Ning Xian's cold words immediately quieted the entire audience.
Ning Xian accepted the challenge!
Whether Mo Qingkuang was recklessly arrogant or not, they believed that Ning Xian would not fail.
Everyone at Blue Flame Royal Academy believed that Ning Xian's strength was not inversely proportional to her beauty but rather exceeded it.
Each level of Spirit Ascension Mountain had a large platform for duels to compete for rankings.
The platform on the fourth level was especially large since the students there were much stronger.
Mo Qingkuang and Ning Xian stood on the platform, while Xu Kong and others stopped their cultivation and gathered around to watch.
There weren't many spectators. Only those ranked in the top twenty had the privilege of watching such high-level combat up close.
The rest could only watch from afar.
"Xu Kong, do you think Ning Xian will win?" A young man around twenty-three or twenty-four years old asked beside Xu Kong.
He was the second seat of Blue Flame Royal Academy, a first-rank great-grandmaster, not a spirit body, but someone who had reached his position through diligent cultivation and a series of fortuitous encounters.
Now about to graduate, he was content with his second-seat ranking, considering it difficult to challenge someone as extraordinary as Xu Kong.
Even though he was older than Xu Kong, he willingly called him senior.
Before Xu Kong could answer, the tenth seat Ji Han coldly said, "Senior Qiu Yuan, you should be asking how many moves this Mo Qingkuang can withstand."
"A mere Wind Spirit Body, only fit to dominate a rural place like Tianxuan."
Earlier, he had wanted to replace Ning Xian in the duel, but Mo Qingkuang had silently scorned him, and he had been suppressing his anger ever since.
Ning Xian's true strength was not weaker than his. Although he hadn't fought Ning Xian, the ninth seat had lost to her, and he was ranked tenth, which said it all.
Xu Kong glanced at him and calmly said, "He is only seventeen."
Xu Kong had access to quite a bit of information about Mo Qingkuang. He knew his exact age and cultivation level.
As for his actual combat strength, it was unclear. The most recent record he knew of was from a year ago at the Fallen Leaf King's Tomb.
Mo Qingkuang had fought ten opponents of the same level, killed eight, and driven away two.
At that time, he was only a fourth-rank martial master. Now that he had advanced to grandmaster, it was uncertain how much stronger he had become.
What he didn't know was that those eight disciples of the Yuan Sword Sect killed at the Fallen Leaf King's Tomb were actually taken down by the Fallen Leaf King.
"Seventeen—" Qiu Yuan beside him sighed. "Being young is great."
A seventeen-year-old first-rank grandmaster with a spirit body.
Such talent was truly enviable. Not just in the Tianxuan Empire, but even in the entire Blue Flame Royal Academy, only Xu Kong could claim superior talent.
Xu Kong's gaze turned to Mo Qingkuang on the field. Speaking of seventeen-year-old first-rank grandmasters, he had recently heard that the Yuan Sword Sect had produced a seventeen-year-old genius named Lin Yang.
Not only did Lin Yang have remarkable cultivation talent, but he was also far ahead of his peers in alchemy, already a third-grade alchemist at a young age.
Rumour had it that Lin Yang and Mo Qingkuang had some history and were mortal enemies.
Xu Kong couldn't help but chuckle inwardly: Time and fate. The Tianxuan Empire was on the verge of decline, showing signs of a final burst of brilliance.
The sudden appearance of two peerless talents could be the key to Tianxuan's revival. Unfortunately, the two were irreconcilable, unable to unite, ultimately leading to counterproductive outcomes.
In the ring, Mo Qingkuang observed the angry look in Ning Xian's eyes, recalling his characterization of her.
Unlike Han Yan from the Han family, Ning Xian didn't hide her face despite her beauty, and their personalities were different.
Han Yan'er was like a block of ice with a fiery core. Anyone who could break through her icy exterior would find passionate warmth.
Fortunately, the one to break the ice was Mo Qingkuang.
Ning Xian, on the other hand, was more outgoing and free-spirited. It was said that she was kind to every student in the academy, never displaying arrogance despite her popularity.
Sadly, though gentle as water on the outside, her heart was cold as ice. Such a woman was even harder to win over than Han Yan'er.
"Let's begin. Show me how much talent the Tianxuan Empire's genius really has!" Ning Xian, no longer polite, drew a sharp sword.
Mo Qingkuang spread his hands, indicating he wouldn't use a weapon, and readied himself for the fight.
Seeing this, Ning Xian wasted no time. She raised her hand and swung her sword twice.
Two bright, startling sword beams shot out, the blue glow like flowing water, swiftly flying towards Mo Qingkuang through the air.
This was her probing attack. Though she was angry that Mo Qingkuang treated her as a soft target, she wouldn't underestimate a fellow spirit body.
These two strikes were to test what kind of opponent Mo Qingkuang would be.
Wind attribute warriors generally followed two paths: one was the sharp type with strong attacks, usually using weapons, mostly swords. Seeing Mo Qingkuang not using a weapon, she wasn't sure if he was not using his full strength or just wasn't that type.
The other type was speed-focused, moving quickly, using harassment tactics, and aiming for a decisive strike.
Mo Qingkuang saw the two blue water-like sword beams and smiled.
This level of attack seemed swift, and an average grandmaster might not easily handle it.
But to him, it posed no threat.
He narrowed his eyes, confirmed the trajectory of the beams, and smiled, not dodging but standing still.
The crowd was stunned. Had Mo Qingkuang gone mad? Though most saw it as a probing attack from Ning Xian, it wasn't something an average person could easily take.
He was a Wind Spirit Body, not an Earth Spirit Body who could take hits!
"Is he scared stiff?" The lower-ranked students were puzzled.
Ning Xian's casual probing attack was unbeatable to them. They thought Mo Qingkuang must be scared stiff, forgetting to dodge.
They secretly laughed, thinking Mo Qingkuang was foolishly overestimating himself and would lose in one move.
Only Xu Kong's pupils shrank suddenly. "Did he figure it out? Or..."
Qiu Yuan didn't understand what Xu Kong meant. The beams were already upon him, yet Mo Qingkuang hadn't moved.
There was no way to avoid it now. The beams passed through him, continuing far off and dissipating in midair.
Did they hit?
The crowd looked at Mo Qingkuang, incredulous.
Mo Qingkuang was unharmed, not even his clothes were cut.
Did they miss?
The beams had clearly gone through, one aiming for his head and one for his left arm.
They thought the beam aimed at his head would split his skull in two.
But now it seemed Ning Xian had missed?
***
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