Reconsider Strategy

The challenge tournament of the Convocation of Swords continued at a frenetic pace. Once a set of duels finished, another set of duels immediately commenced. Nameplates of challengers and losers flew onto and off the ranking pillar. There were no interruptions or delays and the pool of first-day challengers within the caldron decreased steadily.

Soon enough, and to no surprise, it was Su Xue's turn to take the stage. She was amongst the weakest in the rankings and an easy target. She had made great progress in the past year but like her twin, she was still at the 8th Level of the Spirit Initiate Realm.

Her challenger was a loose cultivator from the southern regions of the subcontinent. He wore airy, sand-colored robes along with a turban and scarf combination that hid most of his facial features. His cultivation was at the 10th Level of the Spirit Initiate Realm. The difference in cultivation was obviously unfair but for a loose cultivator, trying to guarantee a position on the ranking pillar was more important than a fair duel.

Su Xue made no complaints as her ice sword faced off against a curved blade that was akin to a crescent moon. It was considered a saber but acceptable under the broad rules for weapons at the convocation. Since she had already seen Su Yue's performance, she knew the strategy for victory. She only exchanged a few opening moves and as soon as she felt pressure from her skilled and experienced opponent, she activated Icy Marrow without hesitation.

With the great boost in physical attributes, she was able to fend off the pressure from the loose cultivator. She even avoided long-range attacks that utilized sword energy utilizing raw speed. In fact, these long-range attacks were even easier to avoid as the loose cultivator did not cultivate a superior sword Dao, resulting in their sword energy being impure and fragile at a distance.

Five minutes passed by in what seemed like an instant. Su Xue successfully wasted time until she won by default. Her duel was less dramatic than her twin's in the sense that she employed an effective strategy from the beginning but that didn't mean it was easy.

Maintaining Icy Marrow for close to five minutes was a substantial accomplishment. The secret art massively drained her spiritual energy, leaving her breathless and weak afterward. In the past, disciples of Glacier Palace who had mastered Icy Marrow could only maintain the form for one minute on average and two minutes at most. For Su Xue to keep herself in that state for so long, it was an attestment to how much stronger she had become under Chen Wentian's teachings compared to her peers in her old sect.

The next disciple to face a challenge was Song Wushuang in the following round. Her challenger did not come from one of the bigger sects but it was still an immortal sect with a small contingent. It was one of the many failing immortal sects in the subcontinent where the sect master managed to break through due to a rare and fortunate encounter. These immortals were unable to recreate the circumstances of their breakthrough and were unable to pass along their immortal Dao to their disciples, leaving them without a future.

Her challenger was much older than Su Xue's, meaning they had probably reached the 10th Level of the Spirit Initiate Realm for many years. Comparing a cultivator that had just reached the 10th Level and one that had remained at the 10th Level for many years, perhaps decades, the older person would usually be much stronger.

Too bad they faced Song Wushuang who utilized the Icy Marrow strategy.

Once the outcome became apparent, a great many complaints broke out among the audience. They called this strategy by Ten Thousand Flower Valley shameless and an affront to their sensibilities. It did not break the rules of the sword duel but it turned a competition of sword arts into a competition of physical ability. To those that focused on the elegant and aesthetic aspects of the sword, it turned a noble duel into a farce.

The protests were loud but there were also silent supporters as well. True masters of the sword understood that physical attributes played an oversized role in mastery of sword arts as it was a very physical Dao. There was no point in flashy, pretty moves if one couldn't even catch up to their opponent.

Song Wushuang didn't care either way. She didn't let the noise affect her. She was only here to do what was expected of her. Participating in the Convocation of Swords hadn't been her idea. She would have preferred to continue cultivating ice and flame arts back at the sect and continue her progress towards an immortal breakthrough which was her ultimate goal.

She was usually the sensible one amongst her sisters but sometimes it was impossible to temper the excitement and energy that came from them. Her sisters had really wanted to come and she didn't want to be left behind alone. She could only do her best given the situation and wave her ice sword about as if she cared about sword arts.

Song Wushuang's duel ended without fanfare. Her opponent was left bitterly disappointed and so were many spectators. Chen Wentian's disciples had made their intentions clear. Even his weakest disciples would not be pushovers and they were all shamelessly determined. As long as they maintained their positions on the ranking pillar, they held an advantage over any and all challengers.

Many in attendance had started the day with the assumption that Ten Thousand Flower Valley had only one good disciple in Wu Qianyu. Now that this premise had been completely shattered, a great many people were affected. Those that had been hoping for an easy path into the rankings had to reconsider their strategy. Those looking for a fight with Chen Wentian and his disciples also had to be more cautious.

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