Chapter 75: She, Though Defeated, Was Glorious
“As a disciple of the HongHua Sect, you should have had this awareness long ago!”
Lu Wei revealed a trace of smugness on his face. If the opponent were not a woman, he would have been dancing with joy at this moment.
“Do you know? I only fought you head-on just now to finish you in the shortest amount of time. Since that tactic didn’t work, let’s try strength again.”
Cheng Hong Ling did not show the slightest hint of fear and then said to her master below: “Master, may I borrow your sword?”
“Ling’er, it’s yours.”
Xu Mei threw her sword up: “This treasure sword is called ‘Blue Scale’, forged from Blue Scale Stone, and is very beneficial for the transmission of water True Qi. It has been with me for decades, and today, Master will gift it to you.”
Cheng Hong Ling drew her long sword, and a dark blue sword light flashed past, filled with killing intent. The sword blade indeed had scale-like patterns, truly living up to its name.
“Heh heh, as expected of a petty sect, the Blue Scale Stone content in this sword is probably less than ten percent, right?”
“You should be considerate of them; Blue Scale Stone is so precious. How could it be something they can easily obtain?”
“That’s true. It’s probably good luck that she managed to get this much.”
…
The discerning cultivators below whispered their mockery.
Cheng Hong Ling heard them clearly, so she casually swung the sword a couple of times and said, “Don’t worry, Master. Regardless of whether I win or lose today, I will make sure everyone here remembers the appearance of this sword.”
“Arrogant! Do you really want to fight five at once?”
Lu Wei asked with surprise.
“What if there are five more? I said, today I want everyone here to remember the appearance of this sword!”
Cheng Hong Ling lightly wiped the sword body and said.
“That won’t happen. Only the victor will be remembered.”
Lu Wei shook his head with pity and then said to his junior brothers and sisters around him: “Go on! No need to hold back.”
Cheng Hong Ling’s beautiful eyes flickered with divine light. She bit her jade finger and wrote several talisman characters on the sword body. Then, she pointed her long sword to the sky, and countless water True Qi surged from her body, forming several dark clouds several dozen feet in the air within minutes, making the already sun-deprived ground even darker.
Next, her powerful Spiritual Sense emerged from her body, pushing the dark clouds to collide rapidly. Bright lightning bolts began to roam within them, and muffled thunder rumbled continuously, like the roars of ancient beasts, intimidating everyone in all directions and making them uneasy.
“What is that? That looks like the legendary ‘Thunder Roar Sword’.”
“Yes, it is the strongest killing move of the legendary cultivator who uses water True Qi!”
“But she is only in the Guiyi Realm! Why can she use such a powerful killing move that requires at least the Huashen Realm?”
“That’s not the complete Thunder Roar Sword, but it’s enough to prove that her Spiritual Sense is much stronger than cultivators of the same level.”
“If those disciples from the HaiZhi Sect don’t have any powerful life-saving means, then it won’t just be a simple failure; someone might lose their life on the spot.”
…
The surroundings instantly erupted, with exclamations rising everywhere.
“Ling’er, stop quickly! You can’t control this move yet!”
Xu Mei shouted anxiously from below the stage.
“Lu Wei, that is the Thunder Roar Sword. You absolutely cannot let her sword injure you even a little, or you will be pursued by the lightning above to the ends of the earth.”
A man shouted from below, seemingly a high-level figure from the HaiZhi Sect.
“Hurry up, we absolutely cannot let her finish charging her ultimate move.”
Lu Wei was greatly alarmed. Enduring his injuries, he charged towards Cheng Hong Ling, followed closely by his other senior brothers and sisters.
Cheng Hong Ling did not engage in a head-on confrontation this time. She unfolded her mystical movement technique and began to move like a ghost on the arena, making it impossible for the disciples of the HaiZhi Sect to even touch the hem of her clothes.
At the same time, the muffled thunder overhead grew louder, and lightning crisscrossed densely within, seemingly searching for an outlet.
“This is enough. It’s my turn to attack.”
Cheng Hong Ling suddenly stopped moving and then rushed towards the disciple with the lowest cultivation level from the HaiZhi Sect.
“Swish!”
Before the disciple could react, his shoulder was grazed by a sword. He looked back and saw that it was just a superficial scratch, and his face showed contempt. But the next second, a small bolt of lightning descended from the sky and struck him directly.
The disciple instantly convulsed as if he had a stroke and then collapsed softly onto the ground.
“This Cheng Hong Ling held back. The shallower the wound, the less powerful the lightning.”
Some cultivators below commented.
After taking down one disciple, Cheng Hong Ling rushed towards Zhang Yang.
“No matter how strong your swordplay is, you have to wound me first.”
Zhang Yang’s expression was solemn, but he showed no fear. His sword instantly blocked the attack.
“Clang…”
The two swords met, creating intense sparks. Zhang Yang’s sword was chipped by the Blue Scale.
“Quickly drop your sword!”
The HaiZhi Sect high-level figure from before shouted a reminder again, but it was too late.
At this moment, a bolt of lightning descended and struck the long sword in Zhang Yang’s hand. Because metal conducts electricity, it then entered his body along the sword.
Zhang Yang’s entire body went numb, and his brain could no longer control his body. His limbs convulsed, and he fell to the ground.
“Don’t block with your sword!”
Lu Wei discovered the clue and quickly instructed them, then ordered: “Help me hold her back, don’t be afraid, she won’t kill.”
Hearing this, two senior brothers and sisters gritted their teeth and charged forward.
That female disciple was only at the Body Refining Realm and could not affect Cheng Hong Ling at all, but she had a talisman.
“Tornado Talisman!”
The female disciple crushed a talisman, and a huge tornado rose into the air, its powerful attraction spreading in all directions.
Cheng Hong Ling’s ghostly movement technique was affected by the suction, and it immediately slowed down.
On the other side, Lu Wei took out an ancient small sword from his embrace and poured his True Qi into it madly.
At the same time, the small sword began to expand rapidly, like forced growth. The sword tip extended towards the dark clouds above.
“That’s the HaiZhi Sect’s top Magic Treasure, the Sky-Supporting Sword, and they actually gave it to him.”
“Lu Wei is the HaiZhi Sect’s number one Immortal Seed, and a cultivator of metal True Qi. If not him, then who?”
“I heard that this Sky-Supporting Sword can automatically lock onto targets. Once targeted, you either resist it or die.”
…
The cultivators outside the arena exclaimed again.
At this time, the last male disciple of the HaiZhi Sect moved. His name was Tu Xing, and his cultivation had reached the third level of the Guiyi Realm. He strode towards Cheng Hong Ling, his body quickly covered by a layer of rock. He became as heavy as a wild bull, and roared: “Rock does not conduct electricity, what can you do to me!”
Cheng Hong Ling naturally understood this. She tried to bypass him, but the suction from the tornado in the middle was too strong, and her body was too light, making every step extremely difficult.
In contrast, Tu Xing’s body was covered in rock, doubling his weight. What would normally be a burden became an advantage in this situation, allowing his speed to catch up with Cheng Hong Ling.
“My heavens, what perfect coordination! This is clearly a combo move.”
Some cultivators below said in shock.
Lu Wei frantically channeled his True Qi. The Sky-Supporting Sword in front of him had grown to several dozen feet tall, piercing into the clouds, drawing in the dense lightning within, and then conducting it into the ground along the sword body.
This move was extremely effective. The rumbling of the dark clouds generated by Cheng Hong Ling gradually lessened, and the lightning began to flicker.
“Ling’er, you can’t let him bring down that sword.”
Xu Mei’s anxious voice sounded from below.
Cheng Hong Ling gritted her silver teeth. The remaining water True Qi in her body poured out from her feet. She used her mystical movement technique again and lunged at Lu Wei like lightning. Finally, she conveniently cut the female disciple.
Before the female disciple could react, she was struck down by lightning and fell to the ground.
Tu Xing behind her found his speed slowing down due to the influence of the cold. He gritted his teeth, condensed a fist-sized rock in his hand, and threw it at Cheng Hong Ling’s slender back. The rock rubbed against the air, emitting a terrifying whistling sound.
Cheng Hong Ling had already reached Lu Wei, and her sword flashed rapidly.
Lu Wei, already injured and on the slippery ground, could not dodge and could only watch as his shoulder was cut open by the opponent.
“Swish!”
In the sky, the remaining lightning struck down, instantly knocking Lu Wei to the ground.
Before Cheng Hong Ling could react, she was hit hard on the back by that rock, sent flying, and spat out a mouthful of blood, unable to get up again.
Qi Huang, witnessing this through memories, could feel the intense pain, her entire body felt like it was falling apart, and the critical point was that she couldn’t even cry out in pain.
The plaza fell silent, and after a long while, it erupted again.
“So strong! Fighting five at once, she actually took down four!”
“But what’s the use? She still lost in the end!”
“It seems the Immortal Alliance’s decision was correct. No matter how strong a person is, they can’t make much of a splash and cannot make a sect prosper.”
“Alas! If she had stayed in the HongHua Sect, her future would surely end like this beautiful tragic scene!”
“Regardless, she was glorious in her defeat today! And that sword was remembered by everyone.”
…
The cultivators all wore expressions of pity.
At this moment, Xu Mei had already rushed onto the stage and hugged her disciple, weeping uncontrollably.
“Mas… Master! Is it true that no matter how strong one person is, it’s useless?”
Cheng Hong Ling asked weakly, spitting blood.
Xu Mei didn’t know how to answer and could only choke back her sobs.
“Remember this, I, Cheng Hong Ling, lost today not to the HaiZhi Sect, but to the rules.”
Cheng Hong Ling called out, gathering her last trace of True Qi, and then fainted.
…
Qi Huang also woke up from the dream. She looked around and found herself in a palace. The sound of waves outside the window was so familiar, but the surrounding furnishings were clearly not in Cheng Hong Ling’s Sea of Consciousness.
