“If Junior Aunt-Master and Daoist Su are unwilling… then I’ll have Rongrong play back what you just said for everyone here.”
“This…”
Yue Jue took the bag of spirit stones from her hand, swept it with her Divine Sense, and did a quick mental calculation. Her heart instantly sank.
If she did what Yun Xuechang said, she would have to compensate her with eighty percent of today’s earnings.
She exchanged a glance with Su Feiyao beside her, then looked at Hua Xiangrong in Yun Xuechang’s arms, who was holding up the recording toy with a smug expression.
The two could only smile bitterly and concede.
“Alright, we’ll do as Junior Disciple Yun / Fairy Yun says.”
Just then, on the distant massive platform, a petite figure carrying a large wooden box walked up to the stage and raised an amplification artifact, announcing in a clear voice:
“Fellow Daoists! The upcoming duel between Shenxiao Palace’s Li Chengfeng and rogue cultivator Hua Yan’er is about to begin! Please watch from a distance and keep your junior disciples in check. Do not let those of low cultivation run outside the protective range and get hurt by the shockwaves! Those who approach too closely and suffer property damage will not be compensated!”
“This dueling ground is sponsored by the Tinghai Pavilion and constructed by our Heavenly Mystery Pavilion. If you have any future needs for engineering or mechanical works, please look for the mechanical creations produced by our Heavenly Mystery Pavilion! Thank you all for your patronage!”
As her voice fell, the mechanical arm extending from the large wooden box on Qu Linglong’s back retracted the amplification artifact, and she quickly teleported away.
Seeing this, Yun Xuechang had to temporarily set aside her thoughts of checking on Hua Yan.
She held Hua Xiangrong and followed the others as they withdrew a bit further, boarding a spirit boat that Su Feiyao had produced.
“Rongrong, why does everyone think your mother will win?”
At the edge of the spirit boat, Ning Shiliu tilted her small head and whispered to Hua Xiangrong, who was also leaning on the railing, eagerly watching the battle platform.
“Last time on Wendao Peak, didn’t Aunt Hua lose to Chief Disciple Yun? That Li Chengfeng seems to be the Young Palace Lord of Shenxiao Palace. He should be about as strong as our sect’s Chief Disciple, right? Will Aunt Hua lose?”
Ning Shiliu looked worried and spoke softly, her pale gold rabbit ears drooping slightly.
“Oh, Little Sixteen, just relax. Little Yan’er definitely won’t lose.”
Before Hua Xiangrong could respond, Yue Jue, who had just recovered from the shock of her sudden windfall, leaned in and shook her head.
“You need to understand—there’s a huge gap in strength between the young heirs of different sects. Just because you’re a Young Palace Lord and I’m a Chief Disciple doesn’t mean we’re equally strong.”
“Senior Yue speaks the truth.”
Su Feiyao also gently waved her folding fan.
“And Fairy Yun happens to be the strongest among the younger generation of the Righteous Path and even among the neutral sects—she proved that herself ten years ago.”
“For ordinary heirs like us, if we were at the same cultivation level as Fairy Yun, it would already be quite good if we could last the time it takes to burn an incense stick against her. So, you absolutely cannot use Fairy Yun as a benchmark for judging the strength of a sect’s heir.”
“And Fairy Hua, who managed to suppress Fairy Yun for a long time in a duel, is almost guaranteed to win against a mere Li Chengfeng. That’s why I dared to set up this scheme with Senior Yue.”
Her fox-like eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at the floating battle platform in the distance. She silently added to herself:
‘After all, I know—if Yun Xuechang is the strongest of Shenzhou’s younger generation, then when it comes to the strongest of the Demonic Path alone, without a doubt, it’s Hua Yan.’
…
On the battle platform, Hua Yan slowly walked to the center.
She had now changed into a black robe suitable for fighting, with a slanting crimson trim at the collar like a splash of cinnabar in an ink pool.
A belt with silver-black floral designs cinched her waist, and black forearm guards covered her wrists. She looked lively and spirited.
“Oh, not playing the delicate little lady anymore?”
Li Chengfeng landed on the platform opposite her, sneering mockingly.
“This outfit actually looks decent.”
“Mind your own business about what I wear. You’ll be changing yours soon enough.”
Hua Yan smiled at him.
“I’ll beat you until even your own mother won’t recognize you.”
“You!”
Li Chengfeng was instantly enraged, a faint halo of lightning radiating around him.
“Alright, you two. The match can begin.”
A long-bearded Confucian elder acting as the referee walked onto the platform, speaking seriously.
“If you have any grievances, use your strength to settle them in the duel. Also, for this match, please show restraint. Do not take lives; stop when the point is made.”
As he said the last sentence, he gave a pointed glance at the wide-eyed, furious Li Chengfeng.
‘These juniors… they sure know how to stir up trouble. In the blink of an eye, they’ve caused such a commotion…’
He had been invited by his sect’s Chief Disciple, Lu Wenyuan, to act as the referee.
He had thought it would be a small match, but now it had blown up into such a spectacle.
He could only sigh helplessly in his heart.
“Then prepare, you two—the match officially begins.”
The moment the words fell, Li Chengfeng surged forward wrapped in the force of wind and thunder.
A giant hammer formed in his hand from crackling blue-purple lightning, and with a flicker, he pounced toward Hua Yan.
‘You little bitch, I’ll make you pay for your arrogance!’
Carrying the violent force of wind and thunder, Li Chengfeng reached Hua Yan in an instant.
He swung the lightning hammer and slammed it down viciously toward her head.
In an instant, a dense web of blue-purple lightning engulfed the half of the battle platform where Hua Yan stood, a terrifying sight.
The crackling electricity nearly tore the air apart.
Wait… the feeling’s off…
Li Chengfeng, who had smashed his lightning hammer at Hua Yan, felt nothing land.
‘I missed? How is that possible?!’
At the same time, a teasing female voice came from above him.
“Hey, isn’t that a little too slow?”
Li Chengfeng jerked his head up and saw Hua Yan floating unharmed in the air, with a shiny mirror treasure suspended above her head.
Meanwhile, a large five-colored net suddenly spread open above him, rapidly expanding, and in an instant, trapped him completely!
What treasure is this? Isn’t she a sword cultivator? On the street, she clearly pulled out a thin sword and a long blade!
Li Chengfeng struggled desperately, trying to break free from the net that firmly bound him.
But oddly, his thunderous magical power could only use thirty percent; the rest was completely absorbed by the five-colored net.
What the hell are this teleporting mirror and this mana-absorbing net?
She’s supposed to be a straightforward sword cultivator—why is she using all this random stuff!
Li Chengfeng was incredibly frustrated.
In the ten years since losing to Yun Xuechang, he had painstakingly studied countermeasures specifically for sword cultivators, even developing a special technique to defeat them.
He had deliberately closed in on Hua Yan, mistaking her for a pure sword cultivator, hoping to engage in close combat and use his counter-technique to win in one blow.
But Hua Yan didn’t follow the script at all, completely ruining all his plans.
As Li Chengfeng struggled, Hua Yan expertly stuck several talismans on herself, stuffed a pill into her mouth, and simultaneously pulled out a five-colored array disk and several small formation flags, quickly arranging them around Li Chengfeng.
To deal with this kind of reckless, rampaging lightning cultivator, of course, you had to trap him and then slowly take care of him on your home turf.
Hua Yan snorted coldly, her hands forming seals for the formation without slowing down.
‘Good thing this purple-haired freak is stupid enough—’
‘As a lightning cultivator, instead of launching long-range lightning attacks, he rushes in close. I clearly used a sword before, yet he still dares to come near a sword cultivator. I thought I’d have to struggle at range for a while, but this saved me a lot of trouble.’
Hua Yan had no idea what Li Chengfeng was planning. She just took him for a brainless brute and continued laying down her great formation.
Once the formation was complete and Li Chengfeng was pulled into her home turf, she would already have won half the match.