Am I the old man who's always by my apprentices' side?

Chapter 73 The First Championship Match

Ye Chengyu was only nineteen years old, but he was already a sixth-rank martial artist. His Listening to the Wind Finger Technique was quite famous, and his family's lightness skill, Flying Leaf Skill, was even more outstanding.

Of course, in the championship competition, there are countless sixth-rank martial artists, so they are nothing special. Ye Chengyu himself knew that he could not win the championship. The reason he signed up was to gain some experience in order to break through.

Liu Zhanhai is different. He is nearly forty years old and cultivates the Liu family's Six Harmonies and Eight Desolations Overlord Saber Technique, which has the power to rival the sun and moon and control the universe. Moreover, he broke through to the fifth rank ten years ago. Even if he has not been able to break through to the fourth rank Venerable in the past ten years, surely he has made some progress?
Moreover, a sixth-rank versus a fifth-rank match is hardly a suspenseful affair. With age, experience, and combat experience on the table, the outcome is almost obvious.

"Place your bets and you're done—Zhao Family Gambling House pays out three times the bet!"

"The Chen family is the bookmaker, paying out 50%!"

At the gambling tables set up in the Sword Wiping Garden, the bookmakers shouted and urged people to place their bets.

Right across from Zhang Chengdao's tower, in another tower, a refined and elegant young man sat at a table, wearing a sable fur coat and fanning himself with a folding fan.

If you look closely, you'll see that although this young man is dressed in fine clothes and has a noble demeanor, his eyes are somewhat empty—he is actually blind!
"Seventh Young Master, Liu Zhanhai's Overlord Blade is quite powerful. Can Eighth Young Master really win?"

The one who spoke was an elderly man, about fifty years old, sitting next to the blind young master.

The old man was somewhat overweight, and a jade pendant hung prominently from his waist—it was the jade pendant of the Ye family of Jiangnan.

"Everyone knows that Cheng Yu is only a sixth-rank martial artist, but few know that he was about to break through a year ago. If he hadn't been missing an opportunity, he wouldn't have come to join the fun at this martial arts tournament."

The one who responded to the old man was none other than the blind young master, Ye Shuyun, the seventh son of the Ye family.

Although Ye Shuyun was born into the Ye family, the wealthiest family in Jiangnan, she was born blind and could not see anything. The Ye family sought medical treatment for her, but this kind of congenital blindness was incurable and the matter was left unresolved.

Although Ye Shuyun was blind, he had already cultivated to the fourth rank of the Acquired Venerable at a young age, possessing superb lightness skills and profound internal energy. Because of his gentle nature and generosity, he was respectfully called "Seventh Young Master Ye" by people in the martial arts world.

If Ye Shuyun were to participate in the championship, there would likely be one more betting name among the candidates for the title.

However, Ye Shuyun was open-minded and easygoing by nature, and did not deliberately pursue fame and fortune. Therefore, she would not be willing to compete for a sword prize or the title of champion of the martial arts tournament. She only accompanied her cousin Ye Chengyu to try to break through to the fifth rank.

"But Liu Zhanhai is known in the martial arts world as 'Overlord Blade,' and I'm afraid he might go too far and injure the Eighth Young Master..."

Hearing the old man's worries, Ye Shuyun smiled and said, "Old Shen, there's no need to worry. Cheng Yu's lightness skill is unparalleled in the world, even surpassing mine. Although Liu Zhanhai's Overlord Blade is powerful, it consumes a lot of true energy. If he can't win within ten moves, he will be unable to do anything to Cheng Yu... The longer it drags on, the greater Cheng Yu's chances of winning will be."

As they were talking, the two had already started fighting on the dueling platform.

Liu Zhanhai shouted and unleashed a barrage of qi from his sword, which rushed towards Ye Chengyu. The qi was extremely cold, and it even covered the arena with a layer of frost.

Ye Chengyu reacted extremely quickly, but dared not be careless. He did not take the attack, but instead lightly touched the ground with his foot, leaped into the air, took two steps in the air and flipped behind Liu Zhanhai. He even had time to slap back twice.

The azure gale unleashed by the two palm strikes, swirling with wisps of frost, attacked Liu Zhanhai with considerable force. However, Liu Zhanhai merely swung his sword to block, and the gale was instantly broken and dissipated. Meanwhile, the sword energy that Liu Zhanhai unleashed shot directly to the center of Laishui Lake, causing a thin layer of ice to form on the lake's surface!
"Oh--"

The crowd below the arena sighed and booed, feeling that the situation was quite clear.

"As expected of the Liu family's Overlord Blade, that Wave-Breaking Strike was incredibly fierce. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't have been able to react in time!"

"Although Ye Xiaoba has excellent lightness skills, he can't use them to fight... Alas, he's just unlucky!"

However, in the next seven or eight moves, no matter how Liu Zhanhai made his moves, Ye Chengyu was able to easily dodge them, and only made occasional attacks in the gaps. Although he could not cause any damage to Liu Zhanhai, he was forced to be distracted and block the attacks.

Soon, after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Liu Zhanhai stopped his attack. He leaned on his sword and stood in a corner of the arena, looking impatient.

The frost beneath his feet reminded him of how much true energy he had already wasted. If he couldn't win within two moves, he wouldn't have any more true energy to use the Six Harmonies Eight Desolations Overlord Blade Technique!

Thinking of this, Liu Zhanhai's eyes darkened. He took a deep breath, and the remaining true energy in his body surged out like a tsunami, flowing along his right hand to the black broadsword. In the blink of an eye, a layer of ice formed around the blade, and white qi also condensed on the edge.

The moment of truth had arrived, and Liu Zhanhai shouted, "Ye Chengyu, take my final move!"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly sprang up and swung his knife at Ye Chengyu several times. Each swing of his knife seemed to come from different directions, creating a siege from all sides.

Before the blade even arrived, the biting chill sent shivers down the spines of the onlookers in the Sword Wiping Garden. Experienced martial artists exclaimed in surprise, "It's the Wave Chasing Style!"

The "Chasing Waves" move is the most imposing and deadly technique in the Six Directions and Eight Desolations Overlord Blade Technique. It unleashes six or eight blade energies in a single strike, which often form an encircling pattern, covering all directions and making it difficult for the opponent to escape.

Ye Chengyu's pupils contracted slightly—he knew all too well the power of this move, but his face remained completely calm. He simply circulated his true energy, and his figure floated backward like a willow catkin until he reached the edge of the arena, where he had nowhere left to retreat!

Then, he flipped in mid-air, turning several times horizontally in the air, almost parallel to the sword energy, and managed to find an opening among the eight sword energies to dodge to the side!

"What a handsome Qinggong!"

With a cry of surprise from someone, Ye Chengyu's outer robe was mostly ripped off, his sleeves were torn by the blade's energy, and even a strand of his hair was cut off, but he managed to dodge Liu Zhanhai's ultimate move.

Liu Zhanhai's attack missed its mark, and his true energy was exhausted.

His face turned ashen, and he staggered back several steps. Knowing that there was no point in continuing the fight, he sighed and said, "I have lost!"

Ye Chengyu breathed a sigh of relief, but clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Brother Liu's swordsmanship is fierce and powerful. I can only use my lightness skill to maneuver around him. It is really not a fair victory for me. I am sorry for the defeat."

Although these words gave Liu Zhanhai enough face, he was still very upset that he had lost to a sixth-rank "young brat" with a fifth-rank cultivation level. So he just gave a perfunctory fist bump in return and hurriedly left the dueling platform.

(End of this chapter)