Volume 3, Chapter 420 – This Is Muxue’s Swordsmanship

The third year within the Illusory Heart Formation.

Twelve year old Chi Xiyan stood on the Chi family’s martial arena.

Standing across from her was a young man of roughly the same age, twelve or thirteen.

At this moment, a crowd had gathered all around the arena, watching the two figures at its center and whispering among themselves.

“So who do you think is actually going to win today’s match?”

“Honestly, the Headmaster is something else, pairing the two of them up for the graduation assessment.”

“Well, what else could he do! Both Chi Xiyan and Chi Ning have reached the peak of the Third Realm. The only one in this academy who could actually spar with either of them is Master Chen himself.”

“Having the two of them fight it out as their martial exam is honestly the most sensible thing to do!”

“Enough chatting, who are you actually rooting for? Chi Yin set up a betting pool over there, and a bunch of people have already placed wagers!”

“Obviously Chi Ning! Come on, you all know how insanely hard that bastard has been grinding. Ever since he lost the Study Hall Monitor position to Chi Xiyan three years ago, he’s been going at it like a madman! As his roommate, I’m on edge every single day, worried he’s going to snap and just drop dead from overtraining!”

“Chi Ning’s put in the effort, sure, but I still think Chi Xiyan has better odds of winning.”

“Have you forgotten? Chi Xiyan’s skills were personally taught by the Young Miss herself!”

“Huh! Now that you put it that way, that actually does check out!”

“No way! I’m still backing Chi Ning! He’s my brother!”

“What kind of nonsense is that? Chi Zhong, didn’t you also say Xiyan was practically your own sister last time? How fast did you forget that she covered for your attendance record?”

Somewhere in the crowd, a chubby young man let out a pained yelp. “Ah, my brothers! Please don’t make me choose! Chi Ning is my buddy, and Xiyan is my big sister! The two of them might as well be my actual siblings from different parents!”

Up on the arena, Chi Ning’s expression had grown somewhat serious. As her long time rival, he understood better than anyone else exactly how formidable the girl standing across from him truly was.

Still, his words carried an air of ease.

“Chi Xiyan, these three years of grudges between us should finally be settled today.”

Chi Xiyan kept her eyes half closed, unaffected by the noise from the crowd below.

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Only once Chi Ning spoke did she finally lift her gaze slightly, giving her opponent the attention he deserved.

“Chi Ning. What I said before still stands. Beat me, and then you’ll have the right to negotiate terms.”

Seeing that the time was about right, Master Chen raised his hand from the viewing platform and made his announcement.

“This is a sparring match within the clan. It stops the moment a decisive blow lands. Are you both clear on that?”

The young man and young woman on the arena both nodded.

Master Chen swept his arm down. “Very well then, the match begins!”

The moment Master Chen’s words fell, the long sword in Chi Ning’s hand shot forward at Chi Xiyan.

“Perching Cloud!”

The blade sang out clearly, releasing a burst of silver light.

It was like the light of dawn slicing through morning mist.

Only when the blade came within three inches of her throat did Chi Xiyan finally move.

She spun and shifted her footing, her skirt sweeping outward in a graceful arc.

The green bamboo tassel on her sword swept across Chi Ning’s wrist.

Before Chi Ning could even change his stance, two thin cuts had already opened across his hand.

The pain hit him like the sting of a viper, and his breath was stuck in his throat for an instant.

He furrowed his brow and forced himself to pull back, his spiritual technique shifting as his sword intent surged backward like a reversed current.

With a sharp clang, Chi Xiyan finally drew her blade.

The green bamboo sheath tapped lightly against the flat of Chi Ning’s blade, throwing his sword’s trajectory off once more.

Chi Xiyan seized the opening and thrust her sword forward again.

“Ha! I already knew you’d pull that move!”

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Having been rivals for so many years, Chi Ning had long since memorized every habit in the way Chi Xiyan wielded her sword.

Her counterattack was exactly what he’d been expecting.

“Green Pheasant Triple Spin Sword!”

He shouted the name inwardly.

Three streams of sword intent sealed off the three directions from which Chi Xiyan’s attack was coming.

This was a trap Chi Ning had prepared for her long ago.

“Ah, so it really is that move.” Chi Xiyan murmured under her breath.

Chi Ning heard her.

The calmness in the girl’s voice made him feel a flicker of unease.

But his technique had already been unleashed. There was no taking it back now.

He genuinely wanted to see how Chi Xiyan would break through this move he had spent so long perfecting.

What happened next, however, left everyone stunned.

Facing sword energy that had sealed off three directions at once, Chi Xiyan simply let go of the hilt in her hand.

Her body seemed to turn into a gust of light wind, retreating swiftly.

Yet the long sword she’d released kept up its assault without losing any momentum. Her fingertip pointed lightly at the hilt of the weapon now floating free of her grip.

The spiritual energy clinging to the blade’s surface sent it spinning rapidly.

Within moments, it had transformed into a swirling storm of green light.

Chi Ning’s pupils contracted slightly. He understood exactly what this technique was.

“This isn’t a Chi family technique!”

In this dire moment, Chi Ning had nowhere to dodge to, and could only barely gather his spiritual energy to shield himself.

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The use of talismans and treasures was forbidden during this kind of sparring match.

Chi Ning had to weather this spinning storm with nothing but his own body.

Once the storm fully erupted, countless fine cuts immediately appeared across his skin.

He slashed through the remnants of the wind with his blade and charged toward Chi Xiyan, who stood at the edge of the arena.

His furious sword intent struck out like the flicking tongue of a venomous snake.

Chi Xiyan’s expression didn’t change. Her hand shifted through a gesture, and the long sword she’d released spun back around behind Chi Ning, guided entirely by her will.

A sharp whistle cut through the air.

The instant the ring of the blade sounded from behind him, Chi Ning realized something was terribly wrong.

He immediately spun around and raised his blade horizontally in front of him.

A string of clashing metallic sounds rang out, as if some invisible swordsman were gripping Chi Xiyan’s long sword and fighting Chi Ning out of thin air.

Chi Ning was finished holding back.

However, he hadn’t managed to so much as touch the hem of Chi Xiyan’s robe.

“Chi Xiyan, is this all you’ve got, these underhanded tricks?”

“Underhanded tricks?” Chi Xiyan let out a soft laugh.

She lifted her fingers slightly, then let them drop.

“Is this what you’d call underhanded?”

The clear ring of the sword sounded once more.

Chi Ning watched as the blade before him split apart into nine ghostly afterimages.

The nine images interwove and surged toward him together in a unified assault.

The pressure on Chi Ning intensified sharply.

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Those nine afterimages had nearly sealed off every direction around him completely.

With no way to retreat, he could only strain to defend himself.

Suddenly, he noticed a new shadow spreading across the ground.

He snapped his head upward.

Above the arena, at some point without him even noticing, a colossal bamboo colored sword ten zhang in length had taken shape and was now sweeping down toward him with tremendous force.

Chi Ning’s pupils shrank sharply.

With a thunderous crash, a massive gash tore across the surface of the arena.

“The outcome is decided!” Master Chen rose to his feet and announced.

Chi Ning collapsed weakly onto the ground.

Just three inches from where he sat was that gash, nearly five feet deep.

“I lost…” Chi Ning let out a bitter laugh.

He never imagined that after three years of preparation, all leading up to this one fair and honest contest, he would still end up losing in the end.

Master Chen walked between the two of them. He glanced at Chi Ning, who looked utterly lost, and let out a helpless sigh.

Chi Ning had genuinely been the best student he’d ever had since becoming a Master at this academy.

Unfortunately, his opponent had an even better teacher.

Master Chen turned to Chi Xiyan. “That Star Cutting footwork was well executed. You’ve clearly put a great deal of effort into it.”

“And that swordsmanship you just used…” Master Chen hesitated for a moment. “Is that from the Lingxu Sword Sect?”

“No…” Chi Xiyan shook her head. “This is Muxue’s swordsmanship.”