The weather seemed especially good today.
On the main peak of the Shui Ling Sect, golden sunlight poured slowly into every corner. The sky was an almost impossibly clear blue, as if it had been washed clean.
Wind brushed lightly past her ears.
On the vast dueling platform, Fu Yan and Bai Li raised their hands at the same time in salute.
As the referee’s voice fell, it marked the beginning of this battle.
“Looks like Junior Sister Fu Yan doesn’t plan to just admit defeat.”
“Of course not. She’s been on a winning streak all the way till now. Surrendering at this point would be way too embarrassing. But losing to Senior Sister Bai is normal. Nothing shameful about that.”
“In all her previous matches, Fu Yan only needed two or three sword strikes to decide the winner. We never even had a chance to see her true strength. This time I really want to see how strong she actually is.”
“Yeah, it was obvious she wasn’t going all out before. I bet it’ll be different this time!”
“What the hell, this was supposed to be a foregone conclusion, but after hearing you talk, I’m actually starting to look forward to it.”
“Same here. For some reason I’m really curious what Junior Sister Fu Yan will show us.”
“…”
Fu Yan knew perfectly well she had no chance of beating Bai Li. The gap in their cultivation was right there.
But naturally, she wasn’t about to surrender without a fight. Since they’d met in the arena, then they should have a good, clean battle. Nothing to agonize over.
With such a giant disparity in strength between them, Fu Yan absolutely couldn’t afford to wait for Bai Li to make the first move. If she let Bai Li attack first, she’d have almost no way to defend.
So she could only explode forward in one sudden burst, charging straight at the figure opposite her.
The Linglong Broken Sword in her hand seemed like it was about to slice the air apart. Fu Yan focused her mind, gathered her true essence, and launched the first attack, driving the razor‑sharp blade straight toward Bai Li.
But in the next instant, Bai Li, who’d been right in front of her, suddenly turned into nothing but an afterimage.
Fu Yan’s sword hit nothing but empty air.
Even worse, Bai Li had already appeared behind her.
Back when Bai Li fought Yu Heng, Fu Yan had seen firsthand just how fast Bai Li’s movement art was. But watching from the sidelines and personally being on the receiving end were two completely different things.
Fu Yan’s own Wind Shadow Steps had already reached the peak of minor completion. Her speed was nothing to scoff at.
Yet Bai Li was even faster—so fast it inspired a kind of fear.
Fortunately, Fu Yan had gone through several life‑and‑death battles already. The instant she sensed Bai Li appear behind her, she reacted almost purely on instinct, twisting her body in a full 360‑degree flip in midair and narrowly dodging Bai Li’s palm strike.
However, Bai Li clearly had no intention of giving her any time to recover.
In a flash, she thrust her own sword out again.
Still off‑balance, Fu Yan could only jab the tip of the Linglong Broken Sword into the ground to brace herself, borrowing force for another flip before finally landing steadily.
The moment her feet touched the ground, Fu Yan didn’t even consider pausing.
She tightened her grip on the Linglong Broken Sword and immediately unleashed the strongest technique she had:
The first form of the Wuhuan Sword Art—Phantom!
At the same time, she activated Wind Shadow Steps again.
The next second, Fu Yan’s figure sped across the platform, circling rapidly around Bai Li. She pushed her speed to the absolute limit. Disciples with slightly weaker cultivation below couldn’t even follow her movements.
All they could see were streaks of afterimages weaving around Bai Li, as if there were countless Fu Yans surrounding her.
As Fu Yan raised the Linglong Broken Sword, the air currents around Bai Li suddenly surged, gathering with terrifying force and crashing straight toward her.
Fu Yan didn’t dare be careless. For this first form of the Wuhuan Sword Art, she poured in a full third of the true essence in her body.
The audience below couldn’t help clicking their tongues.
“No way… Junior Sister Fu Yan’s Wuhuan Sword Art has already reached this level? When she had that life‑and‑death duel with Zhou Zhenlie last time, I didn’t feel any real threat from her first form. But this time there’s a real sense of pressure.”
“She really is impressive. I’m not sure I could take that strike head‑on perfectly myself. But for Senior Sister Bai, this still isn’t enough.”
“Exactly. From the start till now, Senior Sister Bai’s expression hasn’t changed at all.”
…
On the vast dueling platform, Fu Yan finally launched her attack straight at Bai Li.
Yet Bai Li, who was completely enveloped by Fu Yan’s sword momentum, made no move to evade.
She simply tightened her grip on her Moonshaker Sword, her figure flashing forward as she met that strike head‑on.
A deafening impact rang out.
In the span of a single breath, Fu Yan’s first form of the Wuhuan Sword Art was shattered easily by Bai Li.
The backlash of the powerful force rippled out, knocking Fu Yan back several steps before she managed to stabilize herself.
As the turbulent air dispersed, Fu Yan lifted her gaze slightly and saw Bai Li still standing there as steadily as ever, as if completely unaffected.
Fu Yan: “…”
She’d thrown everything she had into that strike, only for the other party to dissolve it so easily.
How was she supposed to describe that feeling?
She’d been mentally prepared beforehand for this outcome, but having it actually happen still felt like a terrifying blow.
Thankfully, Fu Yan’s Dao heart was steady enough. She’d known from the start she would lose, so even now she could face this kind of blow head‑on.
“The three forms of the Wuhuan Sword Art—speed is important, yes. But what truly matters is the concept of ‘phantom.’”
Bai Li held the Moonshaker Sword one‑handed and looked at Fu Yan, speaking calmly.
“You have to make your swordplay unpredictable and ever‑changing, so your opponent can’t easily see through your intentions.”
Fu Yan froze for a moment at that.
Bai Li’s words struck straight at what had been bothering her. She’d always felt something was off with her Wuhuan Sword, but Bai Li had seen through it at a single glance.
“I understand. Thank you, Senior Sister Bai.”
Fu Yan smiled at her, then slowly straightened up.
In the end, she tightened her hold on the Linglong Broken Sword again and said,
“Let’s go again.”
This kind of one‑sided battle could easily make a person feel despair at the unreachable distance between them.
But to Fu Yan, there was nothing more satisfying than fighting such a battle to her heart’s content.
The sting of that earlier setback was swept away.
Seeing Fu Yan standing up with her sword again, clearly intending to continue fighting, the spectators in the stands split into two camps.
“You’ve got to be kidding me. Even her ultimate move got broken so easily, and she still wants to keep going? What’s the point? Just admit defeat already!”
“Exactly. She could never be a match for our Senior Sister Bai. If she keeps dragging this out, she’s just humiliating herself.”
“You know nothing. Only by fighting someone like Senior Sister Bai can she clearly see the flaws in her own strength and make real progress.”
“No wonder she can rise like a dark horse while you’re still stuck in place. You don’t even understand something that simple. What cultivation are you even training for? Go home and farm.”
“What the hell? Am I wrong though? People should know when to back off in the face of difficulty. If you still insist on showing off on the battlefield like this, you’ll be the first one to die, believe it or not.”
“Can you all shut up? Just watch the match. If you’re so unconvinced, go down there and fight yourself.”
“…”
On the platform, Fu Yan naturally didn’t notice the argument outside.
Even if she’d heard it, she wouldn’t have cared.
Without overthinking it, she once again raised her sword and charged at Bai Li.
Every strike used the maximum strength she could muster. And even though every single move was easily dissolved by Bai Li, Fu Yan herself gained a lot of insights from each clash.
After five or six more exchanges, Fu Yan was already breathing heavily from exhaustion.
She still felt she could hang on for a few more moves, though, so she gripped the Linglong Broken Sword tighter, about to dash in again—
But right then, she suddenly sensed something wrong.
Dust billowed around the platform as the spiritual energy in the air began to churn rapidly, surging toward her and wrapping tightly around her body.
At the same time, she felt chaotic upheavals within her dantian, as if something inside was on the verge of breaking free.
Realizing what this meant, Fu Yan’s face filled with astonishment.
Even Bai Li and the presiding elder at the side showed faint looks of surprise.
“This is…”
Fu Yan checked her qi sea and murmured unconsciously.
She was actually about to break through at a time like this!
The commotion on the platform was plain as day to the spectators outside. Everyone froze for a moment, then quickly reacted.
“No way, she’s breaking through?”
“If I remember right, Fu Yan’s only been in the inner sect for just over a month. Not even two full months—and in that short a time she’s already about to break through to the mid stage of the Aperture realm?”
“Comparing people really just makes you angry. It took me three whole months of hard work to break through from early Aperture to mid Aperture. Ugh…”
“But they’re still in the middle of a match. Now Fu Yan really should admit defeat. A chance to break through is rare. Who knows when the next one will come if she lets this pass.”
…
Right now, Fu Yan was genuinely conflicted.
She actually still wanted to trade a few more moves with Bai Li. But such a chance to break through was too precious. She couldn’t possibly give it up.
It seemed Bai Li had seen through Fu Yan’s thoughts.
She suddenly sheathed the Moonshaker Sword and said calmly,
“I can wait for you to break through first. Then we’ll continue the match.”
Fu Yan had just made up her mind to give up on the duel when Bai Li’s words reached her ears.
She was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting Bai Li to be this accommodating.
“I understand. Thank you, Senior Sister Bai.”
There was no point wasting breath on more thanks.
Without further hesitation, Fu Yan sat down cross‑legged right where she was and began to impact the mid stage of the Aperture realm.
The presiding elder glanced indifferently at the two on the platform, but said nothing.
And so, the match over in Group Eight fell into complete silence.
Everyone saw the same scene:
On the dueling platform, Fu Yan sat on the ground in the middle of a breakthrough, while Bai Li stood quietly to the side, letting the breeze flick at the hem of her sect robes.
The scene had an oddly tranquil, timeless beauty to it.
The crowd: “…”
“This…”
“Senior Sister Bai is way too nice. She’s actually willing to wait for Fu Yan to break through and then continue the match!”
“What is wrong with her? Breaking through in the middle of a match and dragging other people down with her, that’s too much. If you ask me, Senior Sister Bai should just finish her off with one strike.”
“Even the presiding elder isn’t saying anything. What are you yelling about? You’re all from the same sect. Some people really are petty.”
“Ahhhh! My goddess really is on another level. No one can compare to Senior Sister Bai’s magnanimity. I love her so much!”
“Wake up. Senior Sister Bai clearly loves me the most.”
“…”
On the platform, the two women seemed completely deaf to the noisy stands.
As time passed, Fu Yan’s aura gradually stabilized.
By the time one stick of incense had burned down, the girl seated on the ground finally opened her eyes again.
