"Show me everything you've got."
In Guinaifen's livestream, the player-controlled Yanqing had already entered combat.
This companion mission allowed a trial version of Yanqing, and his trial stats weren't bad.
The Mara-struck soldiers all had Ice weakness, making the fight relatively quick.
"Sword, heed my call!"
"Enough testing the waters."
"Ten Thousand Swords, Rain From Heaven!"
Guinaifen remarked, "Yanqing's skill animations are so smooth! The gameplay feels great!"
"If I ever pull him, he could be a solid Ice DPS for bosses weak to it."
Soon, the battle ended.
"I wonder if Jingliu's ready—let's hurry ahead!"
But when Yanqing turned back toward the starting point—
Jingliu's figure appeared further down the street, standing over a Mara-struck corpse.
"When did you get ahead of me?!"
Jingliu glanced back. "You're too slow, little one."
Watching this, Yanqing's expression darkened, as if he were the one being mocked in-game.
Another wave of enemies spawned.
This time, Yanqing didn't even get to land a hit.
Two more Mara-struck corpses lay at Jingliu's feet—as if she'd been waiting for him.
"What held you up this time?" she asked coolly.
"I was just warming up!"
Just from the cutscene alone, Yanqing was already panicking.
His blood pressure was rising.
Jingliu was toying with him!
He wished he could mash the sprint button and charge forward like mad.
"How is it possible I can't even keep up?!"
"I didn't even see her attack animations!"
"Jingliu, are you cheating?!"
The more he watched, the more his heart sank.
The streamer, Guinaifen, was trying her best—
Using every skill optimally, taking the shortest routes, not wasting a single second.
But it still wasn't enough.
Yanqing had expected this test of blades to be close—maybe a back-and-forth chase.
But this wasn't a contest of who could kill faster.
He'd only managed to defeat the first enemy—and even that was only because Jingliu had let him move first.
All he saw were corpses. Jingliu was already waiting at each checkpoint.
How was this even a competition?!
The gap was insurmountable.
"Is she killing them while moving?!"
Yanqing was drenched in sweat.
Finally, after chasing for what felt like an eternity—
At the next intersection, he spotted Jingliu.
And this time, the enemy in front of her was still alive.
Yanqing's despair momentarily lifted—a flicker of hope.
"There's still a chance...!"
In the livestream, Guinaifen was also sweating bullets, desperately pushing forward.
"It's been so long since I've enjoyed myself ..."
Jingliu's voice echoed, but her tone had shifted.
Before, she'd sounded detached, almost serene.
There was a repressed excitement in her words.
"Her voice sounds... wrong."
The monster still stood before her.
Jingliu spoke: "It's been too long since I last drew my sword. I nearly let the Mara take hold again."
"Here, little one. I'll leave the last one for you."
Guinaifen wiped her brow.
"Oh no, she's losing it!"
"Is her Mara really acting up?!"
The battle UI appeared—showing two characters in the party:
"Wait, Jingliu joined the team?!"
"Are we about to see her fight?!"
When their turn came, Guinaifen used Yanqing's skill first.
Four enemies remained, including an elite Shape-Shifter.
Guinaifen doubted Yanqing alone could win this.
What would Jingliu do?
Would she buff, heal, or—?
After Yanqing's attack, Jingliu critiqued him:
"Hesitant. Weak-willed."
"Where's the confidence from before?"
Guinaifen stared at Jingliu, expecting a skill or passive effect.
Jingliu used a basic attack.
And it one-shot a Sanctum Medicus cultist.
". Strike without hesitation. Kill in one move."
Her voice grew increasingly exhilarated.
"Did Jing Yuan teach you how to slay abominations?"
"Did he teach you how to deal with Mara-struck Xianzhou natives?"
"The answer is: no difference. Pierce their core. End their suffering."
Her tone trembled—like a recovering addict relapsing.
Even March 7th was clutching her coat, goosebumps rising.
As if hit by a paralysis spell.
His eyes were locked on the screen in disbelief.
"If this sword came for you, could you block it?"
"Did you think swordsmanship was just a game of wins and losses, future Sword Champion?"
The question felt like it transcended the game—piercing straight into reality.
Yanqing slumped into his seat, defeated.
Meanwhile, in the story—
Yanqing admitted: "...I lost."
Stelle opened the live chat:
"Damn! Jingliu's terrifying!"
"She's like a completely different person now!"
"This wasn't a duel—it was a slaughter!"
"Mara-Struck: 'Stay back! Don't come any closer!'"
"She's losing it! She's really losing it!"
"Now I understand why her Mara was so feared! And this is just a fraction of it!"
Just when everyone thought it was over—
Jingliu suddenly spoke in a chilling tone:
"The test isn't finished. My final strike never landed—there were no foes left."
Though her eyes were veiled, her gaze felt like it could pierce through anything.
"A sword drawn but unused... How ominous."
"The will of the Reignbow Arbiter is a curse in itself."
The moment those words left her lips—
Every viewer felt a chill of impending doom.
Yanqing's sweat dripped onto his cheeks.
Jingliu's lips curled into a twisted smile.
"At your current strength, meeting [Blade] would mean certain death."
"Rather than die pointlessly, I'll grant you a warrior's end—witness my perfected strike, and perish as a swordsman."
"Little one... will you take my blade?"
[Ultimate - Unsheathed]
No one expected this—
Jingliu was about to strike Yanqing down.
All talk of a "50-50 chance," of a "fair duel"—
None of it mattered now.
No teasing from March 7th and Stelle, no mocking comments from chat.
And Yanqing was terrified.
"All those earlier thoughts have long been thrown to the winds!"
"This isn't even a fight on the same level!"
"What's there to compare?!"
Guinaifen finally snapped out of her shock and screamed:
"ABSOLUTELY DO NOT TAKE IT!"
"Jingliu's gone completely mad!"
"Yanqing, if you try to block this strike, you're DEAD!"
Three options appeared on screen:
[ABSOLUTELY DO NOT TAKE IT!!!]
Advance 100 Chapters are up on my !
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