Xu Mu didn't speak. After deflecting the incoming shards of sword energy, his dark-red sword streaked straight toward Xue Kaixuan.
Xue Kaixuan's gaze turned icy as he once again unleashed the Ice Prison Cage.
The Phantom Sword slashed repeatedly against the thick frost, but couldn't break it.
Xu Mu gripped his wood-chopping blade and charged forward.
He raised it high, ready to strike—
—but from inside the ice barrier, Xue Kaixuan suddenly thrust out his palm. Blue ice surged outward, freezing Xu Mu inside.
"Hahaha! Didn't expect that, did you?"
Xue Kaixuan sneered. "You thought this Earth-Grade technique was for defense? Its true purpose is to trap and crush!"
As he pressed both palms to the ice, blue light flared brighter and brighter.
Dozens of icicles, as thick as fingers, began to form and extend toward Xu Mu. If this continued, they would pierce him clean through.
Jiang Huihui shot to her feet in alarm, but before she could speak, Wei Jingzhi said flatly,
"It's over. Once caught by an Earth-Grade technique like that, death is certain."
The elders around him nodded.
They'd already seen how precisely Xu Mu could control the Phantom Sword.
Sword control alone proved he was no amateur—it was notoriously difficult—yet even that skill wouldn't save him now.
"This kid's decent," Xue Dongsheng remarked coolly, "but compared to my grandson, he's far behind."
Just as Wei Jingzhi was about to announce the result, his eyes widened.
Inside the ice, Xu Mu wasn't panicking at all. Instead, he was smiling.
"Buddy," he said, "your technique has a pretty big flaw."
"A flaw?" Xue Kaixuan scoffed. "You? You dare question our sect's Earth-Grade technique?"
"Then let me show you where it is."
Xu Mu's chopping blade suddenly blazed fiery red.
With a sharp swing—
A phoenix's cry split the air.
Boom!
The ice exploded outward as a flaming phoenix burst free, slamming into Xue Kaixuan's chest and hurling him like a cannonball into the hillside.
He crashed into the slope, blood spraying from his chest, and fell unconscious.
The blazing phoenix soared upward, vanishing into the sky.
"That's the flaw—using a close-range cage against me is suicide," Xu Mu said calmly.
"Fire Phoenix Sword?!"
The disciples of the Heavenly Sword Sect who had accompanied Zhao Gang stared in shock.
That was a long-lost Earth-Grade technique of their sect—
How could this guy know it?
"Brat! You dare injure my grandson!"
On the platform, Xue Dongsheng roared. His body flared with blue light as he charged straight at Xu Mu.
Wei Jingzhi was about to intervene when he noticed something—
the black-robed man in the audience had already moved.
Wei Jingzhi lowered his hand.
"Damn! Beat the junior, now the elder comes?"
Xu Mu sighed, preparing to unleash his Heaven-Grade technique, Demon Aegis—
—but the black-robed figure appeared before him in an instant.
Whoosh!
The newcomer caught Xue Dongsheng's punch midair, saying coldly,
"Old fool—learn some respect."
Boom!
Scarlet qi erupted violently.
Crack!
The ground beneath them fractured like a spiderweb, the cracks spreading across the arena.
The man hurled Xue Dongsheng away like a rag doll.
Xue Dongsheng twisted in midair, landing fifty or sixty meters away, barely managing to stay on his feet.
The crowd gasped.
"Who is that black-robed man? He tossed the Lingxiao Sect's Third Elder like a chicken!"
"That elder's cultivation is above the Grandmaster level!"
…
Xue Dongsheng's face darkened. He felt utterly humiliated—
but from the sheer might of that man's qi, he knew he wasn't a match.
Still, with so many eyes on him, how could he back down? He just hoped someone would step in soon.
"You dare strike me?! You're dead!" he roared—while silently praying, Someone, please stop me already!
"Old Xue, stand down!" Wei Jingzhi shouted from the platform.
Relief washed over Xue Dongsheng, though he still blustered,
"Mr. Wei, don't stop me!"
"You're the one in the wrong," Wei Jingzhi said coolly.
"Xu Mu already held back—if he hadn't, that phoenix wouldn't have flown upward."
Hearing that, Xue Dongsheng clenched his fists and hurried to his grandson's side.
Xue Kaixuan was battered, but not mortally wounded.
"Thank you, Senior," Xu Mu said, bowing to the black-robed man.
The man didn't respond. He merely turned and walked back toward Cui Yu, taking a seat beside him.
Xu Mu frowned slightly.
So this guy was with Cui Yu after all—probably another member of the Eternal Life Research Institute.
As Xu Mu stepped down from the stage, everyone's eyes followed him, filled with awe.
So the true powerhouse was Rigged Brother all along.
Even after such a fierce fight, not a single corner of his robe was dirty.
From start to finish, he had completely outclassed Xue Kaixuan—
elegant dodges, overwhelming techniques, perfect control.
Now the audience finally believed what Chen Xuan had said earlier.
Maybe Chen Xuan hadn't been bribed at all;
maybe he'd simply realized Xu Mu's strength and surrendered early.
Up on the platform, Jiang Huihui clenched her fists, excitement lighting her eyes.
[Favorability +20]
She hadn't expected that bastard Xu Mu to be this strong—
but then why did he always need her to rescue him?
…Could it be… he'd been looking for excuses just to see her?
[Favorability +10]
Beside her, Zhou Shui grabbed her hand, equally astonished.
She couldn't believe Xu Mu was that powerful either.
Jiang Xingjun, however, wasn't watching Xu Mu. His eyes were locked on the black-robed man.
Jiang Sheng, too, was stunned—
Xu Mu had hidden his abilities far too well.
If the Demonic Sword Sect and Heavenly Sword Sect were mortal enemies,
how could he know techniques from both?
Lü Pinlong rubbed his nose, realizing Xu Mu was the real deal.
"You and that Xu Mu—who's stronger?" the black-robed man beside Cui Yu asked evenly.
"Master, I'm stronger," Cui Yu replied with confidence.
"Is that so?"
As he spoke, the black-robed man turned his head to the left.
Another figure in black approached and sat down beside him.
"Brother Zhuo, long time no see."
The first man's body trembled. He immediately reached out and grabbed the newcomer's right arm—
—but found nothing beneath the sleeve.
"Xiao Que…"
Jiang Mingzhuo released Zhang Que's robe, murmuring softly.
Zhang Que took out a box of Hongtashan cigarettes and handed it to him.
Jiang Mingzhuo drew two—put one between his lips, and offered the other back.
Zhang Que tucked the pack away, held the cigarette between two fingers, and smiled.
"He's Shou-ge's son."
"I can tell. He's almost a mirror of his father," Jiang Mingzhuo said quietly, his voice tinged with nostalgia.
"I miss those days, when the few of us were together… but now, most are dead or crippled."
"Brother Zhuo," Zhang Que said, flicking his lighter,
"I want revenge."