Hanshuang saw Yuyi's face showing pain and found it amusing that realization that he had been deceived by Xuxue into giving him Spirit Stones without hesitation, he now showed pain when he realized the shouldn't be his responsibility.
Xuxue asked Yuyi, "Are you here in Zhongzhou City for business?"
Yuyi immediately put aside the pain from his unexpected loss and and said seriously, "Yes, very urgent. I want to find a way to join the Anti-Firmament Alliance, and I need someone with status to recommend me directly into the core membership."
Hanshuang glanced at Xuying. Shaying said who said, "I might be able to help. I'm also about to join the Anti-Firmament Alliance under my senior sister's recommendation. With her status in the alliance being very high, I shouldn't have any trouble getting you involved."
Yuyi sighed. "Shaying, this matter will cause trouble later. After leaving se mountain, I saw the sect expert rankings—I know you've already become Tianyin Pavilion's fifth greatest expert. If I couldn't involve others, I would have gone to Tianyin Pavilion to find you for help long ago."
Shaying was stunned, then tentatively asked, "Are you a spy for the Cangqiong Alliance?"
Yuyi saw everyone looking at him with speculation, and quickly waved his hand: "Of course not! It's hard to explain for a while—I'm here to save a very important friend. I'm not from the Cangqiong Alliance."
Hanshuang then spoke softly with "Yuyi, leave this to me. Even if something happens later, no one would dare trouble me. Let's say I find Duan Changjian, the main founder of the Anti-Firmament Alliance. With his recommendation, you can definitely become a core member of the Anti-Firmament Alliance
Yuyi's pupils constricted sharply, a cold light flashing in his eyes. "Hanshuang, thank you for your kindness. but the person I'm saving is very important to the Anti-Firmament Alliance. I'm afraid it will implicate you you
Hanshuang smiled, "Don't worry. Even if I can later say I didn't know anything about if I stand before Duan Changjian and tell him I did it intentionally, he wouldn't dare touch me. Even within the Anti-Firmament Alliance, Tianyin Pavilion has powerful influence—why would they provoke me?
Yuyi asked with some hesitation, "Really won't implicate you you
Hanshuang gave him a reassuring look. Yuyi let out a sigh of relief. "Then thank you, Hanshuang
Xuying's eyes spun. "Are you going to save your beloved?
Yuyi quickly denied, "No, she's my good friend. She just happens to be be the the wife of an important figure in the Cangqiong Alliance
Xuying said meaningfully, "Oh... so it's unrequited love!
The women burst into laughter at Yuyi's flustered attempts to explain. Yuyi immediately realized Xuying was doing it on purpose, and his face darkened, feeling depressed. How could he, who is always so clever, keep falling for Xuying's tricks?
After the meal, the group chatted and laughed in Zhongzhou City Square for a while. then Hanshuang studied Yuyi for a moment and then said, "Yuyi, your cultivation seems to have improved rapidly. How about sparring with me a few rounds? That way I'll have some peace of mind—if you rush into the Anti-Firmament Alliance and I won't be able to rest easy if something happens to you later
The other women immediately chimed in, wanting to see Yuyi's strength.
Yuyi said somewhat awkwardly, "But against you, Hanshuang, how can I summon killing intent? I'm afraid I won't be able to fight properly
Hanshuang's expression became extremely serious. "Yuyi, I want you to remember my words carefully. No matter who it is, once you meet on the battlefield, you must set aside all personal feelings. Outside the battlefield, friends are friends; on the battlefield, there are only enemies and comrades! If friendship requires holding back on the battlefield to maintain itself, then that friendship isn't worth having
Yuyi's pupils contracted, his heart shaken by Hanshuang's words.
"I understand. Thank you, Hanshuang!"
Saying this, he untied the bundle, put on the Battle Soul Dharma Robe as an inner layer, covered it with a combat dharma robe, and drew the Dragon Abyss Sword for the first time. He stood seven steps from Hanshuang, his expression gradually filling with killing intent, and said in a low voice, "I'm ready. Begin whenever you want
Hanshuang seemed very satisfied with Yuyi's attitude. She shouted, her figure moving extremely fast, both palms transforming into overwhelming palm shadows that rained down on Yuyi
"Hanshuang, watch out!"
Yuyi's drawn sword rolled up a burst of red sword qi, and Quick Sword Art immediately followed. Seeing Yuyi's sword qi coming fiercely, Hanshuang secretly called herself careless, hurriedly changing her move while dodging to the side. but was shocked to discover that Yuyi's sword qi actually shot out in eight directions from his body as the center—completely different from the Xuantian Sect's Quick Sword Art she usually encountered
In desperation, she activated the Eight Desolations Six Harmonies Divine Art, shouting as she channe spiritual power toward the incoming sword qi
A loud boom echoed as Hanshuang was forced back three steps, her heart filled with disbelief—she never imagined Yuyi's mental method could so profound!
Yuyi moved like a phantom, closing in on Hanshuang's side, his sword carrying powerful sword qi slashing down from above. Hanshuang revealed an excited smile, leaning her body and bracing with one palm to dodge Yuyi's attack, her legs following up with a fierce kick at Yuyi's descending body
Yuyi was caught off guard by Hanshuang's counter, forced to use his left palm to block. Spiritual power clashed, Yuyi grunted, using the momentum to flip backward and land. Hanshuang executed a graceful flip, landing steadily, her eyes shining with excitement
"Yuyi, well done! Watch out, this time I'm using the Brahma Sound Shaking the Sky Palm!"
Yuyi also felt exhilarated—Hanshuang's reactions and speed far exceeded his expectations, giving him a sense of blood-pounding excitement
Hanshuang's palms quickly formed seals, her figure moving even faster than before as she lunged at Yuyi, both palms simultaneously releasing a golden ball of brilliant sword qi
Yuyi, confident in his speed, brandished his sword in a series of sword flowers mixed with sword qi, preparing to clash head-on with Hanshuang
Their spiritual powers collided in mid-air first, neither gaining an advantage in the explosive impact. In the blink of an eye, they were already in close combat. Hanshuang's palms struck and slashed, completely neutralizing Yuyi's attacks. The two exchanged over three hundred moves, each attacking and defending, leaving the onlookers dazzled. Shaying and Xuying were even more surprised—they never imagined Yuyi's skills had reached a level where he could fight evenly with Hanshuang
The two grew more excited as they fought, completely forgetting this was a sparring match rather than a life-or-death battle. Their moves became increasingly fierce, causing the other women to watch with growing concern
Hanshuang suddenly shouted, channeling spiritual power in a burst. Yuyi barely managed to block but was still forced back two steps. Just as he regained his footing, a white light shot from Hanshuang's hand, and he felt a chill in his chest
Xuying and Shaying exclaimed, "Ice Soul Divine Needle!"
Yuyi felt intense pain gradually spreading from the wound on his chest. Knowing something was wrong, he moved rapidly while channeling power into his sword, unleashing his ultimate technique. Hanshuang saw Yuyi's figure flashing at incredible speed, continuous sword qi attacking from all directions
Wave after wave of sword qi connected in rapid succession. Hanshuang was amazed, secretly praising Xuantian Sect for having some merit—the continuous, unceasing spiritual power was indeed unmatched by other sects
Yuyi endured the searing pain in his chest, determined to defeat his opponent before the poison took full effect. He pushed his movement technique to its limit, his sword becoming a blur. Before long, Hanshuang grew anxious—at this rate, her spiritual power would eventually run out, but facing Yuyi's terrifying speed, she couldn't think of a counter
After several more exchanges, Hanshuang felt a brief gap in her spiritual power circulation—she knew something was wrong. Yuyi's sword qi had already arrived. Left with no choice, Hanshuang raised her palm to block, coughing up blood as she was sent flying backward
She landed and staggered back seven steps before stabilizing. Yuyi's sword was already at her throat
Hanshuang paused for a moment, then smiled, "Looks like it's a draw."
Yuyi protested, "I clearly won. How is this a draw?"
Hanshuang snorted, "You were hit by my Ice Soul Divine Needle. Even if you killed me, you wouldn't survive either. Doesn't that count as a draw?"
Yuyi paused, then nodded, "So that's the Ice Soul Divine Needle. Then it's definitely a draw."
He sheathed his sword. Hanshuang channeled power and lightly tapped Yuyi's chest. The pain immediately vanished
"That's incredible—I saw only a white light and couldn't dodge in time."
Hanshuang laughed, "Naturally. It has no physical form. In a real battle, I would conceal even the white sword qi. But your speed is too fast—if I didn't attach strong spiritual power to it, I was afraid you would dodge, so I couldn't hide it."
The women relaxed seeing the two were friendly, their earlier fierce battle having no effect on their relationship
"Yuyi, your mental method is profound. I never expected Xuantian Sect's mental method to be this powerful—actually matching the Eight Desolations Six Harmonies Divine Art. And your speed is incredible. What realm is your Quick Sword Art? It's very effective at catching people off guard
Yuyi said modestly, "I've self-cultivated the Hunyuan Mental Method to late Nascent Soul realm. My speed comes from dedicated practice, and my innate attributes were exceptionally high—fifty, which I heard is the maximum limit for innate attributes. The Quick Sword Art is also at late Nascent Soul realm
Hanshuang was deeply impressed. Self-cultivating mental methods was extremely rare, and Yuyi had cultivated his to such a high level. She sighed, "What a pity. If you could learn the Yin-Yang Sword Art and Pure Yang Divine Art, with your perseverance, you'd probably be at Golden Core realm by now, and your strength would be even greater
"Can't be helped. I have no interest in running around the cultivation world for fame. The years I'd spend chasing reputation would be better spent continuing to cultivate the Quick Sword Art or or searching for ultimate techniques
Hanshuang nodded in agreement, then smiled, "Well, you passed the test with full marks. Tomorrow I'll take you to see Duan Changjian. With my recommendation and your strength, you'll definitely be valued in the alliance. Heh, that fat Duan Changjian probably isn't even your match. But he has excellent dharma artifacts, otherwise I'd be happy to let you cut off his head and replace him
She laughed. Yuyi's expression darkened slightly. At this level, when cultivation techniques are similar, dharma artifacts made a significant difference
The group chatted for a while longer before returning to their respective lodgings
"Hanshuang, did you really hold back earlier? Is he really that strong?"
Xuying still couldn't believe how terrifyingly Yuyi's strength had improved. The top experts of Tianyin Pavilion were roughly equal in strength, and Hanshuang was definitely among the most powerful
Hanshuang smiled, "I really gave it my all. I can hardly believe it either. I've been in the cultivation world at least a decade longer than him. With his current strength, except for Tianyin Pavilion, unless other sects send their top few experts, no one else would be his match
Hearing Hanshuang's assessment, Xuying said indignantly, "Damn it! Did that brat take some miracle pill? How could he surpass me? I'm going into seclusion to cultivate! This is so infuriating!"
Hanshuang laughed, then said softly, "Good idea. We've been playing too much lately. Let's go back into seclusion together in a while