Chapter 61 : Threading the Needle
Zhong Heng possessed a fire spiritual root, which was precisely the opposite of Yun Qingyue's ice spiritual root. Combined with fire's inherently explosive nature, his attacks were extraordinarily powerful. Now, not daring to be overconfident, he launched a fierce offensive, swinging his sword to release a surge of red spiritual energy.
His sword technique had no embellishments, nor did his spiritual energy—it transformed directly into a blade of energy that descended upon Yun Qingyue with tremendous force. As Zhong Heng's strike fell, the surrounding air seemed affected by the surging fire energy, suddenly appearing to distort the very space with heat. Even at a considerable distance, the crowd below the arena felt a wave of heat rushing toward them.
The female disciple holding the little white tiger stood in the front row of the arena. Feeling this wave of heat, she couldn't help but be astonished, while a fellow disciple beside her exclaimed: "This fire power... when did Second Junior Brother become this formidable?"
As these words fell, the sword shadow wrapped in overwhelming flames had already descended toward Yun Qingyue.
The fire's reflection danced in her clear, cool glassy eyes, yet Yun Qingyue remained calm and unhurried. With a casual sword strike, white frost instantly cut through the sea of fire, forcefully carving a path of white light through the sword shadow. Contrary to expectations, though this white light carried impressive momentum, its follow-through seemed inadequate. The strike that was initially expected to break through the sea of fire and directly target Zhong Heng ultimately dissipated within the fire.
Many spectators below had watched Yun Qingyue's matches these past two days and were well aware of her prowess. Originally prepared to see her defeat her opponent with a single strike, they were surprised by this anticlimactic outcome. The previously confident crowd gasped in disappointment.
Yun Qingyue's expression finally changed, showing slight emotion before quickly arriving at an answer: "Fire Seed?"
Zhong Heng raised his eyebrows, holding his heavy sword horizontally with some pride: "Indeed, it's a Fire Seed that I happened to subdue in a secret realm three months ago. So Senior Sister, don't underestimate me, or you'll suffer at my hands."
With those words, he attacked again.
After hearing him out, Yun Qingyue had already regained her composure, and when she struck again, her attitude was notably more serious. Correspondingly, her previously ordinary sword energy also changed—her next attack brought a sweeping storm of frost, instantly covering the sea of fire Zhong Heng had created... The entire arena was encased in ice, and though the Fire Seed beneath the ice remained unextinguished, the difference in strength was obvious at a glance.
Zhong Heng, frozen solid in the blink of an eye once again: "..."
The face-slapping came too quickly. Even though the second brother was accustomed to being defeated by his Senior Sister, this public humiliation still brought intense shame. His eyes moved beneath the ice, but unlike Min Rong before him, he didn't struggle desperately, and the elder presiding over the arena didn't announce a victor.
Sure enough, the next moment came a series of crisp "crack, crack" sounds as the layers of ice covering Zhong Heng shattered inch by inch. Then his body shook, and the shattered ice covering him fell away in cascades. But before it could reach the ground, it was vaporized by rekindled flames. For a moment, the arena was shrouded in mist, making it difficult to see clearly.
The little white tiger below merely blinked, then heard a series of metallic clashes from the arena—"bang, bang, bang, bang"—seemingly quite intense. Unfortunately, with the mist not yet dispersed, it was impossible to see clearly.
Shortly after, a mountain breeze swept through, dispersing the misty vapor.
The crowd below once again saw the two combatants on the arena—Zhong Heng wielding his heavy sword with fierce attacks, Yun Qingyue raising her sword to meet and counter each move. On the surface, this appeared to be a one-sided battle. However, anyone with eyes could see that the true situation was exactly the opposite. With each swing of Zhong Heng's sword, more frost clung to his body, the deep cold white gradually spreading across him.
Of course, Zhong Heng, with his Fire Seed, couldn't simply await his doom. So while swinging his sword in attack, he simultaneously mobilized his spiritual energy. The spectators below could see red flames occasionally flaring on his body, but unfortunately, they often couldn't sustain for more than a moment before extinguishing again.
In this back-and-forth, the heat from the Fire Seed could barely maintain his body's mobility, preventing his limbs from being frozen stiff by the frost's cold. But the heavier the frost on his body, the closer he was to defeat.
Zhong Heng gritted his teeth, feeling quite unwilling to accept this. He had thought that obtaining the Fire Seed had greatly increased his strength, finally giving him the capital to compete with his Senior Sister. So he had confidently ascended the arena, and his initial attack had indeed surprised everyone. But unfortunately, before that surprise could transform into admiration, he was thoroughly suppressed by his Senior Sister again. This result didn't deject him; rather, it made him even more unwilling to accept defeat, determined to hold out until the end.
As the cold on his body intensified again, Zhong Heng gradually felt stiffness as he wielded his heavy sword. He knew this was due to the formidable nature of Senior Sister's ice sword intent. But he was unwilling to accept defeat, so he strove to squeeze every bit of power from the Fire Seed he had recently subdued.
Finally, a warm current rose from his dantian, sweeping through his entire body, giving him the ability to swing his heavy sword once more.
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The battle between Yun Qingyue and Zhong Heng lasted for a long time. The second brother was as stubborn as a cockroach that refused to die. Even after being frozen solid by Yun Qingyue multiple times, he stubbornly relied on the power of the Fire Seed to break free again and again, then continued to charge at Yun Qingyue while wielding his heavy sword. An outsider might think they weren't Senior Sister and Junior Brother but rather harbored some deep grudge.
Honestly, the little white tiger watching the battle was getting somewhat bored, and having not rested well the previous night, she felt drowsiness washing over her. She yawned several times, her eyelids drooping. If not for the fact that she was being held by a stranger, she would likely have fallen asleep already.
She wasn't the only one finding it uninteresting. In her drowsy state, she faintly heard a young woman nearby say: "Senior Brother, let's go. This match is truly boring. That Senior Sister Yun could have won long ago, yet she chooses to drag it out for so long. The matches on the other arenas have already concluded, yet they're still fighting. At this rate, they could continue until tonight."
These words were quite blunt, but Jiang Mo agreed with them in her heart, so she slightly raised her eyes to glance in that direction.
The speaker was not a disciple of Mount Mingxia, nor was she a disciple of Xuanqing Sect, but rather a disciple from Tiandao Sect who had come to watch again. The speaker was none other than Ruan Le, who had tried to approach Jianbing several times before. This time, she wasn't focusing on Jiang Mo but was genuinely expressing her feelings.
Xuanqing Sect's competition was reaching its climax, and the disciples from Tiandao Sect and Buddha Sect hadn't been idle these past two days, frequently appearing beneath various arenas. Today, Tiandao Sect's contingent was quite complete, including the rarely-seen Jiang Shen, who was now also below the arena. But it was You Yi who responded to his junior sister's complaint: "Junior Sister, don't speak nonsense. The two on the arena are originally Senior Sister and Junior Brother, merely exchanging pointers."
Setting aside the notion of exchanging pointers, the part about guidance was true. Those with real insight had already seen through Yun Qingyue's intention in not securing victory quickly—Zhong Heng had only subdued the Fire Seed three months ago. Though his strength had increased considerably, his mastery and control of the Fire Seed were still very limited. This was a rare opportunity, and Yun Qingyue was helping him rapidly refine the Fire Seed through constant pressure, better preparing him for the upcoming Three Sect Martial Arts Competition.
Ruan Le wasn't stupid; if she couldn't see it, she could guess it. She pursed her lips noncommittally. Just then, she sensed a gaze upon her and turned her head somewhat impatiently, only to meet a pair of golden tiger eyes.
It was Jianbing looking at her!
Ruan Le was somewhat surprised, followed by delight. She had already lost interest in the match on the arena and immediately approached. After some thought, she didn't rashly overstep boundaries but instead took out a bag of snacks from her storage ring and offered it: "This is a specialty from our Tiandao Sect, quite delicious. Since watching the match is boring, would Jianbing like to try some?"
As she spoke, she had already opened the paper bag of snacks, and a rich, enticing meat aroma immediately spread. The Mount Mingxia female disciple holding Jianbing was initially wary of her, but after seeing her calmly eat first, her vigilance lessened.
It was a bag of jerky, made from unknown meat with unknown seasonings, yet it smelled incredibly tempting.
The little white tiger had initially intended to ignore her but was attracted by the meat aroma and looked twice more. When Ruan Le brought the jerky to her mouth, she raised her eyes to look at Ruan Le for a moment, ensuring that the other's eyes held only sincerity without malice, before hesitantly opening her mouth—this was Xuanqing Sect, and they were in public view; no one would dare harm her.
Ruan Le indeed had no intention to harm anyone. She offered snacks to Jianbing merely to curry favor and get closer. After finishing one piece of jerky, the little white tiger's appetite was indeed piqued, and during the second feeding, she secretly touched Jianbing's whiskers without incident.
This was enough; just having the opportunity to approach was good. Things couldn't be rushed.
Just as Ruan Le was celebrating her successful approach to the little white tiger and planning to gradually cultivate their relationship, the two on the arena—who everyone thought would fight for an entire day—swiftly determined the outcome. Yun Qingyue swept her long sword, freezing Zhong Heng once more, but this time she didn't give him time to break free. She immediately followed with a palm strike, directly pushing the human ice sculpture off the arena.
With a loud "thud," the ice sculpture landed solidly on the ground, leaving the elder presiding over the arena momentarily stunned. Only after the solid ice sculpture rolled a couple of times on the ground did he come to his senses and announce: "Yun Qingyue wins."
The victorious Senior Sister left the arena without looking back, not bothering with her thoroughly frozen Junior Brother, and directly descended to stand before the little white tiger.
At that moment, the little white tiger had just accepted the second feeding, with half a piece of jerky still in her mouth, when she was caught red-handed by her Senior Sister. She felt inexplicably guilty, and her mouth opened, dropping the remaining half of the jerky on the ground. If not for her physical limitations, she would definitely have stepped on it to destroy the evidence. But since she couldn't, she could only pretend nothing had happened, then enthusiastically pounce toward her Senior Sister, congratulating her on another victory.
Yun Qingyue observed the little gluttonous tiger's series of actions and almost saw through her entire thought process, feeling both annoyed and amused. However, she didn't reject the little white tiger's embrace, skillfully taking the baby tiger into her arms.
The little white tiger nuzzled her Senior Sister's hand ingratiatingly, showing none of Jianbing's usual aloofness. Her clingy demeanor made her look more like a spirit cat.
Yun Qingyue was long accustomed to this and poked the little white tiger's forehead, casually petting her. Beside them, Ruan Le, holding the snacks, watched in astonishment, though neither person nor tiger paid her any attention.