She slammed her foot down, erupting forth with the greatest speed she could muster. Behind her, the bamboo backpack suddenly opened up, revealing that it was packed full of bamboo sticks.
Just as everyone was wondering what these bamboo sticks were about, they suddenly shot out of the backpack, each infused with a trace of world origin energy.
These bamboo sticks varied in length, falling within a range of thirty to forty centimetres. One end was flat while the other was pointed, essentially making them mini bamboo javelins. Not just that, but there was also a strange thread trailing behind each bamboo javelin, one end firmly attached to the blunt ends of the javelins while the other end fluttered freely in the wind.
Dozens of such bamboo javelins flew into the air, overtaking Lu Zhiying as they shot towards Qi Yuanyuan.
The members of the audience widened their eyes in surprise.
A technique that required such energy control and manipulation was exceedingly difficult for Foundation Building realm cultivators, who did not even possess their own essence energy. Lu Zhiying might not possess golden spiritual meridians like her opponent, but her talent was definitely undeniable.
No wonder she had the confidence to accept the challenge of the Azure Dragon Sect representative!
Qi Yuanyuan instinctively backpedalled, her eyes continuously scanning the numerous bamboo javelins to determine if there were any tricks hidden within.
Yet even as these dangerous bamboo javelins started to rain down upon her, Qi Yuanyuan did not lose her composure.
Bang-! Bang-!
Qi Yuanyuan deflected two bamboo javelins before changing directions to evade several others, only to be confronted with more bamboo javelins raining down upon her new position.
Lu Zhiying was not only controlling this many bamboo javelins at once, but she was also staggering her attack into a multi-wave barrage!
Bang-! Bang-! Bang-!
Three more bamboo pieces were deflected before Qi Yuanyuan spun around to slash apart an energy orb projectile that Lu Zhiying had thrown at her.
Lu Zhiying made a slight twirl with her index finger. On the javelins that had landed near Qi Yuanyuan, the threads attached to them suddenly came to life, their free ends shooting towards the latter like whips.
The careful Qi Yuanyuan noticed it instantly, quickly dodging out of the way to prevent the threads from wrapping around her feet. The moment she landed, she immediately turned around to raise her arm, guarding against Lu Zhiying's fist that had already arrived.
Bang-!
Qi Yuanyuan did not even flinch from the impact, forcing the two into a standstill. Seeing this, the members of the audience could not help but feel impressed.
As expected of golden spiritual meridians. Despite the sudden attack, she had actually managed to gather sufficient world origin energy in her arm to neutralise the world origin energy that Lu Zhiying had imbued in her punch!
But while everyone was feeling impressed by how Qi Yuanyuan had successfully blocked her attack, Lu Zhiying's excited grin only grew wider.
Everyone had been caught up by the flashy reveal of the Myriad Fields Backpack, which inevitably led them to focus on Qi Yuanyuan's successful defence of Lu Zhiying's offence. However, the barrage of bamboo javelins had yet to come to an end!
In a circle around them, the remaining bamboo javelins descended from the air, appearing like an inescapable iron net.
As if that were not enough, Lu Zhiying's empty bamboo backpack suddenly came apart, splitting into the countless bamboo pieces that made up the backpack – bamboo pieces that had also been converted into mini javelins.
Gasps filled the Black Guardian Square as these bamboo javelins shot forward without warning, moving at an even greater velocity than the earlier javelins.
At this distance, there was hardly any time for Qi Yuanyuan to react!
Zhao Yunxiao rubbed his chin in contemplation as past memories resurfaced in his mind.
The first time he had fought in front of Lu Zhiying was at Gu Qiansi's herb garden plot, where he managed to take out two nightspirit rats thanks to his ample preparations. That said, while the first nightspirit rat had fallen easily to the Red Devil Weapons Array, the second nightspirit rat had caused him a bit more problems.
Back then, he had been forced to personally make a move, baiting the second nightspirit rat into attacking him so that he could physically block it to halt its movements for the slightest of moments. And that momentary opening had been the key that allowed the Red Devil Weapons Array to finish the job.
Looking at the scene playing out before him right now, Zhao Yunxiao could not help but notice the similarities. Even the threads attached to the bamboo javelins resembled the metal chains attached to the spears of the Red Devil Weapons array.
Was it a coincidence?
Or had Lu Zhiying chosen to incorporate what she had seen back then into her combat style?
Regardless, Qi Yuanyuan was not a nightspirit rat. The bamboo javelins were also not concealed like the spears of the Red Devil Weapons Array, and thus lacked the element of surprise.
Would this really be enough to take down Qi Yuanyuan?
Zhao Yunxiao had his doubts.
Indeed, even when suddenly confronted with an encirclement of bamboo javelins, Qi Yuanyuan did not lose her composure. She did not retreat, understanding that there was no way she could outrun the javelins at this distance. Instead, she made the completely opposite decision, pushing forward with her elbow to pressure Lu Zhiying instead.
Now that Qi Yuanyuan had more time to gather world origin energy after the initial exchange, Lu Zhiying did not stand a chance. She was easily pushed back under Qi Yuanyuan's pressure.
Lu Zhiying's position had been the only gap in this deadly encirclement of javelins, and Qi Yuanyuan had both identified and made use of it perfectly.
Behind her, numerous bamboo javelins pierced into the ground, suggesting what could have been her fate, had she made a single wrong move.
Nevertheless, Lu Zhiying did not look disappointed that her trap had failed.
She kicked the ground and leapt backwards in a graceful backflip, creating distance between her and Qi Yuanyuan once again. With another wave of her hand, the fallen bamboo javelins rose into the air once more, seemingly pulled from the ground by the threads attached.
These bamboo javelins flew one round through the air, almost as though they were winding up, before shooting towards Qi Yuanyuan once more.
Qi Yuanyuan was just about to chase after Lu Zhiying, but immediately abandoned that plan upon seeing this.
There was simply no time for Qi Yuanyuan to rest.
This marked the start of a cycle where she was forced to keep her senses operating at the highest level, continuously dodging and deflecting these seemingly inexhaustible bamboo javelins. That was already difficult enough, but she also had to watch out for the sneaky energy orb projectiles and occasional punches coming from Lu Zhiying – attacks that the latter timed perfectly with the barrage of bamboo javelins to maximise their effectiveness and snip off any possibility of a counterattack.
And inexhaustible was just about right when describing the bamboo javelins.
While there was technically a finite number of bamboo javelins, a single pulling action from Lu Zhiying was all it took for the ones that had landed on the ground to rise once again, circling through the air as they awaited their next round of offence.
Each collision with Qi Yuanyuan's sword resulted in small cuts to the bamboo javelins, but these cuts were far too shallow to threaten the structural integrity of the javelins. And as long as they were not destroyed in the process, the bamboo javelins were indeed inexhaustible.
Just like that, the javelins were cleverly split into those lining the ground and threatening to trap Qi Yuanyuan's feet, as well as those being flung straight at her. The two continued to switch around in an unpredictable manner, keeping Qi Yuanyuan's escape options to a minimum.
From the perspective of the spectators, it felt almost as though Qi Yuanyuan was following a script written by her opponent, being guided again and again into difficult situations where she was forced to handle attacks coming from all angles.
Lu Zhiying might have been suppressed by Qi Yuanyuan's sword earlier, but their roles had now clearly reversed!
"What are those threads made of?" Zhao Yunxiao asked with furrowed brows. "Root fibre of the cotton rubber tree?"
"That's right. While the other parts of the cotton rubber tree do not have much use in general, their root fibres are rather useful due to their high elasticity, durability, and sensitivity to world origin energy. After sufficient practice, even Foundation Building realm cultivators would be able to establish a connection with them from a distance," Gu Qiansi explained. "She did ask me if there were any spirit plants with such properties, so I told her how to properly cultivate them. Who knew that she had such plans for it?"
"So, it's an idea that she came up with on her own..." Zhao Yunxiao let out a chuckle in disbelief.
"I would never have even thought of asking her to do something like this," Gu Qiansi shook her head. "But more importantly, are her movements...?"
"Yes, you are probably thinking the same thing that I am," Zhao Yunxiao affirmed.
This was the first of Lu Zhiying's three dances – Utopia.
Incorporating its dance movements, Lu Zhiying had come up with a movement art that focused on neutralisation and evasion.
On the other hand,
And now, Lu Zhiying had once again managed to turn its dance movements into something suited for combat.
But unlike the graceful and elusive Flight of the Butterflies, Utopia represented ever-changing entrapment and containment.
It could be said that the dance art and the unpredictable Myriad Backpack complemented each other perfectly. When used in tandem, the two easily brought about an exponential increase in their individual combat potency.
From the looks of it, as long as Lu Zhiying did not get careless and overplay her cards, it would only be a matter of time before Qi Yuanyuan's defeat was set in stone!
Zhao Yunxiao could not help but let out a dumbfounded chuckle, Lu Zhiying's words ringing clearly in his head.
I told you that I have always just been waiting for the right opportunity to wear it!
I made some adjustments to it too.
So, this was why she had been waiting for the right opportunity to wear that backpack of hers... all so that she could proudly show off her masterpiece to them with a bang!
It was not like he did not think highly of Lu Zhiying. In fact, he had always regarded her as an extremely talented junior martial sister who would definitely surpass him to enter the inner sect, perhaps even becoming a core disciple if things went well.
But it would appear that even that was not quite enough. Even with that mentality, he had still managed to underestimate her somehow.
Real talent was not something that someone like him could even hope to comprehend!
However, she was wrong about one thing.
This was not the right opportunity at all. It was a complete waste to reveal such an unexpectedly potent weapon and style during such an inconsequential fight!
If anything, it should have been a fight with at least some precious treasures on the line, not some useless sect robes!
What a huge loss!
In another corner of the Black Guardian Square, Chen Pingxi let out a self-deprecating smile as she watched the fight play out.
It would appear that she had made a fool of herself.
There was no doubt that this was the same bamboo backpack that Zhao Yunxiao and Lu Zhiying had spoken about previously. Back then, she had tried to defend Lu Zhiying, saying that the latter probably had not used the backpack only because there had yet to be an opportunity fashion-wise.
That reasoning would have at least made some sense if it were an ordinary backpack.
But was this an ordinary backpack?
No, not at all. It was nothing short of a unique treasure that had been specially calibrated to fit her combat style!
At this stage, she would not be surprised if even Lu Zhiying's combat style had been designed by Zhao Yunxiao.
By giving such a treasure weapon to a mere Foundation Building realm cultivator... was it meant for today, when she could trample on the Azure Dragon Sect representative to rise to prominence?
This Zhao Yunxiao was even more crazy than she had expected!
Genius new cultivator of the Black Tortoise Sect?
Was that really the truth? Or was that simply Zhao Yunxiao's cover story for turning Lu Zhiying into a famous rising star of the Black Tortoise Sect?
Had there not been a Lu Zhiying, would he have simply chosen a Chen Zhiying or a Li Zhiying instead?
Just how much of Lu Zhiying's future exploits could she attribute to Lu Zhiying herself, and how much should she attribute them to Zhao Yunxiao?
What was Zhao Yunxia- no, what was Elder He Luoxuan's goal for doing this?
Just what undercurrents were brewing within the Black Tortoise Sect, that warranted such secretive actions?
That said, one could say that her efforts in befriending Zhao Yunxiao had borne some fruit. By doing so, he had gotten careless enough around her to make a slip of the tongue. That was how she, and probably only she, knew that the bamboo backpack was actually his masterpiece.
Even back when he was trying to get them to take care of Xia Wei in the Origin lake Sect, he had made sure to do so in a roundabout manner. This showed just how importantly he was treating his mission to remain low profile.
But it would appear that as long as she continued to create the right opportunities, even someone as careful as Zhao Yunxiao was not immune to mistakes when it came to hiding his exploits.
As long as she kept at it, it was only a matter of time before she discovered everything that Zhao Yunxiao was hiding underneath that thick veil of his!