Following the incident with the evil spirit, the competition grounds were practically empty. Once Li Dai and her group departed, Xue Qitian was left standing there alone, looking rather forlorn, as if he were a hero facing a cold, desolate river.
After a moment of stifled frustration, Xue Qitian’s expression shifted several times until he finally accepted the reality that he had lost the match to Li Dai. Even so, he remained unconvinced. In his eyes, aside from a slightly stronger ability to learn and faster speed, Li Dai possessed no truly formidable skills. He did not believe that her "Phantom Life-Duoming" ultimate move—those needles—could have actually taken his life.
Why had he lost, then? After analyzing the situation, Xue Qitian realized that he himself was largely to blame for the defeat. Even after making a Heavenly Dao oath, he had looked down on Li Dai in his heart. Consequently, he hadn't used his true ace cards at the start, intending instead to rely on his spiritual energy to manifest objects and leverage his one-stage higher cultivation to force her defeat. He never expected to "try to steal a chicken only to lose the rice"—to be caught in her trap instead.
Chapter 697