A beam of sword light shot straight for his face. He couldn’t dodge in time, only managing to shift half a meter to the side.

"TCHH—"

The sword light struck his shoulder, leaving a bloody gash. His green robes, a top-grade magic artifact, were torn wide open.

He twisted his body to an abrupt halt in mid-air, creating a vortex.

Before he could react, another wave of Sword Intent shot toward him.

One step behind, always a step behind.

One wrong move, and every move is wrong.

From the very beginning, Gu Qingyuan had missed his chance to retaliate, forced into a defensive position.

After just a few exchanges, his body was covered in wounds. A large section of his hair had been lopped off, the rest hanging messily over his shoulders.

Combined with his bloodshot eyes, he looked for all the world like a madman.

The hearts of all the disciples were in their throats.

"PTOO—"

Gu Qingyuan threw his head back and spat blood again. Specks of crimson splattered across his face and body, making him look even more ghastly.

"Give up, Gu Qingyuan."

"Just give up!"

Lu Xingyao’s words were a constant provocation to Gu Qingyuan.

He had been traveling when he suddenly heard the news: Song Wanning and Gu Qingyuan had broken their engagement, and Gu Qingyuan was now in an illicit romance with his own disciple.

For Lu Xingyao, this was an unforgivable sin.

The woman he treasured had been insulted so grievously.

He immediately dropped everything and came to the Heavenly Inquiry Sect to issue a challenge.

He was going to vent Song Wanning’s frustrations—and his own!

Lu Xingyao’s gaze darkened. His killing blows grew sharper and more aggressive, quickly backing Gu Qingyuan into a corner with nowhere left to run and no way to dodge.

The countless wounds, the tattered robes, the crazed expression on Gu Qingyuan’s face...

The crowd was stunned and a sense of fear began to creep in.

The Sect Master, forgetting all decorum, shot to his feet and stared anxiously at the Martial Arts Arena.

Gu Qingyuan had no chance.

’The outcome is already clear, so why won’t he concede?’

’If his Dao heart is shattered, our Heavenly Inquiry Sect will lose another great champion. We’ll be in even greater peril.’

Ye Chuxue could no longer stand still. She rushed to the edge of the Martial Arts Arena, ignoring the crowd’s astonished stares, and began pounding on the Array Patterns.

"Master, Master, I know you can turn this around!"

"I believe in you, Master!"

’Ever since she started cultivating, she’d faced countless setbacks. But every time, she had managed to pull through, unlocking her potential in desperate moments to successfully advance.’

’If she could do it, then of course her Master could too!’

’If he concedes now, what will everyone think of him?’

’His prestige will be severely damaged in the future.’

’Worst of all, his Dao heart might be affected. The consequences would be dire.’

"Ye Chuxue, get back here! Stop shouting nonsense!"

The Sect Master was already worried about Gu Qingyuan, and hearing Ye Chuxue add fuel to the fire only made him angrier.

’If something really happens to Gu Qingyuan, what are we going to do?’

’It would be better to concede now and win back his honor later.’

’There’s no way Gu Qingyuan can win now. They have no choice.’

But Ye Chuxue paid them no mind, stubbornly continuing to pound on the Array Patterns as if trying to send her master strength.

And Gu Qingyuan, battered and cornered, did indeed see his disciple’s encouragement.

Seeing Chuxue’s reddened eyes, seeing her worried expression, a surge of strength spread from deep within him.

He raised his sword and swung.

’Chuxue is right. I can’t give up.’

’I absolutely will not give up.’

The Longsword slashed out, and the entire Martial Arts Arena began to shake. The immensely powerful Sword Intent made the air itself howl.

Lu Xingyao methodically countered, then attacked again.

He effortlessly shattered the attack.

This shattered Gu Qingyuan’s resolve once more, driving him into a frenzy.

Lu Xingyao seized the opportunity to intensify his assault.

"BANG—!"

Gu Qingyuan was sent flying, but he scrambled back to his feet.

"BOOM—!"

Knocked down, he got up.

Knocked down, he got up again.

The wounds piled up, some deep enough to reveal bone.

Another flash of light, and in the next instant, Gu Qingyuan collapsed. The Spiritual Energy in his body began to rage, completely out of his control.

Gu Qingyuan’s mind was in utter chaos.

So much so that he could no longer control his Spiritual Energy.

The entire audience was aghast.

Ye Chuxue was frozen in disbelief. She couldn’t accept that the man collapsed on the ground was the same person as the once high-spirited, unfathomable Qingyuan Sword Master.

’She still remembered the looks of envy from everyone when she had first joined the sect.’

’How could things have changed so much, so quickly?’

She instinctively took a few steps back, as if trying to flee from the scene before her eyes.

On the Martial Arts Arena, Lu Xingyao stood with his sword, looking down on the fallen Gu Qingyuan. "Gu Qingyuan, give up!"

"It’s not that hard to admit you’re no match for me."

The hint of pity in his expression was a sharp sting to Gu Qingyuan’s heart.

"I... haven’t... lost..."

’As long as I’m still breathing, I will never admit defeat!’

Gu Qingyuan held on, a glint of defiance flashing in his blood-red eyes.

Lu Xingyao clicked his tongue. "Sigh. I wanted to resolve this amicably, but you just won’t give up. You’re making this very difficult."

"Fine, fine. I won’t use my Spiritual Power from now on, lest people say I’m being too ruthless."

The moment the words left his mouth, he appeared in front of Gu Qingyuan.

Fists and feet rained down on Gu Qingyuan’s body.

He spoke placating words, but his body delivered a brutal onslaught.

"BANG—!"

Lu Xingyao tossed Gu Qingyuan about like a ragdoll.

He wanted to fight back, but with his Spiritual Energy in chaos, he couldn’t even lift a finger. All he could do was passively endure the beating.

Soon, his once-handsome face was swollen like a pig’s head.

It felt like every bone in his body had been shattered. He was covered in black and blue bruises, with not an inch of unblemished skin to be seen.

"Heavens, Grandmaster Gu should just give up! He’s just torturing himself at this point!"

"Lu Xingyao is going too far! This is clearly meant to humiliate Grandmaster Gu!"

"Grandmaster Gu, get up and kick his ass! We’re with you!"

"Stop dreaming! Grandmaster Gu can’t even control his Spiritual Energy right now!"

A clamor of voices rose from the disciples. Many couldn’t bear to watch any longer and turned their heads away.

For many in the Heavenly Inquiry Sect, Gu Qingyuan was an idol they respected and admired, a goal to strive toward.

Seeing this Heavenly God fall from his pedestal was a huge shock, leaving everyone with a bitter and complex feeling in their hearts.

Especially since the honor of the Heavenly Inquiry Sect was at stake in this duel, the crowd couldn’t help but sigh.

The Sect Master had given up on the hopeless situation. He plopped back down onto his seat, deciding it was better not to watch.

’Lu Xingyao’s actions are disgusting, but at least he’s showing some restraint. He isn’t taking advantage of the situation to completely destroy Gu Qingyuan.’

’There’s nothing we can do but swallow this humiliation; we can’t utter a single word of condemnation.’

’Even knowing he’s just piling on the insults, we have to endure it.’

He shot a dark glance at Ye Chuxue. ’If not for her encouragement, Gu Qingyuan might have conceded long ago.’

’Then the Heavenly Inquiry Sect wouldn’t have had to suffer such a great humiliation.’

Thinking about all the recent events, the Sect Master’s eyes grew cold.

’Keeping that girl around is just asking for trouble.’