Clang!
The two swords crossed, the sound shaking the entire venue.
It was as if the opening act had begun—
Jiang Xueyao’s gaze turned colder. The longsword in her hand shifted techniques, then once more slashed down close against Xu Yuan.
Xu Yuan moved with his sword, taking a step back. He tapped against the wall several times in succession, and as if pulled by steel wires, he rapidly climbed toward the higher floors.
Physical arts, movement technique!
And it was a movement technique driven by spiritual power!
He had indeed already entered the Dao!
In that case, Yang Xiaobing’s trust in him was not unfounded.
Jiang Xueyao gave a soft snort and pursued him straight up.
The longswords in their hands turned into surging afterimages, exchanging move after move without pause.
Noisy, clamorous shouts rang from upstairs all the way down.
The students yelled and cried out, making sounds of no clear meaning.
The top-ranked girl had suddenly descended from the sky and started fighting a boy.
—Who could have expected such a battle?
The uproar resounding through the entire teaching building rose wave after wave.
Because—
“Sword qi!”
Someone cried out in shock.
Jiang Xueyao slashed out a streak of white sword qi, swinging it through the air toward Xu Yuan.
The longsword in Xu Yuan’s hand instantly erupted with an equally sharp, peerless white line.
The continuous sword qi upon their blades burst out in the air with dense, endless clashes, like torrential rain striking a river!
The entire crowd was in an uproar.
Time seemed to freeze for an instant.
Jiang Xueyao borrowed force from the wall and surged forward, taking five steps in succession. Like a fairy treading waves, she rose into the air, raising the longsword in her hand—
“Final move.”
She looked at the youth opposite her and said softly.
Wind.
Gathered toward her.
A piercing, extremely high-pitched hum suddenly erupted from that snow-colored blade.
Xu Yuan retreated along the wall, yet his expression was exceptionally calm.
The sword in his hand did not move.
But the wisps of sword qi coiling around the edge began to tremble violently, erupting with the same keening cry.
In an instant,
the two of them swung their swords at the same time.
Eight beams of white sword qi burst from Jiang Xueyao’s longsword, piercing through empty air in an instant, skimming along the wall as they slashed toward Xu Yuan from afar.
With a shake of his longsword, Xu Yuan actually slashed out eight identical beams of sword qi as well!
Linked Flying Swallows!
The two simultaneously dodged the other’s sword qi, leaping across the outer wall of the teaching building in arcing trajectories, waiting for a chance to follow up with another strike.
The sword qi from this swing was like a scattered arc of white light, chasing the other’s figure from afar.
Yan Song, Third Form: Whirling Dance!
Clang!
The two blocked at the same time, and at the same time struck again—
Sword qi crisscrossed through the sky, howling without end.
“Didn’t you say final sword? How many swords has it been now?” Xu Yuan shouted.
“Hmph.” Jiang Xueyao ignored him and continued swinging her sword.
Song Huaijin had said—
“That kid hasn’t even awakened his sense of qi. He sits in the back row every day, doesn’t study, only knows how to fool around, yet he’s got Yang Xiaobing completely bewitched.”
“Vermin like that only know how to eat, drink, and have fun, but they just so happen to be good at making girls happy.”
He had also said—
“If this goes on, Yang Xiaobing will be ruined.”
Damn it.
She had clearly wanted to help Yang Xiaobing.
She had been used!
Jiang Xueyao tightened her grip on her longsword, and a surge of anger suddenly rose in her heart.
The sword qi on her blade grew increasingly fierce, rubbing against the air with shrill cries.
Xu Yuan had no choice but to keep meeting her attacks.
The surface of the teaching building suddenly emitted a heavy hum.
It had sensed danger, and the grand array protecting the teaching building had activated on its own.
Inside the office building.
The principal, the grade director, and the homeroom teachers of the senior year classes were accompanying a group of university guests for tea and conversation.
Suddenly,
an old man who had been resting with his eyes closed opened them and said in surprise:
“Linked Flying Swallows, Sword Moves the Eight Desolations—and two of them?”
Everyone looked toward the rooftop of the teaching building opposite them, excitement appearing on their faces.
On the rooftop.
Yang Xiaobing watched the battle below nervously, her fists clenched, her body trembling slightly.
As the two climbed and leapt across the wall, they attacked each other.
—They were about to fight their way onto the rooftop!
“Xu Yuan... you won’t lose so easily...”
Yang Xiaobing murmured softly.
But at this moment, Xu Yuan did not notice her.
Jiang Xueyao’s sword was very fast, like a sudden storm, each move stronger than the last.
Only by bringing out the reaction speed, combat awareness, and even his instinct for the situation from his previous life, combined with all the sword cultivation of this life and the fruits of his efforts in the historical side route, could he barely keep up.
Thanks to this unprecedented pressure, he experienced true combat in this world for the first time.
One sword.
Another sword.
And another.
Too many to deal with.
A dense, airtight burst of sword qi had only just faded when another wave of even fiercer sword techniques followed one after another.
Xu Yuan continued to respond.
His eyes grew brighter and brighter. Spiritual power circulated madly through his body, and his overall competitive state rose higher and higher.
While Jiang Xueyao attacked, she was also observing him.
Sometimes, battle was like a dance for two.
If the opponent was too weak, it was unsatisfying.
If the opponent was skilled but unwilling to go all out, it was equally unsatisfying.
Facing her sword, people her age were either afraid, excessively nervous, or even ready to withdraw and admit defeat at any time.
This person was different.
He was cooperating with her, displaying all he had learned, striving to push this battle to its peak, and then—
in the final exchange, when both sides were fully prepared—
determine victory and defeat!
The corners of the girl’s lips curved slightly, and a long-lost feeling suddenly rose in her heart.
Indeed.
Judging from their exchange, the other party’s swordsmanship was absolutely not something that could be cultivated overnight.
Song Huaijin’s words truly could not be trusted.
But the current situation no longer had anything to do with Song Huaijin.
She had already lost the wager.
Then this battle had to end in victory.
That way, at least she would not be too embarrassed on the surface.
“You’re going to lose.”
She spoke.
Her longsword suddenly turned into a streak of snow-white light, wiping toward Xu Yuan in an instant.
Before Xu Yuan even had time to react, the sword had already reached his neck.
So fast!
This had already surpassed the limits of his reaction speed!
He exerted all his strength to raise the hilt of his sword—
Clang!
A clear sound of metal striking metal rang out.
“Let go.”
Jiang Xueyao smiled.
At her words, Xu Yuan’s longsword was knocked flying, thrown into the air.
Victory and defeat had been decided!
But in that very instant, Xu Yuan suddenly took advantage of the momentum to step forward, clenching one hand into a fist and striking toward Jiang Xueyao.
The entire process flowed as smoothly as drifting clouds and running water, as if he had thrown away the sword of his own accord.
This punch had seized the perfect timing!
Because Jiang Xueyao’s sword had only just sent Xu Yuan’s sword flying; her strength was exhausted, and she had yet to withdraw her move.
But the fist had already arrived.
The two once again entered the moment that would decide victory or defeat.
Yet after only one move, the initiative in this decisive moment was now in Xu Yuan’s hands!
Jiang Xueyao’s gaze sharpened, and she immediately stepped back.
Clearly, she had won one exchange.
But the situation had been overturned by the other party in an instant!
This was simply—
Pa.
Jiang Xueyao twisted and swung her elbow, blocking his fist. Taking advantage of the space gained from this step back and block, she moved her sword again.
Something was wrong.
There was a faint scorching aura in the air.
She possessed lightning and fire spiritual roots and was extremely sensitive to fire. Could it be—
Jiang Xueyao had originally intended to thrust her sword straight forward, but in the instant she attacked, she changed it into a turning horizontal cut, swinging sword qi in place to block a move.
Taking this chance,
she looked toward his hands.
His right hand was a fist, and his left hand—
That was an incantation seal.
He had actually used two moves at the same time.
The speed at which he formed the seal was beyond imagination, simply—
a monstrous hand speed!
Whoosh—
The alchemical fire was complete!
Firelight met the sword qi, and the two canceled each other out.
Jiang Xueyao said:
“The instant your sword was knocked away by me just now, you prepared the one-inch punch and the alchemical fire?”
“What else? You thought you’d already won?” Xu Yuan said.
He reached out.
At that moment, the Xufeng sword fell from the sky and was caught steadily in his hand.
Jiang Xueyao fell silent for a breath.
He had been sticking close to her the entire time, fighting to her rhythm, which was why she had used the divine might “Blowing Snow.”
She had originally thought she could take victory in one move.
Who would have thought that his judgment and perception in battle, his understanding of tactics and adaptability, had all exceeded ordinary imagination.
A winning position could be reversed in an instant in his hands.
He had even calculated where the sword would land after being struck away, then stood there, and without even looking, reached out and took it back.
The entire situation was within his calculations!
Good.
Jiang Xueyao’s mind surged.
This was battle!
Only an opponent like this was worth fighting properly!
“Final sword.”
She spoke.
“You said that before too,” Xu Yuan said with a shrug.
Jiang Xueyao raised her sword. The aura around her entire body suddenly halted for an instant, and she could not help saying, “This time, victory and defeat will definitely be decided.”
Almost at the same time—
Xu Yuan’s sword suddenly stabbed forward.
As if their minds were connected, Jiang Xueyao took several steps forward as well, similarly brandishing her longsword.
Buzz, buzz, buzz—
The longswords howled, simultaneously erupting with one white, threadlike streak of sword qi after another.
These ribbon-like sword qi overlapped and collided in the void, like thunder, like lightning—
The two once again unleashed the final move of the Yan Song Sword Art—
Linked Flying Swallows, Sword Moves the Eight Desolations!
“Enough!”
Yang Xiaobing cried out anxiously.
But the two turned a deaf ear. Taking advantage of the moment when their sword qi canceled each other out, they charged straight toward one another.
The final move.
Victory and defeat would be decided!
Xu Yuan held his sword and thrust straight ahead.
Jiang Xueyao smiled faintly and swung her sword to meet him.
Clang!
The two blades struck, probed, shifted against one another, producing a grating screech that set one’s teeth on edge.
However—
Jiang Xueyao suddenly froze.
She held her longsword, its tip resting several inches before Xu Yuan’s chest, unmoving.
Xu Yuan did not move either.
He lowered his head and looked at the longsword in his hand.
In that exchange just now, his “Xufeng” sword had suddenly snapped, leaving only half of it in his grip.
The sword had broken!
Naturally, the battle could not continue.
“Why is your sword so shoddy?” Jiang Xueyao asked with a frown.
“It’s not shoddy. It was a perfectly good sword,” Xu Yuan said with a mournful face as he looked at the broken edge of the longsword.
That was something I spent three gold coins on!
It broke right after I bought it!
I’d have to kill a human trafficker to buy a sword like this.
Where am I supposed to find another human trafficker now?!