Chapter 6

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Chapter 6: The Life-and-Death Duel

On the arena, the girl in blue stood opposite the young man in blue. After a moment of silence, the young man took the initiative to attack with his sword.

Even when battling a rabbit, a lion must use all its strength; he might underestimate his opponent, but he wouldn’t act carelessly in actual combat.

Ming He kept her eyes wide open, using her footwork to easily evade the probing sword strike, and thrust her sword toward his right shoulder, returning the attack in kind.

The girl in blue moved with an unreasonably agile posture, her long sword firmly in hand, her expression determined.

“Clang—”

The two long swords clashed in the air, sending sparks flying and causing the air to gently sigh.

Ming He frowned, channeling her spiritual energy into the tip of her sword, tightening her lips as she felt the pressure coming from the other side.

The young man named Li Si was stronger than she had imagined.

Li Si appeared calm, as if everything were under his control, but deep down, he wasn’t as composed as Ming He believed.

That had only been their first exchange, an initial probe, and he hadn’t gained any advantage.

The girl in front of him, who dared to counter-attack Wang Feihu, far exceeded all of his expectations.

The young man groaned softly and decisively summoned the sword energy he had been nurturing for years to gather at the sword’s tip. He stepped back with his right foot, gathering his strength.

In the next moment, he propelled himself into the air, retracting his sword and then swinging it forward at a speed invisible to the naked eye, the gleaming sword carrying a chilling aura.

This was his strongest strike, the Cold Sword!

This demonstrated the seriousness with which he regarded the girl before him. Even if this strike couldn’t defeat her completely, it would at least inflict some pain.

Spending half of his spiritual energy to injure her seemed worth it to Li Si.

Ming He’s expression turned heavy; the speed of the young man’s sword move was incredibly fast, leaving her no time to think carefully. She could only rely on the instincts developed during her four months of sword practice to make her move.

“Boom—”

The sword energy erupted in the air, and the force of the explosion wrapped around the two figures on the arena, creating a thick mist that obscured their silhouettes. Below, the onlookers speculated curiously.

“Did Li Si win?”

“I don’t know; I can’t see! It should be!”

“What do you mean, ‘should be’? It’s definitely Brother Li Si who won; no one has ever survived under his Cold Sword.”

“Alas, poor disciple; she probably doesn’t even have any bones left now!”

The spectators below confidently asserted Li Si’s victory, but the Woman in White in the pavilion could see through the dust raised by the explosion to catch sight of the girl in blue’s condition.

Before the looming danger, her response was not self-preservation but a counter-attack, which was unexpectedly clever, yet the outcome surprised her even more.

A glimmer of light flashed in the Woman in White’s eyes as she continued to focus on the figure in the life-and-death arena.

As the smoke cleared, some disciples, unable to contain their curiosity, forced their gaze toward the scene, and the next moment, they exclaimed in surprise, confusion, and shock.

“How is this possible?”

“Brother Li is injured?”

“That disciple…”

“Continue,” Ming He whispered, taking the lead in the assault as her sword tip sliced through the air.

“You’re not injured?” Li Si’s reaction was no better than that of the disciples below; he, too, was shocked and confused by the fact that the girl in blue was completely unscathed.

Her blue clothes were dusty and slightly gray, but that was all; there were no serious injuries, not even a drop of blood.

How could this be? Questions flooded the young man’s mind, accompanied by a wave of panic similar to that of the others.

“Didn’t you see?” Ming He replied, her sword already thrusting toward him, feeling somewhat surprised herself.

She had thought that even if she survived, she would be injured; if she were hurt, perhaps she could have chatted with the original owner later about this battle.

She hadn’t expected the Basic Liu Yun Sword Technique to be so effective!

With her sword poised, every action she took was instinctive, and she had practiced the Liu Yun Sword Art the most during the past four months in this world, particularly the basic moves.

Liu Yun Sword Art, Third Move: Returning Cloud Slash!

At that moment, she felt as if she were in the clouds, with sword energy trying to pierce through the clouds to strike her but being halted by the soft clouds, gradually wearing itself out.

Using leverage? Ming He raised her sword and executed the Returning Cloud Slash in the same manner, directly aimed at the Young Man, her mind churning with thoughts.

“Humph.” Li Si let out a cold grunt, forcing down his shock and panic as he gripped his long sword tightly and clashed it against her sword again, the sword tips glowing with cold light in a fierce contest of spiritual energy.

Even though he had lost half of his spiritual energy, he still had a chance to win. After all, Su Ming He was just a poor girl, wasn’t she?

Li Si looked at her sword, sharp and pressing against his, pride evident in his eyes.

Ming He noticed his gaze and quickly understood his intention, feeling a surge of unease.

The girl furrowed her brows, extending her left hand with fingers pointed like a sword toward Li Si.

Breaking Cloud Fingers was something she had memorized during her practice; she had seen it before but had never tried it.

Now, in this life-and-death situation, Ming He had no choice but to take a gamble.

“Despicable!” Li Si exclaimed, unable to hold back his anger at her left hand still posing a threat. “In a duel of Swordsmanship, you dare to use other methods?”

The Young Man shouted loudly, then reluctantly pulled back some of his spiritual energy to brace himself against her finger strike.

“Ha, who’s competing with you in Swordsmanship?” Ming He sneered, her lips curling in a sardonic manner.

The spiritual energy she had gathered for her finger in mid-air dissipated due to her lack of skill, making Li Si’s tension seem pointless.

In the next moment, a “crack” sounded in the air, and to everyone’s astonishment, they saw Ming He’s sword fracture at a visible speed, eventually breaking into several pieces that clanged against the ground.

As the sword shattered, the girl in blue retreated, but she was still affected, her breath slightly disordered.

Ming He lowered her head and spat out a mouthful of blood, feeling that this battle was incredibly difficult. It was nothing like the overwhelming display of power that Dragon Hero exhibited. She wanted to ask for a change of script!

Her sword was an ordinary long sword she had received for free from the task hall, while Li Si’s long sword, although not an innate-grade one, was made of fine steel. How could she possibly compare? She felt a twinge of envy.

“Su Ming He, your sword is broken; you lost,” Li Si said with a smile, looking at the broken pieces of metal on the ground, finally feeling completely relaxed.

A sword cultivator without a sword was like a useless person.

“Who said that?” Ming He said calmly, slowly closing her eyes and silently recalling the feeling she had when she moved instinctively to strike.

Returning Cloud Slash, Breaking Cloud Fingers, the broken long sword…

“Your sword is broken; you lost,” Li Si’s voice seemed to echo again.

Acting on instinct, her instincts—the sword’s instincts? Liu Yun?

The girl in blue stood quietly with her eyes closed, the air around her subtly swirling as if drawn to her, while a gentle breeze tousled the loose strands of hair near her ears.

That was…

The Woman in White in the pavilion furrowed her brow, her eyes flickering with intrigue.

Perhaps this journey to Liu Yun would not leave her empty-handed after all.

“Hahaha, Su Ming He, you’ve given up! Just wait for me to take your life!” Li Si roared with laughter. “Fine, I’ll oblige you—let me send you out of this world!”

The young man advanced step by step, sword in hand, until he stood directly before Ming He.

Li Si assumed a defensive stance, wary of any sudden moves, and with a fierce swing of his sword, aimed a lethal strike at the girl’s heart.

“Whoosh—”

A surge of sword energy erupted, slicing through the air and piercing the young man’s throat at close range. The residual force lingered momentarily on the pillar behind Li Si in the life-and-death arena, leaving a faint mark before dissipating into nothingness.

“Impossible!” The shock rippled not only through the outer sect disciples and onlookers but also through Yun Zhao Feng, the young man in yellow in the pavilion.

That sensation just now… could it have been sword intent? Yun Zhao Feng’s gaze locked onto the source of the sword energy.

The girl in blue had, in a single motion, stepped behind Li Si using the Rotating Cloud Steps and delivered a fatal strike with a single finger.

Blood splattered across the girl’s delicate, fair features, yet her expression remained composed, her gaze steady—almost chillingly so.

“It can’t be sword intent,” Yun Zhao Feng muttered, his eyes fixed on the shattered fragments of the sword in the center of the life-and-death arena.

Sword intent, as a second realm of Swordsmanship, was no trivial feat to grasp. Only the most exceptional talents could comprehend it before reaching the Spirit Guiding stage.

He, the presumed next sect leader of Liu Yun Sect, was no slouch in talent, yet he had only grasped sword intent shortly after breaking into the Spirit Guiding stage.

How could a mere outer sect disciple surpass him?

Moreover, her sword was broken. To think she could comprehend sword intent through a technique unrelated to swordsmanship was nothing short of delusional.

The young man in yellow sneered, his initial shock giving way to impatience. “Fairy Qin, the match is over. Shall we move on? The Liu Yun Sect has more to offer than just the life-and-death arena. Let me show you around.”

“Hmm.” The Woman in White nodded, her expression as cold and detached as ever.

“Fairy Qin, this way, please.” Yun Zhao Feng paid no heed to her indifference, confident that persistence would eventually win her over.

“Hmm.” The Woman in White glanced back at the girl in blue, still standing motionless on the stage, lost in thought. A flicker of anticipation crossed her eyes before she turned and vanished.

“This feeling… it’s so elusive!” Ming He stood on the stage, oblivious to Li Si’s lifeless body or the stunned disciples below.

She clenched her fists, reliving that fleeting moment of clarity. It felt as though she were on the verge of grasping something profound, yet it remained just out of reach, as if an invisible barrier stood between her and the answer.

What was it? Frustration simmered within her, leaving her utterly perplexed.

“Su Junior Sister, congratulations! You’ve won!” An attendant disciple leaped onto the stage, beaming with joy despite the sight of Li Si’s lifeless, wide-eyed expression. “No, I should call you Su Senior Sister now.”

Though younger, her strength surpassed his, and in the cultivation world, power dictated hierarchy. Su Ming He had earned the title of Senior Sister.

“Su Senior Sister?”

“Oh, right.” Ming He snapped out of her reverie, realizing further struggle was futile. If the opportunity arose again, she would surely recapture that feeling.

“What is it?” she asked, her voice calm and steady as ever.

“Su Senior Sister, you’ve won!” The disciple’s pride was palpable. “Li Si’s storage ring and this fine steel long sword are now yours.”

“Good.” Ming He ignored the cheers from the crowd as she strode over, lifting Li Si’s fine steel long sword. She swung it through the air, satisfied, then retrieved the scabbard and sheathed the blade before turning to leave the arena.

Li Si had handed her the IOU for five hundred spirit stones before their duel. Had she lost, the note would have been destroyed along with her corpse.

Li Si?

Ming He recalled the young man’s smug expression as he boasted of his impending victory. She glanced at her hands, stained crimson or charred black since her arrival in this world.

Li Si had held no personal grudge against her. The root of their conflict was nothing more than a spirit herb.

Ming He felt a pang of absurdity and melancholy—survival of the fittest, the capriciousness of life and death!

The original novel’s tragic conclusion was built upon countless tales like this one, with Li Si and Ming He—one dead, one alive—precious lives extinguished in an instant.

But she was here now, with no way back. If she didn’t kill, she would be killed. What choice did she have?

The girl in blue gazed up at the sky, finding her answer among the drifting clouds.

Do not encroach upon others’ interests, do not provoke, do not kill the innocent—but never allow others to take what is hers, be it her life or anything else.

Beneath the white clouds, she would let her sword carve her path!

She, Ming He, would stand without regret between heaven and earth.