Chapter 36: One Willing to Hit, One Willing to Be Hit

Chao Qingteng still didn't close in, simply raising his Binghe Jian and nodding as he whispered:

“Xinghe!”

A whoosh—

The snowflakes on the ground swirled up in an instant, then shattered into sword energy.

Chao Qingteng's strike seemed to tear open the Xinghe, cutting through the drifting snowflakes.

The sword on Xiao Qixiu's back trembled, and this referee's eyes widened in shock.

Houtian Jian Yi!

It was actually Houtian Jian Yi!

First, there was Zhou Tiancan's Houtian Dao Yi, and now Chao Qingteng with his Houtian Jian Yi.

Was Xu Xiaoshou some kind of treasure chest key, able to uncover everyone's hidden cards just by facing them?

In the audience seats, Zhou Tiancan hugged his blade, his gaze full of worry.

It was Jian Yi!

Under the Jian Yi, how could Xu Xiaoshou, trapped in the ice sculpture, possibly withstand it?

The one who had defeated him so badly was about to be taken down by Chao Qingteng in just three strikes?

Then what about himself...

He scratched his head vigorously, too agitated to sit still.

On the other side, Mu Zixi grabbed her twin ponytails and stood on a chair in the waiting area, stretching her neck to see just what this Xu Xiaoshou, who had snubbed her greeting, was really capable of.

But all she saw was an ice sculpture at the start...

Qiao Zhanglao sat quietly in the audience, watching Xu Xiaoshou's second match. It was also the second time he felt he could go down after the fight to console him.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, it seemed everyone saw the Xinghe sword energy splitting the target in two.

As the sword energy flashed, the ice sculpture exploded instantly.

Yet, to everyone's surprise, it wasn't cleaved apart but shattered from within, a hand emerging from the middle.

Chao Qingteng's eyes narrowed. A hand?

This hand gleamed with a transparent luster, as if it were a living, fully realized treasure body. It suddenly clenched at the oncoming sword energy.

The audience was stunned. A clench?!

Clang—

Amid a piercing shriek, Xu Xiaoshou burst out of the ice sculpture like a nimble monkey.

With a flip in the air, he threw the Xinghe sword energy right back!

“Damn!”

Zhou Tiancan's eyes nearly popped out at the sight— this felt all too familiar!

His own “Xianren Baltashan Shi” had been deflected by Xu Xiaoshou's sword earlier, sealing his defeat.

Who would have thought that in just a day, this guy wasn't even using a sword anymore.

Deflecting sword energy bare-handed?

Are you kidding me?

Xu Xiaoshou knelt lightly on the ground, his body shuddering as he slowly exhaled a breath of cold air.

Baiyun Youyou Two: Deflect Sword Style!

That's right— this was the method of attacking with Jian Yi that he had realized during his fight with Zhou Tiancan yesterday, but now executed with “Fengli Zhi Guang.”

The transparent luster gathered on his hand to form a blade edge, its sharpness nearly matching “Zang Ku.”

Snowflakes fell heavily as the crowd stood there, dumbfounded.

If he had used a sword, that would have been one thing, but Xu Xiaoshou deflecting sword energy with his bare hands truly dropped everyone's jaws, leaving even Chao Qingteng momentarily stunned.

With a swoosh, a sword slashed through, and Chao Qingteng barely dodged. The Xinghe sword energy slammed into the barrier, sending ripples across it and nearly tearing it apart.

“Terrifying!”

Everyone was shocked, unable to believe that such a ferocious strike could be grasped by Xu Xiaoshou. At the same time, their estimation of the Xiantian flesh body rose another level.

Xu Xiaoshou's face was frosty, his lips purple from the cold, but the gash torn in his palm by the sword energy jolted him fully awake.

The scorching power from his Qi Sea spread out, quickly dispelling the chill— an unexpected bonus.

Strike while the iron is hot!

Xu Xiaoshou didn't miss the chance for a follow-up. After throwing back the sword energy, he immediately gripped “Zang Ku.”

Without a word, he drew a leisurely stroke, his Jian Yi instantly overwhelming.

Baiyun Youyou One: Net Sword Style!

Yes, the names for these two sword techniques were thought up while he was frozen solid, and as for the execution— well, that was even more so!

Xu Xiaoshou wasn't limited to close combat.

Chao Qingteng had just dodged his own Xinghe sword energy when the sword net closed in. He immediately struck with the Binghe Jian, and the arena rang with clangs.

Slashes sounded one after another!

Chao Qingteng's white robe was cut with several bloody marks.

The proof was clear: after several battles, Xu Xiaoshou's Jian Yi had grown even stronger.

Although Chao Qingteng also had Houtian Jian Yi, he couldn't withstand such intense attacks.

In the next second, he gave up resisting. The sword net swept across his body, turning Chao Qingteng into another ice sculpture in an instant, which shattered into pieces.

There it was!

That unnamed substitution technique!

Xu Xiaoshou was prepared. His “Perception” was constantly monitoring the snowflakes' movements, and sure enough, he spotted a slight anomaly where the snowflakes hung unnaturally in one spot.

That's it!

The audience watched in astonishment as Xu Xiaoshou slapped at the empty air beside him, and they were about to yell in frustration.

But in the next moment, Chao Qingteng emerged right at the point of impact!

“Damn!”

In that instant, everyone's hearts raced with excitement. How was this possible?

Was Xu Xiaoshou just attacking Chao Qingteng while he stood there taking it?

Chao Qingteng's expression changed, realizing that Xu Xiaoshou had cracked his “Xuezhong Manxing” technique with just that single probe.

This insight in battle was truly terrifying!

Caught off guard, he couldn't even lift the Binghe Jian and had no choice but to counter with a palm strike.

Xu Xiaoshou immediately smirked.

He curved his right palm, wrapping it in “Fengli Zhi Guang.” The palm strike instantly transformed into an eagle claw, viciously stabbing into Chao Qingteng's relatively tender palm.

Splat!

Blood sprayed as Chao Qingteng hastily formed an ice mirror at their point of contact to block, but how could innate “Fengli” be stopped so easily?

The eagle claw shattered the ice mirror, leaving five bloody holes in his palm!

Xu Xiaoshou finally understood the difference between a palm strike and a claw strike. If he had pulled this “Jiuyin Baiguzhua” sideways, Chao Qingteng's five fingers might have been left with just one at most.

The shortest one!

He held back, just thinking about it without following through.

Even so, Chao Qingteng's face twisted in pain, and his body vanished in an instant.

This time, he didn't dare underestimate, pulling back to the farthest distance, which Xu Xiaoshou couldn't catch up to.

“These snowflakes really are suspicious...”

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled and turned to Xiao Qixiu: “I told you he was cheating, and you didn't believe me? I'd have declared him the loser right away.”

Xiao Qixiu pursed his lips but didn't respond.

The audience was stunned— Chao Qingteng's first drop of blood since entering “Fengyun Zhengba” had been claimed by Xu Xiaoshou, something no one had expected.

“So, Chao Qingteng's instantaneous movement technique is really just like Xu Xiaoshou said— using the snowflakes to shift positions?”

Everyone's faces turned strange. If that was true, then Chao Qingteng was indeed cheating.

The preliminary snowfall might have been just for show, and no one would have minded, even envying the skill.

But if it was tied to certain build-up or covert techniques, that kind of tactic was downright distasteful.

At that moment, some people started switching sides, clearly put off by Chao Qingteng's methods.

“Xu Xiaoshou, you got this! I always knew you were the best.”

“Xu Xiaoshou, beat Chao Qingteng, and I'll have your babies!”

“Xu Xiaoshou, ahhh, you're so handsome!”

Zhou Tiancan looked over in shock, realizing only from the sidelines that the audience could be this wild.