Under the gaze of the crowd, Ji Rong stepped onto the stage with a calm demeanor. She gave a respectful bow to Gu Baiyi. "Junior Sister Gu, please offer me your guidance."

Gu Baiyi smiled lightly and returned the gesture. "Senior Sister, please advise me as well."

"The twenty-fifth match begins!"

Just as Ji Rong prepared to draw her sword, a robotic voice suddenly echoed in her mind:

[Ding! Your prestige > 25. Now playing ‘Peer Discussions.’]

Ji Rong was stunned. What? There’s a feature like this?

No, stop! Not now!

[Playing now:]

"Is that the legendary Senior Sister Ji? She looks so cool and aloof!"

"Gu Baiyi was poisoned by her? This is going to be an interesting match!"

"Huh? Why is Senior Sister Ji only defending and not attacking?"

Why? Don’t you have any sense of self-awareness?!

A thousand curses surged through Ji Rong’s mind. With the commentary running rampant in her head, she found it impossible to focus and make the first move.

Left with no choice, she met Gu Baiyi's incoming strike, parrying the blow.

With just one move, a gust of wind swept across the Martial Arena.

Among the swirling petals, Ji Rong locked eyes with Gu Baiyi. Her gaze was gentle, but the killing intent in her eyes was undisguised.

Gu Baiyi's strike was the thirteenth move of Boundless Horizon: Impending Storm.

As her sword weaved through the air, Gu Baiyi pressed her advantage, closing the distance step by step.

Having missed her opportunity to strike first, Ji Rong was now forced onto the defensive, retreating under Gu Baiyi's relentless offense.

The disciples could barely make out the fierce exchange on stage. All they could see was that the two were fighting at close quarters, each swing of their swords radiating powerful intent.

Yet, since Ji Rong hadn’t initiated any attacks, the overwhelming sword intent in the arena clearly belonged to Gu Baiyi.

Those with sharper senses noticed Ji Rong was being pushed toward the edge of the stage. Just a few more steps, and she would lose.

Dou Weiyi scoffed coldly. "Hmph, Ji Rong always acts so superior, yet she can’t even defeat Gu Baiyi. How embarrassing."

Some disciples sighed in disappointment. "Looks like no one will be able to take down the stage master today."

Just as the crowd resigned themselves to the outcome, preparing to sit back and wait for Yunyang to declare the result...

A sudden warmth swept through the arena, melting the tension like a spring breeze thawing frost. The sun broke through the lingering mist, scattering the petals.

Bathed in golden light, Ji Rong’s Qinghe Sword pointed lightly at Gu Baiyi.

The latter frowned and raised her sword to block, her blade pressed down by inches.

Ji Rong’s expression was calm. Lifting her sword again, she abandoned grace and swung down with a crude, forceful strike.

Some disciples recognized her earlier move as Silent Mountains, Dust Motes—the fourth style of Silent Rivers, Stilled Lands. But this?

This new strike was so direct and brutish it defied classification.

Clouding his expression, Yunyang’s hand paused mid-stroke on his beard. Could it be...

Ji Rong’s slashes bore an uncanny resemblance to Elder Ye’s teaching style.

When punishing disciples, Elder Ye wielded his Breaking Mountain Sword, raining down strikes while forcing them to defend. His routine went:

“Do you realize your mistake?”

If answered affirmatively, a second slash followed: “What was your mistake?”

And finally, a third horizontal slash with a dispassionate, “Go reflect in solitude.”

This technique, nicknamed Breaking Mountain, was infamous but rarely imitated.

Ji Rong’s logic was simple: since Gu Baiyi’s technique was Impending Storm, she countered with Silent Mountains, Dust Motes to weaken her momentum.

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Then, employing Breaking Mountain ensured no storm could form without its mountain.

On her third slash, Ji Rong sent her blade crashing down. Gu Baiyi barely managed to evade, retreating to the edge of the stage, her toes just inches from stepping out of bounds.

The arena fell silent.

The disciples were wide-eyed, their hearts in their throats.

Yunyang, however, shook his head. He knew that unless Gu Baiyi used Phantom Flowers, Hidden Moon again, defeat was inevitable.

Suddenly, the morning sun dimmed, replaced by a bright, ethereal moon.

Gu Baiyi vanished, reappearing in an instant on the opposite side of the stage.

Another Phantom Flowers, Hidden Moon!

Wei Zongqiu sucked in a breath. "Junior Sister Gu fought twenty-four matches and still has the spiritual strength to use Phantom Flowers, Hidden Moon again?"

But this move had been within Ji Rong’s expectations.

After all, if the protagonist could be defeated so easily, what’s the point of the protagonist’s aura?

It should be known that Gu Baiyi's final trump card is the Heavenly Demon Scroll, but she was certain that even if the heroine were to lose, she wouldn’t use that card.

With that in mind, Ji Rong felt confident she had a significant chance of victory.

Just as Ji Rong thought this, she saw Gu Baiyi standing at a distance, raising her sword and offering a distant smile.

In an instant, the training ground was bathed in moonlight.

Gu Baiyi closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling under the soft glow, and the slight tilt of her chin outlined a delicate curve.

At this moment, she seemed as pure and soft as jade, her sword movements falling gracefully like the pinning of flowers, almost making one hesitate to raise their sword to block.

But only almost.

The eighteenth form of —"Moon Embracing the Heart."

This advanced sword technique was all too familiar to Ji Rong. Every time they sparred, someone would start with "Moon Embracing the Heart." Back when the game first launched and skills were incomplete, this move was practically unbeatable.

But there’s always a way to counter a rogue sword technique.

At this moment, the spectators hadn’t even seen Ji Rong raise her sword to block. She stood her ground, seemingly preparing to strike again!

The disciples all understood that this move, when perfected, could easily injure the practitioner’s meridians if they didn’t counter with their own sword strike.

Was Ji Rong going mad?

Yun Yang’s expression darkened. Sparring had always been about light touches, and if something went wrong, no one would take responsibility.

Just as the clear glow was only an inch from Ji Rong’s body, she still showed no sign of dodging.

Gu Baiyi furrowed her brow, forcefully changing direction at the critical moment and retracting her attack.

Then, her expression shifted.

Because Ji Rong, before her, had no shadow.

In the next instant, countless sword images surged from all directions, their tips aimed directly at the spot where Gu Baiyi stood, filling the air with deadly strikes.

It was the twenty-seventh form of “Careless Manual—"Mirror Flowers, Water Moon."

These phantoms seemed light, but Gu Baiyi knew that if they all landed, the resulting power would be terrifying.

Having forced herself to retract her sword earlier, she now felt the backlash, and with no room to retreat on the stage, evasion was impossible.

If she surrendered now, she could retreat unscathed.

But Gu Baiyi didn’t want that.

Gu Baiyi looked into Ji Rong’s calm eyes, and a new suspicion arose in her heart.

"Mirror Flowers, Water Moon" required immense spiritual power. It was nearly impossible for someone below the Riding the Wind realm to perform it, so this strike…

The disciples watched as thousands of terrifying sword images rushed toward Gu Baiyi. Some gasped, while others covered their eyes, unwilling to witness the next scene.

Yun Yang’s whisk was already close to the edge of the arena. The reason he hadn’t acted yet was because, like Gu Baiyi, he had noticed something odd.

Just as the flashes of sword and blade were about to strike Gu Baiyi—

The sword energy vanished, as if it had never existed.

Gu Baiyi stood there, smiling lightly.

As expected.

Ji Rong, though expressionless, was cursing in her heart.

Given her spiritual power, it was indeed unlikely she could execute "Mirror Flowers, Water Moon." So that attack had been a feint.

That strike had appeared perfect, but in reality, it was already lacking in strength.

But how had Gu Baiyi seen through it?

As expected, the halo was forever the god.

After using that technique, Ji Rong’s spiritual power was exhausted, and she was at the end of her strength.

She watched Gu Baiyi’s sword coming at her, speechless and already preparing for the blade to rest against her neck.

Isn’t it just surrendering? She was used to it.

Just as Gu Baiyi’s sword was about to touch Ji Rong’s neck, the murderous intent suddenly dissipated.

Ji Rong’s expression was calm as she looked into Gu Baiyi’s eyes, which held a playful smile.

Then, Gu Baiyi leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Senior Sister just tricked me once, so this time, I’m tricking you."

Ji Rong: "?"

In the next moment, Gu Baiyi collapsed into her arms, the Hanshui Sword clattering to the ground.

Caught off guard, Ji Rong reflexively reached out to catch Gu Baiyi.

At that moment, Gu Baiyi leaned against her, her face as pale as snow, a faint medicinal scent and the strong stench of blood emanating from her body.

Ji Rong squinted her eyes. Her fingers touched Gu Baiyi’s back, and when she lifted them, she saw fresh blood—bright and jarring.

Blood?

Ji Rong was stunned. She hadn’t even touched the heroine’s clothes, so how could there be blood?

This was the worst kind of deception, and it was infuriating.