Immediately, he charged toward her. His plump body rolling like a big, round meatball with lumps of fat jiggling out from the sides as he brandished a heavy flail with two large iron spiked balls attached to each end of the long chain. Some people closed their eyes to shield themselves from witnessing the demise of a beautiful girl who was about to be disfigured under the hands of a brute, but did they really think she’d just wait around to get squashed by him?

What they all expected to see never happened. Baihe’s figure disappeared from her original spot right as one end of the heavy chain attached with a spike ball slammed down on her location. The force vibrated on the ground, evident of the spiritual energy he poured behind the attack, but where was the girl?

No one saw when or even how the woman disappeared from her previous location and ended up behind her opponent. Her shadow walk speed was so fast, it was too quick for the normal eyes to perceive unless your cultivation was high enough. All they saw was a mirage of shadows that flickered and disappeared. Such an amazing display of qigong mastery left many onlookers bewildered.

“Did you expect me to be a sitting duck?” Her soft voice lightly rang next to his ears, but before he could react, something sharp coiled around his neck.

Three shimmering threads looped around the man’s neck and instantly, a red river broke free from his skin. The blood gushed from his neck, staining the threads with a scarlet shimmering red and under the astonishment of all spectators, each thread absorbed the blood before restoring its original shimmering color.

“What happened? Did anyone see?”

“It looks like some sort of strings!”

“It was something shimmering and it drinks blood for nutrients!”

Everyone arched their neck for a closer appraisal of the weapon Baihe used. The excitement buzzed in the crowd as they witnessed before their eyes the wonders of those mysterious threads, almost invisible to the naked eyes if it weren’t for the three deep slashes left behind on the man’s neck; followed by the glowing red of his blood on the strings, revealing their existence.

Once those blood disappeared off the threads, it was hard to detect them again until more blood gushed from the man’s neck. At this point, the royal family and the rest of the people couldn’t care less about the man. They all wished he had an endless supply of blood so they could observe the armament at Baihe’s disposal.

The opponent clutched his neck and tried to pry the strings off, but they were unexpectedly strong and sharp, causing his hands and fingers to bleed upon yanking on them. His face winced in pain and his complexion rapidly turned pale. How can some strings be so durable?

“Damn it, he better not die yet! I didn’t finish studying the weapon!” Someone shouted from the crowd.

The rest of the people roared in agreement, hollering in displeasure over how useless the burly man was for not trying harder to extend the duration of the fight; even the royals and nobles nodded their heads in silent agreement. Judging from his pale, white face and the massive amount of blood lost, this guy won’t last much longer.

Baihe sneered in her heart as contempt crossed those brilliant clear eyes. Did these people think she’s an entertainer on stage preforming for them? Or, did they think she was foolish enough to let others learn more about her weapon?

“Looks like your profession just changed from an ex-assassin to a royal clown performer! You’re just missing the wig, some dramatic makeup and oh…” Qian broke off into an untamed laughter, “A big, bright, red nose! Don’t forget about the balloons!”

Too annoyed to bicker with a bird, she vented her irritation at her closest outlet — the unfortunate nameless opponent. Activating more spiritual qi, the three guqin strings responded to her will, cleanly and swiftly ending the vulgar man’s life. Much to everyone’s disappointment, the mysterious threads disappeared immediately into thin air.

In the six days of training, Baihe was pleasantly surprised to discover one of the upgrades to the guqin. Upon her will, the three illuminated guqin strings could now be detached and used as a close-combat assassination weapon. As part of a legendary godly artifact, the strings from the instrument had a life of its own — powerful, sturdy, and deadly. The best aspect about it was its near shimmering invisibility, only noticeable upon contact with blood, which only acts as fuel to increase its strength.

At the announcement of her victory, Baihe exited the stage, paying no heed to the multiple arrays of expressions among the mass. Some regretted the lack of sufficient time to assess her weapon, which had long retreated back into its original place on the guqin. Others were glad for the beauty’s survival and great turn of luck while another bunch was disappointed over her escape from a brutal death.

No one seemed to remember that this woman had just killed a man in front of all watching eyes. It was as if their minds were currently too preoccupied about her mysterious weapon. Not that it was a crime to do so because in tournaments such as these, inevitable deaths do occur from time to time. After all, swords have no eyes.

Fei Fei was disappointed as she watched Baihe walked away unscathed, but she quickly consoled herself. This was a great opportunity for her to personally kill the bitch and show off her strength in the later rounds. A mere Early Dao Stage 2? Psh — It’s your misfortune that I’m one stage above you at Early Dao Stage 3! Just you wait!

Even those in the same rank, one stage higher or lower could make a huge difference. The growth in strength wasn’t small between each stage and the disparity was even greater between ranks. Fei Fei buzzed with anticipation as she prayed for a match with Baihe in the second round of elimination.

After the first round concluded, many participants were eliminated and only the victors advanced to the second round. Among the bunch, the descendants from the Huang’s family also made it, which was no surprise to anyone.

“Huang Fei Fei vs Baihe!” the announcer shouted their names.

The crowd cheered in excitement for this match. One was the pearl of the Huang’s general household who was soon to be married to Prince Zhao and the other was a beautiful lady with a mysterious weapon they were all eager to learn more about.

As Fei Fei walked on stage with confidence, she spared a glance toward Prince Zhao only to find his attention on someone else. Rage boiled deep inside her as she saw the interest and lust in his eyes when they roamed over Baihe’s body. This slut! See how I’ll disfigure you!

“Lady Baihe, how about we sign a life and death agreement? I feel pity for the unfortunate man you killed in round one and it’s only right if I help him seek justice. After all, we can’t go treating human lives like grass!” Fei Fei spoke righteously; her soft voice edged with injustice, softening the hearts of the audience when they saw her beautiful pearl face in distress, easily swaying the hearts of the people to side with her.