Chapter 49: Battle of Liuxi

"Next." Su Youwei's clear and calm voice echoed from the stone platform, drawing widespread applause. After all, Su Youwei had indeed won quite beautifully earlier; Cao Ling's attacks, though fierce, had always been led by the nose.

Many students from A-class cheered loudly at this moment, their shouts of praise and encouragement for Su Youwei rising and falling. Chu Tianyang, standing nearby, also nodded with a slightly relaxed expression. Fortunately, Su Youwei, on whom he had placed such high hopes, had not let him down.

Hearing the overwhelming cheers from the arena, Qi Yue frowned slightly. Liu Xi, on the other hand, was so enraged that she gnashed her teeth; she simply couldn't stand Su Youwei being so prominent.

"Fan Wu," Liu Xi said coldly.

Hearing this, Fan Wu nodded, then leaped onto the stone platform. "Please enlighten me!" Fan Wu cupped his fist at Su Youwei and said in a deep voice.

"Begin!" the referee shouted.

Fan Wu, as before, attacked first. His foot slammed down with immense force, shattering the stone bricks, as he lunged fiercely towards Su Youwei. His hand formed a claw and tore down savagely: "Tiger Rend Claw!"

*Rip!* As his claw tore through, the air itself emitted a piercing sound.

However, no matter how fierce his assault, he still couldn't touch Su Youwei. Her figure drifted like a wisp of smoke, and when he threw a punch, the "smoke" retreated with the force of the wind.

"That's a high-grade Origin Art, Cloud Smoke Wander," Zhou Yuan remarked, his eyes flashing as he watched the scene. He secretly praised it; this movement Origin Art was one of the most difficult to master in the Great Zhou Prefecture, and he hadn't expected Su Youwei to have cultivated it successfully.

While Cloud Smoke Wander might not be as profound as his Dragon Step, it was still quite unique. It allowed one to move by leveraging an opponent's force, making it particularly effective against fierce attacks, as the more violent the assault, the harder it was to land a blow.

"Fan Wu is also doomed to lose."

As Zhou Yuan made his judgment, on the stone platform, Fan Wu, just like Cao Ling before him, felt his blood begin to boil due to the prolonged battle. His eyes turned crimson, and his Origin Qi gradually became wild.

Su Youwei's beautiful eyes flashed. She suddenly spun and shot straight towards Fan Wu. Seeing this, Fan Wu roared and unleashed a punch. The air in front of him exploded, and a fierce force surged directly towards Su Youwei.

However, just as the blow was about to land, Su Youwei's slender body gracefully tapped the surging wind with her foot, deftly propelling herself to glide over Fan Wu.

At the same time, her jade-like palm struck down onto Fan Wu's crown. Another wisp of cool energy flowed into Fan Wu's body, completely calming his boiling blood. Instantly, his Origin Qi became unstable. Without Su Youwei needing to do anything further, Fan Wu let out a muffled groan, blood oozed from the corner of his mouth, and he fell backward.

This scene, undoubtedly, once again caused a massive uproar. Seeing this, Liu Xi gnashed her teeth, grinding them loudly, and her eyes seemed to spit fire.

Qi Yue's gaze also darkened slightly. He said, "She recognized the 'Boiling Blood Mark' and figured out a way to counter it." Although he wasn't entirely clear on the exact reason, Qi Yue could sense that Su Youwei had deliberately waited each time for the blood and qi within Cao Ling and Fan Wu to boil before making her move.

"This Su Youwei is truly troublesome." Qi Yue frowned deeply. The two rounds they had just managed to win were now completely nullified by Su Youwei alone. His original intention had been to use this to wear down Zhou Yuan and ensure a foolproof victory.

Su Youwei stood gracefully on the stone platform. She calmly settled the Origin Qi within her, then her slightly cold eyes turned towards Liu Xi on the head-of-institute's platform. "Su Youwei of A-class challenges Liu Xi of B-class," she stated calmly.

Her words instantly caused another wave of murmurs and exclamations, simply because Su Youwei intended to fight three consecutive matches.

"Heh heh, good, good, this wretched girl actually dares to challenge me. She truly doesn't know her place!" Liu Xi was so infuriated that she laughed aloud, her eyes glaring fiercely at Su Youwei.

With a flicker of her figure, she swept directly onto the stone platform, her eyes icy as she stared at Su Youwei. "Since you're asking for trouble, I'll grant it to you!" she declared.

"It's too early to say who will suffer," Su Youwei said indifferently.

"Do you really think defeating those two useless fellows gives you the right to challenge me? When I was cultivating in the Great Zhou Prefecture, you wretched girl were probably still scavenging for food somewhere!" Liu Xi sneered, "If Zhou Yuan hadn't picked you up, would you even be worthy of entering the Great Zhou Prefecture?"

However, facing Liu Xi's scathing remarks, Su Youwei's eyes slightly lowered, her voice unruffled: "Precisely because of that, I intend to help him clear away all of you obstacles."

Seeing the atmosphere between the two girls, the referee nearby shook his head. Without another word, he simply waved his hand: "Begin!" The two girls' gazes met, and sparks seemed to fly.

"Activate Six Meridians!"

Streams of Origin Qi light almost simultaneously entwined around both girls. In the next instant, Liu Xi made her move first. Her figure flashed, appearing in front of Su Youwei, and her jade-like hand chopped down vertically. Origin Qi coiled around her fingertips, faintly emanating a sharp aura. "Wind Cleaving Palm!"

*Rip!* As her palm struck down, the air itself seemed to crack. Liu Xi showed no mercy; with her first move, she unleashed a high-grade Origin Art of astonishing power. A single strike of her palm could cleave rock in two. As the daughter of Marquis Liu, Liu Xi naturally possessed vast resources, and the Origin Arts she cultivated were far from ordinary.

Seeing Liu Xi's fierce assault, Su Youwei tapped her toe, once again employing "Cloud Smoke Wander" to drift gracefully backward.

"Do you think I'm those two fools?" "Wind Spirit Step!" Seeing this, Liu Xi's red lips curled into a scornful smile. Her figure moved, seemingly stirring up a sudden gale, and she moved like a whirlwind. In a single step, she appeared before the retreating Su Youwei, and her palm struck down again.

"Jade Break Finger!" Seeing Liu Xi's relentless pursuit, Su Youwei curved two fingers together. With a flash of jade-like light, she fiercely thrust them forward, directly clashing with Liu Xi's striking palm. The collision felt like jade striking jade, Origin Qi meeting Origin Qi, forming violent currents of air that swept outwards, cracking the flagstones on the ground.

Both Su Youwei and Liu Xi reeled back over ten steps. However, in this clash, Liu Xi clearly had the upper hand, as her "Wind Cleaving Hand" was a high-grade Origin Art, while "Jade Break Finger" was only a mid-grade Origin Art.

"Let's see how many times you can block me!" Liu Xi sneered. Her Wind Spirit Step unfolded again. As fierce winds howled, her figure bore down on Su Youwei, and her palm, imbued with sharp Origin Qi, chopped down repeatedly like a blade, slicing through the air. Each gust of wind left marks on the ground.

Faced with Liu Xi's relentless assault, Su Youwei repeatedly retreated, clearly falling into a disadvantage for a time.

"She's being suppressed by the opponent's Origin Art..." Zhou Yuan observed, his brow furrowing slightly. Su Youwei's talent was indeed excellent, but high-grade Origin Arts were already considered top-tier in the Great Zhou Prefecture, requiring contributions to the sect for cultivation. Thus, it was naturally impossible for her to possess numerous inherited Origin Arts like Liu Xi.

Many discerning individuals present saw Su Youwei's predicament and immediately felt some pity. They could tell that if Su Youwei also possessed Origin Arts of the same caliber, the situation would likely be reversed.

*Swish! Swish!* On the stone platform, two graceful figures moved and dodged like butterflies, but one attacked while the other retreated.

"Hmph, what good is talent? In my eyes, you're nothing more than a wretched girl without any resources. So, challenging me is just humiliating yourself!" Liu Xi sneered, feeling a great sense of satisfaction as she watched Su Youwei being continuously suppressed.

Su Youwei remained silent, merely evading the relentless attacks.

"Do you feel this is unfair? How laughable. The gap between us was long ago destined! No matter how hard you try, you can never surpass the difference in our status and position!" A cruel smile played on Liu Xi's lips as she added, "A single high-grade Origin Art is enough to put you in such a sorry state. So... what about a Profound Origin Art?"

A sharp glint flared in Liu Xi's beautiful eyes. Here, she intended to completely shatter all of Su Youwei's confidence. This way, Su Youwei's mental state would be affected, possibly leaving her with psychological trauma that would hinder her future cultivation. Such a method was undeniably vicious.

Liu Xi's figure suddenly halted. Her jade-like hand clenched, and streams of Origin Qi whirled towards her, furiously converging in her palm. Finally, they faintly coalesced into a wind blade. The wind blade vibrated, emitting a piercing sound, and the air around it constantly rippled. "Low-grade Profound Origin Art, Azure Wind Blade!"

A ruthless glint flashed in Liu Xi's eyes. She abruptly chopped her palm down towards Su Youwei. The wind blade whistled, then, with a *swish*, it tore through the air and shot directly at Su Youwei. Seeing this scene, the entire arena erupted in an uproar. The referee on the side was even preparing to intervene and provide aid.

However, there wasn't a single ripple in Su Youwei's bright eyes. She stared at the rapidly approaching azure wind blade. Its sharp aura, even from a distance, caused a stinging sensation on her skin. Yet, she still did not dodge.

She gazed at Liu Xi, who wore an expression of triumph, and her red lips parted slightly. "It's true I don't possess as many profound Origin Arts as you," she said, "However, I don't agree with your words. The distance between us is not, as you claim, irreconcilable. How could you possibly imagine the extent of my efforts?"

Su Youwei's jade-like hand slowly clenched. In the next instant, a powerful surge of Origin Qi suddenly erupted from within her body, making her clothes billow and her hair flutter.

"Activate Seven Meridians!"

When Su Youwei's resolute shout rang out, the entire square erupted in commotion, and countless people cast their astonished gazes towards her. No one had expected that Su Youwei would forcibly open her seventh meridian in the midst of this battle!