Volume 8, Chapter 555 – You Lose

“If you intend to use me as a stepping stone, you’re destined for disappointment. The fact that I replaced Hua Yu is proof enough that I am stronger than her. Since she could defeat you, naturally, so can I!”

Cheng Hongling’s tone was calm, but even behind her veil, the sharp edge in her beautiful eyes was enough to send chills down one’s spine.

“Oh? I hope your skills are as sharp as your tongue! I saw your previous fight clearly. If you think you can defeat me with that level of speed and divine sense, then today will be your end!”

Fu Xin slowly drew his sword, his entire body tense like a beast ready to pounce. In the next instant, he shot forward.

Cheng Hongling neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, her figure flickered like a ghost as she rushed toward her opponent. With the Dancing Butterfly Movement Technique underfoot and the enhancement of Profound Ice, her speed was not the slightest bit inferior to his.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The two figures swiftly clashed, their weapons colliding without any fancy techniques. Shockwaves loaded with ice and metal fragments exploded outward, forcing the onlookers to hastily erect protective barriers.

“How is this possible?! Wasn’t she only at the mid-stage of the Incarnation Realm? How can she fight Fu Xin evenly?”

“Her True Qi is strange, far more domineering than the typical Water Qi of female cultivators. You can tell just from its temperature!”

“By the heavens! It seems she wasn’t even using her full strength earlier. Could the judgment of the Huarong Sect’s higher-ups have been correct?”

“Perhaps! As we all know, once a cultivator reaches the Incarnation Realm, even a single minor stage difference is like the gap between heaven and earth. To challenge someone two minor stages above her, even Hua Yu couldn’t have done that!”

The expressions of the onlookers had completely changed. No trace of doubt remained in their eyes.

Hua Meng and her disciple’s faces grew increasingly grim, a bad premonition stirring in their hearts.

Meanwhile, Qi Huang stood calmly to the side, ready to intervene the moment her main body fell into danger.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The two combatants weaved through the battlefield, exchanging dozens of sword strikes. By now, Cheng Hongling’s Frost Domain had nearly covered the entire ground, leaving Fu Xin with fewer and fewer places to stand.

During this time, Fu Xin had attempted to shatter the ice beneath him, only to find it unnaturally hard, far from easy to destroy.

After another fierce exchange, Fu Xin disengaged, retreating to an unfrozen patch of ground. He glanced down at his sword, now riddled with chips and cracks.

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Cheng Hongling stood proudly atop the ice like a banished immortal, her skirt fluttering in the cold wind. She had not retreated a single step, seemingly holding the upper hand.

Qi Huang, with her formidable Divine Sense, keenly noticed the faint tremble in her main body’s jade-like hand as it gripped the sword. Clearly, she was feeling the strain.

But Qi Huang did not underestimate her. To engage in direct combat with an opponent two minor stages above her, this was no feat an ordinary person could achieve.

Fu Xin looked up at Cheng Hongling, a trace of admiration flashing across his face. “An elusive movement technique, tyrannical True Qi, an exceptional sword, and so young, with limitless potential. No wonder the Huarong Sect’s higher-ups were willing to discard Hua Yu for you.”

“Don’t tell me this is all you’ve got!” Cheng Hongling remained unmoved by his praise.

“If this were all I had, how could I have qualified for the Continental-Level Evergreen Conference?”

Fu Xin smirked, then slowly raised his damaged sword. “Your speed relies on the ice beneath your feet, doesn’t it? What if we fight in the air?”

With that, he levitated into the sky, then flicked his finger against the blade of his sword.

Crack!

The already battered sword shattered instantly, scattering into countless metal fragments that rained downward.

Fu Xin’s powerful Divine Sense surged outward like a tempest, sweeping up the fragments and hurling them toward Cheng Hongling.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The shards tore through the air with piercing shrieks.

“If Jiang Ling’s Divine Sense is truly only at the seventh layer of the Incarnation Realm, she’s doomed!”

Hua Meng and many other cultivators immediately reached this conclusion. After all, the gap in Divine Sense was not something external aids could bridge.

“Hmph!”

Cheng Hongling also rose into the air, conjuring a dense array of ice spikes before her. Then, Divine Sense equivalent to the eighth layer of the Incarnation Realm erupted from her body, propelling the spikes toward Fu Xin.

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Boom—!

The two overwhelming Divine Sense forces collided. Metal shards and ice spikes clashed head-on, scattering in all directions. Countless snowflakes were caught in the middle, compressed into a visible wall of ice.

“This… this can’t be!” Hua Meng’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“Divine Sense at the eighth layer of the Incarnation Realm? Could her actual cultivation be higher than the sixth layer?”

Ping Yan’s face also twisted in shock.

“That’s impossible! When she first joined the Huarong Sect, she was only at the second layer of the Incarnation Realm, this is common knowledge! How could she have progressed so quickly?”

Hua Meng’s voice bordered on hysterical.

“Right, right! It must be some treasure amplifying her Divine Sense!”

Ping Yan clung to this explanation as if it were a lifeline.

“Am I seeing things? She’s matching Fu Xin’s Divine Sense blow for blow? Just what is the cultivation level of the Huarong Sect’s new Holy Maiden?”

“Who knows? At first, I thought it was some treasure enhancing her Divine Sense, but now she’s displaying eighth-layer Divine Sense. What kind of treasure could possibly do that?”

“Could she actually be at the late-stage of the Incarnation Realm? She’s only eighteen! What kind of monstrous talent is this?”

“Such talent could rival those Nine Great Monsters of the cultivation world! How could a regular cultivator possess this? Isn’t bloodline supposed to reign supreme?”

The spectators gaped, their discussions filled with astonishment.

“Eighth-layer Divine Sense… Could your cultivation truly be at the eighth layer of the Incarnation Realm?”

Even Fu Xin’s expression shifted. But after a moment of thought, he shook his head. “No… When we clashed earlier, you were clearly struggling. If you were truly at the eighth layer, with such an overpowering cultivation method and movement technique, your combat power wouldn’t be so lacking. That leaves only one possibility, you must have some treasure or secret art that enhances your Divine Sense!”

“So that’s it!”

The crowd nodded in sudden understanding.

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“He’s not entirely stupid.”

Qi Huang raised an eyebrow in mild surprise.

“I’ve heard you only recently joined the Huarong Sect. These things clearly didn’t come from them. Now I’m truly curious about your origins. It seems I’ll have to tear off that veil of yours today to see for myself.”

Fu Xin’s confidence returned as a smirk played on his lips. He descended slowly, his Metal Qi surging beneath his feet like thick fog, spreading outward. Wherever it passed, the ground solidified into thick “metal flooring”, aggressively pressing against the surrounding ice.

Cheng Hongling naturally wouldn’t stand idly by. Sword in hand, she lunged forward.

Fu Xin’s mind moved, and a crimson sword materialized in the air, its tip embedded in the metal ground.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

With a flick of his Divine Sense, the sword began spinning like a top, its tip grinding against the metal floor and sending sparks flying.

The sparks swelled with the wind, transforming into fireballs the size of washbasins that hurtled toward Cheng Hongling at terrifying speeds.

Cheng Hongling swung her sword, cleaving through the fireballs one by one, but the relentless barrage kept her from closing the distance.

“Look! That’s the Venomfire Sword!”

“The what?”

“Fu Xin’s ultimate weapon, forged from the stinger of a Flame Scorpion. It cuts through iron like mud, and its venom is lethal, even a scratch can be fatal!”

“Fatal? For low-level cultivators like us, even standing miles away could poison us! Back up, quick!”

Panicked shouts rose among the spectators, and the crowd hastily retreated.

Meanwhile, as the Venomfire Sword continued to grind against the metal floor, the ground began glowing red, the heat spreading rapidly. The temperature of the entire battlefield soared, evaporating snowflakes before they could even touch the earth.

Hiss… Hiss…

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The Profound Ice left behind by Cheng Hongling finally began melting under the intense heat, releasing dark red toxic fumes that coiled upward, engulfing her in an inescapable cloud.

‘Venomfire?’

A faint smile curled Cheng Hongling’s lips. Having cultivated Water Exquisite Art, she feared no poison.

Her True Qi surged outward, guided by her Divine Sense, forming a water barrier around her that filtered out every trace of the toxic air.

“You think ordinary water can neutralize Venomfire? It’s over. You’re still far inferior to Hua Yu.”

Fu Xin’s voice brimmed with confidence.

“Oh?”

But Cheng Hongling remained completely unaffected. She dove downward at high speed, her Blue Scale Sword unleashing a blade aura several zhang long as she brought it down upon Fu Xin’s head.

Fu Xin’s expression flickered, but he remained composed. Anchoring himself firmly, he raised the Venomfire Sword to meet her strike.

“Corpse-Measuring Marsh!”

The moment before their blades clashed, Cheng Hongling uttered four emotionless words ¹ 以泽量尸, yǐ zé liàng shī. .

Instantly, the ground within a ten-zhang radius transformed into a swamp. The red-hot metal fragments sank like stones.

Fu Xin’s footing vanished. Though he tried to stabilize himself with his Divine Sense, it was too late, Cheng Hongling’s sword was already upon him.

Thud!

Fu Xin was slammed deep into the swamp, half of his body submerged.

Cheng Hongling’s feet lightly tapped the ground, and ice spread outward, sealing Fu Xin in place. She pressed the edge of her sword against his throat and declared coldly from above:

“You lose.”