The Elder Referee ran faster than a rabbit, disappearing in an instant beyond the crowd, leaving Líng Xiāo alone on the stage, bewildered by the wind.
【Ding! Detected that the target specified by the repayment task has escaped the effective range. The task has been automatically changed to a backup plan: find a highly respected individual (cultivation level must be two levels higher than the host) and complete a three-second heartfelt confession within three hours. Otherwise, it will be considered a failed mission.】
Líng Xiāo: "..."
This System is getting more and more intelligent (scammy)! It even has temporary changes and backup plans?!
Highly respected? Two levels higher cultivation? That would at least be an Uncle-Master, Martial Uncle, or Elder in the Foundation Establishment stage! Go and confess my feelings to them? That's worse than just killing me!
And only three hours!
Líng Xiāo felt his vision darken. The joy of just defeating Líng Fēng was instantly washed away by this even more terrifying socially awkward mission.
He walked off the stage in a daze. The surrounding disciples looked at him even more strangely—winning the match but looking as if he had lost his parents, this trash (?) clearly isn't right in the head.
Lín Xiǎofán excitedly rushed over, the spirit stone pouch in his hands bulging even more: "Líng Xiāo! You won again! You're amazing! We're rich!"
Líng Xiāo listlessly took the pouch. A scan with his divine sense revealed about a dozen low-grade spirit stones. This was a huge sum, but compared to the socially awkward mission he was about to face and the lingering "Thousand Li Fragrance" mark on his body, this happiness was insignificant.
"Xiǎofán," Líng Xiāo said hoarsely, "help me keep an eye out for an Uncle-Master or Elder... who is easier to talk to, or... who prefers to be in seclusion and avoids people..."
Lín Xiǎofán was stunned: "Huh? What do you need Uncle-Masters or Elders for?"
"...To exchange cultivation insights," Líng Xiāo lied expressionlessly.
There was no time for self-pity. The final match for the seventh arena was about to begin!
His opponent in the final was a disciple named Zhào Mǎng. This person was not part of Líng Fēng's faction, nor was he affiliated with Steward Wang. He was a true cultivation fanatic, at the peak of Qi Refining Layer Four, just one step away from Level Five. His strength was no less than Líng Fēng's! Moreover, his combat style was extremely wild and overbearing, breaking skill with brute force, completely unfazed by flashy techniques.
Líng Xiāo's excuses of "luck" and "coincidence" would be pale and powerless in the face of absolute strength.
The betting odds for this final match widened again. Líng Xiāo's odds rose back to one to eight, while Zhào Mǎng's winning odds were as high as one to one point two. The bookmakers and most disciples still believed in hard power.
Líng Xiāo looked at Zhào Mǎng on the opposite stage, who was like an iron tower, with bulging muscles and eyes full of fighting spirit, and felt unprecedented pressure.
This battle could no longer be won with petty tricks. His opponent would not give him any chances.
It had to be a decisive blow! And it had to be an absolute crushing blow to awe everyone, including Steward Wang and Sū Wǎnqīng, who might still be watching from the shadows!
But such a strike would come at a price...
Líng Xiāo took a deep breath, his eyes becoming resolute.
"System," he thought in his mind, "display the most powerful, single-use attack method I can currently borrow, enough to instantly defeat or even seriously injure a peak Qi Refining Layer Four cultivator!"
The light screen flickered and finally settled on an option.
【"A Strike Beyond Qi Condensation" (One-time experience): Simulates the power of a full-force strike from an early Foundation Establishment stage cultivator (weakened version). Warning: This power far exceeds the host's physical tolerance and will result in a state of severe weakness after use.】
【Repayment requirement (choose one of two):】
【A: Publicly admit in front of everyone that you are an idiot and announce it to the entire sect.】
【B: Repay one hundred low-grade spirit stones.】
Líng Xiāo looked at the two options, his heart clenching fiercely.
Announce to the entire sect that he was an idiot? This level of social death was off the charts, enough to cause him permanent social death!
One hundred low-grade spirit stones?! Even selling his parts wouldn't fetch that price!
These were two hellish options!
The final match began.
Zhào Mǎng uttered no wasted words. As soon as the referee's voice fell, he let out a low roar and charged at Líng Xiāo like a human-shaped violent bear! No flashy techniques, just the simplest, purest punch condensing all the spiritual energy of a peak Qi Refining Layer Four practitioner!
The wind from the punch was mighty, the air compressed into explosive sounds! The power of this punch far surpassed any previous attack from Líng Fēng!
The audience below held their breath, everyone believing that Líng Xiāo's "good luck" had reached its end.
Líng Xiāo's pupils contracted, feeling a fatal threat!
He couldn't dodge! He couldn't block!
There was no time for hesitation!
"Borrow! I choose B! One hundred spirit stones!" Líng Xiāo roared frantically in his heart! Between social death and debt, he again chose debt! At least there was a reprieve!
【Ding! Loan successful! Power transfer in progress...】
A power so berserk that it far exceeded Líng Xiāo's imagination and understanding, like a broken dam's torrent, instantly surged into his weak meridians!
"Ahhh!!!"
A sharp pain made him roar uncontrollably, feeling as if his body was about to explode from this power! His meridians felt like they were tearing, and fine blood beads even seeped from his skin!
His eyes instantly became bloodshot, and his aura surged at a terrifying speed!
Qi Refining Level Five, Six, Seven... breaking through the limits of Qi Refining, finally stopping at a level that made all the disciples below gasp, and caused the Elder on the high platform, who had been watching him, to suddenly widen his eyes again—pseudo-Foundation Establishment stage!
Although it was only a fleeting simulation, it was undeniably a pressure that surpassed the Qi Refining Stage!
"What?!"
"This aura?! Foundation Establishment stage?!"
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
The crowd below erupted instantly, exclamations rising one after another!
Zhào Mǎng, who was charging, felt it most intensely. His invincible charge suddenly stalled, his face filled with disbelief and shock! The opponent's fist hadn't even landed, and the terrifying pressure was already making him have difficulty breathing and his spiritual energy circulation sluggish!
Líng Xiāo endured the body's intense pain and tearing sensation, forcibly condensing that terrifying power, which he could not fully control, onto his right fist.
Then, facing the utterly shocked Zhào Mǎng, he threw a punch!
No moves, no techniques, just the purest, most savage outpouring of power!
Boom!!!
Fist met fist!
But the outcome was without suspense!
Crack!
The grating sound of bone breaking was clearly heard!
Zhào Mǎng's sturdy arm bent at a bizarre angle. He was like a truck hitting him at high speed, flying backward even faster than he had charged, spitting blood from his mouth, flying clear over the arena, and crashing heavily onto the ground in the distance, knocked unconscious.
One punch!
Just one punch!
Zhào Mǎng, peak Qi Refining Layer Four, was miserably defeated!
The entire Martial Arts Square fell into dead silence.
Everyone was utterly stunned by this earth-shattering punch!
Foundation Establishment stage?! Líng Xiāo was actually at the Foundation Establishment stage?! He had been hiding his strength all along?!
This thought spread like a plague in everyone's minds!
As the power receded like a tide, intense weakness and backlash instantly struck. Líng Xiāo could no longer support himself, falling to one knee, gasping for breath, a trace of blood also seeping from the corner of his mouth, his face as pale as paper.
But he forced himself not to fall, slowly raising his head, his gaze sweeping over the stunned, frightened, and disbelieving faces in the crowd.
At this moment, no one dared to mock him, no one dared to look down on him!
The Elder Referee was stunned for a long time before announcing in a dry voice: "Seventh Arena, Final... Líng Xiāo wins! Congratulations to Líng Xiāo for winning first place in the Seventh Arena!"
There was no cheering, only a collective sharp intake of breath.
Líng Fēng, being supported, saw this scene and his eyes were filled with despair and lingering fear. He finally understood what kind of monster he had provoked.
The Elder on the high platform watched with sharp eyes, his fingers tapping the armrest faster and faster.
Líng Xiāo, supported by Lín Xiǎofán, painstakingly walked off the stage. He was in immense pain and extremely weak, but more importantly, he now carried a new, heavier mountain of debt—one hundred low-grade spirit stones!
Adding the previous twenty-five, a total colossal debt of one hundred and twenty-five low-grade spirit stones!
【Ding! Congratulations to the Host for winning first place in the Seventh Arena. The reward of fifty low-grade spirit stones and one Barrier-breaking Pill has been sent to the System's temporary storage.】
【Ding! Friendly Reminder: Your total outstanding loan amount is one hundred and twenty-five low-grade spirit stones. Please gather the funds as soon as possible.】
The System's notification sounded at the opportune moment, like cold chains, pulling him from the brief clouds of victory back to cruel reality.
Fifty spirit stones as a reward was a drop in the bucket! Not even enough to pay half!
The small competition award ceremony was held simply. As Líng Xiāo took the heavy pouch containing fifty low-grade spirit stones and a fragrant Barrier-breaking Pill from an Outer Sect Elder, his hands trembled slightly.
This was not honor, this was... part of the life-saving money.
Countless gazes from below focused on the spirit stones and pills in his hand, filled with envy, jealousy, and... greed.
Líng Xiāo knew he had been too conspicuous today. He understood the principle of "possessing jade invites trouble." He had to leave this place as soon as possible.
He forced himself, with Lín Xiǎofán's cover, to quickly leave the noisy square and head towards his dilapidated hut.
He desperately needed a safe place to heal and to figure out how to deal with the staggering debt of one hundred and twenty-five low-grade spirit stones, as well as... the "heartfelt confession" mission that had to be completed within three hours.
However, just as he reached a deserted path behind the Utility Peak—
A cold figure, like a phantom, appeared silently in front of him, blocking his way.
In the moonlight, Sū Wǎnqīng, dressed in white, with a cold face and icy eyes, her long sword flashing with a cold glint, was looking at him coldly.
"So it was you." Her voice was devoid of emotion. "You hid yourself well. Unfortunately, the 'Thousand Li Fragrance' on you cannot deceive me."
Líng Xiāo's heart sank to the bottom instantly.
The worst possible scenario had occurred!
Old debts unsettled, new debts piling up, and a formidable enemy arriving!
Sū Wǎnqīng had clearly connected his explosive performance in the small competition with the "Thousand Li Fragrance" mark, identifying him as the thief who infiltrated Hundred Flowers Valley last night!
Now, he was seriously injured and extremely weak. How could he deal with Sū Wǎnqīng at Qi Refining Level Seven, who was full of righteous anger?!
Líng Xiāo looked at the advancing Sū Wǎnqīng, then felt the emptiness of his meridians and the heavy debt within him.
Could it be... out of the tiger's den and into the wolf's lair? Was he really going to fall here today?