Ding!
A crisp sound echoed as the blue light stopped four inches away from the fire, colliding with a sword that had suddenly appeared and blocked the attack.
Xuanyan’s gaze remained calm, and the refining fla in his hand was not disturbed in the slightest.
Before the competition began, another rule had been added: both participants were allowed to attack and disrupt their opponent’s refinent using mortal-grade techniques, but only two attempts were permitted for such interference. i Lingyao had likely never expected Xuanyan to possess a heaven-grade technique, so the restriction only applied to offensive moves. This rule was ant to prevent the duel from turning into a pure battle while still allowing limited interference that could change the outco.
This ti, Xuanyan was fortunate to possess Heaven-Listening Guard, a passive sword art. The technique automatically responded to killing intent within a certain range, causing the blade to move on its own and intercept hostility before the attack could fully land.
Yani’s eyes sharpened the mont Xuanyan blocked her attack so effortlessly. However, her shock deepened when she realized the technique he had used was clearly heaven-grade. She had no ti to question how soone who had only recently reached Stage-4 cultivation could possess such a technique without support from an elder.
"Mother," she called out while turning toward i Lingyao. "Junior brother is using a heaven-grade technique. Isn’t that against the rules?"
Before i Lingyao could respond, Xuanyan calmly interrupted.
"Senior sister, I think you misunderstood the rules. When did they say heaven-grade techniques cannot be used for defense? The restriction only ntioned offensive techniques."
Yani was montarily speechless. Even i Lingyao did not know what to say. She had never expected this simple test to escalate so quickly, and what shocked her even more was the heaven-grade technique Xuanyan had just used—sothing she had never seen before, not even from the elders or among the sect’s known heaven-grade techniques.
After a brief silence, i Lingyao simply said, "Continue." The tension in the chamber instantly eased as the duel resud.
..
Ti passed quickly. Xuanyan could also launch attacks under the duel rules, but he chose not to. Although he had access to all the techniques recorded in the Outer Martial Pavilion, learning them required spending system points, sothing he was unwilling to waste for this duel. Moreover, judging from how the match was progressing, victory was already leaning toward him. Xuanyan remained calm and continued refining while carefully controlling the spiritual fla.
He was not worried about the outco of the duel. After all, he had already shown enough of his talent in front of i Lingyao. As for the wager between him and Yani, that also did not concern him very much.
The only thing Xuanyan was still uncertain about was Yani herself.
He still did not know whether she was considered a heroine in this world or not. If she truly possessed the kind of high luck that many important figures had, then interacting with her could still allow him to gain system points. However, Xuanyan doubted that possibility. If Yani were really a heroine, the system would most likely have given him so kind of notification already.
Even earlier, when he had hugged her or teased her casually, the system had remained completely silent.
Maybe she simply doesn’t have any affection toward yet...
But Xuanyan did not fully believe that explanation either. His gaze returned toward Yani. She already looked exhausted. In order to keep up with his pace, she had activated two additional refinent path killer moves, increasing her refining speed just enough to maintain the sa narrow lead she had held earlier.
An hour had already passed.
At one point Yani used her second and final interference attack against Xuanyan. Taking advantage of the brief mont when Xuanyan was forced to defend himself, she imdiately activated a fourth refinent path killer move, pushing her refinent speed even further.
anwhile, Xuanyan had been forced to pause several tis while defending against her attacks. Although Heaven-Listening Guard consud very little spiritual energy compared to most techniques, it was still a noticeable burden for soone at his current cultivation level. Fortunately, this was not a serious problem. i Lingyao had provided more than a thousand low-grade spirit stones for the refinent test, allowing both of them to recover their spiritual energy whenever necessary.
Even with all those advantages, Yani still struggled to widen the gap.
Several tis during the refinent process, her attempts failed at crucial steps, forcing her to refine certain materials again from the beginning. Each mistake consud both ti and spiritual energy, gradually wearing her down. The worst part was that she could not focus entirely on the refinent itself. Xuanyan might launch an attack during any critical stage, forcing her to remain constantly vigilant.
As the refinent approached its final steps, Yani realized she was now directing nearly sixty percent of her attention toward Xuanyan instead of the process in front of her.
With my ability, my maximum limit is maintaining five refinent path killer moves... but this duel is taking place under martial rules. I must reserve so energy in case junior brother Xuanyan decides to attack.
Of the two chances to interfere, I have already used both... yet Xuanyan has only been defending.
What exactly is he planning?
Yani could not understand Xuanyan’s behavior. Doubt began to creep into her mind.
Why is he still holding back? Is he waiting for the final stage of refinent to make his move?
The more she thought about it, the more her thoughts spiraled. Her mind filled with speculation, and without realizing it, her focus on the refinent began to slip even further.
Seeing Yani enter the final stage of refinent, Xuanyan finally lifted his gaze.
"Senior sister Yani be careful," he said calmly.
"I’m going to attack now."
"Uh." Yani’s attention was imdiately drawn toward him. Her bright and beautiful blue eyes turned to Xuanyan while her hands continued refining the Gu.
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