Capítulo 24: One Versus A Hundred, Can You Even Kill Me?
Dai Huabin hesitated no longer as he swung out in swiping motions, creating whistling sounds in the air. After all, his arrogance was not entirely baseless, and he was still much stronger than many of his peers.
Unfortunately, Xin Qing was not merely a peer but a much greater adversary. Adding this to Dai Huabin's own lingering trauma, he was very quickly and soundly defeated alongside his partner, Zhu Lu. All this without Xin Qing even awakening his martial spirit, using it in its normal state.
Seeing this immense display of power, many students immediately gave up. If even someone as strong as Dai Huabin could not win, what was to say of weaker students like them?
"So what if he's strong? Let's win with numbers!" It wasn't until a rallying cry broke out from somewhere within the crowd that students began to regain their vigor.
Shouts of agreements broke out before they collectively swarmed towards the straw-hatted youth who sported a playful expression. With a bright burst of light and a low humming sound, the Truth-Seeking Yang Sword was awakened and lashed out waves of sword energy.
While some were able to prevent falling down, most were helpless in the face of the powerful energy. After pushing themselves to the brink, none were able to enter a distance of 10 feet from Xin Qing.
Standing triumphantly amongst the chaos, Xin Qing smiled harmlessly but it was akin to the smile of a demon, soaked in the blood of a battlefield.
After this, many had chosen to decisively pull out from the competition despite their unwillingness, leaving only another group of seven.
These seven consisted of the trio Huo Yuhao, Wang Dong, and Xiao Xiao as well as some seniors Xin Qing had briefly met at Yuhao's stall. They were the quiet rabbit Jiang Nannan, the elegant dragon Beibei, and the wild turtle Xu Sanshi. In addition to them, was a bald-headed boy who Xin Qing had never seen.
All of them mostly looked towards Xin Qing with guarded expressions as well as some curiosity. Xu Sanshi was the first to speak up, clearly remembering Xin Qing as the one who fought him at the stall. "It's you! Great! There's only eight of us remaining, so let's settle our grudge so that Nannan and I can become members of Shrek's Seven Devils, cementing the first step in our future relationship as lovers." As he finished saying this, he winked at the rabbit girl who continued to ignore him.
Xin Qing did not mind these provocations, instead responding with his own. "Senior does have a flowery mouth, but let's hope that's not all he has. Otherwise, the rabbit might have to move to greener pastures."
As Xin Qing expected, these words instantly irked Xu Sanshi, who lost his cheerful expression at the implied meaning of his sentence. "Straw Brat, I'll make you regret those words." Without any further explanation, he activated his turtle martial spirit as he dashed forward, ready to pound Xin Qing into a pancake.
Of course, Xin Qing would not let this happen, dodging his strikes gracefully before attacking at odd angles. Although many agreed that Xu Sanshi had the greatest defense martial spirit, It was nothing extraordinary in Xin Qing's eyes, only being a bit troublesome.
After a dozen or so strikes, Xu Sanshi had exhausted his spirit energy from having to guard so many blind angles while chasing the elusive swordsman.
As he turned back to look at Jiang Nannan who watched with disinterest, Xu Sanshi felt provoked as a green aura began to rise from him. At that time, a hand landed on his shoulder, stopping him. It was Beibei.
As the two locked eyes, Beibei shook his head as Xu Sanshi's expression showed great indecisiveness before walking away with a short glance at Xin Qing.
After Xu Sanshi walked away, Beibei looked at Xin Qing with an uncertain smile. "Junior Xin, what is your purpose? You might say that you want to become a member of the Shrek's Seven Devils, but do you really?"
Xin Qing nodded plainly at his words. "Rather than a strong desire, it is more of an obligation to join. In other words, I simply have a promise to uphold." He remembered the conditions of which the elders of Shrek chose not to expel him.
Beibei looked relieved. "I see. In that case, why don't we all compete with each other and the greatest loser leaves. After all, if Xu Sanshi shows his true strength, I believe that even you will have a hard time." Xin Qing figured he was talking about that strange green energy that began to rise from Xu Sanshi's skin. It was likely a great power the latter had access to but could not use too often as it came with a heavy price.
Xin Qing looked accepting of his words on the surface, however he inwardly disagreed. With his ability to see the levels of divine energy around a person, while he could tell it was a strong holy power, Xin Qing was certain he would still win over Xu Sanshi. However, he contemplated Beibei's words.
After all, he was still a student of Shrek and he had no reason to eliminate Xu Sanshi, who had great potential to become a strong ally. While Yuhao and Wang Dong's divinities were incredibly strong and growing by the day, why not have a backup plan? So Xin Qing easily agreed. It was a rule even in his other world that the weak had no right to complain, so who would care if the weakest of the eight were cut?
As they were setting up the elimination bracket, each person introduced themselves and their abilities. It was all going fine until...
"Hello everyone, my name is He Caitou, 'tou' as in head. I am a Spirit Guidance Weapon Master like little brother Yuhao here."
His introduction had just ended when the silent Xin Qing had spoken. "Leave."
Everyone turned to look at the youth who had taken off his straw hat a while ago. They could see it in his obsidian black eyes that he was being deathly serious.
Beibei, often the negotiator in situations like these, asked, "Why do you say that, Junior Xin?" Everyone else's confused look appeared as if they wanted to ask the same question.
Xin Qing's impassively said, "What 'why?' He is clearly the weakest, relying on external arms for strength." It was a well-ingrained thought in most traditional cultivators that strength must come from oneself and not outside aids as that kind of strength was almost always unreliable.
However, everyone else present was not a traditional cultivator and knew the utility of Spirit Guidance Weapons. Hence, Xin Qing's response only made them more confused. They tried to reason with him but Xin Qing was obstinate on this point.
He said, "He might trust his weapons but I do not. How can I trust to leave my back to him then?"
Xiao Xiao and Tang Ya were furious with his stubborn personality as both Yuhao and Nanna's impression of Xin Qing worsened slightly. To Yuhao, both Xin Qing and He Caitou were helpful seniors but he was still more preferable to He Caitou who was like an older brother to him. As for Wang Dong, he was secretly enjoying Xin Qing's worsening reputation, always having a bad impression of him.
Xin Qing saw that they were not agreeing with him so he proposed a new plan. "If he can beat me while I use a regular iron sword, then I will leave myself."
The rest were shocked by this gamble, as Xin Qing had purposely dealt himself a bad hand. They were not sure if it was a sign of confidence in his own skills or simply looking down on He Caitou.
Xin Qing continued. "Naturally, if he cannot, then he will resign his spot."
Seeing this as a provocation to Spirit Guidance Masters, even the somewhat shy and amiable He Caitou had felt his honor challenged and accepted the favorable duel. With a firm expression, he said, "I hope Junior Xin can open his eyes to the power of Spirit Guidance Weapons and not disrespect them so much in the future. Arrogance can only lead to one's downfall."
If Xin Qing said he would use his martial spirit, then He Caitou would not have said this. In his eyes, Xin Qing was surely boasting too much to claim that he could win with a regular iron sword.
Xin Qing squinted dangerously. How many times has he been scorned and berated for his arrogance? He was truly tired of it. "For you, arrogance means death. To me, arrogance is simply breathing; I do not know any other way of living. That being said, can you even kill me?"
Wordlessly, both sides stood on opposite ends of the arena as they readied their weapons, the rest silently watching in anticipation.
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