Chapter 2752: Desperate Fight for Victory

"Releasing water" is always a technical job. A true competitor just needs to put in their all, while a fake one has too much to consider...

To fight a perfect fake match, one needs to control the fight to the point of "exhausting all strength but being unable to win." If the opponent doesn't cooperate, then one needs to possess a real, higher level of vision and strength.

Bao Xuanjing originally didn't think this was very difficult.

After all, he was once a supreme being in the Youming, and even if his strength was restricted to the same level, his vision was still several floors higher than these youngsters.

The script for the fight was already well-designed—he would first fully showcase his sword technique and body movement skills, solidifying the "Little Wuan" style. He would also practice all the most challenging Dao techniques from the Qi State Art Institute, fully demonstrating the inherited elegance of the Bao family, the grace of Shuo Fang, and the foundation of Great Qi's renowned families!

He would gain an advantage, then fall into a disadvantage, then regain the advantage, and then ride on the victory relentlessly, accidentally stepping into his opponent's trap. Ultimately, his horse would lose its front hoof, and the hero's path would end.

With astonishing fighting talent, marvelous fighting wisdom, and unyielding fighting will, he would counterattack desperately while in a dilemma, but the opponent would also be a dragon among men, constantly denying him opportunities... Finally, he would lose with regret.

Leaving unwilling tears on the stage, shouting that line, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river," leaving an unyielding mark in the hearts of the audience... In the future, he would seek to reclaim the field.

Losing was irrelevant; Jiang Wang hadn't beaten Chongxuan Sheng in the past.

With his vision and accumulation, the higher his cultivation, the older he was, the more he could unleash himself, and the stronger his power would be!

The growth of a supreme prodigy and the return of a Youming supreme happening simultaneously—this was a double supreme. Under the heavens, there would be no opponent in the same age group. If he couldn't be the champion now, he would surely claim the championship title fourteen years later!

Things progressed very smoothly at the beginning.

He and Chen Yanxun fought to a stalemate. He had the Divine Mirror on his side, and Chen Yanxun had Yan Nanfei. He unleashed his second divine ability, and Chen Yanxun also held onto a new divine ability seed. His sword technique was divine, directly rivaling Zhenhe True Monarch of the past, and Chen Yanxun's arrow technique was also top-notch, fully showcasing the gentleman's style...

So they went back and forth, fighting over three hundred exchanges, killing very intensely.

Calculating the time was about right, and he also discovered that Chen Yanxun had indeed shown a flaw—

As expected of Song State's nationally cultivated supreme prodigy, a hot favorite for the championship, eliminating Zhenhe's direct disciple and Zhenhe's direct sister. This flaw was revealed very subtly; without top-tier fighting intuition, one couldn't capture it. Bao Xuanjing completely understood; this secret flaw was bait, only meant to lure true strong individuals, and it hid a sharp fishhook inside!

He had designed not over a thousand, but also eight hundred similar fighting traps.

Of course, now he needed to "misjudge." He still needed to adjust his fighting posture to make his stepping into the trap more convincing. He needed to "accidentally" help the opponent complete the loophole in this trap, clearly struggling yet falling, clearly striving yet missing... Making his failure in the semifinals more tragic, more fated.

When he had prepared everything and stepped into that trap.

He suddenly woke up—

Not good, this is a real flaw!

After a earth-shattering Dao technique collision, the mixed Yuanqi group was blown away like a wind ball. The entire field was filled with semi-transparent virtual light.

With the Divine Mirror's assistance, his sword had already reached the opponent's vital point. The opponent's Yan Nanfei had just been used not long ago and was difficult to perform again now...

This fight was actually going to be won!

At the critical moment, Bao Xuanjing suddenly looked up!

His gaze spun into millions of threads, suddenly like a heavenly maiden scattering flowers, for a time filling the garden with fragrance. He forcibly activated his immature pupil technique, limited by his realm, initiating a divine soul battle!

It seemed like spring had departed, leaving behind a scene of sorrow, with peach blossoms scattered everywhere.

Under Chen Yanxun's instinctive divine soul counterattack, relying on the Tongtian Palace, Bao Xuanjing's pupil technique instantly collapsed, blood flowed from his eyes, and the sword in his hand suddenly trembled!

This tremor was absolutely essential. He still exerted control over the sword's momentum, showing terrifying fighting will, but the sword move inevitably appeared a little uncoordinated.

A micro-imperceptible gap, covered within the sword light as fast as wandering electricity. This didn't even count as a flaw; a genius from a large sect like Qiu Chufu wouldn't be able to see the problem with this sword at all. But with Chen Yanxun's supreme fighting talent, he could certainly seize the opportunity and turn defeat into victory!

What a young master whose heart was higher than the sky, what a marvelous script to want to achieve everything in one go yet be overturned by the opponent seizing the opportunity.

Bao Xuanjing felt that this fight could already be selected into the best matchup column of this Yellow River Meeting. His inspiration flashed, adding too many points to this fight. But his sword... had actually stabbed into a real place.

This sword, personally matched for him by his grandfather in the past, this sword that had accompanied him for six years... He was already familiar with every forged texture and every thunder seal on the sword's ridge.

Although this sword could cut iron like mud, it was obstructed very lightly.

Yet he still captured the real sense of the sword tip entering flesh again, clearly.

The divine soul peach blossoms all withered. His self-created pupil technique, named Tasha Xing, which recalled past spring tours with his grandfather, fragmented his vision.

He still instinctively closed his bleeding eyes, but he didn't need to see; he could feel Chen Yanxun's fresh blood flowing along the edge of his sword!

What was the matter?

He couldn't even dodge this sword, couldn't grasp such a good opportunity?

Bao Xuanjing suddenly opened his bloodshot eyes, forcibly supporting his vision, just to see Chen Yanxun spitting blood and flying back, his figure like a Roc spreading its wings.

While enduring pain and escaping the sword's momentum, spitting blood and flying back, this guy still didn't forget to ring his body with arrow feathers and manipulate the flowing wind. Again in the void, he buried down endless arrow strength, weaving a net while retreating, ready to organize a crazy counterattack offensive at any time... Inversely, it was also worthy of a prodigy's performance.

Just...

A little too familiar.

This guy's performance as a supreme was still not enough of a supreme. It looked perfect, but it was still a line short of perfect—it just left a gap that could be cut into.

Isn't this my Bao's script?!

Of course, it could be understood that Chen Yanxun was already injured and unable to completely control himself.

But no matter how Bao Xuanjing looked... it was like looking in a mirror. With Chen Yanxun's fierce performance of cutting through opponents like melons and chopping down vegetables, how could he be exhausted here?

What about Gong Weizhang being his teacher? What about reaching an insurmountable level in the Inner Mansion realm? You're still not as good as in the previous rounds!

Unleashing a new divine ability and showing a new killing method—that's truly reaching supreme fighting talent. Yet, it seemed like a pearl covered in dust, showing gaps and leaks here.

You, one by one, Song State gentlemen... actually also released water?

What exactly was the matter...

Did Qi State also go threaten the other side?

Those questions from the Ji State beggar who died on the roadside, and what about the prime minister and the ritual minister, were they really killed by Qi State people?

Those guys from Jing State were all paper tigers, usually shouting fiercely, each with their nostrils in the air. In reality, they were being watched by too many people, their hands and feet were tied, and they only had the share of being framed! To talk about fierceness, it still had to be our Qi State. If we say we'll do it, we'll do it.

Did they have to kill the entire Chen family in Shangqiu and tie up Chen Sixu for a five-horse dismemberment before Chen Yanxun could act like this and exert force?

This also... wasn't discussed with this lord!

The martial stage instantly changed ten thousand things.

Bao Xuanjing's heart was very chaotic, yet he couldn't think clearly. He after all didn't dare to fight too fakely, didn't dare to cause suspicion, afraid of being disliked by the referee.

The image of a supreme prodigy couldn't be lost. The performance on stage still needed to be maintained. Mistakes in the fight were allowed, but they couldn't always exist.

He couldn't manage that much!

His brain was still thinking, but his body had already moved.

He stepped on the clouds and rose, crossing a long distance with one step. His steps were like strolling leisurely on leaves, his body like a flying cloud crossing the sea.

This was based on his human body, combined with the inherited techniques of the Bao family, borrowing the wonderful methods from the Great Qi technique library, and of course, also referencing a bit of the Pingbu Qingyun immortal technique. He alone created this wonderful body movement... Ruyi Zong! Flowing clouds gathered and scattered under his feet, his body shape jumping again and again.

He instantly caught up with the flying back Chen Yanxun. Sword qi like dragons roared endlessly around his body, directly crashing and shattering the arrow strength array net that Chen Yanxun had buried on his retreat path.

Behind him, terrifying qi strength followed and surged, actually like the rising sun in the east.

For example, the Jinwu rising from Yanggu.

His sword light was dazzling, his fists chaotic.

On one side, his sword horizontally cut the sun and moon; on the other side, his fists opened yin and yang. His wild momentum and flamboyant killing intent on the martial stage were like a red sun about to crack.

This young master's ferociousness made the people of Qi momentarily lose their senses, as if they were seeing the twin stars from the East Domain war of the past again, the one named "Piao Yao"!

Bao Xuanjing sent out a fierce message—if you dare to act against me, I will truly kill you!

Go act in the Youming then! Just as I send you back to my old home!

As for strong individuals, without exception, their fate is in their own hands. He didn't believe that a supreme prodigy like Chen Yanxun would entrust his life and death completely to the referee—

He himself absolutely wouldn't.

Even if Jiang Wang was strong again, and he was weak again now. He absolutely believed that Jiang Wang had the ability to protect him in life and death moments. He also absolutely couldn't take his own life as a gamble.

Even if Chen Yanxun was really threatened by Qi State people, he couldn't possibly put his life on the stage. Even if he valued emotion over his own life, wasn't he afraid that the referee on stage would be partial to the Qi people, or even collude with the Qi people, tacitly giving him a result of dying without a witness?

As long as Chen Yanxun felt a little uneasy, he had to counterattack!

As long as Chen Yanxun dared to stir up a counterattack momentum in this situation, he dared to lose on the spot. After all, with his pupil technique backlash and close-body chase, he had also reasonably entered a state of being at the end of his rope...

Then his fist just smashed flat Chen Yanxun's nose bridge.

His sword penetrated Chen Yanxun's heart! Bao Xuanjing clearly felt Chen Yanxun's resistance, but it was still a thread short, still allowing him to crush dry weeds and smash rotten wood.

Then...

There was no then.

The referee came out in time to clean up.

With a sweep of his sleeve, he wiped away the flying blood and the sword qi surrounding the field. He lightly protected Chen Yanxun's life pulse, held his heart, and sent him into the hands of the medical cultivators of East Wang Valley.

The first semifinal of the Inner Mansion field thus concluded.

Only Bao Xuanjing stood there silently, receiving the cheers of the entire field as the victor.

He had indeed lost, not in strength or acting, but in Chen Yanxun's daring to truly entrust his life and death!

Although Jiang Wang was very credible, very strong, and indeed could be called reliable.

But life is only once. Dying on stage is truly dying. He clearly still had the strength to struggle... Just that he believed in Jiang Wang?

What if he was negligent? What if he was distracted or even had evil thoughts?

When Bao Xuanjing was little, he had even stayed in Zhenhe True Monarch's arms, and he still didn't dare to gamble like this.

Since ancient times, only death is difficult. How can one lightly throw away the hope of transcending life?

Perhaps only such a calf just leaving home, a true young person, still doesn't know the preciousness of life...

At this moment, he admitted Chen Yanxun's youth.

Or perhaps... this kid was truly a line short of supreme? Strong when encountering the weak, but insufficient when encountering the strong?

The matches proceeded intensely. Huang Sheli, after all, urgently completed the change of field. He asked the audience from the Unlimited Field to leave and invited the audience from the Inner Mansion Field to come. This completely preserved this bit of ticket money. The previous match's Outer Building final had made people indignant and suppressed, while this Inner Mansion semifinal was too wonderful. So wonderful that it was like having a script.

Real fights often reveal a hundred ugly states, often making people lose their appetite. It is often fake matches that go back and forth, with climaxes one after another...

People also temporarily forgot their unhappiness and were not stingy with applause and cheers.

"Good sword!" Chen Yanxun was carried to the medical room by the medical cultivators of East Wang Valley. Zhenhe True Monarch's immortal light maintained his life. He still struggled to lift his head, sad, lonely, unwilling yet sighing in surrender as he looked at Bao Xuanjing.

His emotions were so rich, full of complex questions: "Looking at the entire Yellow River Meeting, this is the first time you've drawn your sword. I'm not wronged to lose! What is the name of this sword?"

"Its name is Cunhui, gifted by my family ancestor," Bao Xuanjing said faintly.

As the pillar of the Bao family and a top noble of Great Qi, he should win without being proud and lose without being discouraged. He could indeed do that. But now he was discouraged by winning and felt proud of his opponent's loss...

His heart was very unhappy.

"Who says the heart of inch-high grass can repay the sunshine of three springs!" Chen Yanxun sighed and praised: "With emotions this heavy, mountains and seas are not easy. Indeed, a good sword!"

His eyes rolled back, and finally he relaxed his mind and fainted.

He was safe.

Finally escaping the situation temporarily, next...

The sword in Bao Xuanjing's hand was a three-foot sword. The sword body was dark, normally a dark copper color, and turned a brilliant golden color when urged with sword qi.

Listening to his words was like being struck by thunder. Chen Yanxun's unintentional words truly gave him a sword after the match.

At this moment, he couldn't be bothered to think about how to handle the next final, nor did he worry about his own future path.

He stared blankly at his sword.

Even when he was still in his mother's womb, he had already watched everything in the Bao residence. He remembered everything after leaving his mother's womb. Of course, he also remembered how his grandfather Bao Yi had said when he gave him this sword that year—"This, it's named Cunhui. Do you know what this name means?"

At that time, he was still very young. He repeated the famous Qi State article he had learned in previous days and said clearly: "Folding the proud sun in a square inch, cutting the heavenly sunshine in three feet! It's a very fierce name!"

He remembered that his grandfather was stunned for a moment, but finally just stroked his head and smiled, saying: "Right! Use it well, don't disappoint this majestic name."

How smart he was, how wise he was, seeing through ancient and modern changes, understanding the essence of heaven and earth. He was able to pierce through the rejection of the present world's will, resolve the malice of the heavenly way, becoming such a vivid person, such a promising supreme prodigy.

But he had unexpectedly ignored this simple name from the beginning, a poem even a beginner remembered...

"Who says the heart of inch-high grass can repay the sunshine of three springs."

Grandfather, oh grandfather.

Were you hoping your grandson would use this three-foot sword to cut out a sword that surpassed the proud sun? Or were you hoping I would... remember this blood and flesh kinship?

From what time did you begin to know... that I am such a me?

At such a moment, the loser Chen Yanxun retreated from the stage in a faint, and the winner Bao Xuanjing stood facing his saber in a daze.

The chief referee was already preparing to announce the next group of players to go on stage. The match commentator, Huyan Jingxuan, was talking endlessly in the Taixu Illusion Realm: "Taking advantage of this idle time, let's continue our previous topic, everyone. Let's discuss Jing State's public opinion dilemma and talk about why a dignified central empire is so unpopular. Let's uncover the past of the divine envoy Minhal's preaching in the central domain back then... Ah, that————"

His voice suddenly stopped.

He saw his partner, Jing State's Daisan, Wang Ji Jinglu, descending from the sky and falling onto the Tianxia Stage.

"Wait!"

This once rich and noble Wang Sun, an imperial family idle person, although he had stepped into the absolute peak of martial arts and become a Dou'e commander, still had a lazy temperament.

But this time, his fall onto the stage was like a dangerous peak standing tall, cold and steep!

"I say... that one called Chen Yanxun, don't leave yet."