Crossing Swords

When that familiar yet estranged "Mr. Ran" fell from his lips, it was met no longer with the young woman's usual correction of "Ran Qingmo." There was only probing uncertainty and hesitation in her pitch-black eyes. Silence. A wordless exchange of gazes as a light breeze brushed past the tips of their hair. The gentle warmth in Xu Yuan's slender eyes lowered slightly. *This big block of ice really can't hide anything, just like always...* He had guessed what the two women were conspiring about, and thus had no intention of making them say it aloud. Some things were best understood in silence. Once spoken aloud... it became rather too pathetic. His gaze swept across the two women, his tone seemingly unaffected by his inner thoughts, tinged with a teasing note: "Just a joke. What the two of you are plotting doesn't concern this young master." Ran Qingmo fell silent for a heartbeat, then whispered: "Xu Yuan..." *Buzz—* No sooner had her voice sounded than a sky-piercing beam of sword light swept across Xu Yuan's front like a laser, cleaving a bottomless chasm between him and Ran Qingmo. Her words interrupted, Ran Qingmo instinctively looked toward the source of the strike. High in the sky, a gaping hole had quietly appeared at some point in the sword astral qi canopy sustained by the formations. A beautiful middle-aged woman holding a sword descended through it, the mighty power of the twin formations radiating around her warping space in ripples. It was her master's wife... Looking down at the blood-robed young man who had lapsed into silence, Luo Wei said coldly: "Third Young Master, your actions this time cross the line." "..." Xu Yuan remained silent, saying nothing. Just as popular novels described, when two experts met, a single glance was often enough to gauge who would prevail. After the chase, Luo Wei had now fully deployed the Sword Sect's twin formations. Bolstered by these two colossal forces, Xu Yuan felt she was an invincible opponent—and this sense of crisis was even sharper than what he had felt facing Wen Xinyun. In the end, this was an era of military arrays and tactical formations. Still, Xu Yuan was not overly nervous. He merely smiled and said: "Sect Master Luo, there is no need to make such a grand display. I was not secretly snooping into your Sword Sect's confidential matters just now." The confidential layout within the Tianyuan Mountain Range was the red line the Sword Sect could not allow anyone to cross. If the Prime Minister's Manor learned of it, the facilities concealed deep in the mountains might face beyond-visual-range strikes from the Manor's formation-inscribed ordnance the very next day. Standing with her sword drawn, Luo Wei radiated a suffocating pressure from its edge: "It was precisely because I knew you didn't that the strike missed." Xu Yuan glanced at the gouge cleaved before his feet and murmured: "Then I thank Sect Master Luo for your mercy. But as for other matters, how about we discuss a compromise?" Luo Wei remained expressionless. "Speak." Taking a deep breath, Xu Yuan said in a measured voice: "I came to your Sword Sect's mountain gate to participate in this Tianyuan Grand Tournament, but official business is ever pressing, and I fear I cannot linger any longer. So... why not speed up the schedule today?" "Hm?" Luo Wei furrowed her brows slightly, letting out a soft grunt of surprise. If they could be rid of this harbinger of doom, the Sword Sect was more than willing. But to claim that Xu Yuan had come solely for the tournament was a pretext only a three-year-old child would believe. Had he already achieved his objective? Yet during these days, this direct son of the Prime Minister's Manor had been under continuous Sword Sect surveillance from start to finish. He had neither the time nor the space to do anything else. Analyzing Xu Yuan's motives, Luo Wei did not immediately refuse. Instead, she spoke in a strictly official tone: "Acceptable, but you must wait until my Sword Sect's head disciple and the Overseeing Heaven Pavilion's Saintess determine a victor." "No need for such trouble." Xu Yuan shook his head, shifting his gaze toward the two silent young women. "Let them come at me together." "Two against one?" "Does Sect Master Luo think this young master unworthy?" "..." Having witnessed his battle against Wen Xinyun, Luo Wei was naturally not surprised by his confidence. Yet she still sought to probe his true intentions, offering a tentative objection: "I fear the Young Master's suggestion does not conform to regulations." Xu Yuan slowly floated into the air, murmuring: "Regulations are set by people. Can't they just be changed? "Besides, "your disciple also needs a chance to prove her innocence, doesn't she?" "..." Luo Wei's eyes narrowed. She gave Xu Yuan a deep, penetrating look and did not refuse. Instead, she turned to the white-robed Saintess not far away to consult her opinion. In a fight to the death, anything went. But in a tournament, two fighting one would be a stain on one's reputation even in victory. Yet Tianyan answered without the slightest hesitation: "Reputation is nothing but vanity to me." Luo Wei nodded, then turned to Ran Qingmo. A trace of concern showed in her eyes as she asked gently: "Qingmo, what about you?" Ran Qingmo snapped out of her daze upon hearing this. She looked at her master's wife in the sky, then at the smiling youth not far off. Taking a deep breath, she concealed every trace of hesitation and replied coldly: "Master's Wife, I have no objection either." "Since no one objects, let this young master state the harsh truth upfront." Xu Yuan rose higher into the air, and the blood qi he had suppressed moments ago instantly bloomed across the mountaintop like spider lilies. His originally warm, jade-smooth voice turned hazy and spectral: "I have given you both the chance. But Mr. Ran, Tianyan... remember this: spells have no eyes. Until either side concedes of their own accord, life and death are on the line!" "..." Ran Qingmo's pupils constricted slightly. Though his words addressed them both, his eyes were fixed intently upon her. As if deliberately reminding her of her identity as the Sword Sect's head disciple. "What is Xu Changtian trying to do?" "He arrived with such fanfare, yet claims he wants to leave without having done anything?" "Perhaps what he just said was his true objective all along? That he came here to slaughter our Sect Alliance's future." "You mean Tianyan and Ran Qingmo... but do you think he can pull it off? Just moments ago, you must have sensed that old monster from the Jiangnan hidden sects had arrived at the Sword Sect's mountain gate as well. What's more, Sect Master Luo has fully unleashed the twin formations." "Have you forgotten Xu Changge?" "Back during the tournament, unless his sword arts were halted before he unleashed them, not even a Saint could prevent the death of their own disciple." "Xu Yuan has similar methods?" "Nothing in our intelligence suggests it, but he might well be hiding something." On the special viewing platform, shadowy projections whispered among themselves in groups of two and three. The words spoken earlier had not been transmitted via voice transmission, so every phrase had reached their ears clearly. But seeing the surging waves of qi swell across the dueling grounds below, the spectators finally ceased their discussion. "Talking solves nothing. Let us wait and see." "Wen Xinyun and Luo Wei will handle it." Under the dome cloaked by the sword astral qi canopy, even the mountain wind blew bleak and biting cold. Long before arriving at the Sword Sect's gates, Xu Yuan had already prepared for such contingencies. After all, given their respective identities, crossing swords beneath the tide of the greater situation was practically an inevitability. Yet how should he put it? Even when it came to blows, a sliver of hope would always linger in the bottom of his heart. Would they play along and throw a fake fight with him here? Put on a performance to deceive the whole world... *Buzz—* A hum cut through Xu Yuan's reverie. The Four Symbols Seal Technique quietly coalesced above his head. Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon and White Tiger. The patterns traced by the seal technique were intimately familiar to Xu Yuan, for in the Charm God's illusionary realm, he had seen her employ this very art countless times fighting side by side with him. Yet now... he had become her enemy. It seemed a certain washboard had no intention of throwing the match... Sighing inwardly, Xu Yuan shot back over a hundred zhang, putting distance between himself and the Four Symbols Seal Technique. He remembered this technique was a binding move. Back in the Origin Realm, Tianyan could already use this art to temporarily trap Transcendent Realm cultivators. Though he could take it head-on with his face, there was no need. "You—" After using Void-Treading Slash, Xu Yuan instinctively glanced toward the lofty washboard Saintess, wanting to crack a joke. But just as his figure reappeared— *BOOM!!!* The phantoms of the Four Symbols, previously hovering over a hundred zhang away, teleported without warning right around the point where Xu Yuan emerged. The mystical ripples emanating from their runes bore down, instantly pressing Xu Yuan toward the mountaintop!