Chapter 97

The news of Jiang Wei's upcoming battle against Fang Siqi spread like wildfire within the Tianhuang Pavilion.

Although it was still uncertain where Fang Siqi's strength ranked among the pavilion members, he was at least the acknowledged senior disciple, representing the pinnacle of the Hui Shen period disciples. As for Jiang Wei, though his reputation was not particularly prominent, the fact that he was taken as a disciple by Elder Bai had attracted the attention of many scheming ghosts.

Now, with the two about to face off, it was inevitable that they would draw attention. Even the more intelligent ghosts were speculating whether there was some deep-seated grudge between the two, leading to this confrontation on the arena.

In any case, before the duel between Jiang Wei and Fang Siqi even began, the pavilion was already abuzz with rumors.

"Junior Brother Jiang, did you deliberately sign up for the seventh arena?" Lin Nianluo asked straightforwardly as soon as she encountered Jiang Wei.

"Indeed!" Jiang Wei didn't deny it.

"Could it be that you're planning to take revenge during the duel?" Lin Nianluo felt speechless.

"Exactly!" Jiang Wei said matter-of-factly.

"You're too naive!" Lin Nianluo scolded, "Though the duel is a no-holds-barred affair, if you really intend to kill Fang Siqi, the elders and the Linghun period ghosts will not stand idly by! Unless you can defeat Fang Siqi in one move—do you think that's possible?"

Jiang Wei was indeed planning to defeat Fang Siqi in one move. However, he didn't think it was wise to share this with Lin Nianluo—after all, even if he told her, she wouldn't believe him and would think he was boasting. It was better to keep it to himself and let his strength speak for him later.

Seeing that Jiang Wei didn't respond, Lin Nianluo continued, "Moreover, you plan to kill Fang Siqi during the duel, but Fang Siqi also plans to kill you! His ultimate move is incredibly powerful; once it's unleashed, even a Hui Shen period disciple at full strength would be instantly destroyed. Even I would have to be extremely cautious—think about it, when you're on the arena, will you kill Fang Siqi, or will he kill you?"

"Senior Sister, my strength is not as weak as you think!" Jiang Wei couldn't help but protest.

"Arrogant!" Lin Nianluo burst out, "Do you think that just because you're at the Dongxi period, you're invincible? Fang Siqi is not as simple as you think—why don't I help you change the arena?"

"No, no!" Jiang Wei quickly refused. It was a joke to think he would change the arena. He had specifically chosen the seventh arena to confront Fang Siqi; if he changed to another arena, who knew when he would meet Fang Siqi again.

"Stubborn!" Lin Nianluo was known for her pride within the Tianhuang Pavilion. If she didn't think Jiang Wei was a decent junior brother, she wouldn't waste her breath trying to persuade him. Now, after all her efforts, Jiang Wei still wouldn't listen, which made her furious. "Fine, fine, since I'm your senior sister—here... take it!"

Saying this, Lin Nianluo handed him a jade talisman.

"What is it?" Jiang Wei asked, puzzled as he took it.

"A precious thing!" Lin Nianluo said irritably, "If you encounter life-threatening danger, this will activate automatically and save your life!" In Lin Nianluo's view, with this, Jiang Wei wouldn't be killed by Fang Siqi.

However, when she handed over the jade talisman, Lin Nianluo's heart ached. Such a life-saving treasure was priceless; she only had three, and using one meant losing one.

Honestly, Lin Nianluo was reluctant to give the jade talisman to Jiang Wei, but how could she let him face Fang Siqi without it?

Jiang Wei was taken aback.

Actually, I don't need this...

Jiang Wei thought to himself.

No matter how powerful Fang Siqi's ultimate move was, Jiang Wei didn't believe Fang Siqi could defeat him. After all, Jiang Wei's "base attributes" were far superior to Fang Siqi's, both in soul strength and realm. Only Fang Siqi's famous ultimate move was something Jiang Wei needed to take seriously.

However, Jiang Wei didn't refuse the jade talisman and instead put it away, saying, "Thank you, Senior Sister!" But as he put it away, he thought—after the duel, I'll return it to her to avoid unnecessary arguments now.

"Take care!" Lin Nianluo said and then gracefully left.

...

Soon, Jiang Wei faced off against Fang Siqi.

"Junior Brother Jiang, your courage is commendable! I thought you would try every trick to delay the battle, but I didn't expect you to actually stand on the same arena as me! It seems I underestimated you!" Fang Siqi sneered, "However... courage is praiseworthy in the strong, but for someone with your level of strength, it's—foolish!"

Jiang Wei, impatient, said, "Senior Brother Fang, are you fighting with your mouth? Your verbal skills are impressive?"

"You..." Fang Siqi, who was trying to act tough, was momentarily speechless.

"Fine! Fine! Fine! Since Junior Brother Jiang is eager to die, I won't hold back!" Saying this, Fang Siqi drew his sword and unleashed his most skilled sword technique, charging straight at Jiang Wei.

"Come on!" Jiang Wei also drew his sword to meet him.

Recently, Jiang Wei had been studying the "Flowing Water Sword Manual," so he had been using a sword more often, and a spear less.

Fang Siqi's sword, though lacking in intent, was nearly perfect in form. Even with Jiang Wei's keen eyes, it was hard to find a flaw—this didn't mean there were no flaws, but they were so small as to be almost undetectable.

"Whoosh—"

Jiang Wei's sword was a very ordinary one, without the subtleties of the "Flowing Water Sword Manual." He also controlled his strength to what his 100 times soul strength could produce, not unleashing his full power. The battle had just begun, and Jiang Wei wanted to appear weak to lull his opponent; after all, he planned to defeat Fang Siqi with a surprise attack. If he couldn't defeat him in one move, he might not get another chance.

However, Jiang Wei's sword was more than enough to block Fang Siqi's attack!

"Clang!"

The two swords clashed, and the battle was momentarily at a standstill. Overall, Jiang Wei had a slight advantage.

"Hmm, this sword technique?" Fang Siqi was taken aback.

Fang Siqi didn't know that Jiang Wei was already at the Dongxi period. Seeing Jiang Wei's sword technique, his first thought was—wait, isn't he a spear user? How can his sword technique be so exquisite?

The methods of using swords in the human world and the ghost world were quite different. Fang Siqi had spent years studying in the ghost world to achieve some proficiency in sword techniques. He couldn't understand why Jiang Wei, who had only recently arrived in the ghost world, could have such a refined sword technique.

In fact, not only Fang Siqi was shocked by Jiang Wei's sword technique.

Below the arena, the best seats closest to the arena were already surrounded by Tianhuang Pavilion disciples. Most of them were gathered around three ghost cultivators dressed in black armor.

These three ghosts were also Hui Shen period disciples in the Tianhuang Pavilion, but their strength was overwhelming. Any one of them could easily defeat Fang Siqi. Without a doubt, these three were the strongest Hui Shen period disciples in the Tianhuang Pavilion—of course, excluding Lin Nianluo!

At that moment, the three ghosts were watching the battle with great interest. Suddenly, their expressions changed.