novelraw Chapter 1323: Who Would Believe There’s No Trickery?
Chapter 1323: Who Would Believe There’s No Trickery?
Mu Hanyan was also a bit surprised. No wonder the Shangyue People had never taken Anyun Country seriously; in terms of overall strength, Shangyue really was much stronger than Anyun. At least among the new batch of Disciples at Long Yan Academy, there was no way to find so many experts.Of course, this was also related to Long Yan Academy’s policy of encouraging Disciples to cultivate all kinds of strange and mysterious arts in order to nurture true powerhouses. If they specialized in Sword Dao alone, Long Yan Academy’s strength wouldn’t necessarily be weaker than Sword Sound Academy’s.
Seeing the strength of these few people, the spectators below the stage were all fired up, shouting in unison. In the previous three matches, although Mu Hanyan and Yi Xingtian had both delivered no small shock to everyone, one had won through clever tricks, and the other through absolute suppression in strength. There had never been that kind of evenly matched, perilous confrontation, which left them somewhat regretful. They hoped that in this match they could see a true clash of titans.
"Boom boom boom boom..." Before the shouting had even died down, a series of dull bangs sounded from the stage, and including that Eighth Rank Sword Master expert among them, all five team members were knocked off the stage by Jing Jianjue and his teammates.
The shouts were still hanging in midair, the spectators’ mouths gaped open, yet not a single sound came out.
"How could it be this fast?" If not for the fact that those five were still lying below the stage, unable to get up for a long while, they would have almost suspected there was something wrong with their eyes.
Everything happened too fast. They hadn’t seen clearly how the two sides made their moves, much less how this side was defeated and blasted off the Competition Platform.
Mu Hanyan also drew in a sharp breath. With her eyesight, she had at least seen the process of the exchange clearly.
"Fast!" If Mu Hanyan had to describe it, then there was only one word that could: fast.
Whether it was Jing Jianjue or the other four team members, at the instant they made their move their speed was unbelievably fast, to the point that the other five simply had no chance to counter or respond and were directly hacked off the Competition Platform.
Mu Hanyan asked herself honestly: even with the aid of Magic Artifacts, her speed absolutely couldn’t reach that level.
Perhaps only a Sword Saint might possess such speed. But obviously Jing Jianjue and the others couldn’t possibly have the power of a Sword Saint, otherwise no one else would need to participate in the competition; they could just concede directly and be done with it.
But how could they possibly possess such speed?
Mu Hanyan had a kind of intuition that at the same time their speed multiplied, their Sword power had also increased significantly, just not as dramatically as their speed.
What on earth was it that allowed them such an increase?
Could it be a Divine Artifact? Mu Hanyan carefully felt it out but didn’t sense any of the fluctuations a Divine Artifact should have on them.
Or was it an Elixir? But unlike Qi Refilling Elixirs, any Elixir capable of greatly boosting strength in a short time would definitely have side effects, even inflicting tremendous damage on the body. For the sake of the subsequent matches, they shouldn’t be taking such Elixirs. After all, even if their opponents’ strength had exceeded everyone’s expectations, overall Jing Jianjue and the others still held the advantage; there was no need to take that risk.
Not a Divine Artifact, nor an Elixir, then what was going on? Even after the referee announced that Jing Jianjue’s team had won and that today’s matches were over, Mu Hanyan still hadn’t figured it out.
"Next, will the four winning teams please come up to draw lots to decide tomorrow’s match-ups." Just as Mu Hanyan was preparing to leave the martial arena, she heard the referee’s next words.
Mu Hanyan paused slightly, then understood. The matches to come grew increasingly important, and drawing lots in advance was to let them know both themselves and their enemies so that they could bring out their true strength in the following matches.
However, in today’s match, her own strength had basically been exposed. Although the Barrier of Shadow Shifting and the Absolute Defense of Cangxuan Cloud Silk had yet to be used, she believed they wouldn’t escape the notice of those with the intention to pry. Yet as for their possible future opponents, she knew very little, especially about the power boost Jing Jianjue and the others had shown. Mu Hanyan simply couldn’t make sense of it no matter how she thought about it.
"Anyun, Long Yan Academy’s Mu Hanyan, Huayue, Zirong, Jiang Yuzhe, Tang Bufan, versus Beiqi, Xuelan Academy’s Yi Xingtian, Shijian, Shiyin, Zhan Li, Meng Xun." Seeing the result of the draw, Mu Hanyan shook her head.
If the next match were against Yue Fanchen and the others, it would have been a bit easier; who would have thought they’d run into Yi Xingtian’s team instead. That killing-intent-filled sword of hers was still fresh in Mu Hanyan’s memory.
Her luck really wasn’t good. In the first round she ran into the West Qin experts led by Lv Junran, and in the second round she ran into Yi Xingtian—never a weak opponent. Mu Hanyan couldn’t help suspecting whether there was something fishy going on in all this.
Now that everyone knew the match-ups for the next round, all gazes toward Mu Hanyan were full of sympathy. Although in this round Mu Hanyan had smoothly advanced by relying on her powerful personal strength, in the next round, faced with an expert like Yi Xingtian, her personal strength might not necessarily be superior to Yi Xingtian’s. And those few drags on the team would certainly be of no help at all. As soon as they lost, Mu Hanyan would have no choice but to fight one against five, and it’d be a miracle if she could win.
Why was Mu Hanyan’s luck this bad, running into strong opponents every round, never a weak one? Had someone tampered with the drawing? While they pitied her, they also cast suspicious looks toward Wu Tianxiong. But suspicion was one thing; no one dared voice any doubts.
Whether it was his status as Shoulder-to-shoulder King or as Dean of the Royal Sword Sound Academy, neither was something they could challenge.
Leaving the martial arena, Mu Hanyan first accompanied Huayue and the others back to the Princess Manor.
"Han Yan, how about we go all out tomorrow?" Seeing that Mu Hanyan had been silent all the way, Huayue thought she was worrying about tomorrow’s match against Yi Xingtian’s team and said in a deep voice.
Although they had absolute confidence in Mu Hanyan, they still had to admit that Yi Xingtian was strong—very strong. If they couldn’t pin down Shijian and Shiyin, as well as Zhan Li and Meng Xun, Mu Hanyan would have absolutely no chance of victory.
Don’t be fooled by how Shijian and the others looked like a bunch of close maidservants around Yi Xingtian. When it came to their strength, Huayue and the others didn’t dare show the slightest contempt. Not to mention Zhan Li and Meng Xun, Shijian and Shiyin’s combined strike technique was reputed to be unmatched under heaven.
"We’ll see how things go." Mu Hanyan thought for a moment and said.
Strictly speaking, what she truly had misgivings about was still Jing Jianjue. Yi Xingtian might be strong, but at least there were traces to follow. With her Star Falling Eight Desolate Sword, Mu Hanyan might not be unable to block her Sword power and killing intent. But that sudden surge in Jing Jianjue’s strength was something Mu Hanyan simply couldn’t figure out.
Only by defeating all opponents and claiming the championship in the final match could she obtain that Heavenly Destiny Star Plate. So unless Yue Fanchen’s team defeated Jing Jianjue and the others, her final opponent would ultimately still be Jing Jianjue.
And judging from the strength of both sides, her grandmother hadn’t been wrong: Yue Fanchen’s team was definitely no match for Jing Jianjue and his group.
Huayue and the others’ Innate Divine Abilities were her final trump cards. If she could hide them until the end, that would be ideal, but if things became impossible to control, they could only be used ahead of time.
After having dinner with Huayue and the others, Mu Hanyan headed to the Imperial Palace to accompany her grandmother.
(I—I’ve got chronic enteritis... If I don’t eat meat for a long time, my Evil Dragon will roar. Making a carnivore like me go without meat is basically asking for my life!)