The third disciple on stage came forward and made a low bow before Liu Jiayu as he introduced himself. "I am Wei Qi. To battle by Senior Liu's side is my greatest honour! Rest assured that I will not let you down, Miss Liu!"

Liu Jiayu turned to him and bestowed him with a beautiful smile. "I expect great things from you, Brother Qi."

Wei Qi saluted her and said, "Yes, Miss Liu!"

He raised his starstruck eyes, staring at Liu Jiayu with a look of hopeless adoration. Despite his broad build and eye-catching weapons of choice, at the moment, he seemed no better than an overgrown child.

At the same time, Li Meirong stifled a yawn. "Since I have little time to spare, how about we make a deal? I am going to count from one to ten as I stand in place. While counting, I will not evade any of your attacks. Should you make me take a single step back from my current spot, I will voluntarily resign from the competition."

Both Wei Qi and Liu Jiayu directed their gaze at Li Meirong with matching expressions of incredulity.

Finally, it was Wei Qi who was first to snap. He harrumphed coldly. "You overestimate yourself! Just because you defeated your previous opponent, you think it will be so easy to trample over your respected Senior? If Miss Liu wished for it, she could have easily defeated you!"

Emboldened by Liu Jiayu's presence, Wei Qi gathered his courage and aimed his steel axes at Li Meirong. "On behalf of Miss Liu, I will teach you a lesson!"

Li Meirong snickered and gestured with her finger for Wei Qi to come at her. "Is that so? I'm waiting for a lesson. Come on, then."

Liu Jiayu's expression became sterner as she came to stand between the two. "Brother Qi, stop it! Please don't be so rude to Sister Meirong. I am sure that Sister Meirong means no disrespect with her careless remarks."

"But she was rude to you, Miss Liu!" Wei Qi looked taken aback, as if he expected Liu Jiayu to be impressed with his bravery.

"Even if that is the case, what kind of Senior would I be if I allowed a junior sister of mine to be bullied?" asked Liu Jiayu, her clear eyes shimmering with emotion.

"Y-you're right, Miss Liu. It is my fault for showing you such uncouth behaviour."

Like a deflated pufferfish, Wei Qi retreated and silently stood behind Liu Jiayu, looking no different than a bodyguard.

A collective gasp of admiration could be heard from the crowd nearby.

"Liu Jiayu is an exemplary lady!" An onlooker called out.

"She is noble and righteous!" A disciple shouted from the crowd.

Disguised as Li Meirong, Bai Qingyue tiredly rubbed his temple. 'I mustn't kill them. If I am lacking in etiquette, it will reflect badly on my little wife.' he silently mused, waiting for the bothersome farce to come to an end.

Liu Jiayu concealed a knowing smile as she brought out a small, pale sphere-like object from within her sleeve. The sphere shape lengthened in size to become an embroidered white parasol.

"That's a blood sucking parasol!" An excited disciple called out from the crowd. "The moment a person gets the smallest of cuts, it can suck his blood dry!"

"That's a master level weapon..." whispered Wei Qi, his eyes widening in alarm. He acted as if he'd seen a monster, and hurriedly stepped to the furthest edge of the arena's stage, losing whatever was left of his pride as a man in exchange for his survival.

Since the arena was surrounded by a spiritual array, it meant that until the moment of an opponent's defeat, there was absolutely no opportunity to escape the stage.

However, in this tournament, there was no actual rule proclaiming that the match cannot end in death.

For all intents and purposes, Wei Qi was well aware that he could easily be caught in the parasol's deadly blood leeching snare, even if the attack wasn't directly aiming at him!

Murmurs of disbelief echoed amongst the spectating cultivators.

"Isn't bringing a master killing weapon a bit too much? Who can survive a direct attack from an armament master?"

"It was the junior, Li Meirong, who asked for it!"

"Still, this is too much…. Isn't this supposed to be a friendly match?"

Liu Jiayu turned to address the crowd, fluttering her dark eyelashes. "Since my Junior has made an offer, it would be rude of me to refuse it! Thus, I will politely accept her proposal with a heavy heart." She turned back to Li Meirong and added, "Should my attack fail, I will not move and allow you to strike at me in the same manner."

"That sounds fair enough," answered Li Meirong with a calm demeanor. She arrogantly crossed her arms under her chest, seemingly unimpressed by Liu Jiayu's master level weapon.

The cultivators in the crowd who were familiar with the armament master's weapon of choice, shook their heads at Li Meirong's apparent obliviousness. They knew that not only would she have no time to beg for resignation, but the blood sucking parasol would drain her dry before she'd even be able to take a step back!