Jiang Lu—Victory! The crowd erupted in an uproar; some cultivators even sprang abruptly to their feet.
Both hands braced against the railing, their hands trembled with excitement, their faces flushed crimson.
What a formidable move!
"Three moves... only three moves!"
"Could Jiang Lu be some kind of monster?!"
"No wonder she's a heaven's chosen who made it onto all three rankings!"
"Tell me, could her First Layer of the Golden Core cultivation be fake? Could she actually be at the Second Layer of the Golden Core, or even the Third Layer of the Golden Core?"
"Are you joking, fellow Daoist? The second layer is possible, but the third? In less than a year? Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
"Then how exactly did she do it?"
"..."
On the spectator stands, people whispered among themselves, the clamor unceasing.
Amid the uproar, the referee's voice rang out, announcing the winner of this match: "Second match, Jiang Lu—Victory!"
With a nimble turn of her slender wrist, Jiang Lu's longsword spun out half an arc of cold light. Her arm swept back with the motion, and with a clang, the blade settled diagonally behind her, all its sharpness withdrawn.
She took several steps forward, tapped off with her toes, and drifted down from the stage. Standing before Chen Cheng, she bent slightly and openly extended a hand to her.
Chen Cheng braced herself against the ground. Sensing the shadow falling over her, she instinctively looked up and froze slightly when she saw Jiang Lu standing before her.
Her gaze fell upon that offered palm. The light in Chen Cheng's eyes trembled faintly. After hesitating several times, she finally raised her still-numb hand after a few breaths and gently placed it in Jiang Lu's.
The moment their fingertips touched, Jiang Lu exerted a little strength and cleanly