Chapter 14

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Di Xin'er immediately thrust her sword forward after she finished talking.

"Wait!"

Xu Xiaoshou put an arm out to stop her from advancing. "As the saying goes, a gentleman fights with words, not with his hands. A gentleman fights with his hands, not with his sword!

"Why not do it this way? I won't use my sword, and you won't use yours. We'll both use our fists and brawl it out. How about that?" Xu Xiaoshou set the wooden sword on his back onto the ground as he spoke.

Brawl?

Di Xin'er frowned. She knew that Xu Xiaoshou didn't mean this and retorted, "I know that you have a ninth-grade spiritual sword by the name of Hiding Pain."

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled. He took out Hiding Pain from his ring and set it on the ground.

It wasn't that he was trying to cheat. Yesterday, after training hard and really practicing his sword technique in his yard, he'd realized that it would be better for him to use a wooden sword, which was why he'd been carrying the wooden sword all this time.

"I know that you have a powerful body, Senior Xu. However, I only know how to use sword techniques, so let's battle!" Di Xin'er wasted no words, and thrust her sword at Xu Xiaoshou.

Xu Xiaoshou nearly cursed. This lady had tricked him into laying his swords down, and now she was attacking him?

"Women definitely aren't to be trusted," he thought to himself. "What a liar!"

He hurriedly stood up to avoid the attack. For some reason, he felt that Di Xin'er's sword was incredibly slow and that she was leaving herself open to attack.

"Your sword skills aren't very refined," he thought. "To think that you have a cultivation level of Level Eight."

In the instant Xu Xiaoshou leaned his body to the side to avoid her attack, he wanted to chop down toward Di Xin'er's waist using his palm. However, he suddenly remembered the two holes he'd punched in the ground two days ago and immediately clenched his hand into a fist.

Di Xin'er quickly reacted. She pulled her sword back and sliced it through the air. Then, she twisted her sword and aimed the blade at Xu Xiaoshou's fist.

Her sword would definitely break in two if Xu Xiaoshou's fist connected with it.

"Ah!"

The next second, Di Xin'er felt like she'd tripped over something and immediately fell onto the ground.

Xu Xiaoshou silently pulled back his left foot, a doubtful look in his eyes.

"is this Di Xin'er really at Spiritual Cultivation Level Eight? Why is every one of her strokes predictable?" he thought.

This match would be decided if Xu Xiaoshou picked up his sword and sliced it toward her at this moment. However, how could he do that?

It was hard for him to get into a battle. He had to earn a few more Passive Points before it ended.

Di Xin'er seized the opportunity, no longer caring about her image. She rolled on the ground and got out of Xu Xiaoshou's attack radius. Then she stood up, sword in hand.

"That Xu Xiaoshou sure is powerful!" she thought. Xu Xiaoshou sticking out his foot seemed like a stroke of genius to Di Xin'er. "I was careless!"

Xu Xiaoshou spoke once again when he saw that Di Xin'er had adjusted her frame of mind. "Give it some consideration. Whatever I said just now is true. I wouldn't lie to you.

"Neither of us knows any fist techniques, so our brawl would be fair!"

The spectators had already broke into discussion when they saw how Xu Xiaoshou had used his foot, but when they heard his words, they loudly exclaimed their outrage.

"Despicable!"

"That Xu Xiaoshou is definitely despicable. It's fine that he used a surprise attack, but why does he insist on a brawl with Di Xin'er?"

"That's right. How could Senior Di deal with a body as powerful as his?"

"If it were me, I would never agree to his request!"

A few female disciples turned red when they heard these words. What kind of crowd was this? They were saying such vicious things.

Xu Xiaoshou clearly recognized this problem. He immediately added, "Let's do this, then. I have an advantage over you because I have a powerful body, so how about I fight you with just one hand..."

When he saw Di Xin'er thrust her sword at him once again, he shouted, "No hands! No hands!

"I'll fight you with my feet. Let's brawl!"

"Shut up!"

Even though she knew that Xu Xiaoshou was intentionally riling her up, she could no longer stand it anymore. A despicable, shameless person like him should be stabbed by a sword.

Xu Xiaoshou didn't know why this girl had suddenly become so angry. "You can be angry, but please be more refined with your sword technique. You need not hold back against me."

She left so many openings that Xu Xiaoshou didn't know which one to take advantage of.

Xu Xiaoshou dodged the attack again, but he didn't counterattack this time around. Instead, he said sincerely, "Give it some thought. Let's brawl!"

Di Xin'er swiped her sword through the air several times, her face turning red with anger. To think that she had cheered Xu Xiaoshou on in the past. She didn't expect him to be such a person.

"Be careful, Senior Xu!"

After stabbing thin air a dozen times, Di Xin'er finally realized that Xu Xiaoshou knew some sword techniques and battle movements, so she decided to use her spiritual technique!

A pulsing spiritual energy forced Xu Xiaoshou backward. Di Xin'er's sword suddenly slowed down after she collected herself.

Xu Xiaoshou's expression turned puzzled. The White Cloud Sword Technique?

This lady wanted to fight him using the White Cloud Sword Technique?

What kind of a joke was this?

Xu Xiaoshou somersaulted and grabbed Hiding Pain. "Hm, I shouldn't injure her…" he thought.

He picked up the wooden sword and reacted to Di Xin'er's Fleeting White Cloud by leaping into the air and maneuvering past the dozens of glowing blades.

The crowd was in an uproar.

"That Xu Xiaoshou sure is something. To think that he was able to avoid such an attack. I thought that he'd only be able to take the attack head-on!"

"I think that Xu Xiaoshou also knows the White Cloud Sword Technique. I heard that he practiced it for three years, so he might be really familiar with the tricks behind the technique."

"Three years? That lad only managed to master one stroke, the Fleeting White Cloud, in three years!"

"Why is he holding a wooden sword? Doesn't he have the ninth-grade spiritual sword?"

The spectators looked on in shock as Xu Xiaoshou maneuvered past the web of attacks without getting injured. He shifted from left to right as he faced Di Xin'er's sword before finally arriving in front of her.

Xu Xiaoshou hesitated for a moment, then chose to gently tap on Di Xin'er's head with his wooden sword, intending to signal that she'd lost.

That tap could've killed her if he'd decided to wield the spiritual sword instead of his wooden sword. However, the crowd obviously didn't share the same thinking.

"Beast!"

"Stop it, Xu Xiaoshou!"

"Ah, Di Xin'er is mine!"

"Darn you, Xu Xiaoshou. Take the battle seriously! Why are you using a wooden sword!"

Xu Xiaoshou raised his wooden sword and decided to give her another chance. Since he couldn't get her to engage in a brawl with him, he could infuriate her and get her to mock him in order to earn Passive Points.

"Your technique is decent!"

Xu Xiaoshou held his wooden sword the opposite way. "But you rushed to unleash your web of blades and cast it all in one layer. You lost any way of retaliating the moment your opponent avoided your first attack."

He looked down with a belittling gaze. "There's room for improvement for your Fleeting White Cloud. Keep at it!"

He criticized her area of expertise in the most brazen way possible.

A belittling gaze and an arrogant attitude like that made him a great villain!

Who could resist becoming eranged and fiercely scolding him!

Xu Xiaoshou felt that no would be able to tolerate what he'd just done. He was very satisfied with his tone.

He didn't expect Di Xin'er to forget about the sword on her head. She'd started mulling over his words.

"What Xu Xiaoshou said makes sense," she thought. "Could it be that his area of expertise doesn't lie in brawling but in sword techniques?

"I heard that he once practiced the White Cloud Sword Technique."

Xu Xiaoshou suddenly felt a little awkward. He didn't know what to do when he saw his opponent freeze. It didn't feel right to him to just withdraw his sword, but just leaving it there didn't feel right either.

"Miss, we're in the middle of a battle. Why are you mulling over your cultivation?" he thought.

Di Xin'er came to her senses. She raised her head and propped up the wooden sword that Xu Xiaoshou had hit her with. She immediately realized that something was wrong. Why had she slipped into her bad habit again?

This was a battle. She shouldn't be pondering her technique!

She blushed and put more distance between herself and Xu Xiaoshou. There was a strange look in her eyes. She seemed to want to say something but stopped herself.

"Got appreciated. Passive Points +1."

Xu Xiaoshou was speechless.

"Is this lady that innocent? Did she really think that I was giving her pointers?" Xu Xiaoshou thought.

"Again!" Di Xin'er ultimately couldn't find the words to express her gratitude. She twirled her sword around as she moved toward Xu Xiaoshou. It looked like she wanted to engulf Xu Xiaoshou within a vortex of sword energy. "The second stroke of the White Cloud Technique—Billowing Clouds!"

There was a glimmer in Xu Xiaoshou's eyes. This was a stroke that he hadn't been able to master even after practicing it for the past three years. To him, this seemed like an opportunity.

He prodded his sword toward the vortex Di Xin'er had experimentally created. He then emulated her sword technique and twirled the sword around, using a counteracting force to deflect all of his opponent's attacks.

Di Xin'er froze. She saw her sword get guided toward the side by Xu Xiaoshou while his sword remained on her shoulder. Xu Xiaoshou's sword stopped for a second before gently tapping her slightly pudgy face.

Tap!

The sound wasn't loud. However, everyone in the spectator seats all angrily stood up and voiced their fury.

"What a beast!"

"Xu Xiaoshou, you won't die a pretty death if you snatch my Senior Di away from me!"

"Move your sword away. Otherwise, I'll definitely pursue you to the edge of the world!"

Some white knights stood on Di Xin'er's side, but there were also young ladies who had been captivated by both of Xu Xiaoshou's attacks.

"Ahhh, my heart has melted. Xu Xiaoshou, please tap on me!"

"Xu Xiaoshou, fight properly. I forbid you to be this gentle!"

"Xu Xiaoshou, you must be insane. You're flirting with another woman in front of me?"

Xu Xiaoshou felt awkward. He also wanted to have an intense battle but the wooden sword's offensive capabilities didn't allow for that. This was the best he could do.

Other than tapping on her and hitting her, his wooden sword really couldn't inflict any damage.

And Di Xin'er wouldn't be able to last against Hiding Pain!

What if he released his Sword Will again and tore this beautiful lady to shreds?

Di Xin'er's face turned completely red. However, she didn't avert her gaze this time around. Instead, she passionately looked at Xu Xiaoshou.

Xu Xiaoshou froze. "What does she mean by that? Does she want an explanation from me?"

He gave it a try. "That technique should be used as a follow-up to the web of blades from your previous stroke. If you injure your enemy with your web of blades, you can suppress him with the momentum of your sword and achieve victory with a single attack.

"However, if your enemy manages to avoid your web of blades, you should pull your momentum back and entangle him. In that situation, you should use Billowing Clouds to trap your opponent, stop his attacks, and prepare for your next one."

For some reason, the other party suddenly looked like she'd an epiphany even though he was talking nonsense.

"Got appreciated. Passive Points +1."

Xu Xiaoshou was speechless. He deliberated whether or not to continue earning Passive Points off this lady. Truthfully, he didn't feel too good about doing that.

Di Xin'er once again put more distance between them and tenderly shouted, "The third stroke—Within the Cloud and Fog!"

Xu Xiaoshou hurriedly thrust his sword forward. This time he used a little force and hit Di Xin'er's wrist with his sword while she was attacking, and the sword in her hand fell onto the ground.

Di Xin'er looked at Xu Xiaoshou in shock. She had an aggrieved look in her eyes.

"Cough, cough."

Xu Xiaoshou let out a few dry coughs. He couldn't let this continue. This girl had a strange look in her eyes. Love sparks might fly if they continued this battle.

He pointed his wooden sword at Di Xin'er's throat. He decided to nip the problem in the bud before any feelings started to develop.

"You've lost!"

His tone was arrogant, as he hoped to get a negative reaction from Di Xin'er.

Di Xin'er didn't seem to have noticed anything. Her indignance turned into gratitude. She said with a wide smile on her face, "Thank you for your pointers, Senior Xu. There's a time limit for the preliminaries, so I'll only be able to learn from you again if I have the opportunity in the future!"

"Got appreciated. Passive Points +1."

Xu Xiaoshou didn't know what to say.

This girl was hopeless!