The deacon looked up. “Name?”
“Yun Heng.”
“Cultivation?”
“Mid-stage Nascent Soul.”
The deacon’s jade brush paused for a moment, and he looked at Yun Heng once more.
The young woman before him looked exceptionally young, yet her breath was pulled in steadily. If she had not stated her cultivation herself, it would have been hard to believe she was at the mid-stage Nascent Soul Realm from her appearance alone.
To come to the Martial Inquiry Arena for the first time and immediately challenge the fortieth rank on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard...
He had seen a few newcomers like her before. They were either genuinely capable or driven by momentary rashness, completely ignorant of what entering the top fifty of the Martial Inquiry Leaderboard truly entailed.
The deacon did not pry further; if one dared to issue a challenge, one had to bear the consequences oneself.
He lowered his head and tapped the array plate twice.
“Yun Heng, mid-stage Nascent Soul, challenging rank forty on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard.”
The Nascent Soul Leaderboard projected on the wall flickered slightly. The deacon retrieved a black token and handed it to her.
“This is the Martial Inquiry Token. From now on, entering the Martial Inquiry Arena, checking the leaderboard, sending challenges, and receiving challenge notifications will all require this token.”
Yun Heng took it.
The Martial Inquiry Token felt cool to the touch, with the words “Martial Inquiry” carved onto the front. She injected a thread of spiritual power, and a line of words quickly floated up from inside the token.
【Yun Heng.】
【Mid-stage Nascent Soul.】
【Current Points: Zero.】
【Current Challenge: Rank 40 on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard, Shi Chongyue.】
The deacon said, “The challenge has been transmitted to Shi Chongyue. Since he is currently inside Tianque City, he must arrive within two hours.”
“Understood.”
She stowed the token and turned to walk toward the Nascent Soul area.
Bai Yi was still standing not far away.
Seeing her return, he could not help glancing at her Martial Inquiry Token.
“Fellow cultivator, did you really challenge the fortieth rank?”
Yun Heng looked at him.
Bai Yi immediately waved his hands. “I don't mean anything by it.”
After speaking, he lowered his voice further. “Shi Chongyue is not easy to fight. He’s a body cultivator with an Earth Spiritual Root who consistently floats around rank forty on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard. Even those with higher cultivation than his will be dragged out until their spiritual power is exhausted if they can't break through his defense.”
Yun Heng looked toward the five Nascent Soul platforms at the innermost area. On Platform Five, two Nascent Soul cultivators had just settled their match.
The winner bore a bloodstain across his chest, his sword-hand still trembling. The loser knelt on one knee at the edge of the platform, his face pale as death, surrounded by the shattered pieces of a protective jade talisman on the ground.
Though the Martial Inquiry Platforms were protected by arrays and overseen by referees, this was ultimately a combat arena, not a peaceful sparring field.
Yun Heng’s gaze grew even more determined; she needed Awe Points.
To make the people of Tianque City remember her, ordinary victories would not be enough, nor did she have the time to slowly climb up from the lower ranks.
Moreover, when she was still at the Golden Core Realm, she had already defeated He Zhou, who was ranked thirty-third. Now that she was at the mid-stage Nascent Soul Realm, challenging rank forty was well within her grasp.
Two hours was not a short time.
Rather than wasting time watching the matches, she closed her eyes and began to regulate her breath.
After reaching the Nascent Soul Realm, the spiritual power in her meridians felt heavier, flowing like a silenced river. She could feel her sword intent sinking step by step near her dantian before traveling along the meridians of her right arm to settle at her fingertips.
She had already achieved Great Perfection in the first stance of the Tianheng Sword Art, A Line of Frost.
During those fifteen days on the teleportation array, she had already touched upon the threshold of the second stance of the Tianheng Sword Art.
On the adjacent Nascent Soul platform, another match had begun, the roaring crashes of spiritual energy rising and falling.
When Yun Heng opened her eyes, the Martial Inquiry Token vibrated gently.
At that exact moment, the name in rank forty on the Nascent Soul Leaderboard lit up.
Shi Chongyue had arrived.
A low murmur rippled through the entrance of the Martial Inquiry Arena as a tall, imposing figure strode from the end of the passage.
The man was exceptionally tall with broad shoulders and back, his bronze skin bearing several old scars. His tight black short-robe stretched over bulging muscles, and deep iron bracers were wrapped around his wrists.
In his hand, he carried a massive battleaxe with a thick blade and a dark, heavy edge.
Shi Chongyue walked straight to Martial Inquiry Platform Five, his gaze landing directly on Yun Heng.
Yun Heng stood up, and the two stepped onto Martial Inquiry Platform Five, one after the other.
Shi Chongyue stood the giant axe beside him and cupped his fists toward Yun Heng.
“Shi Chongyue, late stage Nascent Soul, Earth-attribute body cultivator.”
His deep voice quieted the murmuring crowd beneath the stage as soon as he spoke.
Yun Heng raised her sword to return the courtesy.
“Yun Heng, mid-stage Nascent Soul.”
Shi Chongyue looked at her without the slightest trace of contempt.
For a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator newly arrived at the Martial Inquiry Platform to dare challenge rank forty directly, she either had powerful backing or possessed a trump card in hand.
He gripped the shaft of his axe.
The referee raised a hand.
“Yun Heng challenging Shi Chongyue.”
“Once on stage, no external assistance may be used, nor may killing arrays or substitute puppets exceeding one's own cultivation level be employed.”
“Stepping off the stage, surrendering, or losing the ability to continue fighting constitutes defeat.”
The referee’s hand dropped.
“Begin!”
Yun Heng tapped her toes against the ground as the Tianheng Broken Sword unsheathed itself, its frost-white blade parting the spiritual energy on the stage as the tip thrust directly toward Shi Chongyue's forehead.
Shi Chongyue raised his battleaxe, bringing the broad side across.
Clang! Metallic resonance exploded.
Yun Heng was jolted back half a step, while the surface beneath Shi Chongyue’s feet sank down into a shallow depression.
Yun Heng’s wrist felt numb, but she did not pause. She immediately shifted her sword stance, slashing her second strike toward Shi Chongyue's shoulder.
Shi Chongyue twisted the shaft of his axe, dragging the heavy blade down against the sword tip. The sword energy slammed into the battleaxe, shattering into a spray of fine, icy white light.
Yun Heng’s heart sank. A Line of Frost could break He Zhou’s sword stance, but it might not necessarily break Shi Chongyue’s body defense.
His lower stance was rock-solid, allowing him to endure in a war of attrition. Once her sword momentum wavered, he would press his advantage and overwhelm her.
Shi Chongyue lifted his battleaxe and took a step forward. The platform shook gently as he swung the axe in a sweeping horizontal strike.
As the gale from the axe swept over, the air seemed to split open. Yun Heng turned sideways to evade, but the sharp wind caught her sleeve, tearing a narrow slit into its hem.
Shi Chongyue’s second swing followed instantly. Yun Heng raised her sword to block, the axe blade pressing heavily against her sword.
Her feet slid backward several feet, her soles dragging a shallow trail across the platform.
Someone below the stage gasped.
“She actually blocked it?”
“That's Shi Chongyue's battleaxe!”
“For a mid-stage Nascent Soul to hold out until now is already impressive.”
Fine beads of sweat broke out on Yun Heng’s forehead. Shi Chongyue’s axe was far too heavy; every time she parried, she was forced backward.
Shi Chongyue stared at Yun Heng.
“My turn.”
He slammed the massive battleaxe heavily onto the platform floor.
Boom!
The Martial Inquiry Platform shuddered as several narrow fissures opened on the grayish-black floor. Radiating outward from beneath Shi Chongyue’s feet, the cracks crawled along the ground, rapidly closing in on Yun Heng.
Yun Heng tapped her toes and darted backward, just as a fissure surged upward in front of where she was about to land.
The first earth spike burst through the platform floor, and Yun Heng pivoted to dodge it. A second earth spike thrust out from her rear flank, blocking her retreat.
She pressed her sword tip down, shearing through the earth spike. Before the shattered rocks could even hit the ground, a third fissure reached her feet.
Shi Chongyue stood in place with his axe blade planted into the ground. Earth-yellow spiritual energy spread out beneath his feet like a net engulfing the entire Martial Inquiry Platform.
Yun Heng had fewer and fewer places to step as she was forced backward continuously. Retreating another thirty feet would place her right at the platform’s edge.
Yun Heng lifted her eyes to look at Shi Chongyue.
His breathing remained steady, his battleaxe unlifted. Controlling the earth consumed no small amount of energy, yet he clearly had the stamina to sustain it.
Yun Heng tightened her grip on her sword. The spiritual energy within her body suddenly constricted as the Nascent Soul inside her dantian opened its eyes.
Spiritual energy surged from her meridians into the sword, inch by inch, causing the frosted sheen on the Tianheng Broken Sword to dim momentarily. Then, her entire sword intent condensed into a single point at the tip.
The fissures beneath her feet closed in, and three earth spikes erupted simultaneously.
Yun Heng slashed downward, shattering the spikes into pieces. Flying debris blurred the vision across half the stage.
Shi Chongyue’s expression shifted sharply. From behind the shower of stone, a beam of sword light was already upon him.
The second stance of the Tianheng Sword Art:
Frost River Severing Mountains.
Rate on N.U.
