"How was it? Your death?"

The man spoke, his voice gravelly, indicating he did not use it much.

Wiping the blood dribbling from her chin, Xue Yueliang stood up, surprisingly steadily, gripping the sword on her lap, and smiled: "My life wouldn't end so pathetically."

The man snorted, clearly looking down at her optimism, as he dodged the sword coming for his shoulder.

Seeing her attacks being easily dodged, Xue Yueliang was not disheartened, as she tried different methods to break through his defence. His movements seemed slow and unpractised, but he managed to dodge the attack.

A frown appeared on her face as she tried to hack away at him, but her movements were easily seen through not one attack landing on him. He did not appear like a skilled fighter, but even if she could chalk the first few times to luck, any more than that wouldn't make sense.

How is he doing this? Can he really see my future? She considered.

That was not something she would believe was true; if he could do that, he would not need to personally attack her. Power like that was much too great for a person at their level to wield.

Seeing that any other attacks were negated just the same, she stopped, planning on changing tactics.

"Do you want to know why I'm so sure? I can tell you if you answer a question of mine."

She bargained patiently, seemingly not noticing the hole opening up in her chest.

Why is she delaying?

The man felt a slight trepidation but shook it off. She was the person who would be at a disadvantage the longer this went; he did not mind just watching her wither away.

"What is it?" His gravelly voice asked, "I'll let you have your dying wish."

"What would you have done if I had not given you the chance to stand around?"

"My death doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things."

Grand scheme? Both Xue Yueliang and the princess hung onto these words, causing Yao Niang's suspicions to be confirmed and Xue Yueliang to start suspecting.

"I am a target?"

She questioned, unable to understand how she had offended this man, and his bearing did not make him seem to be a borrowed hand. He did not have the makings of an assassin.

"I have answered your question."

He said staunchly, not willing to give any more information than that. He crossed his arms, staring her down, clearly asking her to answer.

"Well, I told you before I would not die so pathetically." Looking down at the sword injury in her chest, Xue Yueliang picked at it before looking up and smiling, "Besides, she does not use a sword but a fan."

As her words landed, they were met with confusion by everyone other than the person concerned. The princess's body tensed again as she imagined those angry eyes directed at her, though she could not be sure she felt that Xue Yueliang had been referring to her.

"I wouldn't-" She thought aloud before quickly clamping her mouth shut; she did not wish to have an outburst in public.

She calmed her thoughts as she considered her options; on the plus hand, Xue Yueliang did not seem to believe his so-called death, but what were the chances she would continuously deny it? Though she was willing to trust that she would keep herself safe, she wasn't sure of Xue Yueliang's trust in her.

I should meet her.

There was no better way of clearing the air; than having a heart-to-heart conversation. Besides, once she left the Qinxia Kingdom, who knew when she would see her again?

"Your Majesties, something urgent has come up, and I ask to be excused."

She asked, burying the traces of hurriedness deep down.

"You take care." The Queen smiled, commenting on how youngsters were always busy, but an unmistakable glint appeared in her eyes.

Her gaze returned to the screen, focusing on Xue Yueliang's nonchalant visage, "Would you be an obstacle?" She mumbled to no one in particular.

The oblivious Xue Yueliang focussed on the threat in front of her, smiling as the man stared at her in befuddlement, "Couldn't she pick up the sword?"

Though her thoughts did not matter, he felt her belief was too simplistic, urging him to correct her.

He lost his composure, Xue Yueliang noted down.

Confirming to herself that he was not what he seemed, I can't get answers out of him like this.

Her gaze swept the onlookers, thinking, is there another way to go about it?

"I doubt it." Xue Yueliang shrugged.

"Now that we're done with questions, how about we get to the finale?"

"Agreed."

The man sneered, opening up his left arm as black gaseous threads formed, wrapping around his arm, turning into a snake-like manifestation. Though he still stood a fair distance from her, she could feel the anger and despair it emitted affecting her even from this distance, but her only reaction was a smile that had grown colder.

"With how injured you are, do you believe this would be an easy fight for you?" He sneered, "I'm surprised you can still stand."

"I am too."

If she would die like this in the future, it should have killed her already; similarly, if this injury existed, how come it did not hurt while picking at it?

Sweeping her gave through the spectators and landing on Hei Yu's worried gaze; she at least knew she wasn't the only one seeing this. The snake surrounding the man's arm enlargened as it suddenly pounced, Extending its mouth, trying to eat her in one gulp.

Looking up to the absolute darkness that closed onto her, she couldn't help but shake her head, "There are too many unknown pieces."

She mumbled aloud, giving up on trying to figure this out. Besides, she had already headed a plan that was sure to work.

"Blood Moon Waves," she exclaimed, aiming toward the deceptively upright man, ignoring the snake. A startled expression appeared on his face as he raised his arm. Instead of bracing as she had expected, he took off his arm guard, crushing it and a silvery barrier formed in front of him.

A one-time use artefact. He's rich. Just, what is his background?

There were many people she offended; she didn't expect the killing spree she had at the mystic realm to go unnoticed, but none of them appeared to be related to this man.

She doubted he was from the Qinxia Kingdom, but how did I anger someone I had not met?

The second wave destroyed the barrier, and the third landed on him squarely on the chest, forcing him to use his cultivation to block the attack, exposing it to the world.

The second level only? How embarrassing.

If she had attacked him from the very beginning, she would have been able to kill him quickly. Before she could dwell on this further, the snake engulfed her, hiding her from the world. Regret wouldn't change anything.

"You hedged on the wrong bet!"

The man yelled, angry at having met an unexpected attack, and after hearing no reply, he smiled, satisfied, waiting for the duel to be declared over.

The stillness within the snake caused Li Hua to audibly gasp as she covered her mouth, panic filling her eyes as she hoped for something to happen. She did not believe that Xue Yueliang would be unable to get out of that, but since she was injured... Li Hua stopped thinking any further.

The cocksure Xue Yueliang would not die, especially considering how confident she was; she did not seem like the type to put her life in exchange for her opponent's. Regardless of the rationale that backed her thoughts, she couldn't help but still feel worried.

Unlike Li Hua, the man was sure the battle was over. It had taken much longer than he expected, and the last wave of the Blood Moon Waves had cut a bone-deep wound in his chest, barely being held together by the greying threads. Now that his cultivation had been exposed, there was no way he could keep the ninth rank, but her death could at least compensate for the loss.

A cold smile formed on the edge of his lip; however, before he could enjoy his brief moment of glory, a burst of maroon-coloured flames burst from the inside, proving that he was getting ahead of himself.

"You know from how quiet you were earlier, I would never have assumed you were the overconfident type." She chided, smiling as the snake faded away.

Within the snake, she had tried to find ways to fight it off without resorting to the Berserk Dragon Flames; she had planned to reserve it as a trump card, but, sadly, her choices were limited without it. She had not planned on giving him a moment of hope, but it was funny to see him bracing for the announcement of his victory. Sadly for him, she did not plan on letting him enjoy it for much longer.

"Do you still have more trump cards I don't know about?" She asked, seeming nonchalant if not for her rapid breathing and the opening on her back.

It appears I was pierced through.

She bitterly smiled at that thought as she tried to cauterise her wound, but her flames had no power over it, and the bleeding did not stop. Using her sword as a staff, she stood upright, her dark gaze landing on her opponent; she wished to get more answers from him, but delaying further would cause her to die where she stood.

"So, any last words?"

Looking at her weakened state, the man sneered, it doesn't matter even if you broke through my enchantment," he hissed, "You'll die all the same."

"Your voice is so unpleasant; no wonder you don't use it much." Xue Yueliang retorted, "Besides, I don't have to kill you myself. Hei Yu!"

Hearing his name being called out, he squeaked happily, rushing over, leaping into the arena. However, just as he was about to enter, a silvery barrier formed, repelling him away without injuring him.

Unwilling to give up that easily, Hei Yu attempted to jump in, only to be flung away again. He walked up to the side nearest the arena and whimpered, looking at her longingly.

"Bahaha! That was your trump card." The man laughed, his laughter more jarring than his speech, but he couldn't hold back on the hysterics.

Between his laughter and Hei Yu's sadness, she couldn't help but grimace.

"Don't worry, Hei Yu, there'll always be another chance." She comforted before turning back to confront her laughing enemy.

"Will my body go back to normal if I kill you?" She asked. she was unsure if he would actually answer her, but she needed one.

"You'll have to kill me to find out." He smiled, not taking her as much of a threat.

"Again, with the overconfidence." Xue Yueliang firmed her posture, lifting her sword, and with one swing, she declared,

"Invi-" Suddenly, a bad feeling overwhelmed her as she lowered her sword before trying again.

"Looks like she can barely lift her sword."

A stranger commented loud enough for everyone to hear, widening the smile on her opponent's face.

"My sister isn't someone you can point fingers at." Someone countered, defending her.

It was naturally Li Hua that had defended her, and hearing her words, Xue Yueliang couldn't help but smile, "Blood Moon Waves."

Clear waves of sword Qi followed one after the other, heading precisely for the man's previous injury, and none of these attacks was any weaker than the attack she had formed earlier.

From the beginning of the battle, most of Xue Yueliang's energy had been focused on slowing the speed the injury on her chest spread, which was why she had hesitated on attacking him again, but looking at the horror and surprise on his face, as he was cut in half, made her feel it was worth it.

"Heh, you know that look suits you."

Xue Yueliang looked forward to his death, sheathing her sword as she hoped to see the light of life seep from his face.

The man stared at her hatefully, his grinding voice muttering words that shocked her to hear, "Do not think you won with this. My death is only the beginning."

Though resigned to his death, he looked at her, assured that she would be joining him in hell soon enough. An overwhelming urge filled her to preserve his life to question him, but before those thoughts could turn to actions, a silvery light enveloped his body, making him disappear from her sight.

Where did he go?

Alarmed, Xue Yueliang gripped her sword, ignoring the weakening of her body as she scanned the Colosseum. A few moments later, a silvery light appeared in the far corner, but before she could make any moves, Hei Yu, who was at the edge of the arena, enlarged, pouncing onto the weakened man, intent on killing him.

"Hei Y-"

His ivory teeth show underneath the ominous light of the Yin flames, as he bit off the man's head, swallowing it whole, then slurping down the rest of his remains.