Chapter 311: Mad Demon Wins Big Against the Mysterious Sect Sword

The Mysterious Sect Sword Technique says: "It turns the heavens and makes the birds fly, it rolls across the earth without gathering dust; in a single strike, it is like a light breeze where the sword is unseen, and amidst ten thousand changes, one sees the sword but never the person."

The Mysterious Sect Sword Method combines hardness and softness, with the body leading the sword and the sword following the body; it moves like a Flood Dragon emerging from water and stays still like a Spirit Cat catching a mouse; in motion, the hands divide Yin and Yang, the body conceals the Eight Trigrams, the steps tread the Nine Palaces, internally harmonizing with the Qi, and externally harmonizing with the form.

Du Ruo's frame was thin, yet lean and upright, with long arms and a narrow build; it was perfectly suited for practicing the Mysterious Sect Sword Method.

It was Chengkai's first time seeing this kind of sword method; the mysteries within were difficult to discern for a moment, and while facing Du Ruo, he could only block and dodge, let alone counterattack.

However, Chengkai was no pushover; although Chengkai barely dodged every one of Du Ruo's attacks, after a few rounds, his responses became increasingly adept.

But even though Chengkai was coping with ease, Du Ruo's moves showed no sign of stopping; move after move pressed in, giving Chengkai no chance to catch his breath.

This won't do! If things continue like this, even if a way to break it is found, his stamina likely won't hold up.

With a sword thrust, Chengkai hurriedly raised his staff to pin it down, then followed the staff's rotation, lifting his leg in a spinning kick directed straight at Du Ruo's face. Seeing this, Du Ruo retreated in a hurry, and Chengkai took the opportunity to widen the distance between them.

Standing their ground, both of them panted for breath.

From the very beginning, Du Ruo had pressed with every move, not giving Chengkai a chance to counter; he had used all his skills in several close-quarters exchanges, especially with that Golden Embrace Chain move just now, which had been delivered with twelve parts of his strength. Now that he had been pushed back by Chengkai and suddenly stopped, he felt somewhat exhausted for a moment.

Chengkai had also been dodging step by step while having to concentrate fully on finding a way to break the technique, so his stamina was already more than half depleted, not to mention that kick he had used to forcibly push Du Ruo back just now.

The two of them stared at each other and panted incessantly, which Lingxiang watched with a flushed face, though in her heart she thought of a storybook she had read a few days prior, and blurted out that the two on the stage were inexplicably...

... a match.

Just as Lingxiang was lost in thought, she heard Long Qi suddenly shout from the side: "Go up! Fight him! Why are you dodging and weaving!"

The outburst pulled Lingxiang from her thoughts; she looked at Long Qi, a flash in her eyes, and then took a pill from her waist, beckoning Long Qi over.

Lingxiang had given him a Pill before, so Long Qi swallowed it without a second thought, but as soon as the pill hit his stomach, he realized: why was Lingxiang giving him a pill at a time like this?

Thinking this, he asked, and Lingxiang just smiled: "I see your heart-fire is raging, likely due to yesterday's defeat; that is not conducive to cultivation, so I gave you a Hanyu Pill to quell the fire and calm your spirit."

Hearing this, Long Qi shrugged. Although he had been a bit annoyed yesterday, he had long since moved past it and hadn't taken it to heart; he had only been anxious just now because he saw Chengkai constantly dodging without attacking. Still, it was a kind gesture from Lingxiang—she had him in her heart!

Thinking this, Long Qi rubbed his nose with a silly grin.

Hah! Women!

Hearing Long Qi's shouting from below the stage, Chengkai frowned slightly. His stamina was now more than half gone; if he continued to retreat and dodge endlessly like this, he would likely lose on the stage.

After deciding this, Chengkai pulled back his long staff, lowered his body, and struck the ground with the staff, producing a series of dull thuds.

"This stance!"

Huiyan was shocked to see this, but Lingxiang only glanced at him faintly and then smiled: "The Mad Demon Staff Method is indeed a good way to deal with the Mysterious Sect sword, but..."

It was just unexpected that Senior Brother Zhaoming would actually teach the Mad Demon Staff Method to Huiwu.

The Mysterious Sect Sword Method has a sharp sword intent; although it has many mysteries and changes, at its core, it is a straightforward sword technique.

And the Mad Demon Staff Method is just as its name suggests: every strike is mad, every move is erratic, unexpected, and unpredictable; it cannot be dealt with by conventional logic. Often, an opponent thinks the staff will swing from the front, but the next moment, they are poked in the chest.

This was going to be tricky; Huiyan couldn't help but break into a cold sweat for Du Ruo.

Although they were both personal disciples of Lieyang Zhenren, Huiyan, as the senior brother, knew all too well that Du Ruo lacked stamina, so the techniques he practiced were all known for continuous moves, which were extremely draining; if a strike failed to land, he would likely need a long rest before he could face the enemy again.

Moreover, Lieyang Zhenren had originally taught him the Mysterious Sect Sword because of Du Ruo's upright nature; now that he was encountering a wicked technique like the Mad Demon Staff Method, he would likely be unable to handle it.

Du Ruo would likely lose this match!

Chengkai struck the ground with the Jinglei Staff a few times, then walked toward Du Ruo with messy, staggering steps like a drunkard; yet, even though he looked drunk, his breathing was not disordered at all—each inhalation and exhalation was extremely steady.

Looking at Du Ruo, his breathing had already become heavy by now. Seeing Chengkai approaching step by step, Du Ruo could only force himself to pull out his sword to respond, but he had no confidence in his heart.

Just as the two drew closer, Du Ruo raised his sword and thrust, hoping to gain the initiative by aiming for Chengkai's lower body, but Chengkai simply lifted his foot and turned, dodging it as easily as if he didn't care.

Seeing Chengkai dodge, Du Ruo flicked his long sword, aiming for Chengkai's upper waist, but the sword had barely risen an inch before Chengkai struck his shoulder with a dull thud of the staff.

This strike was not light; Du Ruo felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and couldn't move it at all, let alone lift his arm, so he could only let it hang.

Oh no, it's dislocated!

Du Ruo thought to himself that it was bad and endured the pain to retreat, but Chengkai pressed on, swinging his long staff straight at Du Ruo's face. Seeing this, Du Ruo had no choice but to lower his waist to dodge, but before he could steady his footing, he found it hard to stand back up; with no other choice, he used the strength in his waist to roll to Chengkai's side.

However, just as Du Ruo wanted to get up, his left arm was powerless, and he couldn't move immediately; with Chengkai right in front of him, he had no choice but to kick out with his leg.

But who would have thought that this kick would hit nothing, as Chengkai turned again, dodging with such ease.

Seeing his kick miss, Du Ruo hurriedly tried to take advantage of the gap in Chengkai's movement to force himself up, but just as he braced his body, the Jinglei Staff was already poked in front of his face.

Du Ruo had lost.

"Good!"

Just as the crowd below the stage was silent, they saw Lingxiang stand up and shout aloud; it was this shout that brought the disciples below back to their senses, realizing that Chengkai had won another round, and they immediately burst into cheers.

This match was truly spectacular; Du Ruo's Mysterious Sect Sword was clean and free-spirited, Chengkai's response was steady and he could think of a countermeasure in a very short time, and the Mad Demon Staff Method was even more unrestrained and spontaneous—even Huiyan had to admit as much.

However, the personal disciple had already been defeated, and Chengkai had won two rounds on his own; the Taishang Sect's morale had long since been crushed, so who else could be chosen to take the ring now!