213: Chapter 213 One-Sided Crushing

The moment Hun Muxiao's words, "To deal with him, I don't even need to draw my sword," landed, the entire plaza erupted like a ladle of cold water poured into boiling oil.

"Too arrogant! Senior Li Xuantong is ranked second on the Heavenly Rank, at the peak of the Hua Tian Realm! She's just a freshman, yet she won't even draw her sword. Isn't she just looking for death?" A girl in the front row was the first to shriek, her voice filled with uncontrollable anger. Several girls next to her immediately chimed in, chattering away as they criticized Hun Muxiao for not knowing her place. There were many students who admired Li Xuantong, especially those girls who had been guided by him a few times in the Spirit Gathering Array. At this moment, the way they looked at Hun Muxiao was as if they wanted to swallow her alive. On the other hand, a few senior students ranked near the top of the Heavenly Rank did not join in the clamor; they merely frowned as they sized up the red-clothed young girl on the battle stage. They had better vision than the freshmen; a Grade-9 Spiritual Seal could not be obtained by luck. For this girl to dare to make such a claim, she was either truly confident or incredibly stupid—and someone who could obtain a Grade-9 Spiritual Seal was obviously not the latter.

In the front row of the freshman area, Mu Chen and Luo Li stood side by side. Luo Li still maintained her cold and aloof demeanor, but her deep blue eyes paused on Hun Muxiao for a moment, her brow furrowing slightly. Mu Chen simply shook his head. "Peak Hua Tian Realm against peak Hua Tian Realm, and she won't even draw her sword—she's boasting way too much. Li Xuantong is second on the Heavenly Rank, just a single step away from the Tongtian Realm. This battle won't be that easy." Luo Li did not speak, but a faint trace of doubt flashed through her deep blue eyes. She had previously sensed that Hun Muxiao's aura was beyond the Hua Tian Realm, but with her Grade-9 Spiritual Seal result right there, if she was hiding her true cultivation, just how high was her actual realm? She could not see through her, and this was what made her most uneasy.

On the battle stage, Li Xuantong stood with his hands behind his back, his moon-white robe fluttering slightly in the wind. He had a handsome face and a calm temperament, and had always been known for his composure among the many students of the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy. But at this moment, his brow was tightly knit. "You won't draw your sword?" He stared at the blood abyss sword wrapped tightly in cloth strips behind Hun Muxiao. His voice was very low, but the anger of being looked down upon in his tone was already becoming hard to suppress. "Do you mean to say that I am not worthy of you drawing your sword?"

Hun Muxiao tilted her head to look at him, her peach blossom eyes still carrying that lazy smile. "Whether you're worthy or not, won't you know after we fight?"

Li Xuantong wasted no more words. He stamped his foot fiercely on the ground, his figure shooting out like a bolt of white lightning. His right hand formed a palm blade, cleaving toward Hun Muxiao's shoulder wrapped in a fierce gale of spiritual energy. He used seventy percent of his strength in this strike, and his speed was so fast that most of the freshmen below the stage could only see a blurry afterimage. The title of second on the Heavenly Rank was not for nothing—with his peak Hua Tian Realm spiritual energy circulating to the limit within his body, before the palm blade even arrived, the stone tiles on the battle stage were already cracked with fine fissures from the wind of his palm. Several freshmen in the front row were forced back a few steps by this fierce wind, their eyes filled with shock. This was the strength of the second rank on the Heavenly Rank! That red-clothed girl wouldn't even draw her sword, how could she possibly block it?

Hun Muxiao did not dodge. The moment Li Xuantong's palm blade was about to strike down, she merely turned her body slightly and casually raised her right hand. With her five fingers spread, she precisely gripped Li Xuantong's wrist. It was not a block, but a grip. Li Xuantong's palm strike, fierce enough to shatter giant boulders, was effortlessly caught by her with a single hand, as if she were catching a falling leaf. His pupils contracted sharply. He tried to pull his arm back, but found his wrist clamped like an iron vise, completely immobile. How is this girl's strength so immense?! He had no time to think. His right knee suddenly thrust upward, carrying a fierce gale of spiritual energy as it smashed toward Hun Muxiao's lower abdomen. He put a hundred percent of his strength into this knee strike. Close-quarters combat was his forte, and countless opponents had been dazed by this combo of his.

Hun Muxiao still did not retreat even half a step. She casually pressed her left hand downward, precisely landing on Li Xuantong's knee, forcefully pressing back that force which was enough to shatter a rockery. Immediately after, her right hand, which was gripping his wrist, suddenly exerted force, throwing Li Xuantong toward the center of the battle stage like a swinging sack. Li Xuantong rolled several times in the air, barely stabilizing his figure as he landed. His right foot plowed a deep groove several tens of feet long in the stone tiles before he finally came to a halt. He raised his head and looked at the red-clothed girl who still stood with her hands behind her back, an unmaskable shock appearing on his face for the first time. Those two moves just now, whether in terms of strength or speed, were absolutely not at a level a Hua Tian Realm should possess, nor even a Tongtian Realm. He was at the peak of the Hua Tian Realm and had already touched the barrier of the Tongtian Realm, but in front of this girl, he felt like a toddler facing an adult warrior. This girl's strength and speed—he was certain that even Shen Cangsheng, who was ranked first on the Heavenly Rank, was absolutely no match for her!

Hun Muxiao did not give him a chance to catch his breath. With a movement of her feet, her figure appeared right in front of Li Xuantong. There was no fancy glow of spiritual energy, no complex hand seals, only pure fists and palms. Every single strike carried a force that caused the air to explode. Li Xuantong gritted his teeth and blocked, crossing his arms in front of his chest as his spiritual energy condensed into a thick defensive barrier before him. Her fist smashed against the barrier; the first punch shattered the barrier, and the second punch struck Li Xuantong's crossed arms, blasting him backward. The stone tiles beneath his feet were plowed into two deep ruts. Following closely behind, her right palm formed a blade and chopped down on Li Xuantong's shoulder, forcing him down onto one knee, his knee smashing the stone tiles into a spiderweb-like crater.

In less than half the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Li Xuantong was struck in the chest by a clean and decisive palm blade. He flew backward off the battle stage and crashed heavily into a stone pillar at the edge of the plaza, sliding to the ground after cracking the pillar into a spiderweb pattern. The entire field fell into a dead silence. The girl who had been cheering for Li Xuantong just moments ago now stood with her mouth wide open, unable to utter a single word. Several Heavenly Rank students in the front row looked at each other, their eyes filled with shock. For the first time, Mu Chen's dark eyes revealed unconcealed astonishment—Li Xuantong was at the peak of the Hua Tian Realm and had already touched the barrier of the Tongtian Realm, yet Hun Muxiao had not drawn her sword from beginning to end, had not used any high-level techniques, and had not even fully released her spiritual energy. Relying solely on her physical strength, she had beaten the second-ranked on the Heavenly Rank to the point where he could not even fight back.

"Just what... is her cultivation level?" Mu Chen murmured. A complex light flashed through Luo Li's deep blue eyes. Her previous intuition had not been wrong—this red-clothed young girl who claimed to come from a small place in the south was definitely no ordinary freshman. To be able to crush a peak Hua Tian Realm with her bare hands, this strength was at least at the late stage of the Tongtian Realm, or perhaps she had even stepped into the Sovereign Realm. An eighteen-year-old Sovereign Realm cultivator would be a top-tier genius even within the Five Ancient Clans. Why would such a person come to the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy?

Hun Muxiao withdrew her palm and patted away the non-existent dust on her skirt, still wearing that lazy smile. She tilted her head to glance at the dumbfounded Mu Chen and Luo Li below the stage, a trace of smugness that only she understood flashing in her peach blossom eyes—now you two should finally be curious about me. She turned and walked toward the freshman area. As she passed the edge of the battle stage, her steps paused slightly. Tilting her head, she said to Li Xuantong, who was slumped beneath the stone pillar, "You're not bad either. You just happened to run into me." Having said that, she walked back to her spot without looking back.

Thousands of gazes on the plaza followed her figure, and there was absolute silence. Elder Ling Xi stood atop the high platform, looking at the back of that fiery red flowing fairy dress. She picked up her teacup and took a light sip, a look of deep meaning that only she understood flashing in her cold eyes. She had long seen that this Hun Muxiao was not simple, but she had not expected her to be unusual to this extent. Tongtian Realm Great Perfection? No. This girl's true cultivation was far more than that.

She set down her teacup and gently drew a circle next to Hun Muxiao's name on the register. This girl from a small place in the south was indeed interesting.