Do you still think your choice was right?

Boom!

For this move, Wang Hao used every ounce of his strength!

In this battle, he didn't just want to win; he wanted to win decisively! He wanted a clean victory! He wanted to win beautifully!

He had even planned out dozens of follow-up variations.

The moment Lin Xueer barely managed to block this strike, his subsequent storm-like combo would follow instantly.

It would be enough to make her collapse utterly in despair!

However, at the very instant that explosive fireball was about to touch the hem of Lin Xueer's dress...

Zheng—!

The clear, resonant ring of a sword sounded without any warning.

The sound wasn't loud, yet it seemed to possess a strange piercing quality, instantly drowning out the whistle of the fireball and reaching the ears of everyone present with clarity.

The spectating Disciples didn't even see clearly how Lin Xueer had made her move.

They only saw a streak of cyan sword light, fast to the extreme, like a sliver of moonlight spilling down from the Nine Heavens—cold and swift.

The sword light struck second but arrived first, tapping with incomparable precision at the center of that crimson fireball.

There was no world-shaking explosion.

There was no violent clash of energies.

That cyan sword light was like a needle pricking a balloon, a touch of effortless nonchalance.

Poof.

A soft sound.

The 'Heaven-Burning Explosive Flame' that Wang Hao took such pride in, which was capable of melting gold and refining stone, instantly sputtered out.

In an instant, the violent fire-elemental Spiritual Qi was shredded by the sword light, turning into a sky full of scattered sparks that vanished into nothingness.

And the sword light's momentum did not diminish!

After crushing the fireball, the lingering power flashed by, and the cyan sword shadow slammed solidly into Wang Hao's chest.

“What?!”

The sinister grin on Wang Hao's face froze instantly, his pupils snapping to the size of needlepoints, his eyes filled with horror and disbelief.

All the backup plans he had prepared, all his variations, became a massive joke at this moment.

Because he simply didn't have the chance to make a second move!

Bang!

An irresistible, overwhelming force surged from his chest. Wang Hao felt his protective Qi as thin as window paper, torn apart instantly. His entire body was sent flying back as if struck by a ten-thousand-pound hammer, a spray of blood erupting from his mouth as he traced a pathetic arc through the air.

Thud!

With a dull sound, Wang Hao crashed heavily below the arena, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He struggled to climb up, only to find the Spiritual Qi inside him in chaos, his Meridians stinging with pain. Several bones in his chest felt broken, leaving him unable to move for a while.

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence.

Everyone's expressions were frozen on their faces.

The gloating smiles of the Danxia Peak Disciples were paralyzed.

The smug confidence of Zhao Qian and Elder Li, who had felt victory was within their grasp, was paralyzed.

The worried look in the eyes of Luoxia Peak's Peak Master, Liu Ruyan, also froze, replaced by a deep sense of bewilderment and shock.

One move!

Just one move!

Wang Hao, at the Eighth Layer of Foundation Establishment and having practiced a peak Profound Rank Cultivation Technique, had aggressively unleashed his strongest killing move.

As a result, he was faced by Lin Xueer, whose cultivation was one layer lower than his, with a single sword strike that looked quite ordinary.

He was instantly defeated!

This... how is this possible?!

On the arena, Lin Xueer slowly withdrew her sword.

The qinglan sword returned to its scabbard. She was still in her white dress, her posture upright; from start to finish, not even the corner of her skirt had been disturbed.

She didn't even cast a glance at the pathetic Wang Hao below the stage, as if she had merely swatted away a noisy fly.

That calm composure, that absolute crushing of strength, was more soul-crushing than any verbal mockery.

Wang Hao lay on the cold ground, his body wracked with pain, but his greatest agony came from within.

He stared blankly at the cold back on the stage—the person who hadn't even looked at him—and his mind went completely blank.

Defeated?

He had actually lost?

And he lost so thoroughly, so cleanly, so... humiliatingly?

Why?

Why was her sword so fast? Why was her Spiritual Qi so condensed?

She was clearly only at the Foundation Establishment Seventh Layer, so why was his Eighth Layer cultivation as fragile as a clay chicken or a straw dog before her, unable to withstand a single blow?

That ordinary sword strike was so common!

How could it contain such terrifying power?

Countless questions exploded in his mind, eventually converging into an indescribable, heart-eating, bone-eroding regret—a regret he simply could not ignore.

Lin Xueer's indifferent glance seemed to transform in his mind into the sharpest of interrogations:

“Do you think joining Qingxuan Peak was a mistake?”

“Do you think joining Danxia Peak was the right decision?”

“And now?”

“Do you still think so?”

“Pfft!”

Wang Hao's mind was shaken to the core, his blood surged, and he spat out another mouthful of blood. His eyes rolled back, and he directly fainted.

“Whoa—!”

After a brief, dead silence, the entire venue erupted in a world-shaking clamor!

“My God! What did I just see? Wang Hao was one-shotted?”

“That Lin Xueer... is so strong! Her sword is so fast! So terrifying!”

“Is this really a Disciple raised by Qingxuan Peak? That Qingxuan Peak that ranks at the bottom and is about to be delisted?”

Discussions, exclamations, and the sound of people drawing in cold air rose one after another.

In the 'Allied Forces' camp of Qingxuan Peak, those Disciples who had received protection in the second round and entered the third round erupted into a burst of enthusiastic cheering after a brief daze!

“Fairy Lin is mighty!”

“I'm crazy for you! I'm wild for you! I'd smash my head against a wall for Fairy Lin!”

“Qingxuan Peak is f*cking awesome!”

Meanwhile, the Danxia Peak area was deathly silent, everyone's expression looking as ugly as could be.

If the stalemate in the second round had made them feel frustrated...

Then now, Wang Hao's defeat in the first battle was like being slapped hard in the face in public!

It was a burning pain!

On the viewing platform.

“Crack!”

The teacup in Zhao Qian's hand was crushed into powder by his grip. His face turned from red to green, and from green to black—a truly spectacular sight.

“Trash! Absolute trash!”

He let out a low, teeth-gritting roar in his heart.

His cold gaze stared fixedly at the unconscious Wang Hao being carried away by the Danxia Peak Disciples, wishing he could step down personally and give the trash two more kicks.

His Realm was a layer higher than Lin Xueer's, yet he still lost like this!

It was simply an embarrassment!

Beside him, Elder Li's face was equally dark, looking as if it could drip water.

Wang Hao was his Disciple!

Wang Hao's crushing defeat didn't just lose face for Danxia Peak; it lost face for him, Elder Li!

He had just been bragging about Wang Hao's extraordinary talent and his own excellent teaching, only to be one-shotted in the blink of an eye!

This was a blatant slap in the face!

He glared fiercely in the direction where Wang Hao was being carried away, his heart burning with rage, but more than that, there was a hint of gravity and confusion.

“That Lin Xueer's sword... is very fast and very solid!”

Elder Li said in a raspy voice, “Her level of Spiritual Qi condensation also seems to far exceed those of the same rank! She must have put in a great deal of hard work during her cultivation!”

Hearing this, Zhao Qian's expression shifted as he looked at Elder Li: “Elder Li, you mean...”

“I think this girl cannot be underestimated.” Elder Li shook his head, his eyes dark. “That Ye Qing seems to have some skill to be able to teach someone like Lin Xueer!”

Zhao Qian didn't like hearing that.

Zhao Qian took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger in his heart.

A ruthless light flashed in his eyes.

Perhaps...