How to Judge Others

In contrast, modern novels often depict male protagonists who, upon being betrayed by a woman, immediately strive to improve themselves, encounter numerous fortuitous events, and embark on a path of defying fate. Their motto is, "If you make me unhappy for a moment, I'll make you unhappy for a lifetime." In the end, they either take revenge themselves and wipe away their shame, or they become supreme powerhouses who disdain to act, leaving their former victims to live a life of ridicule and regret for their past mistakes.

From an artistic perspective, the old-fashioned protagonists are undoubtedly more compelling. However, such stories of love, hate, and revenge are only suitable for strangers to experience. People enjoy watching the drama unfold. If it happened to themselves or their friends and family, they would generally prefer the new-fashioned protagonists to avoid getting caught up in the mess and suffering.

On the battlefield, the two sides had entered the most intense battle. Li Xunrong knew her weaknesses, but she was now on the verge of defeat and had no choice but to continue her strong attack. If she held back even slightly, she would expose her weakness and be reversed by Zhao Jiaren in one move.

A pale golden halo erupted from Li Xunrong's sword, and bolts of electricity surged back and forth, flickering and extending at the tip of the sword like the tongue of a giant python. Moreover, her entire body was enveloped in lightning, as if she had transformed into a thunder god.

"Nine Heavens Wild Thunder Rush!"

With a sudden One Sword, all the lightning on Li Xunrong's body converged onto the sword aura, creating a massive crescent blade with a brilliance that almost eclipsed the sun's radiance. Accompanied by raging lightning, it roared straight toward where Zhao Jiaren was standing.

Faced with the ultimate sword move, it was impossible to deflect or neutralize the force, at least not with Zhao Jiaren's skills. He could only take it head-on. Fortunately, during the previous delay, he had secretly accumulated enough Primal Qi. He immediately activated his Cultivation Body, gripped the sword hilt tightly with both hands, and thrust it into the ground.

"Thousand Crags Sword Wall!"

Sword Qi erupted from the ground, forming a chilling wall in front of Zhao Jiaren, engaging in a fierce, head-on clash with the oncoming thunderous sword energy, with no holds barred.

Sword energy clashed with Sword-Ray, thunder shook the Sword Qi!

A blinding burst of light exploded, accompanied by a deafening roar. All vision and the ground trembled violently with a groan. The onlookers were amazed, never expecting that two young masters who were not even first-rate in the martial arts world could fight so spectacularly as the previous two battles. After this battle, both of them would surely be promoted to first-rate in the martial arts world, since reputation was valued more than strength in such evaluations.

After the clash of ultimate moves, Zhao Jiaren was unable to block all the attacks and was still injured by the residual force that passed through the wall of Sword Qi. However, his body was already quite resistant to lightning, and the power of the remaining lightning was less than one-tenth of its original strength. Therefore, this injury was not enough to hinder his subsequent battle.

More importantly, Li Xunrong's aura began to decline, and at a very rapid and obvious rate.

Zhao Jiaren took a deep breath, squeezing out his internal energy, and rapidly circulated the Divine Firmament Heart Method to convert the electric current that had invaded his body, barely managing to unleash another sword move.

"The Sun and Moon Across and Along!"

With One Sword thrust, Zhao Jiaren aimed at Li Xunrong, the yin and yang energies flowing endlessly, invincible.

Although Li Xunrong managed to muster her energy and unleash a thunderous sword aura, it was ultimately a desperate struggle, less than thirty percent of its previous power, and was easily shattered by the Yin-Yang Sword Qi.

She desperately swung her sword to parry, and the two swords clashed with a clang. The hilt of her sword was jolted out of her hand, leaving her wide open and helpless as Zhao Jiaren thrust his sword into her chest.

Seeing this, everyone thought Zhao Jiaren was bound to win, except for Si Ming, who just glanced at him and muttered, "Little bitch."

Zhao Jiaren knew that if he struck with this One Sword, his opponent would be seriously injured, if not killed. Scenes of their past acquaintance and friendship flashed through his mind. Although he knew it was a deception, he couldn't bear it in the end. With a flick of his sword, he deflected the attack to the side.

Just then, Li Xunrong instinctively raised her hand, narrowly avoiding the sword blade, and struck Zhao Jiaren squarely in the chest with her palm.

"I'm sorry, but we can't lose again..."

The words of apology reached his ears, Zhao Jiaren vomited blood with a "whoosh," flying to the ground with a thud.

The scene was silent. Everyone seemed unable to recover from the twists and turns of the events, staring blankly into the distance. It was Wuguo Master Wuguo announced, "The Third Match: The Aristocratic Family Alliance Wins," that they snapped out of their daze.

"No way! They were about to win, how did they suddenly turn the tide and lose?"

"What exactly happened at that last moment? Why did that kid's sword go astray? Did the female swordsman from the Li Clan use some kind of technique?"

"Perhaps that kid was seriously injured in the previous clash of ultimate techniques, but he suppressed it with his Internal Cultivation energy, so outsiders couldn't see it. As a result, his internal injuries erupted at the last moment, and he failed at the last minute."

"This is the only reasonable explanation. Alas, what a waste of my five hundred taels of silver. After watching the first two matches, I thought the Heavenly Martial Alliance was a sure thing, but unexpectedly, the Aristocratic Clan have turned the tide again. The upcoming battles are even more anticipated; who will win and who will lose is still uncertain."

"I'm sorry, Master, I've let you down."

Zhao Jiaren, dragging his injured body, came before Si Ming and bowed his head in apology.

Si Ming remained expressionless and said, "If it's a failure despite your best efforts, I won't blame you. So ask yourself honestly, did you really try your best?"

"... No, please punish me, Master." Zhao Jiaren lowered his head even further.

"Did you know that last move was intentional, making you knock your sword away?"

"Just now, I've figured it out," Zhao Jiaren said, clenching his fist with immense heartache.

"Hmph, even heroes can't resist the charms of a beautiful woman. You need to change your indecisive nature, or you'll suffer in the future."

Seeing the other party's appearance, Si Ming decided to change his plan. He did not intend to teach Zhao Jiaren the "Divine Sight Illusory Observation Art" anymore, but instead taught him the "Beast Blood Berserk Transformation," a fierce martial art from the Luo Continent that he had learned from Dengbulishao.

It's impossible to expect Zhao Jiaren to change his soft-hearted nature towards women. Countless protagonists in old-fashioned novels have proven this point time and time again by courting death. Therefore, Si Ming doesn't expect Zhao Jiaren to undergo a drastic personality change. Instead, he focuses on improving his martial arts skills. When he faces that woman again in the future, he will go berserk, eliminate his rationality, and stop attacking until he cuts off her head. This way, he can avoid suffering a third loss.

Seeing the other person's sorrowful and regretful expression, Si Ming asked, "Do you know what love is?"

Hongdou eagerly raised her hand and said, "I read in a book that love can make you as proud as the blazing sun, or it can make me as humble as dust."

Si Ming spat, "That's flowery nonsense. Love isn't like that. Love can make the proudest princess humble herself, and it can fill the most humble coward with courage."

Zhao Jiaren raised his head, moved, and said, "Master, I..."

Si Ming reached out and patted the other person on the shoulder, saying earnestly, "Our ancestors told us that if you fall in love with someone, you should have the courage to go to her house with a stick, knock her unconscious with one blow, and then drag her back to your own home. You must never be indecisive or hesitant."

Si Shuiyun rolled her eyes and said, "Where did your ancestors come from, from, like primitive people?!"

"This is the wisdom passed down from our ancestors, the most basic view of love."

"Nonsense, nobody believes you!" Si Shuiyun said. "Let me handle the next match. The opponent finally won a game, and they will definitely press their advantage and send out a top fighter to turn the tide. We can't let them get ahead like this."

However, Kou Feng stepped forward and volunteered, saying, "Alliance Leader, let me go next. If I'm not mistaken, they'll send Shen Wumian next. I still have an old score to settle with him."

Si Ming nodded. "Then it's you. Oh, and you're not allowed to hold back this time."

"Ha, please rest assured, Alliance Leader. If it weren't for the rules of combat prohibiting the killing of opponents, I would definitely have chopped off Shen Wumian's head and presented it to you as a reward."

Chapter 356 How to Save People