Chapter 83: Xue'er Battles Sima

The purple-clad youth had already collapsed to the ground, his entire body's strength seemingly scattered by the strike of two chopsticks; it was only after a long while that he crawled up, standing behind Sima Ziyi in shame, whispering, "Master, I have failed you; this disciple has brought disgrace upon you."

Sima Ziyi let out a cold snort, his face as sunken as water.

Shangguan Xueer said with a charming smile, "The disciple has already lost, I wonder if Master dares to try. How about I concede one more step: thirty moves. As long as you can hold out against me for thirty moves, I shall count it as my loss."

Sima Ziyi laughed aloud.

He laughed, looking up at the sky.

But anyone could see that he was laughing out of extreme rage: "Excellent, excellent. To think that I, the dignified 'Peace Sword Guest' Sima Ziyi, would be looked down upon like this. Little girl, if I do not defeat you within ten moves, not only will I give you these fifty thousand taels of silver, I will give you another fifty thousand."

He actually had his disciple take out another fifty thousand taels of silver and place it on the table.

Shangguan Xueer clapped her hands and laughed, "Now I'm rich; I can eat whatever I want and never have to look at my sister's face again."

"Draw your weapon; I will not hold back." Sima Ziyi's hand was already resting on that strangely shaped sword, gathering momentum.

"Wait a moment." Shangguan Xueer darted nimbly and appeared beside the counter.

The shopkeeper and the waiter were hiding under the counter; no one knew what the little girl said, but the waiter scurried toward the kitchen, and before long, he ran back out and handed something to Shangguan Xueer.

"This is my weapon."

Shangguan Xueer appeared before Sima Ziyi again, holding two gleaming Iron chopsticks in her hands, and said with a grin, "I used wooden chopsticks to defeat your disciple; you, as the Master, are more troublesome, so I'll just use Iron chopsticks."

"I am furious! I am absolutely furious!"

Hearing these words, Sima Ziyi's face flushed red, his lungs practically exploding with rage.

From childhood to adulthood, he had never been treated with such contempt, and the one looking down on him was a little girl.

With a "clang" like a dragon's roar, the Twin Fish Sword was already unsheathed.

The sword light was swift and heavy, stabbing over like a startled swan or a bolt of silk.

He wanted to end this battle within ten moves.

He had great confidence in his own swordsmanship; although he could not compare to top-tier swordsmen like Ximen Chuixue or Ye Gucheng, his swordsmanship had reached the first-rate. Dealing with a little girl should be as easy as reaching out and taking something.

This shop contained not only Yu Liancheng and his disciples and the people from their Changle Villa, but also some martial arts practitioners, all of whom turned their gazes here.

Only by cleanly and neatly defeating this girl within ten moves could he salvage his reputation.

Therefore, the moment he struck, he unleashed the most exquisite part of his sword technique.

Especially the move "Iron Sword Wild Flower," which held the deepest true teachings of Master Iron Sword; many famous swordsmen had been defeated by this very sword.

But as it happened, Shangguan Xueer was not one of them.

Her small body fluttered as gracefully as a butterfly, dodging Sima Ziyi's lethal moves with ease.

Even when she could not avoid them, she would extend her Iron chopsticks to subtly influence the momentum of his sword before calmly dodging away.

The sword in Sima Ziyi's palm moved faster and heavier with every strike; the entire inn could hear the "woo-woo" sound of the Twin Fish Sword cutting through the air, like a swinging sledgehammer, yet he could not harm a single hair on Shangguan Xueer.

Soon, ten moves had passed.

Sima Ziyi grew increasingly impatient; since he could not finish this girl in ten moves, he would make sure she knew the power of the "Peace Sword Guest" within twenty.

Twenty moves also passed quickly.

Cold sweat appeared on Sima Ziyi's forehead, because not only had he failed to defeat Shangguan Xueer, but in a round of rapid attacks and thrusts, he had consumed a great deal of stamina and True Qi, and his swordsmanship was no longer as seamless as before.

On the contrary, Shangguan Xueer, with her small frame and nimble footwork, had turned from defense to offense, her pair of Iron chopsticks containing a sharp energy as she stabbed at the flaws in his swordsmanship.

By the time the two had exchanged twenty-five moves, the clothes on Sima Ziyi's back were already soaked with cold sweat.

This was because every time Shangguan Xueer thrust her sword, it was aimed exactly at his weak points.

He had never imagined that there were so many flaws in his own swordsmanship.

Nor had he ever imagined that he would be forced to such a state by a little girl, struggling at every step, as if he could be defeated at any moment.

"Got you!"

On the twenty-eighth move, Shangguan Xueer let out a delicate cry, and the Iron chopsticks in her hand suddenly flicked out, turning into a streak of silver light that struck the spine of the Twin Fish Sword. Sima Ziyi felt a jolt in the web of his thumb, and the long sword in his hand flew out of his grasp.

And the next moment, a sharp energy pierced forward. The other Iron chopstick in Shangguan Xueer's hand was already pressed against Sima Ziyi's chest. If this had been a sword, it would have already pierced his heart.

"Hee hee, I won." Shangguan Xueer retracted the chopsticks and smiled charmingly: "It almost exceeded thirty moves, that was close, that was close. Now I have one hundred thousand taels of silver, enough for me to spend for a long time."

A little girl with little fame had defeated Sima Ziyi with two Iron chopsticks.

Everyone who saw this scene, whether they were in the martial arts world or not, felt very surprised.

The disciples of Changle Villa were even more devastated, as they could not believe that the Master they viewed as a God could actually lose to a girl.

Of course, the one most affected was Sima Ziyi.

Sima Ziyi's face was deathly pale, white as paper, and he stood there in a daze, as if he had lost his soul.

Lost!

A crushing defeat.

A complete and total loss.

The people from Changle Villa naturally had no face to ask for the ribbon anymore, nor did they have the face to stay in the restaurant, so they left, supporting the soul-lost Sima Ziyi.

Shangguan Xueer held the silver notes, counting them over and over, and said with a grin: "Earning one hundred thousand taels of silver from one fight is much more profitable than extorting that old bag of bones, Huo Xiu."

Yu Liancheng used his chopsticks to pick up a slice of meat and put it into his mouth: "Pity, such business is not common."

Shangguan Xueer looked at Yu Liancheng with her big eyes, filled with infinite reverence: "Master, you are truly amazing; without your instructions, I certainly would not have been a match for that Sima Ziyi."

"As long as you know that, do not be arrogant."

Yu Liancheng used a heavy sword, so he naturally paid attention to the famous heavy sword experts in the Edo.

Among them was Sima Ziyi's master, "Master Iron Sword"; he had once had the Green Clothes Tower collect Master Iron Sword's techniques, so he naturally knew the flaws in this person's swordsmanship.

But even knowing the flaws, if it had been a head-on collision, Shangguan Xueer would not have been a match for Sima Ziyi.

Therefore, Yu Liancheng had let Xue'er provoke Sima Ziyi.

A proud person like Sima Ziyi could not tolerate being slighted, so the moment he struck, he used his most exquisite moves, determined to end the battle quickly.

A heavy sword is naturally very taxing on stamina and True Qi.

Furthermore, if Sima Ziyi cannot defeat Xue'er within ten moves, not only will his physical strength and True Qi be exhausted, but more importantly, his heart will also be thrown into chaos.

A chaotic heart, a chaotic sword...

How could there be any reason for him not to be defeated?

After Shangguan Xueer finished counting the banknotes, she could not help but say, "If Sima Ziyi loses at my hands, I fear he will be heartbroken and miserable for a long time."

Yu Liancheng said indifferently, "Being heartbroken and miserable now is far better than letting his family and friends be heartbroken and miserable."