An uproar broke out in the spectator stands instantly.
“My goodness! Could that pill Li Xiaolan just swallowed be the Soul-Devouring Pill?!”
“Although taking this forbidden pill can briefly boost one’s cultivation, once the medicine wears off, she will lose at least half of her power! She is wagering her very foundation of cultivation just to win!”
“Judging by the manner of Lin Lumi’s moves just now, she is clearly qualified to enter the Spirit Gathering Sect. I really don’t understand why Li Xiaolan insisted on challenging her. Now, she is probably going to ruin herself completely!”
On the arena, Li Xiaolan’s twin scimitars had already unsheathed.
Following the twists of her wrists, the blades traced a complex array pattern in the air.
As spiritual energy gathered at the tips of her blades, the faint sound of a dragon’s roar could actually be heard.
In the spectator stands, several disciples from the Spirit Gathering Sect’s Blade-Edge Hall could no longer sit still: “Isn’t that our Blade-Edge Hall’s ‘Nine-Rotations Dragon Roar’? How did an outer sect disciple like her learn it?”
“This move exceeds the scope of an outer sect disciple’s cultivation. Without taking the Soul-Devouring Pill, she would likely be unable to wield it. Most importantly, this is a lethal strike. Li Xiaolan’s heart is far too venomous.”
Upon the arena, Li Xiaolan’s twin blades swept directly toward Lin Lumi’s face, accompanied by a fierce, biting wind. The blade energy transformed into nine phantom dragon shadows, sealing off all paths of retreat from all directions.
Yet, Lin Lumi did not dodge or evade.
With a light tap of her toes, her figure drifted unpredictably like willow catkins, weaving through the gaps between the blade shadows. Every turn of her body and every spinning step precisely avoided the most fatal attacks.
What was even more shocking was that her clear eyes remained fixed on every single one of Li Xiaolan’s movements, as if she were dismantling the secrets of the technique on the spot—staring so intensely that Li Xiaolan’s entire body went numb.
Inside the private box, Fan Li and Wei Lingfeng’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.
“Am I seeing things…” Fan Li pointed at the arena and looked at Mu Heng. “Isn’t the footwork Lin Lumi is using right now the exclusive technique of our Mystic Dharma Hall? Did you, kid, teach it to her without this master’s permission?”
“I didn’t.” Mu Heng shrugged. “When she and I fought some time ago, I used this move, and she picked it up.”
“You didn’t even draft a draft before lying!? She learned it after you did it once? Are you trying to fool a three-year-old!?”
Mu Heng was truly too lazy to explain: “Why would I lie to you? If you don’t believe it, then forget it.”
On the arena, the fight between the two sides was still in full swing.
After three exchanges, Lin Lumi suddenly let out a soft laugh: “So that’s how it is.”
With her hands clasped in the air, she actually used her fingers as blades to trace an identical array pattern in the air. Although she did not have the support of twin scimitars, the nine dragon-shaped energy currents were even more solid and refined!
“This is impossible!” Li Xiaolan shrieked in disbelief, “How do you know the exclusive technique of my Spirit Gathering Sect!?”
“Just putting to use what I’ve newly learned.” Before Lin Lumi’s words could settle, the nine dragon shadows had already roared forth. The difference was that her move carried a bit less killing intent and a bit more of a flowing, natural elegance.
The two identical forces collided in mid-air, erupting with a blinding light.
Once the dust settled, Li Xiaolan was seen staggering backward, her twin scimitars having slipped from her grasp. Her silver armor had been sliced in half at some unknown point, clattering to the ground. Her high ponytail from earlier was now loose and messy, making her look incredibly disheveled.
Meanwhile, Lin Lumi still stood calmly in her original spot, without even a fold of her clothes disturbed.
The entire arena fell silent for a moment before erupting into earth-shattering cheers.
Li Xiaolan stared in disbelief at her trembling hands. She suddenly felt like a clown on a stage at this moment; all her struggles had become ridiculous tricks in her opponent’s eyes. The exclusive technique she had painstakingly cultivated for two years was seen through and replicated by her opponent within three moves. Such talent had already exceeded her understanding—it was like a bottomless cold pool, sending shivers down her spine.
Lin Lumi sighed: “You are no match for me. Surrender.”
“I can’t…” Li Xiaolan’s voice was as thin as a thread, yet it reached the other’s ears clearly. “I beg of you… just treat it as doing a good deed and accumulating virtue, help me… Aren’t you a good person? Didn’t you help Jiang Yunong that day? Help me this time too, please!?”
“What do you mean?” Lin Lumi’s brow furrowed tightly. “Are you asking me to surrender instead?”
Li Xiaolan nodded frantically: “You are so powerful; even if you surrender, those elders will definitely find ways to recruit you back. But I am different. My father’s official career is still held in the Princess’s hands. And once I surrender, I will be expelled from the Spirit Gathering Sect, and my life will be completely ruined. I beg you, help me, just this once!”
“Psycho.” As her words fell, Lin Lumi directly and without hesitation struck Li Xiaolan’s body with her palm. Li Xiaolan crashed into the golden-thread spiritual net like a puppet, violently spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood. Without the buffer of her protective armor, she could clearly hear the crisp sound of her own ribs snapping.
If another palm strike came, she would truly lose her life.
She slumped to the ground, her breathing growing heavy.
Lin Lumi asked once more: “Surrender. You can’t possibly force me to kill you, right?”
Li Xiaolan no longer dared to hope for anything else; her mind was entirely filled with the desire to survive.
She nodded with great difficulty, her lips trembling, yet her throat felt as if it were locked by something, unable to make any sound at all.
The spectator stands around the arena were still bustling with noise, yet in that corner where no one paid attention, undercurrents were quietly surging.
The Princess leaned back against her seat, her posture lazy, a look of disgust playing at the corners of her lips: “What a useless piece of trash. In that case, she might as well just die at Lin Lumi’s hands. If the Li family asks about it in the future, we will say Lin Lumi was overbearing and pushed her to her death. This way, we can throw the dirty water onto Lin Lumi’s head, and her death won’t be entirely in vain.”
Beside her, a female disciple was forming hand seals, her fingertips emitting a faint green light. The Silence Spell she cast hovered invisibly over Li Xiaolan’s throat, like an invisible net completely swallowing Li Xiaolan’s voice.
The disciple leaned forward slightly, her tone submissive: “The Princess is wise; you are absolutely correct.”
On the other side, seeing her opponent remain silent, Lin Lumi’s brow furrowed tightly.
“What’s going on? You’re already in this state and you still won’t surrender? Are you choosing death over submission?”
Li Xiaolan looked up abruptly, her expression filled with utter horror. Her mouth opened and closed, yet she could not make the slightest sound.
She shook her head frantically, her trembling fingers pointing to her own throat as tears spilled uncontrollably from her eyes, shimmering under the light of the arena’s array.
She did not want to die. She wanted to say the word “surrender,” but her throat felt as if it were sealed by an invisible chain; no matter how she struggled, she could only emit mute gasps of air.
That expression of despair, terror, and the struggle for survival actually caused Lin Lumi’s heart to skip a beat.
Almost instinctively, Li Xiaolan turned her head to look toward the spectator stands. Her gaze swept past countless unfamiliar or indifferent faces, finally locking onto the leisurely and comfortable Princess. Meanwhile, her former companion had her eyes lowered, the green light on her fingertips flickering faintly.
At that moment, she understood completely: that group of the Princess’s had never intended to let her off from the very beginning.
Utterly despondent, she crawled on the ground, clutching the hem of Lin Lumi’s trousers, and continuously kowtowed.