Chapter 131: Struggle of Fate
At some point, Chen Xingcai was already standing on a small hill in a crimson robe.
The night wind brushed against her hair ribbon, and the jade pendant at her waist jingled softly.
Those almond-shaped eyes, always filled with laughter, were now calm as an ancient well, reflecting the moon above.
"Second Senior Brother," she gently shook her head at Han Yu, "thank you for standing up for me."
As she spoke, she stepped forward slowly until she stood before Han Yu, directly facing Hong Longxiang.
Her fingertips brushed across the sword sheath, a faint glimmer of cold light flashing between presence and absence.
"I thought about it for a long time just now…"
The moment her hand pressed onto the hilt, the Ice Soul Sword suddenly let out a clear dragon's chant, a momentum of unstoppable resolve rising high.
"This matter, I will settle with my own hands."
Han Yu suddenly laughed, his whole body relaxing.
Yes, when it came to geniuses, who could truly compare with this usually lively and playful little junior sister?
Perhaps everyone had forgotten, but their little junior sister was the number one of the previous Human Ranking, the foremost of all prodigies.
Hong Longxiang's heart skipped a beat.
He saw that the woman who had shone like warm spring sunlight in the day now carried an icy chill in her eyes.
He stared fixedly at Chen Xingcai, then after a long moment, a grim smile spread across his face. "Good timing! Though your ranking is one place above mine, that is only on the Potential Ranking."
True energy surged throughout his body, golden dragon-shaped force swimming under his skin. "All these years I've trained desperately just to prove— I am the true foremost prodigy of this generation!"
Chen Xingcai slowly drew out the Ice Soul Sword, its blade shining faintly in the moonlight. "I don't know why you insist on targeting me, but it doesn't matter anymore."
She flicked her wrist, the sword tip scattering a ring of frost. "It's simple—anyone who tries to ruin the life I have now is my enemy. That means you, and it means the entire Hong clan."
The words had barely left her lips when her figure blurred.
Hong Longxiang was shocked and hastily raised his arms to block.
"It's the Soaring Swan Technique?!"
As the direct heir of the Hong clan, he naturally knew the peerless techniques of the great powers of the age.
The Soaring Swan Technique, the pinnacle of speed under heaven.
These words were no boast, but fact.
The secret art of the Luo Fu Holy Land, known as "the ultimate in movement, the peak of sword speed." Mastered to perfection, it achieved "a single graceful step, spanning a thousand miles without a trace."
And at this moment, Chen Xingcai's figure embodied just that.
When she moved, the moonlight itself shattered.
Her speed was so great that even the trajectory of falling moonlight was severed and disordered by her form, as though time itself briefly stagnated around her.
Hong Longxiang's Ancestral Dragon Fist was incomparably fierce, his strikes dragon-like, each punch capable of shaking the earth. Yet his fists were forever one step too slow.
"Here?"
Hong Longxiang roared, a punch blasting straight for Chen Xingcai's face.
But in the next instant—
"Wrong."
A calm voice came from behind him, and the sword edge had already left a bloody line across his shoulder blade.
Impossible!
Hong Longxiang's pupils contracted violently. He had clearly seen Chen Xingcai before him, yet the sword had struck from behind!
This was the terror of the Soaring Swan Technique.
Speed so great it deceived the eyes, so fast it confused the senses.
Her movement art had reached a point where it could fool vision and disrupt perception. You thought she was in front, yet she was behind; you thought she was to the left, but she was already on the right.
Of all martial skills in the world, speed alone is unbreakable.
And the Soaring Swan Technique was the ultimate form of this speed.
"Again!"
Hong Longxiang roared, dragon-shaped force surging wildly, his fists pouring down like a storm.
But Chen Xingcai's figure was like a swan gliding across the water's surface. With each flicker she left only an afterimage, while her true body had long since slipped beyond the reach of his fists.
Her sword was even faster—
"Slash!"
Her sword cut across his left ribs.
"Slash!"
Another wound opened on his right shoulder.
"Slash!"
A line tore into his lower back.
Each strike was light as if tapping water, yet precise beyond compare.
The wilder Hong Longxiang's punches became, the colder and sharper her sword grew.
Han Yu watched quietly from the side, already understanding.
His little junior sister's sword had reached the point where the intent arrived before the sword itself.
The Soaring Swan Technique was not just about moving fast—her sword intent itself was fast.
Her sword did not strike after the fact, but before it had even been released.
No matter how fierce Hong Longxiang's fists were, in the end, they were bound by ordinary speed.
But Chen Xingcai's sword was already faster than his very thoughts.
This was the fastest technique under heaven.
This was—
The Soaring Swan, a sword cry that split the sky!
The battle instantly reached its peak.
Hong Longxiang's Ancestral Dragon Fist opened and closed with great force, every punch cracking the ground, yet he could not land a single blow on the red figure.
Chen Xingcai moved like a bird under the moonlight, leaving a shallow wound on him each time she evaded.
Han Yu sighed softly, the corners of his mouth lifting in a smile.
As expected of his little junior sister. Though the fight looked fierce, in truth Hong Longxiang had already lost.
The wounds seemed random, but each hid a secret.
Left shoulder, right ribs, lower back… every wound carried a trace of special energy, quietly linking together inside his body.
Small accumulations grew into something greater.
Something was wrong.
As time passed, Hong Longxiang finally realized it.
"You noticed?" Chen Xingcai suddenly stopped at a distance, the sword tip touching the ground. "Unfortunately, it's too late."
Her sword seal shifted, and all the wounds erupted at once. Hong Longxiang groaned, blood streaming from his eyes, nose, and ears.
The hidden energy transformed into countless ice needles, tearing wildly through his body.
A spray of blood burst from his lips, and he dropped to one knee.
Staring at his bloodstained palm in disbelief, he let out a beast-like roar. "Impossible! How could I lose to you—"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
"I am the Hong clan's heir, born with dual Saint Bodies, a peerless prodigy!"
The words had barely fallen when he suddenly roared again.
His skin turned an unnatural golden-red, and blood seeped from every pore.
Han Yu's expression changed. "Back away! He's trying to forcefully awaken the Heaven-Piercing Saint Body before it's ready!"
Just as Hong Longxiang was about to lose control, a black-clad figure appeared in the center of the battlefield.
"Enough."
A middle-aged man pressed one palm against Hong Longxiang's head, and the raging energy instantly calmed.
Hong Longxiang spat out a mouthful of black blood and collapsed to the ground.
The man turned toward Chen Xingcai, his gaze filled with deep complexity.
It really was her…
So much like… too much like…
When Chen Xingcai saw him appear, she froze. Then, as if remembering something, her lips trembled slightly, as though she wanted to speak.
But in the end, she forced herself to remain silent.
The middle-aged man, however, seemed to have heard it already. A faint smile crossed his face, and tears welled up in his resolute eyes.
There could be no mistake…
She had called him Second Uncle.
She truly remembered.
This man, known in the Hong clan for his sternness, was now weeping openly like a child.
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