"Rise..."
"Rise..."
"Rise..."
And so, weak yet determined calls rang out across the arena.
"Rise!"
No one knew who had started it, but scattered voices began to join in from the surrounding Cloud Tower stands.
Soon, more and more disciples joined in.
Their voices grew louder and louder.
"Rise!" "Rise!" "Rise!"
By the end, those voices were like thunderclaps, exploding above Five Elders Pool in a clear rhythm that followed Wu Mo's cries.
Perhaps encouraged by them, Wu Mo suddenly straightened her body and lifted her head, then raised her Sword Finger with unwavering resolve, pointing toward the inscriptions on the cliff as she shouted fiercely:
"Rise!"
"Clang!"
The instant her voice fell, the Jade Hairpin suddenly let out a Sword Cry, then shot away with a whoosh.
"Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!"
Immediately afterward, amid cheers from the entire arena, Wu Mo began swinging her arm, writing at lightning speed.
In mere moments, she carved the general principles of Seven-Regulated Verse onto the cliff in one uninterrupted effort.
"Hum, hum, hum..."
Amid a series of trembling hums, the Jade Hairpin, under Wu Mo's control, wobbled over to Elder Black Dragon with five hundred and one jin of Ship-Ballast Iron suspended beneath it.
"Elder... Black Dragon..."
Her face utterly drained of color, Wu Mo struggled to raise her head and look at Elder Black Dragon.
"Wu Mo, disciple of the Seven Peaks, suspended five hundred and one jin of iron. The Seven Peaks wins this round!"
Elder Black Dragon raised his hand and removed the Ship-Ballast Iron, then announced the result in a ringing voice.
At these words, cries of astonishment rose from the surrounding Cloud Tower stands.
Even some of the disciples who had been moved by Wu Mo's perseverance and cheered her on had never expected her