Chapter 43

Chapter 43: A Fixed Match?

“Junior Sister, Junior Sister,” Luo Ming Yue’s voice called from outside.

Li Shuang hurried to open the door. Seeing Li Shuang’s slightly tired look, Luo Ming Yue jumped in fright and said, “Little Shuang, did you not rest last night? The next selection round is starting. Can you handle it?”

Li Shuang’s eyes shone as she said, “No problem.”

After five days of trading blows with Su Mu, her spirit was extremely tired, and more than half her energy was gone. But her total energy was not large to begin with. The moment she left the Legacy Space, the Supreme Emotionless Art began running on its own, and her energy started to recover quickly. Even if it could not return to the peak in time, she had mastered the Sword Domain.

Li Shuang had felt the wonder of the Sword Domain herself. Even if she was not at her best, she would not lose.

“There is still a little time. Junior Sister, adjust your breath for a bit first,” Liu Jun Cheng said, handing her a pill to restore energy.

“That is right. Recover first. I will watch the time so we are not late,” Luo Ming Yue added.

Li Shuang did not refuse. She nodded and sat down cross-legged at once.

At the Martial Arena, Li Shuang’s win across realms over an Early Foundation Establishment Disciple had been a small upset. Crossing one minor level happened now and then, but Qi Refining versus Foundation Establishment spanned a Major Tier. Winning across a Major Tier was something only a peerless talent could do, and Li Shuang once again became the talk of the crowd.

“Today’s matchup list is out.” Many onlookers crowded the notice board. After yesterday’s fights, the Early Foundation Establishment cultivators were all mostly out. Other than Li Shuang, everyone who advanced was, of course, a Mid Foundation Establishment Disciple. That made Li Shuang’s record of a Qi Refining fighter beating Foundation Establishment stand out even more.

“Find where Li Shuang is.”

“Found it! Li Shuang versus Shi Chu Yun!”

“I wonder who will win this one!”

People chattered. Then Chang Le An’s mocking voice cut in as he said, “Who else would win? Yesterday was luck. She barely scraped by. She is not me. Can luck stay that good? Shi Chu Yun has been at Foundation Establishment for years. She is not like Lei Cheng Kong, who just entered the Foundation Establishment Stage. I bet Li Shuang gets one-shot.”

“Third Senior Brother,” Ye Zhao Zhao tugged at him and said, “do not say that. What if First Senior Sister still has a hidden card?”

“What card could she have? On the ring, other than your sword, you cannot use anything else,” Chang Le An said.

If external items were allowed, who knew what nice thing that blind Peak Master of Emotionless Peak would hand her. But in this selection round, aside from the sword in your hand, treasures, talismans, and formations were all forbidden. How was Li Shuang supposed to win?

Chang Le An spoke with open scorn, and no one bothered to argue. After all, rough words can still be true. Lei Cheng Kong had just entered Foundation Establishment and likely had not yet mastered how to fight at that stage, which was why he fell in one move. Switch the opponent to Shi Chu Yun, who had been at Foundation Establishment for years, and Li Shuang seemed to have no chance.

The second round was about to begin. Contestants arrived one after another. When the time came, fights started across the stages.

But on one stage, the spot across from Shi Chu Yun was empty. A low stir spread through the crowd.

Where was Li Shuang? The second round had already begun. Why was she still nowhere to be seen?

The Referee lit a stick of Timer Incense. When it burned out, if Li Shuang had still not arrived, she would be ruled to have lost.

“Senior Sister Li… is she going to give up?” Ye Zhao Zhao said in surprise.

“What else? Come up and make a fool of herself?” Chang Le An said with a curl of his lip.

From the moment Li Shuang failed to advance in ten years, he had looked down on this First Senior Sister. What Way of the Sword genius? What perfect heavenly root? A so-called genius who could only reach Nascent Soul Stage? She even tried Abolish and Reforge Cultivation. Did she think her lack of progress was the fault of her technique? Just wait. Even if she switched manuals, she would at most reach Nascent Soul Stage. By the time she got there, he and his Junior Sister would likely be aiming at Divine Transformation. If not for wanting to vent anger for his Junior Sister, someone like Li Shuang would already be out of his world, and he would not bother with her at all.

Ye Zhao Zhao’s eyes flickered. They said the one who understands you best might not be a friend, but an enemy. She had studied Li Shuang for ten years. For ten years, her thoughts had been how to find Li Shuang’s weak points and press her down. She knew very clearly that Li Shuang was not the type to run without a fight. So, Li Shuang, what game are you playing now?

When the Timer Incense burned halfway, a voice rang out as Li Shuang said, “Sorry, I am a little late.”

Everyone turned. Ye Zhao Zhao felt a rush of it-figures. With Li Shuang’s nature, even if she knew she would lose, she would still swing her sword. Li Shuang was born proud, and that pride often became a trap she set for herself.

Li Shuang walked up step by step, stood across from Shi Chu Yun, and faced her. The Referee snuffed the Timer Incense and said: “Both contestants are present. The match begins.”

Once the Referee left the stage, the battle was already on. Looking at Li Shuang, Shi Chu Yun spoke in a low voice, saying, “Senior Sister Li, you used to be the goal I chased.”

Li Shuang’s eyes stayed calm.

“Pure swordplay, I am not your equal. But today, we are not only testing swordplay,” Shi Chu Yun said, her aura rising bit by bit. She was Mid Foundation Establishment; Li Shuang was only Qi Refining. “One force breaks a hundred tricks. That is my confidence. I am sorry.”

Her words fell, and with the Spring Rain Sword paired to the Spring Rain Sword Style, fine threads of spring rain fell in endless strands. Shi Chu Yun had someone record Li Shuang’s last fight with Lei Cheng Kong using a Memory Stone. When her own match ended, she studied it closely. Lei Cheng Kong lost because, at the instant he struck, he showed too many openings. Learning from that, Shi Chu Yun chose to use Spring Rain Sword Style. It was not the strongest form, but it never stopped. It also happened to be the one she was best at. With a dense, unbroken sword rain, Li Shuang would have nowhere to dodge. With only Qi Refining, if even a little Sword Qi brushed her, she would not be able to bear it.

Shi Chu Yun truly had done her homework and found a workable plan.

Li Shuang’s gaze stayed steady. Only, today she was not the same as yesterday.

In a blink, Li Shuang closed her eyes, and the Sword Domain she had just grasped spread in silence. To the eye, the falling rain had no flaws. But inside the Sword Domain, everything moved slow as syrup.

Li Shuang stepped into the Sword Domain. Her footsteps were unhurried; her motions were not fast. It looked like she was only swinging the Black Abyss Sword at random. Yet at that slow pace, she passed through the rain without a scratch.

Then her sword flashed. A single strike fell. The Spring Rain Sword hit the floor with a heavy clatter.

Li Shuang opened her eyes. The tip of Black Abyss Sword rested at Shi Chu Yun’s throat as she said, “You lost.”

Shi Chu Yun’s voice trembled as she said, “I… I lost.”

The crowd erupted. Shi Chu Yun conceded? From the outside, the fight looked strange. Li Shuang seemed to walk forward calmly, then give a casual swing, and Shi Chu Yun hardly resisted before admitting defeat.

Chang Le An could not hold back and shouted: “A fixed match! This has to be a fixed match! I request the Disciplinary Hall to investigate at once!”