Winning Against The Strong With Weakness

After defeating Qiu Niu, Yi Yun quickly handed over the challenge form to the referee, and some people had already gotten a sneak peek.

After a few people approached the referee's table, they peered at the name Yi Yun had written down. His chosen opponent was— Chu Xiaoran!

Yi Yun, to Chu Xiaoran!!

No one was surprised by this battle; in the rookie ranking competition, to determine a first place, Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran were destined for a final showdown.

In fact, for someone like Yi Yun, fighting against every strong newcomer is also an experience for him. He needs this kind of experience to continuously accumulate practical combat experience and hone his martial arts skills!

"Yi Yun, you must fight Chu Xiaoran!"

Someone spread the news.

"Zhan Chu Xiaoran? Now Chu Xiaoran is under pressure!"

Previously, Chu Xiaoran's performance had been subtly superior to Qiu Niu's, but not by much. Everyone knew that Chu Xiaoran was holding back her strength, but it seemed that she was still a bit hesitant when facing Yi Yun!

"Yi Yun is a monster. He could even break through Qiu Niu's last desperate attack with a single blow. Coupled with his extraordinary Movement Technique, his attack and speed are unmatched. Can Chu Xiaoran beat him? It's difficult!"

"That's how it seems now, but no one knows how much hidden strength Chu Xiaoran still has. Qiu Niu and Yi Yun both had hidden trump cards in their battle; would Chu Xiaoran not have any? Don't forget, Chu Xiaoran has comprehended the True Meaning of Laws..."

People were discussing it, and generally speaking, most people thought Yi Yun had a better chance of winning.

At this moment, the referee announced, "Divine Desolation Stage, number 2600, Long Li, challenger— Chu Xiaoran!"

Before her battle with Yi Yun, Chu Xiaoran had another pre-arranged fight: challenging the number 2,600 on the Earth Ranking.

This is Chu Xiaoran's third-to-last battle. Tomorrow, she has two more chances to challenge, and no one knows how high Chu Xiaoran can go.

Chu Xiaoran, holding a Longsword as soft as water, walked up to the Divine Desolation Stage.

Whether it's the opponent she faces in this battle or Yi Yun in the next, they are all formidable adversaries, yet Chu Xiaoran remains calm and composed.

That kind of magnanimity alone is admirable.

"Truly a master. She remained calm and composed; even seeing Qiu Niu defeated, Chu Xiaoran showed no reaction..."

People were secretly astonished, wondering where the limits of Chu Xiaoran's strength lay.

Chu Xiaoran's opponent, Long Li, wielded a long spear with its tip extended horizontally, adopting a starting stance reminiscent of "Iron Chain Blocking the River."

He also took this opponent very seriously and dared not underestimate him in the slightest.

"Chu Xiaoran..." Yi Yun, who had been meditating in the contestant's seat, opened his eyes. He also wanted to see what kind of demeanor this woman, who had consistently ranked first among the newcomers, possessed.

The battle has begun.

Everyone was watching closely, waiting to see Chu Xiaoran's hidden strength was. Qiu Niu had hidden strength, then Chu Xiaoran should have it too.

People originally imagined that this battle would begin with Long Li slightly suppressing Chu Xiaoran, and then Chu Xiaoran would suddenly unleash her hidden strength and turn the tide of the battle.

However, this battle turned out differently than people expected.

Long Li's initial attack was indeed fierce; he wielded his long spear wildly, sending out bursts of light!

The spear is known as the king of weapons. Long Li was already over 1.8 meters tall, and when he wielded a long spear, he was incredibly powerful and imposing.

But Chu Xiaoran used a Soft Sword.

In a direct confrontation between a sword and a spear, Chu Xiaoran was already at a disadvantage, and she was quickly suppressed by Long Li!

Long Li's gun was fast, and its shaft was infused with surging vital energy.

Long Li's attacks came wave after wave, like a fierce tide, while Chu Xiaoran was like a small boat in the tide, drifting with the wind and waves.

It seemed that Chu Xiaoran was in great danger, yet... no matter how fierce Long Li's attacks were, Chu Xiaoran remained undefeated.

After a prolonged and fruitless attack, Long Li was getting anxious; he seemed to be just a hair's breadth away from defeating Chu Xiaoran.

If Long Li is a rock, then Chu Xiaoran is a resilient grass that bends but never breaks no matter how much the rock presses down on it!

This kind of battle made many newcomers frown. They hoped that Chu Xiaoran would win a beautiful match, but in reality, Chu Xiaoran was suppressed.

The newlyweds were not very happy.

Did Chu Xiaoran not have any hidden strength? Forced into this state by Long Li, how can she possibly fight Yi Yun?

People know that Long Li is very strong, ranking 2,600th on the Earth Ranking. In the circle of three-year trial participants, he is considered an upper-level expert. In normal years, any newcomer who could fight a trial participant ranked 2,600th on the Earth Ranking to this extent would definitely be a monstrous talent, and winning first place in the newcomer competition would be a sure thing.

But this year is different. There's a monster-level Yi Yun here. This guy is no match for Yi Yun at all!

However, while the audience was anxious, Chu Xiaoran not in a hurry at all. She calmly and methodically deflected Long Li's moves, one sword strike after another. Although it seemed extremely dangerous, she was actually handling it with ease.

On the battlefield, Long Li's mind sank. He knew that if things continued like this, his strength would be depleted much faster than Chu Xiaoran's, and in the end, he would be the one to lose.

He must gather his strength and strike decisively!

Therefore, he had no choice but to use his trump card. Long Li had only just learned this move and was not yet proficient in using it, but at this moment, it was the only move that could secure victory.

While attacking Chu Xiaoran, Long Li was also preparing his ultimate move. When Long Li was ready, he forced Chu Xiaoran back with a single blow, and his entire body's energy exploded, forming a surging wave of energy in front of him!

Just as Long Li was about to unleash this earth-shattering shot, something completely unexpected happened.

Chu Xiaoran, who had been forced back by him, seemed to have used the force of his attack to fly back instantly and thrust out a sword!

This sword strike, seemingly ordinary, seemed to pose no threat even as it pierced through Long Li's energy surge.

However, this very sword strike blasted open a rainbow of light, causing Long Li's energy surge to collapse by half!

Because it struck the weakest point in Long Li's move!

"Boom!"

Long Li energy was broken. Although he reacted in an instant and tried to retreat, attempting to use his gun to protect himself, it was too late!

Chu Xiaoran is too fast, and her sword is too accurate!

Her body, like a ghost, rushed into Long Li's spear light, and a Soft Sword pierced through Long Li's Protective True Essence!

This sword strike, like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, seemed to possess a spirit as it coiled around Long Li's neck.

The chilling Sword Light made Long Li's heart skip a beat, and the flow of his vital energy ceased.

Wh... what?

Long Li was dumbfounded; he stood frozen in place, as if petrified.

You lost.

Chu Xiaoran sheathed her Soft Sword and silently took a step back.

Long Li stared blankly as Chu Xiaoran retreated, utterly unable to believe what had just happened.

From the very beginning, he had the upper hand. Only because he couldn't break through after a long period of attack did he intend to use his newly mastered trump card. However, before he could use the trump card, Chu Xiaoran suddenly turned the tide and won with an ordinary sword strike that broke through his defenses and defeated him in one move.

This dramatic turnaround from defeat to victory happened in the blink of an eye!

Long Li clearly believed that he was stronger than Chu Xiaoran, but in the end, he lost!

It feels like playing chess. At the beginning, you completely dominate your opponent, capturing most of their pieces, and victory seems within reach. But then, for some unknown reason, your opponent makes a move that penetrates deep into your territory, taking down your king...

A total loss!

Long Li felt frustrated by his defeat; he couldn't imagine how Chu Xiaoran had seen through his swordplay.

The surrounding spectators were also confused by this battle; Chu Xiaoran's victory seemed both easy and difficult. Some even felt that Chu Xiaoran's victory was somewhat lucky.

How could this be the result? They were waiting to see Chu Xiaoran's hidden strength, but from beginning to end, Chu Xiaoran only showed the same strength as when she first made her move. And with that strength, she managed to kill Long Li in a muddle.

"Didn't Chu Xiaoran hide her true strength? Is all her skill here? How can she possibly fight Yi Yun then? Isn't she destined to lose?"

Some people might think, "If it's so difficult for her to beat Long Li, then it'll be very difficult for her to beat Yi Yun."

However, at this moment, someone said, "On the contrary... I think Chu Xiaoran's performance in this battle was terrifying. The strength she used in this battle Long Li's, but the final result was unexpected! She won against Long Li, which is a skill. And how do you know that what she displayed now is the limit of Chu Xiaoran's strength?"

This man's rhetorical question startled everyone present.

"If you can win with six-tenths of your strength, why use all of it? On the contrary, using six-tenths of your strength to defeat an opponent with seven-tenths of their strength, that's real skill. Perhaps, this is Chu Xiaoran's training and tempering for herself!"

The speaker was a seasoned trial participant. Now, even these seasoned trial participants had to admit how formidable Chu Xiaoran was, although admitting that a newcomer was stronger than them was a very embarrassing thing.

After hearing this, everyone was speechless. Using opponents to hone their skills in the rookie ranking matches?

Recalling the battle just now, Chu Xiaoran remained calm and composed throughout, without the slightest panic, as if she had everything under control.

If she were truly no match for Long Li, she probably wouldn't be so composed.

And that final sword strike, though seemingly ordinary, was it really ordinary?

Can an ordinary sword strike break through Long Li's fully prepared ultimate move?

Thinking about all this, when people looked at Chu Xiaoran again, they suddenly felt that this girl seemed to have become unfathomable.

Throughout this rookie ranking competition, Qiu Niu's ranking was consistently lower than Chu Xiaoran's. Now that I think about it, perhaps this was intentional on Qiu Niu's part; he was planning to challenge Chu Xiaoran on the last day!

Perhaps deep down, Qiu Niu didn't think he would lose to Chu Xiaoran, but this shows that Qiu Niu was probably not as good as Chu Xiaoran before, otherwise he wouldn't have positioned himself as a challenger.

Unfortunately, Qiu Niu can no longer challenge Chu Xiaoran; the challenger has become Yi Yun...

...(To be continued~^~)