Exactly as she intended!
Zhai Ying had deliberately exposed her own flaw to Shao Yuchen.
And Shao Yuchen, as expected, believed himself certain to win, so he completely abandoned his defense, aiming to finish the fight quickly.
She had long predicted this outcome; even his initial caution and disgust were all within Zhai Ying’s control.
Feigning weakness on purpose, then seizing the opportunity she had engineered.
Zhai Ying’s suspended body began to stretch out in midair. Although there was a clear height difference between them, Zhai Ying’s long legs still exceeded the length of Shao Yuchen’s arms.
Immediately, true qi gathered at Zhai Ying’s toes as she aimed a strike directly at Shao Yuchen’s solar plexus.
Shao Yuchen, who had not expected Zhai Ying to make such a move, instantly fell into the passive.
There was not enough time left for him to condense Protective True Qi to guard himself.
The fastest evasive move the chief disciple of Weaving Dreams Tower could manage in this situation was to use his arms to shield his chest.
But he knew full well that if he absorbed that kick, concentrated with Zhai Ying’s true qi, his arm would certainly be temporarily crippled.
With only one functioning arm, and without using illusions, the chance of defeating Zhai Ying would be zero.
Since that was the case…
Shao Yuchen made a decision.
He did not defend against Zhai Ying’s kick. Instead, he allowed her strike to land on his chest.
“Puft!”
A mouthful of fresh blood spurted from Shao Yuchen’s mouth.
His figure wavered, his footing unsteady.
But he did not fall. His hand continued to reach forward.
The moment Shao Yuchen’s hand firmly seized Zhai Ying’s ankle, the cunning, triumphant look on her face instantly shifted to terror and panic.
She had indeed deliberately displayed her flaw to Shao Yuchen.
And she had indeed succeeded; that kick had unquestionably dealt Shao Yuchen a heavy blow.
However…
“Thud!”
A trade of injury for injury!
Gripped by the ankle, Zhai Ying was forcibly pulled downward by Shao Yuchen. Her light, drifting body crashed onto the stone-brick arena platform with a heavy impact, punching a deep pit into the platform. Dust flew, and countless cracks spread beneath her.
“Cough, cough!”
Zhai Ying, smashed into the ground, coughed with difficulty. Blood foam sprayed from her mouth, and she tried to crawl back onto the platform.
Then a foot stepped onto her shoulder, pressing her back down onto the arena, leaving her completely immobilized.
“No, no… please—”
Panicked, Zhai Ying shook her head repeatedly.
Shao Yuchen, however, showed no expression. Pale-faced with blood still trickling from his mouth, the chief disciple of Weaving Dreams Tower simply looked coldly at the sprawled Zhai Ying.
Then he raised his fist and activated Martial Spring, true qi surging.
Bang!
Bang! Bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The entire venue fell silent, watching as Shao Yuchen pounded fist after fist into Zhai Ying’s motionless, helpless face.
“Winner, Shao Yuchen!”
A Star Heaven Sect manager disciple responsible for judging the match hurried up onto the stage to announce Shao Yuchen’s victory.
Although deaths on the arena platform during the Heavenly Summit Mountain Dao Inquiry were sometimes unavoidable,
being beaten to death while already unable to defend oneself was an entirely different matter.
Bang! Bang!
Even after the Star Heaven Sect manager disciple declared Shao Yuchen the victor, he still added two more punches to Zhai Ying’s face.
Seeing this, the Star Heaven Sect manager disciple, fearing for his own safety, rushed forward and grabbed Shao Yuchen’s arm, signaling him to stop.
Only then did Shao Yuchen finally halt.
He straightened his body, then violently coughed, expelling a clotted mouthful of dark blood. He straightened once more, found the Wind Ravine Valley cultivators in the viewing stand, and bowed toward them.
Then Shao Yuchen turned and walked down from the arena, his steps unsteady, his posture staggering.
He was clearly heavily injured as well.
Zhai Ying, still lying on the arena, lay unmoving. Her face was a bloody ruin, almost unrecognizable as human.
On the viewing stand, the Wind Ravine Valley cultivators’ faces were ashen.
A provocation!
This was an absolutely vile provocation!
At present, Wind Ravine Valley was undeniably the weakest of the Five Great Sects.
Under the policy framework set by Realman Shuangyu Yin Xia back then, Wind Ravine Valley indeed found it difficult to surpass the other four great sects in hard power.
Of course, much of that stemmed from the mess Realman Bai Shang left behind in the past, which had scared many of Wind Ravine Valley’s cultivators.
Voices rose and fell across the viewing stand.
“Shao’s move might not have been that excessive…”
“That’s what I mean, it seems totally unnecessary.”
“He was probably angry, after all Zhai started with a dirty trick.”
“What do you mean a dirty trick? All’s fair in war, all’s fair in war, don’t you get it?”
“If you say it like that, then Shao hitting hard is fine—like a lion using full strength on a rabbit.”
“Nonsense, this is a matter of martial ethics!”
“I say dirty tricks aren’t about martial ethics either.”
“I told you, it’s called all’s fair in war!”
“That’s sophistry. I think you just want to drool over Zhai’s body!”
“What? Zhai looks pretty, isn’t that a fact?”
“Pretty my foot, her face is swollen beyond recognition. Can you even find a nose on her now?”
Su Hongzhen listened to the discussions among the cultivators on the viewing stand, which gradually escalated from mere commentary into argument.
“Senior Su.”
At that moment, a Mirage Palace disciple wearing deep green robes suddenly appeared beside Su Hongzhen and spoke softly.
Su Hongzhen slowly turned his head to look at the unfamiliar Mirage Palace disciple:
“May I ask Your Excellency what business you have?”
The Mirage Palace disciple standing beside Su Hongzhen was slightly taken aback—he was merely an ordinary outer sect disciple of Mirage Palace. Being addressed as “Your Excellency” by Su Hongzhen felt excessively flattering.
“You can just call me Little Huang, Senior Su. I truly can’t bear the title ‘Your Excellency’.”
This disciple, calling himself “Little Huang,” hurriedly waved his hand and said,
“I’ve come to ask Senior Su to accompany me over to the third arena. In two rounds it will be your turn to face Lightning-Severing Sect’s Senior Jia. Please go over now to prepare in advance.”