Chapter Ten: The Ruse

Everything happened so fast that it took me a while to react. These swords were prepared by Linglu, so it would have been easy for her to tamper with them before the trial.

Yi'er mentioned that the sword hilt flashed with a golden light when I swung it. I returned to the spot where my sword had fallen and indeed found some faint golden powder. Using a handkerchief, I picked up a bit and brought it to my nose to smell.

Fire Scale Powder, which causes excruciating pain upon contact, as if being burned by fire. This clearly belonged to Xinghuo Hall. Linglu couldn't have had any direct connection with Xinghuo Hall, so she must have had someone else bring it in. But even if I knew this, no one would believe me now. Linglu's usual disguise was too perfect. Even with the Fire Scale Powder as evidence, people would think I was framing her to stay in Qiongyun Sect.

However, she must know that harming others would also hurt herself. My eyes drifted until they locked onto Linglu's uncle. I grabbed Yi'er's arm and marched towards him.

Pretending to pass by, I nonchalantly said to Yi'er, "Hey, Yi'er, did you know that Qiongyun Sect has a secret manual that can make one achieve immortality quickly?"

Yi'er shook her head, looking puzzled. "I've never heard of such a shortcut, Qingyue. Where did you hear that?"

Seeing that the man was straining to listen, I raised my voice, "Yeah, it's hidden in a secret compartment in the archives. Isn't that amazing?"

"But didn't you say that the secret compartment held something else…" Yi'er began, but I quickly pulled her aside, covering her mouth and continuing, "Right, a secret manual on immortality!"

As soon as I finished speaking, I saw the Immortal standing behind Yi'er with a dark expression. Yi'er, seeing my reaction, immediately ran off.

I had no choice but to brace myself and approach the Immortal, thinking it best to speak first. "Immortal, don't be mad. I have a reason for this. The sword hilt was too hot to handle because someone tampered with it. Look, my hand is burned by the Fire Scale Powder!"

I held my right hand up to his face, but his expression darkened further.

"Could you come up with a better excuse next time? Or at least make it believable?" He flicked my forehead, and I withdrew my hand, rubbing the spot where it hurt.

When I looked at my palm, the burn marks from the Fire Scale Powder were gone. I rubbed it again, but there wasn't a trace of a scar left.

Right, I seemed to be immune to their poisons. Three years ago, I was bitten by a spotted snake and remained unscathed. The Fire Scale Powder, being a fire poison, must have been neutralized too.

But this anti-poison effect was too good, even restoring my skin to its original state.

The Immortal sighed and said, "Come, let's go see the Sect Leader. You need to sincerely repent and apologize if you want any chance of staying in Qiongyun."

Apologize? That would mean admitting I neglected my sword training, causing me to lose my grip during the trial. Elder Haotian would despise me even more!

I quickly waved my hands and explained, "No, Immortal, it really wasn't my fault. Someone set me up. Give me some time, and I will uncover the truth."

Just then, I noticed the man sneaking away from the platform. Without further explanation to the Immortal, I ran off ahead of him.

Having spent three years in Qiongyun, I knew a few shortcuts. I reached the archives first and hid in a book chest, leaving a gap with a book inside.

Soon, I saw the man dressed in black enter, searching around before finding a secret compartment at the last shelf, which he opened effortlessly.

Strangely, he had opened a different secret compartment than the one I had prepared. Could he have stumbled upon some forbidden manual by accident?

His face was filled with unparalleled joy as he eagerly pulled out the scroll, trembling as he dusted it off with his sleeve, cradling it like a precious treasure.

I leapt out of the book chest, snatching the scroll from his hands and landing lightly to the side. With a wave of my delicate sleeves, I tucked the scroll into my sleeve, raising an eyebrow at the man in black with a contemptuous look.

"I thought you had some great skill, but it turns out you're just a sneaky thief. Yet, this secret manual was so easily taken from you..." I covered my mouth with a chuckle, intentionally mocking him. "It seems your thieving skills are far from perfected."

He suddenly roared like a wild beast, his fury like chains of fire tightly coiling around his limbs and bones, burning away his last shred of sanity. He charged at me like a black arrow.

This aura of dark energy wasn't from any proper Qiongyun techniques. It seemed like a chaotic blend of various sects' demonic arts.

Good, his attention is focused here. I thought, channeling all my internal energy to my feet.

As his iron fist, like a massive hammer, came crashing down, I swiftly dodged the blow. There was a deafening crash as a row of bookshelves shattered into fragments.

That was close. If that punch had landed, my bones would have been shattered. His technique was too powerful; I needed to engage him long enough to find a weakness.

Enrage him. The angrier he is, the less rational he becomes, and the more likely he'll expose his fatal flaw.

"Hey, you big oaf, where did you learn to fight like a wild beast? Is it from the Beast Sect?" I taunted.

"What did you say?! You're courting death!" The man in black's eyes bulged with rage, blood-red veins spreading across his eyeballs like a tree of blood. Black smoke, infused with terrible power, emanated from his hands.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

His iron fists roared like thunder, but no matter how ferocious his assault, I dodged his clumsy blows as effortlessly as a drifting cloud. His hands couldn't even touch the hem of my clothes.

With the Flowing Cloud Step, my shadow vanished within three miles.

"Hee-hee, getting angry, big oaf?" I taunted with an increasingly radiant smile, though I kept my eyes fixed on his every move, waiting for him to gather his strength.

Veins bulged on his face, his expression twisted by rage, making him look even more terrifying. His hands formed into fists, enveloped in thick internal energy, and from the black smoke emerged three fish-scale-like blades from his knuckles. A fierce wind rose, hurtling towards me.

Suddenly, I found myself unable to move.

The intense pressure of the wind pinned my feet to the ground like a thousand-pound stone. My internal energy dissipated before I could fully unleash it, swept away by the powerful current.

The black figure approached like a boulder carried by a violent storm, the howling wind sounding like a death knell.

With a thud, the wind began to subside, and I faintly heard the sound of liquid dripping and approaching footsteps.

I collapsed powerlessly to the side, pressing my hands feebly against the wound at my waist, unable to stop the crimson blood from gushing out. The man in black had been subdued by someone else, clutching his wrist and crying out in pain.

At the moment he struck, I had condensed my internal energy into my fingertips, turning it into an ice shard to sever his tendons. Although the punch aimed at my abdomen was weakened, it was still formidable...

In the haze, I felt myself falling into a soft sea of flowers, losing my way, continually sinking into a dream.

Suddenly, everything became very cold.

Endless darkness and piercing cold assaulted me, as if I were trapped in an ice cellar.