Inside the arena, Lu Qun lay on his back on the ground, feeling utterly blank.

There is nothing more sorrowful than being completely crushed by an opponent’s strength and intellect on stage.

Especially... In a daze, Lu Qun recalled that while reading his opponent’s profile before the battle, he discovered that Shen Qingming even had a label of mild intellectual disability... He was actually intellectually crushed by someone labeled mildly intellectually challenged!

As a Sword Dao genius of the Lu Family, he had experienced quite a few setbacks in his life, whether failing to surpass the predecessors’ records or being taught a lesson repeatedly by fellow genius senior and junior brothers upon arriving at the Sword Academy... And relying on these failures, Lu Qun had developed considerable depth and viewed many things with indifference.

However, this battle with Shen Qingming truly cut him to the bone, besides the bewilderment from the unexpected defeat, a sense of humiliation and indignation gradually emerged.

The Doorboard Sword that attracted most of his attention was just a decoy!? The opponent won the match with his fists?

Isn’t this a Sword Fighting tournament! Even if emphasizing real combat, the rules are not that strict, but there should at least be a basic framework!

"I was actually using a sword all along." Facing Lu Qun’s expression, gradually twisted and about to pop his eyes, Shen Qingming also felt that winning by disfiguring with chaotic punches lacked a bit of persuasiveness, thus racked his brains to explain, "This move is actually called Deceptive Swordsmanship..."

Lu Qun erupted angrily: "Do you take me for an idiot?!"

Shen Qingming continued to explain: "Don’t harbor prejudice against my explanation, objectively speaking, this explanation has its rationality..."

"What rationality! Carrying a doorboard and then punching someone barehanded, can this be called Swordsmanship!?"

At this moment, Shen Qingming was also enlightened, his mind instantly conjured up a particularly punchable, yet exceptionally elegant face.

"Since you question whether what I used wasn’t Swordsmanship, you first need to provide a precise definition of Swordsmanship."

"...Why does this need a precise definition, isn’t it self-explanatory?"

Shen Qingming said: "If it’s self-explanatory, any combat method related to swords is Swordsmanship. I was holding that Heavy Sword tight from start to finish, only letting go at the last moment, with a sword-holding rate over 99%, what more do you want?"

Lu Qun was momentarily stunned by this response, is this even possible?

However, looking at the girl’s righteous face, Lu Qun couldn’t help but calm down and engage in a battle of wits with her.

"This is pure sophistry, so what if your sword-holding rate exceeded 99%? You’ve had both feet present from start to finish, does that mean you were using Foot Techniques?"

Shen Qingming said: "Swordsmanship and Foot Techniques don’t conflict, I can use both Swordsmanship and Foot Techniques, do the rules say you can only use Swordsmanship and not other techniques? When you planted a mark on me using traps, were you using Swordsmanship then?"

Lu Qun was immediately speechless, thinking for a while, then said: "At the very least, the combat technique should center around the sword to be called Swordsmanship, right?"

Shen Qingming thus said: "In my combat technique, the Heavy Sword is indeed the core. Had I not been holding the Heavy Sword, would you have chosen such a conservative attack? Had I not let go of the Heavy Sword at the final moment, employing that... Sword Swinging Skill, would you have been bewildered allowing me to close in so suddenly? The core of my combat technique from start to finish is the Heavy Sword, what more do you want?"

Lu Qun’s vision darkened from this relentless questioning: "You, this is outright nonsense, you may have been holding a sword, but but..."

But after all that, Lu Qun couldn’t find any reason to refute her.

Seeing the opponent speechless, Shen Qingming felt even more righteous and confident: "So what right do you have to question if I wasn’t using Swordsmanship? Deceptive Swordsmanship, personally passed down by City Lord Golden Jade, are you more authoritative, more significant than the City Lord Golden Jade? In reality, you’re just a sore loser, driven by vanity!"

"I’m no sore loser!" Lu Qun suddenly argued, "Had you not used these shameless tactics, I would admit defeat no matter how terrible it was!"

"Does the Sword Fighting tournament have regulations prohibiting tactics? Without tactics, what’s the difference between people and wooden stake puppets, why even go on stage, everyone can just measure the True Essence Realm and Magical Treasure Level, calculate the victory and defeat relation using formulas, can’t they?!"

At this point, Shen Qingming already had an aura like Mount Tai pressing down, rendering Lu Qun, who was a head taller, unable to breathe.

"Alright, stop arguing." At this moment, Wang Xiao, the head of the Sword Academy, stepped forward and said, "The victor has been decided, there’s no use in more words. Instead of debating definitions, it’s better to reflect on your own shortcomings."

With this statement, it was already a gentle yet firm critique. Lu Qun’s face turned pale upon hearing this, and he lowered his head, saying, "Disciple acknowledges his mistakes."

After speaking, he apologized to Shen Qingming: "I am inferior in skill, yet vanity got the best of me. After losing, I still cling obstinately. I am truly ashamed..."

As Lu Qun admitted defeat, this battle in the junior group ended amidst countless astonished gazes.

The genius swordsman of Wuxiang Sword Academy, Lu Qun, unexpectedly lost to the external helper swordsman from Cyan Lotus Academy, Shen Qingming.

And this is also the first time in over a decade that Wuxiang Sword Academy lost to Cyan Lotus Academy in the junior group of the sword fighting contest.

Although, as a rule, the junior group sword fighting is the most uncertain, and the advantages of a large sect are the hardest to exploit—after all, the contestants in the junior group are new entrants, most still have the cultivation level from before they joined, and do not truly represent the nurturing level of a sect.

But in reality, only those who actually participate in the sword fighting conference know that Wuxiang Sword Academy holds the greatest advantage in the junior group.

Among the Three Academies, Wuxiang Sword Academy’s martial reputation is the most illustrious, so those truly aspiring to Sword Dao, if they haven’t inherited the family legacy, usually choose to further their studies at Wuxiang Sword Academy. Although Cyan Lotus Academy’s Sword Group is also renowned, its recent years of weak performance against Wuxiang Sword Academy cause top-tier talents to lean towards the latter. As for the sword cultivators who choose the Academy, they mostly emphasize theory and downplay practice.

Moreover, Wuxiang Sword Academy emphasizes real combat, where the first thing newcomers do upon entering is sparring with their fellow disciples, often leaving them with bruised noses and swollen faces.

Outside Sword Academy, no matter how talented other cultivators are, their practical experience, especially in the ring, can’t compare to the veterans inside Wuxiang Sword Academy. It’s very likely that despite having a hard skill advantage, they quickly lose in the ring.

This post-entry trial isn’t about suppressing arrogance or imposing authority but is intended to help talented newcomers improve rapidly. For young sword cultivators just starting out, the fastest way to enhance their strength is through learning from failures. Losing dozens of times in the ring, despite a dismal win rate, undoubtedly leads to a rapid rise in practical combat skills.

All these factors combined meant that over the past decade, Wuxiang Sword Academy had never lost to an opponent in the junior group of sword fighting—until this time, Lu Qun’s loss to Shen Qingming indeed stirred considerable astonishment.

As for the chatter among the Sword Academy people, Shen Qingming couldn’t care less. The girl, with a ponytail swung, walked up to Wang Jiu with a smile and looked up, saying, "So, how about it, are you impressed by me now?"

Wang Jiu said, "The precise definition of being impressed requires you to exceed expectations, but your combat performance was exactly as I anticipated, so I can’t say I’m impressed. If you were taken down in one move at the beginning, that would have impressed me..."

"You’re the one taken down in one move!" Shen Qingming’s smile vanished instantly, and she retorted angrily, "Also, I’m not talking about the combat performance. Anyway, all the strategies were devised by Zhao Chenlu, there’s nothing to brag about winning. I’m talking about afterward, facing Lu Qun’s doubts, I easily crushed him with exquisite logic! Now, do you dare to call me slightly dim-witted?"

Wang Jiu, upon hearing this, couldn’t help but lower his head and remain silent.

Shen Qingming snorted, and the smile crept back onto her face: "What now, got nothing to say?"

Wang Jiu nodded: "Based on our more than a year of acquaintance, I judge that what I might say next could cause you psychological harm, so in the spirit of humanitarianism, I’ve decided to say nothing."

"What you’ve said is already very hurtful, okay!" Shen Qingming was nearly outraged, "Where did I go wrong? Is it wrong to crush with logic? Should I keep quiet and suffer his unjust questioning instead?!"

Seeing Shen Qingming determined to get to the bottom of it, Wang Jiu reluctantly decided to speak up.

"To be precise, the correct course of action is indeed to ignore his doubts because the referee is the one qualified to judge the outcome, not the contestants. Regardless of how many objections he has about the process, the referee has already declared the result, so there’s no need for you to waste brainpower debating with an opponent."

"...," Shen Qingming was momentarily speechless.

Wang Jiu continued, "In fact, during the first intelligence test for you, you made the same mistake. You wasted too much mental energy weighing the pros and cons of eating excrement versus cultivating Vajra Subduing Demon. Your thinking is divergent and not lacking depth, yet you always fail to think outside the box about the trap on the table. This limitation in thinking meant that your not inherently weak intelligence could not be utilized effectively, further limiting your effective IQ..."

Before he finished speaking, Shen Qingming raised her eyebrows as if she had seized an opportunity and couldn’t wait to speak, "What did you just say, say it again! Did you mention my intelligence isn’t inherently weak?!"

Wang Jiu said, "Yes, from a physiological perspective, your brain capacity and activity are both above the average for Xiangzhou humans, even above the average for the cultivator group..."

"Enough, no need to say more!" Shen Qingming immediately interrupted Wang Jiu’s further explanation, "That statement is enough!"