"A tie... is still a loss for Xuhan, if you think about it," Xiao Wu said in dissatisfaction.

"If two evenly matched opponents fight to a standstill, that’s what you call a tie. How can the imbalanced match-up in this round be treated that way?"

"Shameless! Shameless beyond reason!" Mu Ran gnashed his teeth, watching the Elders arguing among themselves to find a way to discard Kong Ye’s forcefully added vote.

Only Xuanyuan Zhou maintained her cool, perhaps still under the effect of her enlightenment.

"A tie wasn’t outside Xuhan’s expectations. Didn’t he tell us right before the duel began? He only feared that the Elders would throw away the entirety of their dignity just to cast nine out of nine votes in Chen Yan’s favor."

"...That’s true," Xiao Wu muttered. "But the next round is going to be even more skewed in terms of balance.

Chen Yan will no longer be restrained by the rules. He will use his full martial strength. His strikes and movements are going to be enhanced by vital energy far beyond Xuhan’s capability to handle.

The chances of Xuhan’s victory are next to zero."

Mu Ran nodded in agreement. "Just settling for a tie was a mistake. He needs to win this round to keep his chances alive.

I say, he should’ve invited the sect master as well to cast a vote in his favor, anyhow. That old man treats Underling Xuhan so well. He wouldn’t have disagreed, right?"

Xuanyuan Zhou gave the bickering Elders a deep look and shook her head. "There’s a hidden layer to this arrangement that you guys have overlooked."

Mu Ran started cursing immediately. "Can you speak fucking normally for a single minute? It’s always about this unseen layer or that unknown scheme whenever you open your crooked mouth. It’s so fucking tiring!"

Xiao Wu pushed Mu Ran out of the way. "Don’t listen to him, Sister Zhou. I want to hear your idea!"

Xuanyuan Zhou seemed hesitant to speak. "It’s just an absurd suspicion, and I have no evidence to connect the threads involved. I simply applied the technique Xuhan uses whenever he’s in doubt."

Glancing at the center of the arena, where Han Xuhan was patiently waiting for a final verdict, she began to elaborate.

"First point of suspicion: When Xuhan was referring to Chen Yan’s hidden backer, why did he look so grim? He already knew that these Elders would all support Chen Yan.

Any outsider, no matter how powerful, couldn’t exert their power here to turn what’s invalid into becoming valid. So who else could it be?

Judging by the depth of Chen Yan’s plans so far, does it make sense that this backer hasn’t shown up yet?

After all, winning in the first round is far more crucial for him than for Xuhan. He already has an overwhelming advantage for the second and the possible third round!

Secondly, the Elders know this too. They also must have known through Chen Yan that Han Xuhan has the support of the sect master.

If the sect master were here today, their unscrupulous behavior would not only bring danger upon them, but their votes cast in Chen Yan’s favor would also not be adequate to let him win. It would end with an out and out confrontation of authority!

Considering that the Elders have gone this far already, why didn’t they just cast one more vote? Since they’re not fearful of the sect master’s wrath, why are they trying to appease the disciples in the audience?

And thirdly, why is the sect master not here? Didn’t Xuhan say he went to discuss the duel with him a few days ago?

In fact, the sect master could’ve done what Elder Kong Ye is doing, by suddenly appearing and holding them accountable for their biased judgments. That would’ve guaranteed Xuhan’s victory!

So why is he avoiding confronting these Elders today after supporting Xuhan for so long?"

Xiao Wu’s pupils suddenly shrank.

"Surely, you don’t think the Sect Master is also on..."

Xuanyuan Zhou glanced at a distant mountain peak in the central region of the Crimson Snow Sect. "Indeed, that conclusion is so absurd that it leaves one more puzzled than before. Now...

If we, the bystanders, can reach this frightening conclusion, so can Xuhan. So, what plan does he have if it turns out to be the truth?"

Cold sweat began to soak Xiao Wu’s back as he started analyzing the situation once more. Even Mu Ran, typically clueless and feisty, was left frozen after catching Xuanyuan Zhou’s hint.

Meanwhile, the argument among the Elders finally lost its energy. They couldn’t outright Challenge Kong Ye’s claims, fearing that he might pull out some evidence to expose their scheme of siding with Chen Yan and eyewashing the entire outer court.

"Alright then, a tie it is!" Elder Shen, leading the voters on Chen Yan’s side, roared with a slam of his fists. "But let me make it clear to everyone listening. No new votes can be inserted this way anymore!"

"...Err- then we shall move on to the next round," Arena Official Yu announced.

The rules of the second round of the duel were a lot more detailed than the previous one, thanks to the attentive contribution of Chen Yan and the frustrated Elders.

In short, all martial arts, up to their most extreme and potent usage, were allowed. Any weapons or tools that didn’t rely on Mystic Qi were allowed, hidden or otherwise. The only things barred were Mystic Arts, pills, and formations.

"Why didn’t Chen Yan bring up poisons? Isn’t he concerned about Xuhan chucking a bunch of poisonous smoke bombs like he used to? Did the beating in the first round turn him stupid?"

Xiao Wu rolled his eyes at Mu Ran’s question. "Isn’t it obvious? He must have taken preparations for that kind of poison already.

He’s just hoping to bait Xuhan into giving that method a shot and end up wasting precious time and opportunity during the battle. Who knows, it could instead give Chen Yan an opening to win with one move!"

Worried, all three martial siblings, alongside the thousands of overwhelmed audience behind them, watched with rapt attention as the arena official signalled the start of the second round.