Chapter 9: The Second Sword!

Not long after.

A figure in red robes brandished a sword and leaped out, landing steadily on the high platform in the center.

"Xin Hongyi of the Sword Hall. Where is the person from the Thatched Cottage? Come up and fight!"

Not far away, Lu Changsheng was stunned at the sight. "Did Qiubai provoke this girl? Why is she specifically calling him out?"

The Sword Hall elder beside him turned dark upon hearing this and retorted, "To be precise, it was you who provoked her."

"Huh?"

Lu Changsheng pointed at himself, puzzled. "I don't think so. I haven't even held a woman's hand to this day; how could I have provoked her?"

The Martial Hall elder covered his face and said irritably, "Back when you were recruiting disciples, this Xin Hongyi specifically requested to join your Thatched Cottage, but you dismissed her with a single sentence about not taking in disciples."

"The kicker is that you ended up taking a disciple anyway, so she definitely wants to prove that she is better than Ye Qiubai."

Lu Changsheng’s expression turned strange.

The others naturally recognized Xin Hongyi as well.

"Wasn't she the one rejected by the Thatched Cottage back then?"

"So that's why she wants to challenge Ye Qiubai, who is a disciple of the Thatched Cottage?"

"But this Xin Hongyi is also very strong. Her record on the martial arts stage was even better than Ye Qiubai's."

Hearing the chatter around him, Ye Qiubai finally understood.

He picked up a wooden sword.

With a leap, he landed on the stage.

Seeing this, Xin Hongyi raised an eyebrow. She looked at the wooden sword in Ye Qiubai's hand, displeased. "What? Using a wooden sword—are you looking down on me?"

Ye Qiubai replied calmly, "My master once said: if there is a sword in one's heart, then a leaf, a twig, or anything at all can be a sword."

The Sword Hall elder looked at Lu Changsheng with a complex expression and said, "It seems your understanding of the Sword Dao is quite profound."

"Huh?"

Lu Changsheng scratched his head and thought carefully.

Did I say that?

On the stage.

Xin Hongyi muttered, "If there is a sword in one's heart, anything can be a sword..."

Having said that, Xin Hongyi put away the Profound-grade treasure sword in her hand. She took out an ordinary iron sword that lacked any aura and said, "Fine, I won't take advantage of you. Draw your sword."

The two were at the same cultivation level, both at the peak of the Golden Core stage.

However, Xin Hongyi was extremely arrogant. She wanted to win with overwhelming force and did not want to rely on any external objects to defeat Ye Qiubai.

Only then could she prove to Lu Changsheng.

What a wrong choice it was to not choose her back then.

Thinking of this, Xin Hongyi even cast a provocative glance at Lu Changsheng.

Ye Qiubai shrugged. He took a slight step, and the ground actually cracked under his feet as he charged forward!

Xin Hongyi’s eyes narrowed slightly. She thrust her iron sword out diagonally, and at that moment, the iron sword erupted with streaks of flame!

The scorching flames distorted the very space as they slashed toward Ye Qiubai!

Ye Qiubai remained calm. He held the wooden sword with both hands and slashed at the whip of fire!

A wisp of black aura emanated from the wooden sword!

It was filled with a demonic nature, as if it intended to make the heavens themselves submit!

"Oh? The Nine Swords of the Heavenly Demon?"

Below, a man with stubble touched his chin and chuckled, "Interesting. He actually cultivated that incomplete manual."

Another man holding a feather fan walked over. "He has guts. The Nine Swords of the Heavenly Demon only get harder as you progress, not to mention it's an incomplete manual."

People around them saw these two and gasped.

"Huo Qingming of the Martial Hall! Lin Ce of the Formation Hall!"

"These two are the top figures of their respective halls!"

"Both are in the mid-stage of the Purple Mansion realm, yet they have the strength to kill those at the peak of the Purple Mansion!"

After the Golden Core stage comes the Purple Mansion.

At this moment, a man walked up to Huo Qingming and whispered, "Brother Huo, that is the Ye Qiubai I told you about."

"Oh?"

Huo Qingming stroked his chin, glanced at the man, and smiled with an unreadable expression. "Ye Yan, are you sure you want me to cripple him? After all, he is a member of your Ye family, your cousin."

Ye Yan’s eyes turned fierce. "He must be destroyed!"

"Fine."

Huo Qingming sighed inwardly and said, "I owed your Ye family a favor back then; now, I shall repay it."

Ye Yan stared at Ye Qiubai on the stage and sneered, "Although I would love to finish you off myself, for the sake of certainty, it is better to let Huo Qingming be your opponent. You should feel honored."

Back on the high platform.

Ye Qiubai’s wooden sword had already struck the whip of fire!

The flaming sword light did not incinerate the wooden sword; instead, it began to tremble violently, as if it were about to be dispersed!

"The Nine Swords of the Heavenly Demon?"

Xin Hongyi, standing opposite him, was shocked. The iron sword in her hand began to tremble frantically, and even her own spirit began to shake!

The reason was the demonic aura Ye Qiubai was currently exuding, which seemed intent on suppressing all things!

This was the terrifying aspect of the Nine Swords of the Heavenly Demon.

It could not only slash through all things but also force the opponent to submit through sheer pressure!

Xin Hongyi immediately steadied her mind, gritted her teeth, and slashed out with her iron sword once more.

The flaming sword light suddenly surged, and the entire platform seemed to begin burning!

The Sword Hall elder commented from the side, "Xin Hongyi’s flaming sword qi is unique to her family's cultivation technique; it can burn everything and is extremely domineering. I just wonder to what extent Ye Qiubai has cultivated the Nine Swords of the Heavenly Demon. How many swords can he unleash?"

After speaking, he looked at Lu Changsheng, clearly asking for an answer.

Lu Changsheng lay on his recliner with his eyes closed and answered casually, "He's only been practicing for two days."

"Then I'm afraid... he is no match for Xin Hongyi’s flaming sword qi."

One must know that the Sword Hall elder himself had practiced the Nine Swords of the Heavenly Demon.

It took him a full month just to grasp the first sword.

It took him several years to even vaguely touch the threshold of the third sword.

Seeing the surging flaming sword qi, Ye Qiubai’s eyes narrowed.

"The second sword..."

Suddenly, a pressure that compelled submission radiated from Ye Qiubai’s body!

The demonic energy surged!

Xin Hongyi’s expression changed drastically.

It was as if she were no longer facing Ye Qiubai, but a supreme Great Demon!

One that looked down upon the heavens and the earth!

"The second sword!"

The Sword Hall elder stood up abruptly!

It had only been two days!

Xin Hongyi gritted her teeth. She knew that her current methods were simply no match for this strike from Ye Qiubai.

She could not resist.

Thinking of this, Xin Hongyi bit her finger, and drops of essence blood seeped out.

At the same time, she put away the iron sword and took out that Profound-grade treasure sword!

Then, she fiercely smeared the blood onto the blade!

"Sacrificing blood to the sword!"

Xin Hongyi’s face turned pale, but the increasingly solid flaming sword qi illuminated her pale face with a blood-red glow!

She slashed out!

It collided violently with the wooden sword in Ye Qiubai’s hand, which was radiating dark demonic energy!

*Puchi!*

The moment they made contact, Xin Hongyi spat out a mouthful of essence blood!

Those streaks of flaming sword qi simply disintegrated in the face of this dark demonic energy.

Utterly defeated!

At that moment, Xin Hongyi was sent flying backward, falling to the ground with her hands covered in blood.

Even the hand holding the sword was trembling uncontrollably; she clearly had no combat strength left.

Ye Qiubai withdrew his sword, his expression calm, showing no surprise at all.

"I concede the victory to you."

(End of chapter)