Ms. Diviner: The Prodigal Daughter's Return

Chapter 1327: Clash of Equals, Mutual Admiration

On the Competition Platform, Jing Jianjue’s face was ashen as he led Qin Ba and the others down from the stage. He had thought that with the strength boosted by that Divine Hall Magical Artifact, Yue Fanchen and his team would be completely vulnerable, yet who could have imagined such an outcome in the end? Not only had their greatest secret been forced into the open ahead of time, he had almost been injured by Long Ya’s hand.Only then did thunderous cheers erupt from below the stage. Half were for the victorious Jing Jianjue’s team; the other half were for Yue Fanchen and the others. They had lost, but they had used their blood to prove their bravery and hot-bloodedness, to prove their unyielding will—this was precisely what the warlike Shangyue People valued most.

"Next match, Anyun Longyan Academy: Han Yan, Huayue, Zirong, Jiang Yuzhe, Tang Bufan versus Beiqi Xuelan Academy: Yi Xingtian, Shijian, Shiyin, Zhan Li, Meng Xun." After several guards cleaned up the Competition Platform, the referee stepped up again and announced loudly.

The shouting rose again. Having just enjoyed a soul-stirring battle, everyone was full of anticipation for the fight to come.

"Anyun versus Beiqi—the gap in strength seems a bit big. I wonder if Han Yan will still have such good luck this time?"

"How could anyone be lucky forever? Last round it was Lv Junran trying to be smart. Otherwise, with Zhao Feng and the others’ strength, Han Yan’s few subordinates simply wouldn’t be their match. It should’ve been a great situation of five against one, but because Lv Junran was defeated early it turned into a one-sided slaughter. In this match, how could Yi Xingtian possibly make the same mistake?"

"Exactly. In this bout, Han Yan will most likely be dragged to her death by those few dead weights." Amid the shouting, a few discordant voices were mixed in.

Amid the shouts and murmurs, both sides stepped onto the stage at the same time.

With a great battle imminent, there was no room for distraction. Han Yan had already shoved Jing Jianjue entirely to the back of her mind and was sizing up Yi Xingtian opposite her.

Different from yesterday’s icy arrogance that viewed all living things as mere ants, Yi Xingtian was also sizing up Han Yan at this moment, her expression becoming incomparably grave.

It seemed Han Yan was not as conceited as she had imagined, but instead regarded her as a worthy opponent. Han Yan truly did not know whether she should feel fortunate or unfortunate about that.

The spectators below also showed puzzled looks. Judging from her previous performance, Yi Xingtian’s arrogance was carved into her very bones; she had never put anyone in her eyes. Yet she treated Han Yan with such seriousness—could it be that Han Yan was actually strong to this extent?

They had of course personally witnessed Han Yan’s strength, but that one sword of Yi Xingtian’s, which soared with killing intent to the sky, had left an even deeper impression. In their view, Han Yan would most likely find it hard to be Yi Xingtian’s match, not to mention that she had four dead weights dragging her down. But then why did Yi Xingtian show such gravity in front of Han Yan?

"All of you, get down." Just as everyone was filled with doubt, Yi Xingtian suddenly waved her hand and spoke.

"What?" Everyone was stunned, even Han Yan herself was taken aback.

"Han Yan, do you dare fight me one-on-one?" Before the crowd could recover, Yi Xingtian shouted loudly again.

"Why would I not dare!" Han Yan replied proudly.

A one-on-one duel was exactly what she had been hoping for. It wasn’t that Huayue and the others were too weak, but that she didn’t want to expose their most powerful trump cards. She just hadn’t expected Yi Xingtian to make such a request—most likely because her temperament was too proud and she didn’t want to take advantage of Han Yan.

Han Yan glanced at Yi Xingtian. Toward this coldly beautiful and arrogant woman, she actually felt a bit of fondness rise in her heart.

"You all go down first." Han Yan said to Huayue and the others.

"Yes, my lord." Huayue and the others quickly walked off the Competition Platform.

According to the rules, it should be a five-on-five group battle; however, as long as one side was completely defeated, the other side would be deemed victorious even if only one person remained. Therefore, if the others voluntarily stepped down and left only Han Yan and Yi Xingtian to decide the outcome in a solo duel, it still conformed to the rules.

On the other side, Shijian, Shiyin, Zhan Li, and Meng Xun, who had just stepped onto the stage, also had no objections and directly turned to walk down.

However, before leaving the stage, Shijian still unfastened the Longsword on his back and handed it to Yi Xingtian.

Careful observers noticed a detail: this time, Shijian did not wipe the hilt, nor did he tie a gauze scarf to it. In other words, in Yi Xingtian’s eyes, Han Yan was an opponent worthy of a fight; crossing swords with her would not dirty her hand.

This discovery once again sent a chill through everyone’s hearts.

"This Han Yan’s luck is insane, to actually run into such an upright and above-board opponent." Exclamations rose once more from below the stage.

They had originally thought that those few deadweight servants of Han Yan’s would drag her to ruin this time, yet before the match had even begun, Yi Xingtian had proposed a solo duel and everyone else had withdrawn.

"Yeah, if it were someone else, how could they possibly waste such a golden opportunity? Han Yan’s team’s luck really is ridiculously good." Others also chimed in one after another.

However, it wouldn’t be long before they realized that the ones who were truly lucky weren’t Han Yan and her companions at all, but rather Yi Xingtian and Shijian’s group.

"Are you both ready?" After the others had stepped down, the referee asked Han Yan and Yi Xingtian.

Though the match had not officially begun yet, he could already sense the surging battle intent faintly rising from the two of them, and his expression became especially serious.

Han Yan and Yi Xingtian nodded at the same time.

"Begin the match." The referee leapt back.

"Wom..." With a Dragon Roar, two Divine Swords were unsheathed at the same time.

Two Sword Sounds clashed and rose against each other, piercing straight into the Nine Heavens, like two ancient Gray Dragons locked in a death struggle high in the sky.

The spectators were all wide-eyed in astonishment. This scene of Divine Swords vying and resonating was something they were witnessing for the first time.

Not just them—even Han Yan herself had never encountered this before. Clearly, the Sword Spirit within the Cold Sky Sword had taken the opponent’s Divine Sword as an evenly matched rival, thus stirring its competitive spirit.

"Your sword is not bad. My Sky Traveling Sword has never had such powerful battle intent before." Yi Xingtian glanced at Han Yan and said calmly, raising her sword horizontally to point at Han Yan from afar.

"This sword is named Han Xiao. It bears the might of a Divine Artifact." Han Yan replied evenly, her sword also pointing at her opponent.

Although neither had moved, intense battle intent and heavy pressure surged from both of them at the same time. The Sword Sound grew louder and louder, clashing against each other like waves in a raging storm.

Below the stage, silence had already fallen. Under the battle intent and pressure released by the two of them, as well as the Sword Intent and pressure emanating from the two Divine Swords themselves, everyone felt an immense weight pressing down on them. They wanted to whisper a few comments, but though their mouths were open, not a single word came out.

The sky was choked with lowering clouds, cold wind howled past, and the air felt even more suffocating.