“Is it just a duel between you and me?” Cang Yan still seemed somewhat incredulous.
“Exactly! If I win, you must never mention the marriage contract again, nor use it as an excuse to trouble me!” Yun Qingxue declared proudly, lifting her chin.
“Fine!” Confirming his thoughts, Cang Yan nodded readily. “This sovereign agrees to duel with you. However…
What if you lose?!”
“If I lose, once I reclaim the authority of the Flower and Wood Clan, I will assist your Beast Clan three times within my capabilities!” Yun Qingxue replied after only a brief moment of consideration.
“Hmph!” Cang Yan sneered again, his deep blue eyes fixed on Yun Qingxue. “This sovereign doesn’t want your promises! If you lose, you will obediently return with me to the Beast Clan and marry me!”
“Cang Yan! Don’t push your luck! Do you really think we’re afraid of you?” Before Yun Qingxue could respond, Jin Lin stepped forward angrily.
It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Yun Qingxue, but the disparity in strength between her and Cang Yan was still too great!
“Yun Qingxue! If you dare to gamble, this sovereign will duel with you once. But if you can’t afford the stakes—hmph! Today, the Beast Clan will test just how difficult it is to breach the gates of Luoyun Mountain!” Cang Yan pressed relentlessly.
“Who’s afraid of you?!” Jin Lin glared at him fiercely.
“Qingxue, act within your means,” Mo Changxing said softly to Yun Qingxue. His meaning was clear: if she couldn’t win, she shouldn’t force herself. With him, Jin Lin, and their master present, no one could harm a single hair on her head!
“I accept your terms! I hope the Beast King keeps his word!”
“Naturally!” Cang Yan waved his hand, sending out a gust of wind. Yun Qingxue responded in kind, and the two sealed their agreement with an aerial handshake.
“Since this is a duel between us, this sovereign also expects the Flower King to abide by the rules! I don’t want outsiders interfering halfway through!”
As he spoke, Cang Yan deliberately glanced at Mo Changxing and Jin Lin.
“Let me make this clear—if any outsider intervenes and helps the Flower King win, this sovereign will not recognize such an outcome!”
“Agreed!” Yun Qingxue replied calmly.
Mo Changxing and Jin Lin watched nervously as Yun Qingxue faced off against Cang Yan.
“Master, Xuexue’s chances aren’t great!” Jin Lin couldn’t hold back his worry and muttered to the nearby Purple Song Sage.
“So what?” the Purple Song Sage countered.
Jin Lin grew agitated. “What do you mean, ‘so what’? If that bastard Cang Yan wins, are we just supposed to stand by and watch him take Xuexue away?”
“Our master harbors an infinite capacity for shamelessness!”
As Jin Lin fretted, Mo Changxing spoke calmly.
Jin Lin suddenly understood. “You mean…”
“Your eldest brother is the true originator of shamelessness and cunning!” the Purple Song Sage remarked blandly.
Jin Lin relaxed and grinned at them. “So you’ve already planned everything! You had me worried for nothing!”
“If you were worried, that’s purely a matter of intelligence.”
“Mo Changxing!” Jin Lin glared.
Mo Changxing casually formed a hand seal, summoning a bolt of heavenly lightning that crashed down from the sky.
Starting fights at the slightest provocation—this habit was getting worse! Jin Lin leaped aside in fright.
But the lightning bolt struck the ground right at Cang Yan’s feet as he faced Yun Qingxue.
Of course, if Cang Yan hadn’t dodged swiftly, the lightning would have hit him directly.
“My apologies. I was disciplining my junior brother and missed my mark.”
Before Cang Yan could demand an explanation for the lightning, Mo Changxing preemptively offered a half-hearted apology.
Jin Lin grinned, his expression toward Mo Changxing softening considerably, even showing rare approval.
So the lightning wasn’t meant for him—it was a case of “the drinker’s heart is not in the cup”!
As the master said, Mo Changxing was truly a master of shamelessness and cunning!
But that strike just now was perfect!
Cang Yan snorted coldly and hurled a massive boulder at Mo Changxing.
Mo Changxing nimbly flipped out of the way and shattered the boulder with a single palm strike.
As the boulder crumbled, Yun Qingxue and Cang Yan simultaneously launched their attacks.
Countless phantom wolf claws shot toward Yun Qingxue, while on her side, vines like spirit snakes lashed out at Cang Yan.
“Ha!” Cang Yan roared, summoning blades from the sky that sliced the vines in half mid-air.
At the same time, Yun Qingxue swiftly erected a defensive barrier in front of herself.
Standing within the barrier, she continued manipulating more vines to entangle Cang Yan.
Cang Yan summoned another wave of wind blades to sever the vines.
The moment the blades made contact, dark green leaves burst from the severed vines, along with countless thorny flowers.
Cang Yan’s phantom wolf claws reached Yun Qingxue’s barrier, striking it with tremendous force.
Upon impact, Yun Qingxue felt her blood churn violently.
Though the wolf claws were intangible, their power was very real.
Her barrier trembled under the assault, and she keenly felt the gap in strength between herself and Cang Yan.
But so what?! This duel today—she could only win, not lose!
Yun Qingxue’s barrier barely held until the last moment. As the phantom claws dissipated, her barrier shattered as well.
Meanwhile, the vines she had painstakingly used to attack Cang Yan were reduced to scattered fragments.
“It seems the Flower King has improved quite a bit in these past months!” Cang Yan sneered, leaping into the air to personally seize Yun Qingxue.
The earlier wolf claw assault had merely been a warm-up. The real battle was about to begin!
Seeing Cang Yan reach for her, Yun Qingxue immediately took flight to evade. The two engaged in close combat mid-air.
The disparity in strength forced Yun Qingxue to focus entirely on countering Cang Yan’s relentless attacks.
Back and forth they fought, with Yun Qingxue occasionally launching hidden weapons.
Though using hidden weapons in a duel between experts might seem improper—well, exceptions could be made for special cases!
Besides, Cang Yan had only agreed to this duel because he believed he could overpower her.
So using hidden weapons now was perfectly justified—completely reasonable!
Petals of small daisies drifted down from the sky, settling silently on the ground. From the earth beneath Yun Qingxue’s feet, over a dozen thick, thorny vines burst forth.
Each vine was as thick as a man’s thigh, and upon emerging, they twisted toward Cang Yan as if guided by sight.
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