novelraw Chapter 1331: The Battle Everyone Has Been Waiting For
Chapter 1331: The Battle Everyone Has Been Waiting For
"And me, don’t forget I’ve bet my entire fortune on you guys. Oh right, plus all your own stashes of private money." Ling Baobao giggled as she spoke, also stretching out her palm. From the look of her, she didn’t put tomorrow’s match in her eyes at all.Zhu Xiuqing looked at them in confusion. He really couldn’t figure it out. Mu Hanyan being confident was one thing, but where did the others get their confidence from?
But very soon, he tossed all his doubts to the back of his mind. If he couldn’t figure it out, he simply wouldn’t torment himself over it. That seemed to be a Zue Family tradition as well.
Feeling the intense battle intent on the few of them, and the unreserved trust between them, Zhu Xiuqing’s blood boiled, and he also stretched out his hand.
"Alright, rest early. Tomorrow we’ll let everyone see our true strength." At this moment, Mu Hanyan withdrew her hand.
"Okay." Huayue and the others pulled their hands back at the same time and walked back to their rooms with firm steps.
The courtyard that had been filled with soaring battle intent just now instantly became deserted. Zhu Xiuqing stood there dumbly with his palm still stretched out, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly, his face full of grievance and helplessness.
...
At daybreak, before the sound of the horn had even rung out, the stands belonging to the various aristocratic families around the martial arena were already packed to the brim. The stands for commoners were even more crowded, a dense black mass of heads as far as the eye could see, a sea of people.
After watching the two spectacular duels yesterday, everyone was full of anticipation for today’s finals, some even tossing and turning the whole night, unable to sleep.
"Woooo..." The horn sounded, and the entire martial arena boiled over with excitement.
"Today is the day of the finals of the freshman grand competition of Shangyue Royal Sword Academy. Participating in this final are Jing Jianjue, Qin Ba, Liang Qian, Lu Zhenhuan, Fei Qiuyi from Shangyue Royal Sword Academy, as well as from..." The referee walked onto the stage and loudly announced. But before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by the shouts of the crowd below.
"Get down, you talk too damn much, get down!" The spectators, who had long been unable to wait, were in no mood to listen to his nonsense.
"Uh... would both sides please come up on stage." Seeing rotten tomatoes and stinky eggs about to fly onto the platform, the referee hurriedly cut it short, then slunk off to the side.
As soon as his words fell, Mu Hanyan and Jing Jianjue each led their teams up the steps on either side toward the Competition Platform.
"If you get the chance, kill Mu Hanyan. If this person isn’t removed, she’ll definitely become a huge threat in the future."
"Your big brother Wenliang was wounded by Mu Hanyan’s hand. If you get the chance, you must kill her, avenge Wenliang’s blood feud." The voices of Wu Tianxiong and Tian An seemed to still be echoing at his ears.
Jing Jianjue looked at Mu Hanyan, his expression as cold as ever, his gaze sharp as a blade.
Behind him, everyone was radiating intense killing intent.
This killing intent couldn’t compare with that ancient, boundless murderous air in Yi Xingtian’s Skywalker Sword, but it still made people’s blood run cold.
Mu Hanyan, Huayue and the others all had calm faces, and their steps were extraordinarily steady.
"That’s strange, why do Mu Hanyan’s few servants not look scared at all?" Noticing the confident ease on Huayue and the others’ faces, someone exclaimed in surprise.
"Probably just pretending to be calm, putting on an act." Someone speculated.
"What’s the use of acting tough? Once they start fighting their true colors will show. In the first two matches they just got lucky, the other side never even got a chance to move. This time, there’s no way they’ll have such good luck again." Someone said sourly.
They hadn’t even swung a single strike, yet followed Mu Hanyan all the way into the finals of Sword Sound Academy’s freshman competition. That made those who couldn’t even step over the academy’s threshold feel utterly miserable; jealousy was only natural.
"It’s just a pity about Mu Hanyan’s cultivation. If it weren’t for them dragging her down, she might really have had a shot at taking this tournament’s crown. Sigh." Someone looked at Mu Hanyan and said sympathetically.
The others chimed in one after another. From their words, it was clear they had already decided Mu Hanyan had no hope of victory, and the reason lay with Huayue and the others.
Mu Hanyan and Huayue exchanged a glance and shared a knowing smile. Today was the day they would prove themselves.
"Can we begin?" the referee asked.
Mu Hanyan and Jing Jianjue nodded at the same time.
"Begin!" The referee gave the order.
"Clang..." Five Longswords were drawn at the same time, scattering a chill of frost.
The ones to strike first were actually Jing Jianjue’s group of five.
Yesterday he’d been forced by Yue Fanchen to reveal his trump card. Others might not have seen through it, but there was no way he could hide it from Mu Hanyan’s eyes, so he no longer intended to conceal anything.
As their Longswords were drawn, light flashed across the bodies of the five of them. Lines of Array Runes, almost indistinguishable to the naked eye, appeared upon them. A mysterious flow of qi bound the five tightly together, and their strength kept climbing.
Middle Stage Eighth Rank Sword Master, Late Stage Eighth Rank Sword Master, Peak, Ninth Rank Sword Master, Ninth Rank Middle Stage, Late Stage, Peak, Tenth Rank, Great Sword Master! Jing Jianjue’s strength actually rose all the way to the Great Sword Master Realm.
As for Qin Ba and the other four, they each reached Eighth Rank Sword Master.
Under the powerful pressure, even the spectators seated in the front rows of the stands felt their hearts pounding in fear, let alone Mu Hanyan and the others on the platform, bearing the brunt of it.
Under the Sword power, a wild wind howled, whipping their clothes so they snapped and fluttered. At this moment, Mu Hanyan, Huayue and the others looked as weak as saplings in a storm.
"Ba Sword, Matchless!" Qin Ba roared madly. Strands of Sword Light enveloped his Longsword as if it were a heaven-splitting giant axe, containing a Sword power that made hearts shudder.
"Meteor, Sword Moon!" Liang Qian gave a soft chant, his Longsword tracing a silver arc like a crescent moon, fast as a meteor, swift as lightning.
"Qianji, Sword Transform!" Lu Zhenhuan swept out his Longsword, which transformed into countless illusions in his hand, wondrous beyond measure.
"Qing Shuang, Sword Shield!" Pei Qiuyi unfolded his Sword Force, a pale blue light-shadow emerging before him like a solid Light Shield.
The four of them attacked and defended in concert, lunging toward Mu Hanyan together. Their steps were synchronized, offense and defense orderly. It was clear this teamwork hadn’t formed in a day or two; their tacit understanding was extremely high.
"Heavenly Kill, Absolute Sword!" Jing Jianjue, however, moved in last, yet his Sword power far surpassed the others’.
Anyone could see that although Jing Jianjue struck last, his sword was the true killing blow.
No wonder. Mu Hanyan’s sword against Yi Xingtian yesterday had been too stunning. So even after he used a Divine Hall Magical Artifact to raise his strength to the Great Sword Master Realm, he didn’t dare show the slightest carelessness.
Since he had already formed the intent to kill Mu Hanyan, naturally he wouldn’t leave her any chance. First use Qin Ba and the others to pin Mu Hanyan down, then deliver the fatal strike. That was the safest tactic.
As for Huayue and the others, from beginning to end he had never taken those guards-turned-servants seriously.
"Mu Hanyan is done for. I never thought Jing Jianjue’s teammates were this fierce too. In a one-on-one match, it wouldn’t be hard for Mu Hanyan to beat them. But now it’s one against five—how could she possibly hold out?" Seeing Qin Ba and the others’ sword techniques, the spectators below were all shocked.