Lu Xiaoyue also dodged the hidden arrows at lightning speed. The arrows grazed her left shoulder, tearing through her clothes with a *chi* sound, and a trickle of blood seeped out.
Mo Qi's eyes flashed with a sharp glint. He opened his mouth and swallowed a stress-relief pill. "You can look down on me, but you cannot look down on my pills. This is the only thing I am proud of."
Immediately, he stopped forming hand seals. He bent his four fingers on both palms, pressing his thumbs against them, and then flicked them open instantly. Eight light arrows shot out. As soon as they emerged, he bent his fingers again, and another eight light arrows shot out, continuous and dense.
Lu Xiaoyue hastily summoned her flying sword and formed hand seals, conjuring countless sword lights to meet the onslaught. A series of *chi chi chi chi* sounds erupted as the sword lights and flying swords vanished instantly, dissipating into wisps of smoke.
The arrow lights continued their unstoppable advance. Lu Xiaoyue dodged at extreme speed, her figure like a phantom, weaving through the seemingly impenetrable barrage of arrow energy.
However, her attacks on Mo Qi had significantly slowed. Occasionally, wind blades and shadows would dart out, but most were dispersed by the arrow energy. The few wind blades that miraculously broke through the heavy obstruction and struck Mo Qi were already at the end of their strength and posed no threat to him.
In her rapid evasion, Lu Xiaoyue still had moments where she couldn't dodge in time. The arrow energy would sometimes graze her skin, leaving her clothes dotted with crimson.
The arrow lights continued forward, passing over the heads of the spectators, through flowers and grass, through rockeries, through the grand hall, piercing anything in their path. Zhang Tianshi stared in astonishment, muttering after a long pause, "So, it's this thing!"
Mo Qi continued to flick his fingers, approaching Lu Xiaoyue. With each flick, more crimson marks appeared on her body.
As the crimson marks multiplied, Mo Qi suddenly spoke, his voice not loud but shaking the heavens. "You are exceptionally talented, come from a privileged background, and are unlike others. Unfortunately, your talent has made you complacent and stagnant. You will ultimately taste bitter fruit."
As he uttered the last four words, the ground arrow energy erupted from his body. Countless arrow bodies lined up, emitting a dazzling radiance. The metallic clang accompanied the sound, like the ringing of a taut bowstring.
Then, with a sound like a snapped string, a wave of red light, like erupting lava, surged outwards towards Lu Xiaoyue.
Although Lu Xiaoyue was covered in wounds, none were fatal. Enduring the intense pain, she pointed a finger, and countless wind blades converged. The fierce wind current roared, as if mountains were about to collapse or tidal waves were about to crash.
The wind blades finally met the arrow light, tearing and biting at each other with continuous *zi zi zi* sounds. The colliding energies flickered, like hellish demons, endlessly exuding a bloodthirsty aura.
A powerful force erupted, expanding outwards in all directions.
Furthermore, sharp wind blades and arrow blades "survived" the collision and tearing, piercing through the obstacles and striking the opposite side.
Both Mo Qi and Lu Xiaoyue were violently thrown back several feet. Mo Qi narrowly avoided falling off the stage, with one foot dangling over the edge, but his entire body stubbornly remained on the platform.
After several exclamations of "Fall! Hurry and fall!", the disciples of the Divine Sword Sect sighed. Mo Qi had not fallen.
Zhang Tianshi watched the two on the stage, his fists unknowingly breaking out in a sweat.
Mo Qi was injured in multiple places, his body feeling as if it would fall apart.
Lu Xiaoyue also seemed to be seriously injured, lying on the ground for a long time without being able to get up. However, her eyes were fixed on Mo Qi. "As long as you get up, I will definitely get up before you."
However, the next moment, after swallowing a healing pill, Mo Qi stood up with ease.
Lu Xiaoyue gritted her teeth and struggled to rise, her eyes filled with venom. "I truly underestimated you, but you will never win against me. You will never!"
Fearing she might suddenly attack, Mo Qi immediately flicked his fingers again, sending an uninterrupted stream of invisible arrow energy towards Lu Xiaoyue.
Lu Xiaoyue unfurled her body and dodged at lightning speed.
Crimson blood seeped through her clothes. Amidst the flashing white figure, a touch of scarlet was dotted, like the leaping red in the heart of a flame, so brilliant, so fervent.
She weaved through the arrow energy with incredible agility, attempting to find an opportunity to close the distance and deliver a killing blow to Mo Qi.
Mo Qi's eyes blazed with fire. "You can defeat me, but you cannot arbitrarily humiliate others, nor can you trample on their dignity."
Lu Xiaoyue's figure flashed rapidly. She suddenly changed direction, forming her fingers into a claw, and lunged fiercely at Mo Qi.
Mo Qi was already prepared. His body flickered, and he appeared at Lu Xiaoyue's side. At the same time, he waved his hand, and five claw shadows shot out, ensnaring her neck.
Mo Qi's eyes turned cold. He gritted his teeth and said, "I will now return the humiliation you gave me, the contempt you showed me, the suffocation you inflicted upon me. All of it – back – to – you."
As he spoke, he secretly tightened his grip, and the phantom restraints around her neck grew tighter.
Lu Xiaoyue, however, felt no pain or suffocation. A crystal tear rolled from the corner of her eye, falling to the ground like a pearl and shattering.
Zhang Tianshi suddenly stood up, secretly forming hand seals.
Lai Yaoshi shouted from a distance, "Uncle-Master, calm down, calm down!"
Mo Qi's chest heaved violently, his hands trembling.
"So they know each other!" discussions suddenly erupted from the spectator stands.
"It's like they have a deep-seated hatred!"
"No, it seems they were childhood sweethearts!"
"No, it seems they are sworn enemies!"
Mo Qi finally let out a long sigh, retracted his claw shadows, took two torn pieces of paper from his storage bag, and threw them at Lu Xiaoyue's feet. "I'll return this to you too!"
After saying this, he turned and jumped off the stage, walking towards the outside of the arena. Unconsciously, tears welled up and streamed down his face.
The referee looked at the departing Mo Qi, then at Lu Xiaoyue standing on the stage, and was momentarily stunned.
It seemed Lu Xiaoyue had lost, but she hadn't left the stage, nor was she unable to stand. She hadn't conceded. Conversely, Mo Qi had left the stage. After a moment of thought, the referee made his ruling: Lu Xiaoyue wins!
The entire venue erupted in an uproar!
Some cried foul play, while others said it was only right, descending into chaos.
Zhang Tianshi felt a great shock: "I still underestimated his strength!"
Lu Xiaoyue was completely lost in a daze. Her eyes were hazy, and with trembling hands, she slowly picked up the torn paper from the ground. After a brief glance, tears began to flow like a torrent.
She intended to tear the marriage contract into even smaller pieces, but after a moment's thought, she ultimately refrained.
Mo Qi walked to the edge of a small grove, to a secluded spot, and cried his heart out.
He felt neither sadness nor pain, yet the tears flowed uncontrollably. For some reason, the more he wiped them away, the more they flowed. Until, at a certain moment, as if all his tears had been shed, they suddenly stopped. He smiled, and the sun remained bright.
In another match, as expected, Snow Woman also defeated Sheng Tiantian.
The first round of the ranking matches concluded, and the second round would proceed in the upper and lower halves. Mo Qi, having been judged to have lost in the first round, was placed in the lower half for the second round, competing for seventh to twelfth place. Due to crying for too long, he had missed the second round upon his return and was considered to have forfeited. He would only be able to compete for tenth, eleventh, and twelfth place in the third round, against Sheng Tiantian and Wu Siqi, who had lost in the second round of the lower half. During the draw, Mo Qi directly drew a bye. Mo Qi was overjoyed, believing luck was always with him. Little did he know, the referee then stated, "The twelfth place, which received a bye, the other two will compete for tenth and eleventh place." Mo Qi was dumbfounded.
Finally, after the matches, to everyone's astonishment, Shi Siyao took first place, followed by Wang Lu, Pei Ruxue, Ba Dun, Snow Woman, and Lu Xiaoyue. Lu Xiaoyue also secured sixth place by drawing a bye.
Once all the rankings were settled, under the arrangement of the Divine Sword Sect, the twelve individuals entered a room in sequence. After everyone was seated, discussions began to fill the air.
"Why have they summoned us? Are they going to announce our assigned sects for training?"
"Which sect in the Northern Territory will I go to? I'm so excited."
"It won't be this soon; we still have to complete some tasks first."
Zhang Tianshi, Lai Yaoshi, Zhong Gui, and Liu Yazi entered from outside and took their seats at the head of the table. All voices abruptly ceased.
After a brief period of polite deferral, Zhang Tianshi spoke. His gaze swept across the group. "First, congratulations to all of you for obtaining the opportunity to train in the Northern Territory. As you may already know, before entering the Northern Territory, you must complete a task. The content of the task was just conveyed to me by the Northern Territory via a sound transmission stone. Your tasks are..."
Zhang Tianshi paused, causing everyone to hold their breath and prick up their ears, fearing they might miss a single word.
Zhang Tianshi continued, "In the Annan Realm, there is a land-sea passage called the Soul Seizing Cliff. There is a barrier gate there, which has always been guarded by Hong Cheng, dispatched from the Qiong Lu Realm, and his subordinates. Cultivators from other continents wishing to enter the Southern Continent must have their identities verified by Hong Cheng and his subordinates. However, recently, a considerable number of unidentified individuals from other continents have entered the Annan Realm. Qiong Lu has confirmed that Hong Cheng is missing for unknown reasons, and they have dispatched new personnel to replace Hong Cheng. One of your tasks is to search for Hong Cheng; the second task is to apprehend these unidentified individuals and bring them to the Northern Territory to be dealt with by the Enforcement Hall of the Northern Territory. Your third task is to obtain evidence of the Divine Turtle Sect in the Annan Realm colluding with cultivation sects from the Primordial Sea. In other words, Qiong Lu initially suspects the Divine Turtle Sect of colluding with the cultivation world of the Primordial Sea but lacks evidence, requiring you to investigate. Completing any one of these three tasks will suffice."
Below, people began to murmur again, and even some resentment quietly spread. "This task is too difficult. If the Northern Territory can't find evidence, they're asking us to find it."
"If we can never find the evidence, and we can't complete the task, does that mean we can never enter the Northern Territory?"
"Finding people is also difficult. They haven't told us what the other party looks like, so how can we find them?"
"Unidentified individuals also have no distinguishing features, so how are we supposed to catch them?"
"This is clearly toying with us."
Zhang Tianshi waved his hand, signaling the crowd to stop their discussions. He slowly said, "The time limit is three months. Regardless of whether you complete the tasks or not, you will gather at the Northern Nine Passes, and we will enter the Northern Territory together."
The dark clouds below immediately dispersed.
But the discussions began to rise again, one after another.
"It's easy. We can just go for a stroll and come back saying we couldn't find evidence of the Divine Turtle Sect colluding with the cultivation world of the Primordial Sea."
"Yes, it's the same for finding people. We'll just say we couldn't find them."
Zhang Tianshi's sharp gaze swept over them. For some reason, a power emanated from him that instantly silenced the crowd.