Going All Out

She could see it too. This was clearly the eldest senior brother and his group trying to teach Qin Yi a lesson, putting him in his place to establish their authority.

But Qin Yi seemed not to have understood, foolishly stepping onto the platform for real.

"Come down, now," Gu Yiyi called again.

Qin Yi replied, "Junior Sister Yiyi, I'm fine. You don't need to worry."

Gu Yiyi pouted. "Who's worried about you? I'm just reminding you not to ask for trouble."

Eldest Senior Brother Huang Tianrong said, "Junior Sister Yiyi, you heard him yourself. I'm not deliberately making things difficult for him. As a new disciple on his very first day in the sect, he's far too arrogant. I only meant well in having him exchange pointers with the other disciples, but who knew he would open his mouth and challenge me? I was forced to agree. This wasn't deliberate on my part."

When he first saw that even Gu Yiyi had come, Huang Tianrong thought he might have to let the matter drop.

But unexpectedly, this brat Qin Yi refused to listen to advice and remained on the martial training platform.

With those few words, Huang Tianrong washed his hands of the matter. Whatever happened next, Qin Yi would only be getting what he deserved.

After all, Qin Yi had brought all of this upon himself.

"Junior Sister Yiyi, since you're here, you can serve as a witness. If I win this spar against Huang Tianrong, I'll be Emerald Bamboo Peak's eldest senior brother from now on. He and the others will have to bow with cupped hands every time they see me. To keep him from going back on his word, you can be our witness."

With their master's daughter as witness, the matter would be settled.

Gu Yiyi wrinkled her delicate nose. "You still want to be the eldest senior brother? Don't you know Eldest Senior Brother is at the ninth level of Qi Refining? What can you possibly spar with him with? Must you crash into the southern wall before you turn back?"

But Qin Yi had his own view. "In the Qi Refining realm, once you're past the third level of Qi Refinement, there isn't much difference between the fifth and ninth levels. More importantly, I don't think our Famous Sword Sect's practice of ranking disciples by the order they joined is very appropriate.

"The position of eldest senior brother should go to the most capable. Only that way can the other disciples be motivated to improve.

"Otherwise, certain people will keep putting on airs as the eldest senior brother just because they joined first, eating the bread of office without doing its work and flaunting their power. That's hardly proper, is it?"

Huang Tianrong snapped angrily, "Brat, who are you accusing of eating the bread of office without doing its work and flaunting his power?"

Qin Yi said, "You. Don't interrupt."

Seeing that she could not talk him out of it, Gu Yiyi simply stopped trying and planted both hands on her hips. "Since you won't turn back until you crash into the southern wall, go ahead and try. As long as nobody dies, I can't be bothered with you."

Huang Tianrong was already beside himself with anger. He kicked an iron sword off the weapon rack and caught it through the air.

Then he somersaulted thirty feet away. "Enough nonsense. If you want to spar, come on. Let's be clear: if you regret it now, get off the martial training platform immediately. Otherwise, once I make my move, I won't show you any mercy."

Qin Yi weighed the iron sword in his hand. It felt reasonably comfortable. "There's no need to show mercy. Just go all out."

In fact, what he had just said was not wrong. In the Qi Refining realm, once someone passed the third level of Qi Refinement, there was not actually much of a gap between the later fifth and ninth levels of Qi Refining.

That was because the Qi Refining stage was like accumulating materials before building a house.

Steel reinforcement, cement, and red bricks, for example.

The higher one's Qi Refining level, the more of these materials one had prepared.

But however much material one had, it was all prepared for Foundation Establishment. Before Foundation Establishment was complete, materials were only materials, and could not be compared as cultivation attainments.

The first level of Qi Refining opened the fascia, the second level of Qi Refining opened the flesh and blood, and the third layer of Qi Refining opened the bones and internal organs.

These three levels were the foundation and bedrock of the Qi Refining stage. As long as that foundation was solid enough, someone at the fifth level of Qi Refining would not necessarily be weaker in combat than someone at the ninth level of Qi Refining.

Of course, that only applied before Foundation Establishment. Once someone entered Foundation Establishment, the difference between them and the Qi Refining stage was as vast as heaven and earth.

"Go all out? Everyone here, listen carefully. He asked for this himself. I'm not the one bullying someone younger and weaker."

Huang Tianrong snorted coldly, and a thread of red light suddenly flowed into the iron sword in his hand.

The Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique, wielded through the art of scorching fire.

The instant Huang Tianrong's iron sword rang out, a tongue of flame sprang from its tip!

Then, with a low shout from Huang Tianrong, the True Qi within his body poured into the iron sword, making the flame grow ever stronger.

Orange flames spread over the entire blade.

Suddenly, he slashed his longsword, sending a scorching crescent of Sword Qi cleaving toward Qin Yi.

A disciple watching cried out in surprise, "The Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique's manifest fire state!"

Ordinary disciples began practicing the Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique from the [scorching state]. That was, after True Qi was poured into the iron sword, the sword would heat up until it was scalding hot. This counted as the first stage.

In the second stage, the iron sword's temperature rose until it resembled a glowing coal. This counted as the [inner fire state]. The fire within was contained rather than released.

The third stage was what Huang Tianrong was displaying: flames released outward, known as the [manifest fire state].

Anyone who reached this third stage could be considered to have crossed the threshold of the sword technique and grasped its essence.

Huang Tianrong's position as Emerald Bamboo Peak's eldest senior brother was indeed not an empty reputation or mere show.

When Huang Tianrong had said he would go all out earlier, everyone had thought he was only saying it.

How could a new disciple like Qin Yi withstand his full strength?

Yet who could have known that he would use the Heavenly Secrets Sword Technique's third stage, the [manifest fire state], right from the outset? He was clearly going all out!

Whoosh~

The orange, flaming Sword Qi raced toward Qin Yi. Qin Yi suddenly dashed to the left, using Bring in the Wine, the first move of the Green Lotus Sword Song.

The dash was so fast that he just managed to evade Huang Tianrong's Sword Qi.

Since he had failed to strike a target after dashing, however, he could not accumulate Sword Qi.

But when he stopped, he happened to be fairly close to another disciple nearby, so he lightly tapped that disciple with the flat of his sword. "Hey, move aside a little."

That light tap had only been a well-intentioned reminder, but unexpectedly, the moment he finished, he felt the presence of the iron sword in his hand grow noticeably heavier.

-Sword Qi accumulated once!

That works too?

Having unintentionally planted a willow only to see it take root, Qin Yi had actually accumulated Sword Qi once. Surprised, he tapped that disciple twice more with his iron sword-Sword Qi accumulated twice!

Sword Qi accumulated three times!

Just as he was about to accumulate it a fourth time, the disciple backed several steps away in distaste, denying him the chance.

By then, Huang Tianrong had charged over as well. Flames covered the iron sword in his hand, and wherever it passed, scorching heat spread into the surroundings.

Qin Yi fixed his eyes on Huang Tianrong's position and suddenly dashed back toward him. As soon as he drew close, he performed the second move, [Divine Stroke], on the spot.

Huang Tianrong had never seen this sword technique and knew nothing of its intricacies. Just as he was about to collide with the outer ring of Sword Qi, Gu Yiyi below the martial training platform seemed to think of something and hurriedly covered her eyes.

But she was also very curious, so she parted her fingers like scissors, leaving a narrow slit, and peeked through it with wide eyes.

Before her eyes, the instant Huang Tianrong approached the outer ring of [Divine Stroke], there was a sudden bang. His clothes split apart in an instant, bursting to pieces and revealing his stark-naked body.