Fuyan accepted Qin Xinrui’s challenge.
She wasn’t the kind who liked making trouble or showing off, but if someone brought trouble right to her door, she wasn’t about to roll over and play the soft persimmon.
On the broad dueling platform, disciples came every day to spar and challenge each other. So when Fuyan and Qin Xinrui stepped onto the stage, they barely drew any attention.
After all, their rankings were too low. No one felt much interest in watching.
“Sigh, why is Junior Sister Fu so impulsive? Junior Sister Xinrui is ranked about two hundred places higher than you. What are we going to do now?”
Down below, Zhou Zhenlie didn’t seem to think it was a big deal at all. He still put on a kindly face and called up to Fuyan, sounding like he was advising her for her own good.
Fuyan couldn’t even be bothered to look at him. Her gaze stayed on Qin Xinrui opposite her.
“Let’s begin,” she said calmly.
As she spoke, Fuyan drew her weapon: a delicate broken sword.
For a moment, everyone present was stunned. It was the first time they’d seen someone bring a broken sword as their weapon in a formal duel. Some even doubted their own eyes.
“What’s going on? Why is that junior sister holding a broken sword?”
“No idea. I just got here. Looks like it’s another pair of beauties Zhou Senior Brother tricked into fighting.”
“I’m telling you, why do new junior sisters fall for Zhou Senior Brother’s nonsense every single year? This is my third time seeing people fight over him.”
“Well, look at him: good-looking, knows how to sweet-talk, his strength isn’t bad, and his family has an elder in the inner sect. Tell me, how is he not going to get away with it?”
“Heh, he’s not even in the top hundred. That counts as strong?”
“…”
When Zhou Zhenlie saw Fuyan take out a broken sword, he couldn’t help feeling secretly pleased. He looked up at her with a seemingly worried expression and drew his own sword.
“Junior Sister Fu, how can you fight with a broken sword? If it’s inconvenient, why don’t you use my sword for now?”
This entire duel had, of course, been arranged by him from behind the scenes. Qin Xinrui was already someone he’d “played” with; she no longer interested him. In contrast, Fuyan suited his taste more and more.
There was no question in his mind that Fuyan would definitely lose today. When that happened, his chance would come. Women were always the most moved when someone stood by them unconditionally in their most helpless moment.
And if, taking ten thousand steps back, Fuyan somehow won, then she would feel a sense of superiority. At that time, all he had to do was distance himself from Qin Xinrui a little, and she would think he was completely infatuated with her.
On the stage, when Qin Xinrui saw Zhou Zhenlie offering his sword up to Fuyan like a treasure, she almost exploded on the spot. She even forgot the customary bow before a duel and directly rushed at Fuyan with her sword.
“Be careful, Junior Sister Fu!” Zhou Zhenlie called out anxiously.
Fuyan found it amusing. Facing Qin Xinrui’s sudden attack, she didn’t panic in the slightest. The next instant, her body moved.
She swept along the edge of the platform, her body tilting and spinning, easily sidestepping Qin Xinrui’s strike.
Learning a movement technique really had been the right call. Although she hadn’t yet reached minor completion in her Wind Shadow Step, three days of relentless practice had still made her speed visibly faster.
Seeing her strike dodged so easily, Qin Xinrui immediately pressed the attack, slashing out with another sword strike.
The sharp blade whistled toward Fuyan. Fuyan’s figure flickered again, barely avoiding the blow this time. The sword edge almost grazed her body.
As expected, her speed was still far from enough.
With her second attack evaded yet again, Qin Xinrui’s anger surged to the brim. She no longer held back. She gathered herself and charged straight at Fuyan.
“Let’s see how you dodge this—Tenfold Sword!”
As soon as the words left her lips, the sword in Qin Xinrui’s hand suddenly split into ten identical blades, all stabbing toward Fuyan, sealing off every possible avenue of retreat.
Fuyan had originally wanted to use Qin Xinrui’s attacks to get in a few more rounds of practice with Wind Shadow Step. But since the other party clearly wanted to end things quickly, she could only meet the attack head-on.
She tightened her grip on the broken Linglong Sword. True essence surged out from within her.
The next moment, Fuyan slashed straight into Qin Xinrui’s attack.
In an instant, a violent shockwave exploded across the dueling platform.
Qin Xinrui felt as if the sword in her hand was being torn apart. The next second, she saw her own weapon blasted flying from her grip, and her entire body was hurled backwards by the powerful force of Fuyan’s true essence.
Below the platform, everyone stared, stunned.
They watched Qin Xinrui spit out a mouthful of blood, her body flung away like a kite with its string cut, thrown clear off the platform and landing unconscious on the ground.
On the stage, Fuyan landed steadily. The hem of her crimson dress billowed in the wind.
“…”
For a long moment, the crowd below was completely silent.
It was a while before someone finally found their voice.
“No way… the fight ended with a single sword strike? Who is that junior sister? Is she really that strong?”
“It is a bit surprising, but I remember Qin Xinrui was only ranked a bit over six hundred. She was never that strong to begin with. This red‑robed junior sister, I think this is her first public duel. We didn’t know her strength before. Now that she’s shown it, this result isn’t that strange.”
“Yeah. Someone with strength around the top four hundred could definitely end a fight with Qin Xinrui in one strike. Looks like this new junior sister already has the strength to break into the top four hundred,” someone analyzed seriously.
On the platform, Fuyan paid no attention to the discussions below. She knew her performance just now wasn’t anything shocking. In the inner sect, there were plenty who could do the same.
Soon, she saw the number on her identity token change, shifting from eight hundred thirty‑two to six hundred forty‑three. The ranking really did update in real time.
Fuyan had only knocked Qin Xinrui unconscious; she hadn’t damaged her cultivation foundation. The sect strictly forbade killing in ordinary duels, and she had no intention of going that far anyway. But a lesson still had to be given.
Below, Zhou Zhenlie was also surprised. He hadn’t expected Fuyan to be this strong. But he quickly recovered, hurried over, and looked up at her with a face full of admiration.
“So Junior Sister Fu is this powerful!”
A few female disciples also came over. They seemed to know Qin Xinrui. After understanding what had happened, they couldn’t help speaking up for her.
“It was just a spar between fellow disciples. You didn’t need to hit so hard, did you? You knocked Xinrui out on the spot. What if you’d damaged her foundation?”
Seeing this, Zhou Zhenlie immediately spoke up to defend Fuyan.
“It’s not like that. This all started because of me. I’m the one at fault. Hurry and take Junior Sister Qin down to rest.”
After that, he turned back to Fuyan.
“I’m really sorry, Junior Sister Fu. This whole misunderstanding today was because of me. If you need anything, just tell me. I’ll do whatever I can to make it up to you.”
Fuyan actually nodded at that. She looked at him and suddenly smiled.
“If you want to make amends, Senior Brother Zhou, why don’t you abolish your own cultivation right here and now? Only then can I forgive what you’ve done.”
“What?”
Zhou Zhenlie clearly couldn’t believe what he’d just heard. For a moment, his face was full of disbelief.
Fuyan shrugged helplessly.
“Forget it. I know Senior Brother Zhou could never bear to do that.”
“In that case, I’ll issue you a life‑and‑death challenge instead. Ten days from now, we’ll meet here. Don’t be late.”
With that, Fuyan ignored the shock on everyone’s faces, sheathed the broken Linglong Sword, and walked straight off the platform.
Anywhere with a lot of people was bound to have conflicts and grudges, especially in an inner sect with nearly a thousand disciples. To resolve serious enmities, the sect had established the life‑and‑death challenge.
As long as both parties agreed, a life‑and‑death challenge could be issued. Rank didn’t matter. Strength didn’t matter. No matter the result—even if someone died during the fight—the sect would not interfere.
Normally, only those with deep, irreconcilable grudges would resort to a life‑and‑death battle. So when Fuyan suddenly challenged Zhou Zhenlie to one, everyone was stunned.
“Did I get out of bed the wrong way today? Did I just hear that right—a life‑and‑death challenge?”
“Are the newcomers all this crazy now?”
“Looks like we’ve got a good show coming up!”
“…”
Fuyan’s words had indeed set off quite a stir. But she naturally knew nothing of that. After leaving the arena, she returned straight to her small wooden hut.
As for whether Zhou Zhenlie would refuse the challenge, the thought never crossed her mind.
A man like Zhou Zhenlie treasured his reputation above all else. If he didn’t show up in ten days, he could forget about ever holding his head up in the inner sect again.
The reason she set it for ten days later was simple: right now, she still wasn’t confident she could defeat him.
That sword strike she used to kill Liu Chuanhan last time had been powerful, but it had been pure chance. If she tried to do the same thing now, she wouldn’t be able to replicate it.
She needed to raise her strength as quickly as possible.
So for the next ten days, Fuyan did not slack off for even a moment.
Every morning, she practiced Wind Shadow Step.
Every afternoon, she trained the first form of the Illusoryless Sword.
Every night, she continued refining her true essence.
As for Zhou Zhenlie, he tactfully stayed away and never showed up again, leaving Fuyan in peace.
Very soon, the ten days were up.
Early that morning, Fuyan once again put on her crimson dress, took up the broken Linglong Sword, and walked straight toward the dueling grounds.
Word of today’s life‑and‑death challenge had long since spread through the sect. When Fuyan arrived, she found the place already crowded. People sat in groups of two or three, chatting and speculating.
People loved watching a spectacle. Even if the fight wasn’t that exciting, just the words “life” and “death” were enough to draw a crowd.
Fuyan didn’t pay them much attention. She walked alone onto the platform and stood there quietly, waiting for Zhou Zhenlie.
“She really came. Zhou Zhenlie is ranked one hundred and eighteen. In a life‑and‑death battle, he’ll probably be even stronger. What can this new junior sister possibly hope to gain?” someone questioned.
Another sounded unusually excited.
“If I remember right, the last life‑and‑death battle ended with one injured and one dead. The one before that, both sides died. What do you think will happen this time?”
“Don’t you think this junior sister is ridiculously pretty? I think she’s almost on par with Senior Sister Bai. Especially that crimson dress—fiery and flamboyant—it makes her even more beautiful.”
“What’s wrong with your eyes? Don’t compare just anyone to my goddess. I’ve never seen anyone more beautiful than Senior Sister Bai.”
“…”
Amid the chatter, the other main character of this life‑and‑death challenge—Zhou Zhenlie—finally appeared. He walked slowly up onto the platform.
“Junior Sister Fu, you really don’t regret this?”
Zhou Zhenlie smiled as he looked at her across the stage.
“In a life‑and‑death challenge, I won’t be holding back.”
A few strands of long hair fluttered by her ear in the wind as Fuyan faced him.
Her tone was flat.
“Begin.”
