The simple words "I concede" came from Yang Jin's mouth, yet brought every clamorous sound outside the arena to an abrupt halt.
Almost everyone stared in astonishment at Yang Jin, who had jumped down from the arena after conceding, their eyes filled with disbelief.
Wait?
Concede?
What had they just heard?
They had anticipated someone conceding this battle, but they had never expected that person to be Yang Jin.
The one conceding was Yang Jin? Not that female disciple from Starfall Peak!?
Why was it him? How could it possibly be him!?
Bewilderment. Confusion.
At that moment, even the Peak Masters and elders on the raised platform froze in unison.
Clearly, this outcome had completely exceeded their expectations.
"Concede? You actually had the nerve to say that. What a disgrace to our Mysterious Spirit Peak."
Among the disciples of Mysterious Spirit Peak, a slightly younger, exceptionally handsome youth watched Yang Jin return with a cold gaze.
His name was Chu Xiao. Like Yang Jin, he was a True Disciple of Mysterious Spirit Peak, and his strength was no less than Yang Jin's.
The two had always been at odds. Now that Yang Jin had surrendered without a fight, conceding outright, he naturally would not spare him a round of ridicule.
Yang Jin merely cast him a cold glance and paid him no further attention.
Naturally, he had his own reasons for conceding.
Against Su Lianxin, he could not win. Even if he gave it everything he had, victory was impossible.
There was even a very good chance he could not withstand a single strike from her sword and would leave the arena severely injured.
Rather than that, he might as well conserve his strength for the matches to come.
As for what others thought, that was their business, whether they considered him a coward or a disgrace to Mysterious Spirit Peak.
Besides, had he really disgraced Mysterious Spirit Peak?
Not necessarily.
Before long, when everyone learned this woman's true strength, they would understand just how wise his choice had been.
"Finally made it. Phew..."
While the sect tournament was in full swing, a lovely figure appeared at the edge of the square, panting for breath. She was none other than Qu Youmeng, who had not appeared on Starfall Peak, or even in the Azure Yang Sword Sect, for a long time.
Lin Xuan, seated on the raised platform, sensed her immediately as well. He looked over, only to pause in surprise.
It was not Qu Youmeng's appearance that surprised him, but the fact that he could no longer sense any fluctuations from the Heavenly Venerable Realm soul within her.
Had that Heavenly Venerable Realm soul within Qu Youmeng perished?
Or...
Puzzled, Lin Xuan examined Qu Youmeng's current condition once more.
Hmm... her cultivation was still at the fourth level of the Earth Profound Realm, entirely unchanged, but her presence was far stronger than it had been a few months ago!
It seemed she must have encountered quite a considerable opportunity over these past few months...
At that thought, however, Lin Xuan found it rather amusing.
Qu Youmeng's fortuitous opportunities over these past few months might have been considerable, but... compared with Su Lianxin's and Wang Yan's...
If Qu Youmeng had also cultivated the Azure Emperor Scripture back then, with her aptitude, even reaching the Heavenly Profound Realm might not have been impossible. A pity...
Forget it. As before, this had been her own choice.
Qu Youmeng seemed to sense something then as well and looked over. Upon seeing Lin Xuan, she immediately cupped her fist and bowed, saluting him from afar.
Although this nominal master of hers was her master in name only, she was still in the Azure Yang Sword Sect, so she had to keep up appearances.
Master has fallen into slumber, and there's no telling when Master will awaken. But that's no great problem. With my current strength, taking first place in this tournament will be effortless.
Master, wait for your disciple's good news. Qu Youmeng brimmed with confidence.
The master she referred to now was naturally not Lin Xuan, but the Heavenly Venerable Realm soul that had originally resided within her.
"Arena one, number 365 against number 255."
When Su Lianxin stepped into the arena again and saw the opponent she would face next, both of them froze.
"Senior Sister?"
"Junior Sister..."
Su Lianxin looked at Qu Youmeng across the arena and smiled helplessly.
She knew very little about this junior sister who had become their master's disciple at the same time as her. Qu Youmeng was always mysterious and rarely appeared within the sect or on the peak. Although they were nominally fellow disciple sisters, they had exchanged only a few words in total over these past few months.
Including herself, Starfall Peak had only three disciples altogether, so the chances of drawing a fellow disciple could be called exceedingly small.
Yet she had actually run into one despite such tiny odds. Her luck truly was...
Qu Youmeng had not expected her very first match to be an internal battle either.
"Senior Sister, pardon me."
Although Su Lianxin was nominally her senior sister, she naturally would not hold back. After all, she had her sights set on first place in this sect tournament, and she had also promised her master that she absolutely had to take first!
Just then, a sudden uproar erupted around them.
It turned out that a much-anticipated battle was about to begin in arena five!
Shi Hao of Fifth Peak against Jiang Lan of Sixth Peak!
Neither of these two was ordinary. Shi Hao was hailed as Fifth Peak's chief True Disciple, while Jiang Lan was likewise Sixth Peak's chief True Disciple. Their impending battle instantly became the focus of attention, with almost every gaze converging on arena five.
At that moment, even the elders and Peak Masters seated on the raised platform turned their eyes toward arena five.
So much so that no one cared about the results of the matches in the other four arenas.
This battle between Shi Hao and Jiang Lan represented not only a clash between the strongest disciples of Fifth Peak and Sixth Peak, but also the first top-level contest between the Holy Maiden's faction and the Holy Son's faction!
Indeed, Fifth Peak stood with the Holy Maiden, while Sixth Peak belonged to the Holy Son's faction. This was the principal reason everyone paid such close attention to this battle!
This battle concerned the pride and morale of their respective factions. Whoever won would deal a tremendous blow to the opposing faction's morale.
Qu Youmeng naturally noticed all this as well. She shrugged, unconcerned. Whether others paid attention was not important at all.
Looking at the sword-wielding girl across the arena, Qu Youmeng found it rather amusing.
If this nominal senior sister of hers knew that her cultivation was not merely the first level of Qi Gathering, but the fourth level of Earth Mysterious, would she still have the courage to draw her sword against her?
"Junior Sister, be careful."
Su Lianxin naturally saw the disdain in Qu Youmeng's eyes.
Of course, she had the qualifications to be proud.
The fourth level of Earth Mysterious...
Had she not received the ice phoenix true blood bestowed by her master and cultivated the Azure Emperor Scripture, she might truly have been no match for Junior Sister Qu. Unfortunately...
She was no longer the person she had been half a year ago.
Her blade quivered slightly. Su Lianxin struck first, sweeping her sword out horizontally. Accompanied by a phoenix's cry, it slashed toward Qu Youmeng at tremendous speed!
Its speed briefly startled Qu Youmeng, but she quickly reacted. Tapping her feet lightly against the ground, she advanced rather than retreated before the incoming strike, raising her sword to meet it!
It was not difficult to see from this how confident Qu Youmeng was in her own strength.
Although the speed of Su Lianxin's strike surprised her somewhat, confident as she was, she had no intention of avoiding its edge for the moment. Instead, she intended to meet it head-on!
She did not want to waste time and planned to end this battle with a single strike.
As for exposing her strength, so be it. She had no intention of hiding it any longer anyway.
If she wanted to take first place in the tournament, her strength would be exposed sooner or later.
Clang-!
Metal collided with metal, erupting in a piercing crash. A figure flew backward, hurtling straight out of the arena and gouging a long trail across the ground.
A single strike had decided victory and defeat.
Her slightly numb right arm kept trembling, barely able to hold her sword.
Qu Youmeng stared blankly at Su Lianxin, who stood in the arena without having retreated even half a step. The shock deep within her eyes was impossible to hide.
"I... lost?"