Chapter 212: The Counterattack of 'Feng Yun'! Suppressing Space! World-Destroying Sword Twenty-Three! (Part 1)

A new quest: The Otherworld on the Tongue

Quest Objective: The average activation numbers for Wind and Cloud must reach 250 per episode

Quest Reward: Spicy Latiao

Quest Description: Let us embark on a journey across the tip of the tongue

Fang Qi: "..."

Regarding the sudden addition of such a task, Fang Qi was initially resistant, for after all, you cannot just expect me to accept it the moment you give it...

One had to know that the average activation volume for Wind and Cloud currently had not even surpassed one hundred!

Yet in the end, Fang Qi still had no choice but to accept this quest, as for the reward of this task...

Fang Qi: "..."

The Seven Peaks Tournament of these past two days marked the exact moment the entire plot of Zhu Xian entered its first grand climax, and much of the previous suppression had served as preparation for this very sequence. When the multitude of Zhu Xian fans witnessed the initially untalented Zhang Xinfan secure victory after victory, the entire fandom began to boil with excitement!

Having watched Zhu Xian for so long, most had originally tuned in for the magical treasures, spiritual arts, or powerful sword techniques, but gradually, they found themselves thoroughly invested in the narrative.

"This protagonist is actually rather intriguing..."

"Not bad, not bad! Though he still falls far short of Xiaoyao, he is finally starting to look like a true protagonist!"

"This particular episode was immensely satisfying to watch!"

The two episodes on Monday had barely covered a small fraction of the Seven Peaks Tournament, and it was not until Tuesday's episodes that the greater part of it concluded. Even Su Tianji and her peers, who were supposedly preparing for their own competition, neglected their proper duties to finish watching the drama before beginning their intensive training, and by this point, the followers of Zhu Xian grew increasingly numerous.

In the heart of the morning, nearly seventy to eighty percent of the entire shop's patrons were completely engrossed in Zhu Xian!

By comparison, Wind and Cloud appeared exceedingly desolate. Just as Nalan Hongwu had proclaimed, the highest-cultivated martial artist to appear in this drama thus far was merely at the Grandmaster level; what could possibly be worth watching about that?

Aside from the disciples of various academies and novel enthusiasts like Dong Qingli who would watch, others, with the competitive tournament looming just around the corner, naturally chose not to waste their time on it!

This was precisely why the activation volume on Fang Qi's end remained so abysmal.

Although the decisive battle between the Sword Saint and Xiong Ba seemed to be fast approaching, it still only managed to attract a fraction of Wind and Cloud's hardcore fans.

Take Song Qingfeng for instance, or martial artists like Liang Shi whose cultivations were not particularly elevated.

Even the Eldest Princess Ji Yu and others who quite fancied this drama intended to postpone it until they had free time later on.

As for cultivators like Su Tianji, Xue Daolv, and Lan Mo, they completely ignored it; a television drama purely dedicated to martial artists inherently possessed nothing worth watching, given that martial artists had always occupied a weaker position, a dynamic that only saw some improvement upon reaching the Martial Emperor realm.

Yet it was merely a slight improvement, for attaining the seventh realm of a martial artist, the Martial Emperor, only allowed one to suppress the sixth realm of a cultivator, the Divine Sea. It was rumored that within the Three Grand Sacred Sects, there were hidden powerhouses of the Divine Court realm who had achieved the seventh realm!

It was absolutely not something a Martial Emperor could contend against!

Furthermore, when even Nalan Hongwu refrained from watching it, these cultivators were naturally even less likely to tune in at this moment.

"Young Master Song! Still watching Wind and Cloud today?" Having finished Zhu Xian, Lin Shao, Xu Luo, and the others were just about to practice their Counter-Strike team battles when they noticed Song Qingfeng beside them opening Wind and Cloud once more.

"Aren't you going to practice your Assassin?"

"I'll watch for a bit! It's fine!" Song Qingfeng waved his hand, "The number one Assassin of this establishment is right here, what is there to fear?"

"Fine, fine, fine! We are off to play Counter-Strike, just don't mess things up!" Seeing his stubborn insistence on watching, Lin Shao and the others could not be bothered to persuade him further.

Song Qingfeng pondered for a moment; with yesterday's two episodes and today's two episodes making four consecutive chapters, no matter how much they dragged it out, it should be about time to see the Sword Saint.

With this thought in mind, he began to watch.

At this moment, Liang Shi and his companions were also watching.

Soon enough, the group witnessed Duan Lang claiming the Fire Scale Sword, and Wu Ming obstructing the Sword Saint from keeping his appointment.

"This Sword Saint appears rather ancient..."

"I constantly feel that this Sword Saint is decrepit and old, while Xiong Ba is in his prime; I fear this may be disadvantageous..."

Several viewers watching Wind and Cloud began to discuss among themselves; everyone knew that martial artists differed from cultivators, and a decaying physical body would absolutely hinder one's performance.

"Could it be that even the Sword Saint is no match for Alliance Master Xiong?"

To the likes of Liang Shi, experts of Grandmaster cultivation were still formidable masters, hence they watched with rapt attention, remaining deeply fascinated by the martial techniques and stances within Wind and Cloud.

Shortly after, they saw that when Wu Ming blocked the Sword Saint, he dissolved the Sword Saint's lethal strikes one by one with barely any movement.

Even Wu Ming asserted that the Sword Saint could not defeat Xiong Ba.

Song Qingfeng was already beginning to regret his choice; what was left to see here? Was he to watch this dying, elderly Sword Saint march to his demise?

"Should I really just go practice my Assassin first..."

In truth, others harbored similar thoughts, continuing to watch only out of respect for the Sword Saint in the drama, who, nearing the end of his lifespan, still refused to abandon this decisive battle due to his pursuit of the Way of the Sword.

In stark contrast, within the Peerless Society's Tri-Power Training Grounds, everything proceeded as usual, devoid of any solemnity preceding a decisive battle.

Countless experts invited from afar sat in the spectator stands; the people of Peerless City had arrived, yet the Sword Saint was nowhere to be seen.

The sun stood high in the center of the sky, and the hour of the appointed battle had arrived!

The Sword Saint stood before the Peerless Society, beneath a magnificent flight of steps stretching across countless tiers; looking all the way up, those towering steps seemed to extend straight into the heavens.

Stepping upward, at this very moment, the wind and clouds in the sky shifted color, and all the spectators witnessed that the exhausted Sword Saint bore hard any remaining spark of life.

The elderly Sword Saint had reached the end of his natural lifespan!

The staircase before him began to blur, and looking far upward, it seemed as loftily distant as the Nine Heavens!

At this precise moment, with almost every step the Sword Saint took, he was wrestling against his heavenly fate and defying the will of heaven!

Yet it was blatantly obvious that even so, he had only traversed a small fraction of these thousand steps.

Defeated before the battle even began! Everyone had anticipated this, and only this single conclusion awaited the Sword Saint!

The final battle of his life, defeated before it could commence; what a profound tragedy!

"I want... to fight!"

The voice was not loud, yet it felt like the final roar of a dying life!

They saw that the Sword Saint's pace was agonizingly slow, and he even swayed slightly!

Suddenly, dark clouds blotted out the sky! A beam of brilliant light pierced through the cloud layer and struck directly onto the Tri-Power Training Grounds of the Peerless Society, and when everyone regained their senses, they discovered the Sword Saint standing there silently and proudly!

"This... This is...!?"

The viewers, who had previously disdained this segment thinking a doomed battle would lack excitement and had intended to go do other things, were instantly struck dumb!

The Sword Saint at this moment was high-spirited and radiant, a completely different person from his previous decrepit and withered state!

"What is going on?! Isn't the Sword Saint still below the steps?!"

"How did he ascend in an instant?!"

Song Qingfeng, Liang Shi, and the others watched with expressions that shifted drastically, completely unable to comprehend the sight!

Setting aside that the Sword Saint was already old and dying, even if he were not, relying on his presumed Grandmaster cultivation, it was impossible to achieve such a feat!

And at this moment, the Sword Saint's eyes carried an incredibly formidable aura that struck dread into the heart of anyone who looked upon them!

The aura radiating from the Sword Saint's entire body was sharp and blazing, and wherever he passed, everything around him—whether person or object—seemed as though it were being sliced by a sharp blade!

Before the Sword Saint had even made a move, Xiong Ba was already struck with terror on the spot!

Not only Xiong Ba, but even viewers like Liang Shi and Song Qingfeng were rooted to the spot in absolute horror!

Could such a terrifying aura truly belong to a mere Grandmaster?

By now, the appointed hour for the decisive battle had passed, and a torrential horde of elite martial artists surged out from behind Xiong Ba!

The Sword Saint advanced with measured steps, completely oblivious to them, even as several of Xiong Ba's fiercest generals leapt into the air, their blades cleaving downward!

Yet at that precise moment, an uncanny phenomenon occurred; the movements of the entire crowd abruptly froze in mid-air!

Even the spurting blood hung suspended in the void!

Beholding this spectacle, the minds of Song Qingfeng, Liang Shi, and the others were wiped entirely blank!

.

.

The fourth chapter will be released after twelve o'clock; I have no desire to drag out such a massive cliffhanger either, so I will update as early as possible.

.