Chapter 23 — The Contest
劍問蒼天 · Page 5 of 8
Then a bell and cauldron sounded from the platform, and the match between Tian Lingsu and Shen Tiandou formally began.
Tian Lingsu was plainly young and hot-blooded. The moment the bell ceased she pointed a finger forward, and in an instant rosy light flashed, swift as lightning. The Amber-Red Silk Sash raised a great wind that stung the face as it rushed at Shen Tiandou.
Shen Tiandou had not expected Tian Lingsu to strike the instant she spoke. Seeing the Amber-Red Silk Sash come rushing at him in the blink of an eye, he hastily retreated two steps, shook both hands, and the immortal sword before him blazed with light and went to meet it.
Rosy light and gray-brown radiance collided at the center of the platform. With a "peng" both Tian Lingsu and Shen Tiandou shook—but at once they steadied themselves, and the two treasures locked in a stalemate in midair.
Below the platform, Tian Buhui's brows knitted, and Su Wan said in surprise: "Yi—this Shen Tiandou's cultivation is not low." At the same time the Zhaoyang Peak disciples below let out a great roar in unison: "Good!"
The shout of a hundred-odd people was indeed no small thing, and at once it overwhelmed the cheering of the Dazhu Peak folk. Old Sixth Du Biyan said, "So it's all about volume? It's not a contest of lungs."
On the platform the two treasures remained locked a moment longer, neither giving way, then both were drawn back at once. Shen Tiandou trod the Seven Stars, his face grave, murmuring an incantation, then shouted: "Hasten!"
His gray-brown immortal sword shot abruptly skyward, and a moment later, swift as lightning, came striking down from directly above Tian Lingsu's head. Before the sword reached the ground, her robes and skirts were billowing and a fierce wind rose all around.
Tian Lingsu was not flustered and showed no thought of retreat. Her left hand seized the Amber-Red Silk Sash as it flew back before her and pulled it up over her head; at once the rosy light spread like gauze, the sash widening several times over in an instant and weaving a barrier of rosy radiance above her head. Quick as thought, while Shen Tiandou's face was still grave, the immortal sword with a "zheng" struck the rosy light once more; the red glow shuddered violently but held, unharmed.
Only then did Su Wan breathe easy. She said in a low voice to Tian Buhui: "That child Ling'er—so overbold."
Tian Buhui gave a grunt and shook his head.
Shen Tiandou's gray-brown immortal sword struck once and accomplished nothing; it folded upward. Tian Lingsu, however, did not pause for even an instant. Where the amber-red silk flared with its rosy glow, it suddenly grew ten times its length. With a delicate cry from Tian Lingsu, the amber-red silk shed its soft and supple nature entirely and became like a single enormous staff, hanging perfectly straight across the air, one end gripped in Tian Lingsu's hand.
Below the platform the spectators erupted in an uproar, gasps of amazement spilling one after another without end.
Tian Lingsu did not hesitate another moment. She swept her right hand, and the giant staff that the amber-red silk had become gave a "whoosh" through the air and came crashing down straight toward Shen Tiandou's head.
Shen Tiandou's brows knitted tight, his face grave. In that brief instant his immortal sword had already flown back into his hand. He set his jaw, right hand gripping the sword, left hand flexing and extending. The giant staff was about to strike his head; below the platform the crowd held its breath. Then, with a sudden tremendous crash, the wooden platform before him—flat and level but an instant before—split apart, and five or six great boulders burst up through the boards to shield him.
Below the platform, Tian Buhui and Su Wan both paled slightly. By contrast, Shang Zhenglan, the seat-holder of Chaoyang Peak, nodded again and again.