Firmament Sword

Internal Strife!

The upcoming battle between Chu Lin and Luo Tian had captured the hearts and minds of many.

Before the fight had even begun, a vast number of Heavenly Brilliance Disciples were already demanding to be spectators.

For the round to whittle one thousand contestants down to five hundred, the arenas used were typically much larger than those in previous rounds, but even the biggest could only hold thirty to forty thousand people.

Yet for this single fight, the number of people who registered to watch had already surpassed three hundred thousand!

This was nearly on par with the viewership for the final battles to determine the top one hundred.

As a result, the Celestial Brilliance leadership made a last-minute decision: this match would be held in a giant arena capable of seating half a million spectators.

When this news broke, it caused a massive sensation throughout all of Celestial Brilliance.

Not even the match for Senior Brother Tianhuang, Jin Ming, in the same round had warranted such a massive arena.

This just went to show how explosively popular the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden had become.

Despite the clamor from the outside world, Xu Luo remained perfectly calm. The next morning, he received a message from Qi Yue. Following her directions, he casually made his way to watch her fight.

The moment he appeared in the stands of Qi Yue's arena, he immediately caused a sizable commotion.

"Am I seeing things? Is that the Senior Brother Medicine Garden?"

"Haha, with all sorts of rumors swirling like a tidal wave, he actually shows up here to cheer on a fellow disciple. His composure... it's really something else!"

"Is that really him? At a time like this... shouldn't he be making his final pre-battle preparations?"

"He's the Senior Brother Medicine Garden. If he really loses to that Chu Lin fellow, it's not just his own reputation that will be dragged through the mud—the entire image of the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden will take a massive hit. And under that kind of pressure, he still has the nerve to come watch someone else's fight..."

"Brother, get over here! I've spotted the Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden... Yes, that's right! It's not his match, but he's here watching!"

"It's the battle between the Medicine Garden's Senior Sister and Wu Sisi. That alone is exciting enough and full of drama. Now Luo Tian is here too! You'll regret it if you don't come!"

In an instant, a buzz swept through the stands as everyone grew even more excited.

This particular battle had already drawn a large crowd on its own.

It was already considered one of the highlights of the Celestial Brilliance Annual Competition for the past several years.

The Medicine Garden's Senior Sister, Qi Yue, versus the disciple of Elder Shu Qing, Wu Sisi. The grudge between the two women had spanned several years, with every encounter ending in Qi Yue's narrow defeat.

This wasn't to say that Qi Yue lacked strength; rather, Wu Sisi was always just a cut above.

Every year, as soon as they both made it into the top one thousand, one would immediately use her challenge quota on the other. If Wu Sisi didn't, Qi Yue would.

But this year, the Medicine Garden was different. Its disciples had finally had a breakthrough; they now understood how to fight.

Therefore, many people were looking forward to this match, hoping to see a completely new Qi Yue.

And this year, it was Qi Yue who had taken the initiative to challenge Wu Sisi!

She wanted her revenge!

Standing on the arena platform, Qi Yue glanced in Xu Luo's direction, a brilliant light flashing in her eyes. 'He really came to cheer me on!' she thought, overjoyed.

Ignoring the clamoring crowd around him, Xu Luo gave Qi Yue a big thumbs-up.

Qi Yue's face broke into a smile. Her bright eyes, framed by straight-cut bangs, filled with mirth, and a faint blush crept onto her fair, delicate cheeks.

Wu Sisi, standing opposite her, also glanced toward Xu Luo in the stands and sneered. "A weakling who can't even protect himself, and a perennial loser. You know... you two are quite a good match!"

"You're jealous, Wu Sisi," Qi Yue said softly, her eyelashes fluttering. "And you're scared."

"Me, scared of you? Don't be ridiculous, Junior Sister Qi Yue. You don't actually believe those little trinkets your Medicine Garden cooked up this year can threaten me, do you?"

"How naive! Do you still not get it? Fine, allow your senior sister to reluctantly educate you..."

"Once you reach a certain level, those little toys from your Medicine Garden are completely useless!"

"Did you really think that after I learned the effects of those Elixirs, I would be foolish enough to just wait for you to use them on me? Dream on! I've been prepared for a long time!"

Wu Sisi looked at Qi Yue smugly and said with arrogance, "If you're looking for someone to blame... you can only blame your Medicine Garden for showing its hand too early! If you'd been a little quieter about it, maybe... just maybe, I really would have suffered a loss at your hands."

"But now... don't even think about it!"

In the face of Wu Sisi's blatant contempt, Qi Yue simply offered a smile. "Heh."

"Fine, go ahead and 'heh.' We'll see if you're still smiling in a minute!" Wu Sisi said, then glanced at the official standing at the edge of the platform. "Referee, I'm ready!"

Qi Yue smiled faintly. "I'm ready as well."

The Referee gave them both a deep look and said in a solemn voice, "This is a spar above all. Do not cause undue harm."

With that, he announced, "Begin!"

The two women exchanged a look, then charged. Without another word of trash talk, they were locked in combat!

Having fought each other for years, they were intimately familiar with one another's styles. There was no need for probing attacks; they went straight for their most powerful techniques.

By now, the stands, which could hold tens of thousands, were already packed to the brim.

There had been a few empty seats, but with Xu Luo's arrival, they filled up in an instant. Countless others were left outside, frustrated that they couldn't get in to catch a glimpse of the Senior Brother of the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Explosive impacts rang out continuously between the two women.

Their movements were blindingly fast, and a powerful aura flooded the arena platform.

In the eyes of both women, only their opponent existed; they couldn't afford the slightest distraction in the heat of battle.

Although Wu Sisi was slightly superior in terms of pure strength, she didn't dare let her guard down. Her victories over the years had always been by a narrow margin, never a decisive, overwhelming win.

Furthermore, with the Medicine Garden Disciples starting to use all sorts of offensive Elixirs this year, a thread of fear was woven deep in Wu Sisi's heart.

She didn't show it on the surface, but Wu Sisi was terrified that Qi Yue would actually use those Elixirs.

Putting all others aside, a single Bursting Pill was enough to give her a major headache.

Fortunately, Qi Yue seemed to have some scruples and didn't immediately start bombarding her with Elixirs. This allowed Wu Sisi to relax, just a little.

But only a little. Wu Sisi still had to divert a portion of her focus to guard against a sudden move from Qi Yue!

After all, there was no telling when Qi Yue might suddenly toss an Elixir at her.

After watching for a while from the stands, Xu Luo understood. 'Qi Yue has no intention of using those Elixirs at all!'

'Although,' he thought, 'this persistence of hers is unnecessary. A fight is a fight. Even in the annual competition, which is more like a spar, for me... it's still a fight!'

'One wrong move... and you can get injured, or even killed!'

'That being the case, you should use any means necessary, as long as they aren't so despicable as to be shameful... as long as it's within the rules, anything is fair game!'

But Qi Yue's stubbornness wasn't entirely without reason. For years, she had been unable to defeat Wu Sisi. Now that the Medicine Garden was resurgent with all sorts of offensive Elixirs, she could easily win by using them... but people would inevitably claim it was an dishonorable victory.

'To truly shut everyone up, she has to defeat Wu Sisi with her own strength, without relying on Elixirs!'

And here, Qi Yue wasn't entirely without a strategy of her own!

Given the Medicine Garden's current reputation, not a single Heavenly Brilliance Disciple dared to ignore its various offensive Elixirs.

So, even if Qi Yue never used them, Wu Sisi would have to be distracted guarding against them!

The original gap in their abilities wasn't that large to begin with. Now, with Wu Sisi constantly distracted, guarding against an offensive Elixir that might be thrown at any moment... as one's focus waned and the other's sharpened, Wu Sisi was immediately put at a disadvantage!

Xu Luo saw it clearly. He knew Qi Yue was guaranteed to win this fight.

A happy smile spread across his face. 'This girl...' he thought, '...not too dumb after all!'

Just as he was thinking this, on the arena platform, Qi Yue suddenly flicked her hand. Wu Sisi instantly fell back, holding her breath and steeling herself in a defensive posture.

But Qi Yue's hand was empty; there was nothing there. The instant she made the motion, she closed the distance, charging straight for Wu Sisi.

By the time Wu Sisi realized she had been tricked, it was too late. Qi Yue was already in front of her, one slender hand clasped around her throat.

If Wu Sisi made the slightest move, her throat would be crushed to powder!

At that point, not even the Medicine King himself could save her.

Wu Sisi's face instantly turned deathly pale. She stared at Qi Yue in fury, unable to believe she had lost just like that.

"Why didn't you use the offensive Elixirs?" Wu Sisi asked through gritted teeth.

Wu Sisi had already planned for this. If she lost the battle today, she had plenty of excuses ready. The simplest one was to attribute Qi Yue's victory to her use of Elixirs.

But from start to finish, Qi Yue hadn't produced a single Elixir. All of Wu Sisi's anxious preparations had been for nothing, and she felt incredibly suffocated by the result.

'If I hadn't been on guard against your stupid offensive Elixirs, how could I possibly have lost to you?'

But how could she possibly say such a thing out loud?

Wu Sisi wasn't some brain-dead idiot. She knew that if she actually said that, she would be ridiculed to death.

The shame of being labeled a "sore loser" was more than she could bear.

So, despite her immense unwillingness to accept defeat, all she could manage in the end was that one resentful question.

"Why would I use them?" Qi Yue's eyes, beneath her bangs, feigned confusion as she looked at Wu Sisi in surprise. "Since I was the one who challenged you, why would I use those things? I wanted to defeat you fair and square!"

"..." At that moment, Wu Sisi felt the urge to vomit blood.

'Fair and square... Some "fair and square" this is!'

"And now, the facts have finally proven one thing: you, Wu Sisi... aren't nearly as powerful as you imagine," Qi Yue said with a grin. Then, with her other hand, she reached out and patted Wu Sisi's flawless cheek. "So tender!"

An uproar erupted from the surrounding stands, followed by... a wave of uproarious laughter.

The renowned beauty of Celestial Brilliance, Wu Sisi, had just been publicly teased by the equally famous beauty, Qi Yue!

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