The Sect Grand Tournament was still ongoing.
Gu Yanqing had no matches scheduled for today, so he found a seat near the front and continued watching the other disciples' battles.
Rather than merely watching for amusement, he was more interested in observing the methods of the other Golden Core cultivators in the sect.
Especially Jiang Yinglan.
Before long, Jiang Yinglan stepped onto the arena stage.
Her opponent today was also at the mid Golden Core stage.
As the referee gave the signal, both of them struck at the same time.
Her opponent was clearly an experienced cultivator as well, opening immediately with a fierce spell that forced Jiang Yinglan to side-step to avoid it.
Right after, several more spells rained down in quick succession.
Yet Jiang Yinglan did not clash with them head-on.
Her figure flashed continuously across the arena stage, perfectly dodging the areas where the attacks were most dense every single time.
Whenever she struck back, it was merely a simple probe.
After more than ten exchanges, her opponent's rhythm gradually fell into disarray.
The moment her opponent missed an attack, Jiang Yinglan seized the opportunity, her figure abruptly closing the distance.
A streak of sword light swept in from the side.
The opponent hastily defended, yet was still knocked back several steps by the force.
Jiang Yinglan gave him no room to breathe, following up immediately with another hand seal spell.
Spiritual light exploded outward.
Staggering, her opponent retreated to the edge of the arena stage.
With a final step forward, Jiang Yinglan brought her longsword to a halt right before him.
“Thank you for the match.”
From start to finish, it took no more than twelve moves. A burst of cheers erupted from the audience below.
Gu Yanqing, however, remained silent.
He stared at Jiang Yinglan on the arena stage, silently replaying the fight in his mind.
Senior Sister Jiang is still so strong.
If it were me in his shoes, I probably couldn't beat her.
Although he had reached the early Golden Core stage and had two body cultivation techniques to back him up—making his close-quarters combat capabilities by no means weak—the most troublesome aspect of Jiang Yinglan wasn't how powerful her attacks were.
It was that her movement techniques were far too agile.
If he couldn't even touch her, no matter how heavy his punches were, it would be meaningless.
And even though his physical body was much stronger than an ordinary Golden Core cultivator's, it wasn't completely invulnerable to injury either.
As long as she kept pulling back to maintain distance and slowly wore him down, he would still be the one to lose in the end.
Gu Yanqing stared blankly at the arena stage for quite a while.
Oh well, there's no point in dwelling on this now.
I've only just broken through to Golden Core and still need time to adapt.
I'll think over tactics once I get back.
Hopefully, when drawing lots tomorrow, my luck will be as good as today.
...
The next day.
Gu Yanqing arrived at the drawing station.
Looking at the name on the jade plaque, he fell silent.
Lu Wen. Mid Golden Core.
Gu Yanqing stared at the name for a moment.
It looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't recall off the top of his head where he had seen it. Or perhaps he hadn't seen it at all.
It wasn't until he stepped onto the arena stage and saw the figure standing opposite him that it suddenly clicked.
It was him—the guy who had bid against him at the auction.
Back then, he hadn't known his name, only remembering his face.
What a small world.
And...
Gu Yanqing felt the aura radiating from the man.
Mid Golden Core.
When they last met, this man was clearly still at early Golden Core.
Did he break through that fast?
Lu Wen clearly recognized him as well, the corners of his mouth curling up slowly.
“Junior Brother Gu.”
“I didn't expect us to meet again so soon.”
Gu Yanqing politely cupped his hands in greeting.
“Senior Brother Lu.”
Lu Wen smiled and said, “Junior Brother, you should still remember what happened at the auction last time, right?”
“Of course I do.”
“Good then.”
The smile on Lu Wen's face deepened a bit.
Gu Yanqing looked at his expression, his heart gradually sinking.
This guy...
He probably already watched my match yesterday.
Yet I know almost nothing about his methods.
His cultivation realm was higher than his own.
Gu Yanqing didn't know his fighting style, whereas Lu Wen already knew he practiced both sword and body cultivation.
No matter how he looked at it, he was at a disadvantage. This match was going to be tough.
Gu Yanqing's gaze fell upon the longsword in Lu Wen's hand; the blade gleamed with a faint watery glow.
A water spirit root. A sword cultivator.
He was somewhat similar to Lin Zhixue in that regard.
Though he was likely much stronger than Lin Zhixue was right now.
“Get ready.”
The referee's voice rang out, and both of them instantly grew solemn.
“Begin!”
Clang!
Two longswords unsheathed almost simultaneously.
Gu Yanqing stomped his foot and was the first to dash forward.
Blade clashed against blade.
Clang!
Lu Wen twisted his wrist, letting his sword slide down the edge of Gu Yanqing's blade, before executing a quick backhand thrust.
Gu Yanqing leaned sideways to dodge.
After only a few exchanges, Gu Yanqing discovered a problem.
His own swordsmanship was indeed inferior to Lu Wen's.
Furthermore, Lu Wen's sword strikes carried immense power.
With every clash, the force transmitted down his sword left his arm feeling slightly numb.
I can't go on like this. I have to get close.
Gu Yanqing pivoted his footsteps, attempting to close the gap.
Lu Wen clearly saw through his intention.
He didn't fall back.
He simply twitched his brows slightly.
In the next instant, the longsword held in his hand suddenly flew out of his grip.
The flying sword slashed in from the side.
Gu Yanqing's pupils shrank slightly.
Controlling swords with divine sense?
He immediately side-stepped to dodge.
Yet in that exact moment, a second sword in Lu Wen's possession shot out as well.
The two flying swords came one after the other, attacking from entirely different directions.
Gu Yanqing's heart sank instantly—he couldn't dodge this.
In that case, he could only push forward head-on.
Instead of stopping, he continued rushing toward Lu Wen.
Slash!
The first flying sword pierced through his shoulder.
Blood instantly stained his robes red.
The second sword arrived right on its heels, slicing across his flank.
Severe pain surged through him.
Yet Gu Yanqing seemed entirely oblivious to it.
He merely adjusted his body slightly to protect his vital spots.
In the next moment, he finally closed in right before Lu Wen.
For the first time, astonishment flashed across Lu Wen's face.
“You...”
He clearly hadn't expected Gu Yanqing to actually dare take the force of two flying swords head-on.
However, his reaction was swift.
The two flying swords reversed direction instantly, striking anew at Gu Yanqing from behind.
Trying to pincer me from front and back?
Gu Yanqing had no time to turn around.
Gritting his teeth, he thought, If that's how it's going to be, then I'll risk it all!
He drew his right fist back abruptly to his waist.
Within his body, both body cultivation techniques operated simultaneously.
Spiritual energy and blood qi converged frantically in that single instant.
Gu Yanqing threw a fierce punch forward.
The gale from his fist exploded outward, instantly causing the protective spiritual energy in front of Lu Wen to cave inward.
Crack!
Like shattering glass, the protective spiritual energy burst into pieces.
Lu Wen's face paled drastically.
He was sent flying backward violently by the force of the punch.
At the same time, the two flying swords had reached Gu Yanqing's back.
If I tank them head-on, I'll probably be severely injured too.
A gleam flashed in Gu Yanqing's eyes as he suddenly reached a decision.
He didn't stop.
Instead, leveraging his forward momentum, he threw his entire body forward.
As Lu Wen flew backward, Gu Yanqing hurtled forward right after him.
Both of their bodies crossed the edge of the arena stage almost simultaneously.
Thud!
Both figures crashed together into the snow outside the stage.
The entire area fell instantly silent. In the next moment, the spectator stands completely erupted.
“That counts?!”
“Did both of them fall off together?!”
“What was with Junior Brother Gu's punch just now?”
“I thought he was a sword cultivator?”
“Isn't he a dual cultivator of sword and body?”
“But didn't he just break through to Golden Core?”
Discussions broke out in endless waves.
Gu Yanqing lay on the ground to catch his breath for a moment, dull pain throbbing at his shoulder and flank.
Still, it wasn't too bad; none of the injuries were fatal.
Lu Wen pushed himself up from the ground, his expression dark and unsightly.
He cast a glance toward Gu Yanqing not far away, a flicker of fury flashing in his eyes.
It was him again.
Last time at the auction, this was the exact guy who had snatched away the item he was eyeing.
He had thought that matter was over and done with, but he never expected to run into him again at today's tournament.
And it had to happen right when he least wanted anything to go wrong.
He had originally been aiming for the championship!
With his cultivation realm and strength, as long as he performed normally, winning the Golden Core arena championship was well within his reach.
Yet now, it was a tie.
Because of this draw, he wouldn't even be able to participate in the subsequent matches.
At the thought of this, Lu Wen felt a surge of rage rush straight into his chest.
That punch earlier was indeed remarkably heavy.
Gu Yanqing's physical body was also far stronger than he had imagined.
However, if he hadn't been careless for a split second and recalled both flying swords simultaneously, giving Gu Yanqing the opening to close the distance, things would never have turned out like this.
When all was said and done, this guy was just too underhanded.
He stepped onto the stage carrying a sword, only to suddenly throw a punch!
Who could have predicted that a cultivator who had only recently broken through to Golden Core would possess such a powerful physical body?
The more Lu Wen thought about it, the angrier he became, yet he couldn't vent his rage right now.
The referee had already walked over.
“In this match, both combatants left the bounds simultaneously.”
“It is declared a draw.”
“According to the rules of the tournament, both could normally advance.”
“However, in view of the non-trivial injuries sustained by both parties, after deliberation by the elders, neither will be scheduled for subsequent matches.”
Gu Yanqing didn't have any objections.
He had entered the tournament with the mindset of letting nature take its course anyway.
Now that he didn't need to keep fighting, it actually saved him the hassle.
Pushing himself up from the ground, he stood up and glanced down at the wound on his shoulder.
It was still bleeding.
It seemed he had suffered a bit of a loss in this match after all.
Yet, thinking back to that punch earlier, he felt it wasn't really a loss.
At the very least, it proved one thing.
The effects of his two body cultivation techniques were even better than he had imagined.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Lu Wen watched Gu Yanqing's retreating back, his teeth involuntarily clenching tight.
The championship was gone.
An opportunity that should have been his was completely ruined by this guy.
The more he dwelled on it, the more aggrieved he felt. First snatching his item at the auction, and now ruining his good thing here!
This debt couldn't just be forgotten.
Lu Wen slowly withdrew his gaze.
Gu Yanqing. He recited the name silently in his heart.
There was no chance left in this tournament.
Then I'll find another opportunity.
Rate on N.U.
