A sharp glint flashed in Sun Hao's eyes. He abruptly pulled back his bronze maces and drifted backward by thirty feet.
This movement caused an uproar among the spectators—he clearly held the advantage, so why the sudden retreat?
"Tricks of the trade," Sun Hao sneered, slamming his bronze maces into the ground. "Do you think I'm as reckless as Zhao Yan?"
Boom!
The ground trembled, and the vines that had just begun to peek out from the soil were instantly pulverized into dust. Li Nanzhu's plan to lure the enemy had been completely seen through.
Li Nanzhu's pupils constricted slightly.
This Sun Hao was even more difficult to deal with than she had anticipated—not only was he stronger, but his temperament was also more stable.
"I've studied all your tricks thoroughly," Sun Hao said, crossing his bronze maces in a defensive posture. "Zhao Yan lost because he underestimated his opponent and rushed in. I won't make the same mistake."
By the side of the arena, Duan Xianxing rubbed his hands together anxiously. "This is trouble..."
Feng Qingping, however, suddenly narrowed her eyes. "No, Little Senior Sister still has a chance."
On the stage, Li Nanzhu suddenly smiled.
She flicked the tip of her sword, making a provocative gesture. "Is that so? Then how about this move?"
Before her voice had even faded, her left hand formed a seal, and three fire snakes shot out from her sleeve, lunging straight for Sun Hao's face!
Sun Hao remained calm, his bronze maces dancing so densely that they were airtight, dispelling all the fire snakes. But the moment the flames vanished, his feet suddenly slipped—at some unknown point, the surface of the arena had been covered in a thin layer of ice!
Sun Hao's figure swayed, but he quickly steadied himself. He slammed his bronze maces heavily onto the ice, causing cracks to spread like a spiderweb. "It's useless! I've already accounted for your triple spiritual roots..."
But Li Nanzhu's charge was a feint!
Her toes tapped the ground as her figure swerved in an uncanny reversal. Simultaneously, the Fellow Daoist sword carved an arc through the air, aiming straight for Sun Hao's right shoulder—precisely the minute opening he had exposed during his last block!
Clang!
Sun Hao hurriedly changed his move, barely managing to block the sword, but he was jolted back three steps. A flash of shock crossed his eyes—the angle and power of this strike were completely different from Li Nanzhu's previous style!
"You..."
Li Nanzhu gave him no room to breathe, her sword moves changing again.
This time, her sword style was grand and sweeping, carrying the unique frenzy of fire-attribute spiritual energy. Sun Hao found it difficult to adapt to this sudden change, and the rhythm of his bronze maces was disrupted.
All the countermeasures he had painstakingly researched were now completely useless.
Bang!
Another heavy strike landed, nearly causing the bronze maces to fly from Sun Hao's hands.
Cold sweat broke out on his forehead as he finally realized he had made a fatal error—he had researched "Li Nanzhu's swordplay," but he had forgotten that sword moves could change!
"It's over," Li Nanzhu said, suddenly withdrawing her sword and retreating. Her left hand formed a seal.
Sun Hao instinctively sensed danger and prepared to defend, but he saw Li Nanzhu's sword intent suddenly become erratic and unpredictable—this time, she was using a soft and treacherous water-attribute sword style.
Swish!
The sword light flashed like a phantom. Sun Hao's bronze maces finally flew from his hands, and he stumbled backward. Before he could even steady himself, the tip of Li Nanzhu's sword was already three inches from his throat.
"Do you concede?"
Sun Hao's face turned ashen. Finally, he squeezed out two words from between his teeth: "...I concede."
"Arena number eight, Li Nanzhu of the Five Elements Dao Sect wins!"
Thunderous cheers erupted from the sidelines.
No one expected that this little girl, who had seemingly been completely suppressed, could snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.
Li Nanzhu sheathed her sword and cupped her hands toward Sun Hao. "Well fought."
Sun Hao picked up his bronze maces and asked reluctantly, "Those last few moves... they weren't your style?"
"Yes and no," Li Nanzhu smiled softly. "That is the unique swordplay of our Five Elements Dao Sect."
Sun Hao was stunned for a moment, then felt a sense of melancholy. "As expected of the Five Elements Dao Sect. In the end, I underestimated you. My loss is not unfair."
He cupped his hands and departed, his back looking much more graceful than Zhao Yan's.
Li Nanzhu stepped down from the arena, and Duan Xianxing was the first to rush up. "Little Senior Sister! That swordplay transition just now was so smooth!"
"I had some insights earlier," Li Nanzhu smiled bashfully. "Actually, I still relied on my divine sense to cheat a bit."
Mu Wenyan patted Li Nanzhu's head. "Even so, you've already surpassed your Seventh Senior Brother in this regard."
"Heh, of course! Who do you think taught her?" Duan Xianxing was clearly very proud.
Suisui hopped onto Li Nanzhu's shoulder, its soul fire dancing excitedly. The little skeleton used its bone claws to mimic the battle just now; it had clearly been recording everything diligently.
"Sister Nanzhu!"
A crisp voice came from the crowd.
Li Nanzhu turned around to see a young girl dressed in green robes waving excitedly—it was Lin Xiaowan, the Shenmu Sect disciple she had rescued in the Forest of Demonic Beasts.
Behind her followed Zhou Zichun and several other familiar faces, all disciples who had been rescued in the Forest of Demonic Beasts that day.
"Xiaowan!" Li Nanzhu was quite surprised. "How did you find your way here?"
Lin Xiaowan ran over and took Li Nanzhu's hand affectionately. "We came specifically to see your match!" Her eyes were bright. "That last match was amazing! That Sun Hao was completely played for a fool by you!"
Zhou Zichun also stepped forward and bowed. "Junior Sister Li, I hope you've been well."
Suisui hopped from Li Nanzhu's shoulder onto Lin Xiaowan's hand, its soul fire jumping happily. The little skeleton was very fond of this young girl with whom it had once shared an adventure.
"It just so happens that mine was the only match today," Li Nanzhu suggested with a smile. "Why don't we go eat together? The Sword Heart Sect has prepared special meals for the participating disciples."
"That's great!" Lin Xiaowan clapped her hands happily. "I have so much to tell you!"
Seeing that these were people Li Nanzhu knew, Mu Wenyan and the others left to give them space. As for Zhu Yinxi, who had accompanied them that day, he had no interest in their conversation and dragged Duan Xianxing away with him.
Li Nanzhu and the others arrived at the dining hall prepared by the Sword Heart Sect.
The environment here was quiet and elegant, with disciples from various sects gathered in small groups to eat. Li Nanzhu chose a seat by the window, and Suisui sat obediently on the table, holding a piece of candied fruit in its bone claws and nibbling slowly.
"Sister Nanzhu," Lin Xiaowan said, lowering her voice as she served Li Nanzhu some food. "It's a good thing you warned us to be careful of Lin Qingyu... later, outside the cave dwelling, he really did make a move against us."
Li Nanzhu's chopsticks paused slightly. "What happened?"
Zhou Zichun took over the conversation with a grim expression. "Not long after you entered the cave dwelling, Senior Brother Lin suddenly ambushed Junior Brother Chen." He clenched his fists. "If it weren't for your warning and the timely arrival of the sect elders..."
Lin Xiaowan's eyes turned red. "I really don't understand why Senior Brother Lin became like this. He used to be so good to us..."
"And then?"
Zhou Zichun gave a bitter laugh. "We took Senior Brother Lin back to the sect for questioning. At first, he insisted he acted alone, until..." His voice choked up slightly. "Until we took him to that red maple tree."
Shen Qingqiu took up the story, her voice trembling. "That was our promise when we entered the inner sect. We agreed that when we all broke through to the Golden Core stage, we would plant a red maple tree together..."
"Later, beneath that red maple tree... we found their bodies buried," Zhou Zichun took a deep breath. "When he saw the blood-stained clothing fragments buried under the tree, Lin Qingyu finally broke down. He confessed that Cang Dongqing had made him take the fall for everything."
Li Nanzhu tightened her grip on her teacup. "And after that?"
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