Chapter 20 Friends, Regardless of Victory or Defeat

Fang Che nodded repeatedly and said, "Many thanks, Brother Ding, for your high regard and understanding."

With a long sigh, he continued, "As for the previous matter regarding Ximen Xuri, I offer no defense. Right or wrong, just or unjust, it is entirely meaningless to dwell on it now. However, I truly hope that such bloodshed will never happen again."

He turned solemnly to face the two referee instructors, his voice deep and resolute: "Teachers, I possess a blade technique that, if I am driven to the absolute limit and forced to use it, will instantly vaporize the blood Qi throughout my entire body, amplifying my combat power severalfold. Once that technique is unleashed, I have no ability to control it!"

"I am completely unable to control the outcome."

Fang Che looked at the two referee instructors earnestly and expectantly.

The two referees exchanged glances and nodded. "Rest assured," one of them said. "If Ding Ziran proves unable to withstand it by then, we will intervene immediately, and no tragedy will occur."

Fang Che bowed gratefully and said, "Thank you, teachers."

He then turned to Ding Ziran, saying apologetically, "Do not take offense, Brother Ding. I mean no disrespect toward you; it is simply that this technique is truly demonic and overbearing, and my current cultivation is still far too shallow."

Hearing him put it this way, Ding Ziran felt an even greater sense of his sincerity. He nodded slowly and, with a stiff expression, said, "I harbor no resentment."

After a moment of thought, feeling that Fang Che had been consistently friendly while he himself had remained icy cold, Ding Ziran realized that wasn't right. He spoke up once more: "If that moment truly arrives, I shall simply concede defeat. However, I may not necessarily fail to withstand it!"

That was quite a long sentence.

Fang Che estimated that this was likely the longest sentence Ding Ziran had spoken in the entire year.

Therefore, Fang Che nodded, laughed heartily, and said, "Brother Ding, remember—win or lose..."

Ding Ziran managed to crack a trace of a smile across his rigid face and took up the sentence: "...we remain friends!"

As he uttered these words, his normally lifeless eyes suddenly flared with light.

"Hahahaha!"

Fang Che burst into laughter, shook his arms, and his dark, gold-patterned heavy cloak flew off like a patch of dark clouds.

A flash of blade light.

The long blade was in his hand.

From across the stage came a clanging sound as sword Qi surged upward.

Fang Che's gaze flickered as he immediately recalled the dossier provided by Sun Yuan: Ding Ziran, born with a divine sword bone, cold and aloof by nature, difficult to approach, sparing with his words, and typically capable of going an entire day without uttering a single sentence.

Ding Ziran's sword was exceptionally sharp.

Yet, having watched Ding Ziran fight on several occasions, Fang Che always felt something was amiss.

In his past life, having experienced well over a thousand battles, he could tell at a single glance that Ding Ziran was definitely holding something back.

He had encountered quite a few individuals born with sword bones in the past.

Ding Ziran's swordsmanship was indeed already first-rate. However, it still fell short of that astonishing, peerless brilliance characteristic of those born with sword bones who could suppress an entire generation at the same cultivation level!

"Since he is born with a sword bone, his standard cannot possibly be limited to this. If he were not born with a sword bone, it wouldn't be all that easy for a youth from an ordinary family to cultivate to such a realm!"

"Therefore, whenever something is abnormal, there must be a demon behind it!"

Fang Che gathered his focus.

Brandishing his blade, he unfurled Sun Yuan's Earth-Surrounding Blade Technique, rendering his defense impervious to wind and rain.

Down below, the expressions of everyone present turned somewhat peculiar.

They all wore the look of someone thinking, *Haven't I seen this episode before?*

Because the current battle situation was identical to Fang Che's previous fight against Ximen Xuri.

It was almost an exact replica.

Fang Che had, once again... fallen into a disadvantageous position!

He was suppressed once more!

It was the exact same ratio of thirty percent offense to seventy percent defense, struggling to hold on!

Many of the upper-class martial cadets had already reached the Grandmaster realm or even higher, entering the General and commander ranks, and they muttered inwardly one by one: *Surely this brat isn't going to rerun the previous episode, is he?*

The blade light was dense and continuous, while the sword Qi was chilling and bone-piercing!

The two figures rolled and tumbled across the stage, exchanging hundreds of moves in the blink of an eye.

Suddenly, a loud crash rang out.

Blade and sword intersected, sending dazzling sparks flying.

True to form, Fang Che relied on sheer brute force to forcefully push through a hard clash and widen the distance. Immediately following a loud shout, he leaped into the air.

The blade light suddenly unfolded, scattering downward like flowing mercury.

This was precisely the "Soaring Sky Blade Technique" upon which Sun Yuan had built his reputation.

The very moniker of the Soaring Sky Blade King originated from this set of blade techniques!

***

"The blade technique is exquisite, but its potential is average; it cannot be counted as a high-tier combat art. However, he has mastered it with exceptional fluency—just in terms of this single set of blade techniques, he has already reached the realm of mastery."

The two referees stared at the arena, silently evaluating the match in their minds.

*Clang, clang, clang...*

A continuous string of weapon-clashing sounds echoed as blade and sword collided countless times.

A cascade of sparks showered down.

The situation reversed in an instant.

Fang Che now commanded a full ninety percent of the offensive momentum, while Ding Ziran was left on the ground, struggling bitterly to sustain himself!

With another loud *clang*, blade and sword collided once more, and Fang Che was once again sent flying upward amid a swirl of blade light, spinning gracefully in mid-air.

The blade light was sharp and biting, plunging downward from the sky like a descending dragon.

"Well-come!"

Ding Ziran let out a roar, his usually stern and rigid face flashing with a trace of fanatical battle intent.

With a shake of his long sword, a massive cluster of sword blossoms suddenly bloomed.

With a loud *clang*, Fang Che's body was sent airborne once again, only to dive back down immediately.

Fang Che seemed to have transformed into a soaring bird, continuously descending and ascending. For a full half-quarters of an hour, his feet never once touched the ground!

The mere force of the blade tip making contact was enough for him to leverage upward into flight and strike down once more!

Like an athletic, agile falcon perpetually swooping down upon a rabbit on the ground.

The blade light was icy and bleak, promising bloodshed with every passing moment!

He kept Ding Ziran pinned down mercilessly.

Whenever Ding Ziran's sword light showed signs of surging upward, Fang Che would immediately suppress it with even more violent force!

Fang Che dove, dove again, and dove yet again.

He had to force out Ding Ziran's trump card!

Otherwise, it would forever remain a lingering worry in his mind.

*Boom!*

With another loud crash, Ding Ziran staggered backward, and a notch had already appeared on the long sword in his hand.

After all, a long sword is a weapon tailored for agility and lightness, not for direct, head-on collisions of this magnitude.

The reason Fang Che forced such savage, hard-on clashes was simply because he was wielding a saber!

He held an inherent advantage.

In a head-on clash, the saber triumphs over the sword!

Driven back by this force, Ding Ziran retreated a full fifteen zhang, landing right at the very edge of the arena!

Then, he abruptly executed a maneuver: the sword in his hand shifted to his left hand!

Kicking off the ground with both feet, his sword light surged straight into the heavens.

A sizzling sound ripped through the air as a streak of sword Qi slashed horizontally across the void!

As Ding Ziran soared upward, he looked like a sword himself—brilliant and dazzling, as if he intended to pierce straight into the white clouds!

Circling in the air, Fang Che's eyes flashed instantly.

*As expected, my guess was right. The trump card is right here!*

*I knew that for someone born with a sword bone, his combat power couldn't possibly be limited to what he displayed earlier!*

*So he's a left-handed swordsman.*

*He's a left-hander!*

Since the opponent's hidden hand had already been forced out, Fang Che no longer held back.

As the sword light surged upward, Fang Che let out a booming roar: "Blade Embodies the Netherworld!"

Harnessing the blade light in tandem, he soared straight up into the sky, rocketing seven zhang high into mid-air!

Then he spun around in the void!

The blade light traced a complete, lingering circle in the air, and then, flipping head-down with feet pointing skyward, layer upon layer of blade-mountains formed before him, resembling a towering pagoda!

The tip of the pagoda continued to take shape below, while the pagoda structure above grew increasingly dense and thick!

A violent, murderous aura radiated outward.

Plummeting downward with the momentum of divine thunder descending from the heavens!

***

The force of this strike had reached the level of a Martial Ancestor!

This single blade strike came from a set of blade techniques Fang Che had acquired in his past life: the Three Netherworld Blades!

Because he had always wielded a sword in his previous life, he had never once used it.

Today, he deployed the very first stance!

Even though Ding Ziran was born with a divine sword bone, how could he possibly match Fang Che, whose cultivation had been amplified severalfold? Moreover, this blade strike was rife with killing intent, practically sealing off every escape route around Ding Ziran's body!

Sword light and blade light collided; after just two sharp rings, the long sword snapped in half with a crisp *crack*.

The pagoda-like mountain of blades crashed down overwhelmingly!

Clutching his broken sword, Ding Ziran staggered backward. Yet, his lifeless eyes erupted with fighting spirit as he continuously brandished the fractured blade to fend off the crushing blade Qi.

It was evident, however, that he lacked the strength to sustain it.

A thin line of blood appeared on his body where the blade Qi had grazed his skin.

Immediately afterward, the broken sword was completely swallowed up by the torrent of blade light.

Seeing that Ding Ziran was about to be shredded to pieces by Fang Che's blade, a figure suddenly flickered.

An instructor materialized behind Ding Ziran, grabbed him by the collar with one hand, and tossed him backward out of the arena. At the same time, the instructor extended his other hand.

Reaching straight into the midst of Fang Che's blade light, two fair, delicate fingers pinched the tip of the blade as effortlessly as a young girl plucking the wings of a butterfly.

*Clang!*

The entire body of the saber twisted violently in mid-air, just like a snake pinned by its vital seventh inch.

The blade light vanished instantly.

Holding his saber with one hand, Fang Che hung suspended upside down in mid-air.

The tip of his blade rested securely between the instructor's fingers.

After a single, frozen blink of an eye, Fang Che flipped over and landed on his feet. Covered in cold sweat, he first let out a long breath to disperse the blade intent gathered in his chest, then said gratefully, "Thank you, Teacher!"

Releasing the tip of the blade, the instructor smiled faintly and asked, "The technique you mentioned earlier—the one you claimed you couldn't control—was this it?"

"Yes."

Fang Che nodded in admission. Looking at the instructor with eyes filled with fanaticism, he said, "Teacher, you are incredible! You caught it with just two fingers... Remembering what I said before the match, your student feels thoroughly ashamed and red-faced."

The instructor laughed. "How long have you even been in contact with the martial path? To possess this level of cultivation, these kinds of killing techniques and combat skills, and to execute them with such fluency—it's clear you've put in genuine, hard effort. When I was your age, I wasn't nearly as formidable as you."

"You flatter me, Teacher. Your student still has far too many areas that require improvement!" Fang Che replied.

Turning his head immediately toward Ding Ziran, he strode over in large strides and asked, "Brother Ding, are you alright?"

Still shaken, Ding Ziran nodded and said, "I couldn't have survived that blade strike."

"As long as you're alright," Fang Che said.

With a hearty laugh, he added, "Don't forget our agreement. Win or lose..."

A trace of struggle and hesitation flashed through Ding Ziran's eyes before he smiled faintly. "Naturally, I haven't forgotten... Win or lose, we are friends! In times of crisis, we watch over and help one another, serving as each other's shield!"

Unlike Fang Che, who spoke those words with warmth and sincerity, Ding Ziran articulated every single syllable of *"Win or lose, we are friends! In times of crisis, we watch over and help one another, serving as each other's shield!"* with a serious expression and a rigid, solemn tone.

When he reached the final four words—*"serving as each other's shield"*—his voice grew especially grave and weighty, sounding almost like the taking of an oath.

As he voiced these words, his lifeless eyes instantly ignited like flickering flames.

This infused his normally stiff and rigid face with a sudden burst of vivid color.

Amidst Fang Che's loud laughter, with a sharp *slap*, their palms collided in mid-air.

Fang Che wore an expression of open-hearted sincerity.

Ding Ziran's face remained rigid, carrying the traces of a forced smile.

Yet, it possessed an odd, lingering warmth.

Down below the stage,

Mo Gaiyun leaped up and let out a bizarre cry: "Count me in!"

Followed immediately by a hearty laugh.

***