Chapter 212: One Sword

Chen Mobai stood on the arena, bowing to the full-figured woman in red before him.

"I'm surprised you had the courage to step up here," Ding Ying said, a relaxed expression on her face. With two talismans, one green and one yellow, already clutched in her right fingertips, she slowly walked towards Chen Mobai, gradually applying pressure.

"After all, it's the sixth round now," Chen Mobai replied humbly, his words conveying his unwillingness to give up and his desire to fight hard for the victory. "If I can pass this round, I'll become a true disciple of the sect. No matter how strong my opponent is, I have to try."

"Do you think you can defeat me?" Ding Ying couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle when she heard his words, as if she had heard an incredibly funny joke.

"Yes!" Chen Mobai replied with a single word.

"Yes?" Ding Ying's eyes widened. She couldn't understand where his confidence came from.

With an indignant snort, she immediately flung the yellow talisman from her hand. With a thunderous roar, a fireball half a meter in diameter materialized in mid-air, appearing directly above Chen Mobai's head, threatening to descend and engulf him completely.

A pure azure flying sword shot skyward, circling the fireball once and instantly transforming it into countless sparks. The entire arena seemed to be showered in a rain of fire, but Chen Mobai blocked it all with a single defensive talisman.

"Without that Divine Wood Sword, you wouldn't even last a single move against me," Ding Ying sneered. As she spoke, another green talisman glowed with spiritual light and settled at her feet.

Immediately, a sapling burst from the ground, growing into a two-meter-tall tree in the blink of an eye.

"This is..." Chen Mobai found the sight somewhat familiar, and Ding Ying's next action immediately made him realize why.

She pressed a talisman into the tree, and a clear, brilliant light emerged, transforming into an azure radiance that made the entire arena tremble. This radiance then condensed into a fist-sized pillar of light at the fingertips of Ding Ying's right hand.

"Heavenly Wood Divine Light!?" Chen Mobai exclaimed. He recalled that on Qingguang Island, their small team had relied on the spirit tree to calmly resist the swarm of Black Plague Birds and even force back the second-tier Bird King. But if Ding Ying could wield the "Heavenly Wood Divine Light" on her own, it was likely no one among the true disciples would be her match.

After calming down, Chen Mobai analyzed the situation and discovered the difference between this azure radiance and the Heavenly Wood Divine Light. It appeared to be a degraded version of the Heavenly Wood Divine Light.

"You should be proud to lose to my second-tier Heavenly Wood Talisman," Ding Ying said, her words dismissive, yet her actions showed she took him seriously. After all, Chen Mobai was already at the ninth level of Qi Condensation and possessed a second-tier flying sword. This Heavenly Wood Talisman was one of her trump cards. She raised her head, spreading the five fingers of her right hand towards Chen Mobai, and the cluster of Heavenly Wood spiritual light began to spin, forming a spiraling spearhead.

Seeing this, Chen Mobai pressed his right hand into a sword-finger stance, and the Divine Wood Sword hummed. He intended to inflict an unforgettable defeat on Ding Ying. A drop of liquid spiritual energy surged from his Dantian Qi Sea and flowed through his fingertip into the sword.

In an instant, the Divine Wood Sword shot out from his fingertip like a bolt of pure azure silk. At the same moment, Ding Ying also launched her Heavenly Wood Spiritual Light Spear.

With a piercing shriek, the spiraling azure spearhead, like a cannonball, distorted the air and even cracked the arena floor as it passed. Carrying a terrifying power capable of shattering all defensive spiritual light, it collided head-on with the tip of the pure azure flying sword controlled by Chen Mobai.

After a sharp roar, the pure azure flying sword, under the disbelieving gaze of the onlookers, erupted with even clearer spiritual light, unleashing a terrifying Divine Wood Sword Qi. In a direct clash, it forcefully shattered Ding Ying's Heavenly Wood Spiritual Light. After cleaving through the spiraling spearhead formed by the Heavenly Wood Spiritual Light, the sword qi's momentum continued, slicing directly towards Ding Ying.

One by one, vibrant red flying petals materialized in mid-air, transforming into a durable talisman armor that, in the nick of time, blocked the terrifying Divine Wood Sword Qi. With a mighty "bang," the reinforced arena trembled violently.

Ding Ying's entire body involuntarily recoiled repeatedly, and her Flying Petal Talisman Armor began to vanish piece by piece, on the verge of complete disintegration. Her expression changed drastically, and she didn't hesitate to use a secret art that consumed her vital essence to boost her spiritual power.

Azure and crimson light flickered alternately across her beautiful face. In an instant, her azure spiritual energy was completely devoured by crimson spiritual energy. This was a method of using the Twin Aspects Art: feeding wood-attribute spiritual energy to fire-attribute spiritual energy for a short period, allowing the latter to instantly triple in power. It was by relying on this killing move that Ding Ying had been able to firmly hold her position as a true disciple for over a decade.

With a mere thought, the Flying Petal Talisman Armor, which was on the verge of collapsing under the Divine Wood Sword Qi's attack, erupted with an even more vibrant red light. The vanished runes began to reappear, reassembling into a complete defensive talisman armor.

At that very moment, the Divine Wood Sword Qi fully erupted. Its clear spiritual light spread out, overwhelmingly drawing in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, transforming into a surging tide of sword qi that violently crashed onto the Flying Petal Talisman Armor. Bang! Bang! Bang! One by one, the petal-shaped runes dimmed, disintegrated, and vanished under the impact of the sword qi.

Unable to sustain the defense any longer, Ding Ying spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying off the arena.

"This is impossible!" she exclaimed, disregarding the blood welling from her mouth. She struggled to her feet, her eyes wide with disbelief, as she watched Chen Mobai recall the pure azure flying sword back to his side. She had faced the Divine Wood Sword before; how could it be so powerful now? Even her proudest killing move combined with the Flying Petal Talisman Armor couldn't withstand that formidable sword qi. If Chen Mobai hadn't retracted his sword at the last moment, she might have died right there. What kind of power was this!?

"Senior Sister Ding, thank you for the guidance," Chen Mobai said calmly. With a flick of his right hand, the Divine Wood Sword beside him trembled like a swimming fish and flew into the storage pouch at his waist.

Defeating his opponent in a single move, Chen Mobai watched Ding Ying's face fill with unwillingness, lingering fear, and disbelief. The original vexation in his heart dissipated, but it was quickly replaced by a sense of emptiness and dullness.

After a long wait, it seemed even the elder presiding over this round hadn't recovered from the shock. Only after a significant pause did he announce Chen Mobai as the victor.

As he stepped off the arena, he saw Qi Rui with his mouth agape, Xi Jinghuo in shock, and Zhuo Ming covering her mouth. From the neighboring tavern, Yuan Chiye stood frozen, goblet in hand, and Liu Wenbo beside him, utterly stunned.

"Junior Brother, from today onwards, your name will be praised throughout the Divine Wood Sect for a long time, just like Uncle Honghe," Qi Rui said with deep emotion. He remembered the young, somewhat flustered boy on Qingguang Island, facing the attacks of demonic beasts. Although he had imagined Chen Mobai becoming a part of the Divine Wood Sect, or even a true disciple, he had never expected that in less than four years, this delicate-looking youth would have grown to such an extent.

"Come on, let's celebrate and drink to our hearts' content today," Chen Mobai said with a smile, calling out to Qi Rui and the others, who had originally intended to comfort him after a potential defeat, to head towards their usual tavern. Yuan Chiye happened to be there as well.