Chapter 114 Sect Siblings' Contest
Evening.
On the sword training platform behind the City Lord's Mansion, a figure in plain white hovered midair.
Ji Lingxiu stood with eyes half-closed, four spirit swords floating around her, glowing in azure, crimson, white, and black. Their tips quivered, and faint echoes of dragon roars and tiger cries reverberated through the air.
"Azure Dragon position, arise."
With a flick of her fingers, the azure sword flared with dazzling light. From its radiance coiled forth the phantom of an azure dragon, scales glistening and claws outstretched, brimming with power—formed from the Azure Dragon's blood her second senior brother Han Yu had brought back not long ago.
"Vermilion Bird position!"
The crimson sword resonated, its blazing aura spreading into the form of a fiery phoenix. Though she had not yet obtained true Vermilion Bird blood, the Nanming Lihuo bestowed by her master sufficed to forge a passable substitute.
The White Tiger and Black Tortoise swords lacked divine beast blood, yet under her pure sword intent they still manifested vague bestial phantoms.
"Four Symbols revolving—array, rise!"
At her clear cry, the four sword lights interwove into a net. In an instant, all spiritual energy within a hundred paces was drained dry. Under the sword formation's cover, even space itself twisted, like a self-contained world.
Boom—
The test stone at the array's center crumbled into dust without a sound.
This Four Symbols Sword Array, a supreme immortal art taught directly by her master, showed its might—even with only Azure Dragon blood, its power already surpassed ordinary sword techniques.
Just as Ji Lingxiu was about to sheath her swords, a crisp voice rang down from above:
"Third Sister, don't stop! Let me try your Four Symbols Sword Array!"
Before the words faded, a figure in bright yellow plummeted into the formation like a shooting star.
It was a girl of fifteen or sixteen.
She wore a light yellow gauze dress with a crimson sash at the waist, accentuating her willow-slim figure.
Her black hair was loosely gathered with a jade hairpin, a few strands falling to frame her face, swaying lightly as she moved.
Most captivating were her eyes—clear as autumn water, bright as stars, reflecting a sky full of starlight with each glance.
Her skin gleamed like new snow, her cheeks faintly tinged with pink, like peach blossoms blooming in March. Her nose was delicate, her lips cherry-red without dye. When she smiled, two dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth, sweet enough to tug at one's heart.
Though still young, her movements already carried natural grace. Innocence blended with vitality, youth mingled with beauty—like a bud kissed by dawn, still unopened yet destined to bloom into a peerless beauty.
If it had been anyone else, Ji Lingxiu might have ignored her. But seeing who it was, her eyes lit up. "Little Junior Sister?" She smiled faintly. "Though you are half a step into the Longevity Realm, my Four Symbols Sword Array has already been deployed. Even an ordinary Longevity Realm would struggle here. Be careful."
The yellow-clad girl winked playfully. "We'll see after the fight!"
As soon as her words fell, her figure blurred into a streak of light. Soaring Swan Art—the peerless body technique said to be the fastest in the Xuan Ying Continent—flowed from her movements. She truly moved like a startled swan or a fleeting shadow, too swift for even afterimages to linger.
"Good!"
Ji Lingxiu shifted her seals, and the array roared to life. The Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise sword intents wove together, unleashing countless sword strikes that poured down like a storm. Each carried its own attribute: dragon sword qi sharp and forceful, phoenix qi blazing, tiger qi fierce, tortoise qi heavy.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The yellow-clad girl danced among the torrent, her figure elusive. At times she drifted like catkins in the wind, at times she stepped like a swan upon snow, slipping past nine of every ten strikes.
Those she could not avoid, she deflected with a fingertip, turning force with force.
The battle grew fiercer within the array. Finding her attacks ineffective, Ji Lingxiu altered her seals again. The Four Symbols Sword Array contracted, its power condensing into four tangible beast-shaped sword gales, charging inward from every direction.
A spark lit in the girl's eyes as she finally drew her sword.
The blade gleamed like crystal—the immortal sword Ice Soul, a gift from her father.
"Flash of the Soaring Swan!"
Her body suddenly accelerated. At the instant before the four sword gales closed in, her blade pierced straight at the weakest central node of the formation.
Clang—
A crisp sword cry echoed through the valley.
The Four Symbols Sword Array shattered instantly. Ji Lingxiu staggered back three steps before steadying herself, while the yellow-clad girl also drifted back, her cheeks flushed, clearly drained.
"A draw?" the yellow-clad girl raised her brow.
Ji Lingxiu sheathed her sword and smiled. "Little Junior Sister, your Soaring Swan Art has grown ever more refined."
The yellow-clad girl stuck out her tongue. "Third Sister's sword formation is what's amazing. I nearly couldn't escape."
The two exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly. In truth, both had held back—Ji Lingxiu had not unleashed the killing move Four Symbols as One, and the yellow-clad girl had not used the triple-layered Flash of the Soaring Swan.
Among sect siblings, a spar was meant to stop short.
Then Ji Lingxiu asked, "By the way, Little Junior Sister, what brings you here?"
The yellow-clad girl was none other than Chen Xingcai, now grown.
At that moment she was still reliving their duel in her mind, until Ji Lingxiu's question snapped her out of it.
"Oh no!" she cried, stamping her foot in frustration. The crimson sash at her waist fluttered as her delicate face scrunched into a pout.
Ji Lingxiu couldn't help but smile.
This little junior sister had always been lively and impulsive; such clumsy forgetfulness was nothing new.
She was about to tease her when Chen Xingcai's expression turned grim.
"Third Sister! Something terrible!" Chen Xingcai's voice cracked with urgency. "Senior Brother—he's gone to the Azure Cliff Forbidden Ground again!"
"What?!"
Ji Lingxiu's face changed drastically, her sword seals faltering.
The Four Symbols Sword Array unraveled in disorder, the four spirit swords humming uneasily in midair. With a wave of her hand, she forcibly dispelled the array.
"Azure Cliff Forbidden Ground…" she gritted her teeth, worry still seeping through her voice. "A few years ago, Senior Brother nearly died there. If not for Master's intervention, the consequences would have been unimaginable. And he dares to go again?"
Chen Xingcai twisted her hands in distress. "I once heard Senior Brother mention he had some ten-year promise that was almost due. Could it be because of that…?"
"A ten-year promise…" Ji Lingxiu murmured. "Where is Ling'er?"
"Ling'er went with Elder Yao to Huiyue City. Second and Fourth Brothers are still away training. And I found this in Senior Brother's room—"
Chen Xingcai handed over a slip of paper.
Ji Lingxiu unfolded it to see wildly scrawled characters: Going out, back soon. Don't worry. At the end was a crooked little smiley face.
"This fool!" Ji Lingxiu crumpled the note in anger.
Chen Xingcai bit her lip and nodded, her wide eyes full of worry. "Third Sister, let's go stop him!"
Ji Lingxiu drew a deep breath, forcing herself calm. She quickly formed a transmission seal, only to discover that Senior Brother's jade slip was already shut off.
"Come!" she decided instantly, seizing Chen Xingcai's wrist. "This time we must report him properly to Master!"
…
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