Contest

The next day was the first round of the Seven Meridians Martial Arts Tournament.

Su Changqing arrived at Cloud Sea Plaza. All around him were Junior Brothers who had come to observe this grand event, and the place was bustling with excitement. Many participating disciples grew tense beneath those watching eyes, but Su Changqing merely stretched, looking here and there with a calm expression.

"Junior Brother, how is it? Are you confident you can win the first round?"

Senior Sister Wen Min walked over to Su Changqing and asked with great concern.

"Senior Sister Wen, I should be able to."

Su Changqing replied with a faint smile.

Forget the first round—even for the final championship, he was confident he could contend for it. He simply did not want to.

"Then do your best, Junior Brother! All of us Senior Sisters and Junior Sisters will be cheering you on from the side!"

As she spoke, Senior Sister Wen stepped aside and let Su Changqing look over. Forty or fifty Senior Sisters called out together in sweet voices, "Go, Junior Brother!"

The scene immediately drew everyone's attention.

For all those beautiful Senior Sisters and Junior Sisters of Little Bamboo Peak to cheer for him alone—what had this brat done to deserve it?!

I'm green with envy!

Countless male disciples from the other peaks were angry and annoyed, but even more than that, they were envious. They did not fear scarcity, only unfairness. Little Bamboo Peak clearly accepted only female disciples, yet Master Shui Yue had made an exception and taken in this male disciple.

Seeing all the Senior Sisters making such a fuss, Su Changqing could not help but laugh.

This was not cheering him on at all—it was practically piling pressure on him!

Of course, Su Changqing knew this was the Senior Sisters' goodwill. Naturally, he could not let down their expectations, and secretly decided to let them witness a dazzling match.

Soon, the match order was announced. Su Changqing was assigned to the seventh arena in the second round.

After waiting through one round, it was finally Su Changqing's turn to take the stage.

The other disciple, who had drawn lot number fifty-three, stepped onto the arena first. He looked around for his opponent, appearing extremely nervous.

After handing the elder responsible for checking numbers his lot marked with the number twelve, Su Changqing leapt into the air and landed on the arena. With a faint smile, he said to that disciple, "Senior Brother, stop looking. I'm your opponent."

The Fenghui Peak disciple froze when he saw Su Changqing, then quickly came to his senses. His previously nervous mood immediately eased considerably.

Heaven had answered his prayers!

It was actually just as he had wished!

His opponent was also a fellow disciple at the first level of Foundation Establishment, and he even looked like a novice who had only recently broken through. There could not possibly be a better opponent than this.

Looking more closely—

Wasn't this the brat who had just made all those Senior Sisters and Junior Sisters from Little Bamboo Peak cheer in unison?

"If I remember correctly, you're called Su Changqing, right?"

Senior Brother Zhang of Fenghui Peak shed his nervous expression and put on an arrogant look as he asked Su Changqing.

"That's right."

Su Changqing answered calmly, naturally taking in the change in his expression.

"Being able to become my opponent is surely your honor. Today, I'll give you some proper guidance, but don't even think about winning!"

Senior Brother Zhang's confidence had returned. He spoke to Su Changqing with immense pride, not forgetting to glance sideways at the Little Bamboo Peak Senior Sisters around the arena who were cheering for Su Changqing.

"Oh? Then I'll have to ask for Senior Brother's guidance."

Su Changqing narrowed his eyes slightly and replied.

Senior Brother Zhang was also a sword cultivator. After both sides had exchanged their words, Senior Brother Zhang drew his sword first. His footwork was swift, his body nearly seeming to whirl through the air as he slashed at Su Changqing. A howling wind immediately swept up around them, vaguely taking the form of Sword Qi as it cut toward Su Changqing.

The technique he used was exceptionally familiar to Su Changqing—it was precisely the Clear Wind Sword Dao he had once learned. But after being improved twice by Unrivaled Insight, it had already transformed from the Clear Wind Sword Dao into the Gale Swordplay. They were like two techniques born from the same source, yet bearing different moves.

It seemed the Clear Wind Sword Dao was a commonly practiced sword technique of Fenghui Peak.

"Your sword moves are practiced well enough, but you have only the form and none of the spirit."

After saying this lightly, Su Changqing reached through the air, and a wooden sword flew over from the side into his hand.

Once he took hold of the wooden sword, Su Changqing calmly slashed several times before him, directly blocking all the Clear Wind Sword Qi Senior Brother Zhang had unleashed. There was not the slightest chance of it harming him.

Senior Brother Zhang followed close behind, lunging forward with his sword. In the blink of an eye, his longsword was less than ten centimeters from Su Changqing. Though his Sword Qi had already been shattered, Senior Brother Zhang was still utterly confident that one strike would send Su Changqing off the stage, allowing him to win with effortless ease.

Yet in the next instant, the wooden sword in Su Changqing's hand slashed out once more.

Its speed was several times faster than Senior Brother Zhang's. Senior Brother Zhang was still immersed in his dream of victory when he came back to himself and found that Su Changqing had completely blocked his attack.

"How is that possible?!"

Senior Brother Zhang was instantly dumbfounded.

Even if this move could not defeat Su Changqing in a single blow, it should at least have forced him to evade its edge. At the very least, it should have made Su Changqing shift a step to defend himself.

But now, after one move, he had not even managed to cut away the wooden sword in Su Changqing's hand. What was going on?!

"There's nothing impossible about it."

Su Changqing smiled slightly and said to Senior Brother Zhang, "Senior Brother's Clear Wind sword moves happen to be something I know as well. How about Junior Brother gives you a demonstration?"

"Hmph! I've practiced this move for at least a year. How could you possibly be more proficient than me?"

Senior Brother Zhang swiftly retreated, widening the distance between them once more as he rebuked Su Changqing.

Su Changqing said nothing, merely shaking his head helplessly.

When he raised his head again, a chilling majesty had already filled his eyes. The wooden sword in his hand slashed out in an instant, his footwork like meteors racing through the wind. His entire figure seemed to transform into a wisp of clear breeze, with gusts of wind streaming in from all around. As Su Changqing's wooden sword struck, they all turned into Sword Qi—cold and razor-sharp!

At that moment, Senior Brother Zhang's eyes widened even further in shock. He had never expected Su Changqing to truly know Fenghui Peak's standard techniques, much less wield them with such mastery. Compared to him, with his half-baked level, there was simply no comparison.

Only now did he understand that the person before him was far from as simple as he had imagined. Putting aside his playful attitude, he raised his long sword to meet Su Changqing's Clear Wind Sword Qi.

"Senior Brother, watch carefully—I'll only teach this once!"

Su Changqing shouted, and the Clear Wind Sword Qi surged toward Senior Brother Zhang one after another.

"The Clear Wind Sword Dao is about a body as light as the wind and a sword as swift as the wind. It is not something whose true power can be displayed merely by going through the motions as you did just now."

"Now Sword Qi is coming from the left—why aren't you blocking it?"

As soon as he spoke, a streak of Sword Qi indeed shot in from the left. Senior Brother Zhang hurriedly blocked it.

"Now it's coming from the right!"

Su Changqing warned him again. Senior Brother Zhang had only just caught his breath, yet now he had to hastily raise his sword to parry once more.