The Three Realms Thief Chapter 77

Xu Yuan strode into the gymnasium, searching, and found his homeroom teacher Liu Mingdao in the stands on the left.

“Teacher, I’m here.”

Xu Yuan waved and called out.

Liu Mingdao was anxiously discussing something with several teachers. When he saw Xu Yuan, his eyes lit up, and he quickly said,

“Opposite us is the excellent representative team from the third year of high school in Xiaoxiang Province. They’re here to visit our Jiangbei City – all of them have been admitted to Nine Luminaries in the early admissions round.

Admitted to Nine Luminaries.

Nine Luminaries…

“Did it just start?” Xu Yuan asked.

“It started at 2 o’clock, but we couldn’t get in touch with you,” Liu Mingdao said.

Xu Yuan looked at the arena.

He saw a somewhat familiar face just being knocked back, falling to the ground.

It was a classmate from their grade who had awakened the sense of qi.

He seemed to be one of the top students in their grade.

As soon as this student fell to the ground, he immediately sprang up and charged at his opponent again with his sword.

However, his opponent was a handsome young man who showed no panic at all. He raised his hand and struck with a sword.

“Excellent swordsmanship.”

Xu Yuan blurted out.

That sword strike not only had exquisite moves, directly blocking the opponent’s attack, but also used the power released by the sword move to instantly knock the opponent’s longsword away, sending the person flying backward and rolling to the ground.

“You yield,” the handsome young man said with a smile.

He rolled up his sleeves, holding a longsword, its blade filled with a thick, earthy yellow light.

Earth Spirit?

The Earth Spirit can multiply strength several times, hence it’s called “Earth Power.” In a clash of moves, the opponent simply couldn’t withstand it.

That’s why a single sword strike defeated the opponent.

Besides the spiritual power attribute, the handsome young man’s swordsmanship was also very strong.

Fighting such a cultivator was thorny.

“Xiaoxiang representative team, Zhang Pengcheng, wins!”

The referee announced.

The young man named Zhang Pengcheng shook his head upon hearing this and said, “It’s boring. I’ll take a break.”

After speaking, he ignored the team leader’s opinion and jumped straight off the stage, walking to the side to rest.

Xu Yuan noticed that on the Xiaoxiang representative team’s side, neither the teachers nor the students said anything to him.

“This Zhang Pengcheng has won five consecutive matches. Even according to the rules, he should have gone down to rest a long time ago,” Liu Mingdao said unhappily.

“What about before him? How did the others perform?” Xu Yuan asked.

“You know Yang Xiaobing, right? She won two consecutive matches. Other than that, we haven’t had any consecutive wins,” Liu Mingdao said.

“They’re really strong,” Xu Yuan sighed.

Where was Yang Xiaobing?

Xu Yuan’s gaze shifted, and he found her in the last row of the right-side stands.

She was lowering her head, looking weary, silently regulating her breathing.

Xu Yuan looked at her for a few moments, feeling that this girl had become even more beautiful lately.

She was as clear as water.

Unforgettable.

He wondered how many people she was the moonlit adoration of during their youth.

At this moment, a teacher quickly walked over and asked Yang Xiaobing in a low voice.

Yang Xiaobing sighed, propped herself up with her hand, and silently stood up.

Xu Yuan immediately spoke, “Teacher, can I go up for a sparring match?”

“The opponent is strong, but don’t feel pressured. The focus of this is on exchange and learning. Just do your best,” Liu Mingdao said.

Don’t feel pressured?

Focus on exchange and learning?

Xu Yuan smiled.

In a trance, it was as if he had returned to the past.

Someone whispered in his ear, “Xu Yuan, give them a hard time.”

“Exactly, they’ve only won a few rounds against us and they’re already so arrogant, daring to say they’ll sweep these little brats. You have to take them down.” Another voice said.

“But don’t feel pressured, just play well, you can do it.”

What did he say then?

“Okay, then I’ll go.”

In his previous life, on Earth.

During high school.

At that time, he had just embarked on the path of competitive gaming.

His classmates encountered opponents at an internet cafe and called him to help.

They won exhilaratingly that time, everyone was very happy, and he had meals bought for him for a month straight, without spending a single cent.

What a wonderful yet tough high school life.

Only this time…

It was still high school.

But the speaker had changed to a teacher.

“Teacher Liu, I’m a bit unsure about the limits of the fight,” Xu Yuan coughed lightly. “Tell me, how do you want me to fight?”

Liu Mingdao looked left and right, then lowered his voice, “Don’t turn it into a friendly match—they’re very arrogant, they’ve given us absolutely no face here—you have dual Gold and Dark spiritual roots, and you’re skilled in the Flying Swallow Chain. Even Jiang Xueyao can only tie with you!”

He hesitated for a moment, then finally said, “Fight well, give them a real thrashing.”

Xu Yuan’s eyes narrowed, and the corner of his mouth curved slightly.

“—Alright, then I’m going up.”

“Mm!”

Liu Mingdao waved at the rostrum.

“Next,” the host, quick-witted, immediately said, “The student from Jiangbei Fifth Middle School is about to make their appearance.”

Xu Yuan jumped down from the stands, slowly walked onto the arena stage on the wooden floor, and glanced towards Yang Xiaobing.

He saw Yang Xiaobing looking his way, with some joy and also some worry on her face.

She mouthed a word silently.

By reading her lips, it should be “Be careful.”

Xu Yuan nodded slightly.

3:00 PM.

A line of faint glowing characters suddenly appeared: “Great Hero’s First Battle, Dead End – Match Start!”

The small characters flashed and disappeared.

The Xiaoxiang team sent a female student onto the stage.

Xu Yuan smiled, cupped his hands to the girl opposite him, and said, “Xu Yuan.”

“Oh.”

The girl, with pigtails and wearing steel gauntlets, stuck out her tongue and said, “I haven’t even warmed up yet—your previous classmates were too weak. I hope you can last a few more moves.”

A commotion arose in the audience.

Her words implied, “You should at least last until I’m warmed up before you lose.”

Naturally, this sounded very arrogant.

But no one from the school side complained or refuted it.

—The losses before had been too devastating.

The leaders sitting in the front rows looked displeased.

The students, parents, and cultivators from various units sitting in the back rows seemed to be enjoying the commotion.

This kind of battle was somewhat like a league between cities.

People from each city would cheer for their city’s team.

However—

This time, it was Jiangbei City against Xiaoxiang Province.

One city against one province.

The arrangement was oddly peculiar.

Yet, no one raised any questions.

Because for experts of their caliber, coming even once was already a great favor.

Moreover, this competition could help local students broaden their horizons and learn about the latest combat techniques and frontier knowledge.

It was an excellent event!

“I’ll do my best, please.”

Xu Yuan said sincerely.

The girl lightly tapped her feet, and her figure flashed, rushing towards Xu Yuan.

Frost erupted on her fists, condensing into sharp short blades.

—Ice Spirit enhancement!

At least at the third level of Qi Refining!

Xu Yuan drew his sword to meet her, blocking her gauntlet with the blade, then expertly flicked his wrist, batting away her other incoming punch. Suddenly, he lunged forward, pressing the flat of his sword against the girl’s neck, forcing her, who had just jumped up, back to her original spot.

The speed was too fast.

Many people didn’t see clearly, only seeing the girl冲 forward and jump up, but he advanced with his sword, pressed it against her neck, moved quickly for a few steps, and then pressed her back to her original spot, where she stood motionless.

The girl’s eyes widened, somewhat unable to react.

The entire venue fell silent.

Some students didn’t even realize what had happened.

The teachers from the Xiaoxiang team exchanged glances and nodded.

“Good, now this is a true master.”

“Finally, someone worth watching.”

“Yes.”

In fact—

If this were a real life-or-death battle, that sword strike would have already slit her throat.

“You yield.”

Xu Yuan said calmly, holding the sword in one hand.

The girl was stunned for quite a while.

—She hadn’t even unleashed an attack, and she had already lost?

What happened?

“The winner—Jiangbei Fifth Middle School, Xu Yuan!”

The host announced.

The girl had no choice but to walk off the stage, occasionally looking back at Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan stood on the stage, his eyes lowered, silently sheathing his sword, adjusting his breath, and resting briefly.

Clang.

A light above his head suddenly lit up.

Someone hit the buzz.

Clang! Clang!

Another light lit up hesitantly.

It was like back in the day when I first joined the club, facing many talented individuals.

“Xu Yuan? A newcomer?”

“The club has truly fallen, recruiting just anyone.”

Noise was just noise.

When you focus on the path ahead, everything else is but a flickering shadow, and your goal is the sea of stars.

Xu Yuan lowered his eyes as if closed, not even looking at the buzzing lights, just waiting quietly for his next opponent.

The several students from the Xiaoxiang team discussed amongst themselves.

One of them stepped out, lightly leaped, and landed on the arena stage.

—It was a burly male student with a buzz cut.

He held a two-meter-long giant axe, his muscles bulging, and his eyes fierce.

“I don’t like using swords. Too light, too feminine.”

The male student tried to provoke him.

Xu Yuan did not speak.

His eyes were slightly closed, showing no emotion, like a wooden figure, motionless.

“Start!”

The host announced.

Seeing no reaction from him, the burly male student simply charged forward.

The distance between them gradually closed.

In an instant.

Xu Yuan drew his Qiongxia Sword, tapped it against the giant axe, and used the force to thrust forward slightly.

Clang!

The sword and the person both retreated simultaneously, landing seven or eight meters away.

“You yield,” he said calmly.

The burly male student froze in place, slowly lowered his axe, and wiped his throat with his hand.

Blood.

Fresh red blood on his hand.

But it didn’t hurt much.

His skin was broken.

That sword strike just now, did he hit his own throat?

What happened?

I just made my first move, how did he already strike me?

Xu Yuan was no longer looking at him, only at the sword in his hand.

In his ears, applause and cheers seemed to echo, intertwining his past and present, and the bursting lights above were even more like the dazzling stadium lights of his past life.

So many people and events, fleeting in an instant.

The illusory sword became real.

How I wish you all from the past could see me this time.

This was the reality we could only see in the virtual world, the world we dreamed of and longed to roam.

Now.

I’m competing here.

How I wish you all could come see it just once.

Xu Yuan gently tightened his grip on the sword, his lips pressed into a thin line.

In the stands opposite.

A white-haired teacher suddenly spoke, “Jiangbei was indeed worth coming to.”

“Teacher—what kind of swordsmanship is that?” The twin-tailed girl who had just lost asked, unwilling to accept defeat.

“It’s the first form of the Yan Song Sword Art, Leaffall,” the white-haired elder said.

“It must have been a full-power strike,” another young teacher added.

“Now you’ve all witnessed it. It’s good to broaden your experience and perspective, instead of being conceited all the time,” the white-haired elder continued.

The young teacher also nodded.

“I don’t even know—why was he suddenly pressing his sword against my throat, Teacher?” the twin-tailed girl asked again.

“Because he did something when you made your move,” the young teacher said.

“What?” the twin-tailed girl asked.

“He anticipated that you would jump next, so he directly blocked that position. As soon as you jumped, he pressed you down with his sword, neither too early nor too late.”

The white-haired elder said.

“Precognition? Just precognition?” The twin-tailed girl was incredulous.

“Yes,” the white-haired elder said, “He didn’t even use spiritual power.”