In the training ground of the outer gate of the Qingyun Sect, the morning mist has not dissipated, and the bluestone floor is covered with a thin layer of frost. The stands were already crowded with people - the outer disciples, the inner disciples, and even a few deacons were standing at the edge with their arms crossed, their eyes shining with the excitement of watching. In the middle of the crowd, Zhao Tianlei stood with a sword in his arms, and behind him lined up three assistants of the eighth level of qi refinement, each with a sharp build and a hostile gaze.
"Will Chu dare to come?"
"I heard that he was only at the seventh level of qi cultivation a while ago, while Senior Brother Zhao has four at the eighth level. A sneeze could blow him away."
"Watch the show, watch the show, even if you don't die today, you'll lose a layer of skin!"
Whispering like a buzzing fly, Zhao Tianlei's mouth curled up and he deliberately raised his voice: "Junior Brother Chu, don't be a coward! "Senior brothers are waiting for your guidance!"
No sooner had the words been spoken than a thin figure appeared at the entrance of the training ground. The green robe was pale from washing, but the cuffs were embroidered with a thin silver thread - that was the newly changed inner sect disciple's emblem. With one hand on his back, Chu Xuan had a wooden sword with its sheath worn off at his waist. He walked slowly, but with each step he stepped on the thinnest part of the morning mist, like a slippery green carp.
"Good morning, Senior Brother Zhao." Chu Xuan smiled and bowed his hands, revealing eight white teeth. "I heard you were going to instruct me? Then don't keep it to yourself later. It's best to bring out all your skills, or -- "he blinked," I'm afraid you won't have a chance to use them later."
Zhao Tianlei's face darkened and he snorted, "sharp-tongued! Today in the training ground, there are no eyes for fists and feet, injured and disabled, don't cry for your father and mother!"
Chu Xuan slapped the hilt of his sword and sighed: "Alas, my father and mother are farming in the mortal world. They won't hear me even if I cry. I can only cry myself a couple of times to add to my brother's fun."
The onlookers burst into laughter. Zhao Tianlei, feeling embarrassed, swung his long sword and pointed the tip straight at Chu Xuan: "Stop the nonsense! Sign the life-and-death pledge!"
Chu Xuan tilted his head, half-smiling: "Sign it, but --" his gaze swept over the three men behind Zhao Tianlei, "four on senior brother's side and one on me, isn't it a bit unfair?"
Zhao Tianlei sneered, "Scared? All right, kneel down and kowtow, shout 'grandpa' three times, senior brother let you go!
"I'm afraid I won't." Chu Xuan scratched his chin and said sincerely, "But I have a small suggestion - the training ground is so big, let's do something interesting? Terrain battle, no area restrictions, whoever falls off the ring first loses, how about that?
Zhao Tianlei's eyes flashed. He had already found out that Chu Xuan was extremely fast. If he limited the small arena, he would be more likely to be flown. Now that the battlefield has been expanded, it's a perfect time to encircle and take down! Now sneer: "Make it possible for you! Don't say I'm bullying kids!"
Chu Xuan's lips curled up slightly and he clasped his hands: "Thank you, senior brother, for your thoughtfulness."
As the words fell, the deacon waved his hand to open the ring barrier. With a flash of green light, the ground of the training ground was filled with intricate array patterns, and a half-man high stone wall rose at the edge, forming a battlefield a hundred feet in size, with rockeries, pine forests and stone paths scattered here and there, like a small maze.
With a wave of his hand, Zhao Tianlei dispersed the four of them, forming a fan-shaped encircle. Chu Xuan, however, walked lazily towards the pine forest, his figure soon swallowed up by the morning mist.
"Take advantage of the terrain?" One of the eighth level disciples sneered, "Chase!"
The four of them stormed into the forest, their feet crunching on withered branches. The fog grew thick, frost hung on the pine needles, and the line of sight was torn apart by the cold frost.
"Where are the people?"
"Spread out and look! Don't let him slip away!"
Behind the rockery on the east side, Chu Xuan held his breath and pressed against the wall, his earlobes moving slightly, counting the footsteps. Three, two, one - with the tip of his foot, his figure rose like a wisp of smoke and landed on the top of the rockery, his wooden sword was pushed back into the crevice of the mountain, and with the help of a swing, it landed silently behind an eighth-level disciple.
The disciple was on guard ahead when suddenly he felt a chill in the back of his neck and Chu Xuan's voice rang close to his ear: "Brother, look at the sword."
The scabbard of the wooden sword struck horizontally and injected spiritual power. "Pop," with a crisp sound, gold stars rose before the disciple's eyes. He staggered forward and crashed into the edge of the rockery, and blood trickled down his forehead.
"The first one." Chu Xuan counted softly, his figure flickering and disappearing into the mist again.
On the west side of the pine forest, the second eighth level disciple, upon hearing the commotion, was about to turn around when the withered branch under his feet snapped with a "crack", and a cold sword intent locked onto his back. He leapt up in terror, only to see Chu Xuan standing on the top of a pine tree three zhang away, with his right hand pointing together like a sword and a stroke across the air --
"The cold star casts a shadow."
With a flash of blue light on the tip of the finger, the icy sword intent appeared behind the disciple in an instant. The scabbard struck again with a dull thud, and the second disciple fell to the ground, gnawing his mouth full of mud and frost.
"The second one." The boy's laughing voice came through the fog.
At the edge of the stands, the disciples watching the game stared wide-eyed
"What just happened? Teleportation? !"
"Not teleportation! It's a mirror image of the sword intent - Chu Xuan refracts the figure with ice-based sword intent, misleading the opponent's judgment!"
"Seven levels of qi refining against eight, like hitting a child!"
Zhao Tianlei's face turned ashen upon hearing the remarks and he roared, "Chu Xuan! There's a kind of head-on fight!"
Deep in the fog, the voice of the young man drifts: "Don't worry, senior brother. The third one is coming --"
Before he could finish his words, the third eighth-level disciple suddenly felt a void beneath his feet. A long, thin crack appeared on the ground, and the edge of the crack was covered with a thin layer of ice. He slipped out of control and rolled down the slope towards the edge of the arena!
"Bang!" The disciple crashed into the stone wall, half of his body sticking out of the wall, and the barrier's light flashed - eliminated!
On the stands, inhaling sounds rose and fell.
"Use the terrain to the fullest! The crack was cut in advance with ice-based spiritual power and covered with a thin layer of frost!"
"When did Chu Xuan make the move? We didn't notice!"
Zhao Tianlei's pupils constricted and he finally realized that he had underestimated the "weak sheep". He wasn't running away; he was laying a net!
In the fog, the young man's footsteps made a soft sound, like treading on the tips of people's hearts.
"Senior Brother Zhao," Chu Xuan said in a clear voice with a smile, "it's your turn."
Zhao Tianlei took a deep breath, his long sword crossed his chest, and his gaze 阴鸷 : "Play tricks! Get out!"
With the last word, his spiritual power burst forth with a roar, the peak aura of the eighth level of qi refinement swept, and the cold mist of the pine forest was shaken in all its places!
Where the fog dissipated, Chu Xuan's figure emerged - standing on a horizontal branch of an ancient pine tree ten zhang away, his green robe fluttering, a wooden sword casually carried on his shoulder, and a mischievous smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
"Don't worry, senior brother. I'm coming."
He pointed his toes, and his figure darted down like a swallow, but suddenly folded in mid-air and flew towards the rockery on the side!
Zhao Tianlei roared, "Want to run?" Chasing after him with a sword in hand.
Two men, one in front and the other behind, rushed out of the pine forest in an instant. Just as Zhao Tianlei's long sword was about to strike the back of Chu Xuan's heart --
Chu Xuan, with a backhand scabbard, struck hard at a bulge on the rockery!
"Click --"
From inside the rockery came the sound of a mechanism turning, and the ground suddenly sank. Zhao Tianlei's feet were empty, and he staggered forward!
"The third trap, send to senior brother." The young man's voice was close at hand.
Zhao Tianlei lowered his head in terror - there was a circular ice pit about ten feet in diameter on the ground, the pit wall as smooth as a mirror, and he slid uncontrollably to the bottom of the pit!
"Despicable!" He roared, his long sword piercing the ice wall, forcing himself to steady himself.
Chu Xuan stood on the edge of the pit, looking down, smiling and bowing: "Senior brother, does falling into the pit count as falling from the ring?"
Zhao Tianlei looked up, his eyes bloodshot: "Little bastard, you're courting death!"
He suddenly drew his sword, his body soaring into the sky, his long sword infused with all his spiritual power, and a two-foot-long crimson sword beam cut down on his head!
Chu Xuan squinted his eyes, his smile undiminished: "Finally willing to make a big move? Alas --"
He put his right hand together and tapped gently.
A flash of ice-blue light appeared on the fingertip.
"Cold Star Shadow · Double."
Just as the crimson sword light was about to reach the body, Chu Xuan's figure suddenly split in two - the left figure was shattered by the sword light, while the right figure appeared behind Zhao Tianlei as if teleportation, with the scabbard of the wooden sword slinging sideways -
"Bang!"
Zhao Tianlei felt a jolt in the back of his heart. He was like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into the bottom of the ice pit and spitting a mouthful of blood on the ice wall!
There was a deathly silence in the stands.
After a breath, there was a thunderclap --
"Teleportation? ! Another mirror image!"
"The seventh level of Qi refining, let the peak of the eighth level of Qi refining fly like a kite!"
"Zhao Tianlei fell into the pit! Does that count as falling off the ring?"
The deacon was stunned for a moment and waved his hand decisively: "Zhao Tianlei, eliminated!"
A flash of light from the barrier, the ice pit closed, and Zhao Tianlei was teleportioned out of the ring, his face covered in dirt and kneeling on the ground, his face bluish-purple, and a mouthful of blood gushed up again, but he swallowed it forcefully.
Chu Xuan stood on the edge of the pit, with a wooden sword on his shoulder, clasped his hands in all directions, laughing with sharp teeth and sharp lips: "Thank you, senior brothers, for your guidance. Junior brother has benefited a lot."
Before he could finish his words, his fingertips suddenly felt hot --
Inside the ice ring, runes quietly lit up, and a pale blue mark emerged on the back of his right hand - lotus-shaped, with a speck of golden light at the center, like a miniature of a covenant.
At the same time, the mark on Ling Qingxue's wrist flickered simultaneously. She rose sharply, her gaze passing through the crowd, and landed on the young man.
"Dao Qi takes shape..." " She murmured softly, her eyes flashing with complex emotions. "This is just the beginning."
On the stands, the disciples were still talking about Zhao Tianlei's crushing defeat, and no one noticed Chu Xuan's unusual hand back - except for the edge of the crowd, a grey-clad young man narrowed his eyes, turned quietly and disappeared into the morning mist.
Chu Xuan lowered his head and looked at the lotus seal on the back of his hand, his eyes shining
"Zhao Tianlei, thanks. Next time, it's my turn to ask you out."
The lotus seal flashes and vanishes like a firefly in the snow. Chu Xuan lowered his hand, but there was an inexplicable heat in his back - as if there was an invisible thread, from the ice ring, through the crowd, straight to somewhere in the stands. He raised his eyes subconsciously and met a pair of clear eyes.
Ling Qingxue stood behind the railing. The morning breeze lifted the hair at her temples, but there was a thin layer of frost in her eyes. Their eyes met from a distance, the mark of the covenant was slightly warm at the same time, their heartbeats overlapped with "thump", and then they turned their faces away, pretending to be nonchalant.
"TSK, the heartbeats can be synchronized across half of the training ground. This crappy contract is so charming." In the pill bottle, Su Meier's voice was sour. "Little Chu Zi, you're done for."
Chu Xuan rubbed the root of his ear, not retorting. Because the grey-clad young man was making his way through the crowd, step by step to the edge of the ring, and looked up at him with a curved eye: "Junior Brother Chu, good trick. "Brother, I have an itchy hand. Could you give me some advice?"
The sound was not loud, but like an ice cone falling into a pot of oil, it exploded all around with a whoosh.
"It's Shen Yan! Shen Yan, ranked ninth in the inner door!"
"The peak of the ninth level of Qi refinement, ten levels in half a step!"
"Zhao Tianlei just knelt down, and here comes another harsher one, Chu Xuan's love luck today... Oh no, misfortune is coming!"
Chu Xuan narrowed his eyes. Shen Yan, he had heard - the famous "smiling tiger" of the inner gate, skilled in wind body techniques, was more than twice as fast as Zhao Tianlei. The key point is that this man is polite and refined on the surface, but behind the scenes, he is full of underhanded tricks and can be called the "sixth brother of the ring".
"Brother Shen wants guidance, Brother naturally asks for it." Chu Xuan laughed with sharp teeth and sharp tongue, "But I've just finished three battles and my spiritual power is running out. Do you mind letting me take a break?"
Shen Yan smiled gently, understanding: "Of course. For the sake of fairness, I declare myself 30% of my spiritual power and give my junior brother three moves, how about that?"
The crowd is in an uproar -- self-proclaimed 30% and then giving up three moves, this is blatant humiliation! Chu Xuan's eyes lit up and he bowed his hands: "Senior brother Gao Yi, then please."
Ling Qingxue frowned slightly and whispered in secret, "Don't show off your strength. Shen Yan is extremely fast. It's not certain that Han Xing's shadow can lock onto him." "
Chu Xuan turned his back to her, his right hand hidden in his sleeve, and made a gesture of "rest assured" to her. With the next breath, he touched the tip of his foot and floated up the ring. The wooden sword pointed diagonally to the ground, and the tip of the sword trembled slightly, looking weak and drained of spiritual energy.
Shen Yan smiled more deeply, his sleeves whirled without wind, and the pale blue wind swirled around him. He raised his hand and said, "Junior brother, please move."
Chu Xuan didn't hold back either. He raised his wooden sword, and three sword qi shot out crookedly, weak and powerless. Halfway up, they deviated from their own direction, causing laughter from all around. Shen Yan stepped aside, with grace: "The first move."
Chu Xuan seemed a little embarrassed. He gritted his teeth and swung his sword again. This time, he didn't even condense his sword qi and it just dispersed into a cloud of ice mist. The ice mist was so thick that it blocked everyone's view. Shen Yan shook his head and chuckled: "The second move."
In the ice mist, Chu Xuan's voice came out: "The third move!"
Before he could finish speaking, a cold star suddenly appeared in the fog, at an astonishing speed, straight to Shen Yan's brow! Shen Yan had been on guard, and with a flash of his body, he turned into three afterimages and easily avoided them. The cold star pierced through the shadow and nailed to the edge of the ring, which turned out to be a tiny ice needle.
"Three moves passed." Shen Yan smiled, moved his steps lightly, his figure blurred in an instant, like a wisp of smoke circling behind Chu Xuan, folding his fans and pointing them towards the young man's heart, "It's my turn."
Just as the tip of the fan was about to touch the fabric, Chu Xuan suddenly lowered his head, his back arched, like a reed bent by the wind. His entire body folded at a strange Angle, and the folding fan slid past his back, only cutting off a few strands of hair. At the same time, he put his left hand together and gently touched the ground --
"Cold Star Shadow · Triple."
At Shen Yan's feet, a six-pointed star pattern suddenly appeared on the ice surface. At the center of the star pattern, a blue light like a mirror clearly reflected his astonished eyebrows and eyes. With a flash of mirror light, Chu Xuan's figure vanished in an instant, and when he reappeared, he was already pressed against Shen Yan's back, with the scabbard of the wooden sword slapping sideways
"Bang!"
Shen Yan staggered forward, but the wind movement was forcibly interrupted by this slap! He lowered his head in terror, only to see his feet stuck to the ground by a thin layer of ice, beneath which star patterns flickered, like chains firmly fixing his body.
"Lock Shadow?" Shen Yan finally changed color.
Chu Xuan laughed with sharp teeth and a sharp tongue: "Senior brother gives me three tricks, how can I waste them? The first is to cover the fog, the second is to hide the needle, the third is to lock the shadow - reciprocity.
Shen Yan shouted angrily, the wind power burst forth, and the ice cracked inch by inch. Chu Xuan did not give him a chance to catch his breath. He raised the wooden sword high, the cold star condensed at the tip of the sword, and cut it down --
"Shadow of the Cold Star - Four!"
The sword light split and transformed into seven ice stars, attacking Shen Yan simultaneously from seven different angles. Shen Yan was trapped and had no choice but to fight back. The folding fan danced wildly and the wind blade whistled, shattering all the ice stars. But the crushed ice did not disperse; instead, it turned into fine ice mist, once again obscuring the view.
"Fog again!" Shen Yan's heart sank, and he stepped back rapidly, trying to create a distance. But as soon as he took two steps back, a sudden chill ran through his back --
Chu Xuan's voice came close to his ear: "Senior brother, behind."
The scabbard of the wooden sword struck the back of the heart! Shen Yan spat out a mouthful of blood, his figure like a broken kite, crashing heavily towards the edge of the ring. With a flash of light from the barrier, half of his body poked out of the wall - eliminated!
There was a deathly silence in the stands. A moment later, there was a loud bang --
"Mirror image again! How many mirror images does Chu Xuan have?"
"Seven levels of Qi Refinement, even the peak of the ninth level of Qi Refinement? !"
What move is that Lock Shadow? Never seen!"
Amidst the boiling crowd, Chu Xuan stood in the center of the ring, the lotus seal on the back of his hand flickering quietly as if responding to the heartbeats of the crowd. He bowed his hands in all directions and laughed lightly: "Thank you, senior brother, for your guidance. Junior brother has benefited a lot."
At the edge of the crowd, Ling Qingxue exhaled slowly, but there was a hint of worry in his eyes - the lotus seal flickered more and more frequently, as if urging, as if warning. She raised her eyes and looked towards the distant mountain path - where several figures were hurrying away, and one of them turned his head, his gaze cold like a venomous snake staring at its prey.
Chu Xuan jumped off the ring and had just stepped out of the crowd when a cold hand grabbed his wrist. Ling Qingxue's voice was very low: "Don't look back, someone is watching you. Let's talk about Lian Yin when we get back."
The young man smiled slightly and stroked the lotus seal with his fingertips without showing any emotion. The touch was icy cold, like holding a snowflake.
"All right." He replied softly, but a flash of sharpness flashed in his eyes. "Just right, I also want to see who cares about me so much."
The morning mist gathered again, and the noise of the training ground was left behind. Two side by side figures, one green and one white, like two swords just drawn from their sheaths, their sharpness first revealed, their cold light first appeared.