"Hahaha, easy enough!" Mengli's earnest words drew hearty laughter from the Canghai Sect's side. Someone slapped his chest with a loud thump. "Your Highness, please rest assured. Since this is a martial exchange, we naturally know our limits. We certainly will not leave your subordinate too embarrassed."
"Yes, Your Highness, put your mind at ease." Another Qiongyu Immortal Sect disciple smiled and added, "Though blades and swords have no eyes, that is common sense. Still, I have my own methods; I will not harm Brother Qin in the slightest."
The words were somewhat frivolous, but not excessively so.
At the same time, although they spoke of stopping at the right point and showing mercy, their knuckle-cracking stances and eager eyes did not look at all like they intended to hold back.
They would naturally give Princess Mengli some face for her sincerity, but only with their words.
Once they truly made a move, they would not show the slightest mercy.
Yet Qin Wujiu seemed not to notice this undercurrent. He still stood stubbornly in the center of the Martial Practice Arena, his right hand tightly gripping his sword hilt, a cold severity surfacing in his eyes.
The unwillingness and grievance on his valiant face had already vanished completely. Now, those emotions had all settled into an almost stubborn calm.
As he finished preparing for battle, the Southeastern Province side finally decided on its representative after a brief bout of commotion. It was none other than Chu Ge, the Dragon Abyss Sword Sect's second-seat disciple on this trip.
This decision slightly surprised quite a few Cultivators present.
By convention, martial exchanges proceeded from weak to strong, advancing step by step—first sending a few Outer Disciples up to test the waters, then having the elite inner disciples hold the line, and finally