An Extra Villain in Cultivation World-Chapter 76: Dual : III

Ding!

A crisp sound echoed as the blue light stopped four inches away from the fire, colliding with a sword that had suddenly appeared and blocked the attack.

Xuanyan’s gaze remained calm, and the refining flame in his hand was not disturbed in the slightest.

Before the competition began, another rule had been added: both participants were allowed to attack and disrupt their opponent’s refinement using mortal-grade techniques, but only two attempts were permitted for such interference. Mei Lingyao had likely never expected Xuanyan to possess a heaven-grade technique, so the restriction only applied to offensive moves. This rule was meant to prevent the duel from turning into a pure battle while still allowing limited interference that could change the outcome.

This time, Xuanyan was fortunate to possess Heaven-Listening Guard, a passive sword art. The technique automatically responded to killing intent within a certain range, causing the blade to move on its own and intercept hostility before the attack could fully land.

Yanmei’s eyes sharpened the moment Xuanyan blocked her attack so effortlessly. However, her shock deepened when she realized the technique he had used was clearly heaven-grade. She had no time to question how someone who had only recently reached Stage-4 cultivation could possess such a technique without support from an elder.

"Mother," she called out while turning toward Mei Lingyao. "Junior brother is using a heaven-grade technique. Isn’t that against the rules?"

Before Mei Lingyao could respond, Xuanyan calmly interrupted.

"Senior sister, I think you misunderstood the rules. When did they say heaven-grade techniques cannot be used for defense? The restriction only mentioned offensive techniques."

Yanmei was momentarily speechless. Even Mei Lingyao did not know what to say. She had never expected this simple test to escalate so quickly, and what shocked her even more was the heaven-grade technique Xuanyan had just used—something she had never seen before, not even from the elders or among the sect’s known heaven-grade techniques.

After a brief silence, Mei Lingyao simply said, "Continue." The tension in the chamber instantly eased as the duel resumed.

..

Time passed quickly. Xuanyan could also launch attacks under the duel rules, but he chose not to. Although he had access to all the techniques recorded in the Outer Martial Pavilion, learning them required spending system points, something he was unwilling to waste for this duel. Moreover, judging from how the match was progressing, victory was already leaning toward him. Xuanyan remained calm and continued refining while carefully controlling the spiritual flame.

He was not worried about the outcome of the duel. After all, he had already shown enough of his talent in front of Mei Lingyao. As for the wager between him and Yanmei, that also did not concern him very much.

The only thing Xuanyan was still uncertain about was Yanmei herself.

He still did not know whether she was considered a heroine in this world or not. If she truly possessed the kind of high luck that many important figures had, then interacting with her could still allow him to gain system points. However, Xuanyan doubted that possibility. If Yanmei were really a heroine, the system would most likely have given him some kind of notification already.

Even earlier, when he had hugged her or teased her casually, the system had remained completely silent.

Maybe she simply doesn’t have any affection toward me yet...

But Xuanyan did not fully believe that explanation either. His gaze returned toward Yanmei. She already looked exhausted. In order to keep up with his pace, she had activated two additional refinement path killer moves, increasing her refining speed just enough to maintain the same narrow lead she had held earlier.

An hour had already passed.

At one point Yanmei used her second and final interference attack against Xuanyan. Taking advantage of the brief moment when Xuanyan was forced to defend himself, she immediately activated a fourth refinement path killer move, pushing her refinement speed even further.

Meanwhile, Xuanyan had been forced to pause several times while defending against her attacks. Although Heaven-Listening Guard consumed very little spiritual energy compared to most techniques, it was still a noticeable burden for someone at his current cultivation level. Fortunately, this was not a serious problem. Mei Lingyao had provided more than a thousand low-grade spirit stones for the refinement test, allowing both of them to recover their spiritual energy whenever necessary.

Even with all those advantages, Yanmei still struggled to widen the gap.

Several times during the refinement process, her attempts failed at crucial steps, forcing her to refine certain materials again from the beginning. Each mistake consumed both time and spiritual energy, gradually wearing her down. The worst part was that she could not focus entirely on the refinement itself. Xuanyan might launch an attack during any critical stage, forcing her to remain constantly vigilant.

As the refinement approached its final steps, Yanmei realized she was now directing nearly sixty percent of her attention toward Xuanyan instead of the process in front of her.

With my ability, my maximum limit is maintaining five refinement path killer moves... but this duel is taking place under martial rules. I must reserve some energy in case junior brother Xuanyan decides to attack.

Of the two chances to interfere, I have already used both... yet Xuanyan has only been defending.

What exactly is he planning?

Yanmei could not understand Xuanyan’s behavior. Doubt began to creep into her mind.

Why is he still holding back? Is he waiting for the final stage of refinement to make his move?

The more she thought about it, the more her thoughts spiraled. Her mind filled with speculation, and without realizing it, her focus on the refinement began to slip even further.

Seeing Yanmei enter the final stage of refinement, Xuanyan finally lifted his gaze.

"Senior sister Yanmei be careful," he said calmly.

"I’m going to attack now."

"Uh." Yanmei’s attention was immediately drawn toward him. Her bright and beautiful blue eyes turned to Xuanyan while her hands continued refining the Gu.