Chapter 203

Chapter 203: Then Keep Going

Li Shuang ignored Cong Xin and kept her eyes on Wen Lin. His injuries were grave; if this continued, his foundation might be harmed. But his nature was too stubborn, and with the Tyrant Blade Sect provoking them like this, asking him to concede was as hard as climbing the sky.

Wu Ling Chuan struck again.

Wen Lin blocked for a brief instant, then crashed hard onto the platform. Blood spread across the stage. Many spectators could no longer bear to watch.

Wen Lin clenched his teeth and used his sword as a crutch to slowly stand again.

“Still not conceding?” Wu Ling Chuan sounded faintly surprised, but his face stayed blank as he drew his blade again. Wen Lin had chosen not to concede. That was not Wu Ling Chuan’s fault.

“Senior Brother Wen,” Li Shuang’s voice rang out: “One person cannot guard the Sword Sect’s honor. The Sword Sect’s honor must be forged by all Sword Sect disciples together.”

“Give me ten breaths. In ten breaths, I will win this match. Wu Ling Chuan is my next opponent. Senior Brother Wen, will you yield him to me?”

Everyone froze. Even Wen Lin on the platform stared.

What was Li Shuang saying? She was only Mid Golden Core Formation. She said she would defeat Cong Xin in ten breaths? Fine. But then she would immediately challenge Wu Ling Chuan? Wu Ling Chuan was only one step from the Divine Transformation Stage. If not for her ten silent years, everyone would have believed she could beat Cong Xin and defeat Wu Ling Chuan. But now… was that realistic?

Even Wu Ling Chuan paused. He remembered her. She was the one who had slandered Qing Yu and made her unhappy. Recently he and Qing Yu had some small misunderstandings, and Master had taken issue with him for it. If he could shame Li Shuang in public, Master would see that he cherished Fang Qing Yu.

In that moment, Li Shuang drew every eye.

Ye Zhao Zhao stared hard at Li Shuang. Hearing her arrogance, she laughed softly. [Li Shuang, you are still so confident. But this time, you’ve gone too far.] The Heaven Severing Blade, which burns away future potential, was not easy to handle. She could not wait to watch Li Shuang fall.

Yan Zhong He also smiled: “Sect Master Meng, this is the Li Shuang who slandered my daughter, right? It seems she not only likes to make false charges, she also likes to boast.”

Meng Yi Fei was silent for a heartbeat. He did not know why Li Shuang spoke like this, but he only said calmly: “Whether it is boasting, Sect Master Yan can watch and see.”

Yan Zhong He sneered: “Then I will watch closely.”

This platform became the focus of the arena. Cong Xin trembled with excitement. If he crushed Li Shuang here, Master would favor him above his two Senior Brothers. [He even felt grateful for Li Shuang’s boast.]

“Good, good, good. I want to see who gave you the courage to talk like this!” Cong Xin stood his ground, circulating his technique with all his might. A bloody baleful aura rose from him as he said with a cruel grin: “With my first cut, I will take your hand. With the second, I will sever your legs. With the third, I’ll slice your meridians. Li Shuang, I hope you don’t concede too early, or I won’t have my fun.”

The Heaven Severing Blade condenses killing aura; when one blade falls, all things fall silent. He would use his strongest strike to slap her face.

Li Shuang looked at him without a ripple. She did not even draw her sword and said softly: “1.”

Cong Xin was about to sneer when his head rang and his spirit seemed locked by invisible chains. His knees gave out, and he dropped to the platform.

Li Shuang walked to him, expression blank: “To beat you, I need only one breath. As for the rest of the time…”

Her lips curved into a cool smile.

Swish. She drew her sword for the first time.

Cong Xin’s left arm flew free from his body. He screamed.

Yan Zhong He shot to his feet, face black with anger.

Meng Yi Fei smiled: “Sect Master Yan, don’t be hasty. Cong Xin hasn’t conceded. What if he’s holding back a trump card? If you stop him now, won’t you affect him?”

Yan Zhong He ground his teeth: “I’m not hasty.”

Ye Zhao Zhao’s face turned ugly. “System, what is with Li Shuang?”

The System hesitated. If it was not mistaken… this was… Soul Method? When Li Shuang first comprehended the Soul-Severing Slash, she had already, without noticing, begun to grasp the Soul Method, though it was not a complete system, only her first steps. But that move just now, the one that decided the fight in a breath, was a mature Secret Soul Method. How had she gained Soul Method in just a few months?

Still, Soul Method does little against someone whose spirit is stronger than yours. It worked on Cong Xin, but against Wu Ling Chuan it would be of little use. The System said coolly: “No matter what’s going on with Li Shuang, she can at most beat Cong Xin. Wu Ling Chuan is a mountain she cannot cross. Even if, say, she did beat Wu Ling Chuan, how would that harm you?”

Ye Zhao Zhao blinked, her gaze flickering. Yes. If Wu Ling Chuan lost, she would harvest a flood of negative emotion, which would help her. Yet she had failed to trap Li Shuang again and again; without seeing Li Shuang suffer, she could not feel satisfied. She watched the platform with mixed feelings.

“You said your second cut would take my legs?” Li Shuang’s eyes went cold as she drew a second time.

Cong Xin screamed again.

“And the third would sever my meridians?” Her voice stayed calm.

Terror flooded Cong Xin’s face. “I…” he began, wanting to concede.

But Li Shuang’s sword was faster. Before his words landed, blade light flashed and the meridians across his body were severed.

“Concede…” His weak voice finally fell.

Li Shuang looked at him calmly: “Thanks for sparing me.”

“Shameful,” Yan Zhong He muttered with disgust, casting Cong Xin a single glance as if he did not want to bother. Cong Xin could only fumble out a pill and sit to slowly regulate his breath.

Ignoring him, Li Shuang turned toward the Nascent Soul Stage platform: “Senior Brother Wen, will you yield him to me?”

Li Shuang had won cleanly. Wen Lin’s mouth hung open, then slowly closed. “I concede,” he said at once. Using his sword to support himself, he stepped down from the platform.

Sword Sect disciples rushed to help him. Wen Lin did not begin healing yet. He looked back at the platform, a faint expectation in his eyes.

“Wu Ling Chuan wins. Please wait while the platform is cleaned,” the Referee said.

The stage was slick with Wen Lin’s blood.

“This platform is fine. No need to clean it,” Li Shuang said evenly. “Wu Ling Chuan, what do you think?”

Wu Ling Chuan looked at her, cold and flat: “I don’t care.”

“Then keep going,” Li Shuang said as she leaped onto the platform.