Chapter 170 - At All Costs

The tents were filled with heated discussions of the match.

By now, all the matches that should"ve taken place had already taken place. The compet.i.tors who hadn"t registered for a fight at this point would most likely not accept any more challenges. What was left now were the fights for the top three positions.

In other words, this Qilin Festival only had two more matches left - Wei Chunqiu against Lu Mingshu and Kou Wei against Wei Chunqiu.

The previous match between Lu Mingshu and Kou Wei just ended. By rule, the next match could only take place after an hour if it involved the same compet.i.tor, so the spectators took a break to discuss the match that just ended.

At this point, it was impossible for Kou Wei to be ranked first, so he was now putting his entire reputation on the line to fight for second place. If he won the fight against Wei Chunqiu, he could keep his reputation and prove that he just happened to be unlucky against Lu Mingshu. However, if he lost again, everything would fall.

When she heard Shao Zhengyang"s comment, Lu Mingshu shook her head softly. "To Senior Brother Kou, winning or losing isn"t that important."

Shao Zhengyang paused for a moment before continuing, "Yes, that"s true. He"s going to break through to the Spirit Realm soon. However, his reputation might…" make him look like a joke.

Lu Mingshu shook her head confidently. "It"s not important to him."

"Junior Sister Lu…"

Shao Zhengyang felt like there was something he didn"t quite understand something. In his eyes, Kou Wei was the best of the best in every area. Talent, ability, character, and even how he carried himself, there was hardly anyone who could equal him. After the Heavenly Door compet.i.tion, Lu Mingshu gave off the same sort of feeling - arrogant.

Lu Mingshu and Kou Wei were different kinds of people, which is why they had different ways of dealing with the same thing. Even so, they were able to understand each other"s logic. As for Shao Zhengyang, no matter how close he and Kou Wei were, there was still a distance that he couldn"t quite put his finger on.

Perhaps… it"s just that I"m not a true elite? This thought made Shao Zhengyang disheartened.

After Lu Mingshu replied to him, she leaned back in her seat to rest, ignoring the voices of the outside world.

She had used all the treasures she had, and there was no more luck left for her.

An hour pa.s.sed, and all eyes were on the Seventh Truth Platform"s tent.

Who would he challenge first? Lu Mingshu? With his skills and his ability to cope with any situation that came up, he wouldn"t need to use much energy to defeat Lu Mingshu. Wei Chunqiu wouldn"t need much time to recover either, so an hour would be enough. If he challenged Kou Wei first and used up a lot of energy, he would be giving Lu Mingshu a free win.

That was what Lu Mingshu thought too. When Wei Chunqiu handed up the name of his opponent, she knew what was coming.

Lin Zixin took the paper that the clerk handed him and checked if there was any mistake before announcing the names; "Wei Chunqiu from the Seventh Truth Platform challenging Lu Mingshu from Nine Jade Palace."

Hearing the names, the spectators heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, there was something reasonable. If Wei Chunqiu challenged Kou Wei first then challenged Lu Mingshu while he was drained, there would be something fishy about it. The spectators would"ve questioned whether there was a conspiracy to let Lu Mingshu take first.

Wei Chunqiu jumped on stage and looked toward Nine Jade Palace"s tent.

Lu Mingshu slowly removed her armguard to wipe her sweat. She then jumped on stage.

Both of them bowed.

"Miss Lu," Wei Chunqiu said. "As I promised that day, I"ll be lenient to you if we have to fight."

Lu Mingshu replied softly, "It was just a joke. Gentleman Wei doesn"t need to take it to heart."

Wei Chunqiu shook his head. "I never go back on my words."

Upon hearing that, Lu Mingshu stared at him weirdly. "Is that the catchphrase of the Seventh Truth Platform or something?"

"Huh?" Wei Chunqiu stared at her blankly for a few seconds. He then smirked when he understood what she meant. "Because I don"t go back on my words, I"ll give you three attacks."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Well okay." Lu Mingshu fished out her sword and dashed at him. "Beware!"

A dragon-like hiss could be heard as the sword-energy rotated in the air before charging toward Wei Chunqiu.

Wei Chunqiu took a deep breath and stabilized himself. Mystic light hovered around his body and created a bubble.

A sound could be heard when the sword-energy met with the mystic light. Wei Chunqiu was not really affected, and his mystic light stabilized very quickly.

"That"s how it should be!" somebody in a tent shouted.

This is what should happen when a newbie fought an elite! What the h.e.l.l was the match with Kou Wei earlier!?

As soon as someone said that, Lu Mingshu got ready for another attack. Another sword-beam was sent out, but this time, there were two at the same time. Wei Chunqiu dodged it smoothly, but Lu Mingshu managed to stop it, and after adding even more sword-energy, it charged back at Wei Chunqiu.

Boom~~~~!

A sound could be heard. The sword-light was blocked, but the bubble had a small crack on it. Due to the overlapping energy, the sword-energy didn"t disperse immediately, it simply spun there and continued to expand.

Clink~~~~!

The mystic light cracked.

Wei Chunqiu then dodged the attack again.

The atmosphere became tense.

What"s going on? She could actually pierce through his bubble? Is this…?

The spectators were all tense. Every time they expected her to lose, Lady Luck would be on her side. Even if she only had a 10% chance of winning, she would.

n.o.body dared to comment anything about Lu Mingshu now. There seemed to be some kind of curse whenever anyone said, "She"s going to lose."

On the other hand, Wei Chunqiu was still calm.

He raised his eyebrows. "Hmm… the accuracy."

He had heard from Yu Kuang about how accurate her sword-energy could be, as if each attack was precisely measured. Now, Wei Chunqiu had experienced it himself, so he knew how accurate she was.

However, Wei Chunqiu still didn"t lose any energy. When it was broken, the lifespan of the bubble came to an end. The sword-energy was just enough to break the bubble, but it didn"t cause any injuries to him.

"One more," Lu Mingshu said and waved her sword. The sword-light dashed forward and split itself into ten rays of light. It then weaved itself into a web and hovered around Wei Chunqiu.

Wei Chunqiu blocked it with mystic force again.

He was curious as to what made her sword skills so good compared to everyone else.

The sword-energy coiled around the mystic light and abruptly created a sound.

Ding~~~~! The sword-energy and mystic light collided.

Ding! Ding! Ding!

The sound was continuous, and the mystic light around Wei Chunqiu started to vibrate.

"What"s going on?" The spectators whispered.

"Wei Chunqiu should be the one with the upper hand. He hasn"t even used his weapons yet!"

"But his bubble was broken by Lu Mingshu…."

The discussion went on. At the main palace, the king of Zhongzhou smiled contently. "Interesting! Wei Chunqiu had already learned to infuse sword-energy into his mystic light. Even though it"s hard to tell now, he would be almost invincible when he breaks through to the Spirit Realm!"

"The other is even more interesting." The queen smiled thinly. "She"s trying to force Wei Chunqiu to use his full strength. How ambitious!"

Chapter 171 - No Fear of Defeat

After the third attack, Lu Mingshu didn"t seem like she wanted to stop. The mystic light on the sword manifested into a dragon and dashed toward Wei Chunqiu quickly.

One, two, three.

"What is she trying to do!?" somebody exclaimed.

In the Seventh Truth Platform tent, Yu Kuang was muttering to himself, "She manifested so many…!"

The more sword-energy was unleashed, the more mystic force required. If one wanted to manifest a large amount of sword-energy, someone would generally have to be at the Spirit Realm.

This could only mean that Lu Mingshu had very good control over her mystic energy; it had to be absolutely meticulous. With good control, she was able to split the sword-energy into finer strings and control them exactly the way she wanted.

"Could I achieve that?" Yu Kuang asked himself.

He weighed it in his heart, and the answer he got was a "No."

He couldn"t achieve it. He was able to split sword-energy into just as many strings, but he wouldn"t be able to control each of them individually.

Now, Yu Kuang realized just how much he was lagging behind after a month. He finally understood why Wei Chunqiu said what he did.

Similar techniques and ability… Lu Mingshu and he were almost like mirror images. He could learn about his own weaknesses from watching her and how to brush up on them.

Unfortunately, he had missed the chance. If he had paid attention to each of Lu Mingshu"s matches, he might have been able to find out what was holding him back from improving and go on to greater heights.

What a pity, but it wouldn"t help even if he continued to dread over it. Lu Mingshu was now on stage fighting Wei Chunqiu and leaving Yu Kuang behind.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

The collision sound was getting more and more intense. However, Wei Chunqiu still wasn"t using his weapon against her.

"What"s happening?" A disciple who had bad eyesight was squinting while looking at the stage.

"It can"t be…?" The one who could see it seemed shocked

"Huh? What?"

"Their sword-energy and mystic light have traces of solidifying…!" Mixed feelings swelled up in the disciple"s heart. Wei Chunqiu had already infused his Physical Manifestation of Sword Intent into his mystic light. Lu Mingshu was behind him, but her sword-energy was starting to solidify too, as if this match between mystic light and sword-energy had been going on for more than ten hours.

It was believed that, because Kou Wei and Wei Chunqiu practiced in different ways, it was inevitable that there would be fierce fight in this Qilin Festival. However, they never would have thought that they would see a scene like this, and it was all thanks to Lu Mingshu.

Clink~~~~!

In the midst of the sword-shadows, a faint sword-light shot up into the sky and broke the string of sword-energy one by one, then fell back into Wei Chunqiu"s palm.

Wei Chunqiu finally pulled out his sword.

"Hmm, Miss Lu, it"s not pleasant to be so overbearing," Wei Chunqiu said as the match entered into a short break.

Lu Mingshu gave him a smile. "Three attacks are over. Or does Gentleman Wei think that he can defeat me without your sword?"

Wei Chunqiu sighed. "You want me to go all-out, right?"

"This is the Qilin Festival. How could it be considered the Qilin Festival without arduous effort?"

Wei Chunqiu laughed heartily upon hearing what Lu Mingshu said. "How could it be considered the Qilin Festival without arduous effort? Well then, if I don"t give it my best, I"ll be humiliating Miss." He gripped his sword tightly and looked at her sternly. "Miss Lu, beware."

As soon as he finished his sentence, he attacked immediately.

Wei Chunqiu was as fast as lightning. In the blink of an eye, the sword-energy was in front of her. This was the first time Lu Mingshu witnessed the speed of his sword up close.

Clank!

His sword struck hers. She barely blocked his attack; if she was one second slower, his sword would have cut her sleeve open and pierced through her shoulder blade right now. Facing an opponent like Wei Chunqiu, there was no chance of her even trying to struggle.

It didn"t take long for Wei Chunqiu to change his skill. Black sword-light flashed past her, and Lu Mingshu only barely managed to block the attacks.

In the Heavenly Sea Pavilion tent, Kou Wei was back from his resting. He was currently watching the match.

Seeing how Wei Chunqiu fought, Qi Sheng was displeased. "He"s going too far! Who is he, and who is Lu Mingshu? What"s is he being so serious for?"

"You can"t blame him." Kou Wei smiled. "I let my guard down and lost because of it. If he doesn"t give it his best, how can he ensure that he will win?"

Hearing Kou Wei talk about the previous match, Qi Sheng shook his head immediately. "You can"t blame yourself for that. Who could have known that she would bring talismans and a spiritual tool?"

Kou Wei chuckled at his reaction. "It"s alright. Is your Senior Brother a poor loser?"

Speaking about that, Qi Sheng had always admired his Senior Brother a lot. Kou Wei"s surrender not only gained weird looks from the other sects, it also caused the Heavenly Sea Pavilion"s elder to rage, thinking that Kou Wei had spoiled their reputation. Despite all that, he chose to ignore the criticism and focus on his next match.

"Senior Brother." Qi Sheng pondered for a while before he start, "Do you think Miss Lu will be able to win?"

Kou Wei smiled in reply and focused on the match.

The sword-light moved at a faster speed to the extent that a layman couldn"t distinguished who it belonged to.

Lu Mingshu put her whole heart into it and concentrated fully on the sword-light around her.

In the Heavenly Wheel, she had played out what she would do if she came up against him. His style, speed, strength, etcetera… she had been gathering the numerical values since long ago, replaying the scenario in her brain, and revising it every time.

To Wei Chunqiu, this was their first time going against each other, but not to Lu Mingshu.

From the first match that Wei Chunqiu had competed in since the challenger fight started, Lu Mingshu had been coming up with potential situations using his numerical values, and she realized that it was impossible for her to overcome his speed. Qi Zining had only sustained six attacks, and she would only be able to last for ten at most.

As the days went by, the values she had of him got more and more accurate, but she was still at her wit"s end. He was simply so powerful that, no matter how accurate she was, she would never be able to do anything.

Until this morning, when she used a strengthening seal to update her own data, and she finally found a gap. This match was do-or-die for her. Even a small difference would cause her to lose, but there was a chance, and as long as there was a chance, she would give it a try!

Since there was a chance, she wanted to force Wei Chunqiu to give it his all. That way, she would be able to force the best out of herself as well.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

The speed became faster, and the sound of swords colliding became more intense.

In the eyes of the spectators, it was just people speeding around the stage. They were so fast that they couldn"t even be distinguished.

"How many attacks now?"

"I don"t know, they are too fast."

"We already knew that Wei Chunqiu was this fast, but is Lu Mingshu that fast too?"

"True! Why do I feel that Lu Mingshu has become faster?"

Beads of sweat trailed down her forehead, neck, and back. Even her palms were covered with sweat. However, Lu Mingshu was fully focused on the match.

Yes, that"s the rhythm. Even though Wei Chunqiu changed his skills rapidly, he still had a unique tempo. Just like a piece of music, once you got its beat, you"d be able to keep up with the tempo.

The way to deal with his fast sword was to get the tempo right. Then, she would be able to find the gap.

Wei Chunqiu got faster, and Lu Mingshu did too. Finally…

Ding~~~~!

The next second, a sword flew out.

The tempo was forcefully broken. The sword-light was retrieved, silencing everyone.

Wei Chunqiu pointed the sword at Lu Mingshu. The sword that he hit flying was still spinning in the air.

Clank!

It then dropped to the floor.

"Seventh Truth Platform, Wei Chunqiu wins!"

Chapter 172 - A Treasure

Lu Mingshu stood on the stage, sweating profusely, breathing heavily, and trembling.

Wei Chunqiu was obviously in a better condition than her, but he wasn"t exactly relaxed.

After the match Lu Mingshu had with Kou Wei, he sat up and took notice of her. He felt that she had great fighting potential, but he never expected that she would be able to follow his tempo.

Ever since he got into martial arts, Wei Chunqiu had mainly focused on a fast sword. He had pa.s.sed three realms, and with his fast sword, he was always the best in each realm. There weren"t many who could fight against his fast sword.

His sword was too fast. Anyone who didn"t have basics as strong as his would be unable to discover his tempo. In fact, they wouldn"t even be able to see what was happening. Even Yu Kuang, a Seventh Truth Platform disciple whose ability was out of the ordinary, couldn"t find it.

However, Lu Mingshu, a disciple only just entered the Harmonization Realm, was able to follow his speed and nearly found a gap in his skill.

Wei Chunqiu had no choice but to increase his speed to something that she would definitely be unable to follow and forcefully break her tempo.

He heaved a sigh of relief and kept his sword.

His hands were slightly shaking from the extremely fast pace that he had utilized.

It had been a long time since anyone had forced him to this extent. It was almost his limit.

To put it simply, he only won because of his greater basics and experience.

Wei Chunqiu smiled bitterly in his heart. He never expected that he would need to overpower somebody with his higher cultivation.

The younger generation will indeed surpa.s.s the older one in time! He did not know whether it was a blessing to be in a different generation or whether it was a shame that he had never met such a valiant opponent.

"Lu Mingshu." Lin Zixin smiled widely at her. "You may keep your sword."

Lu Mingshu was called back to earth. She took a deep breath.

After she felt better and had stopped trembling, she went to get her sword and put it back to where it belonged.

"Thank you for guiding me true." Lu Mingshu bowed.

Even though she had lost this round, she gained many things that were incomparable to winning. Wei Chunqiu"s skills and tempo had given her a lot of inspiration that numerical values couldn"t.

After this match, any other fast sword in the Harmonization Realm was nothing scary to her.

"Miss has potential. Your future is limitless," Wei Chunqiu said sincerely.

Lu Mingshu gave him a smile. "I hope that, when we meet again, I can call you Senior."

She then turned around and went back to her tent.

Wei Chunqiu walked back to his tent to take a rest too. He still had one more round left, then he could be truly considered to be the number one Harmonization Realm disciple.

The name list changed again.

Wei Chunqiu; a hundred and nineteen points. Lu Mingshu; ninety-nine points. Kou Wei; seventy-three points.

For the last round, if Wei Chunqiu won, he would gain fourteen points and acc.u.mulate a hundred and thirty-three points in total and take first place. Kou Wei would lose fourteen and end with fifty-nine points. Even though he would still be in the top ten, his ranking wouldn"t be nice.

If Kou Wei won, Wei Chunqiu would lose twenty-three points and end with ninety-six points, while Kou Wei would gain twenty-three and end with ninety-six too. Lu Mingshu would then be in first with ninety-nine points, Kou Wei would take second on tiebreaks because of his win against Wei Chunqiu, and Wei Chunqiu would be third.

In the tent, the spectators had already a.n.a.lyzed the different outcomes.

Somebody sighed. "It"s such a pity. A powerful Heavenly Sea Pavilion disciple is forced to challenge Wei Chunqiu, but he won"t get first even if he wins."

"It"s all because that f.u.c.king girl has such luck. She lost, and yet she could still take first, while Kou Wei fought so hard and will be behind her!"

"Can you stop being vulgar?" Someone shut him up. "What "f.u.c.king girl," she put in effort into her fights too. Even though she defeated Kou Wei because of luck, spiritual tools are allowed in the compet.i.tion. She also fought Wei Chunqiu fairly too. Even Yue Lingyin may not be as good as her."

"Then just give her third." The guy huffed. "How is it considered fair if you get first with luck and not ability?"

Somebody sneered. "Unfair? There isn"t any rule that says luck isn"t a factor for getting first, right?"

"Well, it"s just unfair when others who actually have the ability fail because of luck!"

"Then suggest a better way to calculate it!"

"Can you both shut the h.e.l.l up?" A third party jumped out. "Luck is something that you can"t remove. If one"s lucky, then it"s just their fate, and you can"t do anything to it. Anyway, it"s not the first time that a weak person has defeated the strong. If the Qilin Festival was measured purely by ability, then why would they even need to fight?"

"Yeah!"

Being unable to retort, the guy who was unhappy with Lu Mingshu winning by luck finally shut up.

At the Nine Jade Palace tent, the atmosphere was relaxed. Now that Lu Mingshu finished the round, she would be either first or second. Before they came, the Elders never expected such a result; the most they wanted was a top ten. However, they actually got a top three! How proud they would be when this spread!

From afar, a woman in a purple gown slowly walked toward their tent.

Kang Tian and the other chaperones stood up to greet her immediately once she stepped into their tent. "Emissary Ding."

It was Ding Qingqing, the queen"s trusted aide.

She gave them a thin smile and nodded before walking toward Lu Mingshu.

"Miss Lu, you have worked hard."

Lu Mingshu stood up and bowed, but she remained silent.

Ding Qingqing did not seem to care about her reaction at all. She only focused on asking the servant girls to come forward and reveal what was on the tray that was covered with a red cloth.

Rays of light reflected across the tent.

The disciples shrieked, and they were unable to take their eyes off the tray.

A string of pearls was placed on the tray. The pearls were indigo in color, and they were so glossy that they could reflect one"s image. They were as big as a lotus seed, and they emitted a gentle glow.

Ding Qingqing took up a pearl. "This is called Mystic Dewdrop. It"s extracted from the seabed, and it only forms after a thousand years. A gift from the queen for the interesting match just now."

Mystic Dewdrop! Not only were the disciples of Nine Jade Palace drooling, even the disciples in the tent near them were green with envy!

As soon as the cover was removed, it lit up the whole tent. That meant that it was a rare treasure! Even a Spirit Realm Elder might not have such a thing! The queen was so generous!

However, not a single sign of happiness could be seen on Lu Mingshu"s face. "Thank you so much for Her Highness"s affection for me, but why would I be rewarded if I haven"t done any meritorious deed for her?"

"Her Highness is happy, so here"s a gift for you. If Miss won"t accept it, aren"t you rejecting Her Highness"s goodwill?"

"Emissary Ding is right," Yin Hong hurriedly cut into the conversation. "One shouldn"t reject a gift from an elder. Lu Mingshu, accept it."

Since Her Highness has given her such precious gift in front of everyone, the marriage should be almost confirmed. My job is done.

Yin Hong"s expression fell into An Tongchen"s eyes.

He sneered at her from the side.