Chapter 98: High-level view

Shen Shuibi was watching from the side, anxious to death.

She had clearly marked out all the flaws and weaknesses, and even provided methods to disrupt the opponent's internal Qi circulation, yet he was fiercely attacked from the start, falling into a disadvantage, unable to retaliate in the slightest, and completely unable to use the techniques she provided.

How stupid this Li Qi is!

She clutched her clothes, stamping her feet, wishing she could personally step in.

As for the other people from the Jing Family Trading Company, aside from lacking melon seeds and watermelon, they were completely like onlookers, and some had even started distributing snacks.

Someone even offered one to Shen Shuibi, who politely said thank you after taking it, only to find it was a dried plum.

It was sweet and sour, and quite tasty.

These people watched just like a TV show, sharing snacks, discussing amongst themselves, cheering when something exciting happened, and turning their heads to chat amongst themselves when it was boring.

They truly treated it as a play.

However, in the arena, Li Qi had no mind to pay attention to anything else.

What greeted him was an endless barrage of fierce attacks, like a traveler holding an umbrella in the rain, with raindrops constantly falling, and all he could do was desperately hold up his umbrella to prevent the pouring rain from falling on his head.

And every raindrop was a powerful thrust of a Sword Qi, and if he failed to defend even once, he would have to face the longsword directly.

However, for Jing Yan, maintaining such an offensive posed no pressure at all; it was clear she wasn't using her full strength.

"Your blade technique is terrible, but you've managed to block me until now, which shows some skill." She even had the leisure to comment on Li Qi's blade technique while maintaining her attack.

But Li Qi had no spare capacity; he didn't even hear Jing Yan's words, because his entire mind and body were focused on the opponent's attacks.

Many progress bars flashed before his eyes and then Rebooted; those were the intervals between Jing Yan's attacks.

The seemingly seamless downpour was, in reality, a continuous cycle of internal Qi, and with each cycle, Jing Yan could unleash an identical thrust!

But each cycle, while not consuming much internal Qi, required a momentary pause!

This was one of the many flaws in the opponent's internal Qi that Shen Shuibi had mentioned.

However, he couldn't grasp it.

He saw it, but he couldn't grasp it.

It was too fast, too dazzling; he clearly sensed the time difference in the opponent's Qi recovery and force release through the progress bar, but he just couldn't reach it.

"No... if this continues, I won't be able to hold on much longer, I need to think of a way—" Li Qi's heart was anxious; they had only been fighting for less than a minute, and he felt as if his heart was about to explode.

His overly vast Qi and blood circulated rapidly within his body to strengthen his movements, and supporting all of this were his heart and liver.

His liver had been refined and was full of Qi and blood, so it was fine.

But his heart was extremely uncomfortable, being buffeted by the immense Qi and blood; it was already beating with all its might, but an unrefined heart struggled to withstand this intensity of exertion.

It was fine for a short period, but if the battle continued for more than two or three minutes, he would likely lose his combat effectiveness very quickly.

If he ignored those warnings and continued to push himself, he might even die from cardiac arrest.

He had to think of a way, but what way?

Take it head-on with his body, trade injury for a kill? He might die, and even if he didn't, being injured would make things more troublesome by affecting his combat effectiveness.

Activate Ox Strength Technique? Wouldn't that reveal his identity as a Shaman Dao practitioner? It wasn't worth it for a mere gamble.

What other options did he have?

As he pondered, a slight flaw appeared in his defense.

Jing Yan immediately spotted this flaw and, without hesitation, went straight for the Dragon! She was determined to defeat Li Qi with a single strike of her sword!

She had already figured out Li Qi's blade technique level; this sword, no matter how he resisted, would surely end the battle. She had calculated all fourteen possible blade paths he might use, and as long as she struck, it would be within her grasp.

But Li Qi's eyes burst forth with brilliant light!

Holy cow, the opponent actually gave up suppressing him and started to charge up!

What a good opportunity!

Li Qi immediately erupted with all his strength, holding the long blade like a fire poker, and following the moves he had stayed up all night memorizing, he swung the blade down.

This strike was ordinary, even chaotic and without any discernible pattern.

But it was precisely this strike that forced back Jing Yan's sure-hit sword.

Because Jing Yan discovered that if this strike were to land, her flawless internal Qi circulation would be directly interrupted!

In a Martial Artist's battle, having one's internal Qi circulation broken meant losing.

However, there was still a chance to compensate.

She retreated a step, her longsword shifting from offense to defense, the previous torrential rain and strong winds transforming into smooth Qi, circling her body like a moats, fending off attacks.

After enduring Li Qi's move, she would be able to counterattack directly.

However, the next strike came.

The Sword Qi was dispersed one after another, dissipating into nothingness!

"Hmm...?!” Jing Yan's pupils constricted; she hadn't expected that a defense capable of deflecting a giant boulder weighing ten thousand catties would be so easily breached!

Wait, it wasn't breached, but bypassed!

This Li Qi, his foundation was incredibly shallow, he hadn't even properly refined his five internal organs, and his face was red from holding his breath earlier, but at this moment, he displayed a Realm far exceeding his foundation!

Li Qi refused to let go of the opportunity, gripping his long blade tightly, stepping forward. In an instant, blade lights and sword shadows flew all around, and the ground was ravaged, sinking half a foot!

Applause erupted from all around, everyone watched in awe, exclaiming in wonder.

Someone could actually fight this tigress at the Ninth Realm like this; one must know that other Ninth Realm Martial Affairs Hall deacons were all beaten to a pulp by this tigress.

This young hero Li Qi, he's got some real skills!

Outsiders watched the spectacle, but Jing Yan immediately felt the pressure double.

What's going on!

This person, how did his blade technique suddenly become so fierce!

This clearly indicates a Martial Artist who has cultivated Martial Principles to an extremely high Realm, having perfected both Martial Principles and fundamentals, allowing him to create sword moves at will, each move responding to the opponent's attack, executed spontaneously.

Each strike, if seen externally, would appear clumsy and utterly lacking in power, crooked and wobbly.

However, at that very moment, they were considered divine moves, one could say they were techniques specifically created to deal with the situation at hand, and would be ineffective in any other circumstances.

But in other words, for the current situation, these were the most suitable moves, capable of producing the most marvelous effects!

Every move precisely interrupted her internal Qi; she was constantly struggling, but no matter how she defended, Jing Yan's defense was like catching rain with a sieve, full of flaws, and no matter how she changed her moves, they would be easily broken.

Her internal Qi was full of weaknesses!

Her internal Qi circulation, which she previously felt was flawless, seemed like a pile of loose sand in the opponent's eyes, allowing him to easily strike her weak points, making her so uncomfortable she almost wanted to vomit blood.

The tables turned in just about ten seconds, and with a clang, her longsword flew out of her hand.

And the blade was held against Jing Yan's neck.

As for Li Qi, he hadn't even reacted himself; how did he win?