Phoniex Requiem
Chapter 74: So That's the Case

Chapter 74: So That's the Case

The rest of the energy from the clash of sword qi caused the flowers around Rong Yuehong and Yun Ruoyan to rain down on them. The spectators closest to the two of them also had their hair and robes disheveled as a result of the clashes.

"Qi strong sword !" Someone praised.

“Did they really fight? Isn't most of the duel at the party seeing this flower not physical?”

"You fool!" Excite others. “Can't you say it? Both of them clearly have a grudge against each other. They both had to be students of Kongming Academy, being so arrogant as to fight to the death here!”

In the Chenyuan continent, the student status of Kongming Academy was unrivalled. Even if a student killed someone, Kongming Academy was the only entity that could punish them, and in Kongming Academy, power was law.

This was why Rong Yuehong dared to announce his intention to kill Yun Ruoyan, and Yun Ruoyan herself would naturally not hold back.

When the two of them started clashing, Rong Yuehong discovered that he was indeed underestimating his opponent. Surprised, he realized that Yun Ruoyan's spiritual energy was no weaker than his own.

Since he thought that Yun Ruoyan was only a tier four swordsman, he had only used the spiritual energy of a tier five swordsman. Against the fourth rank, that was more than enough!

However, Yun Ruoyan's ability surpassed Rong Yuehong's expectations. The fifth level spiritual energy imbued in his willow branch was blocked by an equally powerful spiritual energy from the flower stalk of Yun Ruoyan.

What's problem? Wasn't he just a rank four blademaster? Rong Yuehong turned her head towards Yun Ruoyao confusedly, but the last girl looked just as confused as she was.

At first, Yun Ruoyao even thought that Rong Yuehong was deliberately pretending to be weaker than she actually was in order to suppress her progressively. It was a common tactic often used by the strong against the weak. However, the desperate gaze that Rong Yuehong shot at her made her feel as if something was amiss once again.

In his shock, Rong Yuehong hurriedly increased his spiritual energy from the initial level of rank five to the peak of rank five.

Similarly, Yun Ruoyan increased her own level of spiritual energy.

Rong Yuehong's relaxed face quickly turned anxious, then frightened. By the time he started using the sixth level spiritual energy completely, his face had turned a pale color.

On the other hand, even though Yun Ruoyan looked ugly, her face remained expressionless, not even caring. This unexpected event left the crowd, who were hoping to laugh at Yun Ruoyan's quick defeat, puzzled.

"What's the problem? Isn't second princess Yun weak? How could he continue to face the eldest daughter of the Rong family for such a long time?”

"really? During their first match, didn't this ugly girl lose on the spot? Where did his spiritual energy come from now?”

“Except... unless he hides his true ability all this time?!” Someone finally got the truth.

Following this comment, the crowd gasped. That was the only reasonable explanation for this kind of scene, but why?! Why was this ugly girl trying to hide her own talent, rather than flaunt it like the others?!

Even Li Qianhan stuck out his neck to take a better look at the duel. He was a little surprised, and a little excited.

"Who thinks, who counts?" He turned towards Li Mo. “This ugly girl is stronger than I thought! Isn't he a surprise?”

"Hmmm!" Li Mo snorted and said wryly, “He will give you more surprises!”

“What do you mean, Uncle?” Li Qianhan asked curiously. There seemed to be a deeper meaning behind his uncle's words, but he really did not understand what it was.

But Li Mo just lowered his head and continued to drink, not talking or even seeing the duel that was going on.

The emperor and empress heard the discussion before they even entered the garden, and they could not help but frown.

One of the eunuchs guarding the entrance of the garden saw the emperor, Li Xiu, and his empress approaching. He was about to announce their presence loudly when the emperor gestured at him from afar, only then did he close his gaping mouth and bow obediently.

Li Xiu was a bit skinny. He was middle-aged, about forty years old, with a pale face and a long beard. He was dressed luxuriously in purple and gold, and a golden crown adorned his head. His almond-shaped eyes sometimes looked shiny.

As he gestured to the eunuch, he raised his head and observed what was going on in the inner garden.

The inner garden was where the rarest and most unusual plants and plants were cultivated, as well as where the imperial family would host high-ranking officials as well as distinguished guests. There are often tea parties and flower viewing parties inside the garden. To make it stand out, the walls that surround the garden are not made of bricks, but rather vines that propagate.

Passing through the vines, Li Xiu could see the leaves and flowers being thrown into the air by the waves of spiritual energy. He could not help but stroke his beard and turn towards the empress. “It looks like there are some pretty good seeds in the group this year. The impatient also.”

“Whose family are they from? Don't they know that combat duels aren't frowned upon here?” The empress was still frowning.

Li Xiu smiled gently as he stepped into the garden with him behind him.

The crowd's attention was on Yun Ruoyan and Rong Yuehong, and for now, no one realized that the emperor and empress they were waiting for had arrived.

The empress frowned deeper as she looked at the two girls. He would raise his voice in displeasure when Li Xiu shook his head at him.

Only then did he close his mouth, his gaze still fixed on the offending girls.

Fighting rages.

Just as Rong Yuehong looked as if he could not handle the fight any longer, Yun Ruoyan would lower her output of spiritual energy, giving her opponent some breathing room.

But when Rong Yuehong took the opportunity to launch a counterattack, thinking that his opponent was also weakening, Yun Ruoyan's spiritual energy would flare up once again and destroy his opponent's dream.

"Yun Ruoyan, you .. you're playing around with me!" Shouted Rong Yuehong as his face turned pale once again.

"Hhhh!" Yun Ruoyan smiled. “Why did I do that? I'm not boring like you.”

"You ... Aren't you going to admit it?" Rong Yuehong continued to speak arrogantly, despite losing the battle. “You pretended to be weak and hid your strength so I lowered my guard. But now that you've cancelled his actions, aren't you going to admit that you did it on purpose so that I'll lose face in front of everyone? You're despicable!”

Yun Ruoyan could not help but laugh. Does this girl think the whole world revolves around her? Today, Yun Ruoyan was going to show him what 'flamable' it really was!

He smiled cruelly. The spider-like birthmarks on his face accentuated his face, making them look even more frightening and sinister. “Are you unaware of what kind of situation you are in? I'm not messing with you, I'm destroying you! I might even kill you!”

"You .. You dare!" Only then did Rong Yuehong start to feel fear. Even though he kept talking about killing Yun Ruoyan, he never attributed death to himself, as he was always on the winning side. "This ... palace, and my aunt .. is the empress herself ... Don't you know ?!" Rong Yuehong was so tense that even speaking was an attempt. Nevertheless, he was arrogant as usual.

Yun Ruoyan withdrew some of her spiritual energy so that she could finish her words at once.

Sensing the pressure disappearing, Rong Yuehong thought that his words had frightened Yun Ruoyan. “The Yun family will be in big trouble if you hurt me, let alone kill me.” He stood up straight and continued, “Three years ago, when you hurt you badly, your father took you out of your family's academy to settle my family's anger. Otherwise, how could he accept my father's praise? Today, if you hurt me again, I will make sure you won't get a place in the Yun family!”

Yun Ruoyan finally looked agitated. You mean the reason I got kicked out of my family's academy three years ago is because of you?

Memories he never forgot but never tried to revive swarm back into his mind.

During his last match in the academy, he lost to Yun Ruoyu and Yun Ruoyao, who had never before been able to defeat him. As she lay exhausted on stage, blood dripped from one corner of her mouth, Yun Lan told her coldly, “Yan'er, I am very disappointed in you. In these last six months, you've gotten worse.”

“I've never seen a situation like this before. If your cultivation regresses at an early age, it is likely that you will never be able to improve again."

"That's right! The family academy is supposed to cultivate talent, not collect useless trash.”

As soon as Yun Lan spoke, so did the other descendants from their families and instructors.

“It is widely known that childhood potential does not necessarily translate into young talent, but I did not expect this to happen to you, Yan'er. In the future, do not return to the academy.”

Yun Lan left after these icy cold words, leaving Yun Ruoyan lying helplessly on the stage, shivering as she endured the ridicule and commotion of the audience.

He had always thought that the reason he was forced out of the academy was because his cultivation had decreased. For a long period of time, he kept wondering why he was expelled despite his status in the family. Even if his cultivation slowly regressed, he still did better than quite a number of underprivileged students from the branch family.

But as time went on, he gradually accepted this reason without questioning it further. Who would have known that this was the reason?

It seemed to be pointless for Yun Lan to sacrifice even her own daughter for the sake of progress.

"By good? Are you scared?" Sensing that Yun Ruoyan was attacking him getting weaker, Rong Yuehong once again raised his arrogant jaw. "I advise you to stop now, or—!"

Before Rong Yuehong finished speaking, he sprayed out a mouthful of blood, and his entire body was swept off the stage by a powerful gust of spiritual energy.

"Hong'er!" In the corner of the stage, the empress shouted at Yun Ruoyan. “How dare you hurt Hong'erku!”