Chapter 233: Competition of States
“Weng!”
A piercing sonic boom extending from the arena to the entire drill grounds. Under the influence of the sonic boom, the crowd in the spectator stands all felt their ear drums being shaken, and making them dizzy.
Xiao Chen was astonished. What a terrifying sonic boom. Even though I was more than a thousand meters away from the arena, the effect was still so strong.
Yan Feng, who was in the center of the sonic boom, was struck instantly and deafened. The blood and Qi in his body were surging. He could not help but vomit a big mouthful of blood.
“Boom!”
Yun Kexin’s right hand moved and the blade that was slightly drawn out was sheathed again. The sound waves that scattered everywhere appeared as a ripple and formed a huge whirlpool. Then, they went back into the saber.
The instant the saber blade was completely sheathed, the soundwaves which were all gathered exploded out. They gave off a louder and clearer sound than before.
Even though the sound was louder and clearer this time, the inner disciples in the spectator stands did not feel anything. This was because the soundwaves had condensed into a line and they all struck Yan Feng’s body.
Yan Feng was bleeding from all his pores. His face was frighteningly pale. He fell to one knee with a ‘pu tong’ as he watched the white-clothed Yun Kexin float down.
Yan Feng smiled bitterly, “Yun Kexin… It was a simple half-year and I truly am not qualified to make you draw your saber. Could it be that the next time we meet, I would not be even qualified for you to use your scabbard?”
Yun Kexin’s white clothes fluttered, there was no change in her expression. She said, “As a bladesman, it is not important whether the saber is drawn or not. Don’t pay too much attention to the superficial things. Otherwise, it will be-be difficult to comprehend your own saber intent.”
“Yun Kexin is victorious this round!” the referee on the arena called out.
As Yan Feng watched Yun Kexin’s back, he felt an agonizing pain in his heart. It was not long time ago when he was still on equal grounds with her. Now, he was only able to chase after her.
“The Heavenly Melody Saber Technique is indeed horrifying. Yun Kexin actually only used half a move to defeat Yan Feng. She is just like how she was in the past, always astonishing people.”
“Yan Feng also lost unjustly. He was too focused on his opponent not drawing her saber. He still had some trump cards he had not used yet.”
“This is the result of his mental state being weak. After all, Yun Kexin was once ranked lower than him on the Wind Cloud List. Now that she is above him, he felt it was unacceptable.
“You can’t really say that. The mental state of a cultivator is more important than any Cultivation Techniques or Martial Techniques. It is one of the things that makes up a cultivator’s strength.”
Although this round was short, the crowd felt that is was not gratifying enough, they wanted it to continue. However, it had not affected the quality of the competition. The discussions of the crowd never stopped.
Zhang Lie looked at the distant Yun Kexin. A strange look appeared in his eyes as he muttered, “This girl is not simple. Her Heavenly Melody Saber Technique is almost at Great Perfection.”
When Xiao Chen heard this, he silently agreed. A Martial Technique consisted of different parts: The circulation path of Essence in the body, the physical movement of the body, and the state of mind that was contained in the Martial Technique.
For example, the state of the Rushing Thunder Saber Technique was the state of thunder. As for the Lingyun Saber Technique, there were two states, the state of mountains and the state of clouds.
Only by merging all three components could one reach Great Perfection. However, the comprehension of a state required comprehension ability and patience; it was incredibly difficult to comprehend a state of mind.
If one focused on chasing after such a state, there might not be any progress, and instead one might even atrophy. Thus, most cultivators would not chase after these mental states before reaching a certain level.
For Yun Kexin to be able to come close to comprehending the Heavenly Melody Saber Technique’s state, almost pushing it to Great Perfection, proved this girl’s comprehension abilities, talent, and fortunate encounters were all things that were out of reach of a normal person.
Zhang Lie glanced at Mu Heng, then Xiao Chen. He smiled and said, “Now, do you think Ye Chen can make it into the top ten core disciples? Not to mention the gap in Cultivation Realm, anyone who is able to get into the top ten is a one in ten thousand genius. In the talent-filled Heavenly Saber Pavilion, it is impossible to enter without true skill.”
Mu Heng muttered to himself for a while before seriously saying, “Yun Kexin is strong, really strong. However, she is still not a match for Xiao Chen.”
Xiao Chen glanced at Mu Heng in surprise. He did not know where Mu Heng got his confidence from. Even though he did not fear Yun Kexin, after watching the earlier match, he did not have the absolute confidence to defeat her.
“Stop saying such big words. Yun Kexin is able to defeat the ranked sixteenth Yan Feng with half a move. She still has plenty of trump cards to play. How do you know she is not a match for Ye Chen?”
“Based on cultivation realm, Ye Chen is only a peak Superior Grade Martial Grade Master. In terms of comprehension of state, Yun Kexin’s Heavenly Melody Saber Technique is almost at Great Perfection; it is not any weaker than Xiao Chen’s Lingyun Saber Technique. There is no way to differentiate who is stronger or weaker.”
This time, before Zhang Lie could say anything, the other new core disciples voiced out their objections. Furthermore, their words were backed by facts, there was no way to dispute them.
Mu Heng smiled faintly, “Talk is nothing. In the future, you will naturally know whether I spoke the truth.”
Liu Suifeng leaned over to Xiao Chen and asked in a soft voice, “Ye Chen, if you really went against Yun Kexin, how confident would you be of victory?”
Xiao Chen thought for a while before saying, “Probably about fifty percent. If her true strength is only at this level, then sixty percent.”
When Liu Suifeng heard this, he was incomparably astonished. He was very familiar with Xiao Chen’s character. He would never brag. If he said fifty percent, it could only be higher and not lower. Fifty percent was the minimum!
As the competition on the arena carried on, the top ten core disciples of the Wind Cloud List all came out one after another. The crowd was indeed not disappointed at their strength.
“The ranked fifth Li Yuze only used three moves to deal with the ranked fifteenth Lian Yun. His speed is extraordinarily fast.”
“The ranked fourth Yun Feimo. He defeated his ranked twentieth opponent with one saber strike. It seems his cultivation technique has reached the tenth layer.”
“The ranked eighth Leng Aoshuang only used three moves to deal with his opponent.”
As Zhang Lie said, the top ten core disciples were all not weak. They were significantly stronger than the other disciples. They all basically dealt with their opponents within five moves.
Up to now, aside from the ranked first Murong Chong, the other nine of the top ten core disciples already fought and shown how strong they were.
Xiao Chen had also noticed something. He did not know if the Elders’ Assembly did it on purpose or not, but the top ten core disciples did not meet each other in battle; there were no fierce battles between the giants.
In Xiao Chen’s opinion, the top ten core disciples were already significantly stronger than the rest. There was no possibility for the others to obtain victory. Their opponents could only be one other.
“It is Murong Chong’s turn. His opponent is the ranked eleventh Yan Chihuo. In the previous year, he was also one of the top ten disciples. All the opponents he had were not able to last more than ten moves.”
“Yan Chihuo’s strength is decent. However, he ran into Murong Chong. His defeat is certain, it is just a matter of how long he can last.”
“I have not seen Murong Chong make a move for a long time, how exciting! Last year, Murong Chong only appeared for a short period of time. He rarely shows up in the Heavenly Saber Pavilion.”
“This is a bladesman who spends all this time training. If it were not for the Saber Emperor Convening Order, he would definitely not return.”
Yan Chihuo heard all the discussions from the crowd. His expression changed, he was not feeling good. He looked at the blue-clothed, somewhat proud Murong Chong, “Regardless of what the others said, I only have one purpose standing here. It is not to see how many moves can I withstand, but to defeat you!”
Murong Chong laughed coldly, “Before you speak, you should check your strength.”
“Both of you, bow! Stand upright! Begin!”
“Hu!”
After the referee spoke, there was a cool breeze on the arena. There was a melodious trill, this was the sound of a saber being drawn from its scabbard.
Yan Chihuo’s chest tightened. He did not expect Murong Chong would ignore his status and make the first move. He panicked slightly, but it was fortunate he had a strong mental state. After a moment, he calmed himself down and prepared to deal with Murong Chong’s attack.
However, when Yan Chihuo looked before him, he could not find Murong Chong. He looked around in a circle, but aside from the countless cool breezes, he could not find anything.
“Where is he?!”
This time, Yan Chihuo completely panicked. How did a person disappear right under my nose? This is too strange!
Do not panic, he can’t possibly have left the arena. Since he made the first move, he will definitely reveal a killing intent. As long as I can grasp the direction of the killing intent, I can block his attack.
Yan Chihuo kept repeating this to himself over and over again. He extended out his perception and he moved around without stopping. He did not dare to let down his guard.
“Pu Ci!”
Suddenly a long wound appeared on Yan Chihuo’s chest; blood spurted out. His eyes were open wide, he had an incredulous expression on his face. How did I get wounded?
“Chi! Chi!”
Suddenly the cool breeze in the arena stopped. The air in the arena became still. Murong Chong’s handsome face appeared before Yan Chihuo, revealing a cruel smile.
Murong Chong’s eyes were filled with a boundless murderous intent. Suddenly, he launched himself over like a gushing river. “Scram!”
Murong Chong withdrew his saber and kicked Yan Chihuo in the chest, kicking him off the arena.
How could I not feel such surging killing intent? What was going on? He flopped on the ground a few times. He could not understand what happened despite thinking about it so hard.
When the referee saw this, he immediately announced, “Murong Chong… Victory!”
Yan Chihuo was pale. When he recovered his wits, he shouted, “That’s not possible! How did I lose? I still have not used the trump card I been training for a year!”
“Murong Chong, do you dare to face me properly? Do you dare or not?!”
Murong Chong did not even bother looking at Yan Chihuo on the ground. He said coldly, “Idiot, you have to be able to use your killing move for it to even count. You are not even able to use it, yet you are not embarrassed to cry out like that.”
Xiao Chen was deep in thought as he looked at Murong Chong’s back. What a horrifying Clear Wind Chop! Originally, I thought my Great Perfection Clear Wind Chop was sufficient for a killing move. Now, it seems like it is far from sufficient.