Ma Hongjun swallowed hard.
"This woman is way too fierce, and her attacks are so fast I can barely dodge them."
Qian Renxue flew in the air, quietly observing the battle below.
Ma Hongjun seemed to have an ability that affected people's condition from a distance, but beyond that, he posed little danger.
As for the woman named Zhu Zhuqing, her real body and shadow could separate. More importantly, judging by her recent exchanges with Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing seemed exceptionally good at staying alive. Her body and shadow shifted indistinctly between solid and insubstantial; she could very well turn straight into a shadow and evade the moment Qian Renxue thrust at her.
As for Ning Rongrong, she was the hardest of them to read. Her attacks were clearly nothing remarkable, and she had displayed no special abilities, yet she consistently held the upper hand over Zhu Zhuqing.
Qian Renxue had a feeling that even if she went up against her herself, the result would probably be the same. Ning Rongrong seemed to anticipate every attack Zhu Zhuqing intended and intercept them all with perfect precision, using exactly enough force each time, not a fraction more or less.
But how was that possible?
As for Ma Hongjun...
Qian Renxue beat her wings again, rising from five hundred meters above the ground to a thousand, then aimed straight at the ground and plunged downward.
As Qian Renxue continued accelerating, her dive grew faster and faster. All the while, she kept beating her wings to accelerate, soon reaching a speed almost impossible to follow with the naked eye.
"Almost at my limit. Let's see if you can still dodge this."
Qian Renxue held her rapier across her front, its tip pointing straight at Ma Hongjun on the ground.
Ma Hongjun had been on guard ever since Qian Renxue took to the sky, but once she began accelerating downward, he could no longer make out where she was.
Qian Renxue was as fast as lightning. Ma Hongjun could not even hear the slightest sound of her flight.
Ma Hongjun could only use his red fire to push his physical reactions to their limit, then cover his body in a layer of black fire. Even he had no idea whether it would work.
Nearby, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing's contest had reached its final stage.
With a treasured radiance protecting Ning Rongrong, no shadows could possibly form around her, and she saw through Zhu Zhuqing's every move. Lasting two minutes was already a testament to Zhu Zhuqing's astonishing willpower.
Ning Rongrong punched Zhu Zhuqing in the chest, sending her flying backward, coughing blood, unable to rise again.
"How is that possible? How did you know I was in my real body just then?"
Ning Rongrong raised her eyebrows smugly. "I'm your eldest senior sister. Did you think I'd never seen that cultivation method of yours?"
At those words, Zhu Zhuqing's expression immediately dimmed.
"Just lie there and rest. I'll kick those other two out of the rankings and let you take second place. How about it? Your eldest senior sister treats you pretty well, doesn't she?"
With that, Ning Rongrong ignored Zhu Zhuqing's reaction and headed straight toward where the other two were fighting.
A broken sword stood embedded in the ground, covered in signs of damage. Qian Renxue's strike had ultimately failed to defeat Ma Hongjun, merely cutting a gash in his shoulder.
But the advantage of Qian Renxue's method of attack was that if she missed once, she had a second chance. As long as Ma Hongjun failed to seize the instant of her diving attack to knock her down, she would have endless opportunities to probe his defenses.
Qian Renxue was hovering in the air, recovering a little stamina.
"Hey, little fatty, go wait to one side. In a bit, your senior sister will reward you with third place. Watch how I knock that big bird down for you."
Ma Hongjun could do nothing against Qian Renxue and obediently retreated to one side.
Ning Rongrong crooked a finger provocatively at Qian Renxue, signaling for her to continue.
The corners of Qian Renxue's lips curved slightly. She had not expected the young mistress of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to have such an adorable side, when she had clearly been rather flustered and clumsy while handling reception duties.
She casually took a rapier from her Space Soul Tool, then flew high into the sky again.
This time, she climbed to twelve hundred meters. Although she had only added two hundred meters of altitude, her attack power would at least double.
Those twelve hundred meters of acceleration meant greater attack power, greater speed, and momentum that was harder to stop. Diving from that height, if her reactions were even a little too slow, she would instead smash straight into the ground and be torn apart.
Qian Renxue caught her breath briefly, then began accelerating straight toward Ning Rongrong.
One hundred meters, two hundred meters, three hundred meters.
Qian Renxue's gaze grew increasingly focused, her eyes fixed on Ning Rongrong. To her surprise, Ning Rongrong showed no fear at all and instead closed her eyes, as though she had completely abandoned resistance.
Four hundred meters, five hundred meters, six hundred meters.
At this distance, Qian Renxue became even more cautious. She had to judge precisely when to keep accelerating, when to thrust her rapier, and when to brake sharply.
The wind howled. Everything proceeded according to the plan playing out in Qian Renxue's mind.
Seven hundred and fifty meters, eight hundred and eighty meters, nine hundred and fifteen meters.
Now!
Qian Renxue's instincts sounded a warning.
She tilted her wings slightly, gaining another burst of speed as her trajectory changed from a vertical plunge to a diagonal sweep.
With a swish, the rapier in Qian Renxue's hand thrust straight toward Ning Rongrong's chest. If this strike landed, not even the King of Heaven himself could turn the tables.
With a whoosh, it was as though a gentle breeze had drifted past, followed by countless raging gusts sweeping through.
Qian Renxue came to a dead hover in midair. She turned around in satisfaction and looked back at Ning Rongrong. By her calculations, that strike had definitely landed.
"Huh? How are you completely unhurt?"
"How could this be?"
Qian Renxue suddenly felt a sharp pain in her chest. Only when she looked down did she discover that a rapier had already pierced through it.
"I actually lost. What just happened...?"
With that, light flashed over Qian Renxue's body, and she vanished.
After the blacksmith Lou Gao, the winners' bracket now had its second loser.
"Not bad, not bad. Little fatty, third place is yours."
With that, Ning Rongrong threw a punch straight at Ma Hongjun.
"Keep third place for yourself."
Ma Hongjun slipped aside to dodge Ning Rongrong's attack, but he discovered that no matter how he dodged, her fist seemed certain to have an intimate encounter with his head.
When he dodged left, the fist was on his left. When he dodged right, the fist was on his right too.
As the fist drew closer and closer, Ma Hongjun felt as though fists surrounded him on every side. Ning Rongrong struck him with a bang, and his entire body instantly shattered into countless blank points of light.
Ning Rongrong looked at her fist. A layer of skin had completely disappeared from it, and blood was now welling out.
"That little fatty really is pretty good. He actually managed to hurt me. All right, you're next, Zhu Zhuqing."
She casually swept a punch to her right, striking Zhu Zhuqing just as she sprang from the shadows on that side to launch a sneak attack.
Before you continue