One Willing to Strike, One Willing to Be Struck

Chao Qingteng still did not approach. He merely raised the Ice River Sword upright and lowered his head as he murmured, "Galaxy!"

Swoosh—

The snowflakes on the ground suddenly spun, rising violently before shattering into sword qi.

Chao Qingteng's sword seemed to rip open a galaxy, cutting out from amid the swirling snowflakes.

The sword on Xiao Qixiu's back trembled, and the referee's eyes filled with shock.

Acquired Sword Intent!

It was actually Acquired Sword Intent! First Zhou Tianshen had revealed Acquired Saber Intent, and now Chao Qingteng had brought out Acquired Sword Intent.

Was Xu Xiaoshou some kind of treasure chest key? Whoever he faced, he could force them to uncover their trump cards?

In the spectator stands, Zhou Tianshen hugged his saber, his gaze full of worry.

Sword Intent! Under Sword Intent, how could Xu Xiaoshou, trapped within that ice sculpture, possibly withstand it? Xu Xiaoshou, who had utterly defeated him, was about to be taken down by Chao Qingteng in three strikes? Then wouldn't that mean...

He fiercely rubbed his head, too restless even to remain seated.

Elsewhere, Mu Zixi grabbed her twin ponytails and stood on a chair in the waiting area, craning her neck to see just what Xu Xiaoshou—who had disdained even greeting her—was capable of.

Only to find that the opening scene was an ice sculpture...

Elder Qiao sat quietly among the spectators. This was the second match he had come to watch Xu Xiaoshou compete in, and also the second time he felt he might have to go down afterward and console Xu Xiaoshou.

Under the gaze of the entire crowd, everyone seemed to see the Galaxy sword qi split its target in two.

The sword qi flashed past, and the ice sculpture instantly exploded.

Yet to everyone's surprise, it had not been cleaved apart. It shattered from the inside out, and a hand cut out from within.

Chao Qingteng's eyes narrowed. A hand?

That hand glowed with a transparent sheen, as though flesh and blood itself possessed spirit. Its treasured body was fully formed, and it suddenly clenched around the screaming sword qi.

The spectators were all stunned. He caught it?!

Clang—

Amid an ear-piercing shriek, Xu Xiaoshou sprang from the ice sculpture like a monkey unleashed.

With a midair flip, he hurled the Galaxy sword qi back. "Holy shit!"

Zhou Tianshen's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets outside the arena. This scene seemed familiar! His Immortal Pulls Up the Mountain Technique had previously been deflected by Xu Xiaoshou with a single sword strike, sealing his defeat.

Who would have thought that after just one day, this guy did not even need a sword anymore.

Deflecting sword qi barehanded? You had to be kidding him.

Xu Xiaoshou half-knelt on the ground, his body shuddering as he slowly exhaled icy vapor.

Leisurely White Clouds II: Sword-Drawing Form! That was right—this was the sword-intent attack method he had comprehended during yesterday's battle with Zhou Tianshen, only now Xu Xiaoshou had executed it with Light of Sharpness.

The hand blade formed by that transparent radiance gathered around his hand was nearly as sharp as Hidden Pain.

Heavy snow drifted down as everyone stood frozen.

It would have been one thing if he had used a sword, but Xu Xiaoshou had deflected sword qi with his bare hand. It had truly dropped everyone's jaws, and even Chao Qingteng failed to react for a moment.

With a swish, the sword slashed through. Chao Qingteng barely evaded it, and the Galaxy sword qi slammed into the barrier, sending ripples spreading across it as though it were about to tear apart.

"Terrifying!"

Everyone was shocked. They could not believe that Xu Xiaoshou had actually been able to grasp such a ferocious sword strike, and their appraisal of an innate physical body rose another level in unison.

Frost covered Xu Xiaoshou's face, and his lips had turned purple. He was clearly freezing badly, but the wound in his palm torn open by the sword qi jolted his entire body awake.

A scorching force spread through his sea of qi, swiftly dispersing the chill. That was an unexpected delight.

Strike while he was sick and take his life! Xu Xiaoshou did not let go of the chance to chain his attacks. After throwing back the sword qi, he immediately gripped Hidden Pain.

Without another word, he leisurely traced a sword through the air, and sword intent instantly crushed forward.

Leisurely White Clouds I: Sword Net Form!

That was right. He had come up with the names of these two sword moves while frozen, and as for their fighting styles, even more so! He, Xu Xiaoshou, did not only know close-quarters combat.

Chao Qingteng had only just dodged his own Galaxy sword qi when the sword net pressed down upon him. He immediately slashed out with the Ice River Sword, and metallic clangs rang across the arena.

Hiss, hiss, hiss! Several bloody cuts appeared across Chao Qingteng's white robes.

The facts proved that after being tempered through several battles, Xu Xiaoshou's sword intent had grown even stronger.

Although Chao Qingteng also possessed Acquired Sword Intent, he simply could not withstand Xu Xiaoshou's dense barrage of attacks.

The next moment, he gave up resisting. The sword net swept over his body, and an ice sculpture bearing Chao Qingteng's likeness reappeared, instantly cut into pieces.

There it was! That unknown substitution technique!

Xu Xiaoshou had long been prepared. His Perception had been monitoring the movements of the snowflakes at every moment, and sure enough, he spotted a spot where the snowflakes hung in the air with a slight irregularity.

There!

The spectators watched in astonishment as Xu Xiaoshou slapped at the empty air beside him, and they were just about to curse in exasperation.

Yet in the very next instant, Chao Qingteng emerged beneath his palm!

"Holy shit!"

In that instant, everyone's hearts bloomed with fragrant curses. What the hell was going on?

Xu Xiaoshou was hitting Chao Qingteng, while one was willing to strike and the other willing to be struck? Chao Qingteng's expression changed. He immediately realized that with just a single probe, this fellow had cracked his Walking Through Snow technique.

Such combat insight was truly terrifying! Caught unprepared, he could not even raise the Ice River Sword and could only answer with a palm strike of his own.

Xu Xiaoshou immediately let out a sly chuckle.

His right hand curled, Light of Sharpness winding around it. His palm strike instantly transformed into an eagle claw and viciously stabbed into Chao Qingteng's relatively tender palm.

Splat! Blood sprayed. Chao Qingteng had already formed an ice mirror at the point where their attacks met to block it, but how could innate Sharpness be ordinary? The eagle claw directly blasted through the ice mirror, leaving five bloody holes in his palm! Xu Xiaoshou finally understood the difference between a palm strike and a claw strike. If he used this Nine Yin White Bone Claw and then tore sideways, this fellow would probably have at most one finger left.

The shortest one! He had shown mercy, merely thinking it without putting it into action.

Even so, pain twisted Chao Qingteng's face, and his body instantly vanished.

This time, he did not dare act arrogantly. He directly pulled the distance to the farthest edge, and Xu Xiaoshou naturally could not keep up.

"There really is something wrong with this snow..."

Xu Xiaoshou grinned and turned to Xiao Qixiu. "I told you he was cheating, but you didn't believe me. If it were up to me, I'd declare him the loser immediately."

Xiao Qixiu curled his lip but gave no opinion.

The spectators were all stunned. Chao Qingteng's first drop of blood since entering the Wind and Cloud Tournament had actually been drawn by Xu Xiaoshou. No one had expected it.

"So Chao Qingteng's instant movement technique really does move through the snow, just as Xu Xiaoshou said?"

Everyone's expressions turned strange. If that was truly the case, then Chao Qingteng really did count as cheating.

If he had caused the snow to fall beforehand purely to set off his elegance, naturally no one would have found fault with it. Some had even envied that ability.

But if it was linked to certain moves that required building momentum or activation in secret, then such conduct was inevitably rather contemptible.

By this point, some people had already begun switching sides. Chao Qingteng's actions had clearly made them uncomfortable.

"Xu Xiaoshou, go! I knew you were the best!"

"Xu Xiaoshou, defeat Chao Qingteng, and I'll bear you monkey babies!"

"Xu Xiaoshou, ahhh, you're so handsome!"

Zhou Tianshen stared over in shock. Only after leaving the arena and watching from the sidelines did he realize that the spectator stands were this fierce?