Chapter 150: Departure
The other person’s smile only fueled his rage. He spun around abruptly and strode forward.
Staring at Song Yan with burning eyes, “What are you laughing at?”
Faced with this sudden confrontation, Song Yan was slightly stunned, then retracted his smile.
He said calmly, “No offense intended. The little snake doesn’t know any better…”
He lowered his head to look at Xiao He and said, “I’ll be sure to discipline her strictly when we return.”
In Kong Yun’s eyes, the other party clearly knew he was no match for his elder brother—that was why he had spoken such big words but now dared not say anything.
He sneered immediately. “Since you dare to spout such arrogance, saying my elder brother is no match for you, why not step onto the platform and fight?!”
Hearing Kong Yun’s accusation, the surroundings fell abruptly silent.
Everyone’s gaze gathered toward them, wondering what had happened on this side.
At the edge of the Debate Stage, a tall and stunningly beautiful young female cultivator was clutching a wine jar, hiccuping.
Her posture was extremely unseemly, and Junior Sister Gu Qingqing beside her was flusteredly trying to cover something up for her, her small face flushed red.
“Senior Sister Yuwen! You—you—you… sit up properly!”
“I won’t!”
Gu Qingqing was also huffing with anger, extremely displeased with this drunkard senior sister. “If I had known you were just coming here to drink, I wouldn’t have come with you!”
“Nonsense!”
The drunk female cultivator straightened up, seeming about to say something serious.
In fact, it was not serious at all.
“I clearly came here to spar with Kong You! When we get back to the peak, don’t go spreading lies!”
“Well, he’s done fighting now. Why don’t you go up already!”
The sooner the fight was over, the sooner they could return to Lotus Seclusion Peak.
Senior Sister Yuwen cared not at all about her image, her charms on full display, making her little follower feel embarrassed and annoyed on her behalf.
Truly infuriating!
“Sigh, we didn’t come at the right time. By the time we arrived, he was already fighting.”
“Since he’s already fought, his condition must have declined. Even if I win against him, it wouldn’t be honorable—understand?”
“…Se…nior… Sis…ter… is… right…”
Gu Qingqing pursed her little lips and said perfunctorily, “Then let’s hurry back!”
“Ah, since we’re already here, let’s watch a bit longer.”
“I think you just want to drink a bit longer…”
“Nonsense!”
Yuwen Yao put on a stern face, about to make a few more excuses, when she noticed a dispute arising near the Debate Stage.
Gu Qingqing also looked toward the commotion and spotted a familiar figure in the crowd.
“Huh? Isn’t that Senior Brother Song?”
“What are they arguing about?”
Kong Yun’s outburst had made Song Yan the target of everyone’s attention.
“Who is this person?”
“Seems like an inner disciple from Sword-Tempering Peak? Old Chen, do you know him?”
Discussions buzzed through the crowd.
Someone asked a slightly older cultivator from Sword-Tempering Peak.
“Don’t recognize him. He must be a junior who just recently advanced to inner sect.”
“What arrogance—just promoted to inner sect, probably hasn’t even stabilized his seventh-level Qi Refining cultivation, and he dares speak such big words?”
Truth be told, after Changping, Song Yan’s name was actually quite well-known among the Qi Refining Stage disciples.
Unfortunately, in the entire Eastern Abyss Sect, barely anyone could match his name to his face.
Everyone sized up this young cultivator, finding him somewhat peculiar.
“What’s that behind him?”
“Is that… a sword case? Does anyone still use such ancient relics…”
“Perhaps he’s emulating ancient cultivators.”
Kong Yun overheard the surrounding people’s remarks and scoffed. He was about to voice another sarcasm when a clear and measured voice suddenly came from the platform.
“Ah Yun.”
Kong You had at some point also looked this way. When he saw the other person’s cultivation level, he couldn’t help feeling somewhat disappointed.
Knowing his younger brother’s temperament, he immediately spoke to stop him.
His gaze swept past the sword case behind Song Yan, and he nodded slightly. “If this junior brother has no desire to compete, there’s no need to force him.”
The elder brother’s tone was calm, but it immediately made Kong Yun back down. He only glared at Song Yan unwillingly. “Watch what you say next time, I’m telling you.”
For Kong You, Song Yan was clearly not the opponent he was looking for.
Including the previous Li and Zhao, they were all far too green when it came to actual combat.
What he wanted was an opponent who could at least give him a sense of pressure.
Among the Qi Refining Stage cultivators of Eastern Abyss Sect, such people could probably be counted on one hand.
“How on earth did that Li Yi cultivate such battle intent…”
Though he had never fought him, he knew in his heart that facing this person, defeat was certain.
Just as he was still lost in thought, the noisy voices from the crowd reached his ears.
“He… what is he doing?”
“Does he really want to fight Senior Brother Kong?”
“Good—let him learn his place.”
Kong You snapped back to his senses and saw that the young man had already stepped onto the bluestone platform, giving a slight nod.
Since first embarking on the path of cultivation, Song Yan had hardly ever sparred with others.
The few times he had were after Peach Blossom Wharf, when he discussed cultivation matters with Li Qingfeng.
The rest were almost all life-and-death battles.
Now, with the sect’s Sword-Tempering approaching, it was time to adapt to this feeling of holding back.
He couldn’t exactly bring out his Sword Dao Primordial during a friendly spar.
That would harm the harmony.
The senior brother before him named Kong You appeared to have deep spiritual energy reserves, and from his offensive power, he seemed quite “moderate.”
Very suitable as his first opponent.
Kong You simply thought this person was too young and impulsive—provoked by the crowd’s chatter, his blood had rushed to his head, and he wanted to settle things.
Though he sighed inwardly, now that the young man had stepped onto the platform, there was no reason to refuse the fight.
He nodded slightly and offered a few words of reassurance. “It’s just a spar—no need to take it too seriously.”
“May I ask your name?”
“Sword-Tempering Peak. Song Yan.”
The name sounded somewhat familiar, but Kong You did not dwell on it.
“Junior Brother Song, please.”
In a sparring match, there was no formal referee. When one party said the word “please,” it meant the match had begun.
“…”
Kong You was slightly taken aback.
He sensed that in that very instant, the other person’s aura had completely changed.
Song Yan slowly raised his eyes, his entire bearing radiating with sharp, unrestrained edge.
Kong You’s heart lurched, and his previous contempt and condescension immediately diminished considerably.
Spiritual energy gathered between his hands.
The water curtain he had used against Zhao Mian appeared once more.
This Senior Brother Kong seemed to prefer defeating his opponents reactively.
This was neither good nor bad—it was simply his personal fighting style.
The complete opposite of Song Yan.
With a slight raise of his hand, a streak of cyan sword qi shot from his sleeve, surging forward like a violent storm.
Kong You’s fingertips twitched slightly as he channeled his spiritual energy.
He calculated that once the sword qi was neutralized by the water curtain, he would immediately unleash his offensive techniques and end the fight quickly.
However, things did not unfold as he had imagined.
The cyan sword qi tore through the water curtain in an instant, driving straight toward Kong You’s face.
“?!”
Almost out of survival instinct, he instantly abandoned his original action and channeled spiritual energy to form a layer of ice shield before him.
Boom!
The ice shield met the cyan sword qi, and in the blink of an eye, showed signs of cracking.
In haste, Kong You could only continuously reform the ice shield spell.
At the same time, his body kept retreating backward until he was nearly at the edge of the Debate Stage, where he barely managed to steady himself and settle his spiritual energy.
At this moment, his heart was filled with boundless shock!