Martial Cultivator

Chapter 493: Bitter Sea Isn't Bitter, But Very Sweet

At this moment, perhaps only Chen Chao found Xie Nandu's action to be beautiful, while everyone else was watching closely to understand its purpose.

That droplet of water was not ordinary, even if she wanted to blow it away, it likely would not have budged. Even if Xie Nandu blew out a breath of sword qi, it was uncertain whether it would be effective.

However, her puffed cheeks were indeed very cute, resembling a small steamed bun.

Chen Chao involuntarily smiled.

But in reality, Xie Nandu had indeed exhaled a breath of sword qi.

A senior sword immortal once said, "When I exhale a breath of sword qi from my chest, even heaven and earth would overturn slightly."

Xie Nandu's cultivation was still shallow, so she naturally did not have that ability. But her breath of sword qi managed to push the droplet of water back, causing it to fall a short distance in front of her.

Ye Zhihua who was standing on the lake's surface watched this scene without reacting. This time was a fluke, but it would not be every time. She merely extended her hand, causing the water droplets to intensify.

However, in the next moment, two flying swords suddenly shot out from the willows by the lake.

Ye Zhihua's expression remained unchanged as she watched the flying swords that clearly filled with more abundant sword qi than the previous ones. She smiled faintly. At this point, Xie Nandu could not resist using her trump card, could she?

Though the two flying swords were powerful, they were still limited. Ye Zhihua merely raised her hand, causing the lake surface to ripple again, erecting a water barrier that directly blocked the swords.

This battle seemed to be coming to an end.

The water droplets were about to land on Xie Nandu.

But while one of the flying swords was blocked, the other sword named 'Sweet Potato,' pierced through the water barrier and continued forward.

At the same time, the water droplets had already bypassed the two flying swords and arrived in front of Xie Nandu.

From the look of things, the gap between the two was not too significant; at least within the same realm. However, it seemed the outcome was already determined.

Sweet Potato kept advancing, and Xie Nandu's complexion grew increasingly pale. Ye Zhihua also became more serious, as she focused entirely on the water droplets. Retreating further was no longer practical.

Xie Nandu just stared at Ye Zhihua like that.

In an instant, an unexpected change occurred.

First, the flying swords trapped by the willow leaves emitted sword cries, followed by two more flying swords. The sound of sword cries continued without pause, as sword qi surged from Xie Nandu, shattering the water droplets about to fall on her.

The flying swords broke free, and Sweet Potato quickly reached Ye Zhihua, aiming straight at her glabella.

A reversal of victory?!

The academy students watching this scene did not know what had happened. Everything happened so quickly that they could not react.

Ye Zhihua's figure floated backward, landing in the center of the lake.

Xie Nandu stood in place, her aura rising continuously. Finally, she broke through the Divine Trove Realm in an instant, stepping into the Bitter Sea Realm.

She broke through.

Just this one battle had allowed this genius girl from the academy to step into the Bitter Sea Realm.

But Xie Nandu then looked at Ye Zhihua and said softly, "You won."

With that, Xie Nandu recalled her nine flying swords.

Ye Zhihua stood in the lakeside pavilion, her expression unchanged.

In the end, that Sweet Potato flying sword had naturally touched her glabella. But before that, Xie Nandu had already broken through, so no matter how the duel was judged, it was Ye Zhihua's victory.

But even so, Ye Zhihua was not very happy. She just looked at this academy girl who was destined to become remarkable in time.

The students by the lake, belatedly realizing the outcome, knew that Xie Nandu had lost. But no one would feel any regret. Ye Zhihua's victory was in the present, and Xie Nandu's victory would be in the future. This duel had no losers.

The rivalry between their Great Daos had only just begun.

The Dean who was standing in the pavilion started laughing, "Your little junior sister always surprises people. Who could have expected this outcome?"

Wei Xu also smiled, "Has there ever been anyone in the academy's history who stepped into the Bitter Sea at her age?"

The Dean replied, "If we're only talking about age, of course, there have been. But considering how long your little junior sister has been cultivating, it's already very remarkable. She's indeed my student!"

This time, before Wei Xu could respond, Ye Zhihua who had just realized someone was speaking behind her turned around. Seeing the two scholars standing in the pavilion, she quickly guessed their identities. This bowed slightly to them, "Ye Zhihua greets Mr. Wei and Lord Dean."

The Dean looked at Ye Zhihua with a smile, "The Twin Pillars of Daoism, truly well-deserved reputation. I wonder when I might have the chance to see the other one."

Ye Zhihua calmly replied, "My junior brother will also come on this trip to the Northern Frontier."

The Dean smiled, "If he doesn't pass through the Divine Capital, I won't get to see him. But you young people will surpass us old folks someday. The younger generation is truly formidable."

Ye Zhihua did not speak this time. She simply turned around, took a deep breath, and restored her cultivation realm.

She glanced deeply at Xie Nandu before turning to leave. This trip to the Divine Capital was merely to see if this renowned academy prodigy was worthy of her attention. Having gotten her answer, she was not inclined to stay any longer.

"Want to have a match?"

A voice suddenly rang out from the lakeside, causing Ye Zhihua to stop.

The young man in black, with a saber hanging at his waist, looked at Ye Zhihua with a smile. He was ranked third on the Latent Dragon List, while she was second. The difference seemed negligible.

Ye Zhihua looked at the young man she had heard of and said, "You must be Chen Chao?"

Chen Chao nodded, smiling, "What do you think, want to have a match?"

"I fought another guy from your temple before. Unfortunately, it wasn't a battle of the same realm, so it didn't quite hit the mark. Right now, you and I both seem to be in the Great Beyond Realm. No one can claim to be bullying anyone."

"You didn't sustain any injuries in that last fight, so I don't think it's taking advantage of you."

Chen Chao stood by the lakeside and just looked at Ye Zhihua.

Ye Zhihua said calmly, "If you want to settle the score, see you at the Northern Frontier."

Chen Chao was not embarrassed at having his intentions seen through, he simply smiled and said, "Are the two of you going to take me on together then?"

As soon as he said this, murmurs arose around the lake. Many were likely cursing this guy under their breath for his audacity, thinking he could take on the Twin Pillars of Daoism.

But Ye Zhihua ignored him and transformed into a streak of light, leaving.

Chen Chao chuckled to himself, "Scared huh?"

He did not deliberately lower his voice, and many who heard him sneered coldly. If Chen Chao was not right there, the mocking comments would have been even louder.

Chen Chao did not care at all and turned to the academy students, asking, "How about one of you have a match with me?"

Hearing this, many of the academy students turned and left, not wanting to deal with this guy at all.

Getting more and more overboard, we're a group of scholars, why would we fight?

We study the classics and spar verbally with reason!

Alright, even a verbal sparring isn't a viable option too.

How detestable!

How could there be such a detestable guy in this world?!

The most infuriating thing was that he showed up at the academy from time to time.

If getting into the academy was not such a rare opportunity, many of them would have wanted to leave right then and there.

After most of the people had left, Chen Chao walked over to Xie Nandu and asked, "Are you hurt?"

Xie Nandu did not answer his question. Instead, she asked, "Do you have to make everyone curse you before you're happy?"

Chen Chao had an indifferent look, "It's not like it's the first time. Getting cursed a few more times doesn't matter. Who knows, maybe they'll end up liking me after cursing me enough."

Xie Nandu smirked, "Losing isn't something to be ashamed of. No matter what you do, today's events will still spread. You're wasting your efforts."

Chen Chao looked surprised. "Do you have mind-reading abilities? How do you always know what I'm thinking?"

A rare sight, Xie Nandu rolled her eyes.

Chen Chao suddenly said, "But seriously, that action of you blowing air was really beautiful. It can compare to the first time you ate a sweet potato."

Xie Nandu ignored him and turned away, but as she did, a small smile tugged at the corner of her lips.