Chapter 29: Reunion with Tianqin (Part 2)

  Tianqin and Huoli only exchanged blows once, and as soon as Huoli started, he summoned his fire-attribute flying sword to launch a frenzied attack on Tianqin. Tianqin simply stood there quietly, her headscarf still intact, her hands dancing beautifully like a butterfly in flight, with circles of yellow ripples floating out. In this seemingly weak magic, Huoli's flying sword was surprisingly frozen like ice and snow, the scorching sensation disappearing instantly. Tianqin's figure floated forward like a dream, a light palm print landing on Huoli's chest. Huoli remained stunned even after being knocked off the competition stage, unable to comprehend why Tianqin had restricted his explosive flying sword without using any magic artifacts. The match lasted only a few seconds from start to finish. Although Tianqin clearly held back, Huoli couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood.

  The three elders on the stage seemed to be surprised, and after exchanging a few words, the central figure, Ben Zong of the Mantra Sect, said: "Tianqin wins the first round." The audience below erupted in cheers, apparently the Qianhui Valley disciples were excitedly cheering for Tianqin. Tianqin bowed slightly to the three elders and floated back to his original position on the stage. In fact, Huolie was not so weak, he could represent Wuzhao Xian in this newcomer competition, and he was also an elite in the Fire Sect, but Tianqin had dissolved his flying sword attack too easily, which made him slow to react in surprise, so he was knocked off the stage so quickly.

  Hailong's heart sank, the strength displayed by Tianqin had greatly reduced his original confidence. Especially since Tianqin hadn't even used her magic instrument in this match. With her current cultivation level, if she were to use the Nine Immortal Zither, would he be able to withstand it?

  "The second match. Li Yun Zong Dao Yu, versus Tian Xun Liu Yi Feng Xing. The participating disciples take the stage." A slender figure appeared in mid-air, spinning slightly before landing on the stage. He stood tall and upright, his silver warrior attire accentuating his handsome face and physique, instantly triggering a chorus of cheers from the Tian Xun Liu and Yuan Yue Liu disciples below. Some female Yuan Yue Liu disciples even shouted out Feng Xing's name, their excitement evident, completely abandoning any semblance of a cultivator's demeanor. The chant "Autumn Wind Golden Murder Tian Xun Spear" echoed throughout the arena. Feng Xing was one of Tian Xun Liu's most exceptional disciples, not only possessing an outstanding appearance but also having achieved profound cultivation. With over 900 years of practice, he had reached the early stages of the Burdened Realm. He was hailed as a genius by the Tian Xun Liu sect master.

  "The Way of Feather, Lianyun Sect's Dao Yu steps up." The elder on the monitoring platform shouted again. It wasn't long since Hailong had received the title of Dao Yu, and it was only when the elder shouted for the third time that he came back to his senses. He hastily jumped onto the stage with a tiger-like leap. Due to the suddenness of the situation, his appearance on stage was completely unlike Yifeng Xing's, who seemed to be walking on clouds and underground at the same time. The disciples of Wuzhao, Qiantian, and Yuanyue Sects below the stage burst into laughter. The mocking voices continued to rise. Hailong was already somewhat nervous, and in this situation, he felt even more tense. Standing opposite Yifeng Xing, he was completely outdone in terms of physique and appearance. Yifeng Xing smiled and said, "This Lianyun Sect junior need not be nervous, I will definitely show mercy." A silver light flashed on his hand, and a dazzling silver spear appeared in his hand. With a casual swing, a sharp aura burst forth, emitting a humming sound. Looking at the opponent's confident appearance, Hailong suddenly felt a surge of anger and said with a hint of sarcasm, "Senior need not show mercy, I'm afraid you're not even my match." A spell was activated, and the Seven Repairs Sword broke through the air, bringing forth a mist-like green glow that floated quietly in front of Hailong. Seeing this flying sword, Tianqin's body clearly shook, and the Qingling Stone on the Seven Repairs Sword finally made her recognize Hailong's identity. She gently lifted her hat, revealing her delicate face with snow-white skin, and her lively eyes flashed with a hint of surprise.

  Yifeng Xing's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he listened to Hailong's words, a flash of anger crossing his eyes before he spoke with confidence: "In that case, let's see who's the real deal. Please."

  Hailong disregarded all courtesy, and under the traction of Fa jue, the seven repair sword's radiance was greatly released. Hailong muttered to himself: "Ten thousand swords traction, exterminate evil and eliminate demons." The shadows of ten thousand paths of the sword were like an explosion, instantly covering the entire competition platform. With Hailong's powerful magical powers supporting him, it was like a sky-covering and earth-shrouding move towards Yifeng. This was indeed the Lianyun Sect's ultimate skill, the Ten Thousand Swords Decision.

  The scene below fell silent, and the method used by Hailong shocked them all. No one had expected that this unassuming disciple of Lianyun Sect could use such a large-scale attack spell.

  Yi Feng's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise, but he didn't panic. A thin layer of silver light emanated from his chest, and the silver gun in his hand quivered slightly before being grasped firmly again. A dense cluster of petals burst forth, enveloping his body in a protective shield.

  Hailong was using the Wan Jian Jue for the first time, and the golden energy inside his body circulated rapidly. Under Hailong's deliberate control, only a portion of his spiritual power was input into the Seven Repair Swords. This golden energy was named "Divine Power" by Hailong. In his opinion, so-called immortals were gods before they became immortals, and since his own spiritual power was neither a true Taoist technique nor Buddhist Qi, he gave it this name.

  The ban on the competition stage was launched, although the attack of Wan Jian Jue was not weak, but Yi Feng Xing's defense was extremely tight, and he easily resolved wave after wave of attacks.

  A sly smile floated onto the face of the dragon, and with a flick of his body, a ball of white mist flew out from his chest and pounced towards Yi Feng Xing. Yi Feng Xing was slightly taken aback for an instant before a smile appeared on his face. Although he could tell that this was an attacking magical artifact, it was clear that its power wasn't very strong. Seizing the moment when the power of Wan Jian Jue dissipated, a silver shield appeared in his hand.

  "Roar——" The dragon's roar echoed, and the white mist released by the sea dragon transformed into a dragon shape in mid-air, colliding with Yifeng Xing's silver shield with its sharp teeth and claws. It was an illusionary dragon. Although the illusionary dragon's attack wasn't particularly strong, if it directly hit Yifeng Xing himself, he would still get hurt. To maintain his heroic image, he could only repeatedly swing his silver shield to deflect the illusionary dragon's attacks. Meanwhile, the sea dragon released two more "Ten Thousand Swords" techniques, but that silver shield was clearly a decent magical artifact, as neither the Ten Thousand Swords nor the illusionary dragon could breach its defenses.

  Suddenly, just as Hailong was leisurely watching his own Wan Jian Jue attack the enemy, Yifeng Xing let out a loud shout, and the silver shield suddenly disappeared. The surging spiritual power burst forth abruptly, and he charged into the Wan Jian Jue with his spear merged as one. The illusory dragon's body was pierced through by that silver light, and its spiritual power instantly vanished back into Hailong's embrace. Under the protection of the surging silver spiritual power, Yifeng Xing did not fear the Wan Jian Jue's attack at all, and he attacked Hailong's true body like a whirlwind. Hailong was not panicked; he knew that in order to win the grand prize of the sacred artifact, he had to emerge victorious. The smile on his face disappeared. Under the blowing wind, his black long hair fluttered about continuously, and with both hands forming a spell seal, a cyan-blue light condensed into shape, concentrating between his chest and abdomen. His body stood upright on the arena stage, as solid as a mountain.

  "With the wind as guide, with thunder as conclusion. The Heavenly Heart's Dao law, Thunder Yin collects Yang. Break." A one-foot diameter blue-green light sphere floated out, meeting Eason's attack like a physical entity. Sea Dragon's hands changed into a series of seals. His eyes suddenly turned into two colors, red and green, the left eye shining with red light and the right eye with green light, constantly flashing, a faint glow emanating from between his eyebrows, continuously pouring his energy into the sphere using the Heavenly Heart Decision. The so-called left eye as sun, right eye as moon, sun and moon converging at the brow, this is the Heavenly Heart. If there were any top masters of the Lianyun Sect present, they would immediately recognize that Sea Dragon had grasped the true essence of the Heavenly Heart Decision. In fact, he was just converting his internal divine power into law energy according to the Heavenly Heart Decision's cultivation method.

  A strange light suddenly flashed in Yifeng's eyes, and he continued to charge forward with his original momentum. The air in the space he flew over was slightly distorted, obviously having raised his magical powers to their limits.

  The dragon looked at Yifeng Xing with a cold gaze, he clearly knew that his magical powers were far superior to the opponent's. The energy ball condensed by Tianxin Decree could absolutely dissolve Yifeng Xing's attack this time. In order not to expose his true strength too early, he did not launch a full-force attack and did not use those few powerful magic weapons of his own.

  The silver whirlwind was about to touch the energy ball floating in front of Hailong, when a sudden change occurred. A bright red light burst forth from Yifeng Xing's whirlwind, splitting the blue-green energy ball in two and completely engulfing Hailong's body. With a loud explosion, Hailong's entire body flashed with cyan light. In the midst of crisis, Tianming Yi's clothes played their due role. However, due to lack of preparation, Hailong's body was knocked flying by the massive force, and Yifeng Xing's enormous magic wildly invaded his meridians. He couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of blood. When Hailong steadied himself, he found that he had already fallen outside the arena. He was completely stunned.

  Yi Feng's wind blade gently landed on the edge of the third arena, a hint of pride flashing across his face. He raised his silver spear high in the air, and the third arena was instantly drowned out by cheers.

  "I lost, did I really lose just like that?" Hailong stood there in a daze, the invading force had been completely dissolved by the Tianming clothes and the Ni Tian mirror under the natural urge of the divine power, but he knew that he still lost, thoroughly lost. He lost due to his own carelessness.

  "The second round, the wind and clouds won with ease. The third round was... "Hai Long only felt a blur around him, his heart filled with suppressed emotions. This was just the first round! And he had lost so easily. Compared to Tian Qin's effortless victory, what did his own defeat count for?"

  A warm energy flowed into the body of the sea dragon, and he subconsciously turned his head to look back, only to see Hong Zhi standing quietly beside him. He didn't say a word, but his eyes were filled with concern.

  "Hai Long muttered: 'I lost.' Hong Zhi patted his shoulder, 'This is just the beginning, be more careful tomorrow and I believe the final victory will belong to you.'"

  Hai Long let out a soft sigh, glanced at Tian Qin who was looking over at him from not far away, and said in a low voice: "Let's go back." He no longer watched the rest of the competition, and amidst the loneliness and oppression, he left the arena with Hong Zhi. Yi Feng Xing had already descended from the stage with a proud smile, surrounded by many of his fellow disciples, without even giving Hai Long a glance, full of the demeanor of a winner.

  The competition lasted for a morning session and the first day's round-robin match ended like this, with all six disciples of Yunyun Sect winning except for Hailong.

  The night fell. The Sea Dragon stood alone on a rock behind the main peak of Xianzhao, staring at the fog that seemed to be right in front of him, his heart was empty. Today's defeat had a great impact on him. A game that could have been won ended in defeat, he didn't blame Feng Xing for suddenly using a powerful move, he only blamed himself for being careless and complacent. Hong Zhi wanted to follow him out, but was rejected by him. Now he just wants to be alone quietly. Standing on the rock, he thought of nothing, letting the damp air hit his body.

  "Hmm." A pleasant voice sounded, startling the sea dragon out of its daze. It suddenly turned around and found a yellow figure appearing not far behind it.

  The Tianqin's fighting hat had long been removed, and her slender and delicate hands held the amber-like Jiuxianqin. The outermost red string was trembling slightly, and it was clear that the sound was coming from there.

  "If you're here to mock me, then leave. If you're here to pity me, I don't need it."

  The zither's gentle melody accompanied her slow steps as she walked to the side of the dragon king, a faint smile appearing on her face. Her soft voice rose and fell, "Would you like to hear my song, 'Rainbow Dress'?"

  Hailong's body shook, and a strange light flashed in his eyes as he stared at Tianqin, who simply gazed back at him calmly. After a while, Hailong let out a soft sigh, slowly shook his head, and said, "No need, thank you. I think that in the upcoming competition, I will definitely hear your zither music. At that time, I hope you won't hold back."

  Tianqin smiled slightly and said: "I didn't think of letting you win either. Aren't you feeling quite resentful about losing today?"

  Hai Long shook his head again, saying: "No, there's nothing to be resentful about, losing is just losing. But I didn't lose to that Yi Feng Xing. I lost to myself. Tian Qin, can you see my cultivation?"

  He turned his gaze to the dreamy mist and said, "Can't. But my intuition tells me that you're not that simple. I have a sentence for you. Do you want to hear it?"

  Hai Long looked at Tian Qin's profile, feeling a different gentleness from when they first met, and nodded foolishly: "Want to listen."

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