Chapter 134: Triggering Combat
Across from him was Senior Sister Bai, with whom he was on good terms.
He couldn’t think of any reason why he could win today’s Magical Combat.
If Senior Sister Bai lost the reward, she probably wouldn’t hold it against him, but the same couldn’t be said for her master.
Compared to previous Inner Sect competitions, the prize for first place this time was clearly designed for Bai Qinying. The second-place winner could also get a nice bonus—a Lower Grade Foundation Establishment Pill.
"Senior Sister Bai, I lose."
Fang Yun conceded, and upon hearing this, Bai Qinying ceased her attack.
At this moment, Bai Qinying had yet to speak.
But the disciples below the Dueling Platform had already erupted.
"Ah! How could Senior Brother Fang just concede?"
"Yeah, the fight was just getting to the best part! Why did he give up?"
"Why did it have to stop here? I feel so frustrated!"
The Magical Combat, which had just reached its climax, ended so abruptly. The first reaction of many disciples was one of intense frustration.
It was like being in the middle of flirting with someone, only for them to suddenly tell you they weren’t interested.
"You’re all only thinking of yourselves! Have you forgotten that Junior Brother Fang is only at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer?"
"That’s right. Junior Brother Fang is only at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer. It’s already incredible that he could last this long in a Magical Combat against Senior Sister Bai."
With the reminders from the senior brothers and sisters, some of the younger disciples finally came to their senses.
They had been so engrossed in the fight that they’d forgotten Fang Yun was only at the Qi Refining Seventh Layer.
The originally boisterous noise immediately died down.
"Junior Brother, how much Spiritual Power do you have left?" Bai Qinying asked, looking at Fang Yun.
"If I were to control five Upper Grade Magical Artifacts at once, I couldn’t even last half a breath," Fang Yun replied.
Bai Qinying nodded. In that case, Fang Yun truly didn’t have the ability to continue fighting her.
At that moment, Bai Qinying actually let out a sigh of relief in her heart.
She hadn’t lost to Fang Yun.
Previously, Bai Qinying would never have imagined that she would have to defeat a junior brother by relying on her vast advantage in Realm to exhaust his Spiritual Power.
As Bai Qinying began to walk toward Fang Yun.
If one were watching Fang Yun intently, they would have noticed an extremely slight twitch in his right finger.
Though Fang Yun appeared unchanged on the surface, his mind was in turmoil.
His instincts told him he was being watched. The other party was incredibly powerful, leaving him no room to resist.
This was also an effect of his Combat Talent, allowing him to roughly gauge the disparity between himself and an opponent.
This power was coming from behind him.
And in that direction, there was only one person who could possess such power.
The Management Elder of Battle Peak, Miao Qinghong!
A genuine Sword Cultivator.
Fortunately, there was no malice from the other side; otherwise, his instinctive reaction would have been much stronger.
Just a moment ago, he had nearly unleashed his Spiritual Power, but he managed to stop himself in time.
The presence came as quickly as it went.
This caused Fang Yun, who had entered a combat state, to quickly exit it.
So how could he enter a combat state and activate the effects of his Combat Talent?
Fang Yun had tried many times, and the answer had come from an unintentional experiment involving Deng Qian.
First, to enter a combat state, he had to equip any one of a Sword-type Magical Artifact, a Shield-type Magical Artifact, or a Shoe Spiritual Artifact. Without one equipped, he couldn’t enter a combat state, nor could he properly trigger his talent’s effects.
This was easy to solve.
He might not have a sword or shield in hand, but he was always wearing his shoes. Especially when he was out, he wouldn’t even take them off when resting.
Then, if an opponent made any preliminary moves that could lead to combat—such as probing him or showing malice—his combat state would trigger, provided he was equipped.
So far, he had only tested this on people, not yet on Demon Beasts, but he assumed it would be the same.
Just now, Elder Miao Qinghong had noticed something, but since she didn’t say anything, Fang Yun decided to act as if nothing had happened.
When Fang Yun conceded.
Miao Qinghong, who was watching the battle, felt something was strange.
For a Qi Refining Seventh Layer cultivator, Fang Yun’s ability to last this long with his own Spiritual Power was already outstanding. However, through her keen observation, Miao Qinghong still felt that Fang Yun could have persisted for much longer.
According to her judgment, Fang Yun’s Spiritual Power wasn’t about to be depleted; rather, it seemed he hadn’t even gone all out yet.
At that moment, she first glanced at Feng Tianrui.
But she quickly dismissed the thought that followed.
With her understanding of Feng Tianrui, it was impossible that he would do such a thing just to ensure his own disciple’s victory.
Therefore, Fang Yun’s actions were likely not influenced by him.
At this moment, she checked Fang Yun’s condition.
Her probe was so subtle that even the other two Elders couldn’t detect it.
Interesting!
Fang Yun had actually sensed her action. Moreover, she could now confirm that Fang Yun seemed to have a considerable amount of Spiritual Power left in his Qi Sea.
Although Fang Yun had no chance at Sword Dao Foundation Establishment, Miao Qinghong now felt that after he successfully reached Foundation Establishment in the future, his combat power wouldn’t necessarily be any weaker than a Sword Cultivator’s.
For their Celestial Cloud Sect, this was undoubtedly great news.
’Fang Yun... I can keep an eye on him from now on...’
Miao Qinghong was interested in Fang Yun, but not greatly so. Unless Fang Yun was a seedling capable of Sword Dao Foundation Establishment—in which case, the situation would be completely different.
On the Dueling Platform.
As Bai Qinying walked closer to Fang Yun, Feng Tianrui also announced the result of the battle.
"The winner is... Number 114, Bai Qinying!"
He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but Feng Tianrui felt that Fang Yun had glanced at him just before conceding.
A sudden thought struck Feng Tianrui, and he wanted to verify his idea.
"Fang Yun, your performance was excellent."
Feng Tianrui praised Fang Yun as he walked toward him.
"Thank you for the praise, Elder Feng!" Fang Yun said with a bow.
"Mm."
Having reached Fang Yun’s side, Feng Tianrui originally intended to pat his shoulder to verify his suspicion.
In the end, he gave up on the idea.
He decided against such a test after all.
Even if he found out the result, it wouldn’t change anything. The victor of this Magical Combat was already his disciple.
Feng Tianrui didn’t make a move, and now it was too late even if he wanted to, because Bai Qinying and Fang Yun had already left.
Next up was the start of the day’s second Magical Combat.
"Junior Brother Fang, I can’t believe you didn’t fight to the very last moment." Wu Junxin expressed his disapproval of Fang Yun’s actions.
In his opinion, whether it was a friendly spar or a formal Magical Combat, one must fight until the very end before a winner is decided.
Who knows? You might just achieve victory at the last second.
To give up before that final moment was truly a great pity.
"The feeling of having your Spiritual Power depleted is terrible. Doing it this way is more comfortable for me," Fang Yun stated his position.
Then, he glanced at Bai Qinying beside him and said, "Senior Sister Bai, in your Magical Combat the day after tomorrow, you must make Senior Brother Wu fight to the very last moment."
Upon hearing this, Bai Qinying simply shook her head.
"He doesn’t have the right to fight me to the last moment."
Her strength was already approaching the level of a Half-Step Foundation Establishment Cultivator. The same was true for Fang Yun, who had been able to fight her to this point.