The Princess Cannot Escape: The Cunning Prince Is Not to Be Messed With

Chapter 258 Fierce Competition

Yin Quan had been waiting for this moment. "Senior Brother Qin, I'm entrusting you with the sparring. But remember to explain the name of each move and the body part it targets before you make each move, and then try to slow down your movements." Although Qin Nian didn't know what Yin Quan was planning, he nodded nonetheless.

Qin Nian's longsword at his waist was a soft sword, which he would never normally draw. The fact that he drew it now showed his respect for Zhiyun. Zhiyun blushed, a blush rising on her face, making her look quite shy.

Zhiyun wielded a long whip with a red tassel at the end. Qin Nian swung his soft sword, and the sword energy instantly stirred up a gust of wind. Yin Quan was shocked. Qin Nian used eight-tenths of his strength in his first move. He really didn't know how to be gentle with women. "First move: Dragon Soars Out of the Sea".

Zhiyun slid behind Qin Nian, her long whip coiling around Qin Nian's arm like a serpent. "Serpent Emerges from Cave." As expected of a disciple of the three major sects, every move was exquisite. Yin Quan watched intently, muttering to himself, his brows furrowed.

Qiu Ran, standing to the side, dared not be careless either, her eyes practically popping out of their sockets. Qin Nian shook her arms, knocking Zhiyun's whip away, and her body shot straight for Zhiyun's neck like an arrow, her speed astonishing. Zhiyun immediately got up and quickly dodged backward.

"Throat-locking sword." Zhiyun intended to use her whip to block in front of her chest, but unexpectedly Qin Nian's sword tip deflected, and she took a step to circle behind Zhiyun, launching a surprise attack. Zhiyun did not expect that Qin Nian's previous move was a Xu Huang attack, and by the time she reacted...

The long whip had been stepped on by Qin Nian, and the tip of the sword was right up to her brow. If Qin Nian had acted any faster, Zhiyun would probably have died by his sword. Qin Nian's thin lips uttered softly, and his voice echoed faintly in the closed stone chamber.

"The final move, the Returning Cloud Sword."

Qin Nian defeated Zhiyun in just three moves, which immediately shocked everyone. Ten years ago, Qin Nian's skill was far from reaching such a high level. Now, there is probably no one in the world who can rival him. Zhiyun said to Piaomiao apologetically.

“Grandmaster, I’m sorry. I haven’t been lazy all these years, it’s just… just now…” Piaomiao waved her hand. “It’s not your fault. Your senior brother Qin Nian is indeed a genius of the past few centuries. The last time I saw someone with such talent was five hundred years ago. It’s not shameful for you to lose. Now it seems that senior brother Kuang Zhi is indeed a good teacher. We should learn more from him.”

Zhiyun only dared to raise her face after seeing that Piaomiao didn't blame her. She stole a glance at Qin Nian, but Qin Nian didn't even look at her and went straight back to Yin Quan's side. Piaomiao turned to Yin Quan and said, "The outcome is decided, but I haven't seen that martial arts debate you mentioned. Tell me, how was the debate conducted?"

Yin Quan stepped forward and stood in the center of the arena, saying to Qiu Ran, "Now it's up to Qiu Ran and me. Although Senior Sister Qiu Ran was defeated by Senior Brother Qin just now, if you can counter Senior Brother Qin's moves, we can have a debate. If you win, you'll have the chance to fight Senior Brother Qin again."

Qiu Ran frowned and pondered for a moment, "Brother Qin's second move, the Throat-Locking Sword, was just a feint. If Zhiyun had dodged to the left just now and used our Jade Qiong Mountain's Nine Whip Shadows to confuse Brother Qin, we might have had a chance of winning."

Yin Quan closed her eyes and pondered for a moment before saying, "Wrong. You said to let Zhiyun dodge from the left, but do you know that in Senior Brother Qin's move just now, there was a sword net woven from thirty-eight sword energies on the left? So it's impossible for Zhiyun to pass through there. Does Senior Sister Qiu Ran have any other moves to counter it?"

The moment Yin Quan uttered her words, everyone present was shocked. They had initially thought that Yin Quan's idea was because she herself did not know martial arts and wanted to take advantage of Qin Nian's strength to win. However, Yin Quan's analysis was so insightful that everyone was quite impressed.

Qiu Ran no longer dared to underestimate Yin Quan. After thinking carefully, she said, "We can also leap directly over Senior Brother Qin's head from above, then use the Dragon Subduing Whip to entangle his soft sword, turn around and whip again with the Life-Taking Whip, which can directly lock Senior Brother Qin's throat."

Yin Quan closed his eyes again, pondered for a moment, and said, "That's also true. When you leap over Senior Brother Qin's head, his next move, Lingfeng Sword, can still directly target Zhiyun's chest, because Zhiyun's whip strikes twice, while Senior Brother Qin only needs one strike to strike with his sword."

This time, Qiu Ran was speechless with surprise. Zhi Yun, who was standing to the side, was also stunned. However, she knew Yin Quan best; she really didn't know any martial arts. "Yin Quan...you weren't switched with someone else, were you?" Yin Quan rolled her eyes at her. "Please, can I be the real deal?"

"Moreover, through Zhiyun's whip technique, I just saw the biggest drawback of your Jade Qiong Mountain. The whip technique is complicated, but it's all just for show and not very useful. It's not as good as Senior Brother Qin's moves, which are simple but go straight for the vital points."

Even Du Piaomiao clapped his hands and cheered, "As expected of a disciple of the Tianji Sect. This girl doesn't know martial arts, yet she can speak so reasonably. I think she will surely achieve great things in the future. Congratulations to Senior Brother for gaining another capable disciple." Kuang Zhi's gaze towards Yin Quan was unfathomable.

A faint smile appeared on his lips. He had underestimated the girl's comprehension ability. It turned out that she had asked him about the weaknesses of various martial arts sects in the cave in order to deal with this situation. She had simply repeated his words verbatim, but he hadn't expected that she would actually fool them.

Kuang Zhi didn't expose Yin Quan. Yin Quan looked at Qiu Ran and said, "I wonder if Qiu Ran has noticed any problems with the martial arts of our Tianji Sect? Our true purpose is to improve together. We must discuss any problems we encounter." Qiu Ran thought for a long time and finally shook her head in resignation.

"We are truly inferior to him. I simply cannot find any flaws in Senior Brother Qin Nian's skills. Moreover, the martial arts of the Heavenly Mystery Sect are profound and beyond our comprehension." Qiu Ran spoke very modestly, which made Yin Quan, who had cheated, feel somewhat embarrassed. However, for Xiahou Ying's sake, she had to win. She had to ask that question herself.

"Grandmaster Piaomiao is too kind." Piaomiao laughed heartily. "Our Jade Qiong Mountain is inferior in skill, and we are willing to accept defeat. Zhiyun and Qiuran, you two should go back and consult with Tianji Sect. Just as Yin Quan said, your progress requires guidance from others. I expect you to make outstanding progress like Qin Nian in the next ten years."

The two bowed respectfully, "We will follow the teachings of our master." Kong Qi curled his lips, "What do you mean by inferior skills? I think you're trying to let me win, junior sister. I don't see how good this little monkey is. He's just good at talking. Let her go up and show us what he's capable of."

Yin Quan looked at Kong Qi with a smile and said, "Grandmaster, what you said is not right. A person who can teach opera does not necessarily have to know how to sing opera. A teacher's role is to guide, not to be their sparring partner."

Kong Qi's face flushed slightly at her words. Over the centuries, every batch of disciples who came in had been extremely respectful to their three grandmasters. Yet this woman was so audacious and outspoken. He wondered if Xuan Qingzi had deliberately come to provoke him.

“I… I can’t say anything more to you.” Piaomiao chuckled. “Why should Senior Brother bother with a disciple? But what she said makes sense. My disciples have always been less skilled than others. However, Guofeng and Liaoran are different. They are both good talents with courage and wisdom. Senior Brother doesn’t need to worry.”

Kong Qi looked at the two and said, "You must not be careless. You must teach this arrogant woman a lesson." The two clasped their fists and said, "Your disciples will certainly not fail your master's orders." The two stepped forward, with Guo Feng leading the way. In terms of martial arts, Guo Feng was indeed slightly better, but in terms of wisdom, Liao Ran was far superior to Guo Feng.

Guo Feng said to Qin Nian, "Please enlighten me, Senior Brother Qin." This time, before Qin Nian could make a move, Guo Feng struck first. Qing Liao Xuanji cultivated pure internal energy and had no weapon. Guo Feng's palms, carrying a gust of wind, aimed directly at Qin Nian's face. "Watch my Mountain-Pushing Palm!" Qin Nian didn't use his soft sword either. He shifted his feet and in the next second, he was behind Guo Feng. He joined his index and middle fingers together and shot out a sword aura, aiming straight at the back of Guo Feng's neck. "Six-Finger Sword."

As if he had eyes in the back of his head, Guo Feng saw the sword energy about to strike and suddenly turned around, slapping the sword energy with both palms, which dissipated it. With a stomp of his feet, Yin Quan felt the earth tremble. He drew a semi-circle in the air with both palms and a strong force attacked Qin Nian.

"Behold my Earth-Splitting Palm!" This palm strike was incredibly powerful. The moment Qin Nian dodged, the stone wall behind her was instantly shattered. Yin Quan swallowed hard. Luckily, it wasn't her who went in, or she probably would have been dead and her body wouldn't even be found. This wasn't a friendly spar; it was practically a death game.

Just as Guo Feng withdrew his palm, Qin Nian lightly touched the ground with his feet, his body soaring up like a wild goose. He used the momentum from Guo Feng's knee to spin around, and his sword energy arced towards Guo Feng. Guo Feng hurriedly lifted his foot and leaped away, but as soon as he landed, he felt a chill on his neck. He saw that Qin Nian's fingers were half an inch in front of Guo Feng's throat, and a strand of hair by Guo Feng's ear fluttered to the ground. This time, Qin Nian shocked everyone once again.

Guo Feng looked at everything before him, seemingly unable to believe it. "No... impossible... how could you defeat me in just three moves?" Qin Nian stopped and said calmly, "The last two moves were 'Ten Thousand Swords Unsheathed' and 'Straight to the Yellow Dragon.'" After saying that, she returned to Yin Quan's back, as if she didn't care about anything anymore.

Yin Quan swaggered forward as usual. Liao Ran patted Guo Feng on the shoulder, "Don't worry, senior brother. Watch how I defeat this woman and win you another chance." Guo Feng looked up at Liao Ran with a complicated expression. He didn't say anything and walked to the back with his head down.

Liao Ran stared intently into Yin Quan's eyes, the tension between them palpable. Yin Quan looked at him for a moment, then suddenly blinked. "Alright, you win. Not blinking for so long can make you go blind, you know." These words immediately deflated Liao Ran's previously aggressive demeanor.

Liao Ran spoke first, "I know where Senior Brother Qin's weakness was just now." Yin Quan raised an eyebrow, "Oh?" Liao Ran slightly raised her chin and said, "Senior Brother's Earth-Splitting Palm was incredibly powerful. To avoid it, Senior Brother Qin flew into the air, but that was his weakness. His weakness was in his lower body. In order to prepare for the Thousand Swords Unsheathed, he concentrated his defense on his upper body and had no time to pay attention to his lower body. Junior Sister Yin Quan, am I right?"