Chapter 637: Unrealistic.

"Have you heard about the Soundless Beauty?" A man asked his friend as they waited in line to enter the estate of the renowned clan to watch the qualifier for the tournament.

"No, where is she from?" His friend asked with his brows arched.

"I don’t know where she came from, but she single-handedly defeated first-rate martial artists from Bein province," the man answered as he shook his head.

"Everyone from Bein province?! There are so many great martial artists from that province and you told me that they all got defeated by this woman? Who is she? What’s her name?" His friend asked with his eyes blown wide.

"I know what you’re thinking, and I also thought that was exaggrated that someone could defeat everyone from the Bein province. However, I heard the same thing from merchants and travelers. They said that the Bein province only brought one person due to them all losing to the Soundless Beauty, and her name is Ruen," the man explained with a serious expression.

"That’s hard to believe..." the friend muttered.

While everyone was waiting in line to enter the estate to watch the qualifier, everyone was startled by a loud cheer from inside. Those who were waiting in line immediately knew what was going on, and they all complained at the guards for not letting them in immediately because they were there to watch a single person.

"That must be him on the stage right now," the man smacked his lips in annoyance. "We are missing the fun! Guards! Let us in already!" He shouted, joining the others.

The elder came out of the estate and told the guards to let everyone in because the reputation of the clan would be tarnished. Everyone hurriedly walked into the clan’s estate and went to where the qualifier was being held. As soon as they looked at the stage, they saw a young man with long and straight black hair, wearing a white robe with a gold rose embroidered on the back.

"That’s him, Sando of the Somachi Clan, the direct disciple and the grandson of one of the Zenith of the Heavenly Alliance, Sunni the Peerless Sky, the Hidden Blade," the man’s smile widened and his pupils dilated in excitement. "One of the Rising Stars of this era, the Noble Prince..."

"Oh, but look at his opponent. Isn’t that Maoyu, the Swift Blade? Aren’t they similar in terms of martial arts?" The friend furrowed his brows, looking at the man with a messy gray hair bun. "This is so exciting! I didn’t regret going all the way here, leaving my son and my wife for this!" He grinned as he clenched his fists.

Maoyu gave Sando the martial art salutation, and Sando responded with a greater amount of respect. Maoyu could be said as senior to Sando because Maoyu had become a martial artist longer.

"It’s an honor to be able to test my skill against the one of the Rising Stars," Maoyu said as he unsheathed his sword.

"The honor is mine, Senior. I might be called a Rising Star, but nothing can beat experience, and I admit that I’m lacking in that. Please, teach this junior," Sando smiled and stared at Maoyu with utmost respect as he readied his stance with bare hands.

Maoyu saw Sando’s stance and even with his experience exploring the empire, he couldn’t see a single opening for an attack. He glanced at the white robe that Sando wore, and since everyone knew that Sando was the direct disciple of Sunni the Hidden Blades, the robe itself was a weapon to conceal the blades underneath. He narrowed his eyes as he readied his stance, and his plan was simple but impossibly hard to do, and that was to prevent Sando’s hands from reaching out his hidden blades.

"Let the duel begin!" The stage announcer shouted.

Maoyu dashed forward, the tip of his sword pointed right in the middle of Sando’s chest. Sando, who saw the intention, immediately hunched his back to give him more time to react while his hands were positioned right in front of his chest. Maoyu knew that Sando would react like that, and he was in range, instead of a thrust, he swung his sword upward, aiming at Sando’s chin and face that were vulnerable due to his stance and posture. Sando narrowed his eyes and at the last moment, pushing his left hand across his face, pushing the sword away from his face. At the same time, Sando’s right hand reached for his hidden blade under his left sleeve.

Maoyu smiled and suddenly used his free hand as a palm strike while Sando’s vision was blocked by his own stance and defense. However, to his surprise, Sando grabbed Maoyu’s left wrist and redirected the palm strike toward the air below his left arm. Sando immediately used his left palm to strike Maoyu’s chest and it was a direct hit, pushing Maoyu back.

Everyone cheered in excitement even though their eyes could barely see the movements between those two. At the same time, Maoyu changed his stance, realizing that he wasn’t the only one who could read his opponent’s movements. On the other hand, Sando readied his stance once again, but this one was different from the previous one that showed so many openings in Maoyu’s eyes. However, Maoyu knew it was a stance for offensive, not defensive, and if he was being uncareful, he would lose the duel.

Before Maoyu could think of a way to fight an opponent like Sando, Sando was the first one to make a move. Instead of dashing straight toward Maoyu, Sando dashed across toward Maoyu’s right side. Maoyu turned toward Sando and was ready to block the attack with his sword, however, Sando kept moving toward Maoyu’s right side. That one single mistake of footing was enough that Sando stopped moving to the side and just lunged forward with his fists.

Maoyu was about to block it but knew it was too late, and when he decided to dodge it, his footing was in the wrong position that he knew he was done for. Sando threw a sequence of attacks with his fists, the back of his hands, his forearms, and elbows, attacking Maoyu on his chest, his guts, his thighs, and then lastly his knees. It was a flawless combination of attacks until Maoyu collapsed to his knees and dropped his sword.

"It’s my loss..." Maoyu groaned as he clenched his fists, staring down at the ground. "You knew my right side was my weakness, how?" He asked as he slowly lifted his head and looked at Sando.

"Your sword naturally drew your weight toward your right side. Once you turned to follow me, your left foot could no longer support a retreat. It’s a human limitation especially when holding a sword with your strong hand which is your right hand," Sando answered as he offered his hand to Maoyu. "Maybe if the purpose of the duel wasn’t a competition, the outcome might be different if you didn’t hesitate, Senior. Your experience is still far superior than mine, I only won because the duel wasn’t a realistic battle," he added.

Maoyu chuckled as he shook his head, and then looked at his sword on the ground. He grabbed his sword with his left hand and grabbed Sando’s hand with his right hand.

"A loss is still a loss, congratulation, Junior," Maoyu stood up and sheathed his sword before he gave Sando a martial arts salutation.

Sando mirrored Maoyu’s gesture, and this time he lowered his head slightly. The crowd cheered for him, and he only smiled at them before he walked down the stage.