Li Nanzhu sped through the thick fog. Once she was certain she had put enough distance between herself and the Wuji Sect disciple and Hui Ming—ensuring they wouldn't be able to interfere for a while—her expression shifted into something subtle.
"This is the spot."
Li Nanzhu made a quick decision, her body coming to a sudden halt as she landed silently behind a massive, withered tree. She instantly suppressed her aura to the absolute limit.
Within a few breaths, a saffron-robed figure broke through the mist and arrived at high speed. It was Huijue, who had been in hot pursuit.
His brows furrowed slightly after losing Li Nanzhu's trail, but he could still sense a faint ripple of spiritual energy. It was clear that Li Nanzhu was simply hiding nearby.
"Amitabha. Benefactor Li, why continue to flee? My cultivation has reached the late stage of Foundation Establishment, and I am protected by the Vajra power of the Buddhist school. No matter how many tricks you have, you cannot overcome the gap in our cultivation levels. It would be better to take the initiative and hand over the flag and points to avoid suffering, preserving the dignity of both sides."
In his view, Li Nanzhu's previous performances were merely the result of her reliance on cleverness and special talismans. In a direct head-on confrontation, she was certainly no match for him.
From within the thick fog, Li Nanzhu's voice drifted out with a strange hint of compliance. "The master is right. The gap in cultivation is indeed difficult to cross."
Hearing this, Huijue relaxed slightly. The corners of his lips even curled into an imperceptible arc, thinking she had finally recognized reality and given up her pointless resistance.
He took a step forward, preparing to receive the spoils of war. "It is good that the benefactor understands. My Buddha is mer—"
However, before he could finish his sentence—
Li Nanzhu's figure shot out from the fog behind him and to his side without warning!
She hadn't appeared from behind the withered tree. Instead, she had used the mist and a minute aura disturbance created by Suisui to silently relocate to a different direction.
Since it was all about robbery anyway, did it really matter who was being robbed?
She kicked off hard against the trunk of a nearby ancient tree, using the leverage to double her momentum. She became even faster as she slashed directly toward Huijue's face!
Huijue's pupils shrank as internal alarms blared. He hadn't expected Li Nanzhu to not only stay but actually dare to launch a counterattack!
In his haste, he had no time to cast his signature Buddhist techniques. He could only manage to raise his discipline staff horizontally in front of him, surging his spiritual energy into it to form a defense!
Clang—!!!
The sword light and the Buddhist spiritual glow collided violently. A shockwave erupted with the two as the center, instantly clearing a patch of the surrounding thick fog!
"Ugh!"
Huijue grunted. He couldn't help but stumble back seven or eight steps before he could steady himself. His blood churned, and his spiritual energy was shaken into disarray by that single strike!
Now that Li Nanzhu had the upper hand, how could she give him a chance to breathe?
"Suisui!" she called out in her mind.
Receiving the command, Suisui opened its mouth and exhaled a blast of freezing ice mist.
The ice mist spread instantly, enveloping Huijue within a radius of several meters. His movements immediately stiffened.
"What a bizarre ice mist!"
Startled, Huijue quickly circulated his Buddhist heart method, a faint golden light radiating from his body. In that brief interval, Li Nanzhu rapidly performed hand seals, firing off technique after technique!
"Bind!"
The ground shook as several green vines covered in thorns burst through the soil.
Huijue let out a low shout. A burst of fierce Buddhist power erupted from him, shattering the vines that had coiled around him. But the moment he broke free, Li Nanzhu's next wave of attacks arrived!
Her fingertips shifted, and dozens of fist-sized fireballs condensed in the air, raining down upon Huijue.
The fireballs collided with the remaining ice mist, producing a massive amount of white steam. This further blurred his vision, dropping the visibility in the area to almost zero!
Li Nanzhu, however, relied on her powerful divine sense—which far surpassed that of other cultivators at her level—to perceive her surroundings. In the chaotic mist she had created, her senses were far clearer than Huijue's, who was relying on his eyes!
Wielding the Fellow Daoist sword, she silently lunged at the opening in Huijue's right ribs that he had exposed while shattering the vines. Huijue had just dispersed the fireballs with his Buddhist power when the white steam heavily interfered with his sight and divine sense. The warning in his heart flared again.
He barely managed to catch the glint of a sharp sword light and hurriedly swung his discipline staff to block once more.
Clang!
Another crisp sound rang out. Huijue's arms went numb, and his blood surged as he was pushed back two steps. He was both shocked and enraged; the opponent's attacks were too fast and precise, and she seemed entirely unaffected by the harsh environment!
Because all his attention was focused on Li Nanzhu's fierce frontal assault, he failed to notice that Suisui—who had been attacking alongside her just moments ago—had disappeared.
Just as Huijue took his second step back and prepared to counterattack, Suisui suddenly leaped down from a branch!
It didn't use any spells. Instead, it concentrated all its strength at the top of its head—Headbutt!
It was like a falling meteor!
Crack!
A sickening thud echoed through the air!
Suisui's incredibly hard skull made blunt, intimate contact with the back of Huijue's smooth, bald head!
Huijue felt an indescribable surge of pain and vibration at the back of his head. His vision went black, his gathered Buddhist power collapsed instantly, and his consciousness blurred!
He looked at Li Nanzhu in disbelief. "...You... cheated..."
Before he could finish, his tall frame swayed. The light in his eyes dimmed rapidly, and with a heavy thud, he fell face-first onto the ground, completely unconscious.
A large bump began to swell on his forehead at a visible rate.
Suisui landed lightly on the ground and tilted its head, seemingly quite satisfied with its achievement. It even used its bone claws to pat its own undamaged skull.
Li Nanzhu sheathed her sword and stood there, looking at the fallen Huijue and the innocent-looking Suisui. She couldn't help but let a smile curl onto her lips. She walked over to Huijue, crouched down, and skillfully removed his secret realm jade pendant and storage bag while humming a little tune.
"All is fair in war, Master. This is the Sect Competition; everyone uses their own methods. Who said you can't knock someone out from behind?"
With another ten points in her pocket, her mood was exceptionally bright.
She glanced at the unconscious Huijue. The large bump on his forehead was particularly eye-catching. Though he was an opponent, they both belonged to the righteous path. A competition was a competition, but she couldn't actually let something happen to him.
"Suisui, give me a hand," Li Nanzhu called out.
Suisui obediently came over and helped Li Nanzhu drag Huijue's heavy body to a relatively hidden hollow among some rocks, preventing him from being discovered by demonic beasts in the secret realm.
Li Nanzhu even sprinkled some powder to stop bleeding and reduce bruising, ensuring he wouldn't suffer any lasting harm. He would simply have to wait an hour for someone to crush his pendant and eliminate him.
After handling Huijue, Li Nanzhu retrieved the flag she had hidden in the tree and turned her gaze back the way she came.
She hadn't forgotten that there were still two people back there, fighting to the death over a bone flag tied with a blue cloth that she had tossed away on a whim.
When the snipe and the clam grapple, the fisherman gets the catch.
And Li Nanzhu intended to be that lucky fisherman!
Rate on N.U.
