Hidden Weapon Duel-Who Had the Upper Hand?

"Southern Tang Shu Tang Sect, Meng Yiran. Please teach me."

She could have kept her identity hidden for a while, until her martial skills had reached mastery, before revealing it. But Chen An had told her, "What are you being timid for?"

"The Tang Sect? You secretly learned its martial arts? That unforgivable!"

Just as expected, when Tang San heard Meng Yiran say that, he flew into a rage. Even now, he still held the Tang Sect above all else.

When they had first met, Meng Yiran hadn't known any hidden weapon techniques or even heard of the Tang Sect. Now she suddenly claimed to be from the Tang Sect, so he assumed she had stolen its arts.

"I'm from the Southern Tang Shu Tang Sect, not your Tang Sect. At least we don't use poison." Meng Yiran tried to correct him.

But to Tang San, those words were an insult. How could he stand for that?

"The Tang Sect. Tang San. Today, I'll put this villain in his place."

He didn't believe Meng Yiran. Ignoring Yu Xiaogang's restrictions for the moment, he first used Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon to send the Soul-Breaking Blade flying, testing how strong she was now.

His plan succeeded, but the result displeased him. Her technique was clearly better than his. Meng Yiran had a technique similar to Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, but it had clearly been improved—and it wasn't Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon.

"Self-Substitution!" Meng Yiran used her Thousand-Mechanism Wandering Dragon technique. As the Soul-Breaking Blade flew toward her, she had a puppet perform Self-Substitution.

"What?"

Tang San was shocked. The Tang Sect had no such thing as puppet techniques. Now he understood that she hadn't been lying, and his guard shot up at once.

He had already shown off his techniques. He didn't think she would pick a fight she couldn't win.

"Bone-Piercing Needle, Flower Rain Across the Sky!"

Tang San's serious expression gave him an imposing air. If that rain of Bone-Piercing Needles came down, it would indeed be troublesome. With such a wide area of coverage, Meng Yiran wouldn't find it easy to dodge.

Using Self-Substitution again wouldn't help much. She used a tactic of keeping her distance while attacking, circling the arena as she began to display her techniques.

Swallow Returning to Nest, Thousand Soul Fracture, Star Rain Flying Flower, Wind Flower Drinking Moon.

With the puppet at her command and her distinctive hidden weapon techniques, she held her own against Tang San for a time.

The Heavenly Blade Tang Sect was famed for its graceful, elusive style. Meng Yiran performed exceptionally well, and merely matching Tang San was already beyond her usual level.

"Damn it! How did this woman's hidden weapon skills improve so much?" Tang San gritted his teeth, unable to believe it.

Just as I thought. Meng Yiran recalled Chen An teaching her and murmured under her breath.

Tang San ran out of patience. His lower-level techniques were useless against Meng Yiran, so he switched to a more advanced one.

"Bat Wing Reincarnation!"

He unleashed all kinds of hidden weapons, each flying toward Meng Yiran along an extremely bizarre trajectory. If they hit her, she wouldn't be able to withstand them.

"Self-Substitution."

Self-Substitution had no cooldown here. As long as she had enough Soul Power, she could use it at will. As luck would have it, she cultivated the Supreme Mystery Scripture, renowned for its immense reserves of inner power.

"Trapping Hundred Skeletons."

After the Self-Substitution, that puppet was ruined. Without changing expression, she pulled out another puppet and flung it at Tang San.

She hadn't even made her own main puppet yet. The puppets she used were the practice models Chen An had given her, so she didn't feel bad about damaging them.

"What the hell?!"

When Tang San saw Meng Yiran bring out another puppet, he nearly burst into tears.

His mouth twitched. He wanted to shout, Does anyone understand what I'm going through?

He had thought Self-Substitution couldn't recover so quickly. Once he'd smashed the puppet, he could say his opponent's puppet was wrecked and she had no way to dodge his attacks.

But now she'd brought out another one. What kind of cruel joke was this?

"Parlor tricks."

Tang San, concentrating with all his might, took some time to break free of Trapping Hundred Skeletons. That also threw off the rhythm of his Bat Wing Reincarnation.

"Not bad."

Zhu Zhuqing played with Xiao Wu while watching Meng Yiran. She had planned to step in and help, but it seemed there was no need.

Her judgment was just a little off, though. Meng Yiran's situation wasn't good. She simply hadn't been cultivating long enough. Even with Chen An's guidance, she couldn't compare to someone like Tang San, who had practiced for years.

She could only keep pace thanks to her distinctive techniques and their superior quality. But now Tang San was growing frustrated with the puppets, and with defeat a possibility, he didn't dare retreat—not when the legitimacy of his Tang Sect's position was at stake. He couldn't retreat.

"This is bad. He's gone berserk."

As Tang San went berserk, Meng Yiran sensed trouble. She had been able to keep up before, but now she was gradually struggling to respond in time.

"One Thousand and One Nights!"

Bat Wing Reincarnation wasn't working well, so Tang San had already decided to stake everything on one throw. He had no hidden weapons of a higher grade; he could only use an even stronger technique to break through her defenses.

"Dean!"

Meng Shu, watching from the sidelines, grew anxious. It was only natural for him to worry about Meng Yiran. But before he could act, Chen An pressed him back down.

"Don't worry. I'm here. She'll be fine. This is an opportunity—a chance for Yiran to improve."

Those words might not have helped coming from anyone else, but they did because Chen An was the one saying them.

On the arena, Meng Yiran struggled to defend against the hidden weapons aimed relentlessly at her, lamenting her own shortcomings. Eight of her ten puppets had been destroyed.

One Thousand and One Nights was a ferocious technique, ranked fourth among the hidden weapon techniques of Tang San's Tang Sect. It was supposed to unleash a thousand hidden weapons in an instant, but Tang San's inner power was insufficient, so he had to settle for continuously firing them instead.

Meng Yiran looked at the puppet under her control. If this dragged on, she could only be defeated.

"Phew."

She used up her final Self-Substitution to avoid the fatal attack.

"She's almost out of puppets. This is my chance."

Tang San was delighted to see Meng Yiran reluctantly pull out her final puppet. He hadn't fought many battles himself, but years of experience still let him read the situation.

But then Meng Yiran put away her Serpent Cane Martial Soul and drew out a white fan, flicking it open. Its surface was plain, with no writing.

She couldn't counter the attack in front of her, but she did have a way to break it. She hadn't mastered it yet, and her master hadn't told her to stop, which meant he approved of what she was about to do.

That alone was reason enough to try.

"Marvelous mysteries transform the heavens; swift and light as a shooting star. Half the body follows, half the shadow; where the stars pass, not an inch survives."

In an instant, Meng Yiran's aura changed. Killing intent surged around her. This was the Heavenly Blade Tang Sect's killing technique—Killing Intent: Myriad Stars.

The puppet endured the attacks and reached Tang San in the blink of an eye. It released its outer mechanisms, spun around, and fired its own Pear Blossom Rainstorm.

At the same time, Meng Yiran poured out all her Soul Power, unleashing techniques such as Thousand Mechanism Sweep. She sent every long needle and flying dagger she carried shooting forth, then finished with a horizontal gust from her folding fan, sending Little Li Flying Dagger after them.

"Hiss—"

The spectators around the arena had never seen anything like it. They all sucked in a sharp breath.

Having used her killing technique, Meng Yiran could no longer defend against the hidden weapons Tang San unleashed. She had suffered quite a few injuries herself.

"I won," Meng Yiran said, watching Tang San as she fought to stay upright.

Tang San wanted to do what his teacher had done and refuse to admit defeat, but the facts before him left no room for denial. His External Soul Bone had been shattered. If they had fought to the death, that final flying dagger would have taken his life.

"We'll fight again after we reach level sixty. Neither of us has reached our peak. This time... I don't accept it."

Tang San could still move and keep attacking. But even setting aside the fact that Meng Yiran had spared him, Zhu Zhuqing could withstand the aftershock. She had even tossed Xiao Wu to safety, and she herself had barely been hurt.

"I announce that the Cat-Snake Duo wins this match!" The host came to his senses and announced the result.

The arena instantly erupted with excitement.