Great Chu Kingdom, Liyao City, Xiaoxiang Academy.
On a martial arena, two graceful women were locked in a fierce sword fight.
Below the arena, a crowd of one or two hundred people, both men and women, stared unblinkingly at the two figures darting back and forth above.
The women onstage traded wits and blows, their swords clashing as flashes of light shimmered around them, dazzling the eye.
If you ignored the long swords in their hands, wouldn't they look like two fairies dancing gracefully?
In the crowd below, a woman in a moon-white training uniform watched the two onstage intently. This was Jiang Zichun.
Although Jiang Zichun wasn't due to compete that morning, she had still come to see her potential opponents.
Her rival was the tall woman onstage: Zhang Yurou, whose swordsmanship was rumored to have improved by leaps and bounds.
Jiang Zichun's gaze had been fixed on Zhang Yurou all along. She wanted to see just how strong her opponent was now.
But the longer she watched, the heavier her heart sank. Zhang Yurou really had changed—she was much steadier than before.
She knew that Zhang Yurou practiced the Autumn Water Sword Technique, which emphasized a lingering autumn mood, building toward a killing move and waiting for the right moment to strike a fatal blow.
In other words, the Autumn Water Sword Technique excelled at using slowness to overcome speed, prolonged combat, and controlling the rhythm of a fight.
It was said that once you were caught in the Autumn Water Sword Technique and your opponent took control of the battle's rhythm, all you could do was stretch out your neck and wait to die. Your life and death would no longer be in your own hands.
Jiang Zichun's Fragrant Sword Technique, on the other hand, was a fast sword style that used speed to overcome speed, and aimed to end a fight in a short time.
To a certain extent, this sword technique was countered by the Autumn Water Sword Technique.
Put another way, the Fragrant Sword Technique was an early-game hero. If you didn't build up a huge advantage early on, there was no hope in the late game.
The Autumn Water Sword Technique, meanwhile, was a late-game hero. The longer a fight went on, the more obvious its advantage became.
So the Autumn Water Sword Technique had to stay steady. Stay steady, and you could win.
When their strength was evenly matched, all the Autumn Water Sword Technique had to do was survive the early game. Then its advantage would grow and grow until it crushed the opponent and left no hope of a comeback.
By that logic, Jiang Zichun and Zhang Yurou, whose cultivation levels were about equal, should have been evenly matched.
But in every previous match, Jiang Zichun had trounced Zhang Yurou. Zhang Yurou had never even won once.
As for why, both of them knew the answer.
Zhang Yurou always tried to use speed to overcome speed, even going on the offensive first. That was why she was countered by the Fragrant Sword Technique, a style specifically designed to use speed against speed.
Every discipline had its specialty.
How could a sword technique that used slowness to overcome speed be better at using speed against speed than a sword technique of the same level that specialized in exactly that?
That would be ridiculous.
That was why Zhang Yurou always lost to Jiang Zichun.
Jiang Zichun had actually explained this to Zhang Yurou before, but for some reason, Zhang Yurou had never changed her approach and kept doing things the same way.
But this time was different. Zhang Yurou had actually changed her style. She was now steady and methodical, following the principles of the Autumn Water Sword Technique. That was why rumors said her swordsmanship had improved so much.
"Zhang Yurou!"
"Zhang Yurou!"
"Zhang Yurou!"
A sudden burst of cheers rang out, and Jiang Zichun was pulled from her thoughts.
Zhang Yurou had won.
Just as expected.
Jiang Zichun smiled faintly. Looks like the afternoon's matches will be worth watching. But I've got a new trump card now, so this time, I'm sure to win.
After getting a sense of her opponent's strength, Jiang Zichun squeezed through the crowd and went to look at a few other arenas.
When she was done, she returned to her training room and continued thinking about how to incorporate the Divine Ability she had just learned into her usual fighting style, so nothing unexpected would happen.
Because the people of Great Chu generally loved martial arts, even a women's academy had no shortage of participants in its End-of-Month Grand Competition. There were usually two or three hundred contestants.
This time was no exception.
With so many participants, the academy divided the competition into two stages.
The first stage was the qualifiers.
It took all morning, with ten arenas running at once, to determine the top ten—one winner from each arena.
Zhang Yurou was among them, and she had even placed first.
The previous top ten weren't required to take part in the first-stage qualifiers, so the contestants selected in this round were actually ranked eleventh through twentieth.
Zhang Yurou had placed eleventh.
That afternoon, she and the original top ten would compete in the promotion matches to determine the top ten and claim the rewards.
The afternoon matches were also called challenge promotion matches.
Contestants could challenge anyone ranked up to two places above them, but if they lost both matches, they had to stop there.
For example, the contestant ranked twentieth could challenge the contestants ranked nineteenth and eighteenth, but not the contestant ranked seventeenth.
However, if the contestant ranked twentieth defeated the one ranked eighteenth, she would take eighteenth place. At that point, she could continue challenging the contestants ranked seventeenth and sixteenth.
The challenges proceeded from the bottom upward, one by one, until they reached first place.
By that reckoning, only the top two of the newly selected contestants ranked eleventh through twentieth had any chance of challenging the top ten. The rest had no chance of advancing.
Still, if anyone in the top ten got knocked out, those ranked below them would have a better chance of moving up. So they hadn't given up, either.
What if someone ahead of them turned out to be an easy mark? It wasn't very likely, but it could happen.
That afternoon.
The contestants arrived early, and the students packed the area beneath the arenas.
Unlike usual, there were even men in the crowd today. Most of them were students from nearby academies who had come to watch the fun.
Some stood beneath the arenas, others perched in trees, and a few had even climbed onto rooftops...
A quarter past the Hour of the Goat.
Only then did the judge beside the arena announce that the matches were officially beginning.
The first match was the contestant ranked twelfth, Yin Keke, challenging Kong Huiying, who had originally ranked tenth.
Yin Keke was one of the few cultivators in Great Chu who focused mainly on Divine Abilities. She specialized in the Taoist School's Yin-Yang and Five Elements and excelled at long-range combat.
Kong Huiying, like most people from Great Chu, focused on the Martial Way and excelled at close combat. Her main martial technique was the Thunderbolt Blade, which was also a style meant to end fights quickly, much like Jiang Zichun's Fragrant Sword Technique.
"Yin Keke, please give me your guidance."
"Kong Huiying, please give me your guidance."
As soon as the match began, Yin Keke, who excelled at long-range combat, struck first. She used Condense Qi into Ice, which Kong Huiying dodged, then followed up with a barrage of long-range Divine Abilities like Shockwave and Spiritual Qi Blade.
In an instant, the arena filled with colorful Divine Abilities and spells: white ice spikes, nearly transparent Spiritual Qi Blades, scarlet fireballs...
Some Divine Abilities were even invisible to the naked eye. You could only tell they had passed through by the ripples in the arena's Protective Barrier.
As she unleashed her barrage, Yin Keke kept shifting positions so Kong Huiying couldn't get hold of her.
After all, Yin Keke was a ranged fighter. If a close-combat fighter caught her, she'd be finished in one combo.
Kong Huiying, wielding a long saber, either dodged sideways when an attack came at her or knocked ice spikes aside with her blade. Calm and resolute, she advanced toward Yin Keke.
When they were about three meters apart, Kong Huiying's heart stirred.
Military Strategist Divine Ability: Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell.
In an instant, another Kong Huiying appeared behind Yin Keke, with her blade at Yin Keke's neck.
Yin Keke could only call out to surrender.
Only then did the image of Kong Huiying where she had first been standing disappear completely.
Only then did the crowd below begin whispering among themselves.
"Ah, sure enough. A ranged fighter without a shield isn't really a ranged fighter. It's too easy to counter her."
"Exactly. And now that there are position-swapping Divine Abilities like Golden Cicada Sheds Its Shell, ranged fighters are even easier to counter. If only she had a shield. It could hold out for a while."
"You're dreaming. A shield-type Divine Ability that can protect your whole body costs at least three or four thousand Luck Points. It's too expensive. We can't afford one."
After Yin Keke's challenge.
It was the turn of Zhang Yurou, ranked eleventh. She decided to keep fighting steadily and challenge Kong Huiying as well.
Half an incense stick later, Kong Huiying was decisively defeated.
"Zhang Yurou's swordsmanship was rumored to have made great strides. Looks like it's true—she actually won."
"I heard she went to the Tianbao Trading Firm to fight monsters for training. That's how she got so much stronger."
"So she paid to win!"
"Then go do it yourself."
"I'm too kindhearted. I can't bear to kill living creatures."
Next up was Jiang Zichun.
Before stepping onto the arena, Jiang Zichun used the Mohist School's Sword Formation Divine Ability to summon a three-foot-long sword.
Once it had taken shape, it looked no different from an ordinary steel sword, except that a brilliant, multicolored sheen rippled across its surface. It was quite beautiful.
On the arena, Zhang Yurou and Jiang Zichun stood facing each other, seven or eight meters apart.
Although they knew each other, they only exchanged greetings before falling silent.
As soon as the judge announced the start, both of them rushed forward and met in the center of the arena. Since neither was a ranged fighter, there was no need to dodge.
Once they closed in, one used the Fragrant Sword Technique and the other the Autumn Water Sword Technique.
Jiang Zichun wielded the Fragrant Sword Technique, each stroke faster than the last. Her swordplay even carried a hint of elusive grace, making it hard to predict where her blade would land.
But Zhang Yurou used the Autumn Water Sword Technique to block every strike.
This really was Endless Autumn Water.
Suddenly, Jiang Zichun's sword split into three, thrusting straight at Zhang Yurou. One looked about to pierce her shoulder.
At that moment, Zhang Yurou's sword moved at an unbelievable angle and intercepted all three strikes.
After blocking them, Zhang Yurou kept defending with all her strength, only counterattacking once in a while.
This left Jiang Zichun incredibly frustrated.
Even her Blade Light and Sword Shadow couldn't do anything to Zhang Yurou.
Zhang Yurou was like a turtle tucked inside its shell, leaving her no way in.
At that moment, Jiang Zichun kept hoping her opponent would hurry up and counterattack. Then she could find an opening and end the match with one decisive strike.
But from the look of her, Zhang Yurou planned to save her strength until the very end, then finish Jiang Zichun off with the killing move, Soughing Autumn Wind.
No wonder everyone said the Autumn Water Sword Technique was obnoxious. There was some truth to it.
The two of them were like an assassin facing a shield warrior.
Either the assassin used speed to take down the shield warrior, or the shield warrior wore the assassin down.
It was purely a test of patience.
Three or four minutes passed, and Jiang Zichun still hadn't managed to take Zhang Yurou down. She knew her chances were slim.
They hadn't seen each other for a month, and Zhang Yurou had become so much steadier.
Then Jiang Zichun decided to cheat.
Mathematics Divine Ability: Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage.
After unleashing this Divine Ability, Jiang Zichun still wasn't confident enough. She followed it up with a Military Strategist Divine Ability: Feint to the East, Attack in the West.
Then, two identical swords appeared in Jiang Zichun's hands.
One sword thrust toward Zhang Yurou's right shoulder, while the other aimed for her neck.
This was the Military Strategist Divine Ability: Feint to the East, Attack in the West.
Only one of the swords was real. The fake one wouldn't disappear until it came close to the opponent's body. If it struck a weapon instead, the fake would cause the same result as the real one. It felt and hit just like the real thing.
As for Zhang Yurou, the moment Jiang Zichun used the Mathematics Divine Ability,
Zhang Yurou suddenly found herself in a void.
"Huh? Wasn't I outside, fighting Jiang Zichun? How did I end up here?"
Just as Zhang Yurou was puzzling over it, a message appeared in her mind.
An illusion?
And she had to answer questions?
Wasn't this just like Encouraging Learning?
But illusions couldn't be used in battle, could they? What was going on?
Had Jiang Zichun created one?
No, she shouldn't have been capable of that.
Never mind. She'd answer the question first. She couldn't waste time.
Then Zhang Yurou called out, "Begin."
A question appeared in her mind.
Suppose there are beasts with six heads and four feet, and birds with four heads and two feet. Together they have 498 heads and 284 feet. How many birds and beasts are there?
As soon as Zhang Yurou heard the question, she realized what it was. Wasn't this "Chicken and Rabbit in a Cage"?
Why was it this question?
But she didn't have time to dwell on it. She quickly conjured counting rods in the illusion and began calculating...
After spending ten seconds in the illusion, Zhang Yurou emerged with a dazed look in her eyes.
What was all this supposed to mean?
They'd been fighting just fine. How had it turned into a quiz?
Wasn't this just making things difficult for her?
A moment later, Zhang Yurou finally came to her senses. She looked at the sword that had nearly pierced her neck.
She sighed and said despondently, "You win!"
Only then did Jiang Zichun lower the long sword in her hand. Then she sent Zhang Yurou a message through her Spiritual Qi.
Zhang Yurou asked in surprise, "Really?"
Jiang Zichun only nodded, then said nothing more and turned to leave the arena.
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