Chapter 248 - 180: Three Reds, One Silver

Chapter 248: Chapter 180: Three Reds, One Silver

Zhang Xunyi was very strong, at least stronger than Jiang Nianwei and Lin Zihao.

The six S-class freshmen had each shown their strength. Lin Zihao had been suppressed by nine swords, and Jiang Nianwei had fought a sparring match. The crowd couldn’t quite grasp the full extent of these two’s power. However, the remaining four were all monstrously strong, pouring a basin of cold water on everyone’s fiery ambitions and leaving them chilled to the bone.

Seeing that Yu Fei’s Qi Blood reserves seemed bottomless, Zhang Xunyi roared. He abruptly unleashed the remaining half of his cyan-white Sword Qi, which had been acting as the cores for his phantom forms. Instantly, Zhang Xunyi’s many phantoms vanished into light, and the torrent of cyan-white Sword Qi swelled to more than three times its size. Underneath his bronze mask, blood was already streaming from his mouth and nose.

He wanted to win, even if just once.

In fact, after losing to him three times in a row during the placement matches, his intuition told him his chances of defeating Yu Fei would only grow slimmer. After all, he was already in the Inner Qi Realm back then, while Yu Fei was only in the second realm. Even today, he was still an entire major realm higher.

’Cultivation breakthroughs always take longer the further one progresses. One day, Yu Fei will reach the same realm as me. Will I still have a chance of winning then? I don’t know. Probably not.’

Zhang Xunyi’s will to fight Yu Fei didn’t stem from anything petty. It wasn’t because Yu Fei was more handsome, or because he always lost their arguments. It was simply the pure, unadulterated desire for victory that all Sword Cultivators share.

He wanted to win. No reason needed.

Facing the wave-like cyan-white torrent, Yu Fei did not hold back his Qi Blood. He met the sky-filling rain of swords head-on, unexpectedly erupting with the Trinity-Unity footwork. All the Qi Blood in his body converted into Formless Sword Qi, forming a scarlet stream of swords in front of him. Pushing against the tide, it followed his charge and devoured all of the cyan-white Sword Qi.

He had no choice. In its early stages, Yu Fei’s Formless Sword Qi could only operate within one meter of his body. Later, after the Primordial Qi Sword Lotus Seed absorbed the five elemental energies, the Senluo Jade Fruit, and the Violet Qi from the East, its operational range increased to four meters. However, in a battle at the Inner Qi Realm, that was still far too short. He had to get in close for it to be effective.

Fortunately, none of his opponents had discovered this weakness yet.

"Is this the end?"

Zhang Xunyi’s entire body trembled uncontrollably. Beneath his bronze mask, his face was a mess of blood and sweat. His Qi Sea was completely empty, and a twisting pain wracked his meridians and acupoints, causing him to stagger.

He looked up to see Yu Fei charging over with what little scarlet Sword Qi he had left, the tip of his longsword aimed at his neck.

Zhang Xunyi’s voice was hoarse. He forced himself to stand steady, clasping his hands behind his back.

"COUGH COUGH... You bastard, you win! Hehe..."

The words had barely left his mouth when, without waiting for Yu Fei’s reply, he turned and fell backward.

Yu Fei quickly retracted his sword and grabbed him by the collar to keep him from falling.

Li Jueyin, Master, and the others quickly rushed onto the stage, surrounding Zhang Xunyi.

Tan Zhiyu flashed forward, scooped Zhang Xunyi into their arms, and flew off, disappearing in an instant. A cool, clear voice drifted back: "Don’t worry. He’s just exhausted and has some meridian damage. The Determination Platform has a professional medical room. A good soak and he’ll be fine!"

Seeing Zhang Xunyi taken for treatment, Yu Fei decided to rest as well. After the continuous, intense battles, his legs actually felt a bit weak. That kid Zhang Xunyi had given him a surprise; his tenacious fighting spirit was moving.

Elsewhere, Tang Lihui, who was staring at an ancient mirror, praised them repeatedly. "Good! A good fight!"

He paced back and forth excitedly in front of the mirror. Ye Shuping sneered, "Of course it was a good fight. Don’t you see whose student he is? So, what do you think? Your Junior Brother is pretty amazing, isn’t he?"

Tang Lihui paused. "There’s nothing to say about my Junior Brother. He’s so strong you can’t even analyze his limits. But this Zhang Xunyi... I misjudged him. I always thought that kid was a bit impetuous, but I never expected his will to win to be so strong. Excellent! He’s worth investing heavily in!"

Ye Shuping snorted. "What’s there to be proud of in losing?"

Tang Lihui said solemnly, "Winning and losing isn’t important!"

Hearing this, Ye Shuping raised his chin slightly and mocked, "Winning and losing isn’t important? Then what is? Who was it on the battlefield, getting beaten by a Martial Saint and crying for his mommy and daddy? Shouting from a mile away, ’Teacher, save me... Senior Brother, save me... Senior Sister, save me!’ You tell me, what’s important? Having a loud voice?"

Listening to his teacher’s mockery, Tang Lihui’s face immediately flushed. There was nothing he could do about it; back then, his teacher had brought him to a Martial Saint battlefield where he was hunted by all sorts of Martial Saints. He’d been utterly helpless.

He stammered, "That was different. For a Martial Artist, that’s just tactics. How can you call it running for my life?"

Ye Shuping looked at his roguish appearance and said no more.

After the S-class freshmen finished their fights, he lost interest in watching. The projection immediately dissipated into light, leaving Tang Lihui to ponder deeply. These were all good seedlings; he needed to think carefully about how to nurture them.

Yu Fei had just stepped off the platform when he saw Qin Hao jogging over from a distance, holding out another medicinal drink.

"Boss, have a drink. Quench your thirst."

Yu Fei looked up at him. Qin Hao had dark skin, but his eyes were sharp and lively. The medicinal drink this kid was holding was a premium version, and a more expensive one at that. He remembered the price was over 200 merit points.

Yu Fei didn’t take the drink. Instead, he turned to Lin Zihao and said, "I’ve done a round. Master, that empty shell, is in no condition to fight, Jiang Nianwei has exhausted her Inner Qi, and Zhang Xunyi is injured. Your condition should still be fine. How about you spar with everyone for a bit?"

Lin Zihao was taken aback for a moment, then thought about it and nodded. "No problem. But with so many people, who should I fight?"

Yu Fei shoved Qin Hao forward and introduced him grandly, "An A-class elite from our class. Give him some pointers!"

This was exactly what Lin Zihao wanted. He had been suppressed by Yu Fei in just a few moves, unable to display his full strength, and he felt incredibly frustrated. Plus, his injuries weren’t serious and had already healed.

But right now, none of the S-class students were in good condition. If he took the initiative to fight an A-class student, it would inevitably affect his reputation. However, if the other party actively sought his guidance, there would be no such problem. And he was confident he would win.

Qin Hao was overjoyed. He was more than willing to cross hands with an S-class student to see how big the gap in their strength really was. Only by fighting would he understand his own shortcomings; working in isolation was not the way.

And so, with both parties willing, the two went up onto the platform. The buzzing from the crowd instantly died down as they looked on curiously. Weren’t today’s spars supposed to be for the S-class? Why was the A-class Qin Hao up there too?

Just then, Yu Fei stood up and addressed the crowd. "Lin Zihao and I discussed it. We’ve booked the platform for the whole day, and it’s a waste to leave it empty. Right now, only Lin Zihao is in perfect condition, so any of you can go up and have a spar.

If, by any chance, Brother Zihao is defeated, then the winner can hold the platform. Let’s all spar, exchange pointers, and improve together."

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted in cheers. They couldn’t help but look enviously at Qin Hao on the platform. There were thirty or forty A-class students present; they weren’t guaranteed to get a turn later, yet this kid had managed to go first.

They all knew that Lin Zihao might be strong, but to say he could defeat every A-class student here was just wishful thinking.

Hearing Yu Fei’s words, Lin Zihao cheerfully shouted from the platform, "Brothers, come and get me!"

"Get him!"

The scene was a cacophony of noise.

Under the referee’s supervision, the two began to fight. Lin Zihao truly lived up to his S-class rank. With just a few swings of his long saber, he had Qin Hao so turned around he couldn’t tell north from south. It was a complete and total suppression.

In martial skill, Body Technique, strength, combat awareness, and more, after no more than thirty-odd exchanges, Qin Hao’s longsword was sent flying, and he immediately conceded defeat.

Meanwhile, Jiang Nianwei had already organized the queue for the next challengers. Yu Fei discovered that his very own Yulin Army Commander had exceptionally strong organizational skills, setting up the rules in just a short amount of time.

Yu Fei felt a sense of satisfaction as he sipped the premium medicinal drink.

He couldn’t help but immerse his consciousness. Around the Fate-Reversing Pearl, three red and one silver light floated. Today’s battle results were gratifying.

After defeating Li Jueyin, he had pressed his longsword against their neck. Li Jueyin had been in a daze, and taking advantage of this opportunity, he had copied them three times in a row, successfully snagging their silver talent. From Zhang Xunyi, he had obtained his cultivation talent but had failed to get his Sword Dao talent.

’Still, it wasn’t a loss. The future is long; there’ll always be another chance.’