This was going to be an exciting duel! At least that was the consensus among the crowd.
Even the Sword Sages were all watching closely. They wanted to completely understand what this daughter of the Mizar Sword Immortal was capable of.
Wu Yu was more focused on Nangong Wei too. Nangong Wei brandished an immortal treasure longsword that was a mix of gold and red, with a hilt that was shaped like a pair of wings. Along the center of the blade, a b.l.o.o.d.y line extended from hilt to tip. Fresh blood seemed to flow within this line. The blade seemed to have been forged with fiery red tail-feathers of steel. It looked as though Nangong Wei was holding on to an actual bird.
Faint discussions echoed through the crowd. "That sword is known as the Scarlet Phoenix"s b.l.o.o.d.y Sword. There used to be one in the Earth sword domain"s Immortal Treasures Hall. It cost around 400 Inner Sea essence pills."
This was equivalent to about 40,000 Golden Essence Pills, and was worth around the same as the pair of Cloudless Day"s Sunwheel Sword and Moon Waltzing Clear Sky Sword.
Of course, the price set by the sect did not always correspond perfectly to these immortal treasures" strength and suitability.
As the crowd was discussing the matter, the two women made their move. An intense battle had begun!
"Nangong Wei has only just entered the Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm, yet she is no weaker than Xingyu, who is at the third tier of the Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm." Shen Xingyao provided his opinion when the battle begun.
Only then did Wu Yu find out that Nangong Wei had just entered the Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea Realm. No wonder she was able to come out from seclusion. Thinking about it, her father probably had stricter requirements for her.
At this point in time, the two combatants probably sensed that their opponent was no weaker than them. As such, they immediately used their mystiques as soon as the battle began! First up was Shen Xingyu. As she advanced with the Heaven"s Melody Meteor Sword, she started to activate her Great Dao Mystique. Endless starlight exploded out from her eyes and pierced the heavens like a sharp blade. In a flash, star cl.u.s.ters started to transform in the sky.
"Heaven"s Vault Star Spirit!"
In the open sky, a star known as the Heaven"s Vault Star responded to Shen Xingyu"s summons. In the nine heavens, the stars started to shudder and, through the expanse, a ray of starlight shone through to light up the earth. The cylinder of starlight burst onto Shen Xingyu and completely engulfed her!
The starlight did not fade - it was becoming more concentrated on Shen Xingyu instead. The starlight had either entered her flesh or condensed on her skin; whatever it was, Shen Xingyu looked as though she had a.s.similated an entire galaxy. On her body was a myriad of stars sparkling from the heavens to earth. The strength of her Jindan essence was steadily rising past her original limits! This Heaven"s Vault Star Spirit Great Dao Mystique greatly expanded the boundaries of one"s abilities!
Of course, Nangong Wei was no slouch either. In fact, she took things a step further. While Shen Xingyu was harnessing the power of the Heaven"s Vault Star, Nangong Wei looked on coldly with disdain. She jumped into the air with flames surrounding her. Infernos immediately gathered behind her and started to transform. In a flash, they turned into a pair of ma.s.sive, feathered wings. These wings were clearly the wings of a phoenix. The feathers shone with nine colors and were both magnificent and terrifying at the same time. The wings continued to burn, and in the flames, the five characters for "benevolence," "righteousness," "ceremony," "filial piety," and "knowledge" were clearly distinguishable!
This flame-wreathed phoenix wielded her sword and flew towards the skies. Once her wings had appeared, it felt like Nangong Wei was being aided by the G.o.ds themselves. Her Jindan essence grew in strength as she darted around the sky with frightening speed. As she bolted around the sky, it was clear that she was even more nimble than a sword rider.
This Great Dao Mystique was known as the Radiant Phoenix Wings and had originated from the Radiant Phoenix Sword Emperor.
Under the effects of the Radiant Phoenix Wings, Nangong Wei had an even more imposing presence than before. With this pair of wings, her stunning countenance swept the onlookers off their feet.
The two fighters had used their mystiques to reach the full extent of their power. They charged head-on against each other. Starlight radiated and nine-colored flames rushed toward the sky. Flames swept the surroundings together with the upheaval of the stars!
This was indeed a battle between two Violet Kingdom of the Inner Sea cultivators. Like the previous battles, Wu Yu found it hard to follow, but this battle was certainly more exciting than the previous ones. In particular, Nangong Wei truly surprised the crowd.
Within the Immortal Battleground, the Radiant Phoenix Wings continued to adapt. It even exceeded the meteor-like speed of Shen Xingyu.
"Wild Sword of the Galaxy G.o.d!"
Shen Xingyu was drenched in sweat from the heat of the blazing inferno. She was under immense pressure from her opponent"s status and strength. In the precarious situation she was in, the Heaven"s Melody Meteor Sword managed to pierce through the inferno, emerging violently. An ocean of stars engulfed everything. In this sea of stars, the sword qi of a thousand stars had penetrated through!
"Nine G.o.d-Eating Flames sword technique!"
Alas, Nangong Wei remained calm, and was callous even. From her each and every move, Wu Yu could tell that she had gained a wealth of battle experience. Such experience could only have been developed in battles of life and death.
With the use of this sword technique, nine monstrous flames surged forward from the Scarlet Phoenix"s b.l.o.o.d.y Sword. The flames swallowed the ocean of starlight and rushed straight before Shen Xingyu. In a flash, the monster-like flames had pinned Shen Xingyu to the ground. As the Radiant Phoenix Wings flapped in the wind, the flames were akin to a raging storm. Shen Xingyu was about to be swallowed whole.
"I admit defeat." Shen Xingyu"s helpless cry rang out from the midst of the violently surging flames.
Hu!
The flames immediately rolled back and returned to Nangong Wei"s body. Since Shen Xingyu had surrendered, Nangong Wei had not harmed her one bit. The ending to the battle was rather underwhelming. The crowd was craving for more.
Nangong Wei was the victor!
Shen Xingyu still had not realized that this woman who defeated her was the young girl that followed Wu Yu around back then.
She laughed bitterly, but after some thought, she realized that being the first opponent of the daughter of the Mizar Sword Immortal would at least make her slightly more known to the public. Today"s defeat was purely due to a disparity in power. It was out of her control.
"Junior Sister Nangong is certainly skilled. I truly admire you." Shen Xingyu"s face was slightly pale, but she quickly sorted herself out and cupped her hands in deference.
"Elder Sister Shen is strong as well," Nangong Wei remarked as though she had been relieved of a heavy burden.
The hundred or so Earth sword rank disciples in the audience were all dumbfounded. They were all awestruck in admiration, and started to discuss what had just happened. The Nangong Wei before them was only 19 years old after all. She would only become more terrifying in the years to come.
"All I can say that she probably has a better chance of becoming a Sword Immortal than the Galaxy Sword Sage."
This meant that Nangong Wei"s talent surpa.s.sed even the legendary talent of Shen Xingyao.
As soon as the battle ended, the Lunar Flower Sword Sage came forward and quickly remarked, "The winner has been determined. With this, Wei Er has claimed a spot on the Leaderboard of Earth Sword Immortals, completing your father"s test. I"m sure that you"ll have more freedom in the days to come."
"Yes, I"m free."
Nangong Wei"s demeanor suddenly changed. Tears seemed to sparkle in her eyes. At this moment, she was the center of everyone"s attention. While some audience members wanted to speak to her, they were ultimately too timid to do so. She suddenly swung around and looked towards Shen Xingyao.
"What"s wrong with her? Does she have something to do with the Galaxy Sword Sage?" Nangong Wei"s sudden change left everyone in shock. She had been so decisive and efficient with her battle just then. Why did she suddenly seem so emotional?
At this moment, Shen Xingyao got out of the way to go check on Shen Xingyu. Wu Yu had nowhere left to hide, and was left in plain sight for all to see. He was caught off guard as he looked back at Nangong Wei. At that very moment, Wu Yu looked directly at the ever-so-familiar Nangong Wei. She was pure and lively, but she had aged and was no longer as inexperienced before. With her every movement, that delicate face and exquisite figure of hers had a lady-like charm to it.
"Big Brother?" Nangong Wei let out a slight smile. She seemed free of all fetters and not a single other thing mattered in this world. As the audience looked on, she rushed towards Wu Yu with the speed of a sword leaving its sheath. They had not seen each other in so many years, but they were now so close to each other. The pa.s.sage of time had only intensified their longing for each other. When they came face-to-face with each other, their flooded emotions were on the verge of an explosion.
"Wei Er." Wu Yu was originally worried that she had changed too much to even recognize him, but the emotional tears flowing from Nangong Wei"s eyes a.s.suaged all the apprehensions he had. She was still her old self, and had simply matured a little. Her new-found maturity did not totally change her after all.
He spread his arms wide open as the crowd looked on. Nangong Wei wiped her tears from the corners of her eyes and scoffed mischievously before rus.h.i.+ng forward to hug him.
As her soft, jade-like body fell into his embrace, she gave off a delicate fragrance. It was clear that she was all grown up from the strength of her hug, the touch of her bosom, and the curve of her hips. He stirred as she pressed her body close to his.
Perhaps due to her intense cultivation, Nangong Wei"s body was exceptionally warm. Wu Yu"s body was the same. When the two came into contact, the blazing heat from their bodies raged together like two combined infernos. As they burned, the infernos debated between resisting against and merging with each other. They continued to burn more exuberantly.
The deep feelings between the two of them left the crowd stupefied. What just happened before them was incomprehensible. Wu Yu and Nangong Wei had to be two entirely unrelated people, but they were hugging each other as though they had known each other for a long time. Wu Yu"s hands were even below that beauty"s waist…
Shen Xingyu stumbled for a bit and looked toward Shen Xingyao.
"You"ve forgotten, right? This was the girl that was following him around a long time ago."
Shen Xingyu"s mouth opened wide in shock. She gaped at them in astonishment for a long time before commenting, "This had to be the power of fate."
As for the rest of the crowd, they exchanged confused looks with one another and could not really figure out what was going on. The Sword Sages were especially anxious. They had come here today because the Mizar Sword Immortal had instructed them to take good care of Nangong Wei. Now that Nangong Wei had thrown herself into Wu Yu"s embrace, they did not really know what to do.
"Wei Er, what"s going on? This..." the Lunar Flower Sword Sage awkwardly asked. She did not really know how to interrupt them, even though she had to.
The crowd could not help but look at Wu Yu with expressions of bewilderment. While Wu Yu was not bad-looking himself, Nangong Wei was a superior beauty even among other beauties. Even Mu Lingche and friends looked down on Wu Yu, so how was it possible that he was able to embrace this beauty right now? Many of the young and middle-aged cultivators felt a sense of discomfort while watching them.
Despite all this, Wu Yu ignored even the words of the Lunar Flower Sword Sage. It had been so long since they had last met. Back then, he swore that he would return from the Supreme Hunting Ground in order to see her again. This promise had been kept and they had finally been reunited. He was unwilling to waste even a single precious second with her. Nangong Wei was a child back then, but had fully grown up to become a graceful young lady now. Wu Yu felt like there was no longer any reason for him to let her go ever again.
Just like she had promised, they would go to the Immortal Pair Hall together once he had returned.
As dao companions, they would live and die together.