"Hah!" Feng Bujue shouted lightly, tapping his foot. His figure... soared straight into the sky.

With a *zeng* sound, the precious sword left its sheath, revealing its cold brilliance.

"Nine Heavens Hanging One Peak..." Coordinating with his swordplay, Brother Jue recited in a clear voice in the high sky, "...The moon hangs in the empty sky beyond the clouds..."

"Another poem?" Xu Huaishang thought. "Are you addicted or something..."

"Floating above the ethereal mortal world... a flying immortal shatters the firmament!" Feng Bujue recited an impromptu poem while performing various meaningless sword forms in the sky.

The poem subtly contained the characters for sky (天), beyond (外), flying (飞), and immortal (仙). Combined with his performance that emphasized both form and spirit, his panache value instantly exploded, reaching a positive one hundred and twenty. Under such panache, even a simple thrust of the sword could possess astonishing power.

"Ha—" Seeing that the time was ripe, Feng Bujue immediately stepped on the Moonwalk, charging down diagonally from mid-air toward Xu Huaishang.

Xu Huaishang had faced countless swordsmen in the game, and she herself was no slouch with a sword. Therefore, she could tell at a glance that Brother Jue's moves were just flashy forms, and rather amateurish ones at that...

"Tch... this isn't even a skill..." Xu Huaishang thought. "It's obvious he doesn't know how to use a sword, yet he's putting on an act..."

With confidence in her heart, her actions were naturally decisive. Facing the "Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens," Xu Huaishang didn't dodge or evade; she wielded both swords simultaneously, launching an attack in response.

"Northern Sky Cross Sparrow!" Xu Huaishang shouted the name of the technique in a blush. She couldn't help it; the script setting was like this, and shouting it out might even add to the power.

*Chi*—

A frosty white cross-shaped slash flew toward the sky, meeting Feng Bujue's "Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens" head-on.

Brother Jue was already prepared. Almost the instant his opponent attacked, he stepped twice more in mid-air. These two Moonwalk steps caused his figure to swerve to the side like lightning, changing his downward trajectory and barely avoiding the flying blade attack.

"I knew you'd use this move..." Feng Bujue thought. "Using an ice-attribute ranged attack to intercept me; the speed, power, and attack range are all suitable... It's a pity that you and I have already fought once. The basis for Zero Time Difference Calculation is sufficient. As long as I'm prepared, ranged attacks are ineffective against me."

"He actually dodged it..." At that instant, Xu Huaishang's cold voice suddenly rang in Brother Jue's ear. "I knew you would dodge it."

It turned out... she had also foreseen Feng Bujue's evasion.

The Northern Sky Cross Sparrow was just a feint. After launching the blade attack, Xu Huaishang herself had leaped up with all her might, following closely behind the blade aura.

*Ping*— The sound of blades colliding shattered the night sky.

Feng Bujue reacted with lightning speed, hastily twisting his body to stall and blocking the incoming dual blades with his sword.

Xu Huaishang's attack missed, but she didn't hesitate in the slightest. She immediately spun around, changing her stance, and unleashing another wave of swift attacks with her dual blades.

Blade light and sword shadows intertwined in the air.

The two figures hovered in the sky, exchanging blows, and showing no signs of falling for a full two minutes.

"This..." Tang Yun'er, who was watching from the side, was stunned and couldn't help but mutter, "...What is this qinggong... how can they float without falling?"

"Using blades to emit qi, even forming such a huge white glow, and the inner force within it contains astonishing Xuan Bing power, this..." Liao Wu's worldview was also subverted by the Northern Sky Cross Sparrow just now. He originally thought that he was already one of the top swordsmen in the martial world, but unexpectedly... the unknown young female swordsman in front of him used a divine skill that he had never seen in his life.

According to the common sense of this world, such a technique could not be performed without forty years of arduous cultivation. Moreover, you had to practice mid-to-high-level martial arts during these forty years. If you practiced a low-level internal energy cultivation method, you wouldn't be able to release this kind of blade energy even after eighty years.

"The most terrifying thing is..." Miao Ying also spoke, "...Their martial arts are completely traceless, with no discernible routines. They seem to have no rules or methods, yet their power is astonishing..." She subconsciously tightened her grip on the sword in her hand. "Standing here for so long, I haven't felt even a trace of inner force fluctuations. I can't even see their breathing techniques or sect affiliations..."

"Hmph... Such a fuss over nothing." Cao Qin's androgynous voice rang out at the right time. "True peerless martial arts are not bound by form or restricted by method. Only by breaking through all inherent rules can one reach a higher realm." He wasn't bluffing; he really knew his stuff. This Eunuch Cao's cultivation had already broken through the realm of martial arts and entered the ranks of Xuan cultivation. His ageless appearance was the best proof. "What you cultivate day and night is only inner force. But what they cultivate is many times stronger than inner force."

As they spoke, the battle in the sky had changed.

As Feng Bujue had predicted, he was at a disadvantage in close combat.

Although Brother Jue's experience and skills in combat were no longer what they used to be, he was still far behind Xu Huaishang. In terms of pure strength and speed, he didn't have any advantage either without being able to use Spiritual Sense Gathering.

"Hah! Watch my Flying Dragon Enters the Clouds Step!" Seeing that things were going bad, Feng Bujue quickly feinted a move, parrying his opponent, and then stepped on the Moonwalk, escaping upwards. Before leaving, he didn't forget to make up a cool name for his actions to boost his panache value.

"That's clearly Moonwalk... it's not like I haven't seen it before..." Xu Huaishang muttered, then landed back on the roof ridge.

Don't be fooled by how long she fought Brother Jue in the sky; in fact... she didn't have any means of flying at all. She had just used force to generate force, using Feng Bujue's floating power to keep herself in the air.

This kind of technique... seemed extremely difficult, but it was as easy as flipping her hand for her. Because Xu Huaishang had a very powerful passive skill called [Swallow Steps Across the Sky].

As the name suggests, this move could make her body extremely light in certain situations, so light that even a swallow could carry her. With the help of this skill, every time she pressed down a sword toward Brother Jue, she could use the reaction force of the opponent's block to raise herself a few more inches. In a sense, this was more convenient than Moonwalk, and it hardly consumed any stamina.

Of course, the effects of Moonwalk and [Stepping on Emptiness] could be activated by stepping on the air, while [Swallow Steps Across the Sky] had to find something to borrow force from, so there was still a bit of a difference.

"His strength has improved again in just half a month..." Feng Bujue thought. "If it weren't for Zero Time Difference Calculation, I would have been seriously injured in that round of exchanges just now..." He couldn't help but recall the slaughter game when he first met Kuang Zong Jian Ying. He was also suppressed by the opponent's skillful fighting techniques, and it could be said that he was in a precarious situation.

"There's no other way, I still need to take advantage of aerial superiority, and use the Lanjiao to grind down her health..." Once Feng Bujue made up his mind, he took advantage of being high in the sky, and launched two crescent-shaped slashes from his feet.

Unexpectedly...

*Whoosh—Whoosh—Bang—Bang—*

Suddenly, two palm winds rose, vast and mighty, intercepting his Lanjiao in mid-air and turning it into nothingness.

"Liaoist Leader Feng." Cao Qin flicked his sleeves and looked up. "This is the top of the imperial city. What do you think you are doing?"

"Pfft..." Xu Huaishang burst out laughing. From the moment she entered the script until now, this was the first time she felt so relieved. "That's right, Liaoist Leader Feng, if you break the roof here, you won't have enough lives to compensate for it."

Cao Qin's sudden action and Xu Huaishang's ridicule caused Brother Jue's panache value to plummet rapidly, dropping to forty in an instant.

"Also, your Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens is nothing more than this, I've already taken it, and I'm unharmed," Xu Huaishang said.

As soon as these words came out, Brother Jue's panache value plummeted again, turning to zero...

"Hey! It turned to zero like this..." Feng Bujue cried out in his heart. "I worked so hard to show off for so long before the fight, but a few changes will reset it to zero?"

Therefore... showing off is like climbing a mountain. The higher you climb, the harder you fall...

The main reasons for Feng Bujue's plummeting panache value were as follows: First, he had built up the nonexistent "Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens" for too long, but in the end, it was all thunder and little rain; second, he was at a disadvantage in close combat, and could only fly into the sky and switch to leg techniques for ranged attacks; third, his Lanjiao was blocked by Cao Qin, and he was ridiculed by Eunuch Cao and Goddess Xu in turn.

The occurrence of these three things all fell into the eyes of the onlookers. This caused Feng Bujue's high-end image of a peerless expert to collapse all at once. Although his Lanjiao still looked like a terrifying ultimate skill to Liao Wu and the others, his personal deterrence was far less intense than when Cao Qin mentioned "Cang Ling Sword Debate" just now.

"There's no other way..." Feng Bujue calculated in his heart, "Continuing to use Lanjiao to attack downward might trigger a battle with Cao Qin... um... can only go down and fight her in close combat?" Thinking of this, he came up with another plan...

As everyone knows... panache value can be increased through a series of stylish behaviors such as [announcing one's name and surname to the enemy], [letting the enemy go], [not giving the enemy a fatal blow], [using uncommon Chinese characters or foreign words], [reminiscing], [cheering people on], [expressing determination], [explaining the situation], [writing poetry], etc.

Women can also increase their panache value by showing skin, and the bigger their breasts and the better their figure, the higher their chances of survival in battle and the more significant their panache value increase.

Conversely, behaviors such as [playing with the weak], [showing pride because one is in an advantageous position], [going all out from the beginning], [delivering a fatal blow to a dying character], and [ridiculing the other party's persistence] will all lead to a decrease in panache value, or even death.

Feng Bujue, who knew this theory by heart, deeply knew that... it was not impossible for him to win. He still had a glimmer of hope, which was to use the most ultimate and stylish means of turning the tables—reversing the situation after being beaten to near death.

After deciding on this plan, Feng Bujue acted...

He saw his body inverted, his sword slanting across his chest. Then, his right foot slightly raised and suddenly stepped. In the next second, his whole person rushed down like thunder.

Seeing that the other party seemed to be desperate, Xu Huaishang naturally did not dare to be careless. She used the double blades in her hand again, gathering strength to strike.

In an instant, the sleeves fluttered, the soft hands gently moved, and the cold light of the double blades swirled into a shield, directly meeting the suddenly falling sword.

"Southern Dipper... Flying Dragon Sword!" Feng Bujue held the sword in his hand, but he forcibly used the bare-handed kill move. As a result, he used a strange and incongruous skill. The hand holding the sword was obviously a beat slower, and it also affected the left hand without the sword, so that his move was extremely awkward.

Although in the eyes of others, this strange move of "sword and hand combined" could be regarded as an amazing unique move, Brother Jue himself knew that... the power of this skill was less than 30% of the original.

"Hmph... what a joke!" Xu Huaishang also quickly saw through Brother Jue's trick, and immediately snorted lightly, raising her blade to meet it.

The double blades rose together, weaving a net of killing intent.

The precious sword shattered, announcing that the victory and defeat had been decided.

The broken iron pieces fell one after another, reflecting silver light under the moonlight.

Feng Bujue fell on the roof ridge, spitting blood from his mouth, with a miserable expression on his face.

Xu Huaishang stood beside him, holding the blade and threatening him, with a disdainful expression.

"Hehe..." Feng Bujue laughed in his heart, "Very good... everything is within the plan. Goddess Xu, hurry up and do it, it's best to ridicule me a few more times... I still have 30% of my survival value left, after dodging your fatal blow, I'll get up and give you a lower whip kick, taking advantage of the situation to reverse..."

His idea was not bad, but...

An astonishing scene appeared...

Xu Huaishang did not act, and her expression suddenly became gentle. She looked at Brother Jue affectionately and said something nonsensical: "You lost." Her tone also carried a hint of sadness.

"What's going on..." Feng Bujue felt that he was suddenly stuck, a little at a loss, "Why isn't she acting? What does this line and expression mean? Could it be..."

"Do you think... I really don't understand anything?" Xu Huaishang said this. At the same time, she even slowly closed her eyes and shed two lines of clear tears.

"Hey!" Brother Jue's eyeballs almost popped out, "She's an actress! She can cry whenever she wants!"

Xu Huaishang's words obviously had a different meaning to others, but Feng Bujue understood... her subtext was: "Do you really think I know nothing about panache value?"

"I know, from the beginning, you wanted to die." Xu Huaishang continued to fabricate, "So you didn't use your full strength at all..." She sobbed twice convincingly, "Do you think I'm really so stupid that I can't see it?"

Hearing this, the four onlookers showed an expression of "Oh~" as if they had suddenly realized something. Their state at this moment was like watching a live stage play, their emotions rising and falling with the fate of the characters in the play...

"I'm done... completely done..." Feng Bujue was almost desperate in his heart, "This woman's EQ is much higher than I thought..."

Now, Brother Jue couldn't even respond. This play had been completely taken into Xu Huaishang's rhythm. What Goddess Xu said was true, whether it was or not; and Brother Jue could only remain silent with a sad and melancholy expression. If he forcibly responded, or suddenly ran away or attacked, his panache value would definitely plummet to the point of death.

"Sigh..." Xu Huaishang sighed, "I know, you and I are destined to be apart in this life..." She wiped away her tears and knelt down beside Brother Jue without restraint, "An hour ago, I took a strange poison..."

"I also ate the Smiling Half-Step Death!" Feng Bujue complained in his heart.

"...Since you are not willing to fulfill me, then I will fulfill myself." Goddess Xu acted so sincerely and movingly that it was no wonder people in the film and television industry were vying for her. She was simply a genius, "At least I want to die with you..."

When Xu Huaishang said this, she pulled Feng Bujue up and hugged him, resting his head on her shoulder.

This move was extremely vicious... In this state, Brother Jue's last hope of escape was shattered.

"Sigh... a terrible woman..." Feng Bujue sighed secretly, "I underestimated you too much..."

Brother Jue couldn't help but think that if his inventory hadn't been locked, he could have pulled out a kitchen knife and stabbed her directly; if the Southern Dipper Flying Dragon Fist hadn't entered Cd, it would have been over with one move.

But now... these assumptions no longer existed.

It was also impossible to expect the NPCs to come out and disrupt the situation. After seeing Liaoist Leader Feng being embraced by the infatuated woman, they all looked at each other with sigh and regret... basically preparing to watch to the end.

"Why do you have to do this..." Feng Bujue said weakly with a look of being played out.

The failure made him a little annoyed, but he wouldn't quit rudely, so he prepared to cooperate with Xu Huaishang to finish the play.

"Don't say anything..." Xu Huaishang raised her right hand expressionlessly, pointing the blade at the back of Feng Bujue's heart. "My mind is made up, there is no turning back."

"I said... that's about enough." At this time, Feng Bujue leaned close to Xu Huaishang's ear and whispered, "I've already admitted defeat, hurry up and do it."

"You like to play around, huh..." Xu Huaishang replied in Brother Jue's ear triumphantly, "Want to trick me... didn't expect that?"

"If you don't act, I'm going to cry." Brother Jue actually said such a thing in a threatening tone.

"Huh?" Xu Huaishang was stunned, "So what?"

"After I cry, I'll say that I'm touched by you, then I'll ask Eunuch Cao for some Tianshan Snow Lotus, Thousand-Year Ganoderma or something, to detoxify you, and then I'll fly away with you," Feng Bujue continued.

*Pfft—*

Before the words fell, the tip of the blade had pierced his heart.

At this moment, Xu Huaishang broke out in a cold sweat. She thought that she had completely controlled the situation, but she didn't expect that... the other party had conceived of such a dangerous plot trend in such a short time.

If Feng Bujue really put this plan into action, then the development would be reversed again... it would be impossible for the character played by Xu Huaishang to have any room to resist Brother Jue in a short period of time.

"This doesn't count, the setting is too inexplicable..." Xu Huaishang said in a cold tone in his ear before Brother Jue turned into white light, "Next time, I will win you in a more direct way."

"You still have a lot of resentment about that Butterfly Battle..." Feng Bujue replied in an ambiguous tone, "Alright... I'll be there anytime..."

His words stopped abruptly because he had turned into white light and was teleported away. Almost at the same moment, Xu Huaishang, who heard the victory prompt, also left the script.

At the top of the Forbidden City, only four NPCs were left speechless. Even Cao Qin couldn't help but wonder... whether what he saw was a human or a ghost.