Chapter 105: Life-and-Death Speed

Xu Ziyan softly uttered “hmm,” her gaze still fixed intently on Yang Linglong across from her. Xu Qi bent over and carried Xu Lin on his back. Though Xu Lin was being carried, his right hand still firmly gripped his long sword, his body straight as a spear. He exuded a fierce aura.

Suddenly, someone started clapping, and in an instant, applause broke out beneath the duelling platform. Except for the Yang Family from Nanlin City and the Zhou Family from Canglang City, everyone else clapped enthusiastically, their gazes filled with respect as they looked at Xu Lin. But strangely, the Han Family from Juque City, who were about to form an alliance with the Xu Clan, looked at Xu Lin with extremely complicated expressions.

Only after Xu Ziyan on the duelling platform knew that Xu Lin had left the stage did she laugh lightly, her eyes filled with mockery:

“I wonder what the so-called number one genius of the Northern Region wants a mere First Level of Qi Refining Stage cultivator like me to do for you to consider it fair?”

Yang Linglong’s face flushed red from Xu Ziyan’s words, and the crowd below the platform began to jeer. Hearing the laughter and seeing the mockery in Xu Ziyan’s eyes, Yang Linglong truly felt like turning around and leaving. But her obsession with fighting Xu Ziyan to wash away her shame made her endure everything. Her mind was now only filled with thoughts of killing. She, Yang Linglong, the number one genius of the Northern Region, had always appeared proudly before others. When had she ever been defeated by someone her own age, and with a clearly lower cultivation level?

More importantly, she remembered clearly that on that snowy night outside Zhongdu City, Xu Ziyan was only at the Eleventh Layer of Houtian. In just over a month, the person before her had broken through to the First Level of Qi Refining Stage. This shocked Yang Linglong greatly. With such talent, how could she not feel wary? If given another year, wouldn’t Xu Ziyan surpass her?

Thus, the crowd’s laughter and Xu Ziyan’s mockery did not make Yang Linglong think of retreating. Instead, it stirred her killing intent. She estimated that if she could trap Xu Ziyan with words, preventing her from using talismans, although she herself was injured and her current cultivation was only about the Third Layer of Qi Refining Stage, killing Xu Ziyan, who had only just broken through to the First Level of Qi Refining Stage not long ago, should absolutely be no problem. So, Yang Linglong pretended not to hear the tidal wave of laughter or see the mockery in Xu Ziyan’s eyes, and calmly said:

“The fairness I want is for us to fight relying on our own cultivation, not on those talismans. Winning with talismans is not a true victory!”

While Yang Linglong was thinking, Xu Ziyan’s thoughts were also racing. With her true strength at the Foundation Building Stage, she could see at a glance that Yang Linglong was seriously injured and currently only at the Third Layer of Qi Refining Stage. With her Water Spirit Body, Xu Ziyan could naturally challenge opponents above her level. That meant, even though Xu Ziyan was at the First Layer of Foundation Building Stage, because of her Water Spirit Body, whether it was explosive power or the thickness of her True Essence, she could completely fight a cultivator at the Foundation Building Stage Second Layer without being at a disadvantage.

Therefore, even if Xu Ziyan used only the First Level of Qi Refining Stage cultivation, she would only be slightly weaker than Yang Linglong, and only in attack. In defense, Xu Ziyan’s body contained the full cultivation of the Foundation Building Stage. That meant, in a fight with Yang Linglong, Xu Ziyan was already in an invincible position. What she needed to consider was only how to defeat, or even kill, Yang Linglong without revealing her true strength!

As her thoughts turned, an idea surfaced in Xu Ziyan’s mind. She remembered when she first entered the Outer Hall, she had fought Xu Hualing. When she was losing, she pretended to break through during the fight and finally defeated Xu Hualing. So, she decided to put on another performance. On this duelling platform, she would pretend to break through to the peak of the Second Layer of Qi Refining Stage. That way, she should be able to kill Yang Linglong. After all, she could also deplete more of Yang Linglong’s True Essence during the fight, making her cultivation drop further.

Once she made up her mind, Xu Ziyan did not hesitate any longer. She looked at Yang Linglong and said lightly:

“Fine, today let me experience the number one genius of the Northern Region! But don’t say I’m bullying an injured person!”

“Whoa~~”

The entire Central Plaza erupted. A Fifth Layer of Qi Refining cultivator was demanding a so-called fair fight from a First Level of Qi Refining Stage cultivator, and that First Level cultivator foolishly agreed. The guests who didn’t know Xu Ziyan looked at her on the platform with pity, each thinking to themselves:

“What a beautiful person, about to fall like this!”

The higher-ups of the Xu Clan were frozen. They knew that Xu Ziyan’s ability to defeat stronger opponents relied entirely on the power of talismans. They didn’t know how Xu Ziyan could possibly defeat Yang Linglong without them. Xu Haoran finally couldn’t bear it anymore. He slapped the table hard and growled under his breath:

“Foolish!”

But the Xu Clan disciples were different. Xu Ziyan had made a name for herself in Tongyou Valley and was later promoted by Clan Leader Xu Haoran as the idol of the Xu Clan’s young generation. Seeing Xu Ziyan’s calm demeanor on the platform, they automatically ignored her cultivation level and felt sure that Xu Ziyan would win. If Xu Ziyan knew what the young generation of the Xu Clan was thinking, she would look up to the sky and sigh:

“The power of an idol is limitless!”

“Good! Let’s decide life and death today!” Yang Linglong was overjoyed to hear Xu Ziyan agree and shouted loudly.

Before Yang Linglong’s voice had even faded, Xu Ziyan was already rushing out on her sword. Her right hand reached into the air and clenched, instantly forming a giant hammer made entirely of Water Spiritual Energy, smashing it down towards Yang Linglong’s head and face.

Yang Linglong made her sword spin in the air and gracefully dodged. Xu Ziyan swept past Yang Linglong like the wind. Just as a mocking smile appeared on Yang Linglong’s face and her right hand clenched, a golden long spear beginning to form in her grasp, Xu Ziyan, without looking back as she swept past, flung her right hand backward. The giant hammer whistled as it blasted toward Yang Linglong.

After throwing the giant hammer, Xu Ziyan twisted her feet on the flying sword, elegantly turning her body around. She pulled her hands apart in front of her, and thousands of ice needles appeared densely before her.

Opposite her, Yang Linglong had just finished forming the golden spear when the giant hammer smashed toward her face. Left with no choice, Yang Linglong had to thrust her spear forward to meet the hammer.

With a loud explosion, the giant hammer Xu Ziyan threw shattered into pieces, ice fragments flying in all directions. The golden long spear in Yang Linglong’s hand also made cracking sounds the moment it collided with the ice hammer. Several cracks spread from the spear tip down the shaft.

Yang Linglong quickly tightened her grip, and the spreading cracks stopped abruptly, rapidly repairing back towards the spear tip. But before the golden spear could fully recover, she heard Xu Ziyan’s sharp cry:

“Go!”

“Bzzz~~”

A humming sound filled the duelling platform. Yang Linglong looked up abruptly and saw countless ice needles filling her vision. Under the sunlight, they reflected myriad rays of colorful light, dazzling Yang Linglong so much she could hardly keep her eyes open.

“Golden Splendor!”

Yang Linglong shouted loudly. A golden wall suddenly appeared before her, reflecting countless golden rays under the sun.

A series of “ding ding dong dong” sounds echoed, like large and small pearls falling on a jade plate. Behind the Ten Thousand Needles Technique, Xu Ziyan shot toward Yang Linglong like an arrow. Amid the clamor of ice needles colliding with the golden wall, Xu Ziyan’s figure suddenly soared into the sky, spiraling upward. Her sleeves fluttered, and under the gaze of thousands, she looked just like a celestial immortal descending to the mortal world.

On the duelling platform, the countless ice needles all turned into ice fragments scattered across the stage. The golden wall was full of holes but still stood there. Yang Linglong, still on the platform, looked up at Xu Ziyan’s graceful spiraling form when she heard another light cry falling from the sky:

“Ice Seal!”

Xu Ziyan’s sleeves rippled like water, moving as lightly as if dancing. The ice fragments originally scattered on the platform suddenly flowed toward Yang Linglong’s feet. Guided by Xu Ziyan’s sleeves, the snow on the plaza surged up like a wave, rushing straight up onto the duelling platform, then directly striking down onto Yang Linglong’s head. Mid-air, it transformed into a transparent ice water canopy covering Yang Linglong.

A continuous “crack crack” sound was heard. In just a few breaths, Yang Linglong was frozen inside a large block of ice. Xu Ziyan suddenly leapt up from her flying sword. With a beckoning gesture, she caught the flying sword beneath her feet with both hands, flipped over sharply, head down and feet up, gripping the sword hilt with both hands. Her body spun rapidly as she stabbed straight down toward the Baihui Acupoint of Yang Linglong trapped in the ice.

From the moment Yang Linglong said “Good” until now, only about ten seconds had passed. Yet Xu Ziyan had launched successive attacks, seizing the initiative and forcing Yang Linglong completely into a passive, defensive position. Now it seemed Xu Ziyan had used her killing move, and Yang Linglong was sealed in ice, unable to move.

The entire Central Plaza was completely silent. It was an absolute silence, where even the sound of breathing seemed to vanish. Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the two people on the platform. This outcome was too unexpected, so much that people’s hearts could hardly accept it. Even the Xu Clan’s young generation, who blindly believed Xu Ziyan would win, never expected her to win so decisively! So quickly!

On the high platform, Yang Rui and Xu Haoran abruptly stood up. Both had their fists clenched tightly at their sides, but the expressions on their faces were completely different. Xu Haoran’s face was full of excitement, while Yang Rui’s face was tense with worry. This result was far too unexpected for both of them; even as clan leaders, they couldn’t help but show shock on their faces.