Martial Cultivator

The Dean and Wei Xu arrived at the pavilion in the middle of the lake at some unknown point in time and were currently watching this fight from a distance.

Wei Xu had long entered the Nepenthe Realm, while the Dean's realm was even higher. Both could naturally discern the subtleties of the situation. Wei Xu said with vicissitudes of emotion, "Truly a heaven's chosen who came from the Infatuation Daoist Temple. Her control over qi has reached such a level. Few in the world can achieve this at her stage. Although she's suppressing her realm, Little Junior Sister has been cultivating for too short a time, and she's likely at a disadvantage."

The Dean chuckled, "To call it fair? Where is anything truly fair in this world? Even in the fairest situations, someone will find it unfair. Since your little junior sister has accepted the challenge, it means she isn't bothered. If she isn't, why should you be?"

Wei Xu murmured softly, "I'm just worried about Little Junior Sister getting injured and it affecting her Dao heart."

"If that's your concern, then you, as her senior brother, aren't doing a good job. After all this time, you still don't understand what kind of person your little junior sister is?"

"Forget about it being a close defeat today, even if it's a miserable defeat, it won't have any effect on her. In my many years, I've seen many talented seedlings, and your little junior sister's spiritual aptitude is not the highest. But at her age, possessing such a Dao heart is what's rare. Whether it's that guy who disappeared somewhere or that stinky brat Liu Banbi, none can compare to her."

The Dean nodded and said cheerfully, "It's fortunate that those nitwits in the Xie Family didn't rush your little junior sister into cultivation early. With their paltry skills, it would really be disgraceful to teach your little junior sister. It's only because of me that she could shine so brilliantly. Otherwise, who else could have trained such a disciple?"

Wei Xu was used to his teacher's temperament. Although he wanted to refute these words, in the end, he simply shook his head and glanced into the distance.

"Oh, by the way, since your little junior sister is going this time, quite a few students from the academy also want to go and see. You should go too, to see the scenery of the Northern Frontier."

The Dean glanced at Wei Xu, subtly shaking his head imperceptibly. Despite his good qualities, this scholar in front of him was still lacking in some respects. It was a tiny flaw that seemed insignificant, but might eventually lead to a complete collapse in a major event. Like with Xie Nandu, the Dean did not ignore his other disciples just because he favored Xie Nandu. Over the years, he had consciously or unconsciously influenced Wei Xu, but had never succeeded. This guy always made him feel somewhat worried.

Wei Xu nodded and said, "If the demon race doesn't follow the rules and intervenes, this student will step in to protect Little Junior Sister."

The Dean glanced at Wei Xu, somewhat dissatisfied as he said, "There's no need to say that. If a teacher can't trust his own student, what good is he as a teacher?"

Wei Xu fell silent.

The Dean sighed and said softly, "Wei Xu."

Wei Xu looked at the Dean and just said, "Student is here."

……

……

The South Lake exploded, and countless water droplets hovered in the air. After a brief pause, they surged towards Xie Nandu.

As a heaven's chosen of Daoism who also had a higher cultivation realm, even though Ye Zhihua was currently suppressing her cultivation realm, she would not choose to take a beating passively. Therefore, before Xie Nandu's flying sword could reach her, she had already taken the initiative to attack. Those water droplets filling the sky were her means.

Xie Nandu's flying sword was struck by countless water droplets. The once imposing flying sword now wobbled in the air, as if drunk, seemingly ready to fall at any moment.

The remaining water droplets swept past the sword and were about to hit Xie Nandu.

Xie Nandu frowned slightly and simultaneously summoned two more flying swords from her sides. They mercilessly slashed at the water droplets.

In an instant, the water droplets were shattered and scattered, falling onto the academy students watching the battle.

Many students, unable to dodge in time, were hit by the water droplets and their complexions turned pale in that instant.

Wang Kuan reached out to block many of the droplets, shielding his fellow students from this undeserved calamity.

But Chen Chao stood motionless, letting the countless droplets hit him.

As a martial artist with an exceptionally resilient body, these water droplets were no different from ordinary raindrops to him.

Xie Nandu kept the droplets away from her body, but Ye Zhihua deliberately directed them towards the academy's genius girl. With her hands continuously waving, her qi flowed, and mysterious auras emanated from her body. These auras were balanced and harmonious, representing the most dazzling Daoist spells. As the head of the Longevity Dao lineage, the Infatuation Daoist Temple's Scripture Library held countless daoist techniques. Ye Zhihua had studied them from a young age and, in an instant, demonstrated more than one technique.

A streak of evening glow inexplicably appeared in the sky not far away.

Wang Kuan who was watching this scene was also somewhat lost in thought. For most young cultivators in the world, mastering a single daoist technique was already quite challenging. It was rare for someone to cultivate multiple techniques simultaneously and be able to wield them with such ease.

Perhaps this was the difference between true geniuses and ordinary people.

The wind howled, and the rain intensified.

In front of Xie Nandu, the ground was pitted with deep holes the size of cat's eyes from the countless water droplets, but they never managed to get past Xie Nandu's two flying swords and reach her.

However, Xie Nandu's expression was also becoming rather ugly. After a moment, she resolutely summoned two more flying swords. Unlike the previous ones, these two did not stay by her side but took the initiative to attack, heading straight for Ye Zhihua.

In this way, Xie Nandu had already summoned a total of six flying swords.

Although the final three flying swords had yet to be summoned, just these six flying swords were enough to leave the onlookers in awe.

Ye Zhihua lightly tapped her toes, avoiding a direct clash with the two flying swords, her figure gliding like a bird to land gently on the lake surface.

Xie Nandu remained expressionless, but the next second, Ye Zhihua who had just landed on the lake frowned as a flying sword shot out from beneath the water, aiming for her body.

Hesitating briefly, Ye Zhihua stepped on the flying sword, forcing this newly-emerged flying sword back into the lake.

Xie Nandu had already summoned seven flying swords, but the situation did not seem to improve much.

On the contrary, Ye Zhihua remained unhurried, strolling idly as if she had everything under control.

If it were any other cultivator, they might have already lost their composure at this point. But for Xie Nandu, this situation was not a cause for concern. With a mere thought, the two flying swords she had sent out before attacked Ye Zhihua once more.

The lake surface was disturbed by the sword qi and began to churn.

But soon, a curtain of water inexplicably appeared in front of Ye Zhihua, and the two flying swords plunged into it, unable to advance any further.

The flying sword submerged in the lake remained firmly pressed down by Ye Zhihua, unable to surface.

At this moment, the prowess of this daoist prodigy was displayed in its entirety. Even with her cultivation realm suppressed, she still shone as the most dazzling girl. Though Xie Nandu was equally brilliant, everyone present likely felt that she paled in comparison to Ye Zhihua.

Chen Chao stood quietly by the shore, watching the duel without speaking.

Among all the onlookers, other than the Dean and Wei Xu in the lake-center pavilion, only Chen Chao could somewhat grasp the intricacies of the battle. Though he could not fully comprehend some of the subtleties due to not being a cultivator, he could at least understand the current situation.

Xie Nandu's control over her flying swords had already advanced rapidly. Unlike other sword cultivators who had only one flying sword, she was nurturing nine flying swords simultaneously. This required far more time and effort. Despite this, her progress was astonishing. In a duel with any other Bitter Sea cultivator, she would have already won. Unfortunately, her opponent was not an ordinary person but Ye Zhihua who had long made a name for herself.

Therefore, Chen Chao did not expect Xie Nandu to win. If she could hold out for a while longer and eventually lose narrowly, it would already be an excellent result.

However, it was clear that Xie Nandu did not share this mindset. She appeared delicate, but she was more eager to excel than anyone else. The fact that she had only summoned seven flying swords so far indicated that she still had some other plans.

At the very least, she was not resigned to defeat.

This piqued Chen Chao's curiosity about Xie Nandu's final move.

Ye Zhihua remained as composed as ever. Though she stood on the lake's surface, the water droplets were now within a meter of Xie Nandu. In a few moments, they would break through the barrier of the two flying swords and reach her.

This duel was not a life-or-death battle, so deciding the victor was straightforward. It depended on whether Xie Nandu's flying swords would reach Ye Zhihua first or if Ye Zhihua's water droplets could land on Xie Nandu.

In short, whoever failed to hold their ground first would lose the duel.

Both women understood this, and so did Chen Chao, who was watching the fight. However, the academy students watching might not grasp this.

Xie Nandu's complexion turned pale as controlling nine flying swords exhausted her mind and drained the sword qi within her body. Once drawn into a prolonged standoff, she would inevitably fall behind. However, she knew well that going all out and summoning the final two flying swords was not a wise choice.

She was waiting for an opportunity.

Waiting for Ye Zhihua to make a mistake.

But would Ye Zhihua really give her that opportunity?

It seemed unlikely.

Especially since her time was running out. Some of the water droplets already landed near her feet.

In just a moment, they would land on her shoes and her body.

At that point, she would have to admit defeat.

At the most critical moment when Xie Nandu could not afford to get distracted at all, she suddenly remembered something her Senior Brother Liu Banbi had told her about Sword Dao before heading south.

That senior brother, who was similar to her in that he started as a scholar but eventually chose to become a sword cultivator, had shared many insights about Sword Dao, holding nothing back.

One of the points he mentioned was about the flow of sword qi.

Xie Nandu frowned slightly. As she returned to her senses, she noticed a droplet of water had already arrived in front of her, having somehow bypassed the two flying swords.

Then, Xie Nandu did something no one understood: she gently opened her mouth and blew a gentle breath.

Chen Chao watched this scene and smiled: How beautiful.