Chapter 541: Mu Qing Wins

Zhou Yanran's complexion grew increasingly pale, the webbing between her thumbs and forefingers split from holding the sword, and fresh blood dripped down along the hilt.

Her Qingyuan Sword Body had already been pushed to its limit, and the True Qi within her body poured out like water from an opened sluice, yet Mu Qing's fist force seemed endless.

"Rock... unbroken..." Mu Qing spat out the four words in a low voice, then suddenly let out a violent shout, thrusting her right fist forward abruptly.

The Sword Qi barrier shattered with a boom, transforming into a sky full of fine, fragmented starlight of sword light.

Mu Qing's fist passed through the sword screen, brushed against the body of the Qingyuan Sword, and slammed heavily into Zhou Yanran's lower abdomen.

Zhou Yanran's entire body flew backward like a kite with a broken string, collided with the cork railing at the edge of the Flying Boat, and slid down to sit on the deck along the railing.

The Qingyuan Sword slipped from her hand, landing on the deck with a "clang," and the luster of the sword veins on the blade dimmed rapidly.

Mu Qing did not pursue.

She still maintained her punching posture, her right arm stiffly extended forward, the stony luster on her fist gradually fading to reveal blood-soaked knuckles.

Every finger was covered in fine sword marks, as if pierced by countless needles at the same time.

Silence.

The entire deck was so quiet that only the sound of the wind as the Flying Boat tore through the air remained.

Zhou Yanran clutched her abdomen, curled up on the ground coughing incessantly, and a mouthful of dark red blood sprayed out, staining her pale green dress with shocking marks.

She tried to stand up, bracing her hands on the ground, but failed to lift her body twice in a row.

"The position... is yours," she said in a low voice, her tone as thin as a mosquito's hum.

Mu Qing slowly withdrew her arm, pointed at Zhou Yanran's Jade Tablet, and then pointed at her own.

"Exchange," she said.

Zhou Yanran gave a miserable laugh, trembling as she took out her own Jade Tablet and tossed it toward Mu Qing.

That Jade Tablet engraved with "Eleven" drew an arc in the air and was steadily caught by Mu Qing.

Mu Qing held the new Jade Tablet in her palm, didn't look at anyone else, and turned to walk toward the second-floor corridor.

Her steps were steady, like the wind and snow of the northern lands, neither hurried nor slow, but each step landed extremely heavily, as if confirming that the path beneath her feet would not collapse.

Zhou Tieyi looked at Mu Qing's back and clicked his tongue: "This woman... whoever looks down on female cultivators from now on, I'll fight them."

Cheng Feng ignored him. His gaze remained fixed on the direction Mu Qing had left, his brow furrowing imperceptibly.

When Mu Qing walked to the corner of the third-floor corridor, her footsteps suddenly paused. She turned her body, just in time to meet Cheng Feng's gaze.

Neither of them spoke; they simply stared at each other across the better part of the corridor for no more than a single breath's time.

Mu Qing nodded slightly, as if greeting him, or perhaps confirming something.

Cheng Feng nodded as well.

She turned and walked into her Cultivation Room, the door closing and completely shutting out the clamor outside.

"Why did she look at you?" Zhou Tieyi leaned in to ask.

"Nothing," Cheng Feng withdrew his gaze and looked at Zhou Yanran, who was being helped up on the deck, "She was just telling me that within three days, she will challenge everyone ahead of her, one by one."

Zhou Tieyi was stunned: "Including you?"

Cheng Feng was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled: "Including everyone.

After all, who doesn't want to be number one?"

Zhou Tieyi was still clicking his tongue in admiration of Mu Qing's fist, but Cheng Feng had already vaulted over the corridor railing.

His landing was light, like a leaf touching the ground, without startling many people.

No one on the deck had helped Zhou Yanran sit up; they were not familiar with her before, and would not rashly offer help.

Lying on the ground, Zhou Yanran's face was as white as paper, her dress at the lower abdomen was soaked in a large patch of blood, and her breathing was severely disordered.

Mu Qing's punch had been too heavy; although the sword body hadn't broken, her internal organs had mostly suffered a shock.

"It's fine, don't move, I'm here," Cheng Feng squatted down, his tone flat, yet it made one subconsciously obey.

He reached out to rest his hand on Zhou Yanran's wrist, his fingertips pressing against her pulse point, and a wisp of True Qi probed inside very lightly.

He closed his eyes for a few breaths, his brows slightly furrowed.

Among this group of people, the only one Cheng Feng could trust with peace of mind was Zhou Yanran.

Now...

"How is it?" Zhou Tieyi also followed down to join the excitement, squatting to the side to ask.

"She won't die."

Cheng Feng replied casually.

His left hand fished a flat leather pouch from his waist, inside which were several silver needles of varying thickness, the tips of the needles glinting with a faint cold light in the sunlight.

He pulled one out and, without hesitation, pierced it into an acupoint one inch above Zhou Yanran's lower abdomen; his technique was extremely steady, and the needle entered with almost no resistance.

Then came three more needles, landing respectively on the outer edge of the dantian, under the left rib, and on the inner side of the right knee.

"You can do this too?" Zhou Tieyi watched, dumbfounded.

"Is it hard?" Cheng Feng acted coolly for a moment.

He channeled True Qi from his palm into the ends of the needles, using the needles as a bridge to guide Zhou Yanran's scattered True Qi back into place bit by bit.

Mu Qing's punch had forced her True Qi to run wild everywhere, and some meridians were almost blocked; if they weren't cleared in time, leaving behind hidden injuries would be the least of her worries.

"It hurts..." Zhou Yanran groaned, her eyelashes trembling as she opened her eyes slightly.

Her vision was blurry for a few breaths before she could see who was in front of her.

"Don't move," Cheng Feng said in a low voice.

Zhou Yanran was just about to speak when she felt a surge in her abdomen and couldn't help but turn her head to cough a few times, coughing up nothing but dark red stagnant blood.

Cheng Feng didn't dodge, but simply turned his body to block, so that the blood wouldn't splash anywhere other than her dress.

Once she finished coughing, he pulled out the needle from the inner side of her right knee and re-inserted it in a different position.

"There is slight internal bleeding, but nothing is ruptured. Mu Qing held back; she only used seventy percent of her strength in that final punch, otherwise you wouldn't be able to talk right now," Cheng Feng said while applying the needles, his tone as calm as if he were reciting a medical text.

"Your Qingyuan Sword Body poured eighty percent of your True Qi into the Sword Qi barrier in a short time, overloading your meridians, which is why it hurts. Do not use force for the next three days, or you will be left with hidden injuries."

Zhou Yanran looked at him, her gaze somewhat complex: "You... why are you helping me?"

Cheng Feng did not look up: "We were in the same team before, so what is wrong with helping you?"

These words were spoken too bluntly, so bluntly that even Zhou Tieyi could not help but cough.

"Actually, once we boarded the Immortal Sect's ship, everyone became their own faction.

You saying it like that makes it seem like everyone really has to huddle together for warmth."

Zhou Yanran, however, smiled weakly and was not angry.

"Then what should I do now?" Zhou Yanran asked softly.

"You should rest and recover first." Cheng Feng removed the last needle, helped her lean against the side of the boat, and then turned to Zhou Tieyi: "Help me take her to my place; the environment in the Cultivation Room will help her recover."

"That Cultivation Room of yours on the second floor, number three? Aren't you going to use it yourself?" Although Zhou Tieyi was quick-tongued, his hands were not slow, and he had already draped one of Zhou Yanran's arms over his shoulder.

"I don't need it for the time being." Cheng Feng stood up and looked around. The bloodstains on the deck had not yet dried, and the onlookers had various expressions; some looked at him with wariness, while others lowered their heads and whispered.

Just now, by performing acupuncture in public, he had exposed the fact that he possessed Medical Skill. On this Flying Boat where swords might be drawn at any moment, exposing a rare skill was both a bargaining chip and a trouble.

He did not care.

The door to the Cultivation Room opened, and Spirit Qi rushed toward them, several times denser than outside. Zhou Yanran was placed on a meditation cushion against the wall, and the Spirit Gathering Formation Array Eye behind her was not running because the Jade Tablet was not there.

At this moment, it was not operating. Cheng Feng inserted his own Jade Tablet into the Array Eye, and a faint golden light flickered on it, the Spirit Qi suddenly becoming even purer.

"Are you crazy?" Zhou Tieyi opened his eyes wide: "If your Jade Tablet is plugged in, the Spirit Qi produced by the Cultivation Room belongs to you; she can only get the scraps sitting inside. Doesn't it hurt your heart?"

"It is fine," Cheng Feng said. "What she needs is to nourish her meridians; a bit of dense Spirit Qi is enough, it does not need to run at full power.

During the Ranking Battle, I wouldn't be able to stay in this Cultivation Room for too long anyway.

As for you, eighth place, if you don't go watch your position, it might become eighteenth by tomorrow morning."

Zhou Tieyi slapped his forehead, cursed "Damn it," and turned to leave.

He walked to the door and turned back, lowering his voice to ask: "She is the daughter of the Zhennan Prince; if you get close to her, there will be no end to the trouble later."

"In the Ranking Battle, there is only one identity, and that is an opponent." Cheng Feng's tone was flat. "When her injuries are healed, if she wants to challenge me, she is welcome anytime."

Zhou Tieyi nodded as if he understood, and closed the door.

The room quieted down, with only the extremely faint humming sound of the Spirit Gathering Formation operating. Cheng Feng sat cross-legged by the door, several feet away from Zhou Yanran.

Cheng Feng did not look at her, but stared at the opposite wall of the boat, seemingly lost in thought.

"You helping me like this, aren't you afraid Mu Qing will hold a grudge?" Zhou Yanran leaned against the wall, her complexion having improved slightly.

"Afraid? If I were afraid, would anyone come to challenge me?" Cheng Feng did not answer her question, but asked instead.

Zhou Yanran was startled.

That is true.

Cheng Feng said, "She herself was not lightly injured. That punch she landed on you caused her own knuckles to be cut and bruised by your Sword Qi. If it were anyone else, they might have had trouble even walking back to their Cultivation Room."

Zhou Yanran was silent for a moment, then said softly: "She is very strong."

"Mm." Cheng Feng admitted it quite readily. "Her fighting style is very clever; she took ten of your swords first to let you exhaust your Sword Qi, then used one punch to decide the outcome.

However, her consumption was also great; she won't come to challenge again before tomorrow."

"You even calculated this?" Zhou Yanran turned her head to look at him.

"This is called a bystander sees clearly..."

Cheng Feng closed his eyes and began to regulate his breathing and meditate.

Dim, yellow Spirit Qi swirled around him like a thin mist.

Zhou Yanran stared at his profile for a while, but in the end, she said nothing more and closed her eyes, slowly circulating her energy to nourish her damaged meridians with the Spirit Qi drawn in by his Jade Tablet.

Outside the door, the sky gradually darkened.

The bell on the top of the boat rang leisurely once, as if it had come from a very distant place, and then sank into the boundless sea of clouds.

The second day of the Ranking Battle thus came to an end.