Qin Yu felt a secret sense of alarm: five moves.
Just now, from their brief exchange, she could already sense that the other woman’s strength was terrifyingly immense.
Could she truly survive five moves under such a formidable attack?
“Then, what if I lose?” Qin Yu continued to ask.
“Then you will simply have to leave your fate entirely in my hands. I must admit, I find you quite interesting,” Cheng Xia said with a smile.
Qin Yu laughed bitterly inside. Did she really have a second choice besides agreeing? Interesting? Anyone the woman found interesting never met a good end. Qin Yu certainly could not appreciate that kind of interest.
“Fine, I agree. If I lose, can you just punish me alone and let them go? After all, they are innocent.” Qin Yu spoke up once more.
No matter what, she had come here on Yu Qingya’s behalf to rescue people, so she naturally could not let them be exposed to such risks. If she had to sacrifice everyone’s lives, she might as well team up with the people she brought and fight to the bitter end.
“Very well,” Cheng Xia agreed immediately without a moment’s hesitation.
She had never intended to take these people’s lives anyway, as they were of no real use to her. Otherwise, she would have killed them all long ago. The only reason she had kept them alive was to lure the two of them out.
Hearing this reply, Qin Yu let out a sigh of relief. The book stated that although this woman had a terrible personality, she had one defining trait: she always kept her word.
Since she had agreed, she would definitely not go back on it, meaning everyone here was safe now.
“In that case, please make your move.” Having obtained a definitive answer and knowing that, regardless of the outcome, she could at least report back to Yu Qingya, Qin Yu cast aside her remaining reservations.
Cheng Xia let out a cold laugh, then reached out and launched herself toward Qin Yu, sending a blue orb of light hurtling straight at her.
Qin Yu immediately summoned a fire shield to defend herself, only to find that the opponent’s attack passed right through the shield, knocking her back several steps.
Panting heavily, Qin Yu managed to steady her footing. She knew that this first move was merely a test by Cheng Xia. But if a mere test already possessed this level of intensity, could she possibly endure the remaining four moves?
“Is that all the ability you have?” Cheng Xia clicked her tongue twice, looking distinctly disappointed.
Qin Yu brushed the dust off her clothes. “I should be the one asking you that. Do you only have this much skill?”
Hearing this, the nearby Qinglian Pavilion disciples stared at Qin Yu in absolute horror, never expecting her to have the audacity to speak so wildly and provoke this female demon. After all, Cheng Xia always looked unpredictable and terrifyingly cruel.
However, Qin Yu did not see it that way. The gap in their power was currently worlds apart, and if Cheng Xia wished, she could kill her within five moves.
Yet people of such immense strength in novels usually suffered from a peculiar flaw: they loved those who refused to yield. If someone showed a weak character and gave up easily, they were deemed utterly boring in their eyes.
“Oh?” A genuine smile finally appeared on Cheng Xia’s face. “You really are a bit different. Then let us try this move.”
With that, Cheng Xia’s hands spun and shifted continuously until she formed a hand seal and charged at Qin Yu.
This time, Qin Yu did not dare to respond recklessly. She hurriedly channeled the spiritual energy within her body to mount a defense.
However, this time was clearly not as lucky as the last, as it was no longer just a test of her strength. It left Qin Yu feeling as though her entire body had been scorched by fire, sending agonizing pain straight to her soul.
It seemed the opponent no longer intended to test her and wanted to strike in earnest, yet due to the earlier provocation, she still did not want to kill her outright just yet.
Enduring the agonizing pain once more, Qin Yu blocked the next two moves.
It hurts so much. It feels like my soul is burning.
Qin Yu felt her consciousness growing somewhat hazy, the inevitable consequence of severe consumption. Yet she could not afford to collapse just yet.
One more move. As long as she could hold out through this final move, she would temporarily be out of mortal danger.
Qin Yu managed to stabilize her footing. This time, she did not wait for the opponent’s attack to arrive.
She knew that while the woman kept her word, the premise was that she remained ruthless, and lacking any male lead halo, she had no choice but to stake everything on a single gamble.
They said attack was the best defense, so now she had no choice but to fight with her back against the wall, seeking life within the jaws of death.
She had thought of the wager in the book involving Yu Qingya, but she never imagined that right in the middle of the gamble, the male lead would descend from the heavens to save them.
Must she still rely on a man to save her even after transmigrating into the book?
No, that is impossible.
Gritting her teeth, Qin Yu no longer needed to bite her finger; she simply brushed a light swipe across her lips with her hand. That was blood she had coughed up when Cheng Xia struck her earlier.
Using the same method, Qin Yu formed a hand seal in the air with her blood-stained fingers. The only difference this time was that the fiery red glow was interwoven with a brilliant, glittering gold.
Ever since taking the Three Element Holy Fruit, her spiritual energy felt far purer.
No, that is not it. An ordinary Three Element Holy Fruit could only recover spiritual energy; it could not purge impurities from it.
It turned out that what Yu Qingya had found for her was the absolute pinnacle of the Three Element Holy Fruit: the Heavenly Element Holy Fruit.
Sister, you really helped me out this time.
A faint, confident smile curved the corner of Qin Yu’s lips. Within that talisman seal flickered a golden-flamed fire, the purer, cleansing Flame of Annihilation.
This time, she would take the initiative to attack.
Cheng Xia looked in slight astonishment at the oppressive flames. Although she had heard during this period that this woman possessed the ability to restrain their foreign race, she had never experienced it so directly.
She hurriedly threw up a defense, yet was still forced back a few steps.
Meanwhile, Qin Yu’s condition was clearly far worse. Her entire body swayed unsteadily, and only pure willpower kept her standing upright.
“The five moves have passed. I won.”
Qin Yu revealed a faint smile, though the torn corners of her mouth made her expression look somewhat twisted at the moment.
Cheng Xia’s complexion was far from pleasant, completely bewildered as to how she had been reduced to such a state by someone vastly inferior in strength. Not only had she failed to kill her opponent, but she had even been left looking rather disheveled.
“Hey, you are not planning to go back on your word, are you?” Seeing that Cheng Xia remained silent, Qin Yu felt a knot of anxiety in her heart. Although the book portrayed her as a trustworthy person, so many variables had occurred ever since she arrived here; what if this variable was one of them?
Only then did Cheng Xia snap back to her senses. “Qin Yu, was it? I will remember you.”
Following that, beneath the timid gazes of the crowd, she led the group of foreign adversaries into a full retreat and vanished from sight.
Seeing this, Qin Yu finally let out a long breath of relief, but the very next instant, her entire body collapsed to the ground.
The Qinglian Pavilion disciples hurriedly swarmed forward, hoisting Qin Yu onto someone’s back as they prepared to carry her back to the Qinglian Pavilion.
In the final second before losing consciousness, Qin Yu thought, Sister, thankfully I did not let you down this time.