187: Chapter 187 Knife and Sword

Off the stage, Dong Wei exclaimed, "Although I, Junior Brother, have only just arrived, I know of Junior Sister Fei Ying's reputation. Among the young Disciples of the Flying Snake Lineage, she is considered a bit of a Genius, yet she was still defeated by Senior Brother Li."

One must know, Junior Sister Fei Ying's final desperate strike just now would have been difficult to dodge or block, even for an ordinary Martial Artist with Major Achievement in Footwork.

Li Qing's strength was even beyond his expectations.

Unlike Dong Wei's exclamation, Huo Zonglin was plunged into deep self-doubt.

'Could it be that shutting oneself away from the world to Cultivate is truly effective?'

If one says that Li Qing's fist techniques and Footwork reaching Major Achievement could be understood as achievements from long ago, the fact that he mastered the Spirit Rain Sword and Spirit Snake Step in only half a year cannot be faked.

Huo Zonglin silently made a decision in his heart.

'In the future, I should spend less time on missions and more time on Cultivation.'

If the two, Huo Zonglin and Dong Wei, were exclaiming in wonder, then Senior Brother Shi Yuan and the others were excited.

"Junior Sister Fei Ying's strength is not inferior to ours, which shows that this Junior Brother Li is very strong. I wonder if Senior Brother Shi could recruit him?"

In the near future, they planned to form a team to hunt along the banks of the Wujiao River, and naturally, the stronger the members, the better.

If Li Qing could join them, it would undoubtedly be a major reinforcement.

The others' eyes lit up, and they all said, "That's right! Senior Brother Shi, this Junior Brother Li has only been in the sect for half a year; he should not have a fixed partner yet."

Senior Brother Shi Yuan's mouth twitched, and he explained that Li Qing was only immersed in Cultivation.

"Since that is the case, let's wait another half a year before discussing it."

Li Qing performed excellently, and furthermore, Senior Brother Shi Yuan had befriended Li Qing from the very first day, which could be considered having an advantage due to proximity. They really did not want to give up.

In his heart, Senior Brother Shi Yuan believed that Li Qing was not a creature of the pond and would likely leave them behind very soon.

"We'll talk about it when the time comes."

...

On the arena, two youths stood opposite each other; one held a thin sword, and the other had a long blade hanging at his waist.

Young Master Chu looked Li Qing up and down, frowning slightly.

The others on Jia Long's side—Ding Yishan, Wang Shi, and Tang Hua—were all Named Disciples of the Yellow Dragon Lineage, and he had already clearly investigated their strength.

Only the person before him, who had appeared suddenly today and performed remarkably well, was truly difficult to fathom.

The unknown is the most dangerous.

Young Master Chu could not fathom this person's bottom line, so he could only decide to use his maximum strength to try to defeat this person.

'In the worst case, I trade one-for-one with this person, then only Tang Hua and Liu Siyuan will be left.'

'Tang Hua is very strong, similar to Huang Jing, but compared to Liu Siyuan, he is not worth mentioning.'

'The advantage is with me!'

Opposite him, Li Qing's thoughts coincided with Young Master Chu's.

'It is best to trade with Young Master Chu; otherwise, I will be too outstanding.'

Li Qing did not expect that this duel would be such a grand scene, with a full five Gang Strength Martial Artists watching. It would be better for him not to be too flashy.

As for the duel, Jia Long's side could almost be said to be destined to lose, and for this, Li Qing could only say he was sorry.

It was enough for him to trade out Yi Huan, Junior Sister Fei Ying, and Young Master Chu.

The two opponents from different factions, harboring the same thoughts, quietly waited for the match to begin.

A small pebble from unknown origins appeared in the air between the two, then was pulled to the ground by gravity.

Clack!

The pebble hit the ground, and the match began.

Swish!

Young Master Chu moved first, but his steps were not rushing towards Li Qing, but retreating!

At the same time, two flying knives appeared in his hands, appearing out of nowhere; they were different from the ones Junior Sister Fei Ying used, shaped like willow leaves.

Flying Star Knife!

Whiz! Whiz!

The two willow-leaf-like flying knives moved like willow leaves entering water, drifting through the air in unpredictable trajectories, but their targets were straight at Li Qing's temple and waist, two vital points.

For the same technique, Junior Sister Fei Ying and Young Master Chu produced two different effects.

Li Qing had anticipated this; Jia Long had already informed him beforehand that the reason Young Master Chu was called 'Flying Flame Knife' was because he had mastered both the "Flying Star Knife" and the "Red Flame Knife."

Unlike the two Water-element blade techniques, the "Xuantian Sword" was a heavy sword technique, and the "Spirit Rain Sword" was a thin sword technique; both were melee sword techniques, and one only needed to Cultivate one of them.

The two Fire-element blade techniques, one melee blade technique and one long-range flying knife technique, formed a complement.

The two flying knives were like willow leaves entering water, turning into fish swimming in water; their movement trajectories were even more agile than Junior Sister Fei Ying's flying knives. However, they were still in the pre-entry stage. Li Qing easily dodged one with his Major Achievement Footwork, then raised his sword to parry the other.

At the same time, Young Master Chu's movement speed suddenly increased, showing strength beyond the intelligence gathered.

Jia Long was surprised: "Major Achievement Footwork! Young Master Chu also has Major Achievement Footwork!"

He originally thought that Young Master Chu was the same as him, but he did not expect him to have hidden an ace up his sleeve, and his original confidence in Li Qing began to waver.

The hope that had finally emerged because Li Qing had won two consecutive matches suddenly felt blurred, turning into a moon in the water and a flower in the mirror.

"You must win!"

After the flying knives failed, Young Master Chu immediately used his Major Achievement Footwork to engage Li Qing in close-quarters combat, but he would occasionally free up a hand to throw two flying knives, which was extremely threatening.

In just ten breaths of time, the two on the stage had already exchanged more than twenty moves; Young Master Chu was on the offensive, and Li Qing was on the defensive.

Clang!

Young Master Chu slashed out diagonally, and Li Qing parried with his thin sword; they exchanged blows, tit for tat.

Swish!

Suddenly, a cold star flashed at Young Master Chu's waist, and Li Qing immediately tilted his head to avoid it.

At the same time, Li Qing blocked his abdomen with his left hand.

Hum!

With the "Three Vibrations" enhancement, Li Qing firmly gripped one of the Flying Star Knives.

Young Master Chu frowned slightly; this secret technique was truly troublesome. If it weren't for this vibration-enhanced force, at such a close distance, Li Qing would definitely not have been able to block his Flying Star Knife!

Thus, the two fought for another ten rounds before retreating to the edges of the arena.

Dong Wei exclaimed, "Senior Brother Li and Young Master Chu, I'm afraid their strength is in the strongest tier below the Core Formation-level technique entry Realm of people like Huang Jing, right?"

Both of them possessed Major Achievement-level Transformation Energy techniques, but neither had entered the Core Formation-level technique Realm; the gap between them and Huang Jing was just this.

Watching the intense battle on the stage, Huo Zonglin judged, "The two seem evenly matched; it looks like another one-for-one trade."

Subsequently, he looked at Liu Siyuan again.

'This person is not simple!'

The Golden Dragon Lineage was different from other lineages; in order to retrieve spiritual items, they were often isolated outside, and even the Lineage Master was nowhere to be found most of the time.

Huo Zonglin had no impression of Liu Siyuan, which meant it was highly likely that he was a Disciple who cultivated outside!

Only the Genius Disciples within the lineage were qualified to travel and Cultivate outside!

Coupled with his surname Liu... Huo Zonglin could almost be certain that Liu Siyuan was very strong.

'If so, it makes sense for Young Master Chu to let Huang Jing go first, because there is someone stronger to back him up!'

Clang, clang, clang!

Young Master Chu held his blade with both hands, each strike as domineering as a fire dragon; Li Qing held his sword with one hand, each stroke as agile as a water snake.

Every time Young Master Chu swung his blade, it was under Li Qing's side-striking blade or Footwork, and none of them hit the mark.

This made Young Master Chu quite frustrated.

This was different from his previous expectations; facing Li Qing, whose Footwork and sword technique were both agile, even the Flying Star Knife had little effect.

'I cannot go on like this!'

Young Master Chu gritted his teeth and used the last three flying knives again, then gathered all his strength into his long blade. The long blade was infused with a massive amount of strength, emitting a humming sound, and even a faint, barely visible light red color flashed on it.

Then, unexpectedly, Young Master Chu slowly sheathed his blade!