Chapter 126 Talent Show 2

As the fight continued on, Ke Qingyan was showing traces of fatigue, his attacks slowing down and going on the defensive. Shen Tianyu wasn't using too much spiritual power to garner suspicion but she was still better off in terms of endurance. She wasn't using as much spiritual power than him in the first place because she attacked with her whip and not blades made of spiritual power. Secondly, she didn't coat her whip entirely in spiritual power. Even though, the attacks were happening at a blinding speed, especially in the eyes of other people, Shen Tianyu, who had endured harsh training could still see where they would land.

Even if she couldn't dodge or counter it immediately, she didn't need to coat her whip entirely like other people would their weapons. This technique definitely saved spiritual power, notably in long drawn out battles, but it was hard to learn. And many would rather polish their skills with their weapons or learn strong killer techniques than something like this that didn't show immediate results. And once those cultivators grew older and finally realized how valuable it actually was, it was already too late. This particular skill needed one to at their peak since it requires a good eyesight and fast reflexes, and would hone them even further as they trained in this method of fighting. Old men past their prime could only lament in regret and peel their eyes with envy.

Ke Qingyan stopped his attacks entirely, perhaps sensing he was going to loose to her again and created a wide array of blades to stop her attacks. She also deflected the blades and paused to give him time to breathe. She didn't necessarily come here to bully talents, and seeing his special skill, she wanted to leave a good impression, which would be easier to build a connection with him later on if need be. The young man was also visibly breathing harder. On the other hand, Shen Tianyu looked just as impeccable as she did when she stepped on the stage, not a hair out of place even after the intense fight.

'Though.. my eyes are starting to hurt. Staring at things so intensely for a long time definitely isn't good for the eyes. I should end it quickly, I don't want to overdo it and worsen my eyesight as a result.' Shen Tianyu thought as she stood leisurely on the stage. She also used the time Ke Qingyan was taking a breather to take a break.

When they started up again, they both went all out from the start, both aware that they couldn't hold on much longer. In the midst of the exchange of blows, Shen Tianyu suddenly rushed forward, breaking the invisible boundary the two had tacitly set during the previous exchange. Startled, Ke Qingyan faltered but quickly recovered. Nonetheless, that second of surprise was taken advantage of by her and she rushed deeper into his territory. Ke Qingyan frantically threw spiritual power blades but she dodged them all, having retracted her whip which was now hanging by her hip again. She sometimes rolled on the ground or jumped, depending on where she thinks the blades would hit, the closest one missing only by a hair's breadth. This caused Ke Qingyan to become frustrated on top of already mildly panicking because of the breach, since that meant he was sliping and losing ground. Though composed, Ke Qingyan was still young after all, no matter how hard he tried to keep his emotions under control, some of it would still leak out through his fingers. He kept making more mistakes, his attacks missing Shen Tianyu more. He already knew he was loosing but he didn't want to give up. He took his lower lip into his mouth and bit hard enough to draw blood. The slight pain seemed to calm him down more but he wouldn't be able to drive Shen Tianyu out of his territory so easily now that she had entered it.

This Tournament was indeed only a show of skills and even seemed like a game of sorts to others. But the participants carried with them not only their family's prestige and fame, but also that of their country's. Even if the higher ups told them to treat it as a game, they still had their own futures to consider on top of all that. They were still pressured to win. And for second sons like Ke Qingyan, this opportunity was even more important.After all, the eldest was always the one to inherit the family, and the Ke family's eldest was indeed competent so him loosing that position would be almost unthinkable. Killing him off also wasn't an option as he had elite guards protecting him at all times precisely to prevent assassination attempts, both from without and within the family. Successive sons could only leave the family and pave their own paths to success. At best, they were kept as spares in case something did happen to the eldest.

'This Ke Qingyan, so young yet already trying to find his path. Even so, he's lost as what to do with the rest of his life. He's accomplished in the arts but because he's the second son, and not even from the main wife, he would have to be extremely talented to get out of his eldest brother's shadows. He's well aware of that and has tried to cultivate, in order to get out of the shadow easier. Yet now that he's here, he's not sure how he should go about paving his own path. His family were not cultivators and he was the first within the family to get this far so he had no one to follow as an example or role model. He doesn't know what more he wants out of cultivation. Was it fame? Freedom? Or something else?' Shen Tianyu thought to herself, half with admiration and half with pity. No matter what, paving down an unknown path was always scary, there weren't many that actually managed to follow through. all the while, she was dodging and rolling, trying to get closer to her target.