Chapter 438: Falling Flowers (Second Update)

Looking at her smug expression, it was as if it were she herself, not Li Fengyao, who was performing the Secret Technique.

Yet Li Qiushui, caught within the Flower Rain, paid her no mind, squinting as she scanned her surroundings.

Clang.

She swung her sword to cleave a flower about to touch her, only to find it was truly no different from an ordinary mortal flower, easily shattered.

Yet those fluttering petals were like sharp blades and swords, slicing through the surrounding air.

Just as Li Qiushui dodged, she suddenly turned and thrust her sword, piercing a white flower.

"Found you!"

Pfft.

The white flower shattered, scattering across the ground.

Not there!?

"Heh."

Behind her, Li Fengyao's figure appeared for an instant, then vanished again with a faint smile.

"To think I really couldn't find her..."

Is the Flower Blossom Seal truly worthy of being the Wanhua Valley's sect-protecting technique? Even I cannot track her movements.

The situation on the field had suddenly reversed.

Li Fengyao, who had been retreating steadily under Li Qiushui's fierce offensive, had suddenly turned the tables to take the upper hand, while Li Qiushui, who had been so arrogant just moments ago, now had her brows locked in a frown, guarding against her surroundings.

She moved and dodged within the Flower Rain, appearing as if dancing among flowers, but it was more like dodging before tens of thousands of blades.

Such a dramatic change caused a faint thought to arise in the hearts of the spectators.

Could the result... actually be different?

"... Hmph."

After remaining in this passive stalemate for a moment, Li Qiushui suddenly closed her eyes.

Since I cannot find her, then I shall not look.

I will wait for you to come to me!

She stopped dodging, letting those dangerous white flowers land upon her body.

Petals brushed past, landing on her face, arms, and shoulders... that deadly beauty sliced through her robes and skin, seeping fresh red blood that stained her yellow garments.

Yet even so, Li Qiushui kept her eyes closed and her head lowered, gripping the Sword Intent in her hand without launching any counterattack.

She was waiting.

Waiting for a chance for a one-hit kill.

Swish...

In an instant, Li Qiushui's eyes snapped open, and her entire body's Sword Intent erupted, blowing away the white flowers filling the sky!

Sshhh—

Ten thousand swords danced, ten thousand flowers shattered.

Blades entered flesh, white edges swept past.

As the petals, shattered into rain, fell, the figures of the two appeared once more before the spectators.

One stood, one knelt.

Li Qiushui, her yellow clothes dyed into blood-stained robes, stood with lowered eyes and withdrew the Sword Intent in her hand.

"Cough!"

Li Fengyao, who had been missing for a long time, appeared before the people, only now she no longer possessed her previous elegance.

She knelt on one knee, painfully coughing up a mouthful of black blood that stained the white flowers on the ground.

On her right shoulder, there was now a hole the thickness of a finger and three inches long; the wound contained a piercing Sword Intent that blocked the flesh from healing.

Li Fengyao had been defeated once again.

This result did not exceed the crowd's expectations.

Although she had unleashed a shocking killing move this time and occupied the upper hand by relying on the Flower Blossom Seal, she ultimately could not withstand Li Qiushui's Sword Intent.

Li Qiushui's skill was a cut above; Li Fengyao was defeated but still honorable.

On the field, after the outcome was decided, both combatants had let go of their momentum.

"You have lost."

Li Qiushui looked at the older sibling kneeling before her; although her tone remained flat, there was considerable surprise in her eyes.

How could the progress be so great?

Could it be that she had been hiding it all along, just to erupt today and catch me off guard?

Li Qiushui truly could not believe that the Second Prince's strength had grown normally, subconsciously assuming that Li Fengyao had been deliberately hiding her strength before.

"Cough, cough! You really don't care about the bond between us siblings, showing no mercy to your older sibling at all."

Li Fengyao, her shoulder pierced, raised a hand to cover the bleeding wound and could not help but sigh.

My dear younger sister, your strikes are truly ruthless.

By piercing the shoulder blade of the hand Li Fengyao used to hold her sword and deliberately using Sword Intent to seal her meridians, Li Qiushui's intent was to force her to withdraw completely and stop interfering here.

Li Qiushui gave a light huff and said coldly:

"If I did not care for our bond, you would have long since become a ghost under my sword; where would you have the chance to harass me time and time again?"

"That is true."

Li Fengyao thought about it, and it was indeed the truth.

However, as the loser, there was no anger or unwillingness on her face, only a faint sense of regret.

"This time it was just a little short; as expected, relying on this alone is still not enough? It seems I still need to improve a bit more..."

Just barely?

Heh, you certainly know how to make excuses for yourself.

Li Qiushui curled her lip, ignoring the loser's barking, and turned to leave.

"Go back; this isn't a place you should be. Take your group of idiots and hurry—hm?"

Rustle...

A sneak attack!!?

Li Qiushui had no time to think; she pushed off with her feet, her figure retreating violently, instantly dodging dozens of feet away.

But looking back, the killing intent she expected did not arrive; Li Fengyao, who remained where he was, was not launching the sneak attack she had imagined, but was instead forming a seal with one hand.

"Flower Falling."

Petals emerged from the wound on her shoulder, and then her entire body transformed into petals, falling to the ground, and she vanished without a trace.

What is this?

Li Qiushui frowned deeply, not knowing what kind of situation this was before her.

The onlookers were equally confused and began to whisper among themselves.

"What is this?"

"A clone?"

"It's the Flower Falling Seal of Wanhua Valley; turning the body into ten thousand flowers to disintegrate is a top-tier desperate escape technique."

"I truly didn't expect that he, a man, would have successfully learned such a Secret Technique."

"However, he clearly had his sect guarding him nearby, so why did he choose to flee far away after being injured?"

Not seeking protection from sect disciples after being injured, but instead fleeing far away to recuperate—isn't this choosing the difficult path over the easy one?

"Could it be that he feels his sect cannot be trusted? If that is the case..."

Li Qiushui also felt something was wrong; her brows twitched, and just as she was about to raise her sword to pursue, a seemingly ordinary, short figure in the Wanhua Valley group suddenly spoke.

"Alright, little girl, let this matter end here."

A figure who had previously mocked Li Qiushui along with the others stepped out; she was not tall, and her face appeared mediocre, yet it faintly exuded a sense of allure.

"Forgive others when you can; do not go too far."

In an instant, this young girl's aura surged from Dharma Image Peak all the way to Spirit Transformation, then broke through directly, stopping only at Void Refining Peak, though the momentum continued to grow faintly.

Her appearance and figure also underwent a massive change, shifting from plain and unremarkable to charming and beautiful, transforming into a woman wearing a red dress, with the flower on her chest becoming a bright red peony.

Before outsiders could see what was happening, the Wanhua Valley disciples had already reacted first.

"It's the Venerable!"

"Venerable Peony!"

At this moment, all the Wanhua Valley disciples knelt before that woman, and even the previously arrogant and domineering Fan Zhuying obediently lowered her head.

"Greetings, Venerable Peony!"

Yet, no one saw the... fear in her eyes.