77: Chapter 77, Prison Six: I am the champion!!!

[Mu Xue held the candy in her mouth, her face slightly flushed, her eyes staring fixedly at you.]

[She turned her head slightly, and with the candy still in her mouth, she put some distance between herself and you again.]

[With a crisp "crack," Mu Xue bit the candy in her mouth into pieces and casually spat out the white candy stick.]

[Mu Xue chewed the candy in her mouth, wiping away some saliva that had trickled from the corner of her mouth.]

[Mu Xue smiled, a very flamboyant smile.]

[She flicked her wrist, and a pale blue longsword appeared.]

["Now, the second round begins!" Mu Xue said, pointing the longsword at you.]

[You smiled slightly and tilted your head back; "pure white" instantly appeared in your hand, and you said nothing.]

[Mu Xue didn't know what you were smiling about, but she was very annoyed; an indescribable emotion welled up in her heart.]

[Since she was a child, this was the first time she had suffered a setback at the hands of a peer.]

[At this moment, she wanted to understand you.]

[However, she didn't believe she would lose to you.]

[Mu Xue moved first, spinning the pale blue longsword in her hand to create a sword flower, the tip of the blade trembling.]

[In an instant, she was right in front of you.]

["Too slow. I have too much of an advantage this way!" you thought to yourself as you watched her movements.]

[Although Mu Xue's speed was already top-tier among Transcendent Martial Artists, and even comparable to ordinary Innate Martial Artists, in your eyes, it was still too slow.]

[You casually raised your hand, and pure white blocked her longsword.]

["Bang!" The two longswords collided.]

[Mu Xue took two steps back.]

[You did not retreat.]

[Wait, why didn't I retreat???]

[You remembered that you had tried to adjust your physical strength to the Transcendent level.]

["No, no."]

[Thinking this, you took a step back.]

[Mu Xue's reaction was fast; she immediately adjusted her posture, and the longsword stabbed at you like rain.]

[You tried not to look at Mu Xue's movements.]

[Because once you looked, all you could see were flaws!]

[You used spiritual energy to cover your eyes. Not looking with your eyes, you only used your senses to meet her sword.]

[Mu Xue's longsword poured down like a rainstorm, and the pale blue sword light wove into an airtight net on the ring.]

[pure white flipped in your hand, each strike perfectly parrying her blade, without a hair's breadth of error.]

[As you fought, you felt something was wrong. Why did Mu Xue's spiritual energy dissipate as soon as it was touched by yours?]

[And whenever you used even a sliver of spiritual energy, Mu Xue had to spend ten or even a hundred times the amount of spiritual energy to neutralize it.]

[Mu Xue stepped back a few steps, panting heavily, like a kitten about to go wild.]

[You stood steadily in place, dispelled the spiritual energy covering your eyes, and looked at her.]

[Actually, it was already clear who would win and who would lose.]

[On one side was the sweating, panting Mu Xue, and on the other side was you, looking like nothing had happened.]

[The difference was clear!]

[It seems the Dragon Kingdom has produced another peerless Prodigy, the crowd below the stage sighed as they looked at you.]

[You looked at Mu Xue and finally understood why Mu Xue's spiritual energy was so trashy.]

[Because Mu Xue is only Transcendent now; she doesn't have spiritual energy at all—what's inside her body is Internal Energy!]

[You sighed, having forgotten that spiritual energy only comes after reaching the Innate Realm.]

["Do you still want to fight?" you asked, looking at Mu Xue.]

["Hmph!" Mu Xue snorted coldly. "Do you think you've won?"]

["Otherwise?" You looked at her and raised your chin slightly.]

[Mu Xue took a deep breath. "You can try!"]

[You could feel the Aura on Mu Xue's body constantly increasing.]

["She's about to make a Breakthrough to Innate!" someone in the audience suddenly shouted.]

["What, Innate? An Innate Martial Artist in her twenties!"]

["In my life, I have actually been able to see a young Grandmaster," an old man said, looking at Mu Xue.]

["Old man, that's a young female Grandmaster!" a female Martial Artist on the side retorted.]

["Lin Heng, hurry up! Take her down while you can!" someone shouted.]

[But someone immediately retorted, "This isn't a life-and-death duel, and all the Sects in the world are here. If Lin Heng wins this way, he will be accused of winning unfairly!"]

["That's right. Besides, peerless Prodigies like them have their own pride. Unless it's a life-and-death situation, they would never resort to such despicable means!"]

[You watched her quietly. A Breakthrough from Transcendent to Innate is actually very fast, taking only a few breaths. But these few breaths are enough for a Transcendent Martial Artist to do many things.]

[Finally, a sharp Aura appeared around Mu Xue.]

[Innate, Breakthrough!]

["We pay our respects to the Grandmaster!"]

[The Martial Artists below the stage collectively bowed in salute. Even the Innate Elder from Danwang Valley on the judge's bench bowed slightly to show respect.]

[Innate is the watershed of the Martial Artist world. Stepping over this threshold allows one to be called a Grandmaster, representing that one has finally taken the first step into the Martial Dao.]

[Mu Xue nodded slightly and returned the salute to the people around.]

[Finally, her gaze landed on you again.]

[You were the only one in the entire venue who didn't move. You were still holding that longsword, standing in place.]

[Mu Xue looked at you and smiled too. It was a familiar, lazy, playful smile.]

["You should have heard that everyone below the Grandmaster is an ant." She played with the newly condensed pale blue longsword, the tip of the sword lazily pointing at you.]

["I won't bully you either. Will you admit defeat yourself, or do you want me to beat you up before you do?"]

[You looked at her. "I suddenly think you're very cute, Mu Xue!"]

[Mu Xue raised her chin. "I also think you're very cute... Lin Heng, that's your name, right?"]

[You nodded and continued.]

["Do you really think only you can make a Breakthrough?"]

[As the words fell, the Aura on your body climbed steadily, growing stronger and stronger.]

[Mu Xue frowned as she looked at you.]

[In an instant, it also reached the Innate level.]

[The crowd below the stage was completely stunned.]

[No way, another Innate?]

[You have to realize that there were many old Martial Artists at the Transcendent Peak stage below, who had been stuck in this Realm for decades without a successful Breakthrough.]

[In that moment, at least four or five people turned their heads to look at Great Elder Liu Jinsong.]

[That look clearly said, "The Dragon Group's Prodigy is one thing, but what on earth is going on with your Iron Hand Sect?"]

[Great Elder Liu Jinsong said nothing, just nodded awkwardly.]

["We pay our respects to the Grandmaster!" the crowd in the audience bowed again.]

[You nodded slightly to the surrounding crowd, and then your gaze landed on Mu Xue again.]

["Now," you looked at Mu Xue and smiled, "do you still think I'm very cute?"]

[Mu Xue did not answer. She stared into your eyes, and the playfulness on her face finally disappeared completely. It wasn't seriousness, and it wasn't anger; it was something more complex.]

[She was re-examining you, from head to toe.]

["I still do!" Mu Xue smiled, looking at you. "What about you?"]

["I still do as well," you replied, looking at her.]

[After a pause, you both attacked at the same time.]

[The sword lights collided in mid-air, and for just an instant, they separated abruptly.]

[The crowd below the stage didn't even see what happened; they only heard a very crisp collision.]

[Mu Xue's figure appeared at the edge of the ring, her heels hanging in the air; one inch further back, and she would fall off.]

[At this moment, you appeared in front of Mu Xue.]

[The afternoon sunlight was just right, spilling down from behind you, and your shadow covered her.]

[You saw yourself reach out, your index finger slightly bent, and lightly flick her on the forehead.]

[Mu Xue fell off.]

[The referee saw Mu Xue fall out of the ring and immediately announced.]

["The winner of this Pill King Competition is Lin Heng from the Iron Hand Sect!"]