Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest
Chapter 836 - 836 59 The Competition_2

Chapter 836: Chapter 59: The Competition_2 Chapter 836: Chapter 59: The Competition_2 He then handed the mirror and the prayer beads to a Demon Blade Ghost, instructing it to take charge of the whole process, lifting and safeguarding them, ensuring to keep a distance from the ancient mirror himself.

“You guys are quite cautious,” the mirror entity transmitted to Lin Ning, “In fact, body seizing usually occurs under absolute suppression of realm, like a Nascent Soul old devil seizing the body of a Foundation Establishment cultivator. In such cases, you wouldn’t stand a chance. Do you really think you could activate defensive magic treasures 24/7? As soon as their Primordial Spirit rushes into your body, with your Foundation Establishment level Divine Sense, you could never fend it off—the only outcome would be your soul scattering.”

“However, caution is ultimately an excellent trait, and being a bit wary doesn’t hurt.”

“Mmm,” Lin Ning replied, wielding her sword with one hand as she sparred with Li Minghu, casually speaking, “It’s not that we suspect you, but you’ve been secretive. Why do you only communicate with me through soul transmission and not interact with others? It’s clear you’re hiding something, and who could completely trust someone with secrets?”

“Ah, trust isn’t built overnight,” the entity in the mirror said nonchalantly, “You don’t know if I’m trustworthy, and I’m not sure if you meet my criteria either. Let’s take our time.”

“What criteria?” Lin Ning suddenly became alert.

“I can’t tell you that,” the mirror entity said with a smile, “You’ll have the opportunity to find out later.”

Lin Ning fell silent, focusing solely on exchanging offense and defense with Li Minghu.

During past sparring sessions with the team captain, he had a habit of using overwhelming swordsmanship to completely suppress Lin Ning without leaving her any breathing room, then subtly exposing a deliberate flaw for her to notice and exploit—if she missed it, the punishment was a severe toil.

Li Minghu gave Lin Ning a feeling similar to Yan Yu—both had a technically proficient fighting style, and her swordsmanship skills were also very profound, even subtly overpowering Lin Ning.

Her weakness lay in her slower reaction speed compared to Lin Ning, which allowed Ningning to take the initiative by pushing the tempo to the limit and then trying to further consolidate her lead with a fierce attack, only to be slowly neutralized by Li Minghu’s array of sophisticated tactical defenses… to the point Lin Ning quickly realized she was actually inferior in pure swordsmanship level.

I was trained by the captain, how could I lose to you!

The more anxious Lin Ning became in her heart, the faster her sword techniques shifted, and her sword power became increasingly fierce. Li Minghu swiftly shrank her sword circle, defending tightly on all sides, preventing the Green Bamboo Sword from penetrating for a while until she suddenly executed Cang Song Ying Ke, intercepting Lin Ning’s offensive move with perfect control.

Lin Ning hurriedly attempted another attack, only to see the Sky Flash Sword shifting to bypass her blade and counterattack her body, prompting her to urge the Green Bamboo Sword to intercept.

The swords crossed, with opposing forces grinding against each other. Li Minghu’s sword technique accelerated uncertainly, using Triple Cloud Strike with the intention to break through Green Bamboo Sword’s defenses, while Lin Ning robustly responded with Eagle Strikes the Sky.

Azure flashes lit up, gold and iron clashed, with the sound of hammering metal dense like fireworks. Lin Ning’s brow began to show a faint sweat, realizing she was actually losing the head-to-head swordsmanship combat and struggling to withstand the Sky Flash Sword’s attack!

How is this possible! Is my True Yuan not as strong as hers, or…

“It’s the choice of sword technique,” the mirror entity suddenly interjected, “Triple Cloud Strike is a Triple Slash, while Eagle Strikes the Sky is a Five Consecutive Slashes technique; the former has stronger force in each strike. Didn’t your captain teach you that?”

Where would Lin Ning have the mind to respond? Li Minghu swiftly altered her sword technique, launching Phoenix Comes to the Ceremony, prompting Ningning to respond with Cang Song Ying Ke, but she suddenly heard the mirror entity call out:

“Use the Mist Sword Style, you fool!”

Thoughts flashing through her mind like lightning, Lin Ning, with an extraordinary reaction speed, immediately formed the sword technique for Mist Sword Style, Green Bamboo Sword swung in a wide arc, blocking Sky Flash Sword’s ethereal sword style. Li Minghu, on the other side, uttered a strange “huh.”

She recognized Lin Ning as the type with exceptionally quick reactions, hence she liked to counter with moves like Eagle Strikes the Sky and Cang Song Ying Ke that required testing reaction and finesse. If Ningning countered with Cang Song Ying Ke, Li Minghu would immediately switch to Bai Niao Chao Feng, attacking from a different angle to breach the defense. By that point, even if Lin Ning had a quick response, she wouldn’t have time to correct.

Yet unexpectedly, Lin Ning used the “clumsy” Mist Sword Style. The 360-degree sweeping arc defended against all of Sky Flash Sword’s potential variations.

“Sky Light Piercing Clouds,” the mirror entity continued to instruct.

Without hesitation, Lin Ning initiated Sky Light Piercing Clouds, Green Bamboo Sword turned into an azure streak as she pressed the attack. Li Minghu recognized the ferocity of the sword technique and cautiously pulled Sky Flash Sword back to defend up close, interjecting Eagle Strikes the Sky.

Eagle Strikes the Sky was a purely technical sword move, requiring quick reactions and swift sword techniques. In an instant, a Foundation Establishment Realm Sword Immortal could deliver at most five slashes.

Li Minghu lacked Lin Ning’s quick reflexes, so she could only strike four consecutive strikes, but her judgement was precise enough that all four cuts landed in the same spot on the sword light, firmly blocking Sky Light Piercing Clouds.

“Phoenix Comes to the Ceremony, circle to the back,” Mirror Immortal offered as a hint.

If she followed Lin Ning’s usual style, after having her strongest move, Sky Light Piercing Clouds, stopped head-on, the defense would surely be on the brink of collapse. Naturally, she would continue to press the attack from the front and break through the defenses.

However, since Mirror Immortal had given a hint, there was no need for her to stubbornly stick to her own views. Green Bamboo Sword executed Phoenix Comes to the Ceremony, a swift drift and tail flick, nimbly circling to Li Minghu’s side.

Li Minghu’s expression suddenly tensed, urgently commanding Sky Flash Sword to counter-attack to the rear, while Cang Song Ying Ke intercepted Green Bamboo Sword.

“Tch,” Mirror Immortal commented, “This girl has some understanding, eh? If she had used Night Battle from All Sides to defend, she would’ve certainly lost within three moves.”

“What should I do next!” Lin Ning shouted in her mind, while her hand speeds with the sword techniques almost creating afterimages.

Eagle Strikes the Sky! Eagle Strikes the Sky! Eagle Strikes the Sky!

The Green Bamboo Sword shimmered with emerald light, unleashing fifteen consecutive strikes within three seconds. Li Minghu’s expression eased slightly, her hands forming the sword technique as well, with Sky Flash Sword performing Cang Song Ying Ke five times consecutively, defending against all fifteen rapid strikes.

“She’s pinpointing you,” Mirror Immortal said again, “Your Eagle Strikes the Sky is too predictable, and she can block it with Cang Song Ying Ke, which means she has fully anticipated all your sword moves. Stop using that move!”

“What should I do then!” Lin Ning called out.

“If you want to win, it’s quite simple,” Mirror Immortal said, “Just like I taught you earlier, don’t engage her head-on. Use Phoenix Comes to the Ceremony to continuously circle behind her. She can’t keep up with your speed, and eventually, you’re bound to wear down her defenses.”

“I don’t want to fight dirty!” Lin Ning declared, “Winning like that defeats the purpose of training!”

“You’re such a difficult person,” Mirror Immortal sighed, “You want to win, to be fair and just, and also get training value out of it. Why don’t you just stay in place and ascend through tribulation?”

“If you can’t offer any advice, then shut up!” Lin Ning said impatiently.

“Let me tell you,” Mirror Immortal chuckled, “Even if it’s the same Sword Technique, it will vary slightly when executed by different Sword Immortals. The problem with you is that she has seen through and gotten used to the habitual details of all your moves. Even if you use Cang Song Ying Ke, the angle you cut in at is within her expectations. How can you win like that? You need to switch it up, okay?”

“How can I switch it up?” Lin Ning asked irritably.

“Any change will do,” Mirror Immortal replied, “As long as it’s unexpected, you’ll force her to adapt on the fly. You’re faster than her, which means she’ll tire out quicker than you when you match each other.”

Lin Ning swiftly went ahead as advised, her hands continuously forming sword techniques, and launched a fierce attack akin to a sudden storm, deliberately changing the entry position and angle of the sword techniques, adopting an approach of “doing whatever feels the most awkward.”

Li Minghu frowned slightly, Sky Flash Sword was stretched to its limits defending, and although she managed to fend off the attacks, it was clearly not as effortless as before, and she gradually started to fall behind.

“Alright,” she suddenly retracted her Flying Sword and said with a smile, “There’s no need to continue, is there? I can’t win if we keep going.”

Seeing the opponent finally admitting defeat, Lin Ning also retracted her Green Bamboo Sword with a proud smile, only to hear Li Minghu continue to speak with a laugh:

“Ningning, you’re really amazing. You found the problem without my explanation. In the future, you should avoid sticking to routine. With your fast reaction speed as an advantage, if you can get the variation in sword techniques right, there won’t be many people in this world who can beat you… Cough, cough!”

Suddenly, she bent over, coughing violently, the sound was so harsh it seemed like she might cough up pieces of her innards, startling Chen Lingyun and Zhao Yuanzhen nearby.

Lin Ning was also shocked to her core, quickly rushing to support her, offering her water, and urgently calling Yan Yu.

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