Chapter 50: Spar
Han Qiuyue judged that the two girls went through proper guidance since, just by looking at their postures, she could tell that they were professionally trained.
Just like her aggressive stance depicted, Lan'er was the first one to make a move. She made a single lunge forward and-
Clang!
Immediately appearing before her opponent, Lan'er's sword clashed against Meixiang's as the latter perfectly received her attack.
Not wasting time, Lan'er withdrew her sword and immediately made a series of slashes.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Meixiang responded to all her attacks while maintaining her position.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Only ten seconds had passed and Han Qiuyue counted over fifty sword exchanges.
Just as she was about to be impressed, Han Qiuyue could not help but blink in surprise when she realized that the two of them were not using any Qi, nor their cultivational stages to their advantages.
Her brow inadvertently twitched after witnessing their speed and technique which were far beyond the norm during a qi-less match.
After thirty more seconds of sword exchanges, Lan'er retreated and formed a sword stance.
But Meixiang did not plan on letting her opponent get away as she charged towards Lan'er.
Clang! Clang!
Lan'er smoothly defended while trying to get through Meixiang's offensive attacks.
The more Lan'er received Meixiang's attacks, the more numbness she feels in her right hand. This was because Meixiang's sword attack contained her entire body's strength.
This was also Lan'er's weakness in her swordplay. She would lose if she kept on defending, which is also why Meixiang took this opportunity.
The more they exchanged swords, the further Lan'er's strength was being sapped as she was forced to play in a defensive stance.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
A few seconds later, Lan'er eyes flashed as her right arm's muscles flexed. At an unimaginable speed, she made a horizontal slash in front of her.
At the exact same time, Meixiang's instincts alarmed dangerously, as she stopped her series of attacks and hastily bent backwards.
...whoosh
She could see a small wave of wind making a buzzing sound, right above her face, as her entire torso did a complete 90 degrees bend.
The small wave of wind passed through quickly and she used her momentum to do a back cartwheel. As soon as her feet landed, She was already in her sword stance.
At the same time-
Crack!
The wall of the cave that was several steps away from her, made a cracking sound as the small wave of wind carved into the stone wall.
Han Qiuyue's eyes widened when she saw the attack damage the cave's wall.
'...Just by pure strength alone?!' Even she could not maintain her expressionless face after seeing what Lan'er just did.
She glanced at the two youths sitting beside her and when she saw their relaxed faces, she realized that for them, this was a completely normal exchange.
Her mouth quivered as she thought, 'What kind of junior disciples did I just take in?'
She turned her gaze back to the spar.
Lan'er and Meixiang stared at each other for a few seconds, both were satisfied by their warm up.
With a nod, they both knew it was time to get serious.
Woong... Woong...
A faint haze of deep green qi appeared from Lan'er's body. It mainly gathered towards her sword, making her seem menacing and dangerous.
Similarly, Meiziang began to exude a deep green qi. This meant that she was restricting her cultivation stage to match Lan'er's.
[Empress' Conquest 3rd Technique: Cries of a Thousand Soldiers]
Lan'er's sword swung multiple times and numerous green qi sword slashes rushed towards Meixiang.
[Dragon's Will: Ferocious Claws]
As Meixiang swung her sword, roguish and tattered patterns made of qi followed the tip of her sword.
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Like slicing a knife through butter, she easily cut through the wave of green sword slashes that were heading towards her.
While her opponent was trying to defend against her attack, Lan'er stood in another stance and pointed the tip of her blade towards Meixiang.
[Empress' Conquest 4th technique: Indomitable Rule]
Whoosh!
Lan'er turned into a hazy blur as she launched off towards Meixiang. Qi was violently gathering on the tip of her sword and her eyes narrowed as she instantly arrived in front of Meixiang.
The latter smirked as she saw the incoming strike. Without a doubt, it would be dangerous for her to receive this attack and no amount of parrying or redirection would be able to stop it.
Similarly, she could not dodge this attack since Lan'er was already three steps away from her.
And so, she made her move.
[Dragon's Will: Scales of Pride]
Boom!
Meixianh's qi materialized into scales and immediately intercepted Lan'er's sword.
Lan'er was greatly taken aback by the sturdiness of her sister's defensive technique. At the same time, she also wanted to see whether her attack would be strong enough to cut through her opponent's defenses.
Lan'er's smooth and mildly muscular arms hardened as she pushed her entire strength in her sword thrust.
Tsssss!
The clang between the two Qi auras began to spark while making a buzzing noise.
Meixiang smiled, as her and Lan'er'e eyes met. She could see that the latter was starting to struggle since beads of sweat were beginning to fall from her forehead.
"What do you think? This move was inspired by the Heavenly Turtle we encountered during our journey."
Her voice sounded light and relaxed, as if she wasn't having any difficulties while Lan'er tried to cut through her defense.
Lan'er grimaced as she spoke while maintaining her attack on Meixiang's defensive technique. "You monster..."
The latter only smirked while looking at Lan'er with an anticipating gaze.
Lan'er released a small breath and jumped backwards.
She calmed her paced breaths while looking at her big sister Mei.
Lan'er had to admit that her sister Mei was truly talented but...
So was she!
Crack!
The ground had webbed cracks as Lan'er resumed her sword stance. Her grip tightened on the hilt of her blade as a large amount of green qi surged around her body.
Fwoosh! Fwoodh! Fwoosh!
She was now holding her blade with two of her hands. A confident smile made its way to her face as she recalled her unique experiences with the sword.
Closing her eyes, she tried to remember her feelings when she cut the waterfall in half. Lan'er poured her emotions out on her current stance and the violent qi reacted.
It gathered towards her body, making the outline of her body glow in bright green qi.
But Meixiang wasn't stupid enough to let Lan'er finish her move. She could tell that her junior sister was about to release her strongest attack so far.
Meixiang responded in a similar manner as her Qi exploded and began to form a large and unique mythical beast.
This was her strongest technique so far.
The two girls looked at each other and a second later, they made their move.
[Empress' Conquest 1st Technique: Dominating Decree]
[Dragon's Will: Raging Storm]
GROAAAA!!
A large serpent-like head was formed from Meixiang's qi and it made a terrible howl as it rushed towards a huge bright horizontal sword slash that cleaved the ground as it advanced towards Meixiang.
It had the shape of half a crescent moon, with the sharp tip facing the air and the body demolishing the ground.
The ground trembled as the two attacks made of qi neared each other.
Seeing the pressure of the two attacks, Han Qiuyue made a dome-shaped barrier covering 50-60 meters within Meixiang and Lan'er.
Soon enough-
BOOM!
The ground trembled even though the explosive force of wind was contained inside the barrier. Small rocks and debris fell from the ceiling while the large crystal clear lake made violent ripples.
The tremors continued for fifteen more seconds before coming to a complete stop. The cave became silent as the water in the lake returned to its natural calm state.
Dust covered the interior of the barrier so they could not tell what happened inside.
Han Qiuyue dispelled the barrier and the sea of dust expanded. Eventually, they saw two shadows amongst the dust, both were looking at each other with an unyielding gaze.
The two of them had tattered robes, disheveled hair, and even blood dripping from the corner of their mouths.
And yet, the two refused to give up.
Beneath them, a huge crater with cracked ground extended throughout their battlefield accompanied by a faint burning scent that could also be smelled in the air.
After the dust had completely settled, the two of them resumed their stances and aimed their swords towards one another.
Just as Han Qiuyue was thinking of telling them to stop, a voice spoke from beside her.
"It's a draw." Zed said after analyzing the state of their bodies.
Meixiang and Lan'er looked towards Zed before releasing the breaths that they have been holding. As soon as they did that, the two of them dropped to their knees.
With paced breaths, Meixiang looked towards Lan'er. Similarly, Lan'er was also facing her.
Meixiang smiled and said. "Good fight."
Lan'er also smiled. "Good fight."
Hearing the exchange between the two, Jingfei sighed in relief before making a warm smile. Zed also sighed and stood up from his seat.
Seeing Zed walk towards them, Han Qiuyue who remained quiet this entire time finally snapped out of her daze.
She could not... she found it hard to believe that this was a battle between cultivators in the Qi foundation realm.
'It's...possible... How...?' Even her thoughts could not catch up with the spar that she had witnessed.
From their martial art techniques to their cultivation base, all of it was beyond extraordinary.
In the end, all she could say was, "Monsters..."
Hearing the voice of disbelief from beside her, Jingfei agreed. "Senior Sister is right... They truly are monsters."
Zed carried the two, giving both of his shoulders as support.
Eventually, they arrived beside the campfire and Meixiang and Lan'er settled to recuperate from their injuries.
Zed also secretly conjured a regenerative reagent and smeared them over their wounds.
The group remained quiet for quite some time and the crackling of the fire wood was the only thing that could be heard.
Eventually, Han Qiuyue looked towards the youths around her.
With a monotone voice, she said. "We will need to talk."
The youths only nodded in response.
-
It took an entire night, though there was no concept of day and night, their body clocks told them that the time for breakfast was near.
During this time, they spent it all explaining and conversing with their senior sister.
Just like their senior sister asked them questions, they too asked her questions, which was why they began to learn more about their senior sister and her origins.
Han Qiuyue was an orphan who lived in the slums. She was adopted by the current Sect Leader when the two met by chance.
The Sect Leader approached her, saying that she possessed an unnatural temperament that would allow her to reach the Immortal Realm.
At the time, she didn't know any better, which was why she simply accepted the Sect Leader's offer.
And, as one would expect from an ancient and renowned sect, numerous elders opposed the sect leader's decision in making Han Qiuyue his disciple.
But the Sect Leader was adamant and firm with his decision, which is how Han Qiuyue got accepted into the Cleansing Jade Sect.
As it turned out, Han Qiuyue possessed a heavenly talent that made her the prodigious genius of the era.
With her own efforts, she broke through one cultivation stage after another with staggering speeds.
And when they thought her martial prowess was subpar, they were proven wrong during the core disciple competition of that time, as well as the inheritance event that she participated in.
It was precisely in that event when her debut as one of the best and genius cultivators of their era started.
Completely beating all the other geniuses of other sects during the inheritance event, she came out on the top, taking home the divine-grade treasure, The Agent of Dawn, which was rumored to be the trademark treasure of a famous cultivator in the past, who successfully ascended into the upper realms.
During their conversation, the youths also talked about their past, but left out the information about their master as well as their real cultivation bases.
Meixiang was still in the Infant Nascent Soul Realm, Lan'er was in the Infant Core Formation realm, while Zed and Jingfei where the only ones who showed their real cultivation bases as Middle Qi Foundation realm and Peak Qi Foundation realm .
They had long prepared a fabricated, but plausible story about the origin of their techniques.
They reviewed the story countless times, making sure there were no loopholes. Tang Xiurong contributed greatly as she assisted in creating the fabricated stories.
Which is why, at the end of their conversation, their senior sister had no choice but to believe their story.
Edited By: WorthyAdversary