CHAPTER 44: CHAPTER 44: I SAW IT—IT WAS WHITE

After lunch and a brief rest, the afternoon matches continued.

Having only fought one match in the morning, Ye Qingzhou finally began his second battle.

"Contestant 049, Lv Ying from Nanya Middle School, versus Contestant 404, Ye Qingzhou from Linjiang First High School."

Ye Qingzhou and a long-haired girl walked onto the platform. The girl was slender, with a lovely face, wearing a light blue knee-length dress that revealed her snow-white long legs.

"Wow, this girl is somewhat pretty!"

"Oh no, that’s the feeling of being in love!"

"Her face is nice, but her chest is a bit small. Liang Jia is my true love."

"Ha, as if she would ever be interested in you."

In the spectator seats, many male spectators were focused on the girl in front of them, either looking at her face or her legs.

However, some were not focused on Lv Ying’s appearance, but instead were paying special attention to the talent she displayed.

"A newcomer from Nanya Middle School’s Swordsmanship Club, only 16 years old, and has already practiced the Wind Force and Yin Skill to the skilled level; highly talented."

"Really? Is your White Crane Tower also looking at this newcomer?"

"As if your Spirit Snake Sect isn’t interested. Nowadays, the government is greatly supporting the growth of civilian martial artists, and we smaller martial arts schools want to develop—how can we not follow this trend?"

There are limited resources for cultivation, and yet the number of martial artists keeps increasing every year. In the future, competition will only become more fierce. Whoever acts quickly wins quickly; those slow to react will get ruthlessly eliminated in just a few years.

Not every martial arts school has heart method traditions; most martial arts clubs don’t even have master-level martial artists. Without official subsidies, even basic survival becomes a problem.

Mid-sized martial arts schools like Iron Fist Sect, White Crane Tower, and Spirit Snake Sect can’t compete with larger forces in attracting top martial art talents, so they generally only focus on martial arts talents of the top eight level.

"Lv Ying’s talent is good, very worthy of nurturing."

"Yeah, I heard she’s already practiced the mid-tier martial technique Snow Walking up to entry level, capable of freezing the opponent’s Qi and Blood with a single strike, rendering them immobile."

"After a year of proper training, she definitely has the ability to break into the quarter-finals of the Sword Fighting Competition next season."

The scouts from White Crane Tower and Spirit Snake Sect seemed very interested in Lv Ying, a newcomer from a civilian background, but only glanced at Ye Qingzhou without much attention.

Lv Ying stood holding her sword, her expression cold and her demeanor slightly arrogant.

At just 16 years old, she was already the chief of Nanya Middle School’s Swordsmanship Club, overpowering several older classmates, so her arrogance was normal.

"I am Lv Ying, pleased to meet you."

"Alright."

Ye Qingzhou nodded with a smile, adopting a stance of ’Since you sincerely ask for guidance, let me guide you then’.

"Hmph, show-off!"

Lv Ying unsheathed her long sword, swiftly sliding towards Ye Qingzhou as her Wind Force and Yin Skill Inner Breath exploded, causing the temperature on the platform to drop suddenly.

Ice formed on the stone slabs beneath her feet, becoming incredibly slippery.

In the spectator seats, the scouts smiled: "Excellent, combining Wind Force and Yin Skill very ingeniously. Once the Inner Breath is unleashed, it instantly freezes the ground, changing the field environment."

The platform soon became extremely slippery; ordinary contestants could barely maintain their balance, let alone fight.

If a person can’t even stand firmly, how can they engage in combat?

"Whoa, it’s the mid-tier martial technique Snow Walking!"

"The opponent doesn’t dare move at all; one wrong move and they’ll fall."

At this moment, all spectators believed that Ye Qingzhou, standing motionless, was certain to lose. In the contestant waiting area, those lacking skill secretly wiped their sweat, grateful it wasn’t them facing this move.

Only Golden Dragon and Liang Jia remained calm and unperturbed.

Equally unmoved was Ye Qingzhou.

"Snow Walking, an excellent martial technique, but unfortunately, the user is too weak."

Ye Qingzhou held his sword in his arms, eyes slightly closed, standing still without even drawing his sword.

Only when Lv Ying approached did he gently move his thumb.

In the blink of an eye, the Flying Frost Sword emitted a cold gleam from its sheath, though not fully drawn, only an inch.

Yet it was this mere inch of blade that made Lv Ying instantly blind as the sword reflected blinding light into her eyes, causing her to reflexively close them and lose all visual perspective.

Between experts, this kind of mistake is fatal!

Luckily, Ye Qingzhou didn’t intend to take her life, since it was agreed to be merely guidance.

Ye Qingzhou slightly twisted his body, causing Lv Ying’s attack to miss entirely, with her sword tip barely grazing his chest.

As they passed each other, Ye Qingzhou extended his foot, like a mischievous child deliberately tripping a passerby.

"Ah~"

Upon reopening her eyes, Lv Ying’s body had completely lost balance.

She was, after all, sliding at high speed!

That stumble immediately turned her into a rolling gourd, directly tumbling off the stage, suffering numerous scratches and looking utterly embarrassed.

"You!"

Lv Ying stood up, her face displaying shame and anger.

Although the move lacked great force, it was highly humiliating.

Ye Qingzhou kindly advised Lv Ying: "You’re too reliant on your eyes."

In true combat, one must observe six directions and listen in all directions. Clearly, Lv Ying’s combat experience was sorely lacking, her adaptability extremely low, losing combat ability entirely upon losing sight.

However, Lv Ying at the moment was unwilling to listen. She left, covering her face without saying a word, with tears incessantly seeping from her fingertips.

The referee shook his head and sighed: "Ye Qingzhou wins!"

Only then did the bewildered spectators regain their senses.

"What just happened?"

"Lv Ying was about to win, wasn’t she?"

"Did she make a mistake?"

"How could she end up rolling off the stage like that?"

"So much for entry-level Snow Walking—felt even worse than mine!"

"I saw! It was white, white panties!"

"Whoa, feels like I missed out on a million!"

In the spectator seats, not only ordinary spectators were puzzled, but even the scouts from White Crane Tower and Spirit Snake Sect didn’t understand. It’s worth noting that they were professional-level martial artists.

"How did she lose? Did you understand?"

"I didn’t get it. It seems Lv Ying rushed up and accidentally got tripped by her opponent, and then rolled off the stage?"

"Was it luck or skill?"

"How would I know!"

The two were now completely baffled, having initially hoped Lv Ying, who showed great potential as a martial arts newcomer, would display some skills—a hope turned into a joke.

"Damn it, how am I supposed to write this report?"

"Well, just write it as it happened—what else can you do."

Both were now overwhelmed, realizing that what was supposed to be a leisurely job akin to vacation now required overtime. Life is seriously tough.

After the referee announced the match result, Ye Qingzhou calmly walked down from the platform.

It was just an insignificant victory, completely unworthy of his excitement.

However, it wasn’t without benefit—at least he had gained a new mid-tier martial technique, Snow Walking.

At six in the afternoon, during dusk.

Under the sunset’s glow, the first day’s matches finally came to an end. Ye Qingzhou fought one match in the morning and four in the afternoon, winning all five.

Among the 126 contestants in the Kan District, only six managed to retain an undefeated record.