Mountain and River Festival

Chapter 218 Tian Xingjian

Everyone, including Zhang Rongzhi in the center of the stage, looked left and right and realized that apart from the charming woman next to Lu Xingzhou, the Tianxing Sword Sect really had no other external support.

I expected them to have fewer foreign players, but I didn't expect them to have this few...

You can't bring a few old connections from Yongzhou in three days?

Is he really going to challenge two third-grade sects and the second-grade and first-grade sects behind them all by himself?
are you crazy?
Zhang Rongzhi was starting to doubt whether he had made a mistake by siding with the wrong group, which had actually harmed the Tianxing Sword Sect. But things had already come to this point and there was no stopping him. He could only speak up and take charge of the matter: "This martial arts competition is of an extremely high level, and it can be considered the first major event since I took office as the governor of Dongjiang County. I have specially invited Elder Chu Zheng of the Huanhua Sword Sect to assist in the arbitration, with General Tu of the county garrison and Commander Wan of the County Demon Suppression Division assisting him."

"In accordance with the principle of friendly competition, this competition will not allow death or maiming; anyone who attempts to kill will be disqualified. If the magical artifacts are indiscriminate in their power, the arbitrators will intervene to stop it."

"The venue has been blessed to absorb first-grade energy without it leaking out, so you can proceed with confidence."

As Zhang Rongzhi spoke, he felt somewhat uneasy. Elder Chu Zheng of the Huanhua Sword Sect was Chu Qingchen's uncle, so he should be on Lu Xingzhou's side without a problem. However, the issue was that he wasn't even sure how many First Rank members the other side had. At this moment, there were a lot of people at the Dongjiang Gang's seats whom he didn't recognize, and it was questionable whether Chu Zheng could control the situation.

Foreign aid shouldn't be allowed in this way. I don't know what Shen Tang and Lu Xingzhou were thinking. Once there's foreign aid, there are too many uncontrollable factors.

Actually, I hadn't thought much about it. It was just that Madam Ye was there right now, a top-tier external ally. This was the strongest moment for the Heavenly Sword Sect. Madam Ye wouldn't stay long, but Shi Zhong, as Shi Tielong's uncle, could stay as long as he wanted. Shi Tielong could also find others to attack the Heavenly Sword Sect at any time. Dragging it out would be a huge disadvantage, so it was better to finish the job in one fell swoop.

With things having come to this point, Zhang Rongzhi had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask, "Does either side have any objections?"

Shen Tang and Shi Tielong both stepped forward: "No."

"The order of battle is decided by both sides. Now, the first person to fight can step onto the stage. Shall we start with the leaders of both sides?"

Zhang Rongzhi really wanted to make the first battle resemble a match between Shen Tang and Shi Tielong. That way, even if they lost all the subsequent battles, they could still save face as long as they won the battle for the sect leader.

Shi Tielong, however, did not follow this approach and bowed, saying, "My uncle will take the lead in the first battle."

Shi Zhong slowly ascended the stage.

"..." Zhang Rongzhi's smile froze slightly, inwardly filled with disdain. Shi Tielong really didn't even have the courage to face a girl in her early twenties, let alone someone who was disabled. What kind of leader of a major sect was he? Even if he won the whole match, wasn't he afraid people would laugh at his lack of real power as the leader of the sect?

Shi Zhong stood in the center of the stage, looking at Shen Tang, and said calmly, "Who will represent your side? Sect Leader Shen? Or Hall Master Zhang?"

Shi Zhong clearly did not believe that Shen Tang's palm strike that day could represent the final result. He wanted to show Shen Tang on the official stage that decades of cultivation experience were not just for show.

The strongest members of the Heavenly Sword Sect are Shen Tang and Zhang Shaoyou. If Shi Zhong defeats the first two of them, he will likely achieve the feat of defeating ten opponents at once.

That would not only be an insult to the Heavenly Sword Sect, but a huge show of bravado that would make Shi Zhong famous throughout the world, and might even get him ranked a few places higher on the Great Qian Heroes Ranking.

Shen Tang smiled slightly: "My sect is a little different from your gang... Of course, the sect leader should be at the forefront."

Many onlookers chuckled softly. With tens of thousands of onlookers, the laughter from even a few was deafening. Shi Tielong's face flushed red, but he remained expressionless, pretending not to hear.

Shi Zhong lowered his eyes slightly: "A contest on the arena is not the same as a simple exchange of blows. I hope that Sect Leader Shen's strength is as high as his confidence."

Lu Xingzhou pushed Shen Tang's wheelchair onto the stage and leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Be careful."

Shen Tang said softly, "I understand."

Lu Xingzhou pursed his lips, turned around, and stepped off the stage.

The surrounding noise gradually subsided.

It was a windless summer day, with the sun blazing overhead. On the stage, two people, one standing and one sitting, faced each other, yet their clothes fluttered and their hair swayed gently without any wind.

That means the spiritual energy in the body has begun to surge.

Shi Zhong said calmly, "Considering that Sect Master Shen is disabled, please make the first move."

Shen Tang smiled, drew his flying sword, and "whoosh," it pierced the ground: "I'm done. Please, sir."

Shi Zhong's eyes sharpened, and with a clang, his flying sword hovered in front of him.

The onlookers suddenly felt the sound of a tsunami, as if angry waves were gathering on the stage, and when they erupted, they would be devastating.

"The wrath of Canglan has reached this point." Shen Tang said leisurely, "A first-class sect is indeed quite formidable."

As he spoke, the flying sword that was stuck in the ground leaped up and hovered in front of him.

Silent and still, without even the signature purple aura, it resembled a small boat facing a raging storm, seemingly on the verge of capsizing.

Without prior arrangement, the two simultaneously launched their flying swords at each other.

The onlookers could hear the sound of surging waves, as if they were in the midst of a collapsing river, and felt how insignificant humanity was.

But Shen Tang's sword light remained unaffected, piercing straight through, like a small boat steadfastly navigating through giant waves, unshaken despite the raging torrents.

As heaven maintains vigor through movement, a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement. Even without using the Imperial Supreme World-Shaking Scripture, the Heavenly Movement Sword Technique is still a first-class sword technique.

The two swords clashed, and energy surged violently, unleashing a burst of power. However, the energy was contained and absorbed by the formation of the arena, preventing it from affecting the surrounding crowd.

With just this one sword strike, the two were evenly matched.

The onlookers were astonished, and even the arbitrators on the stage, including Zhang Rongzhi, were moved. Shen Tang, a mid-stage Rank 3, could truly fight against a low-stage Rank 2 opponent without showing any weakness!

Moreover, at their level, whether they are disabled or not is no longer important; they basically don't need to move.

Just as he was thinking this, he saw that after Shi Zhong's sword light was impacted by Shen Tang, it was like a wave being broken open, splashing out countless water droplets, each of which became a sword and flew down towards Shen Tang from all directions.

The best strategy against this kind of offensive is to retreat, avoid the center of the sword energy attack, and find another weak point to break the deadlock.

It's really difficult for someone in a wheelchair to move around like that.

However, Shen Tang's wheelchair did indeed bounce backward with a "whoosh," and all the sword energies in front and to the left and right missed their mark.

Everyone: "..."

The next moment, the sword light burst forth, taking advantage of the moment when the opponent's sword energy weakened and pierced through the clouds and moon, heading straight for Shi Zhong's throat!

Shi Zhong dodged with a "whoosh," rushed into Shen Tang's wheelchair, and slashed diagonally with his sword.

He figured it out: long-range "wave counterattacks" were actually more advantageous for Shen Tang, while her wheelchair made her less effective in close combat. Taking advantage of her unarmed state while her flying sword was out in the open, it was most cost-effective to bully the disabled person in close combat.

This also means that a dignified second-grade cultivator no longer has the confidence to overwhelm a third-grade cultivator in the application of power...

Looking at Shi Zhong closing in, Shen Tang's eyes revealed a mocking smile.

The sword slashed straight at the side of her neck, and was about to strike her in an instant. Shen Tang reacted with lightning speed and actually managed to grab the blade with her bare hands!

Purple energy swirled around his palm, and the sword's edge seemed to fall into the myriad forms of mountains and rivers, unable to penetrate even a fraction of them.

The onlookers were in an uproar. Shi Zhong's heart skipped a beat, and he tried to sheathe his sword, only to find that he couldn't do so in a short time!
Shen Tang's seemingly empty right hand slammed onto the armrest of the wheelchair, and the armrest opened up, unleashing a barrage of bullets that rained down on Shi Zhong's old face with a "bang."

At the same time, the flying sword that Shi Zhong had just dodged returned and stabbed straight at Shi Zhong's back.

Besieged on all sides, with his sword in someone's grasp, Shi Zhong felt an intense sense of crisis, his scalp tingling. He suddenly unleashed his inner energy, forcefully deflecting the barrage of pear blossom needles aimed at his face. He decisively abandoned his sword and turned, the flying sword behind him returning to Shen Tang's hand, and he launched another slash.

Using the number nine, one sees a group of dragons without a head, their heads and tails connected, heaven and man as one.

Judging solely from the unparalleled control over the flying sword, Shen Tang already possesses the aura of a master; even the former sect leader of the Heavenly Sword Sect might not have reached this level.

"Boom!" The sword light slammed into the ground to the side. Shi Zhong dodged the sword light in a sorry state, and looked at the deep mark on the ground with a cold sweat on his forehead, still in shock.

Shen Tang held the sword Shi Zhong had discarded in his left hand and tossed it back and forth: "Still want to fight?"

Shi Zhong's old face turned purple with embarrassment.

In a life-or-death battle, he certainly has many tricks up his sleeve. But in a ring duel, with his flying sword confiscated, he's obviously lost—what's the point of continuing? To insist on continuing in front of everyone—doesn't he have any shame?

The crowd of 10,000 people fell silent.

No one expected that a third-rank warrior would win such a seemingly effortless victory against a second-rank warrior... Judging from the scene, Shen Tang didn't even seem to have expended any energy; he won for nothing!
Second-grade vegetables aren't as common as cabbages!

They've already made it into the top 100 on the Great Qian Heroes Ranking! Even if you include those who live in seclusion, they're definitely in the top 200 or 300.

In other words, Shen Tang's strength is already in the top 100 on the surface! This is a disabled girl who was like a stray dog ​​fleeing for her life just half a year ago?
On the stage, Zhang Rongzhi finally revealed a relieved smile: "In terms of a duel in the arena, the outcome is already decided, and there's no need to prolong the conflict. Chief Shi, your gang can now send out a second person. Will Chief Shi personally take to the stage this time?"

Shi Tielong stared blankly at his uncle on the stage.

Shi Zhong, who used to have gray hair and beard, at least looked energetic, but now he looked ashen, dejected, and his gray hair was a bit messy, as if he had aged decades in an instant.

He was dreaming of defeating ten opponents single-handedly and becoming famous throughout the world. This time, he lost to a girl old enough to be his great-granddaughter—and she's disabled!
The loss of face was a huge blow to Lao Deng's ego.

Even his uncle, who was of the second rank, lost. Was Shi Tielong just asking for trouble?

Beside him, another middle-aged man with a long beard slowly rose: "The Heavenly Path Sword Technique truly lives up to its reputation as a first-grade sword skill; its strength is astounding. I am itching to learn from Sect Master Shen."

Zhang Rongzhi asked, "Who are you? Please tell me your name first."

The man smiled slightly: "Spring Mountain Pavilion, Gu Xuyang, this humble disciple has a classmate relationship with Mr. Lu of the Heavenly Sword Sect."

The crowd erupted in a roar.

Gu Xuyang, Grand Elder of Chunshan Pavilion, First-Rank Daoist Cultivator!
(End of this chapter)