Battle for the Championship

"Junior Brother Su, when I first met you a year ago, you still looked like a child. Who would have thought that today, it would be you standing here in the arena to contend with me for the position of foremost disciple? Such youthful vigor!"

Once Su Changqing stepped onto the arena, the dashing Qi Hao smiled at him leisurely.

"Senior Brother Qi, the same could be said of you. When I first joined the Qingyun Sect, I heard many senior brothers and sisters say that Senior Brother Qi Hao of Dragon Head Peak was an unparalleled prodigy. I never imagined I would have the chance to compete on the same stage as you today."

Seeing how courteous Qi Hao was, Su Changqing returned the courtesy and praised him in kind.

"Hahaha! Praise from outsiders is hardly worth mentioning."

Qi Hao waved his hand dismissively, then fixed his gaze on Su Changqing. "But as for today's championship, this senior brother will not yield it easily. Junior Brother Su, you'd best be fully prepared."

"Just as I wish!"

Two flashes of light gleamed as Su Changqing's immortal sword Azure Edge and Qi Hao's immortal sword flew forth at once.

"Junior Brother Su, it begins!"

As soon as the words fell, Qi Hao swiftly formed a hand seal.

The instant the seal was completed, heaven and earth changed. Beneath the warm sun, layers of frigid chill rose up. The surrounding land seemed to plunge into an icy winter, and for a moment Su Changqing felt as though he had fallen into an ice cellar. Yet after he used spiritual energy to ward it off, the sensation quickly faded.

Qi Hao smiled faintly and rose into the air on the cold mist. With a slash of his ice-cold immortal sword, Sword Qi condensed along its edge, then transformed beneath the enveloping frost into ice swords. Like snowflakes filling the sky, they packed the air densely as they shot toward Su Changqing.

Su Changqing repeatedly used his Movement Technique, swiftly evading the barrage of ice swords. Each sword that struck the ground scattered countless ice crystals. After dodging many of them in succession, Su Changqing began to feel his feet growing heavier and heavier. The ice crystals had already condensed into frost and snow, clinging to his legs.

"Break!"

With Su Changqing's sharp cry, the frost on his legs exploded apart.

But he was unwilling to remain so passive. Azure Edge immediately slashed out, raising a wall of wind. Rolling gusts blocked all the ice swords, and with another slash, profound azure wind surged upward from the ground and swept toward Qi Hao in counterattack, carrying with it quite a few of the ice swords it had just repelled.

Yet Qi Hao showed no panic. He stepped on frost and rose into the air, pointing two fingers toward the heavens. Countless drifting flakes of frost fell upon him, seeming to congeal into a suit of ice armor.

He immediately charged headlong into the wind. When it reached him, he struck with a fierce slash, splitting the gale apart. Layers of frosty wind scattered in every direction, and when they fell upon the surrounding spectator stands, they were bitingly cold. Quite a few disciples shivered because of it.

Having shattered the wind, Qi Hao did not halt his Movement Technique. He continued charging toward Su Changqing. Su Changqing's gaze sharpened, and he hurriedly raised Azure Edge to defend.

As the two immortal swords collided at close range, the clangs rang out without end. A layer of profound azure radiance and a layer of frost-white light burst forth across the arena, flickering between brightness and dimness as the swords clashed and separated.

"Junior Brother Su, truly splendid swordsmanship!"

As they exchanged blows, wonder kept flashing through Qi Hao's heart.

He had personally witnessed Su Changqing's battle with Lu Xueqi, and Su Changqing's swordsmanship had already astonished him then. Now that he was experiencing it firsthand, the impression ran even deeper.

Qi Hao had entered the Qingyun Sect and practiced the sword for several years, yet he could not gain the slightest advantage against a disciple who had joined less than a year ago. What was more, he could not find a single flaw in him.

"Senior Brother Qi, you're not bad yourself!"

After calmly blocking another of Qi Hao's strikes, Su Changqing praised him as well.

At that moment, Su Changqing caught a flaw in Qi Hao's sword strike. He immediately swung at Qi Hao's left shoulder—yet Azure Edge was sent flying back with a "Clang!" by the ice armor. Ice crystals scattered across the ground, while Qi Hao merely lowered his body slightly beneath the tremendous force, showing no sign of injury.

Qi Hao pulled back, gathering his focus anew. When he opened his eyes again, they gleamed with brilliance, and a snowflake pattern had appeared in his pupils.

"Jitian Chenbing!"

As he invoked the technique, the frost-white glow of his ice-cold immortal sword surged explosively. Between heaven and earth, a colossal sword forged of ice and frost manifested, carrying a chill fierce enough to bury all things in cold. As the ice-cold immortal sword slashed down, the giant frost sword slashed with it. Layers upon layers of frost rushed at Su Changqing, sending a hundred chills through his body. Ice crystals settled all over him, freezing him until his flesh ached.

"Lei Fan!"

Su Changqing knew that if this strike landed solidly on him, he would immediately lose all ability to fight. At once, he unleashed the technique he had comprehended yesterday from the Thunder Emperor's Treasure Technique.

In an instant, violet lightning flashed over Su Changqing's body. Countless twisting arcs of lightning leaped and bent around him, while peals of thunder roared from high above. A massive bolt of lightning crashed straight down onto the colossal ice sword.

Wherever the lightning passed, the giant ice sword broke apart as easily as splitting bamboo. It shattered piece by piece, and the lightning raced along it toward Qi Hao.

Qi Hao was greatly alarmed. Before he could react, he hurriedly raised his ice sword before him. Lightning struck the ice-cold immortal sword, flashing continuously with electric light while delivering wave after wave of tremendous force that drove Qi Hao back again and again.

"Break for me!"

Qi Hao clenched his teeth and used every ounce of his strength to thrust the ice-cold immortal sword forward. Only then did he deflect the lightning. He hurriedly dodged to the side, and having lost its target, the bolt charged wildly into a mountain ridge of Tongtian Peak.

With an earth-shaking "Boom!", the struck mountain trembled twice from peak to base, and then a cave blasted open by the tremendous lightning appeared upon it.

Though Qi Hao had escaped that bolt of lightning, lingering fear still filled his heart. Since when had there been such a formidable Lightning Technique? And how could Su Changqing wield it?

When he glanced at his ice-cold immortal sword, he saw that upon its once-pure-white blade, where it had blocked the lightning, there was now a scorched violet-black mark.

Qi Hao was not the only one shocked. The thousands upon thousands of disciples were all struck dumb with horror.

"This Lightning Technique is simply too heaven-defying, isn't it?!"

"No one in the Qingyun Sect has ever been seen wielding such a Lightning Technique. Just where did Su Changqing get it?"

"Didn't Junior Brother Su say a few days ago that he comprehended it after seeing Lu Xueqi use the Divine Sword Thunder Control Technique?"

The others did not know, but Su Changqing knew perfectly well.

This Lei Fan technique was one of the great killing moves within the Thunder Emperor's Treasure Technique. Once fully developed, a single bolt could shatter an entire province. But with his current strength, this was already his limit. Even in peak condition, he could only use it once, and before using it again, he would need time to recuperate.

No one could have imagined that the enormous cave blasted out by Lei Fan would be preserved forever. In the near future, Dao Xuan would name it Lei Fan Cave. Countless disciples would enter it to observe it, all merely to pay homage to the scant traces left behind by that legendary Qingyun disciple.