Chapter 123: Heaven-Sea Thirteen Swords

"Are you serious?" Kong Feichen asked, a frown of disbelief on his face.

"Yes," Yang Jing replied softly, offering no explanation.

"You're not my opponent."

"Normally, no, but if I use a two-point divine art, it might be different."

"Is that really necessary?" Kong Feichen pressed, but Yang Jing offered no further reply. Kong Feichen clenched his fists in frustration, but eventually calmed down.

"I understand," he said, then raised his hand and conceded the match.

A ripple of uproar spread through the audience. The referee from Danzhu Academy immediately stepped onto the stage to ascertain the reason, but Kong Feichen merely stated he didn't want to fight. Although the referee suspected an underlying reason, a student conceding a match, especially in a crucial semi-final, by simply raising their hand, put him in a difficult position. He couldn't help but look towards the Crimson-Robed True Man. This elder was needed to make the final decision.

"May I ask why you are conceding?" the Crimson-Robed True Man inquired from his seat, his expression calm but his tone imbued with a gravitas different from when he had questioned Chen Mobai and Gong Xiangyu earlier.

"If she goes all out, my chances of winning are not high. If we both end up heavily injured, wouldn't that just benefit the other person in the finals?" Kong Feichen stated frankly, meeting the Golden Core True Man's gaze directly as he gave his reason.

"If that's the case, then so be it," the Crimson-Robed True Man said. If it had been his own descendant or disciple, he would have chastised them, but since this was an unrelated student, he asked once and then didn't bother to delve deeper, nodding to signal the referee to make the announcement.

"Due to Kong Feichen's forfeiture and concession, the winner is Yang Jing."

Upon this announcement, hundreds of spectators around the peak-top arena began to discuss animatedly, with virtually everyone disbelieving Kong Feichen's stated reason.

"Could it be because of love?"

"They're from the same high school, both have unusual spiritual roots. Maybe they've been deeply in love for a long time."

"This is a chance to enter the Four Great Dao Academies, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that can change one's destiny. To give it up for a woman is truly foolish!"

Many people were disappointed, wishing he had shown more determination. However, among the younger students, a good number harbored admiration for Kong Feichen, believing he might have forfeited out of love.

"Old Chen, if you were in Kong Feichen's position right now, and your opponent was Qing Nü, what would you do?" Lu Hongsheng suddenly turned to ask.

"I would naturally fight with all my might to win!" Chen Mobai declared without hesitation, speaking his true thoughts. Entering the Four Great Dao Academies was an opportunity to ascend to great heights. Besides, his relationship with Qing Nü was merely that of ordinary friends, not yet at that stage.

Moreover, there would be plenty of time for romance in the future. If he could successfully establish his foundation, he would have over two hundred years to seek a dao companion and propagate his bloodline. If he were fortunate enough to form a core, or even a nascent soul, it went without saying—his lifespan would exceed a thousand years. Chen Mobai's dream was still to achieve success in cultivation and take charge of the Immortal Sect's three great halls.

"I strongly suspect Qing Nü was the one who pursued you," Lu Hongsheng remarked with admiration after hearing Chen Mobai's straightforward answer, earning a roll of the eyes from the latter.

He had already stated they were just ordinary friends. Chen Mobai watched as Kong Feichen, Yang Jing, and Qing Nü met up after leaving the stage. He really wanted to ask what was going on. Hadn't they agreed to meet in the finals? Why had he backed out? Who was he supposed to unleash all his fighting spirit on now?

"Next two contestants, please step onto the stage!" At that moment, the referee on the arena called out, and Chen Mobai could only suppress the questions in his mind.

Yan Feng's entrance was as flamboyant as ever. With a light tap of his right foot, he seemed to float on air, drawing cheers from the crowd as he landed in the very center of the arena.

Chen Mobai, however, walked up step by step, deliberately taking a full half-minute. By the time he was in position, Yan Feng's brow was slightly furrowed. He had been fully prepared emotionally, waiting for this lucky opponent to step onto the stage so he could defeat him swiftly and decisively, showcasing his undisputed top strength in this duel. But watching Chen Mobai slowly walk for half a minute, his accumulated momentum dissipated by half.

"Please enlighten me," Chen Mobai said with a smile as he stepped onto the stage, bowing to Yan Feng. The latter, bound by etiquette, had no choice but to return the bow.

"Begin," the referee announced, then immediately retreated from the stage. Yan Feng said nothing. Even with half of his long-accumulated momentum gone, he still brought his right index and middle fingers together like a sword and unleashed a terrifying finger-sword strike at Chen Mobai.

Chen Mobai's Water Elemental Shield also moved with his thoughts, transforming into a swirling wave of light that enveloped the terrifying finger-sword strike aimed at him. Their spells collided.

With a "Peng!" sound, everyone felt a slight tremor in their eardrums, like a muffled thunderclap. On the arena, the swirling water element gathered by Chen Mobai had not completely dissipated all the power of Yan Feng's finger-sword. Chen Mobai had to quickly deploy a Wood Shield Talisman. However, the green wooden shield only held for a second before shattering. Ultimately, Chen Mobai had to re-form his Water Elemental Shield again. Only with this triple defense did he completely block Yan Feng's first finger-sword strike.

"Not bad. Since the duels began, you're the first person to block one of my sword strikes," Yan Feng said, retracting his right-hand finger-sword. A look of surprise appeared on his stern face.

"If I'm not mistaken, your strength lies in that single strike. If I can block this one, then even if you unleash ten, a hundred, or a thousand more, their power cannot be stronger than this first one," Chen Mobai stated. As he spoke, a talisman was already clutched between his fingers. Six long spiritual arrows, like bullets fired from a barrel, shot towards Yan Feng's head, chest, and limbs.

"Heh!" Yan Feng sneered, raising his right finger-sword and casually sweeping it through the incoming six spiritual arrows. *Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!* With six explosions of air, his single finger-sword strike easily shattered the Green Arrow Talisman, turning it into a scattered myriad of spiritual light that dissipated on the arena.

"You don't need to probe. After reaching Level Seven Qi Refinement, I switched to cultivating the *Thirteen Swords of Heavenly Sea*," Yan Feng declared. "This sword art allows one to condense a sword qi at each stage, starting from Level Seven Qi Refinement. I'm currently at Level Nine Qi Refinement, but I've condensed a total of four sword qis."

"The one you just blocked was my first sword. There are three more to come. If you can block all of them, I will concede," Yan Feng said.

As Yan Feng spoke, he again raised his right index and middle fingers, a sword talisman already forming at their tips. Chen Mobai couldn't identify the talisman; after all, in the previous six rounds, no one had ever forced Yan Feng to unleash a second sword, let alone use a talisman, so there was no prior information.

With a whoosh! the sword talisman burned, and a faint glow ignited at Yan Feng's fingertips. In an instant, it transformed into a hazy sword qi, half a meter long and arm's width. The second sword strike descended!