Cohabitation with Sword Spirit-Chapter 245 - 206: External Object

December 31, 2017

On the last day of 2017, QingCyan Cloud yun City finally welcomed the final segment of this decade-long grand event.

The grand finals of the QingCyan Cloud yun Competition officially commenced at the main arena of the Aozora Martial Arts Arena.

The showdown between the two contestants was scheduled for the evening, yet from noon onward, the plaza outside the arena was packed to the brim. The crowd spilled over through various streets, with lines stretching as far as the city gates.

Eventually, this vast plaza was temporarily expanded several times over by the Great Cultivators using secret techniques, accommodating a million people, thus gradually gathering the immense crowd. The organizing committee had to temporarily recruit numerous personnel to maintain order and ensure supply, keeping them exceedingly busy.

This is also the norm every decade; the grand finals of the QingCyan Cloud yun Competition possess such allure.

Even though this year's competition had many unexpected turns, resulting in the finalists being from the same family, seemingly reducing the competitive edge of the match slightly.

Nonetheless, people's enthusiasm for the finals remained undiminished. What concerned people most about this match was no longer who would win or lose—after all, no matter who won, it would ultimately be a victory for the Li Family. Given the relationship between Li Wanqing and Shen Qingming, the match wouldn't turn into a bloody fight, nor would they resort to ruthless means for victory.

However, this was still the concluding battle of the QingCyan Cloud yun Competition, and the two who made it to the end undoubtedly represented the highest level of this iteration of the competition.

Whether it was Li Wanqing's Yuqing Daoist Skill, or Shen Qingming's intimidating Steel Giant, both had fully proven their strength. Now, it was time to see if they could showcase equally astonishing skills in the final battle.

An hour before the match, Li Jinglun and Zhang Zhixi in the commentary booth had already started working, first reviewing the brilliant moments of the previous matches through the giant talisman projections above the main arena, and then conducting technical analysis and outcome predictions for the finals.

This commentary duo, through narrating dozens of matches, had gained a significant following. Li Jinglun's professionalism and Zhang Zhixi's lively style were widely praised.

"Alright, we've just enjoyed a carefully curated highlight reel by the organizing committee. These highlights show us that the quality of this year's QingCyan Cloud yun Competition is exceptionally high. From the top sixteen matches onward, there were frequent battles as thrilling as past finals. Yesterday's semifinals repeatedly broke competition records, leaving a profound impression on everyone. So, what surprises will the two finalists, who emerged from so many experts, bring to us today? Truly something to look forward to."

As Zhang Zhixi's opening remarks echoed, the two finalists made their way from the contestant passage amid cheers from tens of thousands of spectators, and proceeded to the registration point for the final round of inspection.

By the final match, every step was meticulous, and checks on the contestants were exceptionally strict. During this dull inspection period, the commentators needed to engage the audience's emotions.

Li Jinglun pondered for a moment and said, "Indeed, the overall level of this QingCyan Cloud yun Competition is evidently higher than previous years. In the official matches, 95% of the over 200 official contestants surpassed the Cloud Surge Realm in True Essence level, over twenty percentage points higher than previous times. Entering the top sixteen, nearly all reached the Late Stage of the Cloud Surge Realm, which was almost the standard for previous finals. Quality-wise, it not only surpassed previous QingCyan Cloud yun Competitions, but also stood as the highest in similar competitions across Xiangzhou Continent."

Zhang Zhixi chuckled, "As someone from QingCyan, I'm thrilled to see our local competition improving year by year. So, Master Jinglun, which side do you favor in the upcoming highly-anticipated final?"

Li Jinglun pondered for quite some time, gazing at his draft paper already filled with notes. With great seriousness, he said, "Personally, I'm more inclined to Shen Qingming securing victory."

Zhang Zhixi exclaimed in surprise, "Oh, you actually favor Shen Qingming? Indeed, she could be considered the biggest dark horse of this competition and has indeed displayed exceptional prowess in previous matches. However, the toughest opponents Shen Qingming faced before were Lu Feiyu and Lu Fangchen brothers, and in those fights, Shen Qingming didn't rely purely on brute strength, and both victories involved some clever tactics. On the other hand, every fight with Li Wanqing almost crushed her opponents with sheer strength, and even against Qian Ye's fully unleashed Golden Man Divine Techniques yesterday, she didn't fall behind in the slightest."

Li Jinglun replied, "Indeed, in terms of comprehensive strength, Li Wanqing is undoubtedly the top contestant of this QingCyan Cloud yun Competition. The versatile Yuqing True Words, the all-encompassing Yuqing Taoist Armor endows her with unparalleled offensive and defensive attributes. Yesterday, she also displayed a Celestial Net Sword to compensate for control and sensing abilities. If we only consider the data, she's unquestionably superior to Shen Qingming, who relies on Immortal Treasure Divine Techniques. But on the other hand, we must consider that after yesterday's battle, Li Wanqing's trump cards are largely revealed—Yuqing True Words, Moral Armor, Celestial Net Sword, these are her three core skills, apart from excellent combat talents and decisive battlefield judgment. Conversely, Shen Qingming, although seemingly lagging in offensive and defensive attributes, has never showcased intricate Immortal Techniques. But on the other hand, we've never seen her trump card. For instance, she's yet to reveal that mystically divine Immortal Soldier, even against Lu Feiyu, she merely wielded a Fine Steel Warhammer."

"So, does that mean we might witness Shen Qingming's Immortal Soldier in this match?"

Li Jinglun stated, "This is the final match, facing an opponent whose comprehensive strength exceeds hers, there's no reason to conceal her trump card any longer."

——

While the commentators were engrossed in their discussion, the staff finally completed all pre-match inspections and allowed the two contestants to enter the arena.

Amidst cheers, Wang Jiu guided Shen Qingming step by step onto the arena, acknowledging the gaze of tens of thousands of spectators, then exhaled softly.

What lay ahead was the most challenging battle to date, far from the optimistic analysis suggested by Li Jinglun.

As a genius Cultivator at the Peak of the Cloud Surge Realm, Li Wanqing's attributes were overwhelmingly superior compared to Shen Qingming, and today, Li Wanqing was even more transformed compared to yesterday.

Even though to others, this nonchalantly free-spirited woman seemed unchanged from before, she still found time amidst the precious pre-battle preparation to exchange flirtatious glances with confidants in the audience, eliciting waves of cheers and screams from female fans.

But Wang Jiu could see clearly that at this moment, Li Wanqing was already holding a trump card that could win the battle.

"Next, your pressure might be quite big," Wang Jiu gently reminded through the Mind Passage.

Shen Qingming smiled: "Saying such things now, don't you think it's a bit late? I've already had the experience of having over eight hundred more bones in my body, what do I have to worry about now."

"Good, with your words, it will be easy to proceed."

"... Wait, I was just speaking casually, don't take it too seriously!"

On the other side, after blowing a kiss to the last representative of the female fan club, Li Wanqing finally turned her gaze back to her opponent.

"Little Sister Qingming, sorry, in this match, I won't hold back."

Shen Qingming snorted: "Who needs you to hold back, just bring it on!"

Next, the person acting as the judge for the final match descended gracefully from the podium, wearing a pure white flawless long robe, with a milky white mask.

It was precisely the Holy Sect Immortal Envoy.

This is also the convention of past Cyan Cloud Grand Competitions; the final match is usually adjudicated by the Holy Sect Envoy personally, who announces the match result.

After Shen Ziyu descended, he made no superfluous movements, confirmed that both contestants were ready, and then loudly announced the start of the match.

Only, after the match began, he couldn't help but glance more at Li Wanqing's direction.

This person, even in Heaven-Reaching City, has few peers who can compare with her.

Cyan Cloud Li Family, indeed produces many talents.

And after Shen Ziyu left the stage gracefully, Li Wanqing immediately gave everyone present a surprise.

The pitch-black armor she wore transformed into pure white in the blink of an eye, leaving only the chest armor plate in a bright red. The originally fierce spikes and edges softened and rounded, making her whole image change dramatically.

Meanwhile, Wang Jiu truly became excited.

In his vision, Li Wanqing was more than just a change in appearance.

With the color change of the Yuqing Taoist Armor, its defense power abruptly increased by more than half! The original Yuqing Taoist Armor, combined with Li Wanqing's Cloud Surge Realm peak level True Essence, could provide defense nearly at the early stage of Cloud Flipping Realm, and after experiencing this surge, she now had standard mid-stage Cloud Flipping Realm defense ability. And considering that the Yuqing Taoist Armor can flexibly shift overall defense into focused local defense, unless someone has late-stage Cloud Flipping Realm strength or higher, it's a challenge to break her defense!

And what level is Shen Qingming at this moment? Late-stage Wind-Rising Realm.

Wang Jiu, through the bloodline divine techniques of the Immovable Tyrant Body, overclocked Shen Qingming, obtaining an explosive power close to mid to late-stage Cloud Surge Realm, but even with this, there is still a big realm's gap to the late-stage Cloud Flipping Realm.

To bridge such a huge gap, solely squeezing out potential from Shen Qingming isn't going to yield much. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

So, the only option is to rely on external power.

The next moment, just as people were astonished by Li Wanqing's armor color change, Shen Qingming slowly drew her weapon.

An entirely snow-white, unadorned broad heavy sword.

On the sword hilt, a faintly visible character for "nine."