"Master, you seem to be in a good mood today." Long Yifei said the next morning.
"Eh? Really?" Chen Wentian rubbed his face.
Although this soul was Chen Mo, he was currently in control. Thus, he couldn't hide his true mood.
"Did something good happen?" She asked.
"Something good? I wouldn't necessarily call it that." He answered vaguely.
It was hard to explain. After Peng Lingxi kissed him, they didn't do much else. They shared a few more bottles of wine and chatted the night away, interrupted by a few more kisses, of course. They didn't do anything else. She probably would have let him if he asked but he didn't. Even so, he was left incredibly happy. Being loved like that was one of the best feelings in the world.
Long Yifei studied him closely but couldn't discern anything. She once again felt stabs of loneliness. No doubt, he was happy because of something the other disciples did. He was with them now, far away in the central region of the continent.
He had once explained his soul art briefly to her. She still didn't quite understand it. But at least, the Chen Wentian standing before her was not the real one. She wished he was here. She already missed him and it had only been a few days.
"Let's get going." Chen Wentian said, "Are you ready?"
"Yes, master."
The second day of the singing and dancing tournament proceeded much like the first. Many people had been eliminated during the first day so fewer people were occupying the center of the campus. There were still four competition rings and three abbotesses serving as judges for each one.
Chen Wentian and Long Yifei walked by the announcement board and noted her schedule for the day. Her first duel was at the front and it was soon her turn. She went into the ring with a sacred daughter named Ding Xiaoqin for a dance duel.
Today, her opponent was finally a competitive one. Ding Xiaoqin was tall and elegant, with a physique perfect for dance. She was known as a specialist who only focused on dancing and little else. For her year, she could be considered among the top students.
"Sister Long, let's have a good match!" Ding Xiaoqin said as she bowed.
"Sister Ding, let's."
Long Yifei didn't act first. Staying with her original strategy, she would wait until her opponent chose a dance. If she knew it, she would perform the same dance and simply do it better.
Ding Xiaoqin started to dance. However, something unexpected happened. Instead of staying in place and performing, she quickly approached Long Yifei and swept out her legs in an obvious attack.
Taken aback, Long Yifei retreated several steps. She recognized her opponent's dance. It was called the Princess Marshal's War Dance. Legend said it was created by a talented princess who dressed like a man and became the marshal of the army. This was her war dance that won her countless battles. As such, this was a dance suitable for fighting.
Ding Xiaoqin's continued her dance, swirling around to launch a palm strike.
Long Yifei finally reacted, sliding into the practiced footwork of the Princess Marshal's War Dance, she dodged to the side and countered with a kick.
Pa!
Their attacks connected, evenly deflecting each other. Ding Xiaoqin was pushed back three steps while Long Yifei was pushed back two steps and half. Their eyes met and the spirit of competition rose sharply within the arena.
Pa!
Pa!
They traded rapid blows, dancing and leaping and chasing each other. Instead of a peaceful dance-off, it was a dangerous duet.
Chen Wentian frowned at the situation. He didn't think they would actually start fighting. But, since they were both at the same cultivation level, it was not against the rules. It was only against the rules if one side had a higher cultivation than the other as that would be an unfair advantage. This was why most singing and dancing duels were done peacefully up until now.
The duel continued, but now it was a real duel. The two women traded kicks and punches like the other had stolen their husband. Especially Ding Xiaoqin, her movements were quick and decisive, filled with experience and without mercy. Long Yifei was contending equally but mainly relying on her natural talent which was obviously better by several tiers.
As he continued to watch, he started to notice a strange problem. Long Yifei's moves lacked something, something important. He had picked up on a hint of this in the past but never paid too much attention to it. Now, when faced with an opponent raised in the Martial Brilliance Continent and brought up to its standards, it was clear as day.
Long Yifei... she was bad at fighting.
No, that wasn't right. He had seen her fight before. She easily dominated her opponents, such as Divine Blazing Mountain disciples or during sparring with her fellow sisters. But right now, she was obviously struggling.
Her opponent, Ding Xiaoqin wasn't a pushover. She was an expert dancer and had an excellent cultivation foundation. But compared to the likes of Wu Qianyu or Li Yuechan, she wasn't much better, if at all.
"I see." He muttered. "This is indeed an interesting problem."
Long Yifei was struggling, not because she was weak or because she lacked talent. If he had to describe it simply, she was struggling because her fighting spirit did not match up to her opponent.
Take Wu Qianyu for example, when she started to fight, she was a completely different person. The more she fought, the more energetic she became. The stronger the opponent, the greater her desire to win. Even as she suffered wounds, her fighting spirit would only rise more and more.
Li Yuechan was similar but probably not as extreme. As a cultivator and a low-ranking disciple of Glacier Palace, she had experienced her fair share of struggles. She had fought with her life on the line many times. She fought for herself as well as her sisters and could draw upon that fighting spirit at will.
Seeing Long Yifei like this against Ding Xiaoqin, in what should have been a sure win, he could only conclude that Long Yifei was lacking in this area.
He didn't exactly know why and he couldn't solve the problem right now. However, he still had to help her win this duel.
"Fei'er, keep going! You're doing great!" He cheered, "Beat her up!"
A few people gave him dirty looks but he didn't mind them and continued to encourage her. The audience was allowed to cheer but they were not allowed to provide any assistance such as advice or instructions. His words broke no rules.
However, what he was actually doing broke all the rules… only if he was caught.
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