novelSusiti Chapter 548 Returning to Simplicity, This is the true state of returning to simplicity!
Chapter 548 Returning to Simplicity, This is the true state of returning to simplicity!
The spear tip traced a dark arc, piercing towards Bai Yujing's chest with a whooshing sound.
Bai Yujing did not move.
He only slightly turned his body when the tip of the spear was no more than a foot away from his chest.
The gun grazed past his moon-white robe without tearing a single thread of fabric.
His sword was also drawn.
No one saw how he drew the sword; they only saw a very faint white light flash in the air, like an illusion, and it disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The man wielding the gun suddenly stiffened in his hand, as if burned by something. His thumb went numb, and the gun flew out of his hand, tumbling twice in the air before landing with a thud at the edge of the arena.
Then the man's body swayed like an empty sack, and then he fell straight down, his head hitting the ironwood arena with a dull thud.
The entire training ground fell silent for a moment, then exploded like a pot of boiling water.
"It's happening again! It's happening again! One move!"
"That sword strike from Bai Yujing just now...did any of you see it clearly?"
"Just like that Zhao San, it's all about one sword strike! Even the stance is similar!"
"Are they from the same school?"
"No. Zhao San's sword strike was a straight line, while Bai Yujing's sword strike was an arc; the techniques are clearly different."
"So, these two are both experts who suddenly appeared today?"
"Zhao San and Bai Yujing, both of unknown origin and strength, I've never even heard of them..."
"You believe his name is Zhao San? Who would be a good person named Zhao San? It sounds like a fake name!"
"The name Bai Yujing does have a bit of a martial arts vibe, but why would someone from Penglai Island come to the Northern Territory to participate in a martial arts tournament? Penglai Island is already part of the East Sea; it's completely unrelated..."
"Maybe... these two are some kind of old monsters who just changed their names and infiltrated the ranks."
On the high platform, Xu Longxiang also withdrew his gaze.
He had been watching Bai Yujing's sword strike the whole time.
He became more and more excited as he looked at it, and he couldn't wait to win the other party over.
On the other side of the arena, Lin Xiaolu also saw Bai Yujing's sword strike.
She stood beside Qin Mu and whispered, "Brother Zhao, that person in white... is also very powerful."
She paused, then added, her voice a few decibels lower than before: "Between him and you, who's more capable?"
Qin Mu glanced at her, then at the moon-white figure walking off the stage in the distance, and smiled: "Of course I'm better."
Lin Qingshi, who was standing to the side and heard this, immediately chimed in, "Of course! Brother Zhao is aiming to be the best in the world, what's Bai Yujing compared to that!"
Lin Xiaolu was amused by his serious expression, and smiled slightly before turning her head to look towards the arena: "If you two really meet later, I'll have to take a good look."
The following matches were like being pushed by some invisible hand, with each one becoming more difficult than the last.
A swordsman from the Western Regions, whose swordsmanship was so fast it was dazzling, and whose swordsmanship was so tricky that it was like a snake crawling out of a crack in the rock.
His opponent didn't even last three moves against him before being knocked unconscious by the back of the blade.
A Gu master from the southern border sprinkled a handful of silver powder before making his move. After inhaling it, his opponent's limbs went weak on the spot, and he couldn't even hold his sword properly. He knelt on the ground and coughed for the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn before he recovered.
There was also a pair of brothers from the northern border of Mang. They wielded two swords together and their teamwork was so perfect that it was as if they shared a single heart. When one attacked, the other would defend; when one retreated, the other would advance. Together, they defeated three people in a row, which drew waves of discussion from the audience.
The most surprising thing was a young swordsman who looked to be no more than thirty years old. He had a slender sword hanging at his waist. Before drawing his sword, he bowed. When he struck, the sword light spread out like mercury, instantly blocking all of his opponent's escape routes.
Before his opponent could even finish conceding defeat, the tip of his sword was pressed against his throat.
Someone in the crowd exclaimed in a low voice, "That sword technique... it's the lost Silver Waterfall Sword! This person is at least at the Profound Realm!"
As soon as those words were uttered, the air in the training ground seemed to be held still by an invisible hand, remaining quiet for a moment before churning like a pot of boiling water.
"The Finger-Pointing Realm? Even people at the Finger-Pointing Realm have come to this martial arts tournament?"
"Didn't you say before that this would at most be some Vajra Realm martial artists trying to make a name for themselves? How come even Finger Profound Realm experts have appeared?"
"Sending someone at the Profound Realm to participate in this kind of competition, isn't that like a dimensional attack?"
"It seems they're serious this time. The previous matches were just appetizers; the real show is yet to come."
The discussions came like a tide, and then receded like a tide.
More people began to re-examine the contestants standing on the edge of the ring, their gazes sweeping over them as if re-evaluating the weight of each stone.
Finally, before darkness fell, Fan Li's voice rang out once more: "Next match, Zhao San versus Bai Yujing."
The entire training ground fell silent for a moment.
The discussions erupted like a flood bursting its banks.
"It's finally here!"
"Zhao San versus Bai Yujing!"
"These two have finally matched up!"
"These two used to finish their battles with a single sword strike. Now that they're facing off, wouldn't that mean..." The speaker didn't finish his sentence, but everyone understood what he was saying.
On the high platform, Xu Longxiang sat up slightly, his gaze shifting back and forth between the two figures walking up onto the arena.
His fingers paused on the armrest, not striking it: "Finally here."
Fan Li stood behind him, his gaze also fixed on the two figures, but he didn't say anything.
Below the arena, Yan Shisan leaned against the shadows by the fence, arms crossed, his gaze fixed on the two figures, without saying a word.
At opposite ends of the arena, Qin Mu and Bai Yujing stood still.
The two were more than ten feet apart. The wind passed between them, causing Qin Mu's gray cloth robe to sway slightly, and also blowing the hem of Bai Yujing's white robe.
Bai Yujing looked at Qin Mu.
The moment his hand touched the hilt of the sword, Qin Mu also raised his hand and grasped the hilt of the iron sword.
On the stage, the wind stopped for a moment.
The two drew their swords at the same time.
Qin Mu's iron sword remained unchanged, its blade gleaming with the light of a newly polished ironwork, its surface devoid of any markings, like a weapon yet to be named, lying quietly in his palm.
Bai Yujing's jade-white longsword shone for a moment. As it slid out of its scabbard, a layer of something like moonlight flowed across the blade before returning to silence.
The two were more than ten feet apart, and neither of them made the first move.
A gust of wind blew from above the arena, carrying a withered leaf between the two men. The leaf spun about three feet off the ground before falling back down.
Bai Yujing made the first move.
He didn't use his full strength, nor did he use any probing moves. Just like when he dealt with Yan Shisan, he flipped his wrist and thrust the tip of his sword toward Qin Mu's shoulder.
Qin Mu neither retreated nor turned to the side.
He simply raised his iron sword, and with the tip of the sword lightly touched the middle of Bai Yujing's blade.
The force was extremely light, as light as a feather falling on the water.
However, Bai Yujing's swordplay faltered slightly, as if someone had gently plucked a string on a zither. The smooth arc of his sword was interrupted for a moment, but he quickly resumed it with a flick of his wrist.
He sheathed his sword, took a step back, his brow twitched slightly, and then thrust his sword forward again.
This sword strike was slightly faster and at a more cunning angle than before. The tip of the sword drew a long, thin arc in mid-air, aiming straight for Qin Mu's ribs.
Qin Mu still did not retreat.
His iron sword slid along Bai Yujing's blade, and just as it was about to touch his fingertips, it slightly deflected, shifting the momentum of the jade-white longsword by half an inch, causing it to graz the edge of his robe and miss its mark.
Bai Yujing took another step back.
This time, his brow remained furrowed, his gaze fixed on the dusty iron sword, as if confirming something.
The two people on the stage seemed to have agreed beforehand that neither of them used any fierce moves.
Qin Mu's sword strikes were extremely light and slow each time, like splashing water by a stream, his movements casual and relaxed, seemingly without any method.
Bai Yujing's sword moved faster and faster with each strike, its light growing denser and denser, like a piece of silk unfurled by the wind, surging towards Qin Mu in layers.
Each time the iron sword and the jade-white longsword clashed, they only produced a very soft "ding," without the explosive sound of colliding true energy or the shockwave of sword energy scattering.
The sounds were as delicate as raindrops falling on tiles, one after another, neither hurried nor interrupted.
The audience below the stage became increasingly confused.
A northern man in a fur coat frowned and lowered his voice: "What are they fighting? So slow, not even a spark."
A young man carrying a long sword beside him tilted his head, looking utterly bewildered: "I thought a fight between these two masters would be earth-shattering. This... I just don't understand!"
Another middle-aged martial artist lowered his arms from across his chest, a hint of doubt in his voice: "Are they testing each other? Or... are they both holding back?"
"There's no need to hold back like this, is there? Zhao Sanfang just sent Lei Heng flying with a single sword strike, so why is he acting like he's doing Tai Chi with Bai Yujing?"
"Could it be... that they're not really skilled at all? And those two matches were just lucky?"
"Impossible. Lei Heng's move couldn't have been faked. That palm strike even shook the arena. If he didn't have real skill, he would have been smashed to pieces long ago."
"But look at how they're fighting now... it's like two apprentices who have just started learning swordsmanship sparring."
"But every movement..."
The speaker paused, as if trying to find a suitable word, but couldn't find one after thinking for a long time.
The middle-aged martial artist continued, "Every movement is perfectly timed to coincide with the opponent's next move. Look at Zhao San, every sword strike seems to be waiting for Bai Yujing's sword to arrive before he moves. It's as if he knows where Bai Yujing's next sword will come from."
"Then...how did you do that? Mind reading?"
"It's not mind reading. It's that his understanding of swordsmanship is deeper than Bai Yujing's."
The man in the leather coat turned his head, his face full of confusion: "Deep? How did you tell?"
The middle-aged martial artist remained silent, simply gazing at the arena as if waiting for an answer he himself couldn't quite articulate.
High up in the stands, Yan Shisan leaned forward slightly.
He had been leaning against the fence in a relaxed posture, but now his back straightened unconsciously, and his gaze was fixed on the two figures on the ring.
His brow furrowed slightly, his gaze sweeping back and forth between the iron sword and the jade-white longsword several times, before he spoke in a low, fervent voice:
"Returning to simplicity, this is the true state of returning to simplicity..."
No one heard him say those words, and he didn't tell anyone.
On the other hand, Bai Yujing's expression was indeed changing.