Si Puyu let out a long sigh. This team competition had been utterly stifling.
Earlier, Ling Hanbai had been talking about securing second place while fighting for first, insisting on keeping a death grip on her group.
Although Si Puyu had defeated Ling Hanbai in the individual competition, that was a match where neither side had used their trump cards.
Now, in the team competition, if she truly went all out against Ling Hanbai, there was no telling how long the stalemate would last.
Furthermore, her own teammates were evenly matched with Ling Hanbai's group, perhaps even slightly weaker.
Therefore, she had temporarily endured Ling Hanbai's behavior, thinking she would find an opportunity to shake her off later.
In any case, with two groups fighting together, their numbers made finding and defeating demon beasts reasonably fast.
After two days of hunting, her group had dropped from first to fourth, and Ling Hanbai had fallen from second to third.
Seeing Gu Ningyun's team leading by a massive margin, with Fu Mingzhi's group holding steady in second and Zhu Zijin's group trailing closely in fifth, Si Puyu finally couldn't sit still any longer.
Just as she made up her mind to fight Ling Hanbai and break away, Ling Hanbai also realized something was wrong.
Consequently, Ling Hanbai proposed that the two groups cooperate to rob Gu Ningyun of her points.
According to Ling Hanbai's plan, the two of them would tie up Jiang Yao and Jun Luo, four teammates would engage Wen Xuan and Mu Chenze, and the remaining four would surround Gu Ningyun.
Even if Gu Ningyun was fast, how could she escape four cultivators at the early stage of Qi Refining level four using top-grade Swift-Walk Talismans?
Si Puyu thought about it and decided it made sense.
The two groups began asking around, and when they heard that demon beasts were scarce in the western part of the woods, they immediately thought of Gu Ningyun's high-scoring team.
When they arrived, their divine sense spotted Gu Ningyun's trio from afar, muttering about being separated and worrying about being robbed.
Hidden behind a tree to the trio's left and in a nearby thicket were two other groups.
To be safe, Si Puyu and Ling Hanbai unanimously decided to watch from a distance first.
She was extremely skeptical of Gu Ningyun's claim that they had been separated from Jun Luo and Jiang Yao; she didn't believe a word of it.
Ling Hanbai didn't believe it either, for a simple reason.
They were only at the early stage of Qi Refining level four and could already detect the people hiding behind the bushes and trees. Gu Ningyun, whose cultivation was higher at the middle stage of Qi Refining level four, would surely have noticed them too.
Thus, the behavior of Gu Ningyun's trio was highly suspicious.
Sure enough, the trio was soon blocked by the group behind the tree.
Just as they were about to observe the situation, Gu Ningyun and the other group started fighting, and they were immediately exposed by Jun Luo and Jiang Yao.
At this thought, Si Puyu sighed again.
If Jun Luo and Jiang Yao had appeared just a moment later, allowing her and Ling Hanbai to see Gu Ningyun draw her sword, they never would have stayed in a stalemate with the two boys. They would have vanished long before Gu Ningyun arrived.
Now, instead of robbing points, they had been robbed themselves. Two full groups couldn't even beat three people.
Si Puyu avoided Jiang Yao's gaze, keeping her frustration bottled up in silence.
Ling Hanbai had traded blows with Gu Ningyun and knew her strength.
Faced with the teasing from Jiang Yao and Wen Xuan, she didn't get angry.
Instead, she looked at Gu Ningyun's sword and smiled. "I accept my defeat to a powerhouse like Gu Ningyun completely. Her sword qi is much stronger than mine."
What Ling Hanbai didn't say was that she believed none of the other five sword talents in their year would be a match for Gu Ningyun, including Jun Luo.
It was fast, sharp, solid, silent, and pervasive.
If not for the flash of green spirit light, Gu Ningyun's sword qi would be almost impossible to guard against or block.
Crucially, Gu Ningyun never wasted words during a fight, making it impossible to stall for time or distract her.
Gu Ningyun was currently collecting the points from the wooden tokens.
This was a team competition; no matter who collected them, the points were tallied for Ruiyu Pavilion.
Therefore, they simply gathered all the tokens and gave them to Gu Ningyun while the other four kept watch.
Hearing Ling Hanbai's words, Gu Ningyun was somewhat surprised.
She finished collecting the points quickly and returned the tokens to the four groups.
"Don't the rules say that once the points are stolen, the wooden tokens automatically return to their owners..."
Ling Hanbai's voice trailed off as she scanned her token in disbelief. "You only took half the points?"
Wen Xuan said, "Ningyun said we should be ruthless to enemies, but we don't need to go that far with our fellow disciples."
Ling Hanbai's mouth hung open as complex emotions surged in her heart once more.
She had always believed in strength above all else, and after fighting Gu Ningyun, she deeply admired her sword dao.
Therefore, no matter how much it hurt, she had voluntarily surrendered her token, prepared to start over from zero.
Now, seeing that half their points remained and hearing Gu Ningyun's philosophy, she was more shocked and pleasantly surprised than anything else.
She straightened her posture and performed a formal peer salute toward Gu Ningyun. "Senior Sister Gu's strength is immense and her character is noble. Hanbai is truly impressed."
Receiving a return salute from Gu Ningyun, her eyes brightened. "Once the competition is over, can we be friends, Ningyun?"
Gu Ningyun had already wanted to invite Ling Hanbai to spar with swords, so she naturally agreed.
Ever since he realized that their struggle throughout the team competition was actually due to Gu Ningyun's schemes, Si Puyu had been very frustrated.
Combined with the fact that the points she had worked so hard to keep from Ling Hanbai were about to be cleared, she had wanted nothing more than to fight Gu Ningyun.
But now that Gu Ningyun had actually left their group half of their points, she didn't know how to react.
It was like a cauldron on the verge of exploding being calmed by a gentle wave of wood spirit energy, harmonizing the chaotic medicinal liquids within until the entire vessel fell silent.
She stared at the wooden token in a daze for a long while before finally letting out a long sigh.
Forget it. They were the ones who tried to rob the points first.
The fact that Gu Ningyun could leave them half was truly an act of high integrity.
She gripped the token, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Thank you for showing mercy."
After Si Puyu and Ling Hanbai's groups left, Shao Yuqi and Lian Anping also hurried to take their leave, their voices full of gratitude and relief.
Once the others were far away, Wen Xuan nudged Gu Ningyun with her elbow. "That move was brilliant, Ningyun."
"We were the ones who schemed against them and took their points, yet they aren't even mad. They're actually grateful!"
Mu Chenze snapped his folding fan shut. "Ningyun, you always say I'm the one good at dealing with people, but in my opinion, you're the one who truly understands how to control the human heart."
Gu Ningyun shook her head. "It's not as exaggerated as you make it sound. I just took advantage of the contrast in their expectations."
"Besides, this plan was something the five of us agreed on and refined together."
"Our team score is already far ahead of second place. There's no need to make mortal enemies of our fellow disciples."
"We only need to take half the points to secure our first-place position."
Jiang Yao added, "Right now, Ruiyu Pavilion has 105,800 points. The second-place group, Fu Mingzhi's, has 37,650."
"Fu Mingzhi and the others should be out hunting for tokens as well."
Gu Ningyun said, "Jun Luo, Jiang Yao, the two of you continue to hide and follow us from a distance. Wen Xuan, Chenze, and I will act as bait and head toward the center."
"Ningyun, those four groups already know your true strength. Won't they spread the word?" Wen Xuan asked with some concern.
Mu Chenze tapped his fan against his palm. "They won't."
Wen Xuan asked, "Why?"
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