Volume One: Intrigue and Deception in the Imperial Capital, The Second Battle
"The ninth match, Si Nan Family Guest Official Liu Ye, versus Xiuchun Fang, the eldest daughter of the Xiuchun Workshop, shall begin!"
After Si Nan Ying's victory, my next match is mine. Even she won, so I have to do my best!
Before me stood a spirited young woman, dressed in a smart men's martial arts uniform, with a long, narrow cloth bundle on her back, exuding an air of female strength and courage that rivaled any man.
"Xiuchun Fang, the 42nd generation disciple of Xiuchun Workshop and a Grade A Level 2 martial artist, possesses the unique ability of pure physical enhancement. She hereby challenges you!"
"Ah, uh, I'm Liu Ye from the Si Nan Family, um... hello."
The girl immediately gave me a standard martial arts salute and even explained her special ability. Her solemn and sincere attitude made me feel embarrassed.
Please enlighten me!
Xiuchun Fang grasped the bundle that had been hidden behind her back, pouring powerful spiritual energy into it. The cloth strips binding the bundle instantly shattered into pieces, revealing—a sword? A knife? An axe? A spiked club? What on earth was this?
"This is the masterpiece of our Embroidery Palace Workshop, a transformable weapon— the Liu He!"
Does it come with built-in commentary?
"Starting Stance: Waves and Dragonfly Trails!"
The deformed blade— Liu He —slashed towards me with a streak of silver light. So fast! I quickly conjured a crystal shield to deflect Liu He, but—
Thud! A chill ran down my shoulder, followed by Liu He, needle-like pain. Looking closer, I saw that the heavy weapon had somehow split in two, the newly ejected blade slicing into me. The wound was shallow, but I couldn't afford to be careless. In short, I retreated to create some distance—
"Huh!?"
A sharp pain suddenly shot through my back. What happened? I was attacked from behind? I don't know how she did it, but anyway—no, I can't dodge to the side!
"Blood Arrow Barrage!"
Blood suddenly gushed from her body, instantly solidifying into countless blood arrows that shot out in all directions. Xiuchun Fang immediately poured a large amount of spiritual power into Liu He, and a spiritual power shield immediately appeared on Liu He, blocking all the blood arrows. I was finally able to create some distance and carefully observe her strange weapon.
"A high-end product, it can even transform..." I murmured. The current shape of the Liu He is so different from the original. Several secondary blades have sprung out from the main blade, which resembles a sword or an axe. The end of the handle is connected to three long iron chains with barbs at the top. So that's how it is... While my attention was diverted by my shoulder injury, the three iron chains surrounded my left, right and rear sides, blocking my movement!
"However, you don't think you can defeat me just because of your superior weaponry..., do you...?"
"Of course, I am still very self-aware," Xiuchun Fang smiled slightly. "I watched your last match and found that you are not only highly skilled in close combat and defense, but also adept at large-scale, powerful attacks. If you really went all out, I'm afraid I wouldn't even be able to keep my corpse intact, but..."
"Fearless in the face of powerful enemies, rising to the challenge – that is the spirit of a martial artist!" She pointed the Liu He at me, her expression incredibly resolute.
"..."
What to do? I'm so touched. Suddenly I realize how despicable I was to just consider using my ultimate move, "Blood Rainbow," to simply and brutally finish her off... No way! If I just use my ultimate to end the battle, I'll have this feeling of "winning the game but losing my life," so...
With a snap, I held the Charging Blade horizontally in front of me, crimson blood covering my vital areas and congealing into a thin layer of crystalline armor.
"Miss Ye, what's going on?"
"Wouldn't a fight be too boring if I just used a super move to instantly kill you?"
She paused for a moment, then revealed a fiercely competitive smile, saying, "Since you've honored me with your presence, I'll certainly keep you company to the end!"
Then, I experienced the most exhilarating close-quarters combat I've ever had.
The crimson blade and the deformed blade clashed countless times, the sparks igniting their surging fighting spirit even higher. In terms of martial arts, Xiuchun Fang was superior to me. She had practiced martial arts since childhood and had the aid of a specially made weapon, making her an absolute master among masters. My advantage lay in defense; the invincible blood crystals firmly protected all my vital points, making her attacks utterly ineffective. Although Liu He's weapon slashed, stabbed, and cut my body countless times, it failed to cause any substantial damage. Therefore, without needing to worry about defense, I focused all my attention on offense, launching reckless, suicidal attacks. Relying on the martial arts foundation I had acquired in the past two weeks and a fierce determination, I managed to fight her to a standstill.
Clang! The blades clashed and separated again. I swung my Charging Blade wildly, deflecting the three chains that tried to bind me. Liu He slashed down again, but this time I used my fist, which was wrapped in blood crystal, to strike the side of the blade, actually managing to knock Liu He away. At the same time, the Charging Blade in my hand quickly followed up, stabbing towards Xiuchun Fang, whose defenses were wide open!
"We won--!"
Click. "!?"
Just as it was about to strike, a small blade popped out from the handle of the Liu He Blade, blocking the Charging Blade's attack!
"That was close! I almost lost." Xiuchun Fang chuckled, her beautiful eyes brimming with confidence.
Please remove the phrase "almost".
As I spoke, I pulled the trigger.
If it were the strangely large and thick main blade of the Liu He that had blocked the Charging Blade, it might not have succeeded, but if it were just a small secondary blade...
With a deafening roar, the small secondary blade shattered instantly. Xiuchun Fang was sent flying backward, straight off the arena, and crashed heavily to the ground!
The entire room fell silent, and then--
"The second battle, the second battle was won too!!"
"Long live the goddess! I will marry the goddess!"
"He actually defeated Xiuchun Fang in close combat! That's incredible!"
"Liu Ye! Liu Ye! Liu Ye!"
Cheers and shouts erupted, and I waved back a little awkwardly. Actually, I was more concerned about Xiuchun Fang, whom I had knocked away. After all, she had been hit head-on by the Charging Blade. Given her physique, she wouldn't die, but she might be crippled. But if I just went up to her and asked if she was alright, she would inevitably be suspected of deliberately mocking me. But I felt bad about it, since I still had a good impression of her.
"Sharp!"
"Eh?!"
Before I could approach her, she got up on her own, looking radiant and showing no signs of serious injury.
"I have benefited greatly from my battle with you, and I would love to spar again if the opportunity arises!" She extended her hand to me.
"Yes, me too." I extended my hand and shook hers.
We made it into the top 16, and that night we had a simple celebration party in Si Nan Ying's room. After that, I returned to training. To be honest, I wasn't as nervous as before; I was just doing some light exercise to keep my body from getting sluggish.
And so, the second stage of the competition quickly came to its final day, and I arrived at the venue unusually early that day.
For no other reason than to witness Haoyue's battle.