That day was the official day of the duel, but the time was unknown.
According to the consensus of people of the Fire Field, it would be between noon and dusk, so no one was in a hurry. They gathered together, chatting, enjoying tea and exquisite pastries, and listening to music. Some were even dancing on the giant tower ship.
Suddenly, someone jumped onto the exquisite ship of the Peak of Ingénue from the tower ship.
The loud sound startled the disciples of the Peak of Ingénue who were on the deck. The ship was also shaking.
"Who is that? How could he act so bossy and direct?"
"Even I was afraid I would offend the beauty, but he jumped on board in such a rude manner!" Wu Yong was surprised, too.
As a disciple of the Natural Law School, Tang Ke was irritated, but his anger eased up when he identified who it was.
"It's the Third Prince of the Xia Dynasty!" Many people recognized him as well. He was the youngster wearing armor.
The armor he was wearing was more for fashion than practical purposes. Many of his weak spots weren't protected at all, but it was indeed beautiful, made from black stainless steel, painted with a geometric-shaped pattern that looked like flames.
Besides that, he was tall, strong, and good-looking. He attracted many girls' attention.
The Third Prince paid no attention to others' surprised looks. He smiled and walked over to Li Xue'er.
"Miss Li—"
"Third Prince, there are only female disciples allowed on my ship. You'd better leave." Li Xue'er interrupted him before he could finish his words.
She sounded polite, but in fact, she was tough and strict.
But the Third Prince didn't care at all. He said, "If you say so, may I invite Miss Li to visit my Dragon Ship?"
Shameless!
Many men who were secretly in love with Li Xue'er were cursing him silently, but they didn't have the nerve to stop him.
Not only was the Third Prince noble, but he was powerful. He was ranked in the top ten on the Eternal Flame List. With his hot temper, he could fight against anyone who didn't agree with him.
"No, you may not," Li Xue'er said in a cold voice. The little politeness she had shown had already expired.
"Third Prince, as my apprentice sister said, please leave immediately," a female disciple on the deck said to him in a tough voice and walked over, fearless of his royal identity.
The Third Prince was struck dumb. He raised his thick eyebrows.
"Miss Li, you're underestimating me. Looks like I have to show you something real."
Then he threw his palm out. His whole arm emitted fire, never waning. This great display of power forced the other female disciples to take a step back.
He would attack whenever he wanted, as unreasonable as the rumors said.
Li Xue'er didn't panic in the face of this formidable attack. With a wave of her arm, a flying sword with ice on the handle flew over.
When his fist and the frozen sword hit against each other, the Third Prince's arm was shaken to such an extent that he had to keep stepping backwards.
And she didn't stop there. It seemed like she intended to kill him. Another five flying swords flew at him.
The Third Prince was sweating in fear.
The royal guards in the tower ship were alerted. An old man in a gray robe appeared in time and took the Third Prince back to the tower ship.
Not until then did the farce end.
"She's great. Both of them are ranked top ten on the Eternal Flame List, but the Third Prince couldn't even take one of her attacks."
"The gaps among the top ten are huge!"
"Li Xue'er is ranked first on the Beauty List, and she's also highly ranked on the Eternal Flame List. It's a pity she isn't ranked top there, as well. Otherwise, she would be the top of both lists!"
People started a hot discussion as time was passing.
Jiang Chen hadn't showed up by noon. Some people couldn't sit still anymore.
Both the Redcloud Peak and the Peak of Drifting Clouds were in the Natural Law School. There couldn't have gotten into any accidents on their way here. Theoretically, they should have already arrived.
No one understood why they hadn't, and many started to become impatient.
Tang Ke said, "What's wrong? Send someone to the Redcloud Peak to see what's happening there!"
As a key disciple and ninth place on the Talent List, he was in the proper position to give the order.
A disciple of the school headed for the Redcloud Peak by airship and soon came back.
"Apprentice Brother Tang, I didn't see Jiang Chen. The people there told me he had a sudden enlightenment of the key martial arts techniques and would need more time," that disciple reported to him loudly.
No one was convinced.
"He had three months, and he had to wait until today to find sudden enlightenment?" Tang Ke said coldly.
Who would study martial arts techniques on the day of a fight? It sounded ridiculous, cramming for a duel.
"Is he frightened?" someone guessed.
The guess started another hot discussion, since it sounded pretty reasonable.
That day, Jiang Chen had said he wanted to challenge Li Qin and wouldn't stop the fight unless he died, but he didn't mention what would happen if he didn't show up, since Li Qin was the one who was punished, the duel her punishment.
As the punisher, it would be all right if he gave up the punishment.
If Jiang Chen didn't show up, Li Qin wouldn't be punished, and the whole thing would be over.
The Natural Law School would probably like to see such a result.
Although Jiang Chen would lose face, he would keep his life.
"If it's true, he shouldn't have given himself three months. If he wasn't confident, he could have made it a year or half a year. He insisted on trying to be a hero, but in the end chickened out. How boring!"
"Did we come here for nothing? The blessed one with the holy pulse is nothing great."
"I'm bored. It's a rare chance that we're all here. Why don't we have a competition?"
"We're in the Natural Law School. Later, after we leave, let's find a place to have a fight?"
"Sounds good."
People started to discuss what to do next. Some even left, disappointed.
"Send a message to the Redcloud Peak. If Jiang Chen isn't here by dusk, I'll go to his peak to fight against him. If that happens, I'll need the school's elders to crack his tactical formation!"
Li Qin's words stopped people from leaving.
They looked at each other and burst into cheers.
"Looks like Li Qin is unwilling to give up the fight."
"She has to fight because it's her punishment. But even though Jiang Chen hasn't shown up, she still insists on fighting. How confident she must be!"
"How resolute she is to kill Jiang Chen!"
A disciple went to the Redcloud Peak to pass on the message.
"I've spent the whole day waiting for him. Now I'm really interested to see what this Jiang Chen looks like," the Third Prince said discontentedly.
"Will he escape after receiving the message? Send someone to take a look."
"Ha, if he escapes, he'll leave himself open to ridicule."
"If he hasn't showed up yet, he must have wimped out. Although humiliated, at least he knows who he is. If he escapes from the school, it will be an indelible stain on his whole life."
"He made the challenge, so he has to bear the consequences. That's what he deserves."
The crowd was disappointed, but then they started another heated discussion while expecting the arrival of the dusk.
Suddenly, everyone quieted down. The music also stopped. The dancing girls were listening with attention.
One of the most beautiful sounds in the world came from where the Redcloud Peak was.
A long-lasting chant, clear and melodic.
It was the chanting of a sword, as loud as a dragon's howl.
In the silence, many people's swords flew out of the sheaths automatically and flew over to the Redcloud Peak.
"The chanting of a sword. What a loud chanting of a sword!"
"Our swords have gone to worship. It's the worship of ten thousand swords. Someone has mastered the doctrine of sword!"
"At the Redcloud Peak? Is that the so-called sudden enlightenment of Jiang Chen?"
"Impossible. Where could he have inherited the doctrine of sword? There are no powerful people who have mastered the doctrine of sword in the Natural Law School."
"There are few even in the whole Fire Field! Could it be the Sword Doctrine of Returning to Oneness of the Sword Sect of Returning to Oneness?"
"Unlikely! Only their key disciples can inherit the Sword Doctrine of Returning to Oneness. It definitely can't be inherited by unrelated people!"
"Anyway, Jiang Chen has inherited the doctrine of sword!"
Everyone was shocked. They all stopped laughing at Jiang Chen.
At the Peak of Drifting Clouds, Li Qin had an unreadable expression.
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