Chapter 11
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Chapter 11: Surrounded and Beaten
“Match, begin!”
With this command, the other nine people on the arena quickly attacked Ming He in unison. Some drew swords, some wielded knives, and others threw punches and kicks, launching a flurry of attacks aimed to overwhelm her.
“Who is that person? Why is she being ganged up on?”
“I don’t know, maybe she’s just an unlucky one with only average strength; they want to deal with her first.”
This was an unwritten rule of the arena match: take out the weak ones first, then let the strong continue to compete, avoiding the weak from taking a chance to benefit.
“I don’t think so. She has achieved the eighth level of Qi Refinement; she must be tougher than she appears.”
“Then she must have offended someone who shouldn’t have been offended and is being targeted.”
The outer sect disciples watching from below exchanged comments, piecing together the truth among their brief remarks.
“Look at them underestimating me!”
Ming He heard the noise from both the arena and the crowd below, a cold smile appearing on her lips. In an instant, she unsheathed her long sword and executed the Basic Liu Yun Sword Technique, sending it slicing through the air. Using the Rotating Cloud Steps, she easily evaded the attacks and appeared behind one of her attackers, kicking him off the stage.
“Does Senior Brother Wang have any other commands besides sending me off the arena?” Ming He asked them in a deep voice.
In the five months since she arrived in this cultivation world, she had only offended Wang Feihu, and given his prideful and vengeful nature typical of noble family sons, he would not let this go easily.
Li Si had fallen by her hand, and while Wang Feihu came from a powerful family, his cultivation was weak, preventing him from commanding these cultivators who had already reached the threshold of the Spirit Guiding stage. Therefore, it must be Wang Feilong.
Using fame and power to manipulate was a familiar tactic for the sons of noble families.
Ming He had seen this many times before and had always looked down on such methods.
Qin Chu Yi watched the cold smile at the corners of Ming He’s lips from her elevated position, surprised that she could clearly see her true thoughts.
The Woman in White blinked, feeling a renewed interest in this girl in blue. Life at Liu Yun Sect was rather dull; perhaps Ming He could bring some excitement.
“You—” The remaining eight attackers halted in their tracks, glancing at their fallen comrade, a look of trepidation settling over them.
“I know it was Wang Feilong who sent you to beat me up.” Ming He nodded, her voice calm but carrying an undeniable force. “Answer me.”
“Senior Brother Wang… he also ordered us to seriously injure you and teach you a painful lesson.” One of them hesitated, finally confessing.
Seriously injure her? That really was a harsh lesson.
The girl in blue let out a light laugh, “Then let’s get started!” She lifted her sword, shaking the tip to actively engage.
What to do when surrounded and beaten? Just fight back! This simple question required no deep thought!
“What, what do we do?” Some trembled as they watched her charge forward.
She was clearly at the same eighth level of Qi Refinement as they were, so why was she so confidently arrogant? Her momentum was truly intimidating.
“What’s there to fear? She’s just one person, and we have eight. How could we possibly lose?”
“That’s right! Even if Senior Brother Wang faced us, he wouldn’t have a guaranteed victory, let alone a little Su Ming He!”
The others encouraged each other, summoning their full strength as she dove towards them.
“Humph!”
Ming He snorted coldly, lightly tapping the tip of her sword in the air to create a swirl of sword flowers. Then she collided with their incoming attacks using the swirling sword flowers.
In Woodman Lane, after enduring nearly twenty days of relentless beatings from the wooden dummies, her efforts were not in vain; otherwise, she wouldn’t have secured the third rank in Woodman Lane.
“Boom—”
The clash of blades reverberated through the heavens, shaking the arena violently, which teetered on the brink of collapse under the residual spiritual energy.
The Woman in White on the high platform observed this with a flicker in her eyes. With a graceful wave of her hand, the arena steadied as if it were an unshakable mountain, as though nothing had transpired.
As the dust settled, the crowd eagerly looked up to see the girl in blue standing resolutely at the center of the arena, surrounded by disciples writhing in agony.
The eight disciples, their blue clothes stained with blood and their weapons shattered, bore clear signs of severe injuries.
Ming He spoke coldly, “You lost.”
Since they had accepted Wang Feilong’s bribes to inflict serious harm upon her, she repaid them in kind. She was always fair in such matters.
The arena echoed with cries of pain, while the onlookers below fell into stunned silence.
Other outer sect disciples murmured: The retribution came swiftly, like a whirlwind.
“I remember now; she is Su Ming He, the girl in blue who triumphed over Li Si in that life-and-death match a month ago,” one disciple broke the silence, recognizing the figure standing on the stage.
“Su Ming He? I recall someone wagered five hundred spirit stones on her before the outer sect grand competition.”
“Five hundred spirit stones? Such bold confidence!” another disciple exclaimed in awe.
Ming He paid no heed to the surrounding chatter, lifting her gaze to meet the probing eyes of the Woman in White on the high platform, her heart stirred with emotion.
The arena, which had swayed and trembled moments ago, seemed on the verge of collapse, yet with a mere gesture from her, it stood firm as a mountain. What kind of power did she wield?
Qin Chu Yi.
On the sixth month and first day since her arrival in this world, the Woman in White seated on the high platform was the most formidable figure she had encountered thus far.
They were of similar age, yet Qin Chu Yi’s cultivation far surpassed Ming He’s, and her background was beyond Ming He’s reach. Truly, she was a prodigy favored by the heavens.
From this day forward, Ming He would set her sights on Qin Chu Yi, vowing to one day match her strength!
As Ming He leapt down from the arena at the sound of the Southern Bell, her gaze lingered on the Woman in White.
At this moment, Qin Chu Yi sat above, while Ming He stood below, but the distance between them was not insurmountable.
“The second round of the outer sect grand competition has concluded!” Ma He’s familiar voice echoed once more over Liu Yun Sect. “The battle for the top hundred rankings will commence tomorrow at the hour of the dragon.”
Tomorrow!
The girl in blue withdrew her gaze, took a deep breath, and was the first to depart from Liu Yun Square.
After dedicating so much time to her cultivation, she was ready to return home and rest.
The path of cultivation demands balance, as the scriptures say.
So, a good night’s rest, and tomorrow she would fight again!
The next morning, the girl in blue rose from her bed, stretched, and dressed with a refreshed spirit, her long sword in hand as she set off.
The journey still took fifteen minutes, and by the time Ming He arrived, Liu Yun Square was already teeming with people. Qin Chu Yi and Ma He were already in their places.
The only difference was that Yun Zhao Feng was conspicuously absent today.
Ming He thought to herself: Did they not sleep at all? Astonishing!
“Clang—”
The inner sect disciple in white struck the Southern Bell. “The hour of the dragon has arrived; the matches are about to begin. Please, all the junior brothers and sisters ranked in the top hundred, come forward to draw lots.”
Qin Chu Yi glanced at Ming He and waved her sleeve, embroidered with dark patterns, sending a wave of spiritual energy towards the many arenas in the center of the square.
In the next moment, the original arenas disappeared underground, and ten new ones, taller and larger than before, stood proudly in the square, shimmering with a mystic glow, announcing their remarkable presence to everyone.
“Number twenty-nine.” Ming He tightened her grip on the wooden lot, lazily leaning against the pillar behind her, quietly waiting for the matches to start.
“Number one versus number twenty.”
“Number two versus number nineteen.”
…
“Number nine versus number twelve.”
“Number ten versus number eleven.”
“The matches now begin.”
Ming He lazily watched as those called jumped onto the arena, her gaze measuring them.
Some had moves to defeat their enemies, while others remained in a stalemate without a clear winner, and a few barely won… Each group of ten matches had its unique strengths.
Ming He focused on the matchup at arena number nine.
On arena number nine, a man and a woman faced each other in combat.
The woman was Chen Nian, ranked second among last year’s outer sect disciples, with a cultivation of the ninth level of Qi Refinement, wielding a long whip that looked very hard to defeat.
The young man was Wang Feilong.
From the start, it was a clash of strong characters—truly a highlight match.
Ming He watched as Chen Nian swiftly wielded her whip, dynamically changing her attacks, but she was steadily pushed back under Wang Feilong’s sword, her whip entangled by the sword tip, breaking bit by bit, as if crumbling to dust.
The offense was fast, and the defeat came even faster.
“Senior Brother Wang is magnificent!”
“Senior Brother Wang is invincible!”
The disciples below cheered loudly; they weren’t celebrating Chen Nian’s loss or Wang Feilong’s victory, but rather rejoicing that their spirit stones hadn’t splashed away and perhaps would come back with a profit.
As if sensing Ming He’s gaze, the young man in blue, who had just defeated his opponent, looked over. Upon recognizing Ming He’s face, his eyes turned cold, a smile curling at the corners of his mouth, brimming with arrogance.
The young man curved his lips, silently saying a few words in the air.
Ming He smiled, not paying much attention, and when she heard Ma He call her number, she walked toward the arena, which just so happened to be arena number nine.
As they brushed past each other, Ming He spoke, “I’ll send you first.”
The girl in blue stood confidently in the arena, meeting the young man’s cold stare with a provoking smile, looking down at him from above.
What Wang Feilong had just said was: “Wait for hell.”
If he wanted to send her to hell, then she would send him down with her.
After all, mistakes do happen in arena matches—it’s quite normal.
Thinking this, the girl in blue drew her sword, pointing it at her opponent.
Before her stood a man with a square face, at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, quite unremarkable.
The outcome was predictable; with just one sword strike, Ming He claimed victory in the first match of the third round.
“Number twenty-nine wins, gaining one point.” The referee disciple announced the result.
In the following time, Ming He no longer held back her skills, fully exerting herself against her opponents, defeating them with swift and clean sword strikes.
She used the first move of the Basic Liu Yun Sword Technique: Rising Cloud Slash!
From dawn until dusk, Ming He defeated a total of twenty-eight opponents, accumulating twenty-eight points, presently ranking third among the disciples.
At first, she defeated her enemies with a single sword strike, but as she gradually encountered stronger foes, she unveiled the second and third sword moves, in addition to techniques like the Rotating Cloud Steps and Breaking Cloud Fingers.
The girl in blue steadily rose, achieving victory after victory in the center of the arena amid skeptical gazes, with her growing list of defeated foes including Song Yuan, who was the top disciple among last year’s outer sects.
In this still-familiar world, starting from the outer sect of Liu Yun Sect, she began to unfold her path to greatness.
Later, the records of the Tian Wu era would note that the Sword Emperor Ming He, who expelled foreign tribes and restored peace to the Tian Wu continent, began from the humble beginnings of Liu Yun.
Those humble beginnings were within the small outer sect of Liu Yun.
