Chapter 396: Jiu Has a Sword (5.5k)
The referee once again gestured to the surroundings, and after the noisy clamor subsided slightly, he turned his head to look at Su Jiu, saying with great seriousness, “Contestant, are you sure? You know that the Priest bloodline and the Warrior bloodline are completely different. Priests are far inferior to Warrior-type bloodlines at the same level.”
“It’s okay, Uncle. We’ll accept if we lose…”
Facing the referee’s reminder, Su Jiu smiled faintly and waved her hand casually, not paying much attention.
“Hehe, do you have some Alchemical Items to hide your strength? But what’s the point of hiding your strength?”
But her words drew Ayako’s ridicule. The latter made no extra movements, just waved her hand casually. The Intermediate Battle King’s strength was released without any reservation, and the pressure made it difficult for the weaker students to even breathe.
“Ants are ants after all!” another cold snort sounded.
The purple poisonous mist, accompanied by the surging of her strength, erupted from her body in an instant. The “hissing” sound of corrosive擂台 constantly echoed, forcing some judges to personally descend and maintain the external energy shield.
“Intermediate Battle King level?!”
On the stage, countless pairs of eyes looked at Xiangzi in front of them with horror. Even the captains of top teams like Wend and Morin couldn’t help but look over, even gasping in shock.
“It seems the ‘Slacking Team’ has kicked a steel plate.”
“This ‘Masterstroke’ by Tokyo University has probably stunned those top universities! An Intermediate Battle King appearing in such a competition is too terrifying!”
“The championship is definitely Tokyo University of Cherry Blossom Country. Even Wend would find it too difficult to face such strength, after all, the opponent is also a Talented Individual.”
At this moment, in the spectator stands, almost everyone except Morin’s team had basically concluded that Su Jiu would surely lose. Some people had even started cheering for Ayako, as if they had already confirmed her championship status.
“Too weak. If she were a High-Rank Battle King, we might see a battle of dragons and tigers, but only Intermediate— it’s not worth watching.”
But Morin’s gaze slowly fell on the stage. After glancing at Ayako, who had a playful smile on her face, a hint of pity appeared in her eyes. Poor child, although you are very strong, you probably haven’t realized who your opponent is…
“Don’t worry, she’s just at the early stage of Intermediate Battle King, not some big monster.”
Under the gaze of the entire audience’s pity and Xiangzi’s mockery, Su Jiu waved to the members of the Slacking Team, then leaped up and stomped her foot in the center of the arena.
With a crisp sound, her figure, like a falling leaf, flipped in the air and landed steadily opposite Ayako. With a smile that remained unchanged, she said, “I’m not hiding anything, I’m Peerless Battle General. As for whether I’m an ant, please have Miss Xiangzi try it.”
Su Jiu bit the words “Miss Xiangzi” exceptionally heavily.
At this moment, Su Jiu was certain that the person in front of her was definitely not Xiangzi. Although their appearances and tones were almost the same, their bloodlines were different. This one was much stronger!
Su Jiu could feel that “Xiangzi” in front of her had an extremely strong bloodline within her. Although it couldn’t compare to her own constantly evolving bloodlines, if placed among the bloodlines on the market—it should reach SS-class.
At this time, the white referee saw that Su Jiu was still insistent on going, so he nodded and loudly announced to the surroundings, “Those not related to the match, please withdraw!”
As the match was about to begin, the others withdrew from the competition stage. Only Su Jiu, Ayako, and the Priest from Ayako’s team remained on the stage.
“Slacking Team, where is your Priest?”
The referee frowned and looked behind Su Jiu. Upon finding it truly empty, he asked Su Jiu with great confusion.
“No, I’m the only Priest on the entire team.” Hearing the referee’s voice, Su Jiu smiled at him, seemingly not taking the Demon King-like Xiangzi to heart.
“No Priest?” The referee was completely stunned.
“You, a Peerless Battle General, dare to be so presumptuous facing me?”
Ayako saw Su Jiu’s nonchalant attitude, and a strong killing intent surged onto her face. After a long while, she suddenly sneered, “I can kill you without even using a weapon. Later, when you are defeated by me without a weapon on the stage, I’ll see the expressions of those Dragon Country people.”
“Then I won’t use a weapon either.”
Facing Ayako’s “gentlemanly concession of weapons,” Su Jiu smiled faintly. Her smiling face was filled with composure, as if she were not facing a strong opponent, but chatting with her sisters while shopping.
Looking at Su Jiu, who was still nonchalant ten meters away, Ayako felt a stifling frustration that she couldn’t unleash. She took a deep breath, stared at Su Jiu like a venomous snake, then turned her head and said to the referee in a low voice, “Can we begin?”
“The match begins!”
Upon hearing the words, the referee glanced at the judging stand. After receiving approval, he waved and announced loudly. The moment he spoke, the medical teams’ gazes focused on Su Jiu, as if ready for immediate rescue.
“Since she’s not using a Priest, you shouldn’t interfere!”
Shouting to the Priest behind her, Ayako’s eyes darkened slightly. She stared sinisterly at Su Jiu and sneered, “How arrogant. A mere degenerate generation dares to be so rampant.” As her voice fell, streaks of purple light suddenly surged from Ayako’s body, finally turning into a poisonous mist domain that enveloped her entire being.
“It’s also poisonous mist… very similar to Xiangzi’s, but this poison should have reached an Extraordinary Attribute of level one.” Su Jiu looked at the purple poisonous mist enveloping Ayako. Within it, countless snake shadows seemed to be swimming.
Obviously, what she practiced was a skill from the same origin as Xiangzi, and it was even superior.
“Taste this Yamata no Orochi poison and pay for your underestimation.” Ayako sneered, waved her palm abruptly, and a cluster of purple energy flowed and shot towards Su Jiu along the ground like a swimming snake.
Looking at the poisonous mist that turned into a snake-like winding form, Su Jiu raised her eyes slightly, and her fingers also waved. An emerald green external qi with a frost-like aura appeared at her fingertips.
“Go.”
She flicked it out with her fingers, and it collided with the poisonous mist. With a muffled thud, the arena at the collision point was actually corroded into a scorched black color, showing the ferocity of the poison.
“Miss Xiangzi, are these all you can do as an Intermediate Battle King?” Su Jiu patted the dust off her clothes and smiled faintly.
“Arrogant Dragon Country person! You’re seeking death!”
Ayako’s eyes surged with cold intent. Dense purple energy erupted violently, and then her figure, like a ghost, appeared behind Su Jiu in an instant, a sinister grin on her face. Her palm, entwined with poison gas, brought a whistling sound of the air as it fiercely struck towards Su Jiu’s head.
Facing the incoming poisonous mist, Su Jiu raised her eyelids and casually shifted her feet to the side. The fist wrapped in poisonous mist grazed her green silk hair and flew out diagonally. The green external qi directly isolated the escaping poison gas.
“You have a speed-type bloodline, right? Then you’d better pray you don’t get touched by me!”
Ayako was a bit surprised that Su Jiu avoided her attack, then sneered again. She formed her five fingers into claws and fiercely clawed towards Su Jiu’s shoulder downwards.
“But your strength isn’t good either?”
As her claw swept down, it suddenly froze in mid-air. Su Jiu’s two fingers condensed together, forming an ice shard, and pierced directly into her palm, resisting all the force.
“You don’t have a speed-type bloodline?” Her attack was blocked again, and Ayako showed a trace of surprise in her eyes. Then she suddenly let out a cold shout, “Then try my Cherry Blossom Secret Technique: Amaterasu Palm.”
As the shout fell, the poisonous mist on Ayako’s claws surged. The mist swirled, and finally, a phantom of a huge palm appeared on her palm. The palm was like the palm of a god, carrying an immense aura.
Ayako let out a sharp cry, and the power on her palm surged, forcefully pushing back the ice shard. With an extremely heavy aura, she slashed down furiously. This slash even seemed to tear the air. As the claw passed, poisonous mist seemed to permeate the air.
“Piercing Cloud!”
Feeling the sharpness of the opponent’s palm strike, Su Jiu also felt slightly surprised. The ice shard on her fingertips dissipated, and then a white silver light and green external qi ignited, fiercely colliding with the huge purple palm.
Bang!
With a dull sound, Ayako’s body slightly staggered, and then the impact force directly forced her back several steps. Her face was filled with astonishment as she looked at Su Jiu, who hadn’t moved at all. She could even see the faint smile on her face.
Upon discovering that Su Jiu was fighting Ayako, an Intermediate Battle King, to a draw, countless people in the arena changed their expressions instantly, and exclamations echoed one after another.
“She can actually fight Xiangzi in her bare-handed state to a draw!?”
“The strength of this ‘Frost Sword’ is probably much greater than that of Wend and others…”
“Indeed, this contestant from Dragon Country is very strong.”
Even the judges expressed their admiration for Su Jiu, and everyone had a preliminary acknowledgment of Su Jiu’s strength.
Yun Mo and the others, whose hearts had been hanging, finally relaxed. Just as they were about to smile and talk to the other judges beside them, the representative from Cherry Blossom Country said with a faint smile, “Everyone, Eastern Japanese martial arts have always emphasized not just barehanded combat; swordsmanship is our strongest aspect.”
After speaking, he smiled mysteriously again, looked down, and said lightly, “Moreover, Xiangzi’s weapon is a descendant of a pure-blooded Yamata no Orochi mating.”
“A pure-blooded Yamata no Orochi descendant? A pure-blooded top War God descendant!?”
Reminded by the representative from Cherry Blossom Country, Yun Mo and the others also realized that Su Jiu and Ayako had not truly used their full means in their competition so far. If Ayako truly used her weapon, her strength might be far from this.
Old Green, however, remained indifferent. In his opinion, if she had used her weapon earlier, Xiangzi might have been defeated on the spot.
…
“You absolutely cannot be just a Peerless Battle General. Take out your weapon. I’m too lazy to talk to you. My strength can only be displayed with the Long Sword.”
After several more clashes with Su Jiu, Ayako’s expression changed unpredictably. She couldn’t help but disregard her previous words about not using weapons and said loudly.
Then, with a flash of white light, a silver-white Long Sword, about two-thirds of a person’s height, appeared in her palm. The entire Long Sword was mainly decorated with snake patterns. The hilt resembled a snake’s head spitting out, and purple smoke coiled around it, looking terrifying and evil.
“Eight Chaotic Sword Arts”
As the Long Sword appeared, with a “boom!” sound, accompanied by the momentum of thunder, Ayako fiercely slashed towards Su Jiu’s neck. Judging by her posture, if she were hit, her head would likely be cleaved off.
“Full Moon!”
Taking a light breath, Su Jiu took a step back. The icy blue pupils of her Ice Dragon Transformation suddenly burst with a cold sharpness. The ice finger in her hand changed its angle and met the attack, directly targeting the edge of the blade.
Under the shocked gazes of many, the ice finger fiercely collided with the Long Sword.
“Clang!”
A clear clanging sound suddenly rang out. Purple frost energy ripples surged from the point of contact, and cracks like a spiderweb spread across the competition arena.
As the cracks spread, a figure was also violently pushed back several steps. The crowd’s gazes quickly followed, and then they couldn’t help but be slightly stunned. The one who retreated was actually Ayako!
Their gazes lingered on Ayako’s body for a moment, then shifted back and landed on the girl who had only taken one step back. For a moment, the shocked gazes intensified even more.
The Priest of the Slacking Team actually had the upper hand in a frontal confrontation with Ayako, an Intermediate Battle King?
No, if she had this strength, why did she go to be a Priest before?
“Not bad, you actually know how to play dirty tricks.”
Su Jiu praised lightly. Her long, wide sleeves lightly flicked, and she flicked out a wisp of purple poisonous mist. The green frost energy instantly purified and devoured it.
Ayako, who had stabilized her stance, had an extremely sinister expression at this moment. She cast a gloomy glance at Su Jiu and said, “Very good! I originally wanted to save this ultimate move for Wend, but you have thoroughly angered me now. If I don’t cripple you, my Dao heart will be unstable.”
“Solid Shadow!”
As the words fell, a low roar suddenly came from Ayako’s throat. Then, crackling sounds erupted from within her body, and her body suddenly grew taller.
Countless poisonous mists erupted from her bones as if they were emerging, enveloping her in a sea of mist. Within the poison sea, a giant figure churned, and more than a dozen eyes emitting golden lanterns stared straight at Su Jiu.
And within the sea of poisonous mist, Ayako’s aura also rapidly increased, vaguely approaching the level of a High-Rank Battle King, reaching a half-step High-Rank Battle King state.
“Yamata no Orochi Life Soul!”
Ayako shouted again. Nine monstrous snake heads suddenly emerged from the poisonous mist, piercing directly into the shield before stopping themselves. Then, each of them protruded its tongue, and their gazes remained fixed on Su Jiu, as if they would tear Su Jiu apart at Ayako’s command.
From a distance, its colossal body could be seen to be hundreds of meters long, and its aura was no different from Ayako’s in front of it, having reached the Intermediate Battle King stage.
“Do you know the top War God Monster—Yamata no Orochi? My bloodline and my Beast Pet, Yamata no Orochi, are a perfect match. I wonder if you will die of poison if you can’t block my next strike.”
Looking at Su Jiu not far away, Ayako’s lips revealed a mocking smile. She gently rubbed the gleaming Long Sword, and a faint sword aura emanated from her, like a top swordsman in the world.
Not far away, Su Jiu took two steps back and lowered her head slightly, exhaling softly, as if calling for something.
“That Dragon Country girl is probably really out of options.”
“What a shame. She was defeated by a weapon. But weapons are also part of strength.”
“Xiangzi is the eldest daughter of the Suzuki Family. It’s normal not to be able to compare. Today’s battle has been exciting enough.”
Seeing Su Jiu retreat, the people in the arena showed disappointed expressions, but they also understood. After all, she had already fought above her level. To demand more was impossible, and she couldn’t possibly challenge a top swordsman wielding a top-tier weapon.
“Isn’t this contestant a bit too strong?”
The people in the judging seats all showed surprised expressions, and the judge from Cherry Blossom Country was already showing a brilliant smile, as if everything was under control.
Yun Mo watched with great worry. He looked back at Green, who remained composed, and began to worry in his heart—
Can Su Jiu really face an opponent of this caliber?
“Is that all the contestants from Dragon Country are capable of? They’re like soft-shelled shrimp.”
Seeing Su Jiu’s seemingly timid appearance, Ayako seemed even more triumphant. She then pointed her Long Sword directly at Su Jiu’s face and tauntingly asked, “I have one more strike, can you still take it?”
The Dragon Country audience below, who had been caught in Ayako’s indiscriminate verbal attack, could only suppress their anger and dare not speak. Because they knew that even the martial arts fanatic from the Magic City couldn’t compare to this strength.
“Hehe… Yamata no Orochi?”
Just as almost everyone thought Su Jiu was scared, under the watchful eyes of everyone, she suddenly smiled and shouted, and frost and snow surged out from under her feet in all directions. Her sleeves fluttered, making violent sounds, and her aura continuously climbed.
“How dare you compare yourself to my great nation?”
Elegy – Stage One!
Early stage Intermediate Battle King!
Mid-stage Intermediate Battle King!
…
Mid-stage Intermediate Battle King!
“How is this possible! She actually reached Intermediate Battle King directly?!”
The surrounding judges instantly stood up. The representative from Cherry Blossom Country blurted it out, his shocking voice echoing in the snow-swept arena for a long time.
Originally able to fight Ayako to a draw as just a Peerless Battle General, now she probably has the strength to defeat Ayako?
“Damn, you scared me to death. It turns out there really was a backup plan!”
Seeing the commotion below, Yun Mo suddenly looked over, his face flushing. Su Jiu’s words seemed to have injected him with chicken blood.
In recent years, Dragon Country really hasn’t had many great talents willing to participate in such competitions. After all, many truly powerful people look down on the rewards of such competitions… and they don’t want their strength to be known. Only students are required to participate.
This has led to Dragon Country being mocked as incompetent by people from other countries in recent years.
But the representative from Cherry Blossom Country behind him was completely stunned, muttering to himself, “How is this possible?”
“Is it some kind of secret technique?”
Sensing that Su Jiu’s entire aura had changed, Ayako’s gaze sharpened. Then she suddenly thought that she, too, was a peerless Talented Individual at the same level. Why should she be afraid of someone who forcibly enhanced herself through a secret technique…
Moreover, she also had the Yamata no Orochi Life Soul to assist her. Her eyes dimmed again, and she tightened her grip on the crystalline white Long Sword. Looking at the snake patterns on the hilt, a sense of security surged into her heart, and her mood calmed down slightly. Just as she was about to attack…
“Roar!”
Just as everyone was in shock, a dragon’s roar sounded. A three-foot-long green sword, exuding a sharp cold aura, suddenly appeared around Su Jiu. The sword was coiled like a silver dragon, with the dragon’s body forming the sword hilt and the dragon’s head forming the sword tip. Every slip seemed to be accompanied by swirling snowflakes, as if a lifetime of frost was hidden within.
“Come and fight.”
Then it hung behind Su Jiu. Accompanying her lightly floating words, Su Jiu’s toes lightly tapped the shattered ground, and her body gracefully landed back in the center of the arena. Her Petite body and the three-foot immortal sword formed a scene with a martial and immortal flair.
For a moment, it actually formed a confrontation with the colossal phantom of the Yamata no Orochi. Although there was no domain, it was like a domain. Even the white frost flowers seemed to suppress the purple poisonous mist.
Gently reversing her grip on the long sword, Su Jiu held it horizontally and pointed it at Ayako. As if a furious dragon roared from the sword, as if dissatisfied with the arrogant behavior of the Yamata no Orochi phantom, she intended to avenge her sword immortal master.
Then, in a voice only the two of them could hear, she said softly, “I also have a sword, do you dare to receive it?”
