"Is that so? So by your reasoning, whoever manages to lock onto a move's vital point must necessarily have been tipped off by a traitor?" Wei Zhao said with a faint, ambiguous smile.

"Naturally. If no one informed on them, then what—did they just stumble on it by blind luck?" Xue Jianming snorted coldly.

Wei Zhao swept his gaze across the faces of the crowd, saw that they were all half-convinced and half-doubtful, and said, "Then what will you say if in a moment I too can easily lock onto my opponent's vital point?"

"Impossible!" Xue Jianming sneered. Even if Wei Zhao's strength far surpassed his opponent's, the most he could do was win by sheer dominance; locking onto an opponent's vital point was utterly impossible—unless he knew the opponent's mental method and every single move inside and out.

What was more, the draw had not even begun, so there was no knowing who the opponent would be. To Xue Jianming, Wei Zhao's words were pure nonsense.

"Very well then, keep your eyes wide open and watch closely. Save your talk for after you have seen it," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile.

"Fine! But let me say this first: if you cannot lock onto your opponent's vital point in a moment, then you have as good as confessed. I propose that Leng Leng and Qiu Lingshan be disqualified outright. Uncle Xin, surely that is not too much to ask?" Xue Jianming said at once.

Hearing this, Xin Yi'an exchanged a glance with Wei Zhao. Seeing Wei Zhao calm and composed, he nodded before the crowd. After all, if Leng Leng truly had leaked the Snow Sword Sect's mental methods to others, the fallout would be far too vile; the only course was to disqualify the two and make an example of them.

"Good. Then let us begin at once," Wei Zhao said offhandedly.

"Agreed." Xin Yi'an promptly took charge of the draw for the Foundation Establishment peak-stage disciples. Counting Wei Zhao and Xue Jianming, there had originally been eight Foundation Establishment peak-stage disciples in all, but now, because Ling Tianyou had successfully challenged above his tier, Zhan Shixiong had been eliminated early, leaving only seven.

That was somewhat awkward to arrange, but not entirely without remedy: whoever drew the bye would simply be designated the first to compete in the next round, and if that left too few matches, they could always be made up later.

The draw results came out quickly. This time Wei Zhao's opponent was the only woman among all the Foundation Establishment peak-stage experts—Duanmu Yu, the lead senior sister of the Ye Ling Sect of the Zhongdao Alliance.

Though a woman, this Duanmu Yu carried herself with a dashing, heroic air and no small measure of manly spirit; in both attire and temperament she was extremely masculine—an altogether unconventional woman.

At the sight, the corners of Xue Jianming's mouth split into a grin. Wei Zhao had sworn up and down that he could easily lock onto any opponent's vital point, but the Ye Ling Sect was one of the most mysterious and unfathomable sects in the entire Taigu Alliance, with ghostly movement techniques and moves that came from nowhere. Even Xue Jianming himself knew little about them—he could scarcely name their moves, let alone their vital points.

To draw such an opponent—Wei Zhao had already lost this bet for certain.

"After you." Wei Zhao walked slowly into the arena and made a gesture of invitation toward Duanmu Yu.

Duanmu Yu gave a slight nod without a word, and with a stir of her feet she came darting toward Wei Zhao. Her movement technique was most peculiar, drifting left and right like a fallen leaf tossed on the wind, erratic and unpredictable—yet her speed was anything but slow; in the blink of an eye she had already darted up before Wei Zhao.

"Duanmu Yu's movement technique has quite captured the essence of the Ye Ling Sect's ever-shifting unpredictability. She may not match Ling Tianyou's dazzling brilliance, but among the disciples of her generation in the Taigu Alliance, she counts as a rare standout," Xin Yi'an could not help remarking at the sight.

Foundation Establishment disciples were not the decisive force of the Taigu Alliance, but they represented the future prospects of each ancient sect. If the Foundation Establishment disciples were strong, it meant the sect had deep foundations and a far-reaching future. Conversely, if the Foundation Establishment disciples were one and all wanting in strength, then that ancient sect's prospects were likely dim indeed.

Looking across the whole of the Taigu small jianghu, the Qianren Sect had the dazzling Ling Tianyou, the Snow Sword Sect had the formidable Xue Jianming, and even the Ye Ling Sect had Duanmu Yu, who could be called a standout—all of them reserve forces of the Zhongdao Alliance. By contrast, his own Beidao Alliance was altogether unremarkable, having gone long without producing a genius disciple of such caliber to lead the way.

At this rate, in another century or so, when these people had one by one come into their own, it would be hard indeed for the Beidao Alliance to maintain its standing on equal footing with the Zhongdao Alliance.

Xin Yi'an was heavy with worry on this side, yet in the arena the situation shifted in the space of a breath. Duanmu Yu's movement technique was drifting and unfathomable; her opponent in the previous match had suffered greatly on that account. But this time she faced Wei Zhao. After years of ceaseless refinement, the Butterfly Microstep's elusive unpredictability was in no way inferior to the Ye Ling movement technique, and in terms of speed it far surpassed it.

Duanmu Yu had meant to seize the initiative with the Ye Ling movement technique, but before she could even fix on Wei Zhao as her target, he had in one motion taken up position behind her—the contest of movement techniques was decided at a glance.

The onlookers' eyes lit up. Worthy of the man who had suppressed even Ling Tianyou and left him helpless; Duanmu Yu's strength was by no means weak, but before Wei Zhao it was a little too little to look at.

Yet Xue Jianming still wore a calm, confident smile. He knew full well that Wei Zhao's strength far surpassed Duanmu Yu's—but so what? The bet he had made with Wei Zhao was not who would win or lose, but whether Wei Zhao could lock onto Duanmu Yu's vital point. That was a thousand, ten thousand times harder than the outcome of the match itself!

Unless Wei Zhao knew the Ye Ling Sect's mental methods and moves inside and out, achieving that would be as hard as scaling the heavens.

"You are indeed strong, but beating me will not be so easy." Duanmu Yu glanced from the corner of her eye at Wei Zhao behind and to her side, knowing that the Ye Ling movement technique alone could not shake off his pursuit—and besides, her chances of winning were slim to begin with; if she only dodged and evaded, she would have no chance at all.

As her words fell, Duanmu Yu spread her palm, and a withered leaf drifted slowly down.

In an instant killing intent rose on every side. Feeling the deep, cold murderous aura coming from all directions, it was as though late autumn's desolate chill had descended all at once; even Wei Zhao could not help a prickle of dread. Most startling of all was that after the leaf fell, Duanmu Yu, who should have been before him, vanished utterly in an instant, as though her whole being had melted into the suddenly shifting surroundings, her body and her aura alike hidden without a seam. (To be continued.)