Feng Yi leaned lazily back in his seat. "Which rule forbids using a silence spell? Who can you blame if your own disciple refuses to concede?"
"You!" Mu Changfeng's beard shook with rage, but he could find no retort.
In the audience stands, the crowd had already broken into fits of laughter.
Many pulled out memory stones to record this rare sight—a direct disciple of the dignified Wuji Sect being used as a human punching bag.
"Look! Look at Mu Zeting's face!"
"Hahaha, he looks like a proofing mantou!"
"I’m recording this! I’m going to watch it on loop when I get back!"
At the Hehuan Sect's seating area, Rong Yuying lightly toyed with her round fan, a faint smile on her lips, clearly enjoying the spectacle.
The other junior disciples were also doubled over with laughter. After all, they had long been dissatisfied with their eldest senior sister's fiancé. Duan Xianxing was currently venting all that pent-up frustration on their behalf.
On the arena, Duan Xianxing was just getting into the swing of things.
He grabbed Mu Zeting by the collar and delivered two more slaps in quick succession. "These two are for teaching you a lesson on how to behave!"
Mu Zeting had been beaten into a stupor, his face a messy smear of tears and snot. He tried to struggle, but Duan Xianxing had used thunder spiritual energy to temporarily paralyze his meridians, leaving him unable to even move a finger.
"That’s about enough." Duan Xianxing looked at the other man's pig-like face and nodded in satisfaction. "Time to send you down."
He hoisted Mu Zeting up by his belt with one hand and tossed him like a sandbag—
Whoosh—
Mu Zeting traced a graceful arc through the air before slamming heavily into the ground outside the arena, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Arena three, Duan Xianxing of the Five Elements Dao Sect wins!" the referee announced, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
The audience erupted into thunderous cheers and applause. Many even stood up to clap, the atmosphere reaching a fever pitch.
The disciples of the Wuji Sect rushed over in a panic to help Mu Zeting up.
The latter had already fainted, his swollen, pig-like face still frozen in an expression of terror.
"Duan Xianxing!" Mu Changfeng roared. "You go too far!"
Duan Xianxing spread his hands innocently. "Elder Mu, look at what you're saying. Fellow Daoist Mu refused to concede; what was I supposed to do? I couldn't just stand there and let him hit me, could I?"
"You!" Mu Changfeng was speechless with rage. However, after glancing at Feng Yi, he said nothing more and left the area in a huff.
Duan Xianxing leaped off the arena with a flourish and walked toward the Five Elements Dao Sect's seats. The audience along the way parted to give him a path, with many giving him a thumbs-up.
It was clear that they, too, had long been annoyed by this direct disciple of the Wuji Sect who always acted so supercilious.
"Seventh Senior Brother!" Li Nanzhu was the first to greet him, her eyes flashing with mischief. "That was a beautiful fight!"
Duan Xianxing grinned. "You flatter me, Little Junior Sister. It was mostly because of what happened last time. Didn't they say he only became a direct disciple because of his face? I just wanted to see exactly how thick the skin on that face was."
Hearing this, even Mu Wenyan struggled to keep a straight face.
Beside them, Feng Qingping revealed a rare look of approval. "Not bad. It seems my special training wasn't for nothing."
Duan Xianxing thought back to the days of being tormented by Feng Qingping and couldn't help but shudder. "Fifth Senior Sister, that wasn't special training; that was practically attempted murder..."
"Oh?" Feng Qingping arched an eyebrow. "Unsatisfied?"
"Satisfied! Extremely satisfied!" Duan Xianxing immediately changed his tune, offering a placating smile. "If it weren't for your training, Fifth Senior Sister, how could I have dismantled that talisman array so easily today?"
Only then did Feng Qingping's smile return. "You have indeed made great progress."
Zhu Yinxi handed him a cup of spiritual tea. "Take a rest. Next, you can watch the matches of your future opponents."
Duan Xianxing took the cup, but then remembered something. "Right, Little Junior Sister, did you notice anything strange about Mu Zeting?"
Li Nanzhu frowned slightly. "I thought I was just imagining it."
"But I can't quite put my finger on what was wrong." Duan Xianxing scratched his head. "It just felt very odd."
"Did any of you see anything?" Seeing that Duan Xianxing couldn't explain it, Li Nanzhu turned to the others.
"No," the others shook their heads. "If even Junior Brother Duan couldn't tell while fighting him face-to-face, it would be difficult for us to spot anything from the stands."
Before they could finish speaking, a sudden commotion broke out in the distance.
The disciples of the Hehuan Sect were approaching, surrounding Rong Yuying. The cultivators along the path made way for them. Amidst the whispers of the crowd, many speculated that Rong Yuying had come to seek justice for her fiancé.
"Young Sect Leader Rong," Mu Wenyan said, rising. "To what do we owe the honor?"
Rong Yuying lightly covered her lips with her fan and raised a hand to cast a soundproofing barrier, isolating them from everyone else. Her face remained cold and detached, but her words carried an unmistakable hint of delight.
"Fellow Daoist Mu, there is no need for such formalities. I am merely here to offer my thanks."
"Thanks?" Duan Xianxing looked bewildered.
"Fellow Daoist Duan's actions today have truly vented a great deal of frustration for our Hehuan Sect." Rong Yuying maintained her cold expression, clearly for the benefit of any onlookers.
"Despite our engagement, Mu Zeting has often spoken insolently to my sect's disciples. It was inconvenient for me to act personally..."
Su Zhunshu nodded vigorously from the side. "Exactly! Last time, he even said our Hehuan Sect was nothing but—"
"Zhunshu." Rong Yuying silenced her with a single look.
Li Nanzhu noticed that as Rong Yuying spoke, the corners of her mouth beneath the fan held a trace of coldness. It was obvious that the words she had cut off were not pleasant ones.
"Young Sect Leader Rong is too kind." Duan Xianxing rubbed the back of his head and laughed. "I just didn't like the look of him."
"By the way, Senior Sister Rong," Li Nanzhu stepped forward. "My Sixth Senior Brother was injured and won't be able to compete in the next match. When the time comes, please tell Qinghe not to concede."
"This..."
"Consider it repayment for the points from when Liu Yuesheng conceded to my junior sister earlier," Mu Wenyan added with a slight smile.
Rong Yuying shook her head helplessly. Her original plan had been to have Qinghe forfeit immediately, as Qinghe would stand no chance if she truly faced Feng Weilan.
She hadn't expected them to simply hand over the victory, let alone frame it as a repayment of points.
If one were to be strictly honest, Liu Yuesheng had been no match for Li Nanzhu to begin with, so how could there be any talk of 'returning' points?
However, she was well aware that this was the Five Elements Dao Sect showing them goodwill.
If it were anyone else, they likely wouldn't have let such an opportunity for points slip by.
"Grandmother... your judgment was correct..." Countless thoughts swirled in Rong Yuying's mind, eventually settling into a simple expression of gratitude.
"Then I shall thank Fellow Daoist Feng on behalf of Qinghe."
Just as the curious onlookers outside the soundproofing barrier were wondering what they were discussing, a sudden uproar came from afar. A group of Wuji Sect disciples was approaching, surrounding a black-robed old man who looked aggressive and imposing.
"It’s Elder Mu." Rong Yuying frowned and dissolved the soundproofing barrier with a flick of her finger.
Duan Xianxing, however, remained nonchalant. "It looks like someone is a sore loser and has come looking for trouble."
Elder Mu arrived before them with more than a dozen Wuji Sect disciples in tow. His sinister gaze stabbed toward Duan Xianxing. "Junior! You humiliated a direct disciple of my Wuji Sect today. How do you answer for this!"
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