Defeat of Yu Xuerou!

Looking at the bye slip in Ye Xiao's hand, Li Yao and Yu Xuerou turned toward each other at the same time.

Li Yao smiled.

"Is there any need to draw lots?"

Although he knew about Yu Xuerou's ties to the Shangguan Family, Li Yao had no intention of dispensing with the proper courtesies.

He smiled at Yu Xuerou. "What do you think?"

Yu Xuerou shook her head and said softly, "It seems you and I are destined to fight. There's no need to draw lots just for the sake of it."

With that, she stepped onto the Arena first.

She turned to Li Yao. Her voice was not loud, but everyone heard her clearly. "Come up here. Let me see what the grandson of a Martial Saint can do!"

Another stir swept through the crowd below.

"Damn, Yu Xuerou just declared war!"

"Li Yao just broke through, and she's still not scared?"

"What the hell do you know? Yu Xuerou was already Ninth Rank. What's she got to fear?"

Li Yao looked at her without a word.

He merely lifted a foot and walked slowly toward the Arena.

He moved slowly, his footsteps light.

But at that moment, almost everyone held their breath.

They stared at his figure.

They watched him climb onto the Arena step by step, as though ascending to the heavens.

Li Yao reached the Arena and stood opposite Yu Xuerou.

He did not rush to attack. Instead, he called out, "Yu Xuerou."

Yu Xuerou blinked. "What is it? Don't tell me you want to surrender?"

Alarm seized her at once.

After all, Shangguan Yan had told her to teach Li Yao a proper lesson this time. At the very least, she had to cripple him.

If Li Yao surrendered outright, how could she complete the task Shangguan Yan had given her?

The corner of Li Yao's mouth lifted. "Heh. Surrender? I think that's a word better suited to you."

Yu Xuerou frowned. "What do you mean?"

Li Yao took a step forward. His voice was quiet, but every word struck Yu Xuerou's ears. "Let me ask you: what did Shangguan Yan tell you?"

Yu Xuerou's heart lurched.

How does he know about my connection to the Shangguan Family?

I haven't even told my own parents!

"You..." Yu Xuerou opened her mouth, then swallowed the words on her tongue.

Seeing her dazed expression, Li Yao continued, "Did you think the Li Family was an empty shell? What could happen that my family's intelligence network couldn't uncover?"

"You..." Yu Xuerou's expression changed.

Li Yao took another step forward, his voice growing louder. "Did you think the Li Family became the sole Great Family entrusted with protecting the nation only because my grandfather is a Martial Saint?"

Each sentence landed with greater force than the last. Yu Xuerou felt her heart hammering.

Was the secret I'd hidden deepest nothing more than something a family like his could uncover with a casual investigation?

Yu Xuerou drew a deep breath. Panic flashed through her eyes, but she quickly suppressed it.

She had cultivated to her current level; her resolve was naturally far from ordinary.

In an instant, she collected herself and sneered. "Heh. So what if you know? Do you think you can beat me? All you're doing is wagging your tongue!"

"Enough talk, Li Yao. Take this!"

The moment Yu Xuerou finished speaking, Spiritual Power erupted from within her. She became a blur and shot straight at Li Yao.

"So fast!"

Someone below cried out.

Li Yao did not move. He stood where he was, a smile still on his lips.

Yu Xuerou struck with her palm, a fierce gust behind it, straight at Li Yao's chest.

Bang!

Li Yao raised his hand and took the strike head-on.

Their palms collided with a dull thud.

Li Yao retreated two steps. Yu Xuerou did not budge.

"That's all?" Yu Xuerou sneered. "So what if you broke through to Ninth Rank? You're still—"

Before she could finish, Li Yao laughed. "What's the rush? That was just a warm-up."

Yu Xuerou's face darkened. "You're asking for death!"

She attacked again. This time, the force of her palm was fiercer. Spiritual Power gathered in her hand and became a streak of white light aimed straight at Li Yao's face.

Sky-Piercing Palm!

Someone below shouted, "That's Yu Xuerou's signature martial technique! She beat Zhao Tiezhu in a single move with it!"

"Can Li Yao take it?"

Li Yao watched the white light approach and took a deep breath. The Nine-Turn Profound Art circulated within him, gathering Spiritual Power in both arms.

Heaven-Breaking Fist!

He threw a punch. Wind howled from his fist as it met the white light.

Boom!

The two forces collided with an explosive roar.

The entire Arena shook, and dust billowed up.

"What happened?"

"Who won?"

When the dust cleared, everyone froze.

Li Yao and Yu Xuerou stood where they had been. Neither had moved.

But a huge crater had appeared in the Arena between them.

"This..."

The crowd below was dumbstruck.

"Are those two really Ninth Rank Martial Masters?"

"Why do they seem fiercer than some Martial Venerables?"

Yu Xuerou's expression turned grim.

She had thought that, with her strength as an advanced Ninth Rank, dealing with Li Yao, who had only just broken through, would be as easy as reaching out and seizing him.

Now she realized she had been wrong.

Li Yao was no ordinary Ninth Rank!

"You..." Yu Xuerou gritted her teeth. "What cultivation art are you practicing?"

Li Yao smiled. "Want to know? I'm not telling."

Yu Xuerou snorted. "Don't get cocky!"

She attacked again, faster and more fiercely this time. Every palm strike carried a cutting gust as she tried to drive Li Yao into a dead end.

But Li Yao was like a slippery eel. Each time, he dodged at just the right moment or took her attack head-on.

"How can Li Yao take so much?"

"Didn't he just break through? Why does he look steadier than Yu Xuerou?"

"How much has this guy been hiding?"

Yu Xuerou grew more frantic with every exchange.

She realized she had completely underestimated Li Yao.

His strength was nothing like that of someone who had just reached Ninth Rank. He fought more like a seasoned Ninth Rank expert.

No. I can't let this go on.

Yu Xuerou gritted her teeth and decided to use her full strength.

She drew a deep breath. Spiritual Power raced wildly through her body, and her presence surged.

"Li Yao, you forced me to do this!"

Wind-Thunder Palm!

Yu Xuerou thrust out a palm. The gust from it crackled with lightning as it hurtled toward Li Yao.

That strike drained more than half her Spiritual Power.

The crowd below stared in disbelief.

"That strike is insane!"

"Isn't that power already at the level of a Martial Venerable?"

"Can Li Yao take it?"

Li Yao watched the lightning-laced gust approach and drew a deep breath.

Nine-Turn Profound Art—Heaven-Breaking Fist!

He gathered every bit of Spiritual Power in his body and drove out a punch more than twice as powerful as his last.

Boom!

The two forces collided in midair with a thunderous roar.

The entire Arena shook. Dust billowed, and shattered stone flew.

"Holy shit!"

"That's way too much power!"

"Are those two really Ninth Rank Martial Masters?"

When the dust cleared, everyone froze.

On the Arena, Yu Xuerou knelt on one knee, a trace of blood at the corner of her mouth.

Li Yao stood where he was. His breathing was a little ragged, but he seemed otherwise unharmed.

"This..." The crowd below was dumbstruck.

"Li Yao won?"

"No way. He just broke through, and he's already beaten Yu Xuerou?"

"What the fuck? That's ridiculous!"

Yu Xuerou lifted her head and looked at Li Yao, her eyes full of resentment. "You... what kind of monster are you?"

Li Yao smiled. "You're not even as good as Wang Lei."

Wang Lei: "...Leave me out of this."

Yu Xuerou gritted her teeth and struggled to rise. "I haven't lost!"

But after trying for some time, she found she could not stand at all.

"Cough, cough... Damn it!"

Only then did she feel the damage to her internal organs!

Her injuries were severe enough that she could not even stand!

"Do you still want to fight?"

Although Li Yao knew Yu Xuerou had ties to the Shangguan Family, he was not the sort to kill indiscriminately.

Besides, he had never been in a fight in either of his two lives. Fighting of his own accord after crossing into this world was already a big step for him; he could not bring himself to kill someone.

Yu Xuerou tried once more to stand, but every movement sent needle-like pain through her whole body.

In the end, she had no choice but to give up.

"I... I surrender."

**Ding! Congratulations, Host, on defeating Yu Xuerou and advancing to the Finals!**

The system notification sounded.

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