Chapter 32: Playing Along with the Scheme

The second round of the competition had begun.

There were only three highlights in this round.

The first was Ma Nuonuo, one of the top two favorites for the position of squad leader, and the other, naturally, was Sun Hongshan.

The second highlight was Shen Ye, the mysterious newcomer, and just how strong he truly was. With a single slash of his saber, he had blown Deng Xiaozi away, demonstrating strength firmly at the fourth tier.

The third highlight was Li Da of the Broadsword, who also possessed solid fourth-tier strength.

Within the Eighth Squad, there were only two individuals at the fifth tier, and those at the peak of the fourth tier were extremely rare.

...

The first match of the second round pitted Ma Nuonuo against a fighter named Zhou Xing.

The two stood on the ring.

There was a three-minute conversation window.

Zhou Xing looked calmly at Ma Nuonuo. "Although I've lost to you in the past, I want to try again."

Ma Nuonuo smiled faintly. "Very well, come at me. And I suspect your desire to try again isn't merely about refusing to accept defeat; there's another reason. You are Sun Hongshan's confidant, and you want to test my current capabilities, don't you?"

"Since Sister Nuonuo has already stated the objective, it almost makes me feel a bit embarrassed to make a move." Though Zhou Xing claimed he felt embarrassed, the moment the three-minute limit expired, he showed not a shred of hesitation. With a flick of his wrist, over a hundred cold, gleaming stars directly targeted Ma Nuonuo. Moreover, these projectiles shimmered with an eerie green light.

In this stage of the tournament, any means were permitted, including hidden weapons, poisons, and high technology.

As long as no lives were lost, anything went.

After all, in the pugilistic world, others would not show excessive mercy, nor were any methods strictly prohibited.

Jianghu combat meant life or death in the blink of an eye.

Yet Ma Nuonuo was likewise a powerhouse of the Eighth Squad. Her left-handed longsword seemed to leave its scabbard in the very same instant.

Her sword light spun into a dense, impenetrable barrier, impervious even to pouring water.

Zhou Xing's hidden weapons struck her left-hand sword with a rapid succession of clattering impacts, not a single one missing its mark.

Immediately afterward, Ma Nuonuo's right-hand longsword thrust directly toward Zhou Xing with even greater speed.

Zhou Xing retreated continuously, unleashing various concealed weapons as he fell back.

Yet Ma Nuonuo's defining trait was her blistering speed; her left-hand sword danced like a shield while her right-hand sword relentlessly pursued him.

After retreating for some distance, Zhou Xing realized the boundaries of the ring left him nowhere further to go. To his right was Ma Nuonuo's oncoming sword, leaving only his left side as a possible evasion route. With a swish, he unleashed dozens of hidden weapons and lunged toward the left. At that exact moment, the sword in Ma Nuonuo's left hand whirled with even greater frenzy, while her right-hand sword suddenly accelerated, transforming into a streak of falling stars.

This was... the Meteor Sword Strike!

Swish!

Clang, clang, clang!

When the meteor-like sword strike finally came to a halt, Zhou Xing's right shoulder had been pierced clean through.

Following that, Ma Nuonuo's right-hand sword executed a graceful reverse slash, coming to a rest right against Zhou Xing's throat.

"Ma Nuonuo wins," the referee announced.

Zhou Xing could not help offering a wry smile. "In our previous fights, you needed both hands just to block my concealed weapons. I never expected that a single hand and one sword would now be enough to deflect every single one of them. I lost fairly."

...

The second match of the second round brought Shen Ye face-to-face with Tang Mo.

Hu Qi stood beside Shen Ye, speaking in a low voice. "Tang Mo specializes in the ever-changing spirit saber technique, favoring agility above all. However, he is only at the lower fourth tier. Try not to fall into his rhythm; with your strength, you should be able to win with ease."

Shen Ye smiled. "Naturally."

Just as the time to take the stage approached, Shen Ye felt his phone vibrate. Glancing at the caller ID, he saw it was Elder Shen.

He walked over to a relatively secluded, deserted spot. "Grandfather, my match starts in ten minutes. Why are you calling right now? Is something wrong?"

"Kid, I just received word. A pill of the Seven Marvels elixir has leaked from Sun Dehai's end," Elder Shen's voice came through the receiver.

"The Seven Marvels elixir? What is that?" Shen Ye asked.

"An explosive secret medicinal pill that allows second- and third-tier martial artists to forcefully elevate their realm by one full tier for a short duration. Afterward, the user suffers ten days of extreme weakness." Elder Shen chuckled. "Who do you think this pill will end up with?"

"Sun Dehai is your rival, Grandfather. Yet you were able to learn about a secret medicine leaking from his side almost instantly. You're truly formidable, Grandfather. Others say Sun Dehai can go toe-to-toe with you, but based on this, he's still far behind," Shen Ye flattered him slightly. "Leaking out at this exact timing... by my deduction, it was most likely handed over to someone by Sun Hongshan."

"The most likely recipient is Tang Mo. After all, elevating Tang Mo's strength temporarily to the fourth tier means Sun Hongshan intends to use him to probe my bottom line," Shen Ye analyzed.

"Right, nine times out of ten, that's precisely the case," Elder Shen agreed. "The troublesome part is that while your actual strength is immense, engaging in a clash with a genuine fourth-tier expert will inevitably expose your capabilities. By then, Sun Hongshan will be prepared, and that could become troublesome."

"Indeed," Shen Ye nodded. "So, even knowing it's a trap, we have no choice but to jump in. This feeling is thoroughly unpleasant."

"Still, we can turn their own stratagem against them," a flash of inspiration suddenly struck Shen Ye's mind.

"In my first match, I blew Deng Xiaozi away with a single strike. Deng Xiaozi is a second-tier fighter who lacks strength. Blasting him away with one blow is something a formidable fourth-tier expert could easily accomplish."

"Since Sun Hongshan wants to test my limits, I'll feed him a false impression."

"For instance, I can simply disguise myself as a solid fourth-tier expert."

"Besides, my previous exploits—such as slaying the Left-Handed Swordsman Zuo Leng and killing Guo Dong—were not feats a mere third-tier fighter could achieve. Fourth-tier strength fits my established profile rather well."

"I'm far too young; if I claimed to be a fifth-tier master, nobody would believe it anyway," Shen Ye said with a cold smile.

Elder Shen let out a low chuckle. "Truth be told, I called precisely to hint at using disguise to turn the tables on them. Since you've thought of it yourself, there's no need for me to elaborate. However, if you're going to put on an act, make it convincing."

"Disguise, huh? That should be no problem." After hanging up, Shen Ye dove directly with his consciousness into the depths of his mind, addressing the System Elf, who was currently biting on a lollipop while holding a small pink umbrella: "Can you do me a favor and temporarily suppress my combat power? Just clamp it down to around the peak of the fourth tier."

The System Elf tilted its head in thought. "Peak fourth tier? Sure, I can just restrict your attributes to roughly level five of the Swordsman class."

"Swordsman level five attributes? That works." Shen Ye nodded.

By now, Shen Ye had gained a general understanding of the scaling.

When he was a level four Swordsman, fighting the fourth-tier-weak thunder mage Yang Feikuang had been exceptionally thrilling. Level four Swordsman roughly equated to the weaker end of the fourth tier.

Level five Swordsman roughly equated to the stronger end of the fourth tier.

Level six Swordsman roughly equated to the weaker end of the fifth tier. Of course, employing Heavy Strike would multiply his might significantly, allowing him to defeat stronger fifth-tier foes—which was precisely how he had triumphed when facing Du Sha, the merciless fifth-tier master who had accepted his death warrant.

Level seven Swordsman roughly matched the strength of a strong fifth-tier expert.

Level eight Swordsman equated to the weaker end of the sixth tier.

Level nine Swordsman equated to the middle of the sixth tier.

Level ten Swordsman would require a second breakthrough. Following the second transition, his strength would at absolute minimum equal the seventh tier.

...

Having made his preparations and familiarized himself with his suppressed strength, speed, and other attributes, Shen Ye stepped unhurriedly onto the fighting ring.

This match might prove somewhat arduous, but in order to lay a fatal trap for Sun Hongshan, this was the only way.

Tang Mo was already waiting on the platform, gripping his saber. His entire body trembled slightly—a sign of intense excitement.

Under normal circumstances, he could suppress this exhilarating state.

Yet having consumed the Seven Marvels pill, every single cell in his body was vibrating with agitation, making it impossible to control the surging thrill.

Since that was the case, he would fight a glorious, unbridled battle.

Before the duel officially commenced, the three-minute dialogue period began.

Tang Mo said excitedly, "I will definitely defeat you."

"Combat is fought with hands, not mouths," Shen Ye retorted coolly.

At last, the three minutes expired.

Tang Mo launched the opening offensive, slashing directly at Shen Ye with a single stroke.

Shen Ye naturally did not stand on ceremony, bringing his Tiger Zen Saber down in a horizontal sweep.

Bang!

The two saber arts collided violently in mid-air.

Tang Mo was jarred backward by the impact, stumbling five steps.

Shen Ye, too, was pushed back three steps by the recoil. The System Elf had forcefully capped his attributes to level five of the Swordsman class; under these current stats, he held an advantage in raw strength, but not an overwhelming one.

Seeing that Shen Ye had also been forced back three steps, a flash of delight crossed Tang Mo's eyes. He had never been a strength-based fighter to begin with, so coming out worse in a pure collision of brute force was entirely expected. At that moment, Tang Mo gained considerable confidence in his ability to defeat Shen Ye.

His ever-changing spirit saber technique immediately unfolded in full display.

The gleam of his blade appeared to target Shen Ye directly, but the moment Shen Ye moved to parry, Tang Mo's figure slid swiftly to the right, refusing to engage in a head-on clash and instead attacking Shen Ye's flank.

Shen Ye shifted his stance instantly, saber raised and waiting.

Yet Tang Mo's momentum shifted once more.

Within an extremely brief span, Tang Mo's blade and Shen Ye's blade did not clash even once. Instead, they traced circles around one another again and again, spinning fast enough to induce vertigo.

Tang Mo pivoted once more, bringing his blade down toward Shen Ye. Just as Shen Ye prepared to block, Tang Mo's single weapon seemed to fracture into multiple shards, appearing to manifest four blades simultaneously that hacked toward Shen Ye from different angles.

Tang Mo had begun spinning frantically precisely to dizzy Shen Ye. Seeing that the effect was sufficient, he unleashed the ultimate kill move of his ever-changing spirit saber technique—four blades from one.

Among the four blades, only one was real while three were illusory.

This forced the opponent into a split-second judgment; failing to discern the true strike meant inviting a vicious wound.

As the battle reached this juncture, Tang Mo finally bared his sharp fangs.

Gripping his Tiger Zen Saber, Shen Ye was likewise attempting to determine which of the blades was real.

Unable to distinguish them in the brief moment allowed... so be it. He wouldn't bother distinguishing them at all.

Shen Ye's Tiger Zen Saber slashed straight toward Tang Mo.

No matter how many blades attacked him, Tang Mo possessed only a single physical body.

Worst case scenario, they could trade injury for injury.

Given Shen Ye's extraordinarily high defensive stats and physique, this trade-off style of combat had always been his favorite.

An agility-based fighter like Tang Mo despised trading injuries more than anything else. Confronted with Shen Ye's reckless disregard for defense, Tang Mo instinctively withdrew his blade, resuming his circular orbits and evasive maneuvering around Shen Ye.

Sensing that Shen Ye was beginning to look dizzy, Tang Mo immediately utilized the extreme agility of his spirit saber technique to press the assault.

Yet Shen Ye cared nothing for his fancy footwork, repeatedly abandoning defense in favor of a mutual-damage strategy, leaving Tang Mo too intimidated to ever follow through with the trade.

As time dragged on, Tang Mo felt the medicinal potency within his body beginning to dissipate. Panic flared in his heart, causing the speed of his offensive blade techniques to escalate frantically.

Another execution of his ultimate move—four blades splitting from one—assailed Shen Ye simultaneously.

Shen Ye resorted to his tried-and-true method: regardless of how many blades came at him, he would retaliate with a single strike of his own. Injury for injury, did Tang Mo dare?

Tang Mo initially intended to retract his blade, but the thought of the waning pill potency—and knowing that dragging it out further would only seal his defeat—forced him to grit his teeth and press the attack through, accepting the exchange of wounds.

Clang!

How could Tang Mo's defenses possibly compare to Shen Ye's?

The two sabers landed upon each other's bodies virtually at the same instant.

Yet the consequence of this mutual exchange was that Shen Ye remained unperturbed while Tang Mo suffered severe trauma.

Shen Ye offered a cold smile, paying zero heed to the wounds on his own body as his Tiger Zen Saber swept forward with undiminished momentum.

Tang Mo, having absorbed a blow while relying on an agility-building path, fared far worse. His speed plummeted instantly, unable to maintain the blistering pace he had held moments before. Stunned by the agonizing pain and unable to dodge Shen Ye's incoming strike, he could only throw his blade up in a desperate parry.

Bang!

Tang Mo felt a tremendous wave of force surge into him. Just as he tried to muster resistance, a piercing pain erupted across his chest, and his entire body was sent hurtling backward with a heavy thud.

With his guard completely shattered, Shen Ye's Tiger Zen Saber traced a dark arc through the air, coming to a halt directly against Tang Mo's throat.

"Shen Ye wins," the referee declared, announcing the outcome of the match.