The Hehuan Sect Was Squeezed Dry for Ten Thousand Years, but It Became a Sacred Ground?-Chapter 43 - Three Strikes to Break the Armor, A Second Bloom!

Chapter 43: Three Strikes to Break the Armor, A Second Bloom!

According to the tournament rules, the fight must stop the moment one side steps out of the ring or admits defeat.

Fearing that Duanmu Yao would lose control and do something reckless, Mei Shi sighed and stepped onto the stage once more, placing a single hand on the furious girl’s shoulder, instantly suppressing her spiritual energy.

“Enough. You’ve already won.”

Her voice, laced with spiritual power, rang directly in Duanmu Yao’s mind.

Only then did the princess regain a shred of clarity.

The golden glow around her slowly faded, but her furious, tear-brimmed eyes still burned scarlet, making her look like a bristling rabbit.

Her flat chest made it difficult to see any dramatic rise and fall in her breathing, but she still brandished her sword and pointed it across the stage.

“You! Why did you run?! Do you even have the courage to fight?! What kind of cultivator are you?!”

Zhou Qin chuckled awkwardly.

“Senior Sister, you’re in the Foundation Establishment Realm. Even if you defeat me, isn’t that just bullying?”

It wasn’t like she didn’t want to fight.

Duanmu Yao had both high-level techniques and a realm advantage. Her strongest move, spiritual fire, was useless against that golden protective qi.

With Aunt Qing refusing to help, winning was impossible.

So why bother?

As for drawing attention from the sect’s higher-ups, Zhou Qin doubted that the earlier chaos hadn’t already done the job.

“I surrendered for your sake, Senior Sister.” She gave a harmless smile. “Now you can fight the final match in your best condition.”

If she conceded quickly, it didn’t count as a loss!

“AAAARGH!!”

Duanmu Yao’s anger skyrocketed.

“Condition my ass!!”

She would gladly give up first place—just let her beat Zhou Qin to death first!

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But rules were rules.

Even if her heart burned with frustration, she had no choice but to let it go.

Had this happened before, she might have revealed her imperial status to pressure Zhou Qin into submission.

But now?

No way.

She had never felt so humiliated in her life.

The last thing she wanted was for anyone to know who she really was!

“Xiao Qin, you’ve really pissed her off this time.”

Aunt Qing’s teasing voice echoed in Zhou Qin’s mind.

Zhou Qin rolled her eyes.

If she was doomed to be hated either way, then why suffer more than necessary?

With the chaos resolved, the tournament proceeded.

Before the final match, both competitors were granted a quarter-hour to recover.

Yu Hua had long since finished her rest.

Meanwhile, Duanmu Yao barely meditated for the time it took to brew tea before leaping to her feet, fists clenched, eyes blazing with murderous intent.

It was hard not to suspect that she was redirecting her hatred toward the next opponent.

“Hey, who do you think will win?”

“Isn’t that obvious? Foundation Establishment against Qi Refining—it’s obviously Senior Sister Duanmu.”

“Right? Didn’t you see her face? She’s so pissed, she’s gonna use Yu Hua to vent.”

Strength ruled all.

After an entire day of battles, the new disciples had unconsciously started to rank themselves by seniority.

Even the high-ranking elder Xu Qingyao and the female deacons watching from above remained silent—the outcome was already decided.

The gap between major cultivation realms wasn’t something that could be bridged with mere effort.

Even Zhou Qin, a peak Qi Refining disciple, couldn’t burn through Duanmu Yao’s golden aura.

How could Yu Hua possibly win?

For this match, Duanmu Yao abandoned her sword.

Not because she was merciful.

Earlier, she had been blinded by rage—all she had wanted was to cut Zhou Qin down.

But now, she was calm.

Her true strength lay in close combat.

With her Golden Dragon Qi providing near-impenetrable defense, she could overpower any opponent in hand-to-hand combat.

Familiar golden energy crawled up her arms, spreading from her fists until it completely enveloped her forearms.

She was confident.

As long as her opponent didn’t have a divine-grade weapon, no attack could harm her.

Well… except fire.

Golden Dragon Qi only worked when attached to the body—it couldn’t protect clothing.

After all, this technique was originally designed for male cultivators, who didn’t mind fighting shirtless.

Duanmu Yao had learned it out of stubborn pride.

If not for her enchanted silk camisole, her humiliation today would have been even worse.

“It’s just bad luck for you.”

She tightened her fists and muttered coldly.

On the opposite side, Yu Hua stood poised with a long blade in her grasp.

Her delicate features remained calm, showing no sign of fear despite facing an opponent two whole realms above her.

Then—

They moved.

Like two streaks of lightning, they clashed head-on.

Boom!

Yu Hua’s blade struck Duanmu Yao’s bare forearm.

Sparks flew.

Her brand-new sword, freshly sharpened before the match, failed to cut even a scratch.

However—

Yu Hua was fast.

The moment she realized her attack failed, she twisted her wrist, the blade redirecting mid-air.

With a swift sideward slash—

Rip!

A clean tear appeared in Duanmu Yao’s freshly changed outfit.

Her body was unscathed.

But her clothes…

Not so lucky.

Yu Hua’s expression tensed.

With her mere seventh-layer Qi Refining cultivation, breaking through Duanmu Yao’s protective qi head-on would be difficult.

Her grip on the long blade loosened briefly, shifting into a fluid feint before she retreated several steps.

Forget everything else—just that raw power alone was already hard to withstand.

Direct confrontation was not an option.

Duanmu Yao, struck squarely by the long blade, snorted disdainfully.

Not even a scratch.

She casually shook off the attack, her fists lashing out like the tails of twin dragons, ferocious and unpredictable.

Yu Hua’s brows furrowed.

She knew a way to counter this.

But her character persona was supposed to be a mere orphan girl.

If she pulled out an advanced secret technique, it would only raise suspicion.

The fact that she was already matching a Foundation Establishment opponent was eye-catching enough.

Thus, Yu Hua continued to dodge and retreat.

But Duanmu Yao?

How could she possibly tolerate this?

She immediately accelerated, executing her best footwork to chase Yu Hua down.

Yet to her shock, Yu Hua’s movement technique was the exact same style—but executed with even greater finesse.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t even land a single proper hit.

Worse still, Yu Hua’s blade struck back occasionally, forcing her onto the defensive.

“Such keen combat instincts!”

High above, Xu Qingyao, one of the sect’s senior observers, couldn’t help but praise her.

Duanmu Yao’s fist techniques were undeniably superb, even containing hidden force techniques capable of shattering bones.

Any ordinary Qi Refining cultivator would have been killed in one punch.

But this Yu Hua—

She was born for battle.

Could she actually… overcome this impossible gap?

Xu Qingyao almost entertained the thought—

But quickly dismissed it.

If she couldn’t break the golden qi, all her efforts were in vain.

Duanmu Yao could afford countless mistakes.

Yu Hua, however, had only one chance.

Xu Qingyao believed she saw through everything.

Little did she know—

If Yu Hua wished, she could drag this fight on indefinitely, never making a single mistake.

From an outsider’s perspective, Duanmu Yao’s fist techniques were nearly flawless.

But to Yu Hua—a once-ascended Mahayana cultivator—

They were riddled with holes.

She could dodge them with her eyes closed.

The only real problem was the protective qi.

Even if she outlasted herself, Duanmu Yao would still have plenty of spiritual energy left.

That golden aura barely consumed anything at all.

If she wanted to win—

She needed another way.

Recalling the earlier match, Yu Hua’s eyes darkened.

Forgive me.

She hated losing.

Her blade work—which had been mostly evasive—shifted.

The moment her stance changed, the battle’s momentum reversed.

Yu Hua’s technique didn’t belong to any known sword school.

It was the simplest, purest form of the blade—forged from ten thousand years of battle experience.

Duanmu Yao, who had been dominating moments before, suddenly found herself completely overwhelmed.

Yet after her initial panic, she quickly calmed herself.

So what?

Even if Yu Hua attacked more fiercely, she still couldn’t break through.

She simply maxed out her golden defense, planning to wait until Yu Hua exhausted herself, then end it with one decisive strike.

But then—

After just three slashes—

Her expression changed drastically.

That bastard… why is she only attacking my chest, my belt, and…?

One strike—belt undone.

Two strikes—outer robe in tatters.

Three strikes—silken camisole exposed!

A second bloom!

“S-STOP! I—I—I SURRENDER!”