A feeling of regret formed in Xue Yueliang's chest; she had no doubt that Zhou Shen's battle with the crown prince was much more intriguing than her own battle. If not for the odd man challenging her, she could have been able to witness more of his fight, placing her at an advantage.

Cultivators at their level do not have a hold over this ability, and, since he did, shouldn't he be invincible? How did Shi Ling defeat him?

While thoughts played in her head, her movements did not slow down. Dodging the attack coming at her, Xue Yueliang pulled the distance between them, glancing between him and her sword. The danger she felt when she tried to use the Invincible Dao Sect techniques was real. Losing the one technique; she put the most effort into heavily weakened her, but forfeiting was more of an option than relying on her master's sword techniques. The danger she felt was above her current strength, and she could not throw her life carelessly away.

If I can't even defeat him, how will I defeat Mao Ya?

Xue Yueliang's teeth clenched as she returned her sword to its sheath; her finger couldn't help but subconsciously rub where the ring used to be.

Noticing her actions, Zhou Shen spoke, "Are you going to forfeit?" He asked, his blood-red lips breaking to a smile.

Looking at his self-satisfied expression, Xue Yueliang felt irritated, she could not think herself out of this situation, I should have focussed on learning the Blood Moon Cultivation Sutra.

She thought bitterly. Having gained two inheritances, she had focused on the one that put her in danger if used publically; it was not a smart bet of her. Since her master had many enemies, it wasn't hard to guess what would happen to her if she was caught.

"Why not? I can't get what I came here for anyway." She sighed.

Though she appeared dejected, the calmness surrounding her did not falter, Zhou Shen was stunned by her defeated response and felt something was missing, but before he could think of this any further, she giggled.

"I'm just kidding."

Since she couldn't find a way out of this, she had no choice but to face it head-on.

With her reckless smile, a burst of wind fled from underneath her feet, propelling her forward as she appeared before him in a blur. Her sword was pulled from its sheath, reaching his head faster than he could react. Regretfully, his reflexes were fast, allowing him to move to the side, leaving only a shallow cut on his cheek.

"You changed moods quickly," he said, exasperated, and, even while speaking, he did not stay still.

His arm turned into a gooey black liquid, hardening into a bow-like shape as it aimed to cut her neck in one fell swoop.

"It's a part of my charm." She smiled, using her sword to block his scythe-like arm.

A metalling sound rang out as they clashed, causing them to flinch.

"You're surprisingly durable."

The hair on the nape of his neck suddenly stood up, causing him to put his other arm behind his neck. Like the other one, it transformed, taking the shape of the shield, blocking Hei Yu's claws. Having stopped a fatal attack, Zhou Shen did not relax, pulling away from Xue Yueliang, but not fast enough.

A long slash formed on his arm.

"You can't transform both arms at the same time."

Xue Yueliang laughed, happy to have found a weakness, "And you can't fight alone?" He replied, not hiding his displeasure.

"I just want to win," she shrugged, "That's all that matters."

She did not give him more time to breathe, moving closer to him, "Well, I do too," he replied.

"Void Shattering Swing!" He punched forward, and a purple reflection of his fist beamed out, startlingly powerful. His fist enlarged in no time, not allowing her to evade the attack.

Her brain raced, and before she could vocalise it, Hei Yu understood her intention, spitting out a person. A young woman appeared in front of everyone, but before she could rejoice in being let out, a fist slammed at her reducing her to nothing but a ragged doll.

The appearance of this unknown person startled him, "You-"

In response to his shock, Xue Yueliang shrugged again, "I just want to win."

That woman was destined to die due to the copious amount of poison in her body, not that Xue Yueliang cared about justifying her actions. She would have killed them much earlier if she didn't have a use for them.

Besides, a mischievous grin appeared on her face.

She let out the Berserk Dragon Flame, enveloping her like an oversized robe and allowing a small flame to land on the corpse, slowly spreading.

Zhou Shen's gaze landed on the corpse, but Xue Yueliang did not give him time to think, taking him from the front, and Hei Yu attacked from behind.

The smell of scorching flesh nauseated Zhou Shen, but it did not affect his battle.

He held his own against them, making her action seem like they were only done for the shock value.

Does she think I'm easily shaken? Although he was young as a rogue cultivator, he had seen many shocking things and witnessed horrible sights.

This wasn't too much. By now, the corpse had burned most of the corpse, and the billowing smoke made it harder to see, but as it affected them both, it did not change their situation.

As the battle dragged on, Zhou Shen felt that his Qi had become more sluggish, and his movements were slower, but as Xue Yueliang did not seem to overpower him, he assumed that he felt this way due to his heightened senses.

Various void techniques rushed toward Xue Yueliang, but as she was expecting them, she managed to evade most of the attacks.

"Void Shattering Swing!"

He declared as soon as Xue Yueliang was within arm's length of him, forcefully pushing her back. The attack landed squarely on her stomach, causing her to feel a stinging pain. Though she was hurt, the attack was not as fatal as he wished. Disproportionately, he felt his Qi was exhausted, and a wave of dizziness hit him.

What's wrong-

Without thinking further, he could guess this was part of her plan as he watched Xue Yueliang wipe off the trail of blood that dripped down from her mouth, looking at him as if she had caught him in her trap.

Another blow came for his shoulder, and he raised his arm, aiming to block the attack, but he was a second too slow; however, due to his superior defence, his arm was not cut off. Though the blow was not critical, a deep cut appeared on his shoulder, affecting his mobility.

How?

Looking at his confused expression, Xue Yueliang smiled, and Hei Yu pounced at his wounded arm, almost tearing it off. Zhou Shen hurriedly turned his arm illusory, not allowing him to finish the deed, as he rushed to improve the distance between them.

"It's not a good idea to be distracted in the middle of a battle." She kindly advised, her voice accompanied by the crackling of her flames.

She allowed her sword to rest on her shoulder as she watched him playfully. Zhou Shen stared at her, scanning his opponents and the arena, until his gaze landed on the corpse, "It's poisoned!"

He exclaimed, realising her scheme wasn't as simple as it seemed.

"No, duh! Better late than never, I guess." Watching her taunt, Zhou Shen felt irritated, "You're vicious."

Poisoning someone to get to someone else vicious was not enough to describe such a person.

"Sadly, this wasn't all my handiwork," Xue Yueliang admitted, "She has her master to thank for that."

"You know, I thought I would learn something from battling you," he smiled as his ghostly white skin turned even lighter, "You didn't disappoint."

"Well, do you want to forfeit, then?" Though she could continue pushing to her advantage, she did not know what schemes he was hiding; it was best if he would leave on his own accord.

"Hmm..." He looked as if he was in deep thought, and she did not bother to interrupt him, "I think not."

"Then don't blame me if you die."

By now, the corpse had turned to a pile of ash, leaving behind only cinders that faintly gleamed, and the smoke had cleared. The flames surrounding her converged on her sword, increasing its power as she swung at him, "Blood Moon Waves!"

She concentrated her power on her attack, and a reddish light followed the maroon light as it rushed at him. Unlike the blazing and fierce attack aiming at him, his side was as calm as his expression. If not for her being assured he was severely injured, she would believe he had the upper hand.

Three waves of sword Qi rushed at him, each fiercer than the other, and they appeared to cut onto him, only to pass right through.

An afterimage? No, that's impossible.

She carefully tuned into her surroundings, looking for his presence, but it appeared as if he had vanished from the world like he was just gone.

Like the first time, I met him.

Hei Yu guarded her back, baring his teeth, ready to lunge at any moment, waiting for their opponent to appear. Sensing no movement, Xue Yueliang spread her flames all over the arena, but nothing caught on fire, indicating that no one was present.

"There must be a rule against disappearing for so long." Xue Yueliang grumbled after not managing to find him even after a few breaths of time.

In sync with her words, a countdown appeared in the air in front of her, counting down from sixteen. She gripped her sword tighter as she eyed the countdown, waiting for the moment it hit zero, knowing he would not give up so easily.

Just as she had expected, the moment the countdown hit zero, Zhou Shen appeared in front of her, smiling. She noticed his injuries were much better than before and were improving rapidly. A faint medical scent wafted from his body, making her injuries sting a little bit less. Compared to the little effect it had on her, his injuries were much lighter than before, though still severe; if he continued at this pace, she was not sure she could still defeat him.

Unlike him, she didn't even have her storage ring to use the items within.

Unless... A smile formed on the edge of her lips, and the confidence she exuded was much more than it had been earlier. Watching her reinvigorated response, Zhou Shen was stunned; this had not been what he accepted.

"I'm afraid to say it, but have you gone crazy?"

In response to his taunt, a reckless smile appeared on her face as billowing flames escaped from her body. They condensed into an orb, undulating fiercely in the palm of her hand.

"Why don't you tell me?"

Feeling the dangerous aura she emitted, Zhou Shen prepared to charge at her but was blocked by Hei Yu, trying to buy time for Xue Yueliang. Xue Yueliang's gaze flitted at him worriedly.

I hope he doesn't get too injured, she thought.

Wild wind surrounded the orb, pulsating it, making it unstable, but its destructive power increased. The howling wind was deafening as it whipped Xue Yueliang's robes and hair, making it hard for her to stand still.

The power steadily increased, scaring Zhou Shen as he desperately fought against Hei Yu, "Get out of my way!" He cried out, "Void Splitting palm," His palm enlarged, turning into starry purple, knocking him out of the way; Hei Yu tumbled out of the arena, stunning Xue Yueliang as she had forgotten that leaving was an option for him.

Only if she left would it be considered forfeiting, though she doubted he could re-enter. At least now I don't have to be worried.

Soon, the sound of the wind quietened down, appearing like a quiet hum in everyone's ears, matching the crackles of the flame - the perfect equilibrium. If she was playing it safe, now was the best chance to stop, but she needed to do something drastic to win quickly.

The power in her palm grew more unstable, warping the air around her, and the sense of danger from it crazily increased by the time he managed to push Hei Yu out. It was much too late for him to interrupt her; attacking her would only cause it to explode faster.

"Why would you do this; you will be harmed too?" His voice turned sharp with accusation, staring at her like she was an enigma he could not solve. Sweat formed on her face but was quickly evaporated by the raging flames; the flaming orb absorbed her spiritual energy, growing beyond her control in a matter of seconds.

"Why didn't you forfeit?"

"I-"

Boom.