Chapter 43 - 18: Match-fixing?

"Junior Sister! Junior Sister!" Luo Mingyue’s voice called out from outside.

Li Shuang hurried to open the door.

Seeing Li Shuang’s slightly exhausted appearance, Luo Mingyue couldn’t help but be startled. "Little Frost, did you not rest well last night? The next selection match is about to begin. Can you handle it?"

Li Shuang’s eyes were bright. "It’s fine."

She had exchanged sword moves with Su Mu for five days. As a result, her mind was extremely exhausted, and her Spiritual Power was depleted by more than half. However, her current total Spiritual Power capacity wasn’t high to begin with. The moment she stepped out of the Inheritance Space, the Supreme Forget Emotion Technique activated on its own, rapidly restoring her Spiritual Power. Even if she couldn’t recover to her peak state in time, she had mastered the Sword Domain. Li Shuang had already personally experienced the profundity of the Sword Domain. Even if she wasn’t in her best condition, she would not lose.

"There’s still a little time. Junior Sister, you should meditate and adjust your breath for a bit," Liu Juncheng said, handing her an Elixir Pill for restoring Spiritual Power.

"He’s right. Recover your strength first. I’ll keep an eye on the time so you won’t be late," Luo Mingyue added.

Li Shuang didn’t decline. She nodded and immediately sat down cross-legged.

At the Martial Arts Arena.

Li Shuang defeating an Early-stage Foundation Establishment disciple across realms was considered a minor upset. After all, winning against an opponent across minor realms was not uncommon, but jumping from the Qi Cultivation Stage to Foundation Establishment meant crossing a Great Rank. Defeating an opponent across a Great Rank was a feat only a peerless genius could achieve. Thus, Li Shuang once again became the center of discussion.

"Today’s match list is out!" A large crowd of onlookers gathered in front of the notice board.

Following yesterday’s matches, the Early-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivators were mostly eliminated. Besides Li Shuang, everyone who successfully advanced was undoubtedly a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment disciple. This made Li Shuang’s record of Qi Cultivation beating Foundation Establishment even more conspicuous.

"Let’s see where Li Shuang is placed."

"Found her! Li Shuang versus Shi Chuyun!"

"I wonder who will win this time!"

The crowd gossiped animatedly.

Chang Le’an’s mocking voice rang out. "Who else could win? Yesterday was just dumb luck that allowed her to barely scrape by with one victory. She’s not me—could her luck really hold up forever? Shi Chuyun has been in the Foundation Establishment Stage for several years now; she can’t be compared to a disciple like Lei Chengkong who just entered Foundation Establishment. This time, I bet Li Shuang will be instantly defeated."

"Third Senior Brother!" Ye Zhaozhao hastily tugged at his sleeve. "Don’t say that. What if Eldest Senior Sister is still hiding a trump card?"

"What kind of trump card could she possibly have? On the arena, you can’t use any external items besides your personal sword," Chang Le’an retorted.

If external items were allowed, perhaps that blind Peak Master of Heartless Peak would have given her some good treasures. However, in the selection matches, aside from the sword in one’s hand, Magic Treasures, talismans, Arrays, and the like were completely forbidden. What could Li Shuang rely on to win?

Chang Le’an’s tone was full of disdain. Yet, no one voiced any objections. After all, his words might have been harsh, but he had a point. Lei Chengkong had just reached Foundation Establishment and likely hadn’t fully grasped the fighting style of that stage, which was why he was defeated in a single move. But against Shi Chuyun, who had been at Foundation Establishment for several years, Li Shuang had zero chance of winning no matter how one looked at it.

The second round was about to begin, and the participants arrived one after another. When the time came, battles commenced across the various arenas. However, on one particular arena, the space opposite Shi Chuyun was completely empty. A slight commotion stirred among the audience.

Where was Li Shuang?

The second round had already started, so why was she still nowhere to be seen? The referee had already lit a stick of delay incense. If Li Shuang still didn’t show up by the time it burned out, she would instantly be declared the loser.

"Is Senior Sister Li... planning to just forfeit?" Ye Zhaozhao asked in surprise.

"What else? Come up here to embarrass herself?" Chang Le’an sneered with absolute disdain.

Ever since Li Shuang made no progress at all for ten years, he had completely looked down on this Eldest Senior Sister. What Sword Dao genius? What Ultimate Grade Heavenly Spirit Root? A peerless genius who could only Cultivate to the Nascent Soul Stage? She was even doing some kind of Scattering and Rebuilding—did she think her Cultivation stagnated because it was the Cultivation Technique’s fault? He figured he would just wait and see. Even if she switched to a different Cultivation Technique, she would at most reach the Nascent Soul Stage. Moreover, by the time she reached that stage, he and his Junior Sister would likely already be on the verge of Divinity Transformation. If he hadn’t wanted to stand up for his Junior Sister, he wouldn’t even bother paying attention to someone like Li Shuang, who was no longer on their level.

Ye Zhaozhao’s gaze flickered. It was often said that the person who understood you best might not be your friend, but your enemy. She had studied Li Shuang for ten years. Throughout that decade, all her thoughts had been consumed by how to grasp Li Shuang’s weaknesses and fiercely suppress her. Because of this, she knew very well that Li Shuang was not the type of person to flee without a fight.

She wondered, "Li Shuang, what kind of trick are you playing this time?"

When the delay incense had burned past its halfway mark, Li Shuang’s voice finally rang out. "Apologies, I’m a bit late."

The crowd turned around to look.

Ye Zhaozhao felt a sense of vindication. Given Li Shuang’s personality, even if she knew defeat was certain, she would still draw her sword. Li Shuang was born proud, and more often than not, this very pride became the perfect trap to exploit.

Li Shuang walked onto the arena step by step, taking her place opposite Shi Chuyun.

The referee extinguished the delay incense. "Both participants are present. Let the match... begin."

As soon as the referee left the arena, the battle officially commenced.

Shi Chuyun looked at Li Shuang and said slowly, "Senior Sister Li, you used to be the goal I chased after."

Li Shuang’s gaze remained calm.

"In terms of pure Swordsmanship, I am inferior to you. But today, we are competing in more than just Swordsmanship!" Shi Chuyun declared, her imposing aura steadily climbing as she stared down her opponent. She was at Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, while Li Shuang was merely in the Qi Cultivation Stage. Absolute power overcomes all techniques—this was the source of her confidence!

"I’m sorry, but this is it," Shi Chuyun said. As her words fell, she unleashed her Spring Rain Sword and the Spring Rain Sword Technique, creating an onslaught of dense, silken rain threads that descended upon the arena.

Shi Chuyun had asked someone to record Li Shuang and Lei Chengkong’s previous battle using a Memory Stone. After her own match concluded, she had carefully studied the footage. Lei Chengkong’s defeat stemmed from the fact that he exposed too many flaws the moment he drew his sword. Absorbing this lesson, Shi Chuyun opted straight for the Spring Rain Sword Technique. It wasn’t an overwhelmingly powerful Swordsmanship, but its strength lay in its endless and continuous flow. Coincidentally, it was also the Swordsmanship she excelled at the most. With such a dense and continuous sword assault, Li Shuang would have nowhere to hide. Since her Cultivation was only at the Qi Cultivation Stage, even the slightest graze from the Sword Qi would be difficult for her to withstand. Shi Chuyun had indeed put in a lot of research, and she had genuinely devised a practical and effective strategy.

Li Shuang’s gaze remained unruffled. It was truly a pity that the her of today was no longer the her of yesterday.

In an instant, Li Shuang closed her eyes. The Sword Domain she had just mastered spread out silently. To the naked eye, this heavy drizzle of sword strikes indeed appeared flawless. However, within the Sword Domain, everything seemed incredibly slow.

Li Shuang plunged right into the Sword Domain. Her footsteps were neither rushed nor sluggish, and her movements were unhurried. It looked as if she were just casually swinging her Black Abyss Sword. Yet, even at this slow pace, she navigated through the heavy rain of swords completely unscathed.

Then, her sword struck.

As her blade descended, the Spring Rain Sword fell heavily to the ground.

Li Shuang opened her eyes, the tip of her Black Abyss Sword pressed against Shi Chuyun’s throat. "You lose."

Shi Chuyun’s voice trembled. "I... I lose."

The entire audience instantly burst into an uproar. Shi Chuyun surrendered? To the outsiders watching, this battle seemed utterly baffling. Li Shuang appeared to have simply walked over calmly, casually swung her sword, and Shi Chuyun gave up without putting up any resistance?

Chang Le’an couldn’t hold back and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Match-fixing! This is definitely match-fixing! There is absolutely something wrong with this match! I request the Law Enforcement Hall to intervene and conduct a thorough investigation!"