Chapter 45: A Game of Wits and Stratagems

The hand gripping the sword made a backward turn, reversing the hilt’s grip. Ji Yao’s technique shifted abruptly, her feet tapping lightly, her entire figure becoming elusive and unpredictable. She needed just a little more time to complete the opening moves of this sword form. She pushed her Soaring Wild Goose Step to the utmost limit attainable at the Qi Refining stage; she could not afford to be pinned down in these crucial moments.

From the audience below the arena, all that could be seen was that, as the sword moves changed, the disciple in sky-blue robes became so swift that only afterimages remained. Qi Lianyi, who had leapt up at first, chased after her several times, yet each time managed only to shatter the last fading shadow. Frustrated, she withdrew, gathering spiritual energy into her eyes, trying to discern the pattern of her opponent’s shifting images.

One… two… three… four… five! There!

Qi Lianyi drew in a breath, raised herself higher, and dove toward a chosen direction.

Just then, the crowd realized that the elusive figure had, at some point, come to a halt at the very center of the arena. The person held her flying sword in a reverse grip, body leaning back, and slowly swung the blade, as if with great difficulty, releasing a weak arc of sword energy toward the figure lunging at her.

Damn, she’s been locked down—she can’t perform any more techniques! The onlookers broke out in cold sweat for the female disciple at the center of the stage.

But only Ji Yao and Qi Lianyi, within the arena’s protective barrier, understood clearly just who had ensnared whom in this strange turn of events.

Ji Yao completed the final stroke. The sword’s momentum was set—now, even if her opponent wished to retreat, it was impossible. From the very start, she had been laying her trap; having finally set her formation, how could she allow her adversary to slip away?

Qi Lianyi felt as though the spiritual energy around her had frozen, binding her fast in a tiny space, making retreat impossible; even the energy within her body seemed sluggish, difficult to circulate.

Now, she could only use her momentum, channeling all her power into the Twin Blades of Shattered Stars, hoping to break through the barrier ahead and keep advancing.

Qi Lianyi admitted her opponent’s move was indeed clever, but as things stood, the one who trapped another was also trapped herself. If she couldn’t break out, neither could her foe; victory or defeat would be decided in this one move.

She was puzzled: her opponent was only at the ninth level of Qi Refining. By now, both sides had expended much spiritual energy. Even if their expenditures were equal, the reserves in their cores would not be. A quick estimate made the disparity obvious. Even if her opponent was extraordinarily talented, with a spiritual reservoir surpassing her peers, perhaps even reaching the limit of Qi Refining, considering all the sword energy she had unleashed—at least half again as much as Qi Lianyi—plus this final move, her reserves must be nearly exhausted. What confidence could she have in contesting this last clash?

In fact, Qi Lianyi’s guess was close to the truth: Ji Yao’s spiritual energy truly was insufficient to withstand a head-on exchange.

Yet Ji Yao had never intended to meet force with force—was it not clear she’d been avoiding direct confrontation from the outset? How could she not leave herself a way out in this final move? What she awaited was for her opponent to come into range of her sword—though this maneuver was fraught with peril!

For, what Ji Yao wielded was not the Freeform Sword, while this set of techniques had been devised by Si Tu Jing specifically for the Freeform Sword, exploiting its unique qualities—following the heart’s intent, shifting freely. At this point, to reverse the sword’s grip again would take precious time, and the formation on the arena only lengthened that process.

If Ji Yao failed to time it perfectly and reverse her standardized flying sword in time, the result would be just as Qi Lianyi predicted—she would have to meet that final strike head-on. At that point, not to mention winning, she’d be lucky if her organs weren’t severely injured by the sword energy, potentially triggering the deadly poison she had been suppressing inside.

Ji Yao was gambling—betting on her response and focus under pressure. Now, her entire attention was fixed on the tip of Qi Lianyi’s Shattered Star Blades, waiting for the gap to close just a little more.

Now! Ji Yao’s right hand, still holding the sword in reverse, swept up from behind her, palm open slightly as she guided the sword with spiritual energy. Her arm traced a circular arc from back to front, the flying sword spinning forward with the movement. Just as she gripped the sword properly, she gathered her spiritual energy at the tip and thrust forward—a single point to pierce through the surface.

Her thrust connected with the breach Qi Lianyi had forced open. At once, Qi Lianyi sensed the barrier’s pressure finally found a vent; her surroundings lightened, and her forward momentum seemed to increase.

Qi Lianyi would not let such an opportunity pass. She immediately mobilized all her spiritual power, preparing for the final blow.

As Ji Yao’s sword touched the breached barrier, her body moved as well. Using the resistance of the sword tip brushing against the Shattered Star Blades, the blade slid downward. Her upper body arched back, stepping into the Soaring Wild Goose Step, following the arc traced by the sword, feinting an attack toward her opponent’s lower body.

Qi Lianyi, who had been preparing to land, was startled by the feint and shot upward, intending to control her opponent from above, blades poised.

Seeing this, Ji Yao pressed hard with her foot, abruptly halting her advance and, with her body half reclined, quickly retreated, rising fully upright.

Her left hand, which had barely moved until now, instantly formed a ball of spiritual energy and hurled it at her adversary.

At that moment, Qi Lianyi, now upside down with her back to Ji Yao, was too close to react. She could only fling her twin blades backward in defense.

Ji Yao, having just released the energy ball, was nearly drained of power. With the twin blades suddenly thrown at her, she could only raise her sword hurriedly to block. Sword and blades clashed with a crisp “clang,” the Shattered Star Blades striking and rebounding instantly.

With no one left to sustain it, the formation built from sword energy dissipated. Qi Lianyi, struck by Ji Yao’s energy ball, was hurled from the arena at great speed.

Ji Yao herself, to absorb the force of the final blow, had to retreat rapidly, only managing to dissipate the force at the very edge of the stage, where she collapsed to the ground, legs weak.

Also falling was what remained of her standardized flying sword, now broken into several pieces.

After all, this flying sword was only a beginner’s low-grade spiritual tool. The first time its tip struck the Shattered Star Blades, cracks had already appeared. The second, more forceful clash inevitably destroyed it.

Ji Yao felt a pang—she truly didn’t own much, and each loss was keenly felt. How would she manage her outings in the future?

Still caught up in her regret, Ji Yao was utterly spent, unable to stand from the arena floor for a long while.

She desperately wished to enter her secluded space to cultivate, but had to wait until the officiating judge declared the match’s result. Only then did Ji Yao take out a Qi-Gathering Pill, swallow it, and sit cross-legged on the arena to meditate.

This had been the final match of the day, so no one hurried to drive her away.

Qi Lianyi, having fallen from the stage, had already shaken off the lingering effects of the spiritual energy as she landed, and stood below, fixing Ji Yao with an intense gaze, as if trying to unravel some mystery.

“You up there—what’s your name?” Qi Lianyi suddenly called out.

Just at that moment, Ji Yao finished absorbing the pill’s power, allowing her body to begin its recovery.

She glanced down at the other girl and, in a flash, broke into a radiant smile. “Ji Yao—Ji as in ‘remembrance,’ Yao as in the ‘jade zither.’”

Since her last introduction before Dongfang Shun had drawn such a response, Ji Yao had subconsciously changed her way of answering. Now, her reply was utterly sincere.

Qi Lianyi nodded slightly.

“My name is Qi Lianyi. We will meet again!”