During a break in his training, Princess Xue Li brought Chu Qing some water. She hesitated, looking as though she wanted to say something but couldn't bring herself to do it.
Chu Qing said:
"What is it?"
"Xue Li, if something's on your mind, you can tell me."
Xue Li rose on her tiptoes and leaned close to Chu Qing's ear.
"I've heard some unpleasant rumors about your Martial Soul and Senior Niu Tian. Someone's spreading lies about the two of you."
"But don't worry. Father has already ordered them stopped."
"Oh!"
Chu Qing immediately perked up.
Martial Souls were inherited from one's parents. When he had been the only one, it had barely been possible to explain it away. But now that Niu Tian had appeared as well, it would be impossible to explain.
"All right. Thank you, Xue Li."
"If I knew who was responsible, I'd rip their tongues out."
As he said it, however, he shook his head and crossed his hands to signal that he didn't want her to do that.
Princess Xue Li was taken aback and nodded blankly.
"It's all right. You don't have to thank me."
She still didn't quite understand after leaving the Soul Fighting Society, so she went to the Dou Ling Emperor and asked:
"Father, did Chu Qing mean that he wanted us to leave it alone?"
"Why?"
The Dou Ling Emperor grew thoughtful as he listened.
"Could Chu Qing be hoping to become Long Xiaoyao's disciple?"
"Whatever the reason, let's do as he wishes."
Princess Xue Li nodded.
"Then I'll go tell the eldest princess."
The Dou Ling Emperor shook his head.
"Lingyi can't keep things to herself. Don't tell her. I'll send someone to the Spirit Rhinoceros Sect later, so you don't need to worry about this anymore."
"Trust Chu Qing. He should know what he's doing. We just need to cooperate with him."
Chu Qing practiced the combat technique Radiance of the Azure Eyes, gradually getting the hang of it. A month passed in the blink of an eye.
Long Xiaoyao and Du Busi arrived as well, bringing Long Aotian with them.
The Dou Ling Emperor had prepared another state banquet, but just as Niu Tian had before him, Long Xiaoyao refused it outright.
They all wanted to settle the contest quickly.
In Swan Square next door, the two sides took their positions.
Passersby stared in surprise. It looked like a spar between two young noblemen, but they recognized some of the people standing nearby. Every one of them was a high-ranking official or a powerful figure, and the sight left them inwardly shocked.
Chu Qing looked at Long Aotian across from him, his whole body brimming with vigor, and invited him to begin.
Battle intent surged through Long Aotian. After cupping his fists, he charged straight in, the air whistling in his wake like a succession of dragon roars.
Long Xiaoyao watched, quite pleased. Long Aotian was very talented; in just one month, he had brought the combat technique Nine Coils of the Wandering Dragon that Long Xiaoyao had taught him to thirty percent mastery.
Watching Long Aotian shoot toward him like a cannonball and arrive before him in an instant, Chu Qing knew his opponent was no pushover. It seemed his training over the past month hadn't been wasted, and he was immensely pleased.
The stronger Long Aotian was, the more openly and honorably he could lose the match.
Just as Long Aotian's fist was about to strike his chest, he unleashed his combat technique.
Radiance of the Azure Eyes!
The air instantly grew a little more humid, and tiny arcs of electricity crackled through it.
Azure light blazed in his eyes, and a majestic, imperial presence erupted from him.
Long Aotian was affected as he attacked, his punch slowing so visibly that even ordinary people could see it clearly.
Chu Qing shifted his feet slightly and stepped aside.
Long Aotian watched helplessly as his punch struck empty air.
He reflected on how much his punch had slowed and realized what the other man had learned. He said:
"All right, Chu Qing, you don't need to hold back."
"Let me show you the Nine Coils of the Wandering Dragon I've learned this past month, too."
Chu Qing charged in, hoping to take a few hits.
The two clashed head-on. Chu Qing felt how powerful his opponent was, and that his strength was clearly increasing.
"Watch out."
Long Aotian gave a thunderous shout, and the blood and Qi in his body burst forth, taking the form of a phantom wandering dragon.
Chu Qing immediately unleashed Radiance of the Azure Eyes again.
He couldn't make his act too fake, and using the combat technique gave him a reason not to retreat.
He could clearly feel that although Long Aotian's movements had slowed after being struck by Radiance of the Azure Eyes, a suction force had emerged from his body.
Instead of retreating, he swung both fists in a blur of afterimages and attacked head-on.
As they exchanged blows, Long Aotian's strength had clearly grown considerably greater again.
Although his punches were much faster than Long Aotian's, during a brief opening, the suction force on his outstretched right hand suddenly increased severalfold. Long Aotian caught it, and immediately afterward, his whole body was pulled forward.
Chu Qing was delighted, thinking it should be over now.
But Long Aotian didn't take the opportunity to attack him. Instead, he grabbed Chu Qing's hand and flung him away.
Chu Qing steadied himself in midair, landed smoothly, and cupped his fists.
"Thank you, Brother Long. Let's both give it our all from here on."
He smiled bitterly to himself. He really wished Long Aotian wouldn't bother being so honorable.
"Just what I had in mind."
Both sides charged at each other again.
Radiance of the Azure Eyes!
As they drew close, Chu Qing immediately unleashed his combat technique. His figure vanished from Long Aotian's sight and appeared behind him the next instant. He kicked Long Aotian, who was already charging forward, with all his might, then followed up with a flurry of punches and kicks. As soon as he felt the suction grow stronger, he withdrew.
For a time, Long Aotian couldn't touch Chu Qing.
Radiance of the Azure Eyes!
Chu Qing sidestepped a few paces to avoid a punch from Long Aotian, then gathered his strength in his left fist and punched apart the wandering dragon formed from Long Aotian's blood and Qi.
He used his combat technique repeatedly, hoping to quickly exhaust his spiritual power. Then defeat would naturally be all that awaited him.
At this point, he even regretted a little that he had eaten so many Golden Sun Flowers before.
Tang Wutong watched from the side, growing delighted.
"That's wonderful, Big Daddy! Chu Qing has the upper hand now. It looks like we're about to win the first round, doesn't it?"
Niu Tian, however, wasn't happy about it. On the contrary, he was somewhat worried.
"It's still uncertain."
"His opponent's combat technique is a fusion of Soul Power, blood and Qi, and physical techniques. Chu Qing has no problem with his Soul Power, but his spiritual power can't keep up with the consumption."
"Chu Qing should have noticed that too, which is why he's trying to finish the fight quickly."
"Is Long Aotian's Martial Soul also a body Martial Soul? I clearly underestimated his defense."
Tang Wutong realized what he meant and began to watch closely.
Although Long Aotian was being driven back step by step, he hadn't suffered any serious injuries. On the contrary, the blood and Qi in his body were boiling ever more fiercely.
She, too, sensed that things were looking bad.
They had agreed on the terms of the contest long ago: they would only use the one move each had been taught. Once Chu Qing ran short of spiritual power, Long Aotian, who could still use Nine Coils of the Wandering Dragon, would be certain to win.
Chu Qing and Long Aotian fought on, their battle growing ever fiercer.
After a while, Chu Qing used Radiance of the Azure Eyes again, only for a stabbing pain to shoot through his head. This time, Long Aotian's fists no longer slowed. Instead, Chu Qing, having exhausted too much spiritual power, began to react sluggishly.
The situation reversed in an instant, and Chu Qing began to lose ground.
A smile appeared on Long Xiaoyao's face as he looked at Niu Tian.
Niu Tian said:
"I misjudged this round. You win."
Hearing this, Long Aotian, who had been unable to defeat Chu Qing for some time, immediately stopped.
"Chu Qing, fighting like this isn't satisfying enough. Let's go outside the city and have a proper fight."
This was the first time he had met an opponent who could trade blows with him. He found Chu Qing very much to his liking and wanted to have a real spar at full strength, but because of the Body Sect's teachings, he didn't want to expose his Soul Skills for everyone to see.
Chu Qing nodded slightly, then turned to Niu Tian and cupped his fists apologetically.
"Senior, I was too slow-witted to grasp the essence of it."
Niu Tian felt a little embarrassed instead. He felt it was because he had no experience teaching disciples.
"It's all right. I'll win the second round. I won't let such a good disciple slip away."
Chu Qing bowed again, thinking there was really no need for that.
At this point, Tang Wutong stepped forward and spoke sweetly to Long Xiaoyao:
"Grandpa Long, since you won the first round, could we decide what the second round will be?"
Long Xiaoyao readily replied:
"Let's hear it first. As long as it's fair, I won't refuse."
Although he was happy and thought Niu Tian was someone who knew only how to cultivate in seclusion on his mountain, he didn't let his guard down.
Tang Wutong brightened and said:
"Then for the second round, let's stop comparing individual moves. How about we compare your understanding of Martial Souls?"
"After all, for a Soul Master, the most important thing is their Martial Soul."
"As a master, planning a disciple's Martial Soul development is even more important than training their practical combat ability."
"Instead of comparing Chu Qing and Long Aotian, let's randomly choose someone together and focus on his Martial Soul. The time limit will still be one month. After that, we'll see whose training plan is the most reasonable."
Long Xiaoyao listened and agreed.
"All right."