"Master won’t lose! That was just an accident!"

Facing a barrage of accusations, Ye Chuxue’s eyes quietly reddened, and she felt incredibly wronged.

’Whether Master wins or loses, it shouldn’t have anything to do with me.’

’These people have no right to blame me!’

She held her head high, her face a mask of proud defiance.

The more the Sect Master looked at her, the angrier he became. He had once thought Ye Chuxue was a talent worth cultivating, but now he saw he had been completely mistaken.

He closed his eyes, clenched his fists, and sat back down. "Let’s not be hasty," he said. "We’ll keep watching. Perhaps it really was an accident..."

The elders, feeling helpless, could only follow suit and sit, silently praying that Gu Qingyuan absolutely had to win.

"Lu Xingyao!!!!!"

On the Martial Arts Arena, Gu Qingyuan’s eyes were bloodshot. He looked as if he wanted to skin Lu Xingyao alive to vent the hatred in his heart.

’How can Lu Xingyao dismantle my killing moves so precisely?’

’Why?!!!’

He felt as if he had been stripped of his clothes, standing completely naked before Lu Xingyao.

"Are you angry, Gu?"

Lu Xingyao narrowed his eyes, a corner of his mouth lifting in a deliberate sneer of contempt.

"I had assumed that when you abandoned our duel to go pick up your paramour, you were confident of victory. I never imagined you were simply throwing caution to the wind because you had nothing left to lose!"

Lu Xingyao had never expected to have such a sharp tongue himself.

But if it was to vent Song Wanning’s anger, he didn’t mind changing himself a little.

"In the past, I often considered you my greatest rival in this life, Gu. I never thought that after so many years, you would have fallen to this level. It’s truly lamentable..."

As he spoke, he let out a sigh, his face a mask of disappointment.

"Lu Xingyao!!!!!"

Gu Qingyuan’s composure finally shattered, and he could no longer stop himself from launching another attack on Lu Xingyao.

But what happened next made him begin to question everything he knew.

No matter what move he made, Lu Xingyao could instantly counter it. What’s more, each of Lu Xingyao’s counterattacks was vicious and managed to wound him.

After more than ten exchanges, he had become a complete joke.

The disciples in the stands had all fallen silent, a stark and embarrassing contrast to their earlier jubilant cheers.

They watched, wide-eyed, as Gu Qingyuan attacked, only to see him sent flying.

Again and again it happened, making him look like a persistent, pathetic clown. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

Lu Xingyao was also detestable; he could clearly end it swiftly, but instead, he toyed with Gu Qingyuan as if teasing a monkey, only countering and deflecting without initiating his own attacks.

The disciples watched, growing numb to the spectacle, but the figures on the high platform saw Lu Xingyao’s true intention.

Each of them was red in the face with anxiety.

’Lu Xingyao is trying to destroy Gu Qingyuan’s Dao heart!!!!’

"What a vicious scheme. Damn it! What on earth is the Ten Thousand Sword Sect trying to achieve???"

The Sect Master wished he could storm the stage and stop the duel.

But he couldn’t. This was a formal duel; unless one side surrendered, they could only watch helplessly, even if Gu Qingyuan were killed!

Besides, if even Gu Qingyuan was helpless against Lu Xingyao, the only way they, the elders, would have a chance of subduing him was if they all attacked together.

Ye Chuxue’s face had also gone pale, her earlier smug confidence completely vanished.

In her heart, her Master had always been as unshakable as a mountain, as invincible as a War God.

She felt completely safe as long as he was by her side.

’But now?’

’Master is being cornered step by step, played with like a toy...’

The larger-than-life image she had of him shattered in an instant.

Ye Chuxue swayed, nearly losing her balance.

Song Wanning watched their expressions shift, and the smile on her lips deepened.

The food in her mouth suddenly tasted even more delicious.

’This show was half a month in the making, after all.’

’It certainly lived up to my expectations.’

Behind Song Wanning, Li Rao’s mouth was stuffed with dried fruit, her cheeks puffed out like an adorable little squirrel’s.

Her eyes were wide; at first, she was shocked and confused, but now her head was buried low, her shoulders shaking uncontrollably.

’Heavens knew how hard she was trying to stifle her laughter.’

At the same time, her respect for her master grew even deeper.

’Weren’t those killing moves of Gu Qingyuan the very same ones Master had been practicing with Uncle Lu for the past half a month?’

’I studied them so diligently, memorizing every last move. There’s no way I’m mistaken!’

’Uncle Lu must know the weaknesses of all these moves like the back of his hand after half a month of sparring. Isn’t he just toying with Gu Qingyuan like a monkey right now?’

Li Rao quickly clamped a hand over her mouth, terrified she might accidentally laugh out loud and cause trouble for her master.

To others, however, it simply looked like the young girl couldn’t bear to see Gu Qingyuan being toyed with and was choosing to look away.

On the Martial Arts Arena, the battle continued.

Gu Qingyuan’s hair was disheveled, his eyes were blood-red, and he had already entered a berserk state.

’No one could accept having their ultimate moves so easily dismantled again and again.’

’He was using his full strength, yet his opponent could find every flaw without the slightest effort.’

’Impossible!’

’This is absolutely impossible!’

Unwilling to accept reality, Gu Qingyuan’s attacks grew increasingly vicious.

He desperately tried to prove his strength, yet his spirit was beginning to crumble.

Cracks began to form in his Dao heart.

Lu Xingyao continued to add fuel to the fire with his taunts. "Gu Qingyuan, I think you should just admit defeat. As long as you’re willing to admit you are the inferior fighter, I’ll let you go. How about it?"

"Your continued resistance is just making you more of a laughingstock."

"Gu Qingyuan, you couldn’t beat me in the past, and you will only ever be the one who lost in the future..."

With every word he spoke, Gu Qingyuan’s expression grew a little more crazed.

Lu Xingyao’s mood was excellent, and his movements became even more fluid and precise.

’The deeper the love, the deeper the hate.’

’Song Wanning had once been willing to protect him with her life, but now she only wanted to see him utterly disgraced, his Dao heart included.’

’So ruthless.’

’And it only made him like her more.’

’Daring to love and daring to hate—wasn’t that its own form of liberation?’

Lifting his head, Lu Xingyao gazed at the nearly hysterical Gu Qingyuan, his eyes shot through with cold light.

’Gu Qingyuan probably never imagined that the person who could hurt him the most would be the one who knew him best: Song Wanning, right?’

The thought sent another pang of jealousy through Lu Xingyao.

’How much must she have cared to know Gu Qingyuan’s ultimate moves so intimately?’

’Sometimes, he truly envied Gu Qingyuan.’

Lu Xingyao’s expression turned cold.

’Enough playing. It’s time to get serious.’

His entire aura suddenly shifted as he finally swung his sword down.

A boundless, cold light swept across the entire Martial Arts Arena. The crowd could only see countless glints of sword light crisscrossing like complex Array Patterns, leaving no gap as they surged toward Gu Qingyuan from every cunning angle.

The divine protective light around Gu Qingyuan’s body trembled, deflecting the sword glints in all directions.

But they did not dissipate. Instead, like a living thing taking a breath, they shot back toward Gu Qingyuan’s body in the very next instant.

At the same time, a dark glint appeared, as fine as an ox hair and almost negligible amidst the countless flashes of sword light.

But it was this dark glint that pierced directly into Gu Qingyuan’s heart meridian.

Provoked and reckless, Gu Qingyuan had left himself open with his wide, sweeping movements. "SQUELCH—!"

His body froze for an instant, and then he spat out a great mouthful of fresh blood.

At that moment, Lu Xingyao’s next attack was already upon him.