Chapter 560: Blade Duel at the Forbidden City (3)
“This…” Tang Yun’er at the side was shocked and he could not help but gasp, “…What is with this Qing Hong… how do they manage to stay in the air for so long?”
“Using the sword to unleash Qi and she still manages to unleash such a giant slicing slash and the slash contains enormous power of ice, this…” Liao Wu’s life had been turned upside down by the Northern Sparrow Cross. He thought he was already one of the best swordsman in the martial world already, but… once this unknown young female swordswoman made her move, she used a godlike skill that he had not even seen before. With the common knowledge of this world, that kind of skill could not be used without at least 40 years of training. And in these 40 years, you had to be training more than average martial arts. If you were training a common inner Qi mantra, then even after 80 years, you would not be able to use this kind of skill.
“And the scariest thing is…” Miao Yin opened her mouth to add, “There is no sign to their kung fu at all, there is no discernible style and influence. The skills all appear random but there are enormous power behind every single one…” She subconsciously reached for her blade. “Standing here for so long, I could not even feel a wave of inner qi at all, I cannot even perceive their breathing style and possible school that they belong to…”
“Hmph… Such ignorance.” Cao Qin’s half male and half female voice said, “The real powerful kung fu is shapeless and does not bind itself to any rules. It breaks through all the existing rules, only then one can achieve a higher epiphany.” He was not talking nonsense but knew his stuff for real. The training of this Master Cao had already broken through the limit of normal kung fu and had stepped into the realm of the study of Xuan. His perpetual youthfulness was the best evidence. “You people train day and night but you are just training your inner Qi. But the thing that they are training are who knows how many times stronger than inner Qi.”
When they spoke, the battle in the sky started to change again. As Feng Bujue predicted earlier, in terms of sword fight, he was in the disadvantage. Even though Brother Jue’s technique and experience in fighting was much better than when he started but he was still lacking compared to Xu Huai Shang. In terms of pure speed and strength, without the ability to use Body Enhancement Spell, he was on the losing side.
“Ha! Watch this! Flying Dragon Stepping Cloud!” Seeing as he was about to fail, Feng Bujue quickly faked an attack and drew the distance from his enemy. Then he followed it up with Geppo and fled upwards. Before he left, he did not forget to give his escape a showy name to farm the Stylish Points.
“This is just Geppo… You think I have not seen that before…” Xu Huai Shang grumbled under her breath before she settled back on the roof. It might be that she had fought for a long time with Brother Jue in the air, but in reality… she did not have any flying ability. Earlier she was only borrowing energy, she made used of Feng Bujue’s ability to sky and enabled herself to halt in the air as well. This skill… sounded difficult but it was very simple for her because Xu Huai Shang had a very powerful passive skill called Darting Swallows.
The skill enabled her to make her body incredibly light under certain circumstance, making her able to dart around like swallows. With the aid of this skill, whenever she hit Brother Jue, she could use the rebound from Brother Jue’s block to fly higher into the air. In a way, this was even more effective than Geppo because it did not even exhaust Stamina Points. Of course, Geppo and Void Steps’ effect required air to activate but Darting Swallows required something to rebound against so there was difference between them.
[She has improved a lot even though it has only been half a month since I fought her…] Feng Bujue thought. [If not for zero time simulation, I would have been seriously injured from the battle earlier already…] He could not help but be reminded of his Killing Game with Flashes of Sword. Similarly he was bullied by the opponent’s expert mastery of fighting and he somehow managed to survive. [There is no other option, the only advantage I have is height, so I better use Rankyaku to slowly grind her down…] With that decision made, Feng Bujue stopped in the air and kicked out two half moon shaped slashes.
But…
Huh – Huh—Bang—Bang—Suddenly two palm strikes came from the side lines, stopped his Rankyaku and dissolved them into nothingness.
“Master Feng.” Cao Qin swept his sleeve and raised his head to say, “This is the rooftop of the imperial palace, what do you plan to do?”
“Pfft…” Xu Huai Shang burst out with a giggle. Since she entered the scenario, this was the first time she felt true joy. “That’s right, Master Feng, if you break the tiles here, you won’t be able to pay with your own life.” Cao Qin’s sudden interruption and Xu Huai Shang’s mockery plummeted Brother Jue’s Stylish Point and it dropped instantly to 40. “Also, your Fairy Beyond the Sky is nothing impressive. I’ve taken it head on and see, there is not even a cut on my body.” Xu Huai Shang added. With that, Brother Jue’s stylish Point continued to drop to zero…
[What, it dropped to zero just like that?!] Feng Bujue howled like the wind. [I have prepared and acted for so long but it dropped to zero because of two incidents…] Therefore, as they say pomposity was like climbing a mountain, the higher one got, the greater the fall…
There were two main reasons behind Feng Bujue’s drastic drop in Stylish Points: One, the build up for “Fairy beyond the sky” was too long but the effect was less than desirable; two, he was obviously two loser in the mid air battle, he could do was to fly everywhere before finally turning to long range attack; three, his Rankyaku was stopped by Cao Qin and was then mocked by both Cao Qin and Goddess Xu. The occurrence of these three incidents were all visible to the audience. The persona of an expert master Feng Bujue had cultivated collapsed instantly. Even though his Rankyaku was still a very scary skill in their eyes but his personal presence was not as impressive as Cao Qin made him out to be when he was supposedly at Blade Duel at Chang Lin.
[There is no other option…] Feng Bujue formed the plan in his mind. [If I continue to use Rankyaku, it might trigger a battle with Cao Qin… Hmm… So I have to go down there and engage her in sword fight?] At this point, another idea came to him. As everyone knew… Stylish Points could be farmed through the following methods, ‘announcing your name to your enemy’, ‘letting go your enemy’, ‘refusing to deliver the fatal blow’, ‘using foreign words’, ‘flashback’, ‘cheering for others’, ‘making a last determination’, ‘giving a narration’, ‘making poem’ and so on. Female characters had another method which was to show off their bodies. And the bigger the boobs, the curvy the body, the higher the chance of their survival in a fight and the better they could earn Stylish Points.
In contrast, ‘toying with the weaker party’, ‘being arrogant due to one’s advantage’, ‘using everything one had at the start of the battle’, ‘delivering the last blow to a dying character’, ‘and mocking other party’s belief’, such actions would cause the drop of Stylish Points and even death. Feng Bujue who was familiar with this theory knew that… it was not impossible for him to win. He still had one last hope and that was to use the ultimate method to gain Stylish Point—which was to turn the situation around when he was almost dying.
With the plan made, Feng Bujue put it into action…
He dangled upside down and steadied the blade before his chest. Then he lifted his right left slightly and kicked behind him. The next second, his whole person shot down like a lightning strike. Seeing the man coming at her with all his life, Xu Huai Shang naturally did not dare to treat this too lightly. She manoeuvred the double swords and readied her defence. Instantly, the wind gathered and the waves from the double swords formed into a whirlpool to suck in the collision from Brother Jue’s blade.
“Flying Dragon Blade!” Holding the blade, Feng Bujue still used his ultimate skill. Thus, it turned into a half-baked skill. The hand that held the blade was obviously one step slower than the other and influenced the free left hand, it made it so that his timing appeared very off. Even though from the perspective of the others, this strange skill that combined both fist and blade was already very impressive but Brother Jue knew that… the skill was not even 30 percent of its original damage.
“Hmph… What joke is this!” Xu Huai Shang swiftly saw through Brother Jue’s trick. She shouted and darted forward with her swords. The double swords weaved out a web of slashes. The blade shattered into pieces, announcing the end of the duel. The broken steel fluttered into the sky, shimmering in the reflection of the moonlight. Feng Bujue collapsed on the roof with blood on his lips. Xu Huai Shang stood next to him, and raised her swords threateningly.
[Hue hue…] Feng Bujue laughed internally. [Very good… everything is within my plan. Goddess Xu, quickly make your move, better if you can mock me a few times before you deliver the last blow… I still have 30 percent Life Points left, after I avoid your fatal blow, I will raise up and counter with a sweeping kick and turn the situation around…]
That was not a bad plan but…
A surprising scene happened next…
Xu Huai Shang did not make her move, instead her expression softened. She looked at Brother Jue lovingly and said the obvious, “You have lost.” There was a sadness in her voice.
[What is going on…] Feng Bujue felt like he was knocked in the head by a bat, he was flummoxed. [Why didn’t she make her move? And what is the meaning of her words and expression? No way…]
“You really think… I don’t know what you’re planning?” Xu Huai Shang said. At the same time, she slowly closed her eyes and two rows of tears followed.
[What the hell!] Brother Jue’s eyes were about to fall out of his face. [Are you an Oscar-winning actress? Where do those tears come from?] Xu Huai Shang’s words meant a different thing to the audience but Feng Bujue knew…the real meaning was, [You really think I know nothing about Stylish Point?]
“I knew from the beginning you did not plan to win, you just wanted to die.” Xu Huai Shang continued to ramble. “So you have not used your full power…” She choked on her words. “You really think I won’t notice that, you think I am that naïve?”
At this point, the four audience revealed an ‘Oh~’ expression. They were like audience at a stage performance, their feeling following the destiny of the people on stage…
[It’s over now… it is really all over now…] Feng Bujue was overwhelmed by despair. [This woman is more cunning than I thought…] At this point, Brother Jue could not say anything, the show had been led away by Xu Huai Shang. Whatever Goddess Xu said would be taken as the truth and Brother Jue could only keep silent with a face carved with grief and anguish. If he said anything or suddenly escaped or mount an ambush, then his Stylish Point would drop him directly to his death.
“Aiz…” Xu Huai Shang sighed. “I knew it was impossible between you and me in this life…” She wiped away her tears and knelt down beside Brother Jue, “So one hour ago, I have swallowed a powerful poison…”
[What?! And I have eaten a dragon’s heart then!] Feng Bujue groaned internally.
“…Since you are not able to fulfil my wish, then what is the point for me being alone in this world.” Goddess Xu had completely submerged into her role. No wonder she was scouted by so many celebrity agency, the girl was a natural actress. “But this duel at least allows me to die beside you…” At this point, Xu Huai Shang pulled up Brother Jue into a hug and placed his head on her shoulder. This was truly a fatal blow… under this condition, Brother Jue’s last hope of escaping had been shattered.
[Aiz… women are so scary…] Feng Bujue sighed to himself. [I have underestimated you…] Brother Jue could not help but be reminded that if his inventory wasn’t locked, he could have pulled out the cleaver and end everything on the spot; if his Flying Dragon Fist was not on Cd, it would be over too. But that was not the case in this scenario. Hoping the Npc would come help him was impossible. When they saw him being pulled into a hug by the faithful woman, they sighed in pity… basically they had planned to sit through the show to the end.
“Why would you do something like that…” Like a broken toy, Feng Bujue uttered weakly. The defeat annoyed him but he was not that horrid in personality to force disconnect so he decided to play along with Xu Huai Shang to the end.
“Please don’t say anything anymore…” Xu Huai Shang silently raised her right hand and placed the tip of her sword over Brother Jue’s heart. “I have already made my decision, nothing will change my mind.”
“I say… that’s enough already, no?” Feng Bujue leaned into Xu Huai Shang’s ear and whispered, “I have already surrendered so just end it already.”
“Don’t you enjoy such plays? Hmph…” Xu Huai Shang said proudly in return, “Want to lay a trap for me? Bet you didn’t expect this.”
“If you don’t kill me now, I am going to cry soon.” Brother Jue said in warning.
“Hah?” Xu Huai Shang was startled, “How will that help you?”
“After I cried, I will say that I was finally touched by you, then I will ask Cao Qin for powerful medicine like Tian San Snow Lotus or Thousand Year Lingzi to neutralize your poison and then we can fly away together as a happy couple.” Feng Bujue said.
As he finished, the blade stuck into his heart. At that moment, Xu Huai Shang broke in cold sweat. She thought she had controlled the entire situation, she did not expect… the man would be able to come up with such a dangerous development in such a short amount of time. If Feng Bujue really put his plan into action then the situation would change again… and Xu Huai Shang would be stuck in her lover role and could not harm Feng Bujue anymore.
“This round does not count, the whole set is too ridiculous…” Xu Huai Shang uttered in Brother Jue’s ear coldly before he dissolved into a pool of white light. “Next time, I will win you in a more direct way.”
“You still couldn’t get over that Battle of Butterfly, can you…” Feng Bujue replied in an undeniable tone, “Regardless… I shall be waiting any…” His words stopped because he had been transported away. At the same time, Xu Huai Shang who heard the victory announcement left the scenario.
At the top of the forbidden city, only the four confused NPc were left. Even Cao Qin could not help but suspect that… they had encountered two ghosts…