End

As Xun'er and the others left the arena, the vast venue became lively once more.

Perhaps because Xun'er's battle had set such a precedent, although the next two matches were equally thrilling, neither could compare to hers.

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, Gu Yao and Gu Xing advanced without any surprises.

Both were elites of the clan, and their current strength was only slightly behind Gu Qingyang's. After all, two Five Star Dou Shi could place considerable pressure on the six-star Gu Qingyang.

With the two of them advancing, the contestants for the penultimate match of the Clan Competition were finally decided: Gu Zhen, Gu Yao, Gu Xing, and Gu Xun'er!

Everyone had witnessed the strength of the first three, but Gu Xun'er alone remained unfathomable to them.

Clearly only a Six Star Dou Zhe, yet she could contend with Dou Zhe opponents without falling behind.

Clearly she had exhausted all her strength when facing a Three-Star Dou Shi, yet she could confront a Two-Star and a Three-Star Dou Shi head-on without being disadvantaged.

Her mystery lay in the fact that no matter how strong you were, she always seemed able to suppress you by a step. That was what most people believed.

Yet Xun'er herself, the one responsible for it all, was completely unaware of it.

Within Gu Saint Mountain.

Gu Yuan sat beside Xun'er's bed, holding her slender arm. While channeling spiritual energy into her, he carefully examined the abnormalities within her body.

After inspecting her thoroughly, Gu Yuan was somewhat surprised. Aside from depleted Dou Qi and excessive mental exhaustion, he found nothing wrong within Xun'er's body.

Yet that was precisely what was most strange. He had already noticed that something was off about Xun'er in the arena. Her decisive, killing aura and ice-cold gaze had left a deep impression on him, but now he had discovered nothing at all.

"Hm? What is this?"

Just as he was feeling somewhat puzzled, his spiritual power finally detected something amiss within Xun'er's body, and he let out a soft exclamation.

Under his spiritual perception, the source flame of the Golden Emperor Burning Flame within Xun'er's body was extraordinarily dim. Even with Gu Yuan's Heavenly Realm Great Perfection soul, he was unable to probe any deeper.

It was as though some sort of restriction had been placed over it, making it impossible to fathom.

"Hmph!"

After several attempts still failed to reveal anything, Gu Yuan grew somewhat frustrated. He snorted softly and prepared to probe again.

Once, twice, three times... ten times. Finally, just as Gu Yuan was about to give up, the Heavenly Flame began to stir.

"Bzzzz~~~~"

With a strange, faint hum, the restriction over the Heavenly Flame finally split open slightly. Seeing this, Gu Yuan did not hesitate in the slightest, and his spiritual power instantly entered the gap.

The moment he entered, an extraordinary Heavenly Flame space appeared before his eyes. Looking in every direction, he saw a sea of fire stretching across the heavens and earth, burning even space into distortion. Fire Dragons formed from golden Heavenly Flames circled low in the air, and with every breath, they erupted with beams of Heavenly Flame.

"This... this is?!"

Gu Yuan cried out in shock at the sight before him.

Before him, a Silver Halberd was embedded diagonally in the very center of the entire space. Looking beneath its silver-white shaft, he saw a small cluster of golden flame curled up slightly, as though it feared something.

Even someone as exceptional as Gu Yuan, one of the world's foremost figures, had never seen such a bizarre sight.

The Heavenly Flame had formed its own inner space, yet within this divine object born of heaven and earth, there was actually a strangely shaped halberd suppressing its fire spirit. Had he not seen it with his own eyes, he would never have believed it no matter who told him.

Gu Yuan simply watched it in silence. If he had not witnessed so many extraordinary scenes in his life, he would already have been preparing to take out the halberd and bring it away.

Inside the Bamboo House, Xun'er tiredly opened her eyes. As fragments of missing memories slowly flooded back, the intense stabbing pain made her increasingly alert.

"Hiss... it hurts..."

Just as she tried to sit up, the severe pain coursing through her body forced her to lie back down.

"Sigh..."

This feeling of helplessness left Xun'er both upset and resigned.

Her eyes slowly shifted until she finally caught sight of Gu Yuan meditating with his eyes closed nearby. She immediately cried out excitedly, "Father? Why are you here?"

"You silly girl, you fainted during the competition because your Dou Qi was depleted and your mental energy was overdrawn. Don't you remember?"

The moment he heard Xun'er's voice, Gu Yuan withdrew his spiritual power. Looking at the little girl before him, whose face was faintly excited, he softly explained. Yet a trace of heartache and reproach could be heard in his tone.

"Hehe, Father doesn't need to worry. I'm fine now." Seeming to hear the reproach and concern in Gu Yuan's voice, Xun'er laughed sweetly.

"Hmph!" Though Gu Yuan pretended to be angry, he could not help asking, "Girl, what Dou Technique did you use? It didn't seem to be a Gu Clan Dou Technique."

Only after seeing that Xun'er was finally safe and sound did Gu Yuan breathe a sigh of relief. Then, with a curious expression, he asked the question.

He had observed it carefully at the time. This Dou Technique clearly did not fall within the Gu Clan's domain. With his knowledge, he could tell at a glance that it could drastically increase the caster's combat strength in a short period of time, but its consumption and side effects were equally absurd.

"This Dou Technique merely covered my entire body with the Golden Emperor Burning Flame, then I controlled and modified it with my spiritual power, so you've never seen it before..." Xun'er said somewhat guiltily.

After all, she could not directly say that Yun Xi had taught it to her, so she could only make up an extremely clumsy excuse in an attempt to brush him off.

"A self-created Dou Technique? Not bad." Gu Yuan stroked his chin and said softly, "But this Dou Technique of yours has quite a few problems."

"Is... is that so..."

Gu Yuan reached out and rubbed Xun'er's little head. Then he spoke earnestly, "Xun'er, Father can tell that you've hidden many things from me. In truth, there are many things I can see through; I simply never exposed them. Sigh, so be it. You've grown up now and should have your own way of thinking. Father can no longer control you..."

"Though I don't know exactly what you've been hiding, you must understand that you are Gu Yuan's daughter, the little princess of the Gu Clan. If the sky falls, Father will hold it up. You don't need to be afraid."

Quietly listening to Gu Yuan say so much, Xun'er felt a wave of guilt. Indeed, she had hidden far too much from him.

"I understand, Father." Xun'er nodded heavily, then asked with some curiosity, "By the way, Father, who won the second round of the Three Part Battle? I don't seem to remember very clearly..."

"You," Gu Yuan said flatly.

"Me? I won?? I remember I had just used the Dou Technique, then the two of them rushed at me, and then I... can't remember..." Xun'er was also somewhat confused. She racked her mind, but still could not recall the details from that day.

"Then I've advanced, haven't I? When does the Four Part Battle begin?" Xun'er asked excitedly.

"It's already over," Gu Yuan said flatly.

"It's over??"