Chapter 170: At all cost

　　The tents were filled with heated discussions of the match.

　　By now, all the matches that should’ve taken place had already taken place. The competitors who hadn’t registered for a fight at this point would most likely not accept any more challenges. What was left now were the fights for the top three positions.

　　In other words, this Qilin Festival only had two more matches left – Wei Chunqiu against Lu Mingshu and Kou Wei against Wei Chunqiu.

　　The previous match between Lu Mingshu and Kou Wei just ended. By rule, the next match could only take place after an hour if it involved the same competitor, so the spectators took a break to discuss the match that just ended.

　　At this point, it was impossible for Kou Wei to be ranked first, so he was now putting his entire reputation on the line to fight for second place. If he won the fight against Wei Chunqiu, he could keep his reputation and prove that he just happened to be unlucky against Lu Mingshu. However, if he lost again, everything would fall.

　　When she heard Shao Zhengyang’s comment, Lu Mingshu shook her head softly. “To Senior Brother Kou, winning or losing isn’t that important.”

　　Shao Zhengyang paused for a moment before continuing, “Yes, that’s true. He’s going to break through to the Spirit Realm soon. However, his reputation might…” make him look like a joke.

　　Lu Mingshu shook her head confidently. “It’s not important to him.”

　　“Junior Sister Lu…”

　　Shao Zhengyang felt like there was something he didn’t quite understand something. In his eyes, Kou Wei was the best of the best in every area. Talent, ability, character, and even how he carried himself, there was hardly anyone who could equal him. After the Heavenly Door competition, Lu Mingshu gave off the same sort of feeling – arrogant.

　　Lu Mingshu and Kou Wei were different kinds of people, which is why they had different ways of dealing with the same thing. Even so, they were able to understand each other’s logic. As for Shao Zhengyang, no matter how close he and Kou Wei were, there was still a distance that he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

　　Perhaps… it’s just that I’m not a true elite? This thought made Shao Zhengyang disheartened.

　　After Lu Mingshu replied to him, she leaned back in her seat to rest, ignoring the voices of the outside world.

　　She had used all the treasures she had, and there was no more luck left for her.

　　An hour passed, and all eyes were on the Seventh Truth Platform’s tent.

　　Who would he challenge first? Lu Mingshu? With his skills and his ability to cope with any situation that came up, he wouldn’t need to use much energy to defeat Lu Mingshu. Wei Chunqiu wouldn’t need much time to recover either, so an hour would be enough. If he challenged Kou Wei first and used up a lot of energy, he would be giving Lu Mingshu a free win.

　　That was what Lu Mingshu thought too. When Wei Chunqiu handed up the name of his opponent, she knew what was coming.

　　Lin Zixin took the paper that the clerk handed him and checked if there was any mistake before announcing the names; “Wei Chunqiu from the Seventh Truth Platform challenging Lu Mingshu from Nine Jade Palace.”

　　Hearing the names, the spectators heaved a sigh of relief. Finally, there was something reasonable. If Wei Chunqiu challenged Kou Wei first then challenged Lu Mingshu while he was drained, there would be something fishy about it. The spectators would’ve questioned whether there was a conspiracy to let Lu Mingshu take first.

　　Wei Chunqiu jumped on stage and looked toward Nine Jade Palace’s tent.

　　Lu Mingshu slowly removed her armguard to wipe her sweat. She then jumped on stage.

　　Both of them bowed.

　　“Miss Lu,” Wei Chunqiu said. “As I promised that day, I’ll be lenient to you if we have to fight.”

　　Lu Mingshu replied softly, “It was just a joke. Gentleman Wei doesn’t need to take it to heart.”

　　Wei Chunqiu shook his head. “I never go back on my words.”

　　Upon hearing that, Lu Mingshu stared at him weirdly. “Is that the catchphrase of the Seventh Truth Platform or something?”

　　“Huh?” Wei Chunqiu stared at her blankly for a few seconds. He then smirked when he understood what she meant. “Because I don’t go back on my words, I’ll give you three attacks.”

　　“Really?”

　　“Really.”

　　“Well okay.” Lu Mingshu fished out her sword and dashed at him. “Beware!”

　　A dragon-like hiss could be heard as the sword-energy rotated in the air before charging toward Wei Chunqiu.

　　Wei Chunqiu took a deep breath and stabilized himself. Mystic light hovered around his body and created a bubble.

　　A sound could be heard when the sword-energy met with the mystic light. Wei Chunqiu was not really affected, and his mystic light stabilized very quickly.

　　“That’s how it should be!” somebody in a tent shouted.

　　This is what should happen when a newbie fought an elite! What the hell was the match with Kou Wei earlier!?

　　As soon as someone said that, Lu Mingshu got ready for another attack. Another sword-beam was sent out, but this time, there were two at the same time. Wei Chunqiu dodged it smoothly, but Lu Mingshu managed to stop it, and after adding even more sword-energy, it charged back at Wei Chunqiu.

　　Boom—–!

　　A sound could be heard. The sword-light was blocked, but the bubble had a small crack on it. Due to the overlapping energy, the sword-energy didn’t disperse immediately, it simply spun there and continued to expand.

　　Clink—–!

　　The mystic light cracked.

　　Wei Chunqiu then dodged the attack again.

　　The atmosphere became tense.

　　What’s going on? She could actually pierce through his bubble? Is this…?

　　The spectators were all tense. Every time they expected her to lose, Lady Luck would be on her side. Even if she only had a 10% chance of winning, she would.

　　Nobody dared to comment anything about Lu Mingshu now. There seemed to be some kind of curse whenever anyone said, “She’s going to lose.”

　　On the other hand, Wei Chunqiu was still calm.

　　He raised his eyebrows. “Hmm… the accuracy.”

　　He had heard from Yu Kuang about how accurate her sword-energy could be as if each attack was precisely measured. Now, Wei Chunqiu had experienced it himself, so he knew how accurate she was.

　　However, Wei Chunqiu still didn’t lose any energy. When it was broken, the lifespan of the bubble came to an end. The sword-energy was just enough to break the bubble, but it didn’t cause any injuries to him.

　　“One more,” Lu Mingshu said and waved her sword. The sword-light dashed forward and split itself into ten rays of light. It then weaved itself into a web and hovered around Wei Chunqiu.

　　Wei Chunqiu blocked it with mystic force again.

　　He was curious as to what made her sword skills so good compared to everyone else.

　　The sword-energy coiled around the mystic light and abruptly created a sound.

　　Ding—-! The sword-energy and mystic light collided.

　　Ding! Ding! Ding!

　　The sound was continuous, and the mystic light around Wei Chunqiu started to vibrate.

　　“What’s going on?” The spectators whispered.

　　“Wei Chunqiu should be the one with the upper hand. He hasn’t even used his weapons yet!”

　　“But his bubble was broken by Lu Mingshu….”

　　The discussion went on. At the main palace, the king of Zhongzhou smiled contently. “Interesting! Wei Chunqiu had already learned to infuse sword-energy into his mystic light. Even though it’s hard to tell now, he would be almost invincible when he breaks through to the Spirit Realm!”

　　“The other is even more interesting.” The queen smiled thinly. “She’s trying to force Wei Chunqiu to use his full strength. How ambitious!”