84: Chapter 84 Is the martial arts school about to suffer its first defeat at the hands of outsiders?

"What are you worried about? It's not like you don't know Su Rui; he dotes on your daughter and won't let her get seriously injured.

Besides, even if she does get hurt, that man has plenty of tricks up his sleeve.

Wasn't Shi Feixuan also injured by the Heartless Sword Intent before? She only recovered after Li Hanyi stepped in."

Before Baili Dongjun could finish, Sikong Changfeng seemed to have only heard one sentence—the one about "Su Rui doting on Qianluo."

His face immediately darkened.

Li Changsheng, listening to the conversation of his two Disciples from the shadows, couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

These two, one frivolous and one muddled, how could he feel at ease handing over Snow Moon City to them?

The crowd below looked at Ximen Chuixue and Sikong Qianluo standing on the Jingwu Platform, many of them breaking into a cold sweat for the young girl.

Standing together, the two seemed mismatched no matter how one looked at them.

Although Sikong Qianluo wasn't short, she was still a young girl in her teens; whereas Ximen Chuixue was tall and upright, every movement exuding the aura of a master, with an invisible pressure that seemed to suffocate people.

Clearly, it was a case of an adult bullying a child.

Even though Sikong Qianluo had shown extraordinary strength before, in the eyes of many, those impressions couldn't compare to the intuitive scene before them.

People are like that; whatever they see at first glance, they instinctively believe to be the truth.

At this moment, in everyone's eyes, Sikong Qianluo was undoubtedly at a disadvantage.

However, Ximen Chuixue did not dare to be the least bit negligent.

He had watched every one of Qianluo's battles, and the young girl's combat power was definitely not below his own.

On the other side, Sikong Qianluo's face was full of eager excitement.

As long as it was a fight, she never backed down.

She had also heard of Ximen Chuixue's strength long ago and thought to herself that this time she should be able to have a good fight.

Although she had fought Li Hanyi before, Li Hanyi's strength was much higher than hers, making the fight predictable and unsatisfying.

Li Hanyi had never truly been serious.

But the Ximen Chuixue before her, whether in terms of swordsmanship or overall strength, made Sikong Qianluo's eyes light up.

After a moment of confrontation, Sikong Qianluo gave a soft shout, her phoenix blood spear sweeping out several red shadows. She moved like the wind across the ground, covering the distance of dozens of feet in an instant. The phoenix blood spear was already closing in on Ximen Chuixue, and the Prairie Fire Hundred Strikes were unleashed in an instant.

The dense spear shadows were like a violent storm, attacking in layers.

Ximen Chuixue looked grave as his profound iron sword unsheathed, the blade trembling slightly as it met the sky full of spear shadows.

The sound of clashing metal immediately rang through the air, like raindrops falling on plantain leaves, dense and crisp.

In the field, only a red shadow could be seen fluttering and dancing; the speed of the phoenix blood spear was so fast it almost blurred the vision.

Ximen Chuixue, dressed in white, flickered rapidly, his long sword moving with ease.

His right hand holding the sword seemed to have merged with the blade, moving so fast that people couldn't even see the sword movements.

His swordsmanship had long reached the pinnacle, something ordinary swordsmen could hardly achieve in a lifetime.

He himself found it difficult to make another Breakthrough.

But even so, facing Sikong Qianluo, he couldn't gain the upper hand at all.

On the level of "technique," the two were actually evenly matched.

Among the spectators, many had already noticed the signs and were whispering in amazement.

A young girl of only about ten years old could actually fight to a draw with the top-tier swordsman Ximen Chuixue; it was truly incredible.

The skills of the two had faintly stepped into the Realm of "technique nearing the Dao."

And Sikong Qianluo grew more excited as she fought.

Just as she expected, this Ximen Chuixue was indeed worth her going all out.

Compared to the Profound Ice Spear Technique Su Rui taught her later, she preferred the original Prairie Fire Hundred Strikes.

Although the Profound Ice Spear Technique was strong, it focused more on the momentum of heaven and earth, no longer entirely within the scope of traditional spear techniques.

But the Prairie Fire Hundred Strikes consisted of moves that were pure to the extreme, pursuing the limits of skill and speed.

At this moment, she was completely immersed in this set of spear techniques, her whole being seemingly entering a mysterious state.

The phoenix blood spear in her hand was in sync with her heart, and a cold light flickered on the spear shaft, as if emitting a trace of chilliness.

Ximen Chuixue focused intently on dealing with Sikong Qianluo's Prairie Fire Hundred Strikes, and waves of emotion couldn't help but rise in his heart.

He felt as if his swordsmanship was being stimulated into an unprecedented sense of fluidity.

He hadn't met an opponent so evenly matched in martial arts attainment for a long time.

His whole person couldn't help but ignite with Battle Intent.

But immediately after, the biting cold chill emanating from the phoenix blood spear made his movements slightly sluggish.

Out of instinct, he activated the Heartless Sword Intent.

The Prairie Fire Hundred Strikes was originally a spear technique of endless growth, emphasizing the Concept of "a single spark can start a prairie fire."

And the phoenix blood spear was soaked in the blood of an ice phoenix; although the chill was piercing, its Concept actually shared similarities with the Prairie Fire spear technique.

The people on the main stand also gradually noticed that Sikong Qianluo's state was different.

Su Rui naturally noticed this.

"It seems she has gained some realization, but she didn't take the Profound Ice path, which quite fits Qianluo's personality."

"Teacher, are you saying that Junior Sister Qianluo's Spear Intent is beginning to undergo Awakening?"

In front of him, Li Hanyi's tone was naturally much softer than when she faced outsiders.

She asked obediently while her eyes occasionally swept toward the field.

Yin Luoxia's eyes also held a bit of interest.

"The heat is still far from enough, but the direction is already right."

Su Rui first nodded, then shook his head slightly.

"Senior Sister Qianluo is really amazing!"

Hearing Su Rui's words, Mu Liangyue, the Su Sisters, and the others couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.

Although everyone called her Senior Sister, Sikong Qianluo was actually the youngest.

Now she had already taken the first step in the Awakening of her Concept.

This made everyone instinctively feel a sense of urgency.

If they didn't work harder, they would probably be left further and further behind by Li Hanyi and Sikong Qianluo.

Although the teacher might not say anything, they themselves would find it hard to accept.

What they worried about more was that the teacher would focus more on those two, leaving less and less time for them.

In the field, Ximen Chuixue also realized the change and immediately unleashed the Heartless Swordsmanship.

The Heartless Sword Intent collided head-on with Sikong Qianluo's Spear Intent that seemed about to awaken.

The Prairie Fire Spear Intent, which was originally like a tide, was slowly receding.

After losing the support of the Spear Intent, the Prairie Fire Hundred Strikes, which could originally hold its own against Ximen Chuixue, began to seem inadequate.

Everyone's hearts couldn't help but tighten.

Although it looked like Sikong Qianluo's Spear Intent was close to Awakening.

The current situation seemed unfavorable; she might be defeated by the Heartless Sword before it fully awakened.

Originally, that Spear Intent could still compete with the Heartless Sword Intent.

Now that the Spear Intent was receding, she naturally fell into a disadvantage.

Sikong Changfeng's eyes were full of anxiety.

Many spectators also showed looks of concern.

Even the female Disciples beside Su Rui couldn't help but frown deeply.

At this moment, Sikong Qianluo also noticed this.

The weakening of the Prairie Fire Hundred Strikes' Spear Intent was actually intentional on her part.

At this moment, she seemed to have touched something, yet it was difficult to fully grasp.

This feeling made her expression look pained.

Her spear technique also began to become a bit chaotic.

And Ximen Chuixue obviously wouldn't show mercy because of her unstable state; his offensive suddenly became sharp.

Sikong Qianluo turned from offense to defense, retreating step by step.

Exclamations were heard from the stands from time to time.

Is the martial arts hall about to suffer its first defeat at the hands of an outsider this time?

All along, there had been an unwritten belief within the martial arts hall: you can lose to your companions in the hall, but you must never lose to an outsider.

Although Ximen Chuixue noticed Sikong Qianluo's condition, he still did not slow down his offensive.

He had always longed to compete with Li Hanyi, wanting to know exactly how big the gap was between his sword path and hers.

And to fight Li Hanyi, he had to first defeat the opponent before him.

Facing the pressure of the Heartless Sword Intent, Sikong Qianluo's expression became increasingly grave.

The continuous waves of Sword Intent seeped into her body.

She clearly felt the Sword Intent accumulating within her.

Once it broke through the critical point, she would likely suffer a heavy blow.

But it was under this pressure that she suddenly realized a new Concept.

It was a thought of nurturing life within destruction and continuing endlessly within decay.

Just as she was putting all her effort into resisting Ximen Chuixue's fierce attack, she suddenly paused, and the phoenix blood spear thrust out violently, instantly turning from defense to offense.

Ximen Chuixue instinctively countered, his sword move containing sharp Sword Intent.

After a loud bang, Sikong Qianluo's petite figure was knocked flying back by the shock.

A burst of exclamations immediately erupted from the stands.

Sikong Changfeng's face changed drastically, and he suddenly stood up, burning with rage; if it weren't for Baili Dongjun grabbing his shoulder, he would have probably flown out already.

Li Hanyi and the others also instinctively wanted to rush up to the rescue but were stopped by Su Rui raising his hand.

They all looked at him with puzzled faces.

"This is a tempering she must go through. I believe in Qianluo!"

Su Rui spoke slowly, his tone carrying a reassuring power, like a spring breeze brushing against the face, causing the anxiety in their hearts to quietly subside.

At this moment, Sikong Qianluo, who had been knocked into the air, was falling rapidly.

The Heartless Sword Intent within her body surged wildly, crashing about like a wild beast.

The Sword Qi crisscrossed, not only impacting her Meridians and internal organs but even her consciousness was faintly affected.

However, she kept her eyes closed, her expression calm, as if all this had nothing to do with her.

Under the worried gazes of the whole crowd, just as she was about to fall heavily to the ground, her figure suddenly came to a halt, suspended only a foot above the ground.

Two streams of aura, green and golden-red, quietly emerged, swirling around her body.

Then, a strange illusion seemed to appear before everyone's eyes.

Boundless wildfires swept across the wilderness, the flames raging; everywhere they went, vegetation turned to ash, and the earth was scorched black, showing full desolation and destruction.

Yet in the blink of an eye, a faint sound rang in everyone's ears.

On the scorched earth, a crack actually opened, and a tiny green sprout quietly poked out.

In an instant, countless sprouts broke through the scorched earth, full of vitality and vibrant green, making one's heart skip a beat.

Sikong Changfeng, who had been trying to break free from Baili Dongjun's arm, was stunned.

The Confucian Sword Immortal and the others also widened their eyes, looking dazed.