“Chu Liang will definitely not lose; rest assured,” Lin Bei declared, thumping his chest with conviction.

Behind him stood Shang Ziliang and his entourage, all looking rather anxious. Shang Ziliang said, “Although Big Brother often pulls off astonishing feats, Mu Sister is no ordinary opponent. I really don’t know if he can win when it comes down to a contest of true strength.”

“I may not know how he will win, but I am certain that he will,” Lin Bei said with a pause, his voice firm. “I have absolute confidence in him.”

The strong confidence Lin Bei had in Chu Liang took Shang Ziliang by surprise… With Lin Bei having such unwavering faith in Big Brother, how could he himself fall behind?

Thus, Shang Ziliang lifted his head and shouted loudly, “Chu Liang, Chu Liang, the strongest of Shu Mountain!”

Chu Liang quickly gestured for him to be quiet, his face lined with exasperation. Turning back to face Mu Yueting, Chu Liang’s expression grew serious.

“Sister Mu, please.”

“Brother Chu, please.”

They bowed to each other, and then the presiding elder in the center of the arena waved his hand, “Begin!”

At the start of the match, Mu Yueting immediately locked her vital energy onto Chu Liang’s hands, while her sword burst into dazzling light!

She had watched Chu Liang’s previous battles and knew that his most relied upon weapon was that strange, multifaceted magical artifact, which was extremely fast and deadly. But as long as one was fully focused, it wasn’t hard to guard against.

The key was to strike first and not give him a chance to use his artifact!

However, what Chu Liang took out was not the Green Leaf artifact, but a jade talisman.

A spell-storing jade talisman.

There were strict rules on Shu Mountain regarding the artifacts disciples could bring to the stage; they were only allowed one, and it had to be approved in advance. Items like spell-storing jade talismans could also be brought onto the stage as artifacts, but only one was permitted, and the spell stored within could not be cast by someone more than one major realm above the competitor.

This meant that if Chu Liang brought a spell-storing jade talisman to the stage, he couldn’t bring the Green Leaf artifact, and the talisman could only be used once, containing only a spell cast by a fourth-realm cultivator.

The restrictions were quite significant.

But Chu Liang still brought it, and stored within was a witchcraft spell cast by Luo Yao.

The Forbidden Spell Zone!

Snap.

The curse descended, and in an instant, a breeze swept through.

Mu Yueting felt her vital energy stall, suppressed by the laws of heaven and earth, and immediately realized the effect of the witchcraft spell, her complexion changing.

Her cultivation was entirely focused on her sword; if she couldn’t use her vital energy, then her sword energy was out of the question.

But she didn’t resign herself to fate; instead, she ran her cultivation at full strength, causing the sword’s light to flicker uncertainly, its sharp aura formidable!

She knew that if she pushed with all her might, the duration of the Forbidden Spell Zone would be greatly reduced! The opponent could only store a Forbidden Spell Zone cast by a fourth-realm cultivator, which meant she could break through it in just a few breaths. Once that happened, the opponent would have no more artifacts to use, while she would still have the advantage of her cultivation and an additional artifact.

All she had to do was last these few breaths!

But could she?

…

Chu Liang was already rushing towards her, swift as the wind.

From observing the previous two battles, he had seen all of Mu Yueting’s fights and knew that her entire practice was sword techniques, with an attack that was fierce and unmatched! If she were allowed to exert her full power, even a fifth-realm cultivator would not dare to claim they could emerge unscathed.

Correspondingly, her weakness lay in her lack of defense.

Offense is indeed the best defense, but what if you can’t attack? Especially since in the previous two battles, Chu Liang had never seen her use any divine powers related to her physical body.

So he surmised that Mu Yueting, as a pure female sword cultivator, probably hadn’t focused much on cultivating her physical body.

Actually, Fang Ting’s characteristics in the previous battle were similar; they were both considered pure swordsmanship inheritors of Shu Mountain, typical of strong offense but weak defense. It’s just that Chu Liang knew Fang Ting a bit better and knew how to provoke him into losing his composure, winning the match in a simpler way.

Dealing with Mu Yueting was obviously a bit more difficult.

He probably only had a few breaths’ worth of time to attack before she would break free from the Forbidden Spell Zone’s constraints.

Having cultivated the Dragon Blood Secret Technique to this day, Chu Liang’s physical body was already far stronger than those of the same realm. He took a large stride, and in the span of a breath, he was in front of Mu Yueting.

Mu Yueting raised her long sword, ready for battle.

As a fourth-realm cultivator, even if her physical body was weak, it wasn’t so feeble that she had no fighting power. She also had her foundation in sword techniques; if she could fully utilize them, she might be able to contend with a third-realm martial cultivator. Therefore, she wasn’t too panicked at this moment.

How high could Chu Liang’s martial skills be, even if he had some?

But facing her long sword, Chu Liang didn’t even draw a weapon. Instead, his figure flickered, and in an instant, he was behind Mu Yueting. His gaze was cold, flashing with a sharp light.

I have already seen through all your strength, yet you know nothing of my methods. The outcome of this battle was predetermined.

Reversal Step!

A chop with the hand!

Boom.Mu Yueting’s body collapsed without resistance, and she lost consciousness.

Two breaths later, the battle was over.

…

“Hehe, Master Huang, aren’t you going to say something?” On the viewing platform, Elder Sun said with a chuckle.

“What’s there to laugh about? Didn’t you guess wrong too?” Master Huang looked somewhat sullen, having not expected that the youngster would pull another trick out of his sleeve and win the contest so easily.

“I guessed he would lose simply because of my bias against Di Nvfeng. Aside from that, I quite favored this young man with the top-quality Golden Elixir, and the result was as expected,” Elder Sun shook his head, “I didn’t go through a whole analysis with a notebook only to be utterly wrong in the end.”

“Hmph.” Master Huang tossed aside the booklet in his hand and snorted coldly, “It was just a fluke. Without real strength, he won’t get far.”

“He knows how to use his advantages and target the enemy’s weaknesses. I actually have high hopes for him,” Elder Sun’s eyes twinkled as he suddenly said, “How about we make a bet on the outcome of his next fight?”

“Oh?” Master Huang asked, “What do you want to bet?”

“If he wins the next fight, you’ll lend me the ‘Omniscient’ from Tian Shu Pavilion for three days,” Elder Sun proposed.

“I’ve long noticed you coveting the ‘Omniscient’. Your true colors are showing,” Master Huang sneered, “If he loses the next fight, you’ll give me your calligraphy opportunity for this year to Tian Shu Pavilion.”

“It’s a deal!” Elder Sun laughed.

While the two elders were chatting and laughing, a commotion arose from the side where Elder Chuan Jian was stopping someone.

“Don’t make a fuss. Is the mountain gate summit a place for you to run wild?” Elder Chuan Jian said sternly.

“I mean no harm. I just heard that old man Huang was here?” the newcomer shouted, “I’ve been wanting to ask him, is it his idea that his disciple keeps slandering me in the Seven Stars Residence’s publications?”

This fiery voice startled both elders, who turned their heads to look, and indeed saw a tall and beautiful woman in a long robe, her eyebrows raised in anger, trying to push through.

Master Huang’s face changed drastically, and he leaped up, saying, “Just say my house is on fire, I’m leaving first!”

Good morning.