The proud and overbearing
Even back when the Young Master of Peacock Sacred Mountain was still around, the two had never truly fought each other, and no real victor had ever been decided.
So, in the younger generation's duels across the Glazed Royal City, Li Jiancheng had always maintained an unshakably steady and supremely confident mindset, never once experiencing a moment of panic or fear.
Yet the instant Huang'er made her move, a flash of panic — something Li Jiancheng had never felt before — swept through his heart, utterly beyond his control.
Huang'er's jade-like hand seemed capable of manipulating space and time itself, possessing a mysterious, almost magical power. The moment that vortex of qi took shape, Li Jiancheng felt as though he had been plunged into the depths of a vast, boundless ocean.
In the next heartbeat, his heart lurched with terror. How could he dare to hold back? With a thunderous shout, he shook both arms, and a strange, eerie talisman appeared in his hand.
He hurled it into the void, and the talisman dissolved into streaks of purple-crimson markings that blazed with overwhelming radiance. A tremendous explosive force shattered the empty space, obliterating the vortex of qi that Huang'er's grab had created on the spot.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The power behind Huang'er's grab was, in truth, an extremely domineering spatial Divine Ability — capable of instantly forming a binding field that sealed off a section of the void. If the opponent let their guard down for even an instant, they would be trapped alive within that invisible cage.
Had Li Jiancheng not reacted swiftly and produced a talisman of devastating destructive power to demolish Huang'er's attack, he would by now have been a caged beast with no way out.
Rumble!
The collision of immense forces sent qi currents crashing wildly against one another — scattering, colliding again, scattering once more!
Over and over, it seemed as though the entire void would be torn apart and shredded, sending violent tremors across the ground around the arena that left the earth itself shaking. The spectacle was nothing short of breathtaking.
This was merely a single exchange in a friendly spar, yet it left every spectator around them completely dumbstruck, all holding their breath, eyes wider than bronze bells.
No one had imagined that the jade-beautiful Miss Huang'er, with nothing more than a casual flip of her hand, could unleash such terrifying power.
And Li Jiancheng was truly remarkable as well — in that split second, he had already identified the source of the danger. Most of the onlookers were still entirely in the dark, having failed to gauge the depth of Huang'er's technique.
"Whoa! That's incredibly powerful!"
"Seems like everyone underestimated this Miss Huang'er."
"Li Jiancheng actually looks a bit rattled. And Huang'er — barely expressionless, yet she's packing this kind of offensive force. This fight is going to be something."
"Something? Sure, I'll admit we underestimated her. But the fool thing is, she already declared it herself — if she doesn't win within three moves, she loses. You think she can handle Young Master Jiancheng in three moves?"
"Nonsense! That was just talk for show. You actually took it seriously?" This one was clearly siding with Peacock Sacred Mountain.
"A duel has no idle words. If she made the boast, she has to follow through." The Asura Dojo's supporters seized on that point and refused to let go.
"What a lovely principle — 'a duel has no idle words.' Seems like Li Jiancheng also said he'd give her three moves, doesn't he? What does yielding moves mean? It means letting the other side attack while refusing to strike back. So what did he just do? He actually used a talisman. What a fine yielding of moves — so *that's* how it's done!"
"Truly. This Li Jiancheng has lost his sense of honor. Breaking his word like that. He agreed to yield moves and then attacked anyway. The Asura Dojo — full of people who don't keep their promises."
"Heh heh. If he hadn't struck, he'd probably be lying under the arena by now, wouldn't he? The so-called first disciple of the Asura Dojo doesn't seem all that impressive after all."
"Same old story — the fortune of the Glazed Royal City still lies with Peacock Sacred Mountain. The Asura Dojo is fine, I suppose, but they're still just a hair short. Look at this Li Jiancheng, then look at Miss Huang'er. One has always carried himself with his nose in the air, making a spectacle of the other — er, excuse me. One has always carried himself with his nose in the air, being obnoxiously high-profile at every turn. The other has been completely unassuming, barely showing her face in public. Yet the champion of the Young Master Rankings can't even beat a girl who hardly ever comes out. This contest of fortune — we might as well stop right here."
"Exactly. And the Peacock Grand Emperor isn't even here. If he were? I'd wonder whether the Asura Dojo could even win three out of thirteen rounds."
Thirteen rounds — winning only three would be a vast, humiliating gap.
"Three? I doubt even that. Maybe one or two at best."
The lords' commentary was far from restrained.
Over on the Asura Doji's side, as the battle opened and that shocking first exchange unfolded, every face had instantly turned grim.
They clearly hadn't expected such an abrupt turn of events. Li Jiancheng, whom they had believed would win for certain, had nearly been defeated in a single move?
"This must have been an accident!" Oceanic Grand Emperor muttered. "Jiancheng was simply too careless. If he hadn't yielded the moves and had gone on the offensive from the start, how could it have come to this?"
The Asura Grand Emperor's expression had also darkened slightly. He felt a faint surge of anger toward Li Jiancheng. He had warned the boy over and over not to underestimate his opponent.
In the end, this young man still couldn't help getting rattled in front of a woman — always desperate to show off, and now he had nearly paid a terrible price for it.
Were it not forbidden to interfere with a match in progress, the Asura Grand Emperor could barely keep himself from shouting at the boy.
"Brother Asura, there's no need to worry. Nephew Jiancheng surely knows what he's doing. It's just that the girl's cultivation doesn't seem weak at all. Did anyone catch what that move was just now? It seemed remarkably profound." Void-Slaying Grand Emperor suddenly spoke up.
"That move was indeed quite impressive — it seemed to contain some secret spatial technique. Is this girl truly the direct disciple of that brat surnamed Zhen?" Oceanic Grand Emperor still wasn't willing to concede, hoping to make an issue of her background.