As the night deepened, the Five Elements Dao Sect's residence was brightly lit.
"You need to be more careful in the upcoming matches, Second Senior Brother," Feng Qingping said, fiddling with her array flags, her brow furrowed slightly. "The final will definitely be between you and Pei Ji, not to mention the team battles afterward. The Sword Heart Sect will certainly try to exploit any weaknesses."
Zhu Yinxi gently stroked his jade flute. "It's fine. I still have three new melodies..."
"Don't!" everyone interrupted in unison. Suisui even went so far as to dramatically cover its ears.
Mu Wenyan coughed lightly. "Second Junior Brother, I think we can take a different approach."
"Since your music attacks have already been exposed, why not beat them at their own game?"
Li Nanzhu's eyes lit up. "Does Eldest Senior Brother mean..."
"A diversion," Mu Wenyan said. "During the team battle, we can have Second Junior Brother act as bait to draw the opponent's main force."
Jiang Yifan suddenly spoke up. "I'll do it."
Everyone was taken aback.
Feng Qingping hesitated. "Fourth Senior Brother, you mean..."
"I will be the bait," Jiang Yifan said expressionlessly. "They don't know my true strength."
Duan Xianxing slapped his thigh. "That's right! After Fourth Senior Brother's battle today, they definitely won't know his actual level!"
Li Nanzhu fell into thought. "The Sword Heart Sect probably thinks that besides Eldest Senior Brother, Second Senior Brother is our strongest fighter..."
"Exactly." Mu Wenyan nodded. "We can use this misconception. Let Fourth Junior Brother be the bait, and Second Junior Brother can launch his sound attack at the critical moment."
Zhu Yinxi stroked the jade flute again. "Then my new melodies..."
"Not necessary!" the others shouted together once more.
While the group was discussing enthusiastically, Li Nanzhu's communication jade slip suddenly received a message from Rong Yuying.
—The Sword Heart Sect is plotting to eliminate Zhu Yinxi first in the team battle. They have a Sound-Breaking Sword Technique specifically designed to counter music cultivators.
Li Nanzhu showed the message to the others, and the group fell silent for a moment.
Feng Qingping was the first to speak. "It seems the Sword Heart Sect is hell-bent on targeting Second Senior Brother."
Exploring his options, Duan Xianxing scratched his head. "Then what do we do?"
Jiang Yifan stood up abruptly. "I'll handle it."
"Fourth Senior Brother, you mean..." Li Nanzhu asked tentatively.
"When the time comes, I'll deal with Pei Ji," Jiang Yifan said coldly. "I won't give him a chance to act."
Zhu Yinxi nodded slightly. "Then I..."
"Second Junior Brother will be responsible for the final sound attack," Mu Wenyan finalized the plan. "However, use your old melodies."
Zhu Yinxi: "..."
In the dead of night, Li Nanzhu sat on the roof holding Suisui. In the distance, the Sword Heart Sect's quarters were brilliantly lit, with shadows moving occasionally.
"Suisui, do you think we can win?" she asked softly.
Suisui's soul fire flickered gently as it pointed a bone claw toward the Five Elements Dao Sect's residence—Jiang Yifan was sitting quietly in the courtyard, meditating as spiritual energy flowed around him; Zhu Yinxi was wiping his jade flute, its gold patterns glinting coldly under the moonlight.
Li Nanzhu pursed her lips, but her mind was on something else.
'Rong Yuying... how on earth did she get such critical intelligence?'
'Reasonably speaking, these things should only be known by direct disciples...'
'Although I suspect Lin Shuang, she is still a member of the Sword Heart Sect. For the sake of her sect, she wouldn't leak such things...'
Li Nanzhu muttered to herself while holding Suisui. Sensing her mood, the little skeleton stayed perfectly still in her arms.
"I hope everything goes smoothly..."
Meanwhile, Rong Yuying, who had sent the message, showed no joy on her face.
She was currently clutching a small slip of paper. The handwriting on it was crooked and messy, but the content was exactly what she had just informed Li Nanzhu about!
'This thing...' Rong Yuying pursed her lips. Although the information was likely true... the way it appeared was simply too strange.
'I should find a time to tell Grandmother...'
The schedule for the next matches soon reached everyone's hands.
On the arena, Zhu Yinxi stood holding his jade flute. His opponent, Ji Yanzhi, was dressed in green robes with an artifact pouch full of talismans hanging at his waist. He held three talismans glowing with golden light between his fingers.
"I didn't expect him to be quite capable," Duan Xianxing grumbled. After all, the memory of the man being sent flying by their eldest senior brother in the Flowing Cloud Secret Realm was still vivid.
"He is the chief disciple of the Wuji Sect, after all." Li Nanzhu stared at the two on the stage. "It certainly won't be that simple."
By now, the two on stage had already made their moves. Ji Yanzhi struck first, throwing out all three talismans simultaneously!
Three golden lights wove into a net, descending toward Zhu Yinxi.
Zhu Yinxi remained calm, tapping his jade flute. "Water Curtain of the Heavens!"
A deep blue screen of water appeared out of thin air, blocking all the golden light.
"Just as I thought," Ji Yanzhi sneered. He had studied the previous matches; he knew this was Zhu Yinxi's most common move and had already prepared a counter.
He swiftly threw out more talismans he had prepared.
"Five-thunder talisman!"
Five bolts of lightning erupted from the talismans, striking toward Zhu Yinxi with a roar. Zhu Yinxi shifted his footwork, spinning his jade flute. "Water Dragon's Cry!"
A water dragon roared forth, colliding with the lightning and exploding into a mist that filled the air.
On the viewing platform, the Sovereign and elders of the Wuji Sect watched the scene with satisfaction.
"Not bad, not bad. This child's application of talismans is much more proficient than before." Elder Yun stroked his beard.
"Those are all around tier 3 talismans." Xiang Lin, the Sovereign of the Wuji Sect, could hardly suppress the smile on his face. "It seems he has made another breakthrough."
"Indeed, indeed," Elder Mu chimed in. "In that case, he will surely defeat Zhu Yinxi! He might even take first place in the Golden Core stage."
Even though they knew the chances of taking first place were slim with the Sword Heart Sect's Pei Ji around, they couldn't resist such flattering words.
"Hahaha! As long as Yanzhi does his best!"
On the stage, the battle between the two had reached a fever pitch.
Ji Yanzhi's hands were trembling slightly. Watching from below was one thing, but only after facing Zhu Yinxi directly did he realize just how troublesome the man was.
Gritting his teeth, he produced seven more talismans. Simultaneously, two golden talisman runes appeared on his ears.
"I won't fall for your sound attacks."
Zhu Yinxi smiled faintly. "Is that so?"
Ji Yanzhi said no more, throwing out the seven talismans at once. "Lock!"
Seven chains instantly shot out from the talismans, coiling toward Zhu Yinxi from different angles. Calmly, Zhu Yinxi tapped his jade flute. "Water Mirror Shield!"
A mirror composed of flowing water manifested in front of him, refracting all the chains.
"It's useless!" Ji Yanzhi formed a hand seal. "Turn!"
The seven chains suddenly changed direction, striking at Zhu Yinxi again.
A sharp glint flashed in Zhu Yinxi's eyes as he suddenly pressed the jade flute to his lips. Seeing this, Ji Yanzhi immediately activated the soundproofing runes on his ears while throwing out three defensive talismans. "Protect!"
However, the expected piercing flute music did not sound.
Zhu Yinxi merely mimicked the action of playing the flute, while the water dragon surrounding him suddenly split into seven smaller ones, precisely entangling the seven chains!
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