Li Fufeng's eyes were filled with shock. She rose from her chair in horror, then slowly sat back down after coming to her senses and realizing her impropriety. Even so, the astonishment in her eyes did not diminish for a moment.
The Holy Son Lu Tianxing, whom she could not hope to catch up to... had lost just like that?
Unbelievable...
Her gaze remained glued to the alluring girl on the platform. No matter how she looked at her, she did not seem like someone who could defeat Lu Tianxing.
Yet it had truly happened. She had no choice but to believe it.
Moreover, she... had blasted Lu Tianxing off the platform with just one move, leaving him utterly unable to fight back.
He was someone she could hardly defeat even if she gave her all and played every trump card...
Yet he had lost so easily.
The enormous disparity was somewhat hard for Li Fufeng to accept.
The Peak Master of Heavenly Sword Peak was so stunned that he nearly tore out his fine beard. He barely managed to maintain his bearing as a Peak Master, but the shock and disbelief in his eyes could not lie.
If not for the many sect elders who had also risen to their feet in utter shock, he would have thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, as though he were dreaming.
Lu Tianxing had easily won his battle against the Holy Maiden, only to lose to a disciple of Starfall Peak?
And it had been a crushing defeat!
A disciple of Starfall Peak had defeated him with a single sword strike!
He had been knocked off before he could even react!
"How is this possible!?"
"His Highness the Holy Son actually lost!? He even comprehended the hidden move in the Green Mountain Sword Instruction, never suffered a defeat since embarking on the Dao, and grasped nascent sword intent long ago..."
Yet no amount of talk could change the fact that Lu Tianxing had lost.
I... lost?
Lu Tianxing slowly came to his senses. The words that suddenly surfaced in his mind nearly made it shut down. Like a heavy hammer, they smashed viciously into his mind, leaving him dizzy and dazed.
Unable to conceal the shock on his face, he looked up at Su Lianxin, who was still on the platform. He had to admit that even viewed from below, her features were flawless. She was truly as fair as white jade, her face like peach blossoms.
But... what kind of joke was this!?
He felt as though everything he had just said had become a series of slaps, striking his face hard and leaving it burning with pain.
Admit defeat...
Force me back within ten moves... and I will permit you to join Second Peak...
Your courage is commendable. I'll give you a chance to attack...
To think of those ridiculous words.
What ten moves? The truth was that it had taken only one. But rather than being defeated by him, she had directly "escorted" him off the platform.
The gazes around him all seemed to turn mocking and derisive in an instant. As though they had substance, they pierced Lu Tianxing until he was covered in wounds.
Resentment and humiliation drowned him. He clenched his fists fiercely, feeling no pain even as his nails dug deep into his flesh.
With his hair disheveled, he looked like a madman, struggling to remain rational.
Su Lianxin watched the spectacle of the Holy Son's changing expressions below the platform without the slightest desire to appreciate it. She put away her sword, turned, and bounded off the platform in a few quick steps. As she passed Lu Tianxing, she left him with only one sentence.
"Being too conceited is no good thing."
She waved her sleeve and left, but the others had yet to recover from their shock.
That earth-shaking sword strike had broken through Lu Tianxing's defenses and shattered the sect members' longstanding view of Starfall Peak. Only after Su Lianxin stepped down from the platform did they begin coming to their senses, erupting into waves of discussion.
"This junior sister is a disciple of Starfall Peak? Isn't that the peak famous for ranking dead last among our sect's thirty-six peaks?"
"Why have I never heard of this Junior Sister Su Lianxin before? Isn't she a little too monstrous!"
Listening to the exclamations around him, Chu Xiao had yet to recover. At this moment, his eyes were also filled with irrepressible shock as he looked at Su Lianxin.
Was this... why Yang Jin had admitted defeat?
Earlier, he had said that Yang Jin's surrender had disgraced Mysterious Spirit Peak.
At the time, he had wished he could take Yang Jin's place and enter the arena himself to restore Mysterious Spirit Peak's reputation. Now that he had come to his senses, Chu Xiao broke out in a cold sweat.
Even the Holy Son could not withstand a single sword strike from Su Lianxin. What about him?
If he faced her, he would likely fare even worse.
The others, including him, had also begun to understand.
Yang Jin, a genius ranked among Mysterious Spirit Peak's top five, had voluntarily admitted defeat against Su Lianxin, an obscure disciple of Starfall Peak. It had not been cowardice, much less weakness. He had known all along that he could not beat her!
After realization dawned on them, they fell into a daze.
Even His Highness the Holy Son had been defeated with one sword strike. Had Yang Jin gone up, his outcome would only have been worse...
"You knew Su Lianxin's true strength all along?" Unable to help himself, Chu Xiao lowered his voice and asked.
The other disciples of Mysterious Spirit Peak also pricked up their ears, waiting to hear Yang Jin's explanation.
But everyone already had an answer in their hearts.
Yang Jin must have known Su Lianxin's strength long ago, which was why he had yielded without a fight.
Surrender was the act of the weak and invited contempt and scorn, but when faced with an unbeatable opponent, voluntarily admitting defeat to preserve one's strength was certainly a wise move.
Since he would lose either way, he might as well play it safe and save his strength for the later matches, hoping to secure a good ranking and bring glory to Mysterious Spirit Peak.
The disciples of Mysterious Spirit Peak also understood now. They had originally shared Chu Xiao's opinion. After Yang Jin admitted defeat, they had given him plenty of disdainful looks and mockery, deeply convinced that he had disgraced their Fifth Peak. Only now did they realize that they had been wrong.
Utterly and completely wrong!
"Senior Brother Yang..."
"Sorry, Senior Brother Yang..."
One after another, their voices were filled with apology. The few who were too embarrassed to speak also cast apologetic glances at him.
Yang Jin said nothing and merely gave a cold snort.
He had waited a long time for this moment.
He was no saint. How could he be completely indifferent to others' ridicule and mockery?
Against a monster on Su Lianxin's level.
Admitting defeat had been a wise decision.
Who found this most unbelievable, and who suffered the most?
None other than the Ninth Peak Master.
Just moments ago, the Ninth Peak Master had been smugly mocking Lin Xuan. He had never expected the slap in the face to come so quickly, nearly choking him into a heart attack.
This slap in the face...
Had truly landed with a resounding smack.
Awkward and stiff, his aged face creased, he could not calm down for a long time. Overwhelming humiliation welled up like water from a spring.
Yet from beginning to end, Lin Xuan had not spared him a single glance. Neither his earlier bluster nor his current resounding humiliation, stifled frustration, and disgrace had earned him so much as a look or a word of ridicule from Lin Xuan.
As though, to Lin Xuan, it was all fleeting smoke and clouds, no different from anything else.
Only at this moment did the Ninth Peak Master understand true shame and indignation.
Like a clown, he had performed a ridiculous, laughable show all by himself, yet the spectator remained unmoved and had not even glanced his way.
The Ninth Peak Master's face... flushed blood-red.