber slashed repeatedly, tracing countless fine arcs of light like a dense net that descended over Shen Xiuhan's head.
【Misty Rain Blade: Lingering Spring Rain】!
Before the blade even arrived, the thread-like blade force rushed at his face. The air seemed to be sliced with faint whistling sounds, as if countless raindrops were falling.
Shen Xiuhan's gaze narrowed slightly.
The 【Golden Eagle Soaring Technique】 inside his body ran at full speed, channeling blood qi through both his arms.
He flicked the sword chest with his left thumb, popping open the lid. His right hand reached inside with precision, his fingers gripping the hilt.
Clang!
The clear ring of the sword sounded like a dragon's roar!
【Hanlin】 was drawn!
Shen Xiuhan lowered his hips slightly. Instead of clashing head-on with the blade's edge, he flicked and spun his wrist, tracing a subtle small circle with the sword.
A dense and flexible force surged out, flowing like clouds and mist. Using the opponent's own strength against him, it forced Luo Qiance's blade force three inches off course.
“【Flowing Cloud Swordplay: Cloud and Mist Pushing the Mountain】!”
On the spectator stand, Ji Shuying cried out, unable to hide her shock. “Xiao Liu... How long has he even had the manual, and he has already mastered the killer move of 【Flowing Cloud Swordplay】?”
On the other side of the arena, the members of the Mei Courtyard stared with wide eyes.
“What beautiful swordplay! Senior Brother Shen is actually skilled with the sword as well?”
“Second Senior Brother, does our Mei Courtyard have a swordplay inheritance?”
“No... This is probably Junior Brother Shen's own opportunity... Shut up and watch!”
On the arena, only a sharp whistle was heard.
Shen Xiuhan's sword tip spun back with the momentum, precisely tapping the weak point on the side of the goose-feather saber.
Luo Qiance's expression shifted. He immediately pulled back his saber and retreated, feeling the web of his hand holding the hilt go slightly numb.
This kid is actually proficient in swordplay, and his attainment is not low!
Luo Qiance's face turned ashen as he completely cast aside his contempt.
He took a deep breath, flipped his long saber, and slashed through the air once more!
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Crisp and heavy clashes erupted one after another. Their inner forces collided wildly, and the stray air currents blew their robes into a frantic rustle.
Luo Qiance slashed twenty-three times in a single breath, putting his full strength into every strike.
Yet they were all neutralized by Shen Xiuhan, who was even able to occasionally thrust back in counterattacks during the brief gaps.
I can't drag this out any longer!
Luo Qiance grit his teeth. He turned his long saber, and his moves suddenly became even tighter and more continuous!
【Misty Rain Blade: Blade Intent Like a Cage】!
The blade light was like a screen, layering over itself until it almost solidified, pressing toward Shen Xiuhan wave after wave.
Each slash carried a silent killing intent like a gentle drizzle, intending to trap his opponent to death within the net of blades.
“Excellent saber technique!”
On the spectator stand, Zhao Zheng's eyes lit up. “I also excel with the saber, but at his age, I was not as good as him!”
Beside him, Wang Zhidao also nodded slightly, offering a rare compliment, “Qiance is not bad. He deserves his place in the top three of the Raging Sea Sect's outer disciples. This saber technique is solid.”
“Heh...”
Even Bai Qingcang, who had remained silent all this time, chuckled, his voice raspy. “This is a lower-tier technique derived from the Raging Sea Sect's 【Ice Soul Misty Rain Blade】, right? It looks like he has already cultivated it to the Great Accomplishment stage.”
“Indeed...”
Luo Changming stroked his beard and smiled, saying with quite a bit of pride, “Qiance indeed possesses some talent in the way of the saber. He has cultivated this 【Misty Rain Blade】 to near-perfection. With both technique and inner force aligned, he has almost... no weaknesses!”
Listening to the evaluations of the several Huajin Rank experts, Mei Shuangfeng's brow furrowed slightly.
She could also see that after Luo Qiance erupted with full strength, he had begun to gradually seize the upper hand.
That airtight net of blades seemed to suppress Shen Xiuhan, leaving him with only the ability to parry.
However, Shen Xiuhan, situated at the center of the blade net, did not show the slightest panic.
As expected of a wealthy family's son from a major martial arts sect. This level of strength is indeed the most formidable among the Mingjin Rank martial artists I have encountered.
Unfortunately for you... you met me!
Shen Xiuhan sneered.
In the next breath, an eerie golden light flashed without warning in the pupil of his pitch-black left eye!
【Muxu Eye】!
A golden magatama took shape within his eye.
In an instant, the seemingly flawless and continuous blade light slowed down in Shen Xiuhan's vision.
A total of four flaws in the flow of energy were clearly exposed beneath the golden pupil.
“Found you!”
A fierce light flashed in the depths of Shen Xiuhan's eyes, and he let out a long cry, “Break!”
Whoosh!
The 【Hanlin】 in his hand let out a sword ring sharp enough to pierce clouds and shatter stone.
Immediately after, his entire body charged forward as he decisively lunged with his sword toward the flaw on the left side of the blade net!
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