Chapter 262: Chapter 223: The Palace Coup
Liang Lu and Lin Yao on the dueling platform didn’t hear the conversation of the teachers.
They each took out their weapons.
Liang Lu used a delicate and slender sword.
While Lin Yao’s sword was more traditional, broader and thicker.
The swords used by cultivators are generally categorized as magical treasures. Regarding magical treasures, their thickness and size do not determine their strength.
However, the appearance of a magical treasure can reflect the user’s personality to some degree.
Liang Lu’s sword was light and quick, and while beautiful, it did not impede the casting of spells. It could even serve as mere decoration during battle if necessary.
But Lin Yao’s sword clearly focused more on practicality and, to some extent, its wider blade could help her fend off attacks.
“Compete with confidence and don’t hold back. Get ready, begin,”
As Mo Ningdan gave the command, the two representatives of the new generation of Qingxuan University officially began their contest.
Since they were old rivals, neither was in a hurry.
Liang Lu changed her usual aggressive approach, simply standing with sword in hand, watching Lin Yao’s movements.
Lin Yao didn’t move either, but after a moment, she got the gist and advanced step by step towards Liang Lu with sword in hand.
As the distance between them closed, the pressure between them sharply increased.
The closer the distance meant that the reaction time for both sword movements and spells became even shorter.
Lin Yao’s move was forcing Liang Lu to play a game of “chicken,” to see who would lose their cool and make the first move.
Mo Ningdan, watching from below, frowned and said, “Yan, did you teach her this move?”
“No, I just told her that the most important thing in battle is to play to your strengths and avoid your weaknesses. Prolong the confrontation until you can fight in the arena you’re best at, doing what you excel in.”
Mo Ningdan then turned her gaze back to the dueling platform.
Originally, she thought Lin Yao had a forty percent chance of winning today, but now, she believed Lin Yao had at least a fifty percent chance.
Lin Yao was steadily closing the distance between her and Liang Lu.
The pressure of betting on the opponent to make the first move was growing larger and larger.
However, Mo Ningdan knew that Lin Yao had a stronger willpower compared to Liang Lu. In other words, this test of courage looked like a mutual gamble, but it was actually Lin Yao putting unilateral pressure on Liang Lu to force her hand.
The question now was how long Liang Lu could withstand the pressure.
The answer came quickly.
When they were less than one and a half meters apart, Liang Lu, who had been motionless, suddenly made her move.
The slender sword thrust forward with the sound of tearing wind, aiming straight at Lin Yao’s chest.
Lin Yao was just as uncompromising, taking a step in her embroidered shoes and swinging her sword to meet the attack.
The two swords clashed, emitting a piercing screech.
Lin Yao flicked her wrist, leaned slightly to the side, and the killing intent of the slender sword immediately missed its mark.
The sparks from the clashing swords illuminated Lin Yao’s cheek on one side.
In the blink of an eye, the two women collided.
Liang Lu abandoned the slender sword without hesitation, pinched a talisman between two fingers, and then formed hand signs with both hands.
“Counterwind Curse!”
With the activation of the spell, a terrifying pressure formed around Liang Lu, causing all movable objects nearby to fly towards her.
Lin Yao was already extremely close to her, and with the Counterwind Curse in effect, Lin Yao was nearly irresistibly drawn to Liang Lu.
At this moment, the light from the talisman in Liang Lu’s hand surged.
Second-order Talisman: Binding Immortal Rope!
At such a close distance, coupled with the instant activation of the Binding Immortal Rope…
If Lin Yao were to be entangled by the rope, there would be little suspense left in the duel.
Lin Yao furrowed her brow.
She was now extremely close to Liang Lu. At this distance, even swinging a sword would be too slow to injure someone.
And the Binding Immortal Rope had already been triggered. If she wanted to counterattack, there wasn’t much time left.
Therefore, Lin Yao chose to take the initiative and reach out to grab the Binding Immortal Rope!
As soon as the Binding Immortal Rope touched Lin Yao’s hand, it immediately wound up her arm.
Seeing this, Liang Lu’s heart leapt with joy.
She had thought that today’s duel with Lin Yao would be a fierce one, but could she have anticipated the victory coming this quickly?
No matter how you looked at it, Lin Yao, being a cultivator who practices Qi, would struggle to free herself from a second-order talisman in a short time.
In real combat, any momentary opening in the opponent’s defenses usually means the end of the fight.
Liang Lu didn’t plan to go easy or run her mouth; as soon as Lin Yao was bound, she would immediately end the duel, giving Lin Yao no chance to turn the tables.
Liang Lu reached for her slender sword that she had just released, but she found that not only could she not move her body, she also couldn’t channel her spiritual power.
Why couldn’t she move her body?
How could Lin Yao cast such a powerful spell?
No, that’s not right.
A teacher had intervened!
“The duel ends here,” said Mo Ningdan. “Today’s victory goes to Lin Yao.”
Liang Lu’s eyes widened.
How is this possible?
Hadn’t the Binding Immortal Rope already entangled Lin Yao?
Why had Lin Yao won again?
Mo Ningdan’s binding spell was still in effect, as if waiting for both competitors to grasp the current state of affairs.
Liang Lu looked at Lin Yao in front of her.
She noticed that Lin Yao’s sword was suspended in midair, with the hilt touching the back of her hand, as if it was about to rotate around her wrist.
And along the path the sword blade would have followed, there were Lin Yao’s left hand, which had just been entangled by the Binding Immortal Rope, as well as her, Liang Lu’s, delicate neck.
Liang Lu’s pupils contracted.
She understood Lin Yao’s intention in an instant.
To sever her own arm, break free from the Binding Immortal Rope, and then follow through with a sword strike to her death.
Liang Lu broke into a cold sweat.
She had never imagined that Lin Yao would have such a strategy for breaking the stalemate!
Lin Yao could get her broken arm set, but once her neck was sliced by the sword, unless a powerful cultivator intervened on the spot, there would be no salvation.
“Do you understand how you lost?” asked Mo Ningdan.
With a complex expression, Liang Lu replied, “I understand.”
