Chapter 604: You Lost

Chapter 604: You Have Lost

Locked in combat with Bai Zhenzhen, Kuang Tianqing suddenly narrowed her eyes, sensing something had already locked onto her.

The next moment, a streak of black light flashed across the horizon, piercing through Kuang Tianqing's body in an instant.

"A flying... sword?"

Evading the strike with the Heavenly Demon Void Art, Kuang Tianqing's gaze swept over the fleeting black shadow, her brows furrowing. "Reinforcements from Heavenly Sword?"

"Hmph, you think a single flying sword can hinder me? What a pipe dream."

Bai Zhenzhen surged toward Kuang Tianqing once more.

Just as the two clashed, the flying sword struck again, only to be grazed by Bai Zhenzhen's sword qi.

The flying sword shattered with a thunderous boom, breaking into several fragments, yet it did not halt; instead, it continued its assault on Kuang Tianqing like a shower of meteors.

Kuang Tianqing's eyebrows arched. "The Myriad-Mile Meteor Sword... Is that a military-grade flying sword belonging to Wen Wuya?"

The fragments transformed from the sword relentlessly thrust toward Kuang Tianqing, piercing her body time and again, forcing her to continuously employ the Heavenly Demon Void Art to dodge the onslaught.

"With the Myriad-Mile Meteor Sword, one must either slay its wielder or completely vaporize the sword in a single breath."

"Otherwise, even if you shatter it repeatedly, it will only result in the sword fracturing into an ever-finer swarm of blades..."

Yet, it was abundantly clear that Kuang Tianqing had no way of locating Wen Wuya's position at this moment, making it impossible to eliminate the sword's wielder.

As for vaporizing the Myriad-Mile Meteor Sword in one go, Kuang Tianqing was not without such prowess, but an attack of such intensity required even her to gather her strength briefly, and she needed to seize the precise moment while the sword was hurtling at high speed.

But with Bai Zhenzhen right beside her, launching a frenzied assault, she found herself unable to spare a moment to do so.

Instead, Bai Zhenzhen's repeated shattering of the Myriad-Mile Meteor Sword only intensified the blade's offensive, compelling Kuang Tianqing to invoke the Heavenly Demon Void Art time and again to evade, leaving her with even fewer opportunities to destroy the sword.

Faced with this predicament of being unable to locate her opponent and forced into relentless passive defense, Kuang Tianqing couldn't help but seethe inwardly: "That wretch Wen Wuya..."

"Kuang Tianqing..." Wen Wuya mused silently as he observed the battlefield, "Long-range combat is my domain."

"Having entered this domain, you are destined to suffer defeat today."

Meanwhile, Wen Wuya asked in the school team group chat: Hey, you two haven't arrived yet?

Feng Xingyao, 3rd of Heavenly Sword University: Coming, coming!

Yu Yunzhan, 4th of Heavenly Sword University: If you gave us a bit more command authority over the Xuntian Flying Swords, we'd be faster.

Pretending not to hear the last remark, Wen Wuya gazed at Kuang Tianqing's position on the battlefield, thinking to himself, "The establishment of ultra-long-range strikes means our Heavenly Sword can focus our power at any time for mutual support."

"Kuang Tianqing, what will you do next?"

...

On the battlefield.

Watching two more flying swords tear through the distant sky, streaking toward her like two straight lines, Kuang Tianqing's frown deepened.

"They're fast enough."

"Then there's only..."

Just as a trace of resolve flashed across Kuang Tianqing's face and she made a certain decision.

A brilliant Buddhist light illuminated the sky, and a golden figure over a hundred meters tall strode forth, joining the fray.

At the same time, a chorus of Buddhist chants echoed through the atmosphere.

The newcomer bellowed, "Hey, look at how severely injured these fighters are!"

"What to do when the injuries are this bad?"

"You can go to the Molt Pavilion!"

"Old dharma remains and old physical bodies you don't use can be recycled at the Molt Pavilion. The Molt Pavilion recycles on the spot, inspects on the spot, and pays on the spot..."

Kuang Tianqing's frown deepened further: "Scum from Vajra University."

"Hmph, it seems Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen called for reinforcements in their four-school group chat earlier?"

Just as Kuang Tianqing had surmised, upon encountering the strongest student of Heavenly Demon University and the first place of the Ten Great Leagues, Zhang Yu immediately marked his approximate location and sent it to the four-school group chat.

And his plea for help was quite simple.

"We are besieging Kuang Tianqing! She's about to fall!"

Naturally, few believed these words, but it was impossible that students slightly closer to the location had no interest in this.

Jin Napan, the 2nd of Vajra University, had arrived early and observed the battle.

However, he did not rush to act, simply because he had no certainty of profiting from this fight.

It wasn't until the reinforcements from Heavenly Sword arrived one after another that Jin Napan was the first to step out and roar.

The reason he started with an advertisement upon his entrance was naturally because he knew that at this very moment, the entire arena was being broadcast live.

As the strongest student of Heavenly Demon University and a hot favorite for the championship of the Ten Great Leagues, Kuang Tianqing was naturally a prime subject for the broadcast.

"I'm afraid that at this very moment, tens of millions of viewers are watching Kuang Tianqing's battle."

"The advertising effect at a time like this must be excellent."

And with the appearance of Vajra University's second-ranked student, the battle intent on Kuang Tianqing rapidly receded, as if she had no intention of continuing.

She cast a cold glance at Zhang Yu, then her figure shot out swiftly, vanishing from everyone's sight in the blink of an eye.

With Kuang Tianqing's departure, the tense atmosphere in the air instantly began to dissipate.

But Bai Zhenzhen, her entire body enveloped in black sword qi, let out a furious roar and was about to give chase after Kuang Tianqing.

Zhang Yu quickly stepped in to stop her: "A-Zhen! Don't chase her!"

As the black sword qi was about to slash down upon him, Zhang Yu said, "A-Zhen, it's me."

"I'm fine."

"Look at the video I recorded."

"Kuang Tianqing didn't swallow me."

As he spoke, Zhang Yu stepped forward bit by bit and slowly embraced Bai Zhenzhen.

"It's okay, A-Zhen." "It's over now."

After a long while, the black sword qi gradually dissipated, and a hint of joy appeared on Bai Zhenzhen's face.

"Yu-zi, are you really alright?"

Looking at her smile, Zhang Yu couldn't help but smile as well.

Just as the atmosphere grew increasingly relaxed, a figure suddenly burst from the earth, materializing behind the two of them.

It was none other than Kuang Tianqing, who had returned!

"As expected, after I retreated, you had to deal with Bai Zhenzhen's issue."

"This is the perfect opportunity for me to attack you."

With a grim expression, Kuang Tianqing stared at the embracing pair and thrust out a palm, striking toward Zhang Yu.

"Zhang Yu is severely injured; this is the perfect chance to ambush him."

"As long as Zhang Yu is captured, Bai Zhenzhen will inevitably chase me away from this place..."

But in the very next instant, as if he had foreseen it all, Zhang Yu spun around and unleashed a palm strike imbued with the mountain-moving might of Heavenly Kunlun, while the earth beneath his feet simultaneously transformed into a chain of dharma treasures, sweeping toward Kuang Tianqing.

The Heavenly Sun Radiant God surged from behind, wreathed in roaring flames.

In the sky, the flying swords that had just withdrawn turned back around, launching another assassination strike.

Not far away, Jin Napan struck simultaneously, launching a lethal assault on Kuang Tianqing.

Witnessing this, Kuang Tianqing was startled and was about to retreat, only to see Zhang Yu charging directly into her palm strike.

"He's throwing himself into my hands?"

A fleeting surge of greed flashed through Kuang Tianqing's mind, preventing her from letting this "opportunity" slip away.

But the moment her palm struck Zhang Yu, it felt as though she had slammed into the hull of a military-grade dharma treasure.

"Huh?!"

Kuang Tianqing was shocked, never expecting the severely wounded Zhang Yu to possess such formidable defense.

"Of course you wouldn't expect it." Sensing the surprise in Kuang Tianqing's eyes, Zhang Yu mused inwardly, "With my Holy Body of Earth and Wood, after taking A-Zhen's sword strike just now, I've been constantly entangled by sword qi, keeping my physical state at its absolute lowest."

"But in this very state, my defense is at its absolute peak."

Attacks are reciprocal; just as Kuang Tianqing's palm struck Zhang Yu, amidst the violent collision of dharma power and aura, she knew she was about to face a counterstrike from him.

But Kuang Tianqing didn't care; she refused to believe that, given her cultivation, Zhang Yu could inflict any damage upon her in a single blow.

Amidst a crackling explosion.

Kuang Tianqing's expression abruptly changed.

Black sword qi burst forth from Zhang Yu's hand, striking straight into her chest.

A hairline fracture actually appeared on her chest's dharma skeleton.

Though it was an exceedingly fine, minuscule crack that barely affected the dharma skeleton's operation, it was the first true injury she had sustained today.

"It's Bai Zhenzhen; the sword qi she left inside his body, he seized the chance to force a strand of it out."

"And... it struck precisely at the weak point of my dharma skeleton, yielding such a remarkable effect."

"This guy was waiting for this all along? He anticipated I would seize this chance to ambush him?"

Zhang Yu gazed coldly at Kuang Tianqing, the Appraisal Technique revealing multiple weak points of her dharma skeleton in his eyes.

Though far from all of them, Zhang Yu had still managed to identify several vulnerabilities in her military dharma skeleton during their recent clash.

Zhang Yu mused inwardly, "Kuang Tianqing, a quintessential Kunxu native like you, how could you possibly pass up an opportunity for an ambush?"

Zhang Yu had not only anticipated the high probability of Kuang Tianqing's ambush but had also just sent a message in the Four Academies group, alerting everyone present, which led to this coordinated encirclement.

Feeling Zhang Yu's unyielding gaze, sensing the astonishing fighting spirit in his eyes, the reinforcements closing in from all directions, the newly fractured dharma skeleton on her body, and the distant commotion of more people rushing over...

At this moment, surrounded by six attackers, a genuine desire to retreat finally stirred in her heart.

"If I continue and get injured, it will only give Dao Qiankun an opportunity, lowering my chances of securing first place in the Top Ten League."

"Hmph, consider yourself lucky this time."

Before the encirclement could fully materialize, Kuang Tianqing sneered and dissolved into a shadow, retreating.

"Immortal dregs, I take back my previous assessment."

As she fled, Kuang Tianqing looked at Zhang Yu and said coldly, "You are qualified to be my slave."

"Next time, I will capture you with my own hands."

Watching Kuang Tianqing's figure about to vanish in the blink of an eye, Zhang Yu smiled and said, "Kuang Tianqing, why keep up the pretense?"

"To refine Bai Zhenzhen into a flying sword, how much intelligence about your own Dao arts have you exposed this time?"

"Not only has your operation failed, but your dharma skeleton has been damaged by me."

"You are the one who lost!"

In the live broadcast watched by tens of thousands, Zhang Yu roared, "Kuang Tianqing! You lost this battle!"

"You are the one running away now!!"

"Why keep up the pretense!"

Kuang Tianqing snapped her head back, glaring fiercely at Zhang Yu, who was gradually shrinking into a speck.

"You wretched survivor, do you really think you'd survive today without Bai Zhenzhen by your side?"

"Immortal dregs... within three days, before this team tournament ends."

"I will definitely capture you and refine you into my toy."

Having said this, Kuang Tianqing never looked back again, her figure completely vanishing from everyone's sight.

(End of Chapter)