Chapter 69: The Duel

Fang Congzhi refrained from launching the first attack. After all, he was several years older than Li Zhen, and maintaining some dignity on the arena floor was essential.

Li Zhen pondered briefly. He knew he couldn’t reveal his body refinement prowess; his only viable option was to showcase his exceptional swordsmanship.

He raised the Xingrui D13 longsword, its blade glinting in the light. With measured steps, he charged directly towards Fang Congzhi.

Fang Congzhi pointed at Li Zhen, and a mid-grade flying sword shot forth from atop his head. Simultaneously, his other hand traced magical runes in the air, preparing to cast a spell.

In the heat of battle, casting spells required a mastery approaching the Understanding Magic realm. Without this proficiency, spells would take too long to cast, and their power would be difficult to control precisely, leading to loss of control.

Although Li Zhen couldn’t employ his body refinement abilities, having already reached the intermediate stage of the first level, his eyesight and reaction speed far surpassed those of a mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator.

With a gentle flick of his sword against the mid-grade flying sword’s blade, Li Zhen deflected it from its intended path.

Redirecting the flying sword would take Fang Congzhi a moment, a moment that would allow Li Zhen to close the distance between them.

However, Fang Congzhi felt no concern; he still had his mid-grade shield for defense.

The spell he was casting was on the verge of taking shape, at least giving him a chance to push Li Zhen away and prevent him from getting any closer.

As Li Zhen closed in, he raised his longsword high. At two meters away, he swung the sword forcefully towards Fang Congzhi’s mid-grade shield.

Clang!

This strike made the shield’s spiritual glow flicker. However, it wasn’t enough to break through the shield.

Li Zhen knew this already, so his attack didn’t end there. After the first strike, he used the rebound to spin around. Then, with a follow-up strike, he slashed along an arc towards the mid-grade shield once again.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

His consecutive attacks made the shield’s spiritual glow dimmer and dimmer.

Fang Congzhi’s spell runes were on the verge of dissolving. It was only because he had mastered the Fireball Spell through Understanding Magic that he managed to hold them together.

With a flick of his wrist, a fireball appeared out of thin air and shot towards Li Zhen, who was now dangerously close.

Mr. Zuo and Mr. Du tensed up. At this distance, if Li Zhen were hit by the fireball, he would suffer severe injuries.

It was crucial to remember that Li Zhen hadn’t employed any defensive measures—no magical artifacts or protective spells to safeguard his body.

Little did they know that Li Zhen, having reached the mid-stage of the first level of body refinement, could not be injured by a fireball from the fourth level of qi refining.

Of course, Li Zhen couldn’t allow the fireball to hit him directly. If he took the blow without injury, it would immediately reveal his advanced body refinement secret.

The moment the fireball was shot, Li Zhen swept his long sword under his mid-grade shield.

At this point, Fang Congzhi was struggling to maintain control of the mid-grade shield, as most of his focus was on the fireball spell. His mind raced with the belief that this fireball must secure him victory.

As the shield was swept up, it perfectly blocked the path of the fireball.

Boom! The fireball collided with the back of the mid-grade shield, causing an explosion.

The explosion threw off the control of the shield, but it had completely blocked the fireball’s power. Instead, it was Fang Congzhi, the one who cast the spell, who suffered the effects of the fireball’s aftermath.

While Fang Congzhi was panicking and dodging the fireball’s lingering energy, a long sword had already reached the center of his forehead.

“Stop!” Mr. Du bellowed, activating the arena’s isolation function.

Li Zhen felt a force push him and Fang Congzhi apart. The two were forcibly separated by a distance of ten meters.

This was a safety measure built into the arena. Judging by the strength of the force, even if Li Zhen had resisted it with all his might, he still wouldn’t have been able to prevent the arena from pushing them apart.

In truth, this arena was only suitable for cultivators in the early to mid stages of Qi Refinement. For those in the late stages, it held little value and was more often a waste of time.

“What incredible swordsmanship!” Shi Xuan exclaimed, astonished.

“The Han family certainly found a swordsmanship prodigy!” Wang Rushi remarked with a hint of envy in her voice.

When she had first joined the academy, she too had helped attract talent for the Wang family, but none with Li Zhen’s extraordinary swordsmanship.

She wondered about Li Zhen’s spiritual root aptitude. If his spiritual roots were as exceptional as his swordsmanship, it might be possible for the Wang family to still poach him.

“Thank you for holding back. I concede!” Fang Congzhi said dejectedly, bowing his head to Li Zhen.

He could sense the vast gap between himself and Li Zhen. In the final move, he hadn’t even seen how the sword had appeared at the center of his forehead.

“Supreme Swordsmanship! Old Zuo, where did you find this prodigy?” Mr. Du’s keen eyes instantly recognized Li Zhen’s mastery.

“Scholarship from the Han family, mostly. My teaching had little to do with it!” Mr. Zuo shook his head, deflecting the credit.

He was quick to clarify that he had merely taught Li Zhen the basics of swordsmanship. Li Zhen’s exceptional skill was due to his own relentless practice. Mr. Zuo was humble enough to admit he hadn’t the ability to teach such mastery.

“He’s also cultivated techniques to conceal his spiritual energy signature,” Mr. Du continued. “But judging by the spiritual energy he revealed during his attack, he’s likely at the second layer of Qi Refining. Not bad at all! It’s truly a pity; if he had entered school two years earlier, Second High School might have achieved even greater success this year!”

Li Zhen had intentionally suppressed his cultivation, which explained his performance consistent with the average for first-year students at the second layer of Qi Refining. This approach ensured he wouldn’t stand out too prominently.

“The Han family must want to protect him,” Mr. Zuo sighed. “You’re aware of what happened to Cheng He!”

Cheng He’s fall from grace left Mr. Zuo feeling helpless. It was a direct consequence of his spiritual roots and talents being publicly revealed.

Li Zhen waved at Fang Congzhi and then hopped down from the arena stage.

“Li Zhen, welcome to our team!” Wang Rushi approached, extending her hand with a smile.

“Thank you!” Li Zhen shook hands with Wang Rushi, replying gratefully.

“With your addition, our offensive capabilities in the team competition will be even more versatile!” Shi Xuan also came over, offering his hand.

Li Zhen grasped it, noticing that since defeating Fang Congzhi, Wang Rushi and Shi Xuan had become more enthusiastic towards him.

“All right, everyone, come here!” Mr. Zuo clapped, gesturing for the group to gather.

Mr. Du did not participate; the annual School Challenge had always been led by the combat fundamentals teacher of the incoming freshman cultivators—a tradition.

Li Zhen and the others stood before Mr. Zuo.

“Li Zhen, this is your first time participating in the challenge, so let me explain how it works,” Mr. Zuo began. “The School Challenge consists of individual and team events. The individual event is straightforward: official members from each school draw lots to determine their opponents. Winners advance to the next round, where they draw lots again for their next match.

“The team event requires three students from the same school to form a squad, which then competes against a similarly formed team in a lottery-drawn match.

If an official member cannot participate in either event, their spot is filled by a substitute team member!”

His explanation was primarily meant for Li Zhen; the others were already well-aware of the rules.

At this point, Li Zhen finally understood why Fang Congzhi placed such great emphasis on being an official member. Unless something unexpected occurred, the entire competition would have little to do with substitute members like Fang Congzhi, let alone any glory of victory.

“Li Zhen, what you need to focus on now is coordinating with Shi Xuan and Wang Rushi,” Mr. Zuo continued. “I have a document here outlining three-person battle formations. Familiarize yourself with it first, then we’ll practice together!”

Li Zhen’s individual prowess was evident from his effortless defeat of Fang Congzhi. If he could coordinate seamlessly with Shi Xuan and Wang Rushi, their combined combat strength would far surpass that of Fang Congzhi.

In team battles, students like Li Zhen, skilled in close-quarter combat, were invaluable. They created opportunities for their teammates to unleash more effective long-range attacks.

The identity bracelet on Li Zhen’s wrist beeped as it received a document from Mr. Zuo. He opened it up to review.

A video played on his retinal display, showing three cultivators continuously changing positions in sync with the commentary.

“I want you all to study this carefully,” Mr. Zuo said to Wang Rushi and Shi Xuan. “Think about how to best utilize Li Zhen’s swordsmanship!”

After giving his instructions, Mr. Zuo stepped aside to continue his own cultivation practice.

Li Zhen meticulously memorized the three-person formation, while Wang Rushi and Shi Xuan analyzed the new battle strategy. Meanwhile, Fang Congzhi practiced the moves, reflecting on the recent match.

Fang Congzhi soon realized that no matter how he adapted his tactics, he couldn’t defeat Li Zhen. In the realm of early to mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators, mastery of sword techniques held an overwhelming advantage—unless Li Zhen was prevented from closing the distance.

However, even with a podium measuring twenty meters across, it was exceedingly difficult to thwart Li Zhen’s approach given the speed of cultivators.