How to Force a Three-Star Dou Practitioner into a Draw with "Rogue Tactics": Was I Acting Too Convincingly?

As Nalan Yanran's attacks accelerated, palm winds howled across the arena.

"Riiip—"

"Shred—"

Under the constant sweep of wind-attributed qi, An Yi's outer robe, already riddled with holes, finally gave out and was torn into countless strips of cloth that scattered on the wind, fully exposing his upper body.

The next instant, gasps erupted below the stage, followed by the cries of countless female disciples!

What An Yi revealed after losing his clothes was not the skinny, bony frame of an ordinary youth, but a perfect body honed through years of Extreme Waterfall Body Tempering, as though sculpted to the golden ratio.

His muscles were not excessively bulging, but restrained and sleek. The eight abs on his abdomen looked chiseled by blade and axe, glinting with a faint bronze sheen beneath the sunlight. Every inch of skin seemed to contain the terrifying explosive power of a cheetah!

Even the male disciples of the Xiao Household, who had always prided themselves on their hard work and diligent training, could not help revealing deep envy and jealousy as they looked at An Yi's physique.

How the hell had he trained himself like that?!

Didn't this guy spend all day outside playing in the mud instead of staying home? Could playing in mud give someone a body like that?!

Nalan Yanran, who stood directly before that body, froze as well.

She was still a teenage girl. Seeing a member of the opposite sex bare-chested so suddenly made her cheeks flush scarlet at once. Her gaze instinctively darted away, and her movements stalled.

Now!

Seizing that half-second lapse in her concentration, An Yi performed an utterly shameless ground roll and tumbled straight to the very edge of the arena.

He rose to his feet, with the heel of one foot already hanging over the edge, and let out a long breath of relief.

Then he crooked a finger at Nalan Yanran and called out with a shameless grin.

"Come on! Get over here!"

As long as Nalan Yanran came any closer, even if she merely brushed him lightly with qi, he could naturally fall backward off the stage and end this farce!

Face red, Nalan Yanran gritted her teeth and slowly approached.

When she reached the edge of the arena, she suddenly reached out and tightly seized An Yi's wrist, preventing him from jumping off on his own.

Just as Nalan Yanran took a deep breath and prepared to strike An Yi with just enough force to give him some internal injuries without harming his foundation...

A sudden change occurred!

An Yi did not struggle or retreat as she had expected.

Instead, a crafty gleam flashed through his eyes. He abruptly stepped forward, spread his arms, and pulled Nalan Yanran tightly into his embrace!

What was more, because of their difference in height, he conveniently pressed Nalan Yanran's blushing face firmly against his sturdy, scorching-hot bare chest!

Their skin touched.

Nalan Yanran's mind instantly went blank. All she could feel was an intense masculine scent rushing over her, and she could even clearly hear the strong, steady heartbeat in An Yi's chest.

Her entire body stiffened, and she lost all ability to think.

He gave her no chance whatsoever to react or struggle.

The moment An Yi hugged her, he kicked backward with his foot. Having lost their balance, the two of them fell directly from the half-meter-high edge of the arena while still locked tightly in each other's arms!

The instant they hit the ground, An Yi slammed heavily into the earth as a human cushion, while Nalan Yanran landed unharmed on top of him.

"Bang!"

Along with that dull impact.

The air throughout the vast Martial Arena froze into complete silence.

Everyone was dumbfounded.

What the hell?!

What kind of duel was this supposed to be?!

In broad daylight, under the open sky, in full view of everyone!

What were the two of you doing, hugging and rolling around beneath the arena?!

The young Cloud Mist Sect disciple following behind Ge Ye was the first to react.

Seeing the goddess he had always regarded as untouchable lying atop the half-naked chest of a useless good-for-nothing, his eyes instantly turned red. Veins bulged at the corners of his eyes as he charged forward, drew his sword, and roared:

"Shameless bastard! How dare you molest the Young Sect Master in broad daylight! Release Yanran at once!!"

Hearing that roar, An Yi lay on the ground and innocently spread his hands with a shrug. "Brother, are you blind? I let go ages ago. She's the one lying on top of me and refusing to get up, okay?"

After saying that, An Yi turned toward Xiao Yan, who was equally petrified on the stage, and shouted:

"Brother Yan! Referee! We fell off the arena at the same time! According to the rules we just set, doesn't that make it a draw?!"

Xiao Yan's eye twitched wildly. His mouth spasmed for a long while before he finally squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth. "Both duelists... fell off the arena at the same time. According to the rules, it indeed... counts as a draw."

The moment those words came out, the entire venue exploded into an uproar!

What the hell?! This could count as a draw too?!

A Sixth-Stage Qi Disciple good-for-nothing had actually forced a draw against a Three-Star Dou Practitioner by acting like a rogue at the edge of the arena, hugging her, and falling over?!

Upon hearing that, the furious Cloud Mist Sect disciple was so enraged that smoke practically poured from his seven orifices. Pointing his sword at An Yi, he roared:

"Absurd! Utterly ridiculous! It was clearly you, shameless scoundrel, who used disgraceful dirty tricks! This round does not count at all! If you have the guts, stand up and fight me properly!"

"Insolence!"

Before his words had even faded, Ge Ye, whose face had darkened like storm clouds, strode forward and slapped the back of the disciple's head. "Nonsense! Stand down!"

Ge Ye practically wanted to die right now.

Nalan Yanran, a Three-Star Dou Practitioner, challenging someone at the Sixth-Stage Qi Disciple level was already humiliating enough!

And now she had been forced into a draw by such shameless tactics!

Yet a Five-Star Dou Practitioner actually had the nerve to step out and challenge a mere Qi Disciple?

Were they not embarrassed enough already? Did they want to strip the Cloud Mist Sect completely bare right here in Wutan City?!

"Yanran! Why aren't you getting up already?!" Ge Ye shouted furiously.

Hearing Ge Ye's voice, Nalan Yanran, who had been burying her face in An Yi's chest and pretending to be an ostrich, finally snapped out of it. She sprang up like a startled rabbit and retreated to the side, her whole face so red it looked ready to drip blood. She stammered, "Uncle Ge... I-I was careless just now..."

An Yi leisurely climbed to his feet, dusted himself off, took a clean black robe from his Storage Ring, and put it on. Then he waved magnanimously with a broad smile.

"Careless or not, Brother Yan already made his ruling. A draw is a draw. Don't tell me you're planning to go back on your word in front of all these people?"

Just when everyone thought this rogue was about to begin mocking her again, An Yi suddenly changed his tone and sighed.

"Fine, fine. I'm a dignified man, after all, and a senior with the cultivation of a Sixth-Stage Qi Disciple. How could I lower myself to the level of a little Three-Star Dou Practitioner girl like you?"

An Yi waved his hand with great magnanimity.

"This round, you win! I concede!"

"..."

Seeing An Yi's shameless look—having clearly taken an enormous advantage yet still acting cute and putting on airs—the Xiao Household disciples nearly laughed themselves into internal injuries. Every one of them lowered their heads, covered their mouths, and shook violently at the shoulders.

Among the crowd below the stage.

Only Xiao Xun'er, who had just been laughing at An Yi's antics, no longer had any smile on her face.

She narrowed her autumn-water eyes slightly and looked at Nalan Yanran, who was red-faced as she adjusted her clothes, then at An Yi. Within her beautiful gaze...

A hint of dangerous chill seeped forth.