The crowd that had been cheering for Chen Xuan moments ago was now utterly dumbfounded.
"Rigged Brother! Shameless! Absolutely shameless!"
"What 'powerful gang qi'? Why didn't you use that giant axe move from before?"
"At least pretend to make it look real, damn it!"
At this point, everyone was furious.
Xu Mu just scratched his ear — this time, he really was the black horse (and the "rigged" one, apparently). He couldn't be bothered to explain.
Lü Pinlong smirked.
Xu Mu had actually helped him by removing a major obstacle — Chen Xuan.
Among all the participants, Chen Xuan had been the one he viewed as the biggest threat.
Now that Chen Xuan had voluntarily conceded, the path ahead looked much clearer.
Up on the platform, Xue Dongsheng's face was red with anger.
"Damn it! Has this brat Xu Mu bribed every single contestant already?!"
Lü Chuan rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"You don't think… maybe he actually has some sort of means?"
"Impossible!" Xue Dongsheng sneered.
"That Chen Xuanxuan kid flew back half a second too late — that wasn't a real exchange of blows! Bah!
Now I just hope he ends up facing my grandson next."
Chen Xuan returned to his seat, while Xu Mu waited for his name to appear in the Top 8 list before following.
"Mu, I've done what I can," Chen Xuan said quietly.
"You've already done great," Xu Mu replied, patting his shoulder.
At least Chen Xuan had taken care of Zhao Gang for him.
Now, only three opponents remained who would need Xu Mu's full attention —
Xue Kaixuan, Lü Pinlong, and Cui Yu.
The other four were ordinary early-stage Mystic Art Realm cultivators.
If he drew one of those, he could easily enter the semifinals — and that would be enough points to secure his position.
After that, he could simply concede — no need to keep fighting.
The Top 8 names appeared.
As usual, they took a short ten-minute break before the next round began.
Match One: Lü Pinlong vs. Huang Shuai.
Lü Pinlong won easily with a single move.
Match Two: Cui Yu vs. Wang Fengshou.
Cui Yu also won with ease.
Xu Mu clasped his hands together in mock prayer — only Xue Kaixuan and two weaker competitors remained.
That meant he had a two-thirds chance of drawing an easy match.
"Match Three — Xue Kaixuan versus Xu Mu!"
As soon as Wei Jingzhi announced the pairing, the crowd erupted in excitement.
Finally — someone strong enough to teach that Rigged Brother a lesson!
Xue Kaixuan was one of the top contenders, and if he won, he'd not only take first place but also win Jiang Huihui's hand in marriage — and with her came the Heaven-Grade martial art.
There was no way Xu Mu could have bribed Xue Kaixuan.
Unless he handed over a Heaven-Grade technique himself — which was absurd.
"Hahaha! Old Xue, looks like you were right after all," Lü Chuan laughed.
Xue Dongsheng smiled smugly. "Good. Let my grandson settle the score."
Jiang Sheng shook his head slightly — Xu Mu had already done remarkably well just getting this far.
Meanwhile, Jiang Huihui's heart was pounding in her chest. She silently prayed Xu Mu would surrender early.
Xue Kaixuan was not someone to mess with.
Even if Xu Mu lost, his painting and medical skills could still earn him high scores.
On the battlefield, Xu Mu stood calmly with the wood-chopping knife in hand, studying Xue Kaixuan.
His Veil Technique wouldn't be enough against someone like this.
"Boy," Xue Kaixuan sneered, "you could always buy me off too. Give me two Heaven-Grade techniques, and I'll concede."
Xu Mu's expression didn't change.
"So you and Jiang Huihui… it was never about love, huh?"
"You think talking big makes you noble? Putting her and a Heaven-Grade technique on the same level — that's already the greatest love there is!"
As the referee signaled the start, Xue Kaixuan began to advance, step by step.
Xu Mu didn't move an inch — preparing to test the Veil Technique again.
Whoosh!
At five meters away, Xue Kaixuan suddenly burst forward, his figure blurring.
When he reached within two meters—
"Where the hell did he go?!"
Bang!
Xu Mu appeared behind him, slamming the back of his blade down toward his jaw.
"Ice Prison Cage!"
A layer of translucent frost instantly coated Xue Kaixuan's body.
Boom!
A loud impact echoed — shards of ice flew, but the barrier held. Xue Kaixuan was unharmed.
"I see now! You sneaky bastard — you've got an invisibility technique!"
It all clicked for him. So that's why the others had "mysteriously" frozen mid-fight!
He'd even wondered what kind of price Guang Peng could've been bribed with —
but now it made perfect sense.
Xu Mu exhaled softly. Just as he expected — against a true sect expert, his invisibility couldn't land a one-hit kill.
On the platform, Jiang Sheng looked to Xue Dongsheng.
"Old Xue, your grandson's impressive — he released an Earth-Grade technique in mere moments."
"Hahaha!" Xue Dongsheng tilted his head back and laughed.
"Not bad, right? Though honestly, using an Earth-Grade technique just to deal with him — total overkill!"
"Sword, to me!"
Xue Kaixuan shouted, and a defeated Lingxiao Sect disciple tossed him a longsword from the sidelines.
Catching it midair, Xue Kaixuan's expression hardened.
"Since you like dirty tricks, don't blame me for showing no mercy!"
Whoosh!
He stomped down and charged again.
The longsword danced in his hands like a living thing, darting and twisting with lethal precision.
"My grandson's strength might not rival the true prodigies of the Lingxiao Sect," Xue Dongsheng boasted,
"but when it comes to swordsmanship — none can match him."
And indeed — Xue Kaixuan's swordplay was so fast it left afterimages,
with slashes of condensed sword energy bursting out unpredictably at close range.
But when the crowd looked at Xu Mu—
They were stunned.
Every strike Xue Kaixuan unleashed was effortlessly dodged.
And Xu Mu wasn't backing away — he stayed right in front of Xue Kaixuan,
using only subtle shifts and graceful motions,
each one perfectly timed to evade the killing blows.
He moved with unhurried elegance — like dancing on the edge of a blade.
The audience fell silent, jaws dropping.
"What's going on?! Those movements — can a human even do that?!"
"Xue Kaixuan, a top expert, can't even touch him!"
"Apologize to Rigged Brother!"
…
Xue Kaixuan's expression grew darker by the second.
He leapt back, unleashing a surge of energy through his blade.
"Ice-Fissure Slash!"
Boom!
A massive blue sword aura burst forth, splitting into hundreds of smaller shards,
each one half a meter long, fanning out to fill the entire battlefield.
"Xu Mu! Let's see you dodge this!"
Xu Mu calmly flicked his wrist —
A phantom sword materialized before him.
As his hand rotated, a dark-red longsword spun in tandem, slicing through every oncoming shard.
"Phantom Sword?" Xue Kaixuan's eyes widened. "You're from the Demonic Sword Sect?!"