The battle had seemed evenly matched, but Du Chengfeng knew both himself and his opponent. His Magic Treasure was also a high-grade one, and he kept striking at Xu Shao's weak points, preventing him from summoning powerful helpers. Xu Shao could only summon low-level helpers to fight, and Du Chengfeng finally won after some effort, securing an opening victory.
"Du Chengfeng of the Du Household wins!" the Golden-Armored Cultivator announced.
"Tch! I didn't expect him to lose," Madam Golden Flower said, looking vexed.
"Ah, yes. Who would have thought Du Chengfeng had a high-grade Magic Treasure to help him, and even knew Xu Shao's weaknesses?" the Xu Grand Elder said gloomily.
"Ah, now we've lost our advantage," Madam Golden Flower sighed. After a pause, she asked Grand Elder Xu, "Grand Elder, what should we do in the next round?" She shot Xu Shao a sidelong glare. His face was full of shame, and his mouth opened, but he said nothing.
"Hmm... we can't really blame Xu Shao. Du Chengfeng is the head of the Du Household, after all. There's nothing surprising about him having some fine treasures. Besides, although Xu Shao's summoning spells are no weaker than ours, his other spells and defensive treasures fall short. His defeat was understandable. It's just..." Grand Elder Xu stroked his beard as he spoke in Xu Shao's defense. He paused, then continued helplessly, "They still have Iron Lady, who's at the late stage. It seems we can only concede one round."
"If we concede one round, we'll have to win both the remaining rounds," Madam Golden Flower said quickly.
"Yes. According to the rules, Du Chengfeng should be our opponent in the deciding round. Either of us should be able to beat him," Grand Elder Xu said, nodding repeatedly.
"Then let's wait for