Chapter 362: A Challenge Beyond One’s Limits
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
“Tang, don’t be stubborn. If you need to surrender, just do it. Don’t make a fool of yourself and bring shame to the main lineage.” Lou Xiao Fan smirked as he spoke.
At eleven years old, Lou Xiao Fan had been practicing swordsmanship for four years.
There was no way Lou Jin Tang could match him.
“I heard you’ve been learning swordsmanship from a three-and-a-half-year-old little princess?” He cast a glance at Lu Chao Chao, his eyes filled with disdain.
“I’ll show you what real swordsmanship looks like!”
“Not just any stray cat or dog can be a teacher!”
With that, he carried his sword and walked away leisurely.
Xie Yu Zhou ground his teeth in anger.
At the center of the beginner’s arena, the Lou family elders were already presiding over the matches.
The young disciples crowded around the high platform, their eyes burning with anticipation as they cheered for their peers.
General Lou found Lou Jin Tang and leaned in to speak softly. “Grandfather believes in you, but you are still young and have many opportunities ahead. Right now, your priority must be to protect yourself.” He sighed.
“Your parents cannot bear another loss.”
“Do not be reckless.”
Lou Jin Tang lowered her head in silence. General Lou, trusting her as the obedient child she had always been, said no more and returned to oversee the advanced arena.
Since Lou Jin Tang’s match was not scheduled for the morning, the three of them sat below the stage, snacking on sunflower seeds and other treats.
Windchaser had already left a pile of discarded shells on the ground.
It wasn’t until dusk that a voice called out from the high platform.
“Number 17, Lou Jin Tang! Lou Xiao Fan! Step onto the stage!”
Lou Jin Tang’s face flushed slightly, a hint of excitement in her expression.
She glanced at Chao Chao before stepping forward.
As she ascended the stage, murmurs spread among the young disciples.
“Jin Tang is only seven years old. Has she even learned swordsmanship? Can she fight?”
“Tang, this is reckless!”
Hearing the taunts and ridicule around her, Lou Jin Tang’s eyes turned slightly red, but she tightened her grip on the broken sword in her hand.
She was fighting for her elder brother.
For her parents. For herself.
She would not surrender.
“The Lou Family Grand Competition values harmony above all. There is no shame in conceding.” The elder in the center announced before stepping back.
He would only intervene if a life was in danger or if one side admitted defeat.
Lou Xiao Fan curled his lips into a cruel smile.
Seizing the moment while Lou Jin Tang was unprepared, he lunged at her.
Lou Jin Tang hurriedly raised her sword to block, but she was forced back step by step, her stance beginning to unravel.
As their weapons clashed, Lou Xiao Fan lowered his voice. “Aren’t you here to avenge your sister-in-law?”
“Come on.”
“I did it on purpose. What can you do about it? I only said one wrong thing. If she couldn’t handle it, is that my fault?”
“You know the truth, but what can you do?! In the end, the Lou family will rely on my father and me!”
Lou Jin Tang’s eyes reddened, her entire body trembling.
She lacked Lou Xiao Fan’s strength. With each strike of their blades, her wrists throbbed painfully from the impact.
Lu Chao Chao sat with arms crossed, Windchaser beside her, towering even over her.
Spitting out sunflower seed shells, she finally spoke.
“Swordsmanship has never been about brute strength! Lou Jin Tang, raise your sword!” Her voice carried a faint mystical energy, snapping Lou Jin Tang out of her daze.
“If victory depended on strength alone, why learn swordsmanship at all? You might as well go plow the fields!” Lu Chao Chao scoffed.
Lou Jin Tang’s gaze hardened, and she lifted her sword once more.
It was as if she had entered a state of absolute clarity, where the sword in her hand became an extension of her very soul.
All the noise around her faded into silence.
Her blade did not even touch Lou Xiao Fan directly—
Yet, with a swift stroke, she sliced a piece of flesh from his cheek.
“AHHH!!” Lou Xiao Fan let out a shrill scream.
A streak of sword qi had carved into his face, tearing away a bloody chunk of flesh.
The elder overseeing the match immediately straightened, his eyes sharp and serious. His expression turned from shock to something bordering on horror.
“This is… sword qi!!” He was visibly shaken.
Lou Jin Tang—only seven years old?
Where did she gain the ability to wield sword qi?
“That’s what you get for running your mouth! That’s what you get for being so cruel!” Lou Jin Tang’s crimson eyes reflected her fury as her sword shone with a faint light.
Each time she struck, another deep wound appeared on Lou Xiao Fan’s body.
[My elder brother died a hero on the battlefield, yet his wife was harmed by her own family!]
[You are vile beyond redemption!]
“I con—” Lou Xiao Fan opened his mouth, but Lou Jin Tang gave him no chance, pressing forward relentlessly.
His wails of agony filled the air as blood splattered across the ground.
Just as Lou Jin Tang’s blade was about to deliver a finishing blow, the elder intervened in a flash, blocking the attack.
The force of the clash left a visible crack on the elder’s own sword.
His heart pounded in disbelief.
Remarkable. Lou Yun Zheng’s daughter was truly remarkable!
“Jin Tang, if you kill a fellow clan member before the public, you will be cast out from the family forever! He is not worth it!” The elder’s voice was stern, but his gaze was gentle.
Everyone in the Lou family knew what Lou Xiao Fan had done.
His careless words had cost a life.
“Winner—Lou Jin Tang!” The elder declared.
At some point, the beginner’s arena had become packed with spectators, all staring at Lou Jin Tang in stunned disbelief.
“What kind of swordsmanship is that? She’s incredible!”
“She wielded sword qi—sword qi! She’s only seven!”
“Unbelievable!”
“Who said the main lineage had fallen? Lou Jin Tang’s talent is proof of their resurgence! A seven-year-old wielding sword qi—this has never happened in the Lou family!” Excited voices chattered throughout the crowd.
One after another, Lou Jin Tang defeated her opponents, securing her position as the arena’s defender.
More and more people gathered to witness the spectacle.
As the sky darkened, Lou Jin Tang’s broken sword dripped with blood.
At just seven years old, she had stood victorious until the very end.
Her hands trembled from exhaustion.
From the advanced arena came cheers—Lou Xu Yan had claimed first place.
“Victory! Lou Xu Yan has become the new clan head! Lou Yun Zheng has lost!”
“If only Lou Qing Mo were still here, the main lineage would have hope!”
The advanced arena erupted in celebration.
But in the beginner’s arena, silence reigned.
Seven-year-old Lou Jin Tang had defeated all her challengers.
She gripped her sword and looked at Lu Chao Chao with burning determination.
The first-place winner of the beginner’s arena had the right to challenge the advanced arena.
She wanted to challenge Lou Xu Yan!
“Jin Tang wants to challenge the advanced arena—Lou Xu Yan!”
The crowd was stunned.
“Jin Tang, your talent is exceptional. With your swordsmanship, your future is limitless. There’s no need to be so reckless! You’re only seven! You have endless time ahead!” The Seventh Elder immediately refused.
Lou Xu Yan was ruthless—even Lou Jin Tang’s father had been gravely injured by him.
Lou Jin Tang looked at him with unwavering determination. “Elder, I understand your concern, but I only wish to fight once for my brother!”
The Seventh Elder gazed at her deeply.
After a long pause, he sighed softly.
“Very well, do as you wish. But remember—do not be consumed by battle. Your future is limitless!” His voice carried emotion. A quiet, unremarkable girl had suddenly revealed her brilliance, and no one was more moved than him.
She was a dark horse.
A powerful force breaking through all obstacles.
“Wow, she won! She won! Sister Tang won! Chao Chao, your swordsmanship is amazing!!” Xie Yu Zhou was practically bouncing with excitement.
Lu Chao Chao scrunched her face in disdain.
“This is the worst disciple I have ever taught.”
Xie Yu Zhou blinked in confusion. “Who is your worst disciple, really?”
Lu Chao Chao coughed. [What do you know?]
[Every disciple I’ve ever had has been the worst!]