The Tianmen Peak lives up to its name, resembling a gate, with two peaks that look like twin towers surrounded by a deep valley shrouded in clouds, while the mountaintops are also hidden in the mist.
The entire peak belongs to the Lingxiao Sword Sect, with the area covered by the mountain gate and the cloud array starting from the mountainside upwards. At the foot of the mountain lies a very special settlement.
"Xiaoyun... Town, huh? Sounds like a nice name."
"Speaking of which, the positioning of Xiaoyun Town is actually somewhat similar to the Western city of Milt."
The carriage stopped near the edge of the Xiaoyun Town closest to the mountain peak, in front of a very imposing archway. Moyi alighted from the carriage first, followed by Tiran and the senior martial sister.
"Similar... so this behind is the Gaixia Academy you all mentioned?" Tiran looked up at the top of the archway, where two characters were intricately carved on a thick, ancient slab of ink-colored stone.
Although it looked slightly different from the ancient calligraphy he was familiar with, he could still recognize it.
Gaixia.
Is this academy established in memory of Xiang Yu's successful counterattack at the Battle of Gaixia? Truly unheard of.
"More precisely, it is the Tianan branch of Gaixia Academy," Moyi smiled, "It seems Your Highness does indeed understand the characters of Divine Zhou, which makes things much easier now."
Gaixia Academy is the highest institution of learning in the Western Empire Chu, serving a role similar to the "Imperial College" and the "National University," covering a wide range of subjects useful for the state.
"The Tianan branch primarily focuses on cultivating talents in the Dao of Immortals. The representatives who previously went to Milt were actually from the Tianan branch. In addition, the main campus, located in the imperial city of Luocheng, mainly teaches various practical skills and statecraft, such as celestial phenomena, agriculture and commerce, poetry, calligraphy, and arithmetic..."
"Those details don't matter now; we have arrived at the academy, let's go to the Cloud Platform."
Zhilan seemed a bit impatient, covering Moyi's mouth and pulling Tiran with excitement gleaming in her jet-black eyes that resembled black agate.
"Huh? Don't we wait for a bit? Hey, don't drag me!" The princess was momentarily taken aback; this child was too enthusiastic, wasn't she?
As the others who arrived in a carriage with Tiran were getting down, they happened to witness Tiran being forcefully dragged into the academy by the white-clad girl.
The others were fine, as she was from Gaixia as Moyi had explained before. But Mimi looked conflicted. Why was the princess so popular with the girls! Be it the Elf, the Angel, the Aya, or the Easterner in the front!
"Chirp... Sister? Are you okay?" Little Chirp, tugging at the hem of her maid outfit standing beside Mimi, raised her head in confusion to see Mimi's eyes dimming.
—Chirp seemed to have grown a bit taller recently, making it harder for Mimi to hold her.
"Chirp!"
Mimi bent down and hugged Chirp emotionally, her slim waist bumping directly onto the beast-eared loli's face, causing Chirp to be dizzy from the impact.
Indeed, only Chirp was the most adorable little Angel! Ah, of course, not to say the princess was not good, but in terms of cuteness, Mimi now felt Chirp had the upper hand. The princess had grown up and could no longer be described as cute.
Being dragged inside, Tiran had no idea what was going on in the mind of their maid leader. If she knew, she would probably first complain about why Aya was being included. Nevertheless, for now, let's focus on dealing with Zilin.
Is this academy really worthy of cultivating immortals? Even the stage needs to be so grand. Just take a look at Milt's grand arena, which is built big, strong, durable, and that's about it.
Looking at the platform gradually rising from the ground beneath her feet and the milky white mist starting to swirl around the perimeter, Tiran couldn't help but wonder.
The floor in front of her automatically cracked open, revealing a weapon rack about five meters wide, containing a variety of weapons from common ones like swords and spears to elaborate ones like iron fans, flying stones, and bronze maces.
Zilin on the opposite side also had a similar weapon rack in front of her, except that all nine slots were filled with flying swords, with the one on the far right being identical to the one on Tiran's side.
"I mean, is it really necessary to take this so seriously?"
Tiran didn't reach out for any weapons but instead called out to the other side in a somewhat exasperated tone.
She still remembered the scene of Zilin fighting during the Martial Arts Festival, where just holding a sword could unleash a powerful sword energy. With all nine swords out, she even managed to suppress the Darkborn Sword Demon, who also possessed ninth-level strength.
"Engaging in a sword trial naturally requires giving it your all to examine your own shortcomings..." Zilin's eyes showed a hint of confusion, but then she remembered Mo Yi's advice about learning to understand the meaning behind others' words. Suddenly, a flash of understanding lit up in her eyes:
"Silver War Maiden, if you'd like to use more swords, feel free to switch them on the weapon rack."
"Thank you."
Whether it was an illusion, Zilin felt that the way the Silver War Maiden looked at her carried a hint of pity.
Well, the senior martial sister was usually focused on sword training and not concerned with worldly matters, so that's the best way to describe it. If Tiran were to describe it herself, she would probably say it was a look of "pity mixed with relief".
I thought my ability to read the atmosphere was already terrible enough, but I didn't expect...
"Anyway, let's just fight and then see how it goes."
Putting aside her wandering thoughts for now, Tiran casually drew a flying sword and a short sword resembling King Goujian's sword from the weapon rack in front of her, which then retracted back.
The design of the flying sword was notably different from Western broadswords, conforming to Eastern aesthetics and displaying the agility and versatility characteristic of swords that Tiran quite liked. The other sword, resembling a bronze sword, had a design reminiscent of the Spring and Autumn period, but it was likely made of the special spiritual materials used for immortal weapons.
"Can we begin?"
Using her spiritual power, Zilin controlled the eight flying swords circling around her, balanced on a broader sword body, took a deep breath, and then gazed at Tiran with an inquiring look.
"Of course."
Having slightly adjusted to the sword in her hand, Tiran responded without hesitation. A burst of Chi surged, and swinging the bronze sword in her left hand, she unleashed a sword strike that descended forty meters across the space, emitting a roaring sea-blue flame that had reached the ninth-level standard. This sword, like a roaring dragon, fiercely descended towards Zilin, as if to swallow her whole.
But ultimately, it was only as if. At the moment this sword was about to touch Zilin, the enraged dragon seemed to melt away like ice and snow in boiling water.
Three flying swords returned to Zilin's side, appearing nonchalant. Finding an opening, striking, and executing the move with ease, as if she had experienced it countless times.
"Not something that can be taken down with a single sword strike, huh... Without the support of the rules, this simple and crude sword move lacks a bit of power," Tiran sighed. Though he had anticipated it, having his sword, charged with energy, easily cut through by his opponent without even breaking a sweat was a bit embarrassing.
On the other hand, Zilan, who effortlessly shattered Tiran's sword energy, showed no sign of emotional fluctuation. In fact, once she entered the combat state, this child even lost the ability to change her gaze, with clear and unclouded pupils showing no hint of distraction, only focusing on the sword in her hand and the opponent she wanted to defeat.
Simply judging by their "energies," that is, their Chi and spiritual power intensities, the two of them were not far apart. However, Tiran could clearly feel that Zilan excelled him in the pure "swordsmanship" aspect, making him sure to lose if they were to engage in a head-on sword fight.
Normally, Tiran would never give in so easily, but whenever he faced Zilan, a subconscious thought would always cross his mind.
Using sword techniques like a sword immortal flying in the sky isn't just for show, huh…
It seemed that he would have to find another way to win.
Taking a deep breath, Tiran raised the flying sword in his right hand and swung it out horizontally like an ordinary long sword. He unleashed his frosty Chi without reservation, causing an instant drop in temperature throughout the entire cloudy platform. The ethereal clouds turned into frost and fell to the ground, while crystal ice flowers grew around Tiran, covering the entire area in a flash.
The changes on the ground did not affect Zilan, who was already hovering in the air with her flying sword. However, the sudden coldness made her feel momentarily uncomfortable.
Seizing this opportunity, Tiran unfolded his ice crystal wing at his back to accelerate, leaped up and pointed his sword at Zilan. With one long and one short sword smoothly dancing in his hands, they intertwined into a dense web of swords.
Zilan still remained calm, using seven swords as shields in front of her besides the flying sword under her feet, forming a sword barrier to block Tiran's strikes. As the final blow shattered the sword barrier in front of her with Tiran's violent force, she seized the opening in his movements and launched a strike. It was a seamless and instinctive action, almost merging with the incomprehensible "force" between heaven and earth, significantly increasing its power.
Click.
But the strike did not hit its target.
A piece of ice froze her sword tip, although a piece of ice couldn't stop such a sharp sword, the brief delay caused by breaking it was enough for Tiran to react.
Ducking low, he dodged and retracted his wings, simultaneously deploying a light blade from below to strike at the flying sword that Zilan stood on, causing her body to sway for a moment.
Disrupting her balance, which was a good opportunity for a follow-up attack, Tiran hesitated as if he sensed something and crossed his swords in front of him, transforming his Chi into ice as a shield.
The next moment, the flying sword under Zilan suddenly emitted a strong shockwave, even creating slight cracks on the ground below.
"Good thing I didn't fall for that..."
One must be cautious, for every newbie who gives away a free kill always thinks they can win.
Tiran, who successfully avoided the attack using his ice shield, stood on the ground evaluating his opponent. The intense attacks, the utility of the flying sword both in mobility and defense, made it quite versatile. Moreover, the ability to release sword energy in any direction through the flying sword itself... ultimately led to the conclusion that this child's strength was off the charts. Without control over the restorative rules, he could hardly win a normal fight.
But if he couldn't win normally, there had to be another way.
Tiran calmly began to use the advantage of the ice Chi he created to dance around, dodging attacks while luring Zilan with light blade strikes. If he couldn't dodge, he would freeze the ground in place to create a massive ice barrier, drawing out the battle into a prolonged one.
He had two advantages, the variability provided by the frosty Chi exceeded the pure sharpness of sword energy, and he also carried what could be considered an overpowered "divine-given blue BUFF," making him practically invincible.
So there should be no problem with the attrition battle.
The spiritual energy in the Cloud Platform is limited, plus there is a formation isolating the inside and outside, so Zilan cannot quickly recover her spiritual power. That's why dragging it out will ensure her victory.
