Master of Nine Stars

Su Wan cried out in alarm, "Be careful!"

In Rong Taotao’s combat group, however, Gao Zehua could no longer stand such a passive situation. He kicked off the ground forcefully, launching himself backward. From the looks of it, he probably flew back more than 20 meters!

And as he flew backward, lying almost flat in the air, Gao Zehua swung his hands forward violently, sending two Water Blades flying like daggers straight for Rong Taotao’s face!

"Jumping!? You dare jump in front of me!?" Rong Taotao sounded as if he’d been deeply insulted!

’That’s it?’

’And you claim you’ve never lost!?’

’What are you jumping for? Begging to lose?’

Although Gao Zehua had been forced to kick off the ground and fly backward to disengage from the fight, to Rong Taotao, his opponent was "jumping"!

In that instant, Rong Taotao truly transformed into Rong Run Tu!

Ducking to dodge the Water Blades, he took a great stride forward. In the same motion, he raised the Heaven-piercing Halberd high and hurled it down with all his might!

Gao Zehua’s pupils shrank to pinpricks. In that flash of a moment, he didn’t even have time to give up on the martial arts exchange and switch to a Soul Skill!

"SHINK!" The sharp Long Halberd instantly pierced Gao Zehua’s calf. It carried his backward-flying body down with it, pinning him directly to the turf field!

"AHHHH!" Gao Zehua’s pained screams instantly echoed throughout the entire stadium.

For a moment, countless people exclaimed in admiration. This Rong Taotao’s ability to seize opportunities was just too strong!

In just over ten seconds, he had turned a disadvantage into an advantage, and an advantage into a winning position!

He was the perfect embodiment of the saying, "Kick ’em while they’re down"!

From start to finish, Gao Zehua had only lost his footing once, but Rong Taotao had taken that one seemingly insignificant moment and snowballed it into this massive advantage!

Rong Taotao, who was supposed to be showing off fancy moves with his Heaven-piercing Halberd, had instead used no flashy, superfluous actions during the pursuit.

He had no intention of a back-and-forth exchange that would drag on for 20 minutes. He truly only needed one opportunity to decide the victor!

Instantly, the spectator stands erupted in an uproar.

If they had been supported by Soul Pearls and Soul Skills, this match definitely wouldn’t have been so "plain." It would have been incredibly spectacular. After all, both Ocean Soul Techniques and Snow Realm Soul Skills have large-scale effects that are very impressive.

But this pure contest of martial arts...

So plain, yet so perilous!

"It’s... it’s over?"

"He only hurt his calf, he can still fight, right? He... Whoa! Watch out!"

"It’s over, it’s over. Rong Taotao won’t make a mistake. He’s bound to press his advantage, and Gao Zehua won’t be able to handle it! What is wrong with him? Why did he have to compete in martial arts? You’ve practiced Soul Techniques for three years longer than the other guy, use your Soul Skills!"

"Look over there, look over there! Gao Lingwei is on a rampage! Holy crap!!!"

On the turf field, in the other combat group...

"You... you!?" Lin Xiaoxiao was completely stunned. Wielding Dual Sabers, she had thought her own offense was swift and fierce enough. Today was a real eye-opener—someone could actually suppress her this thoroughly!?

During the Outer League, even though Gao Lingwei’s martial arts were superb, Lin Xiaoxiao believed she could put up a fight. But this... this...

’Has Gao Lingwei been hiding her true strength all this time?’

’Or has her Sword Technique improved drastically in the last three months?’

Lin Xiaoxiao subconsciously looked up, and through a blur of flashing blades, she saw Gao Lingwei’s eyes, overflowing with killing intent.

Gao Lingwei was still staring intently at Lin Xiaoxiao.

From the beginning to the end, her gaze had never wavered!

Panic flared in Lin Xiaoxiao’s heart. ’Is my opponent... cheating? Is she using a Spiritual Soul Technique? Gao Lingwei’s eyes, those eyes...’

’Does she really want me to die?’

’She wasn’t kidding!?’

’Is there really so much hatred between us?’

Hatred? Of course not.

It’s just that once Gao Lingwei got in the zone, every single move was a killing blow!

In the canyon, this was the truth.

If the endless Corpse Tide had taught Gao Lingwei anything, it was only one thing: if the enemy doesn’t die, I do!

"GULP." Lin Xiaoxiao swallowed hard, her heart filled with terror.

She didn’t want to be so disgraced. She didn’t want to be intimidated by her opponent’s gaze, let alone retreat because of her aura. This was the national tournament; she couldn’t afford to lose face like this!

But... but...

Gao Lingwei’s sharp gaze seemed even sharper than her Great Xia Dragon Sparrow, as if it could pierce right through Lin Xiaoxiao’s heart!

Even though the blade hadn’t actually pierced her body, Lin Xiaoxiao’s hands and feet had already gone cold. In her extreme terror, her movements were even starting to lose their form!

With a mentality like this, how could she possibly display her full strength?

And you couldn’t say Lin Xiaoxiao’s mental fortitude was weak. Put any other opponent in her place, and they’d panic just the same...

In all her years as a Soul Martial Artist, Lin Xiaoxiao had never felt such an absurdly thick killing intent!

Every attack from the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow made Lin Xiaoxiao’s heart pound in fear.

Between the eyes, the throat, the heart...

Block, block again, keep deflecting...

"CLANG~!" A crisp sound rang out.

In an instant, the noisy, clamoring turf field fell completely silent!

On the field, Lin Xiaoxiao’s right hand held her saber, poised for a horizontal slash to her side, but her arm was frozen in midair.

The Water Saber in Lin Xiaoxiao’s left hand, originally blocking in front of her, had been forcefully swatted aside by the snow-forged Great Xia Dragon Sparrow.

Lin Xiaoxiao stood foolishly rooted to the spot, her body leaning back slightly, not daring to move an inch.

Meanwhile, Gao Lingwei held her blade with both hands near the side of her head. Lunging forward in a thrust, she placed the sharp tip of her blade against Lin Xiaoxiao’s throat, even piercing shallowly into her skin!

The movements of the two froze in that pose.

In the camera’s view, Gao Lingwei’s ponytail, which had flown out sideways from her forward momentum, settled onto her back. At the tip of the snow-forged blade, a trace of red blood appeared.

Lin Xiaoxiao’s body trembled uncontrollably. Her face was deathly pale, but she didn’t dare to move. A layer of cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

"Die, or surrender." Gao Lingwei’s voice was terrifyingly grim. Her eyes, from beginning to end, remained locked on Lin Xiaoxiao’s.

Lin Xiaoxiao subconsciously averted her gaze, only to hear a single number escape Gao Lingwei’s lips: "3."

"TWEET! TWEET~!"

The moment the word left her mouth, the referee blew his whistle. She didn’t turn her head. Even without seeing the outcome of the other battle with her own eyes, she was confident.

"2."

Lin Xiaoxiao’s expression changed abruptly, her heart filled with alarm. "I surrender! I surrender!!!"

"TWEET~! Gao Zehua has lost the ability to fight! Lin Xiaoxiao has voluntarily forfeited! The winner of the Outer Region Division is Team 1, Pine Soul Soul Martial!" the referee shouted loudly.

Gao Lingwei finally moved the Great Xia Dragon Sparrow from Lin Xiaoxiao’s throat. A trickle of blood was still running down its tip.

She turned her head and saw that on the distant battlefield, Rong Taotao had pulled the Heaven-piercing Halberd from Gao Zehua’s thigh. The snow-forged Ironspear Point was also bright red.

’Did he say something?’

They were too far apart for Gao Lingwei to hear Rong Taotao’s words, of course, but from the movement of his lips, it seemed to be... the same thing she had said before the match began.

"As you wish."

...

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