Chapter 502 - The Competition of Splitting One’s Concentration into Two Parts

“They call me Ghost Hand,” said the young man. His gaze was empty and his voice equally so.

“Ling Chuxi,” said Ling Chuxi curtly.

The surroundings were quiet as everyone nervously looked on. Qing Lingyan stood watching from the back from a distance away. There was no longer the anger of yesterday in her eyes, instead, they were calm, chilling and confident. Ghost Hand’s pill refinement was of a level that even the old folks of Cold Moon Palace who have immersed themselves in perfecting medicinal skills for dozens of years would not be able to compete against. No matter how skilled Ling Chuxi was, she could not possibly be more skilled than him. Furthermore, given Ghost Hand’s level of achievement in martial arts, hmph, what could Ling Chuxi’s do in comparison? Could she possibly win against him? Qing Lingyan was filled with incomparable self-confidence.

“Begin!” barked Su Yizhi as an order.

Everyone held their breaths and paid full attention, looking on at the two people in the middle of the clearing without even taking their eyes of them for so much as a blink.

Yet both Ling Chuxi and Ghost Hand did not immediately begin, instead their gazes remained locked on the other party. The atmosphere seemed extremely solemn and peculiar.

Then suddenly, both of them moved at the same time. A light ring resounded throughout the clearing and the covers of the pill furnaces flew up at the same time, and just before they fell back down, herbs were already thrown inside both chambers, sending a stream of flame rising from beneath both furnaces.

“Such speedy actions, such exquisite application methods!” Seeing Ling Chuxi’s fingers flitting about in execution of the application moves so quickly that it appeared to be an illusion, Su Yanhua and the rest could not help but exclaim in surprise. Although they had already accepted Ling Chuxi, they were still doubtful of her pill refinement skills. It was only now as they witnessed her in action did their hearts admire her with sighs. Without mentioning the abilities necessary for pill refinement, just based on how familiar and agile her hands were in applying those methods, they knew they were far lacking in comparison.

Just as they were surprised, Ling Chuxi was equally surprised for a different reason. She now knew why the young man who stood opposite her was called Ghost Hand. In the eyes of other people, both of their actions were equally quick, but Ling Chuxi could clearly see that his hands were actually moving just a little faster than her own, giving off a ghostly, unseen feeling as though they were shapeless.

Without waiting for the exclamations of surprise from the crowd to quieten down, Ghost Hand drew his sword and stabbed towards Ling Chuxi. His sword was very slender and thin, maximizing its speed, making its blade like a poisonous snake that had suddenly appeared after hiding in the grasslands, like a strike of lightning piercing through dark clouds, leaving a chilling and enchanting shadow in the eyes of those watching.

Fast, it was truly too fast!

“Be careful!” Su Xiu’er let out a surprised shout. Amongst the Su family disciples, Su Xiu’er’s pill refinement was not outstanding, however her sword skills far surpassed the others and she could tell how sharp and ruthless this attack was.

So this was the meaning behind the condition of simultaneously holding the pill refinement and martial arts competitions! This was the true test.

“Ding!” a crisp chime rang out as the Luo Chen Sword left its sheath and clashed against the tip of Ghost Hand’s sword. Ghost Hand’s movements were fast, but Ling Chuxi was not slow.

Following the first crisp clang of combat, the two swords became entangled together like a storm gathering rain, as the flashes of both swords left the crowd dizzy. It was not known what kind of materials were used to create the sword in Ghost Hand’s hands, but it appeared to be light and malleable yet strong and indestructible. Due to the malleability of the sword’s body, the sword’s movements, turning and twisting this way and that appeared to be even more baffling and peculiar, and the angles at which the attacks came from left them hard to defend against.

If it were not for the odd twisting power of the spiral Battle Qi which Ling Chuxi had condensed through the Turning Cloud Gesture and her ability to deflect Ghost Hand’s sword to the side before sharply counter attacking at every critical juncture of the battle, if this was purely based on her cultivation in the realm of Great Fulfilment, Ling Chuxi would have found it hard to deal with.

At the same time whenever both their swords clashed, their sword-free left hands did not stay idle. Both were using their Battle Qi to control the fire in their respective pill refinement furnaces at the same time as well as continuously throwing in the herbs needed without making the slightest mistake.

Such an amazing scene was really breathtaking to witness.