Victory!

The clash grew perilous.

Wounds kept appearing, and their stamina was rapidly draining away.

The burn marks on Lu Bai grew worse by the moment, while Lin Haixian's complexion turned increasingly pale.

Both of them were steadily weakening. At a time like this, a moment's distraction could cost either of them his life.

The onlookers barely dared to breathe as they fixed their eyes on the battle.

They had to admit this was a spectacular duel.

Although Lu Bai had fought somewhat unfairly, no one could deny his strength. He truly deserved to be Lin Haixian's opponent.

Many put themselves in the fighters' shoes, only to realize that they wouldn't last long against either Lin Haixian or Lu Bai.

Still, at least there's that! Some of them brightened as they realized that neither Lu Bai nor Lin Haixian was in good shape.

Their strength was temporary, an explosive burst of power. Once it ran out, they would be left utterly weakened.

Otherwise, starting tonight, who knew how many people would lie awake, constantly worrying that something from their past or present might come to light—and that one of these men would come knocking.

"They're actually fighting to the death. What's going on?"

Those who knew a little of the inside story watched the two men moving across the rooftops and couldn't help feeling confused.

From what they understood, Lu Bai and Lin Haixian were supposed to have some kind of plan, probably related to the conflict with the Luo Family of Lianwu Mountain.

They were only supposed to draw a large crowd of Martial Forest peers with their duel, then use that momentum to carry out their plans.

Yet now, the two had actually worked themselves into a fury and were fighting in earnest.

Their confusion didn't last long before they pushed it aside.

In the Martial Forest, fame and profit came first, but the word "martial" still meant something.

Everyone who entered the Martial Forest had, for the most part, trained hard in Martial Arts and formed their own vision of what they could achieve.

Ordinary people weren't the only ones with martial-hero dreams. Those already in the Martial Forest had them too.

Unfortunately, talent, resources, and luck held most people back. The Martial Path grew harder and harder to follow, and most struggled even to achieve modest success, let alone reach the summit.

And so reality shattered their so-called martial-hero dreams, leaving them to pursue nothing but fame and profit.

Dreams were far too costly.

But when someone laid all of it out before them, they couldn't help being captivated.

Lu Bai was covered in crimson patterns, like a demon clawing its way out of hell.

The blood mist around him grew thicker by the moment.

A drop of blood fell from the eaves. At some point, the entire rooftop had turned from snow-white to bloodred.

The wounds covering his body made the sweet scent in the air grow ever stronger.

Each wound brought pain, and the pain kept battering the nerves, affecting both mind and body.

At a time like this, one's perception of the surroundings grew distorted.

Sounds turned into howls, colors into lines, and even the air seemed filled with some strange scent.

Their labored breathing had begun at some point. The fight hadn't lasted all that long, and perhaps very little time had passed.

But the drain on their strength and energy had already reached a limit.

The sort of three-day-and-three-night battle found in novels was unlikely to happen to them.

Perhaps when Lin Haixian had been younger, he could have used his powerful inner energy to keep going, grinding away at an equally skilled opponent until they fought that long.

But as things stood, their battle would soon be over.

The relentless, high-intensity fighting had pushed both sides to their limits.

The trembling blade thrust toward him once more. Lu Bai drew a breath, then suddenly opened his mouth and spat.

A mouthful of blood struck the blade, knocking it slightly aside. Instead of piercing straight toward his heart, it now angled toward his armpit.

Lu Bai seized the chance to close in, his crimson aura spreading toward Lin Haixian.

But at that very moment, Lin Haixian's gaze grew brighter.

The sword in his hand became two. The water sword flew from his grasp, and the sword aura within it condensed into a thin blade no wider than a finger. Unaffected by the water sword's deviation, it continued along its original path.

Judging by its trajectory and speed, the sword aura would pierce Lu Bai's heart before his fist could reach Lin Haixian's face.

It seemed the old man was about to win.

The onlookers held their breath, waiting for the final victor.

At that moment, Lin Haixian could see nothing but Lu Bai. This might be his last battle, and he wanted to win.

As things stood, Lu Bai had spent his strength and hadn't yet gathered more. He could no longer dodge or counter this strike.

He'd won!

"Clink!"

At the clear ring, Lin Haixian's eyes widened at once. The sword aura had been condensed from energy, but it was still tangible; otherwise, it could hardly hurt anyone.

Its edge was sharp enough to cut through a falling hair. There was almost nothing it couldn't pierce.

And yet, at that moment, the sword aura had been stopped.

A golden square suddenly appeared in front of Lu Bai, right before the sword aura, blocking the strike aimed at his heart.

That single block bought Lu Bai the time he needed.

His hand had already landed on Lin Haixian's face. The sweet scent of blood washed over it, then stopped.

Lu Bai panted, a delighted smile on his face.

It had been a hard-fought battle, but in the end, he was the victor.

After a brief pause, Lin Haixian burst into hearty laughter.

The sword aura vanished, and the golden square fell onto the rooftop.

Lu Bai let go and picked up the module from the ground.

Elemental Module [Combat], grants objects offensive properties and makes them more resilient. Evaluation: A spectacular duel. If you can condense this module after your victory, its quality will improve further. Of course, you can still spend one Special Extraction Point to supplement its victory factors afterward.

Lu Bai paid no attention to the evaluation. If he hadn't condensed it ahead of time, he would have lost.

It wasn't easy to defeat an opponent like Lin Haixian. He needed to use power beyond the ordinary to create an opening.

He had tested the rules for condensing modules long ago.

Once the elements reached a certain threshold, he could condense a module at any time, or choose to store them.

But if he stored them, the elements would slowly dissipate. Once they exceeded the limit, the module would disappear.

When condensed, a module could appear on any part of the body, or at most about a palm's length away from it.

And modules were tangible. Based on his tests so far, they were far harder than steel.

That was how Lu Bai won.

Second update. Sorry this one's a little late; I had something to take care of during the day. I'm currently on the recommendation page, so please help me out by voting.