Ye Bufan noticed something was amiss and quickly looked for an opportunity to slip away. Just as he was about to leave, Ye Qingcheng called out to him.
"What? Does Miss Ye have further instructions?" Ye Bufan forced a smile and asked, "You can't blame me for this entire situation. I was the one being acted upon."
"Who said I wanted to discuss this with you?" Ye Qingcheng rolled her eyes. "No one has visited the City Lord's Mansion in a long time. I was punished by my sister and confined to home for half a year for secretly venturing into the outside world. I was so bored I was dying. Now, suddenly, a living person has arrived..."
As she spoke, a strange smile appeared on Ye Qingcheng's face, causing Ye Bufan's heart to sink.
"Fight me," Ye Qingcheng declared. "If you agree to fight me, I'll release you at the end of the remaining three months of my confinement. Every half a month, if you spar with me, I'll let you go."
"This..."
Ye Bufan was surprised. This Ye Qingcheng actually had such a hobby. Her cultivation was at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment, while his was at the great perfection of the late stage of Foundation Establishment. Wasn't this a complete annihilation?
"What? Are you looking down on me?" Ye Qingcheng said with great confidence.
"No, my cultivation is higher than yours, and I feel it's meaningless," Ye Bufan replied.
"That's exactly what I want. Only by fighting those stronger than myself can I become stronger," Ye Qingcheng chuckled. "I've stayed at the middle stage of Foundation Establishment long enough."
"That's what you say. However, if I wanted to leave, your cultivation wouldn't be able to stop me, would it?" Ye Bufan countered.
"Don't be so confident about that," Ye Qingcheng said. "I'll give you an opportunity to try and leave first, and then you can consider the matter."
Seeing Ye Qingcheng's confident demeanor, Ye Bufan couldn't help but frown. He then unleashed his spiritual sense and immediately felt a powerful restriction enveloping him.
"You can control the restrictions?" Ye Bufan looked at Ye Qingcheng, somewhat disbelievingly.
"You can try," Ye Qingcheng said with a confident smile. Ye Bufan immediately leaped into the air, only to feel a powerful energy pressing down on him, flinging him back to the floor.
"Who exactly are you and your sister?" Ye Bufan frowned. "The elder Bai Qi in the ancient tower showed you utmost respect, and you can control the restrictions within the City Lord's Mansion."
Ye Qingcheng chuckled at Ye Bufan's confusion. "Honestly, neither my sister nor I know. We've been in the City Lord's Mansion since we can remember. We haven't even met the legendary City Lord, Yu Xing."
Some said Ye Qingyi and Ye Qingcheng were direct disciples of Yu Xing, while others claimed they were his descendants. So far, since Ye Bufan entered the underground city, he hadn't seen Yu Xing; all he heard were legends about him. The identities of Senior Brother and Sister Ye were even more mysterious, as they themselves didn't know.
"Fine. So, how do you want to spar? First of all, I'll state it clearly: only one match." Ye Bufan said.
"No! At least five matches!" Ye Qingcheng shook her head and said to Ye Bufan.
"What? Five matches?" But seeing Ye Qingcheng's determined gaze, Ye Bufan had no choice. He still needed to deal with the Jin family's affairs and bring everything to a conclusion. However, on second thought, five matches should be quick. Coupled with his comprehension of the Sword Domain, he could achieve a swift victory.
"Alright? When do we start?" Ye Bufan asked.
"That's more like it," Ye Qingcheng said confidently. "Let's go, follow me to the sparring arena in the City Lord's Mansion."
Ye Qingcheng extended her right hand, and the ring in her hand emitted a dazzling light that enveloped her entire body. When the light dissipated, Ye Qingcheng's attire had transformed into a martial arts uniform.
"How is it?"
Ye Qingcheng walked past Ye Bufan and said, "This is a defensive magical artifact."
Ye Bufan nodded, a bad premonition lingering in his heart.
Following behind Ye Qingcheng, Ye Bufan navigated through the City Lord's Mansion and finally arrived at what could be considered the central area. From the outside, it looked like a courtyard, but upon entering, the space instantly expanded, covering an area of about a thousand square feet.
The two leaped onto the sparring platform, Ye Qingcheng's eyes filled with anticipation.
"I've been so bored for the past three months. No one to play with, and my sister wouldn't even let me go to the ancient tower. I'm practically rusting. It's good you're here."
As Ye Qingcheng's voice fell, she suddenly launched an attack while Ye Bufan was not paying attention.
"Damn it!" Ye Bufan exclaimed, as Ye Qingcheng was already in front of him.
Simultaneously, two sabers appeared in Ye Qingcheng's hands, and she slashed down at Ye Bufan. The strike was clean and swift. Ye Bufan, unable to evade, summoned his Broken Sword and forcefully blocked the attack.
"Bang—"
Ye Bufan stumbled back a few steps, while Ye Qingcheng stood her ground, her eyes gleaming.
"Two Sleeves Green Snake!"
Ye Bufan didn't waste any words. As soon as he stabilized, he launched his own attack. His Sword Domain instantly spread out towards Ye Qingcheng, and two sword energies transformed into rain droplets from the sky, pouring down.
Seeing this, Ye Qingcheng's expression changed drastically. The saber energy from her dual sabers formed a massive shield in place.
"It's useless," Ye Bufan said softly.
The rain-like sword energies, which had been pouring down, suddenly converged before Ye Qingcheng into the shape of a slender, broken sword.
"Break!"
Ye Bufan's voice was light, but the sword energy transformed into a broken sword carried immense power. It lightly tapped the shield formed by Ye Qingcheng's saber energy. In an instant, the shield shattered into pieces, and the broken sword formed by the sword energy stopped before Ye Qingcheng.
"You lost," Ye Bufan said to Ye Qingcheng.
"No, no, I wasn't ready. Let's go again!" Ye Qingcheng couldn't believe it was true. She pushed back, and Ye Bufan immediately pressed forward.
Ye Qingcheng's face paled. Ye Bufan remained motionless. As long as he was within his Sword Domain, sword energy was everywhere.
"Whoosh!!" Ye Qingcheng felt a chill down her back and leaped up. A stream of sword energy grazed past her, followed by another sword energy descending from above.
Ye Qingcheng dodged the first and second attacks, but the sword energies appeared faster and in greater numbers, surging towards her from all directions. For a moment, Ye Qingcheng felt immense pressure.
"I concede!" Ye Qingcheng gritted her teeth and finally uttered the three words.
"This is unfair! You actually managed to comprehend the Sword Domain. My cultivation is already lower than yours, and within your Sword Domain, I had no chance of winning," Ye Qingcheng said, her tone filled with displeasure.
"You were the one who said that fighting those stronger than oneself is how one becomes stronger," Ye Bufan said with an awkward smile.