Chapter 122: Snowy's First Match, Poor Li Rui

"The winner for this round is disciple Xian Bu Yu!"

Hearing the winning declaration by Elder Nong, the indifferent expression on Xian Bu Yu's face didn't change much, as if it was a matter-of-course.

While he stepped down from the arena with a snigger, Xian Bu Yu sent a taunting gaze at Snowy. Unfortunately, it was met with calm eyes, like everything he did was nothing out of the ordinary.

Xian Bu Yu snorted in anger, clearly displeased by Snowy's lack of reaction. He felt like throwing a punch at the air, as Snowy didn't think of him seriously.

As he came back to the side of the arena, Li Rui, whose vitality had nearly recovered, came over to Xian Bu Yu's side like a loyal dog.

"Thank you for your guidance, Young Master. Your comprehension of the Jiang River Flowing to the East was truly extraordinary. I've found my understanding deepened due to that one strike. "

"Hmph, it's obvious. Your talent is also not too bad, you will grow quickly under my wing. "

"Thank you, young master."

Xian Bu Yu's mood instantly improved when he heard Li Rui's compliment.

Li Rui also felt ecstatic as he listened to Xian Bu Yu's words. He felt glad that he had successfully secured a great backer this early on.

"Say, who do you think is stronger? I am or that woman? "

'You might not necessarily be stronger than her…' was what Li Rui concluded from his calculation, but as he was a smart man, by no means, he couldn't say it aloud. Instead, he replied with a voice full of confidence. "Of course you are stronger, Young Master."

Xian Bu Yu's eyes narrowed, looking at Li Rui with doubt, "Is it, really? Why does it seem that she didn't think so? "

As he was unaware of a brief exchange between the two, Li Rui thought that he was being tested by Xian Bu Yu, and so he gave him an answer full of flattery.

"How could it be so? Look, she couldn't even react to young master's magnificent display. She must be stunned silly from fear. "

"Yeah, you're right. It must be like that."

Xian Bu Yu nodded with satisfaction, while a smirk appeared on his lips. What Li Rui said really made sense. His vanity was greatly appeased.

Seeing Xian Bu Yu smiling, Li Rui heaved a relieved sigh. 'It means I passed the test, right?' He was really glad that he was born with great intellect.

However, the next sentence out of Xian Bu Yu's made his countenance turn stiff.

"When it's your turn to face that woman, go out and kill her. I'll handle the rest."

Li Rui sighed deeply. As the saying goes, "There is no free lunch in this world", this was the price he had to pay to get on Xian Bu Yu's good side.

"I understand, young master. I'll do my best."

*

The order of the matches seemed to be very random. While there were some disciples who had already gotten on stage twice, Snowy hadn't had her turn yet. On average, the match didn't last longer than five minutes, so Snowy didn't wait too long until her name was finally mentioned by the judge.

"Sixth round, Disciple Snowy and Li Rui, get on the stage!"

Li Rui's expression darkened.

'Which God did I offend lately? Really, why is my luck so shitty?!' he grumbled inwardly as he walked to the arena.

He originally hoped that he would meet Snowy on the stage much later, so that he could gather some information about her abilities and fighting prowess first before facing her.

With enough information, he believed he could deliver the killing blow by exploiting any opening or weakness, and he took his chance with a surprise attack.

Alas, his plan was blown to smithereens.

She didn't even have a single match yet, and her capability was still unknown.

This was the worst case for him.

He made a quick calculation in his head, then his expression turned into a grimace; he didn't have the confidence to successfully execute Xian Bu Yu's order.

As Li Rui fell deep into thought, Snowy made a casual walk, climbing up onto the stage.

Li Rui woke up from his stupor and looked at Snowy with shock.

There was no aura exuding from her body and her appearance just looked like an ordinary girl.

Yet, when he looked into her eyes, he felt overwhelmed by the sheer presence behind those eyes.

He felt like the being he was facing now wasn't a human being but a powerful entity that could snuff out his life with a flick of the fingers.

Fear struck him like thunder.

Unknowingly, the back of his clothes had turned wet, drenched in sweat. His hand was trembling violently; if it hadn't been for his fist clenched so tightly due to his tense nerves, the sword in his hand would have fallen to the ground by now.

W-what happened to me?! I've never been so scared in my life! Not even when I was in front of a nascent soul cultivator!

What the hell is she? She can't be a human! She is a monster!

Li Rui wanted to scream his thoughts out loud, but no voice came from his mouth.

Oblivious to Li Rui's struggle, Snowy also had a share of her own difficulties. She only had two weapons in her possession: the World Devouring Twin Dagger and The Heaven Inquisitor's Pipa, and both of them weren't suitable for this occasion.

The World Devouring Twin Dagger was too insidious to be used to fight with disciples as they weren't in a life and death battle; using The Heaven Inquisitor's pipa was certainly overkill and too flashy.

Since she hadn't reached the realm of Unity of Man and Sword yet, she still needed a weapon as a medium to channel her sword qi and execute the techniques properly. It wasn't as if she was going through a battle of intent like the previous round.

"Could you lend me a sword?"

"Eh? You're speaking to me?"

"Un. I'm speaking to you. Could I borrow a sword from you?"

Elder Nong's lips twitched slightly as he heard Snowy's request.

Did she not take this exam seriously? Who else had an examination in the Heaven Sword Sect but didn't have a sword except for her? 

Elder Nong couldn't help but massage his temples as he felt a headache coming on suddenly.

"Don't you have a weapon?"

"I have."

"Don't you bring your weapon?"

"It's inside my ring."

"Then why do you want to borrow a sword from me?!"

A tick mark appeared on Elder Nong's face as he growled in a low voice at Snowy. It couldn't be helped that he felt like Snowy was fooling around and had grown angry because of it.

"Because I only use them to kill."

Even though Snowy said it in a soft voice, Elder Nong felt a chill down his spine when he heard Snowy's answer. He suddenly smelled the thick scent of blood from the words uttered by Snowy, like an innocent child.

She was so honest that it felt so scary.

Elder Nong swallowed a big gulp.

The crowd swallowed a big gulp.

Li Rui wanted to cry!

Only a faint shout of "kyaa, she is so handsome!" that came abruptly from the crowd—no one knew the owner of the voice—was resounding in the air amidst an awkward atmosphere.

Finally, Elder Nong relented and summoned an ordinary sword from his spatial ring.

"H-here, you can use this sword."

"Thank you."

"You still remember the rule… right?"

"Un. I remember."

Snowy took the sword from Elder Nong's hand and directed her attention back to Li Rui, who was still frozen in his spot.

"Not going to move? I'll go first then."

Whoosh—

"Jiang River Flowing to the East."

Snowy mumbled softly as she pointed her sword at Li Rui.

Whooosh, whoosh—

Her movements flowed naturally, as if she was dancing.

Swinging left, swinging right.

Stabbing to the left, slashing to the right.

Dash!

Grumble—

Li Rui felt that his body was being swept by a violent stream of floodwater after a heavy downpour. No matter how hard he tried, he could only wait until his body was torn apart by the savage force of nature.

Is this the feeling felt by a small fish who is helpless against the fickleness of the Jiang River? This fierceness, yet so gentle.

He was suddenly struck by a sudden epiphany. His understanding of the technique has deepened by leaps and bounds!

In fact, Li Rui wasn't the only one who had reaped the benefit of Snowy's action. All the examinees, and even Elder Nong, felt like their sword comprehension had greatly improved.

"This is the same technique that Xian Bu Yu used! But the latter's execution is far superior to the former! Is she directly challenging Young Master Xian?"

"Challenge? It's more like he was showing off his meager skills in front of a master! Sister Snowy is giving him a sound slap in the face, but he can't do nothing about it. So ruthless! "

"W-will… Will Manifestation! She has completely mastered the technique! Miracle! This is a miracle! "

"Is this Will Manifestation?! How can someone master the technique to this degree in just 7 hours?! Inconceivable! "

"Is she still human?"

Having heard the chatty crowd, Xian Bu Yu's expression turned ugly, as if he had been forced to swallow a pile of bugs. He realized that compared to Snowy's proficiency in performing the sword technique, his own technique was like a child playing before an expert!

Your comprehension had reached the perfection state? Aiya, I can't compare to you since my comprehension is only in will manifestation state, heh, can't compare, can't compare at all!

Xian Bu Yu suddenly felt a burning sting on his cheek.

Without wasting any more time, Elder Nong declared the winner of this match.

"The winner of this round is Disciple Snowy!"

Her win was undeniable! If Elder Nong hadn't declared the winner after her performance, it would only mean that he was just a blind old fool!

'Ah, just as I thought… I can't win… I can't win at all.'

Li Rui snapped from his blank state and showed a self-ridiculing smile on his face. He gave a small bow to Snowy before expressing his gratitude.

"Thanks for your guidance, Sister Snowy. I'll never forget this debt for a lifetime."

After giving Snowy a salute, Li Rui calmly walked over to Xian Bu Yu.

"Thank you for the chance to be in your care, Young Master Xian. But I don't think I'm worthy of your favor. It's a pity, it's a pity!"