Chapter 162: Secret Assistance

Seeing Dugu Meng like this, coupled with her temperament, she was bound to pull out that bizarre move. Xia Wuyan thought to himself, wanting to see how the old man, though not acting of his own volition, would manage to break that move while controlling Gong Shaoling's body. Standing by the high platform, this thought naturally arose in his mind. To be honest, regarding the incident from the previous night, although he had figured out some of the principles involved, on the one hand he could not fully see through it, and on the other hand, he lacked any effective countermeasures. Now, having such a rare and wonderful opportunity, he certainly could not let it pass in vain. According to Dao Tianfeng's earlier words, he and the old man Dugu should be evenly matched, so surely the old man could not be helpless against a mere young girl like this.

And he had guessed correctly. With Gong Shaoling suddenly launching such a move, how could Dugu Meng know that someone was secretly assisting her? For a moment, she really could not fathom the true extent of her opponent's capabilities. Yet one thing was certain: since the opponent had recovered, attempting to rely on the previous method would likely yield little effect. The plan to subdue the enemy within ten moves was doomed to fail. What needed to be done now was to find a way to win, otherwise she would become a laughingstock, much like Shen Wansan. Even though the Lotus Heart Technique was extremely perilous, she had no other choice.

Gritting her teeth, she quickly made up her mind. As her long sleeves retracted and extended, the spiritual energy swirling around her suddenly intensified significantly. Accompanied by the sweeping motion of her sleeves, a surge of fierce aura rushed forth like a howling gale, exerting a pressure even more palpable than that of the previous night's clash. Not only the high platform, but the surrounding area as well could clearly sense the presence of her spiritual energy. It was evident that this time, Dugu Meng was truly going all out. Of course, this was quite understandable. After all, Xia Wuyan was a rare talent among the young generation of the pugilistic world. To put it bluntly, ever since the fall of Shen Wansan, he could be considered the foremost figure after Dao Tianfeng. Fighting to a draw with such a person, or even losing to him, would not result in too much loss of face. However, facing Gong Shaoling was an entirely different matter. Although she had the backing of the East China Sect, she was essentially a nobody, especially since Dugu Meng herself had previously boasted grandly.

If the spectators beneath the stage could sense it, Gong Shaoling upon the stage felt it even more acutely. At this moment, she was like a boat caught amidst surging waves, bobbing up and down with the swelling spiritual energy of her opponent. Even though she had completely restrained her own spiritual energy, she inevitably found herself affected, instinctively wanting to react. Although she struggled fiercely in her heart, trying to warn herself to suppress such impulses, doing so remained exceedingly difficult. While she might maintain composure in her torso, her limbs could not entirely suppress a slight tremor.

Dugu Meng had no intention of waiting. For her, ending the match as early as possible was naturally the most desirable outcome. She understood well that while the Lotus Heart Technique was wondrous beyond compare, the accompanying risks were far beyond those of ordinary martial arts. The longer the drag, the greater the consumption of physical energy, and as time passed, that rate of consumption would only accelerate. Once it reached the limit of human control, it would spiral completely out of control. By then, attempting to stop would be utterly impossible. Ultimately, her vital energy would be completely exhausted, leaving her crippled if not dead.

Therefore, her speed was blindingly fast, aiming for a swift and decisive victory. Her already ethereal movement arts became even more agile now, creating a series of lingering afterimages in her wake as she shifted her position. With her flowing robes fluttering, it was dazzlingly disorienting. After just a few turns, only her overlapping reflections remained visible across the entire stage, making it impossible to distinguish the real from the fake. This spectacle chilled Ye Hanguang to the bone; if it were him, let alone parrying, even his very eyes would have been hopelessly dizzying. At this thought, his hard-won composure vanished, and he could not help but secretly worry for Gong Shaoling once more!

"Close your eyes and feel carefully. What can you sense?" That aged yet familiar voice sounded once again by Gong Shaoling's ear. Had she been left to her own devices, she would certainly have been at a loss as to how to cope. Since she was powerless, she might as well simply let go and follow Dao Tianfeng's instructions. Slowly, she closed her eyes, centering her mind in the quiet darkness. When a person loses their sight, their other senses become exceptionally acute. At that instant, Gong Shaoling felt a current of air continuously circulating around her, not only brushing against her skin but even carrying the faint sound of rushing wind.

Even the most formidable martial art has its own weakness! This sentence flashed suddenly across her mind. It was the opening line of the East China Sect's sword manual, originally intended to remind disciples that no matter how supreme the skill or profound the cultivation, one must never grow overly arrogant and complacent—there is always someone better. Ever since she began practicing martial arts, she had never truly understood this phrase, always dismissing it as empty words. Never did she imagine that under such circumstances today, she would comprehend its meaning so thoroughly. Indeed, Dugu Meng's move, whether in spiritual energy or movement arts, was fiercely powerful and ethereal, leaving one clueless about how to parry, especially with those overwhelming illusions leaving nowhere to apply force. Yet these were merely illusions. When you close your eyes and stop looking, perceiving instead through other means, you can clearly trace the trajectory of her movements. No matter how many illusions there are, there is ultimately only one real person. Once this is grasped, breaking the technique may no longer be an impossible task.

Yet even so, if the disparity in strength is too vast, it remains beyond one's ability to handle. As she pondered countermeasures in her mind, her long sword pointed diagonally outward in a straight line, without any fancy variations, and deviating significantly from the trajectory direction she could sense. No matter how she reasoned, she would never have thrust the sword out in such a manner. In martial arts, if a move is too simple or extended too far, it inevitably exposes flaws and leaves openings for the adversary. For a novice just stepping into the martial world to make such a move would be normal, but what kind of person was Dao Tianfeng? How could his guidance be so crude and shallow?

In the blink of an eye, however, Gong Shaoling realized how terribly mistaken her assumption had been. Strangely enough, the moment her long sword reached a certain position, Dugu Meng's figure seemed to have already anticipated it, crashing relentlessly right into the blade. Naturally, while the precision of the sword thrust was high, its speed was not particularly fast, allowing Dugu Meng's agile frame ample time to react. Yet no matter how she changed her offensive maneuvers, the long sword seemed to possess eyes, always blocking her path at the next juncture before she could even complete her turn, forcibly compelling her to abandon her original move.

"This girl's martial arts cannot possibly have reached such a refined level. If her East China Sect possessed such capability, Shao Donghua back in the day could have dealt with Shui Linglong single-handedly; why would he need to join forces with the other three, let alone rank at the bottom of the Four Masters? Furthermore, my moves involve numerous variables that are hard to predict, and even my father cannot easily crack them. Yet she managed to anticipate my next position with every single sword strike while keeping her eyes closed, executing them with absolute precision and without a single redundant movement?" Dugu Meng was hardly a fool; describing her as ice-smart and snow-clever would not be an exaggeration. After only about ten moves or so, doubts began to brew in her mind. Though her body kept moving, her mind raced through careful analysis: "Unless someone is secretly assisting her!"

With this conclusion, sudden enlightenment dawned upon her. All the abnormal changes seemed to have begun from that single move at the edge of the high platform. From that moment onward, every detail appeared drastically different from before. Techniques involving taking objects from a distance were within her repertoire, and executing them with small objects might be feasible, but controlling a living person was utterly impossible. In other words, if someone were truly assisting from the shadows, that person's martial cultivation must far surpass her own, and crucially, they could not be too far from the high platform, otherwise achieving this would be completely out of the question. Synthesizing all these factors, the only person she could think of was him. With a sudden halt in her momentum, she whirled away, leaping back several paces. As she slowed her steps, her gaze naturally drifted toward where Dao Tianfeng sat.

At this glance, her suspicion seemed instantly confirmed. Although Dao Tianfeng's head remained erect and his gaze was fixed toward the high platform, his eyes lacked the brilliant sheen typical of a living person. Evidently, his focus was not upon himself. This scene, overlapping with her deduction, could hardly be dismissed as mere coincidence. Dugu Meng had already made up her mind. Though she did not understand the underlying reasons, one outcome was crystal clear in her mind: "If it truly is this old ghost Dao secretly helping from behind, given his ability yesterday to separate Xia Wuyan and me with a single move, winning against this girl is clearly out of the question.既然如此,我又何必再为了这浪费自己的灵力呢?罢了,不急着撕破脸,就让你占一次上风,接下来我倒要看看,这老鬼到底想要做些什么？" (In that case, why should I continue wasting my spiritual energy on this? Fine, I won't rush to break our civility; I'll let you take the upper hand this once. Next, I want to see precisely what this old ghost is scheming!)