Yun Shang Commandery, Butterfly Forest.
Lin Zhao stood amidst a scene of birdsong and floral fragrance. This was the dueling coordinate he had sent to Shen Xingchen. The duel that was about to take place here would decide the direction of the Scarlet Moon Knights and even the future of Xinghe. Behind Lin Zhao, the two great beauties Chen Xue and Luo Mang stood like bodyguards, their faces filled with dejection. Chen Xue still felt that Lin Zhao's challenge was too sudden, while Luo Mang felt that her brother shouldn't have agreed to Shen Xingchen's wager. Could it be that he had fallen for her?
Ding Chi, Zhang Jun, and Lu Han stood further away, looking over with shifty eyes, ready to join the fray at any moment if the battle turned unfavorable.
Not far away, a group of three approached.
The people of Xinghe had arrived.
…
Shen Xingchen, clad in a deep blue spirit robe and wielding a staff with a ruby pendant at its tip, wore her hair in an elegant, beautiful bun. A hibiscus hairpin adorned her hair, her awakened magical artifact. The spirit robe accentuated her perfect, curvaceous figure. Shen Xingchen was not only as beautiful as a fallen goose and a shy moon, but her figure was also exceptional. This spirit robe was already quite loose, yet her chest remained full, while her waist was a perfect willow leaf. A pair of long, shapely, snow-white legs peeked out from the split in her robe as she stepped in a pair of flowing gold boots. She was so stunning it was unbelievable.
Behind her, Su Xinghe followed, clad in the finest mixed gold and dark gold armor, a flowing gold greatsword strapped to his back. His expression was icy as he trailed Shen Xingchen. This battle left Su Xinghe with a myriad of complex emotions, impossible to articulate. Beside him, Shen Lingyuan was visibly worried. Both were concerned about Shen Xingchen's future safety, though their motivations differed. Su Xinghe saw Shen Xingchen as his future girlfriend and felt his love was being stolen, unable to bear the blow to his pride. Shen Lingyuan, on the other hand, was solely concerned for his sister's safety. In his eyes, no man who appeared beside Shen Xingchen was a good one, and Su Xinghe was no exception.
"They're here."
Lin Zhao strode forward, cupped his fists, and smiled, "Shen Xingchen, have you been well?"
This was his first formal meeting with Shen Xingchen since the open beta.
"Ah?!"
Shen Xingchen was slightly taken aback, not expecting such an opening from Lin Zhao. It felt strangely familiar, as if she had met this person named "Bai Yi" somewhere before, though she couldn't recall exactly where for a moment. It only made her feel a sudden stir in her heart, the reason for which left her utterly confused.
"I've been very well."
Shen Xingchen, holding her staff, smiled slightly. Her gaze swept over the surrounding environment and she asked, "Why didn't you choose the map with more grass on the left side?"
More grass was highly advantageous for melee combatants, allowing them to constantly enter "invisibility" using the terrain and then launch charge-type skills like Sword Qi Strikes at mages, increasing their chances of victory.
"It's not necessary."
Lin Zhao chuckled, "That would be an unfair victory. So, this side is better."
"Mm."
Shen Xingchen nodded gently, her impression of this young man improving. This detail alone showed that he had his own principles and bottom line. Such a person… would be more pleasant to interact with.
"Bai Yi!"
Su Xinghe crossed his arms, his gaze filled with provocation. He spoke in a warning tone, "Shen Xingchen is one of us from Xinghe. You'd best be polite."
"I know."
Lin Zhao smiled frankly, "The leader of the Crossing Alliance is the leader of Xinghe. Don't speak so childishly."
"You..."
Su Xinghe gritted his teeth. This Bai Yi looked ordinary, but his words hit their mark, making him extremely annoying!
"Alright."
Shen Xingchen took a few more steps forward, staff in hand, and said, "Bai Yi and I are about to spar. Those not involved should step back and do not enter our battlefield. Thank you."
"Mm."
Chen Xue and Luo Mang gave Shen Xingchen a deep look before backing away with their weapons. Su Xinghe and Shen Lingyuan also retreated dozens of steps, leaving ample space for the two to fight. As for Ding Chi, Zhang Jun, and Lu Han, they, along with dozens of elite players from the Scarlet Moon Knights, set up a perimeter, preventing other players from entering the battlefield and disturbing their duel.
…
"Shall we begin?"
Shen Xingchen asked with a smile.
"Mm."
Lin Zhao nodded, confirming entry into the sparring mode. At the same time, his entire being instantly focused. He hadn't logged off all day, and everything hinged on these few minutes. At this moment, he had to give it his all. No matter what, he had to defeat Shen Xingchen first. The Scarlet Moon Knights needed this beautiful strategist, and they also needed the star appeal she brought!
She, Shen Xingchen, wanted to recruit the Scarlet Moon Knights, but he would make her work for him instead!
The next moment, the system began its countdown—
"3!"
"2!"
"1!"
The crucial battle had begun!
…
The instant the countdown ended, Shen Xingchen lightly tapped the ground and summoned the Starry Sky Shield. With her mana, even if forcefully engaged, she was unlikely to be instantly killed. The stronger the spiritual energy, the tougher the Starry Sky Shield. The shields of high-level mages were not easily broken. The moment she summoned the Starry Sky Shield, Shen Xingchen raised her staff, and an Empowered Meteorite Spell descended from the sky, heading directly for Lin Zhao's forehead!
A locked-target single-target spell, impossible to dodge.
Lin Zhao charged Shen Xingchen with his sword!
"Boom!"
"982!"
Lin Zhao stumbled slightly but was not significantly affected. He continued to press forward rapidly with his sword.
Shen Xingchen retreated, staff in hand, her brows furrowed in disbelief at the damage dealt by the Empowered Meteorite Spell. How was this possible? Her Empowered Meteorite Spell dealt at least 3000+ damage to Su Xinghe, yet it felt like a mere scratch against this opponent. Most astonishingly, he hadn't even activated his Sword Qi Protection!
At this moment, a chill ran down Shen Xingchen's spine. This Bai Yi, who dared to challenge her, was indeed very strong!
But it was alright; she was a mage, after all… she could slowly wear him down.
Thus, Shen Xingchen began circling a not-too-large cluster of bushes, continuously raising her staff and casting Stellar Burn Marks behind her. As Lin Zhao stepped into the range of the Stellar Burn Marks, his health bar began to steadily decline.
This was proving a bit difficult; he was being kited.
However, Lin Zhao was unwilling to prematurely use his Sword Qi Strike skill. The opponent was a level 67 mage. At level 50, she would have long ago learned the Spatial Warp skill. Furthermore, given Shen Xingchen's gaming prowess, she was absolutely capable of reacting within 0.5 seconds to dodge the Sword Qi Strike with Spatial Warp. Once he used Sword Qi Strike, he would be at her mercy.
Therefore, he pulled on the reins, turned his horse, and retreated out of the bush area, opting to circle in a wider radius, constantly tracking Shen Xingchen's position.
This was becoming troublesome.
Shen Xingchen's heart sank. This heavy armored sword user was more patient and understood how to break free from tactical traps set by opponents. Not following behind a mage to take fire damage was clearly crossing a threshold in sword user PvP. He was evidently an expert!
…
"Shhh!"
Suddenly, Lin Zhao charged forward on his horse. His health bar was only at 60%. If he allowed her to continue draining him, Shen Xingchen would likely unleash her killing moves!
In an instant, Lin Zhao was less than 10 yards away from Shen Xingchen!
"Hum~~~" Dafeng Novel Network
But at this very moment, Shen Xingchen shook her staff violently. A deep cyan, frigid meteor descended from the sky, smashing fiercely onto Lin Zhao's forehead, instantly dealing over 1500 damage. Immediately following, an Ember Dragon's Embrace spell entered Lin Zhao's body, causing continuous damage!
He had to take a gamble!
In a flash, Lin Zhao reacted. While closing the distance laterally, he raised his sword and unleashed a sweeping AoE damage skill, Sword Pull Strike, directly at Shen Xingchen. Simultaneously, using the dust kicked up by Sword Pull Strike as cover, he locked onto Shen Xingchen's position and, through the bushes, unleashed a Sword Qi Cage skill that enveloped Shen Xingchen's head.
"Ah?!"
Shen Xingchen was shocked. It was too fast!
In an instant, Shen Xingchen reflexively cast Spatial Warp, blinking directly to Lin Zhao's opposite side. They swapped positions, maintaining the formation with a bush between them. At the same time, Shen Xingchen raised her hand and summoned a Starry Field, and a hexagonal, pale blue transparent force field appeared at the edge of the bushes, forcing Lin Zhao into the narrow gap between the bushes, unable to advance or retreat!
Shen Xingchen didn't hesitate, locking onto Lin Zhao with Empowered Meteorite Spell + Ember Blast + Flame Laser all at once!
Lin Zhao raised an eyebrow; he couldn't hold back his skills any longer!
Sword Qi Protection!
In an instant, sword intent swirled around his body, providing Lin Zhao with significant damage reduction. However, even so, his health bar still dropped to around 25%. He could already hear the system's "thump-thump" heartbeat notification, indicating the player was in a near-death state.
Not good!
Lin Zhao hurriedly downed a Level 2 Health Potion, raising his health to 35%. The moment the heartbeat sound disappeared, he charged out on his horse and, with a raise of his hand, threw out the Qinglu Sword, controlling it with his spirit!
"Ah?!"
Shen Xingchen gritted her teeth and endured the blow with her Starry Sky Shield. The shield around her distorted violently, its durability dropping by a significant 70%. The attack damage from this sword user was terrifying!
"Shhh!"
The next second, a streak of silver light flew out from Yun Jian Lake, transforming into a flying sword that, with its chilling effect, plunged towards Shen Xingchen's chest.
Finally, the opponent had used a flying sword!
A smirk played on Shen Xingchen's lips. This was what she feared most, but also what she anticipated the most. In an instant, as her delicate body retreated, the hibiscus hairpin between her hair buzzed. The next second, it flew out, and the fine pearl chain at the end of the hairpin instantly elongated, tying up the rapidly flying sword Mingyue in mid-air. No matter how the flying sword Mingyue struggled, it was impossible for it to escape the sealing of the hibiscus hairpin within a short time.
…
However, the moment Shen Xingchen sealed the flying sword Mingyue with the hibiscus hairpin, light hoofbeats sounded from the left. She had focused most of her attention on the flying sword, not expecting that Lin Zhao had split his forces the instant he launched the flying sword attack!
The next second, the Qinglu Sword erupted with streaks of rising flame.
"Hmm?"
Shen Xingchen's delicate brows furrowed. She tapped her foot on the ground and retreated repeatedly, always maintaining a distance of about 3 yards between them. At this extreme distance, you shouldn't be able to hit me, right?
Unfortunately, Lin Zhao gritted his teeth, and the sword light suddenly slashed upwards!
When in doubt, use Rising Dragon Slash!