novelraw Chapter 136 : The Woman of Huaxia
Chapter 136 : The Woman of Huaxia
136: The Woman of Huaxia
In a tight, white one-piece dress that perfectly wrapped her graceful figure, Yuyin, amidst the cheers of the watching crowd, stood at one corner of the stage with a silver longsword on her back. Her slender, jade-like legs were slightly apart, standing straight and powerful. Her gaze was calm as she looked at the tall, black boxer at the other side of the stage.
"Oh? So that's how it is..." Many Source Martial Practitioners, both inside and outside the arena, had their energies stirring. Yuyin hadn't been able to sense it clearly from a distance, but now, she understood. The reason this black man's Primordial Energy was so abundant was that he wasn't just at the Spirit-Seeking Perfection, but at the Spirit-Seeking Desolation.
After reaching Perfection, straying into a deviant path and cultivating it single-mindedly could make one even stronger than the Perfection Stage, but the price was that one could no longer break through in this lifetime. This was the Spirit-Seeking Desolation Stage. But most Source Martial Practitioners would never be able to reach the Purple Domain Realm in their lives anyway, so this choice wasn't necessarily wrong.
The black boxer, Berman, and Yuyin approached each other. According to protocol, they greeted each other before the match.
The towering Berman's body was as hard and strong as black iron. He exuded a sense of oppression that came from a powerful life force. His small eyes stared at Yuyin, his expression particularly cool and emotionless.
Berman looked down at Yuyin and said in somewhat stilted Huaxia language, "Huaxia is the birthplace of Source Martial cultivation. I originally came here to learn, but your young people from Huaxia have truly disappointed me. Your generation is no good."
Berman snorted through his large nostrils and waved a hand at Yuyin. The palm of his large hand was white.
"..." Yuyin just stood silently. She didn't even pay particular attention to Berman. She had no intention of responding to such words.
Although these All-Nations Source Martial Practitioners came from all over the world and spoke different native tongues, Yuyin now understood that in this world, since most original versions of Source Martial secret manuals were in Huaxia script, cultivators from all countries basically learned some Huaxia language.
Seeing that Yuyin didn't answer, his gaze swept over Yuyin's figure, landing on her chest. After the intense, abusive battle, a hint of desire emerged. "A great beauty from Huaxia, how about this? After this competition is over, you come back to North America with me? I can apply for a very high scholarship for you from the academy. You know, although you Huaxia have many great Grandmasters who are respectable, whether it's your Tiandu Source Martial Academy or this Lingdu Academy, I don't think much of them. We can give you better conditions, okay? Beauty?"
There was a microphone on the field. Berman had said his words deliberately and loudly, so the entire audience could hear him. Berman, in front of thousands of Huaxia people, was mocking the young generation of Huaxia and trying to poach the idol in everyone's hearts. Many in the audience felt disgusted and held in their anger.
"Sorry, I am from Huaxia." Yuyin replied faintly, turning back to her side of the stage.
Yuyin's words moved the hearts of many in the audience.
"Hmph." Berman snorted coldly. "I will make you know that your decision is wrong, and soon."
With that, Berman returned to his corner and put on his simulated metal fist guards.
"Hey, be careful, she's Xia Yuyin! The young champion of the fighting contest!" The blond giant, the North American team captain, reminded with a solemn expression as he helped Berman with his fist guards.
Berman opened his fists, his eyes showing a domineering look. "In front of me, she will always be a runner-up, the kind below me!"
"Cool! Come on, guy!" The North American team captain was satisfied with the contestant's confidence and smiled, patting his thick, strong arm. Below the stage, the other All-Nations Source Martial Practitioners also smiled with satisfaction.
"The match… begin!" The host announced, drawing out the word in a professional martial arts style.
Berman was relaxed but carried a sharp aura, in a state ready to erupt at any moment. He swung his fists and walked toward Yuyin. A black person's innate athletic ability and explosive power gave him an innate confidence, especially since his opponent was a woman.
He stared at Yuyin with malicious intent and slowly, muttering curses as he walked, "I heard you're the champion? But that's because I didn't participate. Do you know, I almost applied to your Lingdu Source Martial Academy. If I had, you would only have been my runner-up. I'm saying, in front of me..."
Whoosh.
Yuyin had no reaction to his words. She suddenly moved. She strode out with her long, beautiful legs at extreme speed, instantly charging toward Berman. When she was several meters away, she leaped into the air, raising her leg to attack her opponent.
Berman was also startled by Yuyin's sudden start, but his reaction was very swift. Seeing Yuyin leaping towards him, he immediately moved back with a spring-like step, sidestepping. He precisely calculated Yuyin's jumping distance and prepared to counterattack when Yuyin landed.
One saw Berman had already retreated out of Yuyin's attack range. Yuyin, who was soaring in mid-air, suddenly stomped her foot down violently.
Her foot did not touch the ground, but a powerful burst of Primordial Energy from below her foot fiercely struck the stage, compressing the air against the ground and forming a visible ring of explosive qi.
Whoosh!
Yuyin was actually using the void-treading step to fly sideways again. With this second leap, her body spun. Her slender, beautiful leg was like a white jade battle-axe, chopping down towards Berman!
This sudden change in direction and timing was beyond Berman's expectations. He had no time to dodge. He immediately raised his fists in front of him, lowering his head into a defensive posture.
Bang!
Yuyin's long leg, like a heavy iron pendulum capable of breaking through a tall building, chopped down, kicking Berman's fists apart and sending him flying backward. As she landed, she half-turned, and with another kick.
Thud!
This kick, like a pile-driving hammer, directly sent Berman flying off the stage as if he were an exploding sandbag, crashing into the advertisement poster of the All-Nations Source Martial Practitioners over ten meters away.
For a moment, no one could react.
That blond giant team captain was also wide-mouthed, speechless.
Berman, lying among the broken advertisement pieces, lay with his limbs spread, his eyes vacant, his mouth full of white teeth. He lay there, dazed.
Yuyin flicked her long hair back and stood on the stage, her leisurely gaze sweeping over the North American Source Martial Alliance contestants:
"Next one."
"The victor... Lingdu Source Martial Academy, Xia Yuyin!" Even the professional host was a bit dazed, as if he had lost his train of thought. He immediately recovered and shouted.
It was too fast. The previous matches had all lasted at least several minutes of intense, fierce combat. But this match, although Berman had cursed a lot, the moment they engaged, victory and defeat were decided in the blink of an eye.
What prevented the host from getting into his rhythm was that Xia Yuyin hadn't even drawn her sword. He also had no preparation for it. He was still planning to introduce the situation of the two contestants.
Who would have thought that in this match, Xia Yuyin would leap up with a kick, land with another kick, and it would be over?
In contrast to the joy and excitement on the Academy's side, the faces of the North American Alliance, from the team captain to the several contestants, all turned grim. Although Berman, having fought three consecutive matches, had consumed a great deal of his Primordial Energy and stamina, it shouldn't have ended in a single exchange!
This showed that there was a gap in strength!
And this gap was not just a little bit.
"Yuyin, beautifully done." Chen Qian'ning couldn't help but feel a bit excited. Her chest rose and fell noticeably, her face slightly flushed.
"Classmate Xia Yuyin, you can now rest for three minutes to prepare for the next match." the host reminded.
"No need for a rest." Yuyin said casually. "There are still three matches. Let's start them quickly."
"What!?"
The contestants from the North American Alliance were stunned. What did she mean, there were still three matches? Did she think she could just win them all in a row?
A North American Source Martial Practitioner with blond hair and green eyes, with the demeanor of a high-class social elite, stood there. He was dressed in a straight, black Western suit and wore a tie. His gaze was like a hawk's as he watched Yuyin.
"Roster, you're up next!" The giant team captain, Thompson, said in a solemn tone.
This Roster was the second-ranked expert in the entire North American Alliance team.
"She is good. I will try my best." Roster said with a solemn expression.
"Come on, Roster!" Several of them raised their fists to cheer for their teammate.
Roster stood with his hands in his pockets, like a gentleman from a prestigious school. But at this moment, the cheers from the entire arena were for Yuyin.
Although relations between the various countries of the world had greatly improved, with great powers collaborating and the embryonic form of a community of common human destiny, there were still all kinds of competitions between different nations. This competition was still extremely fierce.
Even the competition within the Lingdu Source Martial Academy was so intense, let alone between different nations and peoples?
The Tiandu Source Martial Academy had already lost. The Lingdu Source Martial Academy was now behind 1:2. To be honest, the mood of the Huaxia audience was very tense and anxious.
But as soon as Yuyin took the stage, she not only tied the score but also won so exhilaratingly. How could everyone not be thrilled?
"Xia Yuyin!"
"Xia Yuyin!"
"Goddess Yuyin, go!"
"Xia Yuyin, we love you!"
The passion of the audience, their shock, their soul-stirring, their emotional release. The Soul Charm Points from that were naturally indispensable.
"Fifth match, Xia Yuyin versus Roster. Let the match… begin!"
Roster's weapon was a curved-hilt longsword that he drew from a gentleman's cane. The longsword was inlaid with his family's crest, a symbol of nobility and inheritance.
"Beautiful Eastern girl, you are as mysterious as your homeland. But I will eventually unveil your secrets. My apologies, milady!"
Roster's Primordial Energy erupted. The faint shadow of a golden lion seemed to appear around him. He carried the aura of an elite leader from birth.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Roster advanced with greatly improved and practicalized Western sword steps. The cane-sword in his hand was extremely fast, like a streak of sword light, stabbing towards Yuyin.
Yuyin, however, moved with swift, beautiful legs. Her figure was ethereal and graceful as she continuously dodged.
Several consecutive sword thrusts failed to hit Yuyin. One sword seemed to have struck in the slightest fraction of a second, but it still missed.
Yuyin's footwork, the Lotus Azure Step, was like an illusionary step. No matter how swiftly Roster attacked with his sword, he just couldn't hit Yuyin.
Suddenly, Roster stopped. "You, why don't you draw your sword?"
From defeating Berman until now, how could Roster ignore the conspicuous longsword on Yuyin's back? It obviously couldn't be just for show.
"You want me to draw my sword?" Yuyin's long hair flicked back lightly. Her gaze was cold and sharp. She looked at Roster from the side. "That depends on whether you have the qualification."
91: A Sweep
"What!?" Roster, young and full of vigor, his face, accustomed to noble upbringing, twitched. "Miss Xia, are you looking down on your opponent?"
"Since we are opponents, then everything besides victory or defeat is an illusion." Yuyin said coldly.
"Fine. Persisting in your arrogance is your freedom, but you will pay the price for it!" The handsome, blond youth Roster, who seemed like a gentleman on the surface but was bloodthirsty and violent at his core, his strong will to win and his anger made him lose control of himself.
Roster strode forward, swinging his cane-sword with movements that were both large and handsome. Every raise of his hand and every move of his foot carried a kind of noble power. He put all his strength into a sword that chopped down towards Yuyin from the side, from top to bottom.
Yuyin saw the path of her opponent's cane-sword clearly. She dodged with a shift of her body. At the same time, she struck out with a palm towards the side of the longsword.
Slap!
To strike a Source Martial Practitioner's sword with one's palm was unimaginable, even for Yuyin's body. But this palm of Yuyin's had no special technique. She just erupted with powerful Primordial Energy. A layer of pure, condensed Primordial Energy formed a protective barrier between the sword and the palm. In reality, her palm did not touch the sword. She used the fierce palm wind to push the opponent's sword to one side.
As the sword was pushed away, Roster's reaction was also fast. He threw a hook punch towards Yuyin's face.
However, Yuyin's move was faster. Her other palm struck out straight, pushing towards Roster's chest with powerful Primordial Energy. It was like a compressed gust of wind striking Roster simultaneously.
Roster suffered a heavy blow to the chest and spat out a mouthful of blood. He staggered back.
"Damn it!" Roster clutched his chest, almost unable to catch his breath. He tore off his tie with one hand, unbuttoned his collar, and spat another mouthful onto the ground.
The elite, who had never suffered such a blow before, he, Roster, had never been defeated. He had always been a top achiever. A master of his family's traditional knightly Primordial Energy secret art, he was at the limit of the Spirit-Seeking Realm. His pride would not allow him to admit defeat.
"Draw your sword!" Roster roared, stabbing fiercely towards Yuyin.
"As you wish."
Yuyin's eyes flashed. With a cold word, she raised her hand. At the same time, an arc of light flashed in front of her.
Clang!
Yuyin's sword, like a swaying giant pillar from a divine palace, was heavy as it struck down, smashing Roster's sword directly into the floorboards of the stage. As Roster fell forward with the sound, he charged towards Yuyin with his original speed, but the hand that held his sword was now twisted in reverse, fractured.
Yuyin nimbly stepped aside. Roster fell to the ground. He clutched his arm, groaning in pain. His hair was in disarray.
Whoosh!
Yuyin's longsword, with a despairing chill, was placed against Roster's neck.
This stopped Roster's groaning.
"I admit... I admit..." Roster gritted his teeth. He seemed about to shout his surrender, but then, his eyes showed a fierce light. He propped himself up, his legs scissoring, trying to trip Yuyin. At the same time, a dagger flipped out from his other sleeve.
However, Yuyin's reaction was faster. She leaped nimbly into the air, dodging Roster's leg. She adjusted her posture in mid-air, spinning her body. Her longsword fell with the rotation of her body.
Thud!
A heavy sword blow struck Roster's body. One side of his arm caved in. His eyes rolled back, and he foamed at the mouth, fainting on the stage.
The referee and two medical staff assistants ran onto the stage. After a brief check, they placed Roster on a stretcher and carried him down.
"The victor, Xia Yuyin!" the host announced emotionally.
"For the sake of victory, for the sake of honor, one can disregard so-called honor? I, for one, dislike such actions." Yuyin thought to herself. She raised her head, her longsword held diagonally at her side, standing at a corner of the stage. "Next one."
The score became 3:2. Yuyin had won two matches in a row, tying the score. The two remaining contestants from the North American Source Martial Alliance were stunned into silence by Yuyin's understated sentence.
And the entire arena erupted in cheers!
"Arriving at a critical moment, taking the stage and turning the tide, who else is there?"
"Yuyin, she seems to still have plenty of energy left!"
"North American Source Martial Alliance, weren't you very arrogant? See who else dares to come up and challenge?"
The audience was in an uproar, boiling with excitement!
Even Mr. Du on the referee's panel was somewhat moved. His weathered hands trembled as they rested on the table. "The affairs of the martial world may be small, but the righteousness of the nation is great. This Xia Yuyin, although I once saw some potential in her and planned to help her a little, I never thought her progress would be so fast. It's truly incredible..."
At the very moment when the Lingdu Source Martial Academy's Grand Martial Arts Dojo was shaking with heaven-shaking cheers, witnessing Yuyin's first debut on the world stage, the villa on the mountainside by the Yuehu Lake seemed exceptionally cold and clear.
In the dim room, one could not feel the passion of the distant Grand Martial Arts Dojo.
Here, there was only silence, accompanied by the faint sound of wind from the lake.
Lan Lianyue, dressed in a thin, black silk nightgown, lay scattered on the large bed. Her beautiful hair was in disarray, her gaze dazed and dim.
"What Source Martial competition? What does that have to do with me? Just let all of you go crazy for that woman, shout for her! Just forget all about me, that would be for the best!"
"Forget me... forget that I ever existed in front of you, forget that I was your Student Council President, forget the humiliating moment on the stage... I actually, in front of thousands of people, knelt down in front of that woman. I actually... was so useless... Wu wu wu..."
Lianyue's tears had almost never stopped, soaking the large, white pillow.
Her slender fingers gently clutched the soft bedsheets, looking so helpless.
"Whether you win or lose, it has nothing to do with me anymore. I don't want to see you. I don't want to see any of you! Just as you no longer need me, you no longer need a fool who was full of confidence in front of that first-year girl, but in the end lost to her, the most ridiculous woman in the world!"
"I don't need any of you either!"
"In this world, I... only need my brother. As long as I have my brother, that's enough. Only he understands me, he would never make me sad, and he would never deliberately hide his strength to fool me, to make me lose face in front of everyone."
"Hehehe, hehehe... that's right." A watery glint shone in Lianyue's eyes. "In this world, there have only ever been the two of us, brother and I, depending on each other for our lives. All the rest, they aren't using us, they are just looking at our bloodline and our abilities. It's all fake! It's all fake! That woman, she is also the most hypocritical of all!"
"Brother... he... will be back soon, very soon..." Lianyue looked extremely haggard, her mind in a trance. Perhaps because of her low mood and depression, she seemed even more delicate and weak. She gradually closed her eyes. "What if one day, for the sake of brother, something happens to me? I originally thought of letting that girl replace me to take care of brother, to protect him... But she, she doesn't understand anything at all... Forget it. Our world, indeed, doesn't need her. It doesn't."
"Brother, come back soon..." Lianyue said weakly, dazedly closing her eyes. It seemed only when she murmured her brother's name would a trace of comfort appear on her sad, beautiful face.
· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·
Inside the Grand Martial Arts Dojo, the fourth contestant from the North American Source Martial College Alliance to take the stage was a black giant over 2.15 meters tall and weighing over 350 pounds, wielding a meteor hammer.
At the Spirit-Seeking Perfection, his physical strength was several times that of an ordinary practitioner of the same realm.
The black giant swung his meteor hammer towards Yuyin. The meteor hammer, with its chains, had a large attack range.
Thud!
The meteor hammer smashed a hole in the floorboards.
Yuyin dodged, approaching in a few steps. The black giant immediately retracted his meteor hammer. The return of the meteor hammer also posed a threat, but Yuyin struck first with her sword, chopping towards his chest. His body was too large and stout, his defensive power extremely strong. In terms of physical defense and strength, he was even stronger than Lan Lianyue at the Early-Stage of Purple Domain.
Although Yuyin's sword strike knocked him down, it did not defeat him.
He stood back up with a sword mark on him, roaring, even more ferocious. He wildly swung his meteor hammer. Such wild swings actually had an intimidating power, but Yuyin was calm. She saw her opportunity, dodged a meteor hammer's smash, and stepped on the chain with her foot.
The black giant pulled hard on the chain, but unexpectedly, he could not pull it back. He was greatly shocked. He had thought his strength was unmatched among Source Martial Practitioners, but he never expected that this tall, sensually built girl's strength was not inferior to his.
But this giant, despite his huge frame, was not slow-witted. He had a ferocious, bloodthirsty talent for killing. He suddenly strode forward while swirling the remaining part of the chain, coldly entangling one of Yuyin's arms and body. He immediately pulled Yuyin towards him, raising his heavy, gauntleted fist, about to strike Yuyin.
But Yuyin took the opportunity to leap into the air. Her entire body spun around the chain in mid-air, reversing to break free from the chain at the same time. Her slender, jade-like legs "Thud! Thud!" kicked the black giant twice in the abdomen, sending him falling to the ground. The meteor hammer was also kicked from his hand.
The black giant's chest, having been kicked by Yuyin with a force beyond his imagination, foamed at the mouth. As he scrambled up, Yuyin gave him no more chances. Her longsword, with its heavy chopping power, chopped down.
"Stop!" The black giant raised his hands to defend, his face showing terror as he shouted.
A heart-stopping, fierce wind. Yuyin's sword, with a black shadow, stopped in front of the black giant's face.
"Next one."
Yuyin's gentle voice seemed to pierce through the black giant's will. His heavy body knelt on the ground, his gaze level with Yuyin's beautiful feet.
"You can still fight. Why should you admit defeat?" The black giant said as he left the stage. Thompson, the team captain, could not contain his anger and berated him.
Five contestants, four had already been lost. And three of them in a row had lost to this woman called Xia Yuyin. How could Thompson not be angry?
"I can't win. I'll get hurt if I fight again!" The black giant explained, agitated.
"I'm here to communicate, not to die!" Thompson also shook his head helplessly. He knew this fellow couldn't win, but he had just hoped he could hold out a little longer to consume Yuyin's strength, to create a small chance for their general.
However, that was wishful thinking. But in Thompson's view, no matter what, after three consecutive matches, Yuyin's consumption must have been considerable.
Next, it was time to send out their general from the North American Source Martial College Alliance.
But he never thought that after these three matches, Yuyin would still tell the host she didn't need to rest. Was this truly confidence? Or was it a bluff? This truly infuriated Thompson.
"You'll regret it!"
"Everyone, although for the seventh match, classmate Xia Yuyin still needs no rest, the team leader of the Lingdu Source Martial Academy's representative team, Teacher Chen Qian'ning, has requested a break between matches." the host announced.
"Eh?" Yuyin turned to look at the teacher. She had been thinking of quickly finishing the fourth match and ending the competition. But since the teacher said so, Yuyin still listened.
She obediently came to the edge of the stage. Yingluo brought over a small chair, but Yuyin gestured it wasn't necessary.
"Teacher, why do we need to rest? I'm not tired."
"You!" Chen Qian'ning was both fond of and exasperated. She was naturally happy that Yuyin had the strength, but she should still be cautious. One should not underestimate the enemy.
Little did she know, Yuyin was not underestimating the enemy at all. At the Late-Stage of Spirit-Seeking Realm, Yuyin was already capable of fighting Lan Lianyue at the Early-Stage of Purple Domain Realm. Now, Yuyin was at the Spirit-Seeking Perfection, and her body and swordsmanship had each been honed. Her opponents here didn't even have a single Purple Domain Realm expert. They and Yuyin were simply not on the same level of strength.
Chen Qian'ning shook her head helplessly, went up on the stage, and leaned close to Yuyin's ear, whispering, "Also, you must definitely win for me, but I just received a message from above, asking you to go a little easy on them, to leave some face for our international friends."