Chapter 460

Chapter 460: Li Lei Hu’s Defeat

In the duel area marked by the grape, Li Lei Hu and Bai Xuan faced each other, their eyes locked.

"It seems you have a bias against us inner sect disciples," Li Lei Hu said, frowning. He could sense Bai Xuan’s discomfort at the mention of inner sect disciples.

"I can’t deny that I have this bias," Bai Xuan admitted.

Around him, one hundred thirty-six Spiritual Swords floated, forming an intricate sword formation that hovered protectively.

"Why?" Li Lei Hu asked.

"Maybe it’s jealousy," Bai Xuan said frankly, not hiding his feelings.

He made it clear to everyone that his goal was to enter the inner sect.

"Our teacher told us there’s not much difference in treatment between inner and outer disciples. Why are you so fixated on this?" Li Lei Hu asked, puzzled.

Bai Xuan shook his head at Li Lei Hu’s words. "We’re not kids anymore. Let’s fight!"

With that, the hundred thirty-six Spiritual Swords merged into a Giant Sword and slashed toward Li Lei Hu.

Li Lei Hu countered with a flash of lightning, then darted around the Giant Sword, charging at Bai Xuan with his lightning knife.

Bai Xuan watched calmly as Li Lei Hu approached, a slight smirk on his lips. He made no move to defend himself, simply waiting.

A hidden sword formation guarded Bai Xuan, ready to strike with full force as soon as Li Lei Hu got close.

But just as the hidden formation prepared its attack, Li Lei Hu suddenly circled around it.

He unleashed a series of lightning strikes, cutting through the air.

The hidden sword formation split into two parts—one for offense, one for defense. Sixty-four Spiritual Swords transformed into ten sword fish, swirling wildly around Li Lei Hu.

All of Li Lei Hu’s previous strikes were blocked by the defensive formation, which showed no sign of weakening.

"Interesting. You can see through my hidden sword formation," Bai Xuan remarked, watching Li Lei Hu easily fend off the ten sword fish.

"I specialize in thunder combat techniques. Your hidden formation isn’t that hard to spot if you have sharp eyes," Li Lei Hu replied, his eyes glowing with lightning as he grinned at Bai Xuan.

Not much of a personality, but his strength is impressive.

"Is that so? My eyes are sharp too," Bai Xuan said.

In an instant, he transformed the defensive sword formation into a sword shield above his head.

Just then, thunder roared in the sky, and a massive bolt of lightning struck the sword shield.

"You practice thunder techniques, and a dark cloud just happens to drift over my head? Do you think I’m a fool?" Bai Xuan said, a mix of irritation and amusement in his voice.

Meanwhile, outside the duel area, the spectators were in good spirits.

"Your Outer Sect’s Chief Disciple is impressive. He managed to counter little tiger’s sneak attack in the first round," one observer said.

"Your inner sect’s top fighter is no slouch either. He’s holding his own against Bai Xuan," Qin Lu added. He didn’t have strong feelings about the inner or outer sects—if he wanted to join the inner sect, he’d do it on his own merit.

"Who do you think will win in the end?" Eryuan asked with a smile, holding a bag of deep-sea shrimp chips and offering some to Qin Lu.

"I think our Outer Sect Chief will come out on top," Qin Lu said.

Eryuan, munching on the shrimp chips, nodded in agreement.

Qin Lu was stunned, looking at the two inner sect disciples who didn’t argue back.

"Are you sure you’ve got the right script? How am I supposed to explain this later?"

"The little tiger is too impulsive and not always sharp, unlike your Chief Disciple of the Outer Sect who’s so composed," Eryuan said, munching on shrimp chips while calmly analyzing.

"With the sword formation giving him a natural edge, who else could win?"

After finishing her last shrimp chip, Eryuan sighed at the empty bag; she’d eaten her whole day’s share.

Qin Lu took a deep breath. Not only did you get the script wrong, but you also took my lines—that’s just too much.

Just then, a burst of sword qi shot into the sky, followed by a loud thunderclap.

A blade flash left a small cut on Bai Xuan’s face.

Meanwhile, the arm Li Lei Hu used to hold his knife had its tendons cut.

"Can you still fight?" Bai Xuan asked Li Lei Hu casually.

"Do you think I’m done?"

Li Lei Hu grabbed his lightning knife with his left hand.

"My dad always told me to save my best move for last."

With that, he charged at Bai Xuan like a bolt of lightning, moving twice as fast as before.

As rain started to fall, occasional lightning made Bai Xuan frown slightly.

A huge Guardian Sword Formation rose up, blocking the rain.

As the formation shifted, the number of Spiritual Swords in the guard increased to eighty-eight.

The remaining forty-eight Spiritual Swords formed a small Zhou Tian sword formation.

With both offense and defense perfectly balanced, nothing was left to chance.

"It’s over," Qin Lu observed from a distance.

"Yeah, the little tiger just isn’t quite there yet."

"Mo Wan, don’t you agree?" Eryuan asked.

"Yes, Lei Hu lost," Lin Mo Wan replied.

Li Lei Hu, in his lightning form, broke through Bai Xuan’s defensive sword formation.

"Take this final strike!"

Holding the knife in his left hand, Li Lei Hu appeared near Bai Xuan and slashed with all his might.

The world seemed to darken, with only the blade’s light shining through.

Bai Xuan’s face was calm, as if the strike didn’t matter.

He formed a mysterious spell seal, and all the Spiritual Swords turned into a massive sword shield.

"Defend!"

"Boom!"

The blade light hit the sword shield, creating a deafening noise.

Then the shield disappeared, and the blade light shattered.

Bai Xuan spat out blood and formed seals again.

The remaining intact Spiritual Swords formed a Giant Sword, striking towards Li Lei Hu once more.

The puppet outside the battle zone instantly appeared in front of Li Lei Hu, blocking the Giant Sword with one hand.

"Bai Xuan wins; Li Lei Hu loses."

Li Lei Hu looked at Bai Xuan, expecting some taunt.

"You’re strong," Bai Xuan said simply, then left the battle zone with Qin Lu to retrieve the Earth Bear’s demon core.

"I can still fight; why did you call it for him?" Li Lei Hu asked, unwilling to accept the outcome.

"The sect doesn’t allow disciples to win such battles at the cost of their lives," the mechanical puppet stated, standing before Li Lei Hu.

"I understand," Li Lei Hu said with a deep sigh.

Feeling down, Li Lei Hu walked over to Lin Mo Wan and Eryuan.

"Little tiger, it’s alright; we’ll train harder and come back stronger," Eryuan encouraged him.

"Actually, you didn’t really lose. In a true fight to the death, it would have been mutual destruction," Lin Mo Wan said, looking at Li Lei Hu.

"Don’t comfort me; a loss is a loss. When I get back to the sect, I’m going to train like never before."