Chapter 181: The Breakthrough

While it was impossible to compare to the sword techniques of the Azure Rainbow Sword Sect, it was possible that the opponent was using a style Lian Li was completely unfamiliar with. For Lian Li, who lacked extensive practical combat experience, this was quite troublesome.

Yun Huizhou’s expression also turned solemn. He was uncertain in his heart whether Lian Li could actually win.

For people like them, who had not been practicing martial arts for long, a two-year gap was actually quite significant.

If the opponent could enter Maple Leaf Valley, even if his aptitude was not as good as Lian Li’s, it certainly wouldn’t be far off.

After Zhou Yu took the stage, Lian Li had no intention of wasting time with more words. Despite his current calm and composed appearance, he was actually extremely nervous inside. He could only keep complaining internally or thinking about random things to alleviate his tension.

However, he also knew that he was the type to get nervous only before a “major exam.” Once it officially began and he immersed himself in it, he would instead become less anxious.

Thus, he didn’t bother with further pleasantries. Once Zhou Yu stepped up, he cupped his fists toward his opponent and then took the initiative to attack.

He didn’t have the mindset of needing to maintain a “refined” demeanor by letting the opponent strike first. The opponent had practiced martial arts for two years longer than him; it was only reasonable for him to strike first.

Although he wasn’t necessarily weaker than the opponent, in the eyes of others, he was the underdog. He would be a fool not to seize the opportunity.

Not wanting to lose his ranking was one thing, but what he cared about most was that this was his first official challenge and duel. He had to start off with a winning streak no matter what.

Opposite him, Zhou Yu’s reactions were also very fast. Although he had seemed a bit foolish before, his strength was genuine.

Lian Li’s moves were successfully blocked by the opponent. Before Lian Li could follow up with his subsequent techniques, Zhou Yu’s sword style shifted, and he launched a counterattack.

Lian Li could only withdraw his hand to defend.

Zhou Yu’s sword technique was very fast. He unleashed several moves in a row, and Lian Li found no opportunity to switch from defense to offense.

However, he wasn’t in a hurry, calmly focusing on his defense.

When Yun Huizhou saw that although Lian Li could only defend, his facial expression remained relatively relaxed, his heart eased slightly. He then focused his gaze on Zhou Yu.

He already understood Lian Li’s level all too well. Now, his main goal was to see what level Zhou Yu was at and whether the probability of Lian Li winning was high.

He knew that although Lian Li didn’t say much, he actually wanted to win very badly.

On the field, because Lian Li wasn’t anxious at all and focused primarily on defense—defending exceptionally well—Zhou Yu gradually began to grow impatient.

Maple Leaf Valley had naturally investigated Lian Li, so Zhou Yu was clearly aware that he held the advantage in this match.

Even though it looked like he held the upper hand now, the fact that he couldn’t take Lian Li down for so long made Zhou Yu anxious.

In particular, he could already feel that Lian Li was starting to attempt counterattacks from his initial state of pure defense, which made him increasingly irritable.

Lian Li, who was currently exchanging blows with Zhou Yu, wasn’t the only one to notice this. The people from Maple Leaf Valley also saw that Zhou Yu had struck out with great haste several times. If it weren’t for his opponent’s lack of experience and failure to seize those opportunities, Zhou Yu would likely be the one at a disadvantage by now.

When the people of Maple Leaf Valley saw Zhou Yu reveal another opening and Lian Li fail to grasp it again, everyone except for the Eldest Senior Sister, Zhang Ning, breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Immediately after, they turned their heads to look at Yun Huizhou, wanting to see what kind of expression he had.

After all, Zhou Yu had made several mistakes, yet the opponent hadn’t seized the opportunities. They wanted to know what Yun Huizhou was thinking.

It would be great if they could see Yun Huizhou with a dark, frustrated face.

However, they were destined to be disappointed. Yun Huizhou’s expression had not changed since the start of the fight.

Some felt displeased. Although their Junior Brother had made mistakes, he was still maintaining the upper hand. The opponent hadn’t made any obvious mistakes but was being suppressed and beaten; why didn’t Yun Huizhou show any emotional change?

Shouldn’t he be as anxious and nervous as they were?

Thinking this, someone couldn’t help but call out to Zhang Ning: “Senior Sister…”

Zhang Ning turned to look at the Junior Brother who had spoken and found that his gaze was fixed on Yun Huizhou.

She followed her Junior Brother’s gaze, and her expression also contorted for a moment.

This was because Yun Huizhou was currently pulling a pancake out from his robes, leisurely munching on it while watching the match. After taking two bites, he seemed to feel a bit thirsty, so he fumbled around his person again, pulled out a water skin, and took a sip.

The gazes of the Maple Leaf Valley crowd were too intense; Yun Huizhou had sensed them long ago.

He couldn’t help with the match on the field, but he could still manage to put some psychological pressure on the Maple Leaf Valley people off the field.

After noticing that Zhang Ning had also looked over, he put away the water skin, finished the pancake in a few bites, and then unhurriedly took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth.

After wiping, he even very seriously folded the handkerchief before putting it away again.

This series of actions indeed caused unease to grow in the hearts of the Maple Leaf Valley group.

“Senior Sister, why is he so at ease? His Junior Brother missed several excellent opportunities, so why isn’t he worried at all?”

“Could they be holding back some hidden trump card?”

“Or maybe they feel that since they can’t win anyway, there’s no use being anxious?”

They began to discuss amongst themselves, causing Zhang Ning, who hadn’t been particularly worried, to start feeling concerned as well, her brows furrowing slightly.

Right at that moment, a Maple Leaf Valley disciple cried out in alarm: “Senior Sister, look!”

Zhang Ning immediately turned her head to look, only to see Lian Li’s whip coiling around Zhou Yu’s sword like a python constricting its prey.

However, this was only the middle section of the whip; a long segment was still sweeping toward Zhou Yu’s arm. Once his arm was ensnared, given that their internal energy was roughly equal, it would be nearly impossible for Zhou Yu to escape. To avoid being caught, his only option would be to abandon his sword.

However, abandoning the sword would mean the end of this duel.

Zhou Yu did not want to abandon his sword. After hesitating for only a fraction of a second, he gritted his teeth and mobilized his entire body’s internal energy to shock the whip coiled around his sword. He had practiced martial arts for two years longer than Lian Li; although it was said their internal energy was similar, he ultimately held the advantage of time, and his internal energy was deeper than Lian Li’s.

This move was extremely risky, carrying the intent of “inflicting a thousand points of damage on the enemy at the cost of eight hundred to oneself.”

If Lian Li did not give up the attack at this moment and instead chose to clash internal energy with him, he would also have to mobilize his full internal energy. However, mobilizing it a moment too late would naturally mean his preparation wouldn’t be as comprehensive.

When the time came and their internal energies collided, both would certainly suffer internal injuries, and Lian Li’s injuries would undoubtedly be more severe.

Upon sensing the opponent’s intention, Lian Li kept Yun Huizhou’s previous teachings firmly in mind.