Her opponent was a boy at the peak of Qi Refining level three. Based on the intensity of his aura, he was only a single step away from level four.
Once Arena 2 was cleared, the boy made a clean, sharp leap onto the stage.
He wore a bright, relaxed smile, leisurely waiting for Gu Ningyun to join him.
Gu Ningyun returned a friendly smile. Her gaze dropped from the boy's face, catching a glimpse of his clenched fists hidden beneath his sleeves.
Holding her guqin, she climbed the steps one by one, choosing not to expose the boy's hidden nervousness.
After checking their identities, the boy bowed. “Shao Xingwen. Please guide me.”
“Gu Ningyun. Please guide me.” Since her hands were full, she bowed slightly in return.
After the formalities, the boy immediately summoned a vine that lunged toward her wrists.
Gu Ningyun spun around to dodge. As she moved, her guqin was already suspended horizontally in front of her by her spirit energy.
To make future opponents believe Qin Xiaosheng's claim that she was “nothing to fear,” she focused on using movement to dodge, treating the guqin only as secondary support.
She played 《Lingtai》, but during the first cycle, she didn't use spirit energy or lock onto anyone with her divine sense.
Thus, the disciples watching Arena 2 saw this:
A wood-attribute disciple at Qi Refining level three was constantly growing vines to attack and harass.
A wind-attribute music cultivator at Qi Refining level four was darting through the green vines with her guqin, dodging incredibly fast.
What about her song? Oh, it sounded quite nice.
By the time the first cycle ended, Shao Xingwen had planted a vine in the center of the arena, and it was covered in dense thorns.
Dodging a whip from a vine, Gu Ningyun felt a chill down her back.
With a flick of her fingers, the melody of 《The Qin and the Wei》 flowed from the strings, and a transparent sound shield formed on her right.
Just as the shield formed, thousands of thorns slammed into it like a torrential downpour.
Watching this, Gu Ningyun glanced at the vine still launching thorns.
She wondered if Shao Xingwen's move was stronger than Tang Clan hidden weapons.
Well, assuming the Tang Clan even existed in this world.
Amidst her thoughts, she heard disciples near the arena whispering.
“Why isn't she attacking?”
“Qin Xiaosheng said she follows a support path and is nothing to fear. Looks like he was right.”
“Then she's definitely going to lose this duel.”
“Not necessarily. She's at the mid-stage of Qi Refining level four!”
Once the thorns were spent, the vines attacked again.
Gu Ningyun changed her tune. The sound shield dispersed, shaking off the thorns before reforming.
Seeing Shao Xingwen's pale face and the sweat on his forehead, she did a quick assessment.
That thorn rain must have been an ultimate move that consumed a lot of spirit energy.
Should she just wait for him to run out of energy and then kick him off?
The thought flickered and was dismissed.
No, that wouldn't do. No one but Shao Xingwen knew if he was truly helpless.
If he was faking or had another trump card, she might end up failing in an easy task.
If she failed to dodge an attack, she'd either have to reveal her strength to block it or lose the match.
Neither was a good option.
Shao Xingwen then grew a purple vine, creating a pincer attack from front and back.
Gu Ningyun changed the melody, playing 《Lingtai》 again.
But this time, she infused a trace of spirit energy into every touch of the strings and locked her divine sense onto Shao Xingwen.
Seeing her return to the previous song and drop her defense, Shao Xingwen didn't understand why, but he seized the opportunity, driving both vines toward her.
As the purple vine drew near, a massive flower bud suddenly bloomed at its tip.
The bud opened rapidly as it reached her, threatening to swallow her whole in an instant.
Just as she was about to be engulfed and the petals closed, Gu Ningyun stepped on a green vine and leaped out of the encirclement.
As the song continued, the speed and flexibility of the two vines began to slow down almost imperceptibly.
By the time the song was halfway through, the change became obvious.
The purple flower, in particular, lost its fresh appearance, drooping as if it hadn't been watered for days.
Shao Xingwen, the controller of the vines, looked exhausted, as if he had stayed up for two nights straight.
Because of 《Lingtai》's “unnoticeable” nature, Shao Xingwen was fighting cautiously but remained completely unaware of his abnormal state.
The constant chatter around Arena 2 stopped at some point.
Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, watching the sudden turn of events.
On the stage, having apparently endured the initial embarrassment of running away, Gu Ningyun moved gracefully between the two lethargic vines. Every step she took was perfectly composed.
The outcome was decided.
The referee and the disciples watching saw the music cultivator's opponent slow down. His eyelids drooped, and by the end of the song, he slumped to the ground and fell into a deep sleep.
The two vines fell asleep right along with him.
To make the victory clear, Gu Ningyun used spirit energy to lift the vines and Shao Xingwen, placing them below the stage.
Having finished, she turned elegantly, held her guqin in her arms, and looked at the referee with a smile.
Unlike the stunned disciples below, the referee was a professional.
The moment Shao Xingwen landed outside the arena, he declared Gu Ningyun the winner and checked her name on his tablet.
After the verdict, he swept his divine sense over Shao Xingwen. Finding that the boy was merely asleep, he tried to wake him with a divine sense transmission.
He called out several times, but Shao Xingwen didn't budge.
Frustrated, he had to leave the platform and land beside Shao Xingwen, shaking his shoulder. “Disciple-Nephew Shao? Disciple-Nephew Shao?”
Shao Xingwen: ZZZZZZ
The referee: “...”
He quickly looked back, wanting to stop Gu Ningyun before she left the area.
To his surprise, he saw Gu Ningyun standing right beside him, holding her guqin.
The referee paused for a moment before speaking softly. “Disciple-Nephew Gu, is he really just asleep?”
“Yes, Martial Uncle.”
Gu Ningyun bluffed with a straight face. “The song I just played is a sleep aid.”
“When someone's divine sense is damaged, they need a lot of sleep to recover.”
“But soul damage causes unbearable headaches, making it impossible to sleep.”
“My song soothes the primordial spirit and allows for natural sleep.”
“To ensure the person rests well, those put to sleep by the song fall into a very deep slumber. That's why you can't wake him.”
She was thankful for the 《Almanac of Heavenly Wonders》. When it introduced the effects of the soul-nourishing flower, it mentioned the symptoms of soul damage; otherwise, she wouldn't have been able to pull off such a bluff.
Rate on N.U.
