Showdown

A boy in the crowd caught Chen Yiming's attention.

He wore a Donghu No. 1 High School uniform and was banging his cheering sticks together with all his might, his face flushed with excitement.

Chen Yiming tapped him on the shoulder from behind and remarked as if in passing:

"This isn't much of a match. She could beat the boy in white easily, but she's using her footwork to toy with him."

"What do you know? She's giving him pointers!"

The boy turned, glanced at Chen Yiming, and shot back.

Liu Qingqing was his goddess. In his eyes, everything she did had a reason.

He can justify even that?

Chen Yiming stared at him, speechless.

Seeing that Chen Yiming had nothing to say, the boy launched into an explanation:

"Liu Qingqing from our school caught the eye of the master of the Flowing Cloud Sword Hall back in middle school. He took her in as a Core Disciple. Do you know what a Core Disciple is? That's a rank above an ordinary martial arts school student. Impressive, right?"

"A Core Disciple?"

Chen Yiming's heart jolted, and his eyes widened.

Of course he knew what a Core Disciple was. He was preparing to enroll at the Praying Mantis Snake Sword Academy himself.

For most seventeen- or eighteen-year-olds, becoming a martial arts school student was already something worth bragging about. Their classmates and friends would go out of their way to curry favor with them.

But a Core Disciple was in another league. They were part of a school's inner circle, almost like the sect elders in the novels he had read in his previous life. Their friends and relatives would benefit from the connection too—a whole family rising with one person's success.

The boy grew even smugger at his reaction and gestured animatedly.

"Now you get how amazing Liu Qingqing is, right? Plenty of students from other schools in this martial arts exchange competition train at martial arts schools too, but ordinary students can't compare to a Core Disciple. Liu Qingqing is the only Core Disciple among all the high schoolers in East Lake City."

Did I misjudge her?

Chen Yiming's confidence in his assessment wavered.

Every Core Disciple who had distinguished themselves from the other students had to possess first-rate talent and ability. He was still far from that level. Perhaps he really had been wrong.

Just then, the sword match paused, giving Liu Qingqing, as the victor, three minutes to rest.

Once the boy started talking, he could not stop. He promptly asked Chen Yiming:

"Hey, you're not wearing a uniform. What school are you from?"

"No. 13 High School."

Chen Yiming scratched his head awkwardly.

He had already dropped out, though he could still just about call himself a high schooler. But who would volunteer something so embarrassing?

The boy immediately lost interest when he heard the answer. He curled his lip.

"So you're not from one of the top three high schools. No wonder you don't know anything. Your school doesn't even have a martial arts program, does it?"

"..." Chen Yiming had no answer.

His former high school really did not have a martial arts program. It ranked near the bottom among the city's high schools, and few promising martial arts students were willing to go there.

Starting a program would have meant hiring a martial arts teacher and paying a hefty additional salary. The school administrators had decided it was not worth the cost and never approved it.

Once several other high schools had established themselves as martial arts powerhouses, the idea was dropped for good.

The three minutes passed quickly.

Liu Qingqing pushed off with her toes and sprang lightly back onto the platform.

Her long hair streamed in the breeze. Riding the momentum of her winning streak, she silenced the next challenger's supporters.

The referee beside the platform checked his watch, then raised a hand and announced:

"Jiang Jinshi of No. 2 High School, please come onto the platform."

In the front row of spectators, a boy stood up and climbed the steps to the platform.

He wore a martial arts school training uniform with a fist emblem on the chest, marking him as a student of the Arms-Through Boxing Hall. Protective gear covered both arms from shoulder to fingertip.

It was the weapon Arms-Through Boxing Hall students used most often. All their skill lay in their arms, and the gear improved both their offensive and defensive power.

Only after he reached the platform did a few girls below begin to cheer for him.

Plenty of No. 2 High School students had come to support him, but most stayed quiet. They were afraid they would look foolish if he lost badly.

Liu Qingqing's prowess had become the stuff of legend among high schoolers. Jiang Jinshi, though also a martial arts school student, was a newcomer making his first appearance at an exchange competition like this.

"Hey, rookie, look at that new guy from No. 2 High School. He's the big, clumsy type. Bet Liu Qingqing breaks through his shell in minutes."

"She's skilled in the Phantom Light Sword, Thousand Shadows Step, Three Illusory Bodies, and all sorts of techniques that counter clumsy opponents. People who can't move quickly are her specialty."

Having run into Chen Yiming, a student from outside the top three high schools, the boy felt an inexplicable sense of superiority. He launched into a nonstop commentary and even decided to call Chen Yiming "rookie."

"Uh... but this is a platform match. If that guy's arms are tough enough to defend—"

Chen Yiming had barely begun to explain his assessment when the boy cut him off.

With his level-one Swordsmanship talent, Chen Yiming could grasp how fighting styles countered one another without being taught. Every technique had strengths and weaknesses.

Someone who practiced a sturdy but clumsy style would develop exceptional muscles, gaining greater strength and stamina than others at the same level. Someone who practiced an agile style, on the other hand, had to sacrifice some muscle to keep their body lean enough to move quickly.

If the agile fighter could not break through their opponent's defense, the sturdier fighter could turn the tables with superior strength, defense, and stamina.

"Your high school doesn't even teach martial arts, so of course you don't understand. Liu Qingqing's gift for martial arts is the best among high schoolers. She's mastered several techniques and combines them to handle different opponents. She's only ever withdrawn from an exchange match because she ran out of stamina. She's never lost."

The boy lectured Chen Yiming, citing Liu Qingqing's record to back up his claim.

While they talked, the two fighters on the platform made their moves.

As a newcomer to high school martial arts competitions, Jiang Jinshi did exactly what everyone expected. He spread his arms and took a defensive stance rather than rushing to attack.

Liu Qingqing opened with her specialty, the Phantom Light Sword. She charged straight at Jiang Jinshi, feinted, then swiftly shifted behind him and thrust her sword toward his back.

The Phantom Light Sword was a sword technique that exploited light and the opponent's line of sight. It worked especially well against anyone unfamiliar with it, who could easily misjudge an attack because of what they thought they saw.

As the two clashed, someone among the students watching below began banging their cheering sticks together.

A wave of cheers drowned out everything else. Nearly all of them were for Liu Qingqing; the scattered cheers for Jiang Jinshi vanished beneath the noise. The crowd's support was overwhelmingly on her side.

Most of the No. 2 High School students knew Liu Qingqing's record and held little hope for their school's newcomer.

They would be satisfied as long as he put up some resistance. After all, Liu Qingqing was a Core Disciple with access to more advanced techniques, while Jiang Jinshi was said to have joined his martial arts school less than a year ago.