CHAPTER 47: CHAPTER 47: WOMEN ONLY AFFECT THE SPEED AT WHICH I DRAW MY SWORD

The power of the Heart Sword elevated Ye Qingzhou’s spirit to new heights. His fierce sword intent surged skywards, tightly bound by his resilient spirit and iron will within a radius of one zhang.

The Flying Frost Sword was still within its scabbard, humming with vibrations.

Waiting for the moment it is drawn, ready to cleave mountains and shatter peaks.

Ye Qingzhou grasped the sword hilt, prepared to draw it out and make his move to conclude this contest.

Death!

Death is certain!

The tip of Golden Dragon’s heart trembled; this was the second time in his life he faced death at such close proximity, as if the next moment his life would vanish from this world.

When faced with a choice between face and life, he made a decision without hesitation.

"Wait... wait a moment!"

Golden Dragon suddenly clutched his stomach in front of the referee, his expression twisted, saying, "I... I forfeit! It seems the beef noodles I had before the match aren’t sitting well with me."

The referee looked shocked, "Are you sure you want to concede?"

"I’m not conceding! I’m just withdrawing!"

Golden Dragon stiffened his neck, "refusing to admit defeat" as his last act of defiance. He glanced at Ye Qingzhou, "Today I’m unwell and not in form. I’ll have another chance to compete with you in the future."

After he finished, he left a "Goodbye" and used the Soaring Step Ultimate Skill to flee with the wind amidst a chorus of boos from the audience, disappearing in an instant.

Ye Qingzhou stood there dumbfounded; even for someone with as flexible a moral compass as his, he had never seen such a shameless person.

Undefeated Dragon?

More like Escaping Dragon!

"Ye Qingzhou wins!"

The referee, who seemed to have heard of Golden Dragon’s reputation, announced the result with an expression of indifference.

But the spectators in the audience erupted, especially those who had placed heavy bets.

Ye Qingzhou achieved victory two days in a row, and today even Golden Dragon forfeited and fled, driving them to the brink of ruin.

"Fixed match!"

"Too blatant! They don’t care about us spectators at all!"

"Where are the organizers? Where is the Martial Arts Association? Can’t they take a step forward?"

"Is there any justice? Any law?"

The audience’s protests grew louder and louder, until even the hosts, the Mingjian Group, had to come forward and clarify that Ye Qingzhou was no connected insider but a genuine commoner by birth.

As for Golden Dragon’s withdrawal, the organizers were helpless; they couldn’t force him to publicly prove his stomach issues, could they?

And since he is a habitual offender, what could the Mingjian Group do?

Eventually, they appeased each complaining spectator with a five-yuan voucher, and the matter was brushed over, allowing the competition to continue.

After "defeating" Golden Dragon, Ye Qingzhou was to face another Martial Dao prodigy from the Kan District: Liang Jia.

This duel between them would determine who would be the first in their group, who would then have the strategic advantage of facing the second place from another group in the top sixteen battles.

Golden Dragon’s forfeiture made Ye Qingzhou, who was already garnering significant attention, even more of a hot topic, almost overshadowing Zhu Jinfeng and Liu Dingjian.

After all, people are always drawn to excitement and gossip.

The winners of the Cyan Wave Sword Fighting Competition’s championship have been many, but a contestant with such a buzz as Ye Qingzhou is rare.

Now, everyone was eager to see how far Ye Qingzhou could go with his luck.

In this atmosphere of great anticipation, the battle between Ye Qingzhou and Liang Jia began.

"Contestant 012 from Yali Middle School, Liang Jia, versus contestant 404 from Linjiang First High School, Ye Qingzhou."

As Liang Jia, known for her good looks, appeared on stage, she was met with enthusiastic cheers from the audience. Yali Middle School even brought a cheerleading squad to display banners in the stands.

"Go, Big Sister Chief!"

"Liang Jia, Liang Jia, the best this year!"

Liang Jia’s parents and their entourage also came to cheer for their daughter, "Xiaojia, you must win!"

Liang Jia responded with a smile, knowing that this battle was not just for herself but also to meet the expectations of her friends and family.

As long as she defeated the person in front of her, she would have a chance to go further in the Sword Fighting Competition, not just reaching the top eight; if she was lucky, she might even have a shot at the top four.

In contrast to Liang Jia’s serious focus and high spirits, Ye Qingzhou appeared much more relaxed.

He walked up to the arena at a leisurely pace, as if taking a casual stroll.

Behind him, there was neither a cheerleading squad nor a family entourage, just countless desperate gamblers cursing, hoping for his swift defeat.

Seeing Ye Qingzhou’s carelessness, Liang Jia became somewhat annoyed, "Ye Qingzhou, don’t think you’re impressive just because you beat Golden Dragon. He was actually the weakest seed among the top eight of this event, and your luck runs out here."

To this, Ye Qingzhou responded with just one sword strike.

Clang~

The sound of the sword echoed through the heavens and earth. The Dragon-Shaped Sword Qi Slash of the Six Forms Unification version roared fiercely into the wind, cleaving half the arena.

The sword Qi brushed past Liang Jia’s side, still carrying momentum, leaving a two-foot-deep sword mark on the alloy wall that was supposed to withstand a 110mm cannon.

As Ye Qingzhou unleashed this sword, the entire audience fell silent, as if a pin drop could be heard.

The shocking sword skill that Golden Dragon wished to witness but couldn’t finally appeared, and everyone understood why Golden Dragon had fled in panic.

Faced with this sword, if he dared to take it head-on, his body might have been obliterated!

At this moment, Liang Jia felt nothing but despair. Looking at the sword mark near her foot, her hand holding the sword trembled.

As for the family and friends supporting her from the stands, they were all silent and downcast, with the arena’s bricks shattered by the sword Qi turning into dust that covered their faces.

Ye Qingzhou’s sword tip pointed obliquely at the ground; this was the first time he had drawn his sword since the start of the competition.

"Indeed, you are stronger than Golden Dragon, so I’ll give you three moves, show me your proud swordsmanship."

"Are you insulting me?"

The anger in Liang Jia’s heart instantly overshadowed her fear. She admitted to underestimating Ye Qingzhou, but this feeling of being looked down upon was unbearable.

Since learning martial arts, she had been the bright star in the eyes of her family and friends, a Martial Dao genius with boundless prospects, never once being underestimated like this.

Seeing this, Ye Qingzhou nodded with satisfaction towards Liang Jia, "Good, you’ve regained your fighting spirit. Come, fight now."

"Hmph!"

With rage, Liang Jia attacked, stepping swiftly towards Ye Qingzhou. A sword strike was aimed at his face, "Watch the sword!"

Her swordsmanship was unique; this strike strangely changed pace, with layers of afterimages, inducing visual discomfort and causing misjudgment of the sword technique’s target.

Previous opponents of Liang Jia had been defeated because they couldn’t adjust to the pace changes of her moves.

However, Ye Qingzhou closed his eyes and slightly swayed his body, effortlessly dodging Liang Jia’s sword tip.

"Hmm?"

"I’ve already seen this move before; you still have two more chances."

Ye Qingzhou did not seize the opportunity to counterattack and remained standing still.

"Hmph!"

Liang Jia’s anger intensified, once again being underestimated by the man before her.

"As you wish!"

With a heavy step, leveraging the recoil, Liang Jia swung her sword once more. This time, the sword light not only exhibited variability in speed but also had different energy flows compared to before.