23: Setting Plans In Motion (2)

On a large, once empty area, a crowd of nearly 30 disciples all gathered up for what they assumed would be a spectacle. In the middle of the circle of disciples was Chu Hua, a girl who had a pretty face and a seemingly endless potential, as she was in the 8th Spirit Refinement at only 13! She had long black hair and a broadsword in a scabbard that was hanging on her waist. She was a normal commoner so she didn't have as much skill as Zhao Feng.

Standing on the opposite side of her was Zhao Feng. A 13-year-old boy with a slightly above-average face looked serious and a little excited. He had black hair and was a little shorter than Wen, probably 150 centimeters, the same as Chu Hua. Unlike Chu Hua's sword which was hanging in her scabbard which was on her waist, Zhao Feng had two long sabers in his back scabbards. He was also surprisingly in the 8th Spirit Refinement. He was from a medium-sized cultivation family, so he's rich and is kind of spoiled.

Standing in the middle of them was Wen Li. A 16-year-old with black hair that reached his eyebrows. His face was describable as handsome, stoic, a little childish, and with a little playfulness mixed in. However, because of the mask, he was wearing, no one could see his attributes. His height was around 170 centimeters and unlike the others, he did not have any scabbards on him and kept most of his belongings in his space ring. He was in the 1st Golden Core stages but, because he was 16, his cultivation talent would be considered trash for a sect like the Divine Sword Sect, a sect that only accepted highly talented cultivators with high potential.

"Alright, although I'm not yet an inner disciple, I'm pretty sure the elders would allow me to do this," Wen said. Elders, or pretty much anyone with a ranking over elders was allowed to be a referee for a duel. Disciples, however, had to be an inner disciples but, had to be given special permission by the elders. However, core disciples were exempt from this rule because they had a rank equivalent to an elder.

"Do you have permission from an elder?" Chu Hua tried to confirm.

Wen waved his hands in a whatever motion. "They'll allow me," Wen replied casually as if it didn't matter.

"Okay, come on! let's duel already!" Zhao Feng impatiently begged.

In less than a second, a broad sword appeared in Wen's outstretched hands. After looking left and right, he spoke, "Are you two ready?"

"Yes!" Zhao Feng impatiently yelled.

Chu Hua calmly nodded, "I'm ready,"

"Alright, once I slice down with my sword, you fight. You two probably already know the rules of a duel since you two decided to do so, so, I'll spare you guys from the rules. Though, remember, now sword skills or techniques." Wen looked at both of them, his words were confirmed after they nodded. Chu Hua and Zhao Feng respectfully bowed to each other. "Alright," Wen continued, "separate! Begin in 3... 2... 1..."

-Whoosh!

Chu Hua quickly reach her right hand to the left side of her waist, unsheathing her broadsword while Zhao Feng reached behind his back, unsheathing his sabers.

-Clang!

A clang rung in the training grounds as Zhao Feng's dual sabers pounded on Chu Hua's balanced sword.

Chu Hua retreated a few steps back while getting ready for a hit from Zhao Feng. Zhao Feng rushed forwards, as he thought she was discouraged. Because of this, Zhao Feng decided to try an inexperienced swing of his left saber at Chu Hua's right waist while his right saber swung at her left waist.

Chu Hua easily sidestepped and counter-attacked by jabbing at him several times. Zhao Feng hastily and in an almost panicked manner tried blocking the jabs with his two sabers. It honestly looked quite silly, as if seeing an inexperienced child trying to dual wield a sword.

Which was almost definitely the case.

Chu Hua continued to attack with jabs and a few slashes mixed in while Zhao Feng hastily tried to defend. After a while, Zhao Feng started attacking with a few jabs, using his right saber to defend, and his left saber to attack.

Slowly but steadily the match started to equal out. 'The match is starting to even out, if this continues, I'll have to show all of my skills. I guess gramps was right to not underestimate women.' Zhao Feng thought.

In an instant Zhao Feng's posture, how he held the sword, and even his aura changed although he was still deciding whether or not to show all of his skills.

On the other hand, Chu Hua also had things in her mind. 'Because I only have one sword while he has two, he has an advantage. However, because I'm faster than him, it kind of evens out. And, it seems as if he is actually trying now, everything about him seems to have changed,' She quickly analyzed the situation. 'So he underestimated me?'

The battle slowly progresses. Wen, who was now sitting down with Guan Hu on the ground, couldn't resist it anymore...

-Yawn~~!

In an instant, almost everyone's head turned to Wen, who was stretching and yawning, as if he was sleepy. Chu Hua and Zhao Feng briefly glanced at him but continued their fight.

"Senior brother, are you sleepy? It isn't polite to yawn during a match," Guang Hu advised.

With a bored expression on his face, Wen replied, "Yeah I know, but it's so boring right now, I just want to actually do something..." Guang Hu nodded as if he understood. Wen was extremely bored because, at this moment, he had already counted at least 30 mistakes they were making, over 60 in total. He had also already long figured out that both of them were holding back, which was annoying because he wanted to see their true capabilities.

"Hey! You two! If you're going to fight someone, don't hold back!" Wen yelled. Zhao Feng and Chu Hua slightly nodded and started to fight harder.

-CLAng!

-CLANg cLAnG!

Wen watched as the new scene appeared before him. Both were exceptionally good at wielding swords! However, someone like Wen who was experienced in swordsmanship, easily knew that Chu Hua was better at using swords than Zhao Feng. If Both were at the same level, then Zhao Feng most likely would've been easily dominating her, as he had two swords. But, duel wielding was considered harder and thus, it was not surprising that they were evenly matched.

Although the dual in front of him was packed with action, Wen uninterestedly watched as the fight went on, completely the opposite of what and how the younger disciples thought. At this point, Wen honestly thought that what the disciples were saying was much more interesting than the dual...

'Look at brother and sister Zhao Feng and Chu Hua!'

'They will definitely lead our generation in the Divine Sword sect!'

'Imagine the rewards the recruiters will get after these two talents ripen!'

'I can't wait to get as good as them!'

'Hah! Dream on, you'll never be as good as them,'

'I agree, but, as they say, there are mountains beyond mountains, I hope they don't get in trouble,'

-Clang ClanG!

.... 2 minutes later...

-Clang Clang!

Zhao Feng spun and attempted to cut Chu Hua but she quickly counter-stepped while controlling her blade efficiently, blocking the sabers. Both were now displaying all of their skills after hearing what Wen had said.

Zhao Feng started sweating and panting while Chu Hua maintained her steady breathing pattern. At this point, Wen already knew who would win, even before the moment.

... 2 more minutes later...

Chu Hua's blade hovered over Zhao Feng's neck. His sabers were forcefully knocked out of his grip and were lying on the ground one or two meters away.

-Clap clap clap clap!.....*Clapping continues...

"Well done," Wen said with an unimpressed expression. Although these two juniors were extremely talented and good at wielding a sword, Wen only compared others to himself, not to other people. So compared to him, these juniors only had about 10 percent mastery over their respected weapons. "Chu Hua has won this dual and thus, will have the sword,"

Chu Hua and Zhao Feng sheathed their swords and respectfully bowed to Wen. "Thank you senior for being our referee," they both said in unison.

After a few minutes, they gathered disciples slowly left the training grounds. In the end, only Wen, Guang Hu, Chu Hua, and Zhao Feng were left. The three juniors quickly bonded as Wen watched from the sidelines. 'Everything is going as planned,' Wen thought.

"Hey, senior Shen," Zhao Feng suddenly called to Wen.

Wen nodded and stopped his body cultivation techniques. "Mhm?"

"I don't mean to disrespect you, but, can you show us your sword skills?" While body cultivating, Wen also eavesdropped. Guang Hu had told them about how Wen stopped Wan Zhongli without any worries.

"Sure," Wen casually responded. He stood up as a normal broadsword appeared in his hands. 'This part is crucial to my plans, I definitely shouldn't f*ck this up,"

"Do any of you want to spar with me?"