Chapter 187

Chapter 187: First Group Final Battle

People debated: “It’s hard to say who will win between Feng He Yun and Ye Huai.”

Another pointed out: “They’re both Shen Sang Ruo’s Senior Brothers.”

A third added: “They’re both Sword Cultivators. Wow. Whoever loses is going to be embarrassed.”

Someone finally laughed: “Now I understand why, in the Elder match earlier, Master Ling Xiao and Immortal Lord Chang Li fought like their lives depended on it.”

They carried the pride of being Masters.

Others just wanted drama and yelled: “Fight! Fight! This is great! I love it!”

As Ye Huai walked to the platform, Daoist Wu Wei slipped up beside Shen Sang Ruo with a sly look.

Startled, she asked, “Sect Master, what is it?”

Daoist Wu Wei rubbed his hands and said, with a strange expression: “Sang Girl, how about…”

Then he blurted out something shocking: “How about recognizing me as your adoptive father?”

Shen Sang Ruo stared: “???”

Good thing she wasn’t drinking water, or she would have sprayed him.

She steadied her face and asked, “Sect Master, what got into you?”

Daoist Wu Wei huffed: “That scumbag dad of yours,” meaning Shen Dao Chen.

They had only learned yesterday that the man she always called Senior Uncle was her adoptive father.

He leaned closer and whispered: “Look, your Master and your Senior Brother and Senior Sister each line up with those Flying Cloud Sect people. If you accept me as your adoptive father, then we’ll have a match-up on every front. It’ll make them furious.”

For someone who had lived thousands of years, the old boss sounded so childish that Shen Sang Ruo didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

She shook her head and said, “Better not. There’s no need, and also…”

Daoist Wu Wei blinked: “Also what?”

She lowered her voice: “Don’t you think we’re more than one generation apart? You could be my ancestor.”

Daoist Wu Wei fell silent.

In the end, the brilliant idea he had stayed up all night thinking about had to be dropped.

On the platform, Ye Huai stood calm as water, while Feng He Yun looked like he was holding back a blaze.

When Feng He Yun looked at Ye Huai, anger surged up in him. Then, out of nowhere, he laughed.

He said through a smile: “Don’t think you can stay proud forever. Shen Sang Ruo will return to Flying Cloud Sect sooner or later.”

He sneered: “You’re just tools she used to anger us when we quarreled.”

His face hardened: “Only I am her Senior Brother. What are you?”

Ye Huai shot back, voice flat: “Oh? From start to now, has she even looked at you once?”

That single line enraged Feng He Yun. He snapped: “She’s just still confused. I’m telling you, she will never cut ties with Flying Cloud Sect!”

With a hiss, he drew his sword. The Flowing Cloud Sword flashed with icy light as he thrust.

Ye Huai’s eyes moved. The Nether Shadow Sword shot from its sheath into his hand, and he met the strike at once.

In a few breaths they traded more than a dozen blows, moving so fast that only afterimages and crisscrossing sword gleams could be seen.

Feng He Yun shouted: “You want to steal someone from Flying Cloud Sect? First weigh how much your Ninghua Sect is worth. A mud Bodhisattva crossing the river can’t even save itself. How can you protect her?”

He leaped high and chopped down. The Flowing Cloud Sword hummed, its sword aura flowing thick, showing the power in the strike.

Ye Huai’s eyes went cold. He held the Nether Shadow Sword across his body to block, then snapped his wrist, knocking the Flowing Cloud Sword aside, and instantly thrust forward. The tide turned in a heartbeat.

He said, voice like ice: “Whatever Ninghua Sect may be, at least we have never hurt her.”

He pressed on: “And you? How did you treat her? You almost took her life. How do you still have the face to say these things?”

Feng He Yun’s face changed. He staggered back, planting the Flowing Cloud Sword upright before his chest to barely catch the Nether Shadow Sword’s tip.

The impact made his hand throb with pain.

Ye Huai growled, each word heavy: “You don’t deserve to stand before her, and you don’t deserve to take her back.”

His moves grew even sharper, each one marked with killing intent.

The hail of attacks and the cutting words nearly smothered Feng He Yun. His eyes went red and he roared: “Shut up!”

He bared his teeth: “Who are you? What right do you have to judge what’s between us and her?”

Rage exploded out of him. His aura surged. He caught Ye Huai’s blade and even started to press him back. Each slash poured out his fury.

[Every time the Spirit Voice Transmission announced, “Ninghua Sect’s Shen Sang Ruo,” jealousy burned him to the edge of madness.]

Facing the sudden burst, Ye Huai stayed calm, meeting every move. He said in a low voice: “I am her Senior Brother now.”

He added, eyes hard: “I won’t let those who bullied her go.”

The word Senior Brother stabbed Feng He Yun’s heart again. He howled: “You think I’ll let you go? Come on!”

He taunted, breath ragged: “You keep that stiff face like you’re so steady, like some great Senior Brother?”

He had long wanted to run this cold-faced blockhead through.

On the stage, the two fought with raw hostility, evenly matched.

It really was like the fight between Immortal Lord Chang Li and Master Ling Xiao before. People had said it: today’s matches would be wonderful.

In the stands, someone frowned: “Flying Cloud Sect is strange. They drove Shen Sang Ruo out, but now they act like no one else is allowed to have her.”

Another puzzled voice said: “From the sound of it, they and Shen Sang Ruo should be water and fire by now.”

A third guessed: “Maybe they saw her grow strong and got jealous, and now they want to pull her back.”

Someone else said more softly: “Set everything else aside. Sect Master Shen is her father. Even without blood ties, he raised her for years. Cutting ties isn’t the same as cutting feelings.”

They didn’t believe so many years of feelings could vanish in a day.

In the Flying Cloud Sect prep area, everyone watched the two on stage, especially Shen Dao Chen and the people of Thunder-Scale Peak.

Luo Chu clenched his fists and muttered: “Senior Brother has to win. He must not lose to them.”

Their Master had already beaten Immortal Lord Chang Li. Feng He Yun, as a Senior Brother, couldn’t shame them.

They had to show Shen Sang Ruo that the people at her side now were no match for them.

What Luo Chu didn’t know was that Master Ling Xiao only looked bright on the surface, and had been seriously injured by Immortal Lord Chang Li.

This match was about their pride, and the honor of the whole Flying Cloud Sect.

If Ye Huai won, the extra points Flying Cloud Sect held over Ninghua Sect would be wiped away.

So everyone in Flying Cloud Sect placed their hopes on Feng He Yun.