The power of the Yin-Yang Wave Mirror was undeniable. Qin Yangling gracefully walked to the center of the arena and sat down once again.
Having practiced this technique for many years, he was naturally confident in his method of restraint. Not only disciples who had just broken through the third bottleneck like Lei Xiuyuan, but even those who had broken through the fourth bottleneck wouldn’t dare underestimate its power. With this technique alone, he was valuable enough that the elders wouldn’t want to give up on him. There were many people with single water spiritual roots, but not everyone could master the Yin-Yang Wave Mirror to this level like Qin Yangling.
He sat quietly, not even glancing outside. Although the Wave Mirror had the drawback of trapping him within a limited area, he knew Lei Xiuyuan would enter. Most techniques learned by those with metal spiritual roots required close combat. As long as he came in, defeat was certain.
All eyes were now focused on Lei Xiuyuan, speculating what move he would use. They saw him standing just outside the range of the Yin-Yang Wave Mirror with his arms folded for a moment. Suddenly, he raised his hand, and a piercing sound like a bamboo whistle rang out. A dazzling flying sword materialized in his palm, instantly transforming into a golden light that vanished from everyone’s view.
The piercing sound echoed, sometimes near, sometimes far, swift and unpredictable. However, as soon as it entered the range of the Wave Mirror, within just three breaths, there was a series of “clangs,” and the flying sword was instantly frozen by the ice. Although it was incredibly sharp and pierced through the ice in the blink of an eye, it couldn’t withstand the reflections from countless mirror surfaces. In just a moment, the flying sword was firmly frozen in several zhang thick ice, unable to move.
With a flash of golden light, Lei Xiuyuan withdrew his technique. The ice trapping the flying sword instantly dissolved into nothingness. Qin Yangling couldn’t help but sneer, saying leisurely, “Junior Brother Lei, within the range of the Wave Mirror, even divine weapons and sharp tools will be frozen. Mere flying sword techniques are truly underestimating me!”
Before his words faded, the piercing bamboo whistle sound rang out again. This time, the flying sword came spiraling from behind, directly cutting one ice mirror into pieces. However, within just three breaths, new ice mirrors reappeared. The flying sword was withdrawn again, and Lei Xiuyuan stroked his chin, seemingly deep in thought.
The spectators above were all on edge. Lei Xiuyuan had tested the power of the Yin-Yang Wave Mirror twice with his flying sword technique, but the results were not ideal. The more area-of-effect techniques like this, the harder they were to break. If he were to use large-scale techniques to smash the ice mirrors as Zhao Min did earlier, Qin Yangling could quickly set up new ones, trapping him within the range of the Wave Mirror.
Hu Jiaping was also quite perplexed. If it were him, he could naturally use sustained powerful techniques to shatter the mirrors, preventing them from reforming within three breaths. But Lei Xiuyuan probably hadn’t reached that level yet…
Suddenly, Lei Xiuyuan moved. He focused his mind and formed a seal. The next moment, countless huge golden lights burst forth from the ground, instantly shattering the fragile ice mirrors. Qin Yangling had already risen on a cloud to avoid the power of this Earth-Penetrating Golden Dragon and was about to set up ice mirrors again when he realized that the Earth-Penetrating Golden Dragon was continuous and unending. The arena’s floor tiles were already in shambles. Qin Yangling was shocked, and suddenly felt movement behind him. He reacted incredibly quickly, immediately erecting earth walls on all four sides. There was another loud “clang” as Lei Xiuyuan’s golden light sword pierced through the earth wall, its blazing tip barely touching his shoulder.
In his great shock, Qin Yangling transformed into a mist and darted dozens of zhang away, barely managing to erect another earth wall. But he saw golden light flashing chaotically before him as Lei Xiuyuan, transformed into a streak of golden light, pursued him fiercely. With a swing of his arm, he cleaved through the earth wall, the fierce sword wind even tearing the clothes on Qin Yangling’s chest.
He’s gotten close! Suddenly, a small ice mirror appeared in Qin Yangling’s palm, but no matter how he tried, he couldn’t reflect it onto Lei Xiuyuan. Lei Xiuyuan’s movements were swift and unpredictable, the sharpness and lightning speed of his metal-attribute techniques dazzling to the eye. For a moment, it seemed as if there were countless golden figures in the arena, real and illusory, impossible to distinguish.
The earth walls Qin Yangling erected were instantly cleaved apart. Suddenly, he felt a pain in his back as the sword tip pierced half an inch into his back. He cried out in pain, erecting another earth wall, followed by several ice mirrors surrounding him in a circle, their surfaces facing outward. The golden figure had already retreated to a distance, and several wisps of golden light mist emerged, grinding the ice mirrors into pieces. Lei Xiuyuan spread his arms, and those light mists suddenly transformed into a golden net, enveloping Qin Yangling and trapping him firmly inside.
The golden light sword in Lei Xiuyuan’s hand transformed into a golden longbow, with three golden light arrows glowing brilliantly on the string. He suddenly drew the bow, its curve like a full moon, and three arrows shot out like meteors toward Qin Yangling trapped in the golden net.
The first two arrows forcefully shattered the last two layers of earth walls. Qin Yangling could no longer react, and a fierce pain shot through his shoulder as the light arrow pierced his collarbone, flying swiftly toward the sky. The powerful and sharp force carried his entire body flying backward.
This series of techniques was extremely fast and fierce. The countless disciples around had long since been too shocked to even gasp, all staring in awe. This was real combat, true battling! Compared to this, the previous matches seemed like child’s play.
Just as Lei Xiuyuan was about to pursue again, he suddenly felt his feet freeze, as if trapped by something. His heart skipped a beat, and he saw a palm-sized ice mirror falling behind him. He slashed at the ice mirror with his sword, shattering it, but his vision blurred, and countless ice mirrors were erected again. He transformed into golden light and swiftly retreated, but was still a moment too late to avoid the unavoidable ice that instantly froze his feet. The bone-chilling cold in the ice blocks gradually sapped his strength, and he couldn’t even use his techniques. The golden light sword in his hand slowly lost its luster, finally fading into nothingness.
Qin Yangling slowly got up from the ground, looking extremely disheveled. His disciple’s robe was stained with blood here and there, and his shoulder had a bloody hole pierced through it. The pain made the muscles on his face twitch, and he hurriedly set up a healing net, glaring at the frozen Lei Xiuyuan with a ferocious expression.
“Junior Brother Lei, you’re still too green,” he opened his mouth hatefully, panting for a moment before slowly sitting back down on the ground. “I’ll repay this debt of several sword strikes slowly.”
Suddenly, a small flying sword appeared in his palm, only about the size of a finger. With a whooshing sound, the small flying sword spiraled up and suddenly shot out, grazing Lei Xiuyuan’s cheek. A red mark quickly appeared on his face, and after a long while, blood slowly seeped out.
Elder Dongyang suddenly spoke up: “I said before, if there’s any malicious harm, this match will be immediately voided!”
Qin Yangling laughed a few times: “Elder Dongyang, I’m just freezing him and scratching his face a little. Is this considered malicious harm? Haven’t you noticed my injuries?”
Elder Dongyang felt a hint of anger rising in his heart: “You can surrender midway through the match, both of you remember this rule!”
He meant to remind Lei Xiuyuan not to be stubborn. Qin Yangling’s cultivation level was originally above his, and being frozen by the Yin-Yang Wave Mirror left no chance of escape. There was no shame in surrendering. If he insisted on holding on with his last breath and refusing to surrender, even he as an elder couldn’t forcibly end the match. Qin Yangling was right, the small flying sword was merely child’s play and couldn’t be considered malicious harm. If he had to find a reason to be angry, it would be this twisted cat-and-mouse behavior. Using a small flying sword to torment an opponent in a disciple duel was almost insulting.
Lei Xiuyuan remained silent. He hadn’t said a word the entire time, allowing that childish small flying sword to fly back and forth around him, cutting his clothes and skin one slice at a time. The cuts from the flying sword were merely superficial, but when the wounds were densely packed in one area, his disciple’s robe gradually became stained with patches of blood.
Li Fei felt her palms were completely sweaty, and Su Wan beside her hugged her tightly, not knowing whether to comfort her or be angry. What they feared most had still happened – Lei Xiuyuan’s personality would never allow him to surrender verbally, and he was being humiliatingly injured by Qin Yangling.
Hu Jiaping frowned deeply. Was this kid going to stubbornly refuse to surrender? The previous fight was extremely brilliant, and surrendering here wouldn’t be so bad. It would even become a good story. The Dueling Tournament hadn’t seen such an exciting and fierce real battle in many years. Stubbornly holding on for half an hour would still result in the match being forcibly ended, and losing then would be truly humiliating.
Qin Yangling was feeling extremely pleased. This kind of satisfaction and elation was something that the flesh of even the most beautiful woman couldn’t provide. Another small flying sword suddenly appeared in his palm, whooshing over to cut off Lei Xiuyuan’s hair tie. His long hair immediately fell loose, covering his bleeding cheeks.
“Junior Brother Lei, I warned you long ago,” Qin Yangling laughed heartily. “The higher your posture, the harder you’ll fall later. Just surrender, I’m even too lazy to torment you anymore.”
Lei Xiuyuan still didn’t speak. He suddenly moved, taking a step forward. The foot-thick ice under his feet shattered into pieces, and he walked towards Qin Yangling step by step. The reflected cold light from the Yin-Yang Wave Mirror fell like a rain of arrows, but for some reason, not a single one could hit his body. He walked slowly, but his movements had a strange lightness and swiftness as if his body contained a kind of frightening power.
Qin Yangling suddenly felt darkness above him as large masses of dark clouds engulfed him. Lei Xiuyuan plunged into the cloud mass. The dark clouds rolled and churned, and no one could see what was happening inside. Only Qin Yangling’s screams could be heard wave after wave, chilling people to the bone.
Elder Dongyang, shocked, shouted sternly: “Lei Xiuyuan! Lei Xiuyuan! Immediately disperse the cloud cover!”
Li Fei was dumbfounded, and not just her – everyone was stunned, not quite understanding what had suddenly happened in that instant to reverse the battle situation. Ri Yan shook his ears, staring unblinkingly at the mass of clouds, finally revealing a disdainful expression, and coldly said, “I thought he was going to display some great divine power! Hmph! To use such a low-class minor technique!”
As soon as he finished speaking, they saw a person roll out from the large mass of dark clouds – it was Qin Yangling. He was rolling all over the ground, crying and laughing, his screams unending, with tears and snot covering his face.
Elder Dongyang hurriedly descended beside him and took a closer look, suddenly feeling both amused and exasperated. This… this was a tickling technique? By the looks of it, this tickling technique was not held back at all. Qin Yangling was rolling all over the ground, itching all over his body, crying one moment and laughing the next, like a madman. Forget about using techniques, he probably couldn’t even stand up, rolling until he was covered in mud.
The dense dark clouds gradually dispersed, and Lei Xiuyuan’s figure appeared in the shattered arena, still expressionless. He suddenly raised his hand and dispelled the tickling technique on Qin Yangling. This poor Senior Brother Qin finally stopped screaming and fainted with a weak breath.
Lei Xiuyuan had won! At first, there was dead silence all around, but soon an enormous uproar erupted, shaking as if the entire city was trembling. After cupping his hands in salute, he flew up on a cloud. Many people came to greet him – Deng Xiguang, gesticulating wildly and incoherent with excitement; Su Wan, jumping and spinning in circles; Hu Jiaping, his jaw nearly dropping; and many of Yao Guangfeng’s disciples.
He searched for one person’s figure and suddenly felt a tightness in his chest. Li Fei had thrown herself at him, hugging him tightly in front of everyone.
She still didn’t say anything, but her whole body was shaking violently. She couldn’t stop this trembling; she was worried one moment, happy the next, then upset, then overjoyed. Her mind was in chaos, and she felt like crying her heart out.
Suddenly, a weight fell on her shoulder. Lei Xiuyuan had buried his head in the crook of her neck. His voice sounded very hoarse and low: “Let’s leave first.”
Leave first? Li Fei was stunned for a moment. She suddenly felt a warm, metallic scent on her face. Hot blood had stained her cheeks, and streaks of blood quickly dyed Lei Xiuyuan’s tea-white disciple’s robe red.