Sensing that she had been swindled by Qin Zheng, Li Qingluo angrily marched forward to demand an explanation.
Qin Zheng looked at the infuriated Li Qingluo with deep sympathy, speaking with utmost sincerity: "If you feel you've been treated unfairly, you can pay another ten thousand taels of silver to buy a spot in the repechage bracket and keep competing against those who were eliminated.
"Once you defeat them, you'll earn a new spot to advance and continue competing against the winners.
"Think about it carefully. Between Dao Baifeng and Qin Hongmian, one of them is bound to lose. For just ten thousand taels of silver, you get a chance to kill your mortal enemy. That can hardly be called a bad deal, can it?"
Li Qingluo pondered for a long time before looking up, her gaze sharp. "It really isn't a bad deal. But I think you're just trying to cheat me out of my money!"
Qin Zheng was taken aback, thinking to himself: *Is it really this hard to swindle money out of these jianghu folks?!*
Meanwhile, Cui Lühua, the Hibiscus Fairy, stepped forward with a panicked expression and asked, "Hero Qin, may I ask who I'll be facing in the next round? It isn't Qiao Dasao, is it?!"
Qin Zheng checked the matchup sheet and said, "Not Qiao Dasao. Your next opponent had a bye just like you—Tianshan Tonglao."
Cui Lühua froze, then shrieked at the top of her lungs, "Refund! Give me my money back right now! I want to withdraw!"
Cui Lühua had originally wanted to make a name for herself at this assembly; she hadn't genuinely come to participate in a bride-seeking martial contest. Being friends with Sword God Zhuo Bufan, she had naturally heard of Tianshan Tonglao's terrifying reputation. The moment she heard Tianshan Tonglao's name, her will to fight vanished completely, and she scrambled to cut her losses.
The other martial heroines hurried over to inspect the matchup sheet. When they saw that their second- and third-round opponents were the winners between either Li Qiushui, Tianshan Tonglao, or Qiao Dasao... and that among them was even the former State Preceptor of Tubo, Jiumozhi?!
The crowd erupted at once, clamoring for refunds.
Qin Zheng's face darkened with stern resolve. Unleashing the Buddhist Lion's Roar, he thundered, "Silence! Anyone who wants a refund, go to that table in the south and see Qiao Feng! As long as you can break through the Dog Beating Formation led by Qiao Feng, I'll refund your money immediately!"
After that roar, ears rang among all the martial heroines present, and they froze in place against their will.
*Me, fight Qiao Feng?*
*Fight Qiao Feng backed by the Beggar Gang's Dog Beating Formation?!*
*If I had that kind of ability, why would I even need to come here to ride on someone else's fame?!*
While they were seething with anger, Qin Hongmian and Dao Baifeng had already begun fighting on the arena.
Clad in Daoist robes, Dao Baifeng carried an air of detached elegance. The horsetail whisk in her hand curved and straightened at will, shifting unpredictably, suppressing Qin Hongmian's single saber so thoroughly that she could not mount an attack and was forced back step by step.
Seeing that Qin Hongmian was about to fall off the arena, she abruptly raised her arm, shooting a sleeve dart straight at Dao Baifeng's face.
Dao Baifeng swept her whisk to deflect the dart, only to be immediately engulfed by a tempest of saber flashes from Qin Hongmian, rendering her unable to counterattack.
Just as the two were locked in a perilous, neck-and-neck struggle, Duan Zhengchun used his lightness skill to leap up, aiming to get between them and break up the fight.
Suddenly, a white figure swept overhead, her toe coming down squarely on his shoulder and stomping him to the ground.
Using that momentum to alight on the arena, the newcomer swung her long sleeves, sweeping both Dao Baifeng and Qin Hongmian off the stage together.
Everyone's eyes were drawn to the figure. Looking at her face, her eyes rippled like autumn waters, and her brows curved like distant verdant peaks. Every frown and smile radiated boundless charm.
Li Qingluo stared at the person on the stage, utter disbelief written across her face. "Mother? No—how did Mother become so young?!"
Duan Yu's pupils quivered, and he screamed, "Immortal Brother!"
The person who had arrived on the arena was none other than Li Qiushui. Half a year ago, after being defeated by Qin Zheng, she had gone to the Great Song imperial palace, gathered every edition of Zhuangzi's "Autumn Floods" across all past dynasties, and entered secluded cultivation for a long time.
In the end, she comprehended the true meaning of "the great form has no contour" from the texts. No longer constrained by tangible forms of skills or moves like high or low, large or small, she had finally cultivated the Minor Formless Skill to its peak realm.
Her face, once disfigured by Tianshan Tonglao, had also healed through her breakthrough, returning to the prime of its beauty.
Li Qiushui looked toward Qin Zheng, her eyes as calm as an ancient well, and said, "Come up. I'm here to fulfill our appointment."
Qin Zheng looked at Li Qiushui in surprise. "I didn't expect you to actually make a breakthrough. But your opponent isn't me. Tianshan Tonglao, come on out!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, a slender woman among the crowd took off the veiled bamboo hat on her head. An aura of supreme dominance radiated from her, and her churning true qi forced back everyone around her, clearing an empty circle thirty feet wide.
To defeat Qin Zheng, Tianshan Tonglao had spent a hundred days in secluded cultivation. Yet during her seclusion, the contents of the Sunflower Manual had involuntarily surfaced in her mind. Gradually, she had comprehended a method to pierce the three barriers from a passage of that manual.
Combining that with the reverse circulation of true qi used to create the Life and Death Talisman, she broke through the Weilü barrier, Jiaji barrier, and Yuzhen barrier in succession, attaining the realm of returning to simplicity and truth.
Her body, whose growth had been halted for years after Li Qiushui's ambush, began developing again, completely transforming into the appearance of a young maiden of seventeen or eighteen.
Tianshan Tonglao stared at Li Qiushui on the arena, speaking in an unquestionable tone: "Junior Sister, let us settle our decades of enmity today once and for all!"
With that, she prepared to step onto the arena to fight Li Qiushui to the death.
Qin Zheng suddenly interrupted, "Wait, who am I supposed to collect your registration fees from?"
Both Tianshan Tonglao and Li Qiushui froze, then glared furiously at Qin Zheng at the same time.
Qin Zheng said self-righteously, "Do you think you can freeload off my arena? I, Qin Zheng, have always acted fairly and spent my whole life being kind to others. But just because I'm kind doesn't mean you can bully me as you please!"
As soon as the words fell, the entirety of Leigu Mountain went dead silent; even the insects ceased their chirping.
A moment later, Tianshan Tonglao and Li Qiushui exchanged a glance and attacked Qin Zheng in tacit unison.
Though sworn enemies for decades, they coordinated seamlessly when joining forces. Li Qiushui struck with a palm that seemed soft and powerless, yet its force enveloped Qin Zheng's whole body, sealing off all 365 of his acupoints.
Tianshan Tonglao unleashed an indestructible blast of true qi, striking like thunder toward Qin Zheng's Shanzhong acupoint.
Qin Zheng crossed his arms and executed Star Transposition, redirecting their attacks toward the wooden cabin below the cliff.
With a deafening boom, the cabin blew apart, a column of smoke and dust billowing into the sky.
Immediately after, Qin Zheng leaped straight into the swirling dust, shouting at the top of his lungs, "Watch out for concealed weapons!"
Tianshan Tonglao and Li Qiushui's gazes sharpened simultaneously, and both unleashed a palm strike charged with their full internal energy forward.
The next instant, a figure flew out from the thick smoke, shrieking shrilly:
"Senior Sister, Qiushui! Stop, quickly! It's me, Wuyazi!"
Chapter 56