In fact, it was not only Leng Leng who felt this way; Duanmu Yu herself was of the same mind. She faced the same predicament as Leng Leng. If she could not find a way to end the fight quickly, it was truly hard to say how the situation would unfold afterward.

Bang! The two almost launched their kicks at the same instant, yet neither landed a blow, for both were driving straight at the other's most lethal vital point. This had nothing to do with a technique's weak point; it was a life-for-a-life way of fighting!

Everyone drew a sharp breath in unison, staring slack-jawed. Even if this match's outcome bore directly on qualification for the Grand Ancient Trials, surely there was no need to go all out the moment they started?

Qiu Lingshan and the others felt their hearts skip a beat, and even Wei Zhao could not help raising an eyebrow. Fortunately, the two did not truly trade lives; both pulled their kicks at the final moment.

Just as everyone breathed a sigh of relief, the two immediately staged the same scene again, and their hearts leapt back into their throats, only relaxing once the two figures separated once more. It was like riding a roller coaster.

"This is bad. At this rate, we'll be going completely against the strategy of a quick finish." Watching Leng Leng charge in again with a dead-serious face, Duanmu Yu forced her back once more with the same life-for-a-life tactic while secretly knitting her brows.

This was a last resort. Wary of the legendary Shattered Ice Constitution, she dared not meet Leng Leng's moves head-on; otherwise, even with protective true qi, she would gradually be affected, and once her speed was constrained, she would be trapped in a prison of her own making.

So she could only use this method to forcibly drive Leng Leng back, but doing so would gradually turn the fight into a mutual contest of stamina and true qi. The situation would spiral out of control before long, and if it still looked like this by then, the moves might be impossible to pull back. Then it would truly become a fight to the death.

Seeing Leng Leng attack once more, Duanmu Yu changed tactics. A withered leaf suddenly dropped from her palm, and her whole body dissolved into nothingness. A desolate autumn chill swept the arena in an instant—one leaf falls, and the world knows autumn has come.

"Here comes the good part!" Everyone's spirits lifted at once. By Duanmu Yu's past habits, Leaf Fall Heralds Autumn should be followed immediately by One Leaf as Heavy as a Mountain, and victory would be decided at once!

Unexpectedly, in that very same instant, a bone-piercing cold descended over the entire arena, its source none other than Leng Leng.

"Prison of Her Own Making?" Everyone was startled again, exchanging glances. "But we can't even see a trace of Duanmu Yu—can she really use Prison of Her Own Making like this? And with such a huge area of effect—that's absurd!"

"It is Prison of Her Own Making, but one that targets herself. Leng Leng is really going all out this time." Wei Zhao smiled at the sight. In theory, Prison of Her Own Making was cast only by locking onto an opponent, but under special circumstances it could be aimed at Leng Leng herself, as now. Her Shattered Ice Constitution amplified its effect, enough to expand the prison's range several times over; but this way, even Leng Leng herself would suffer frostbite—though not as severely as an ordinary person would.

The crowd still did not understand what was happening, but for safety's sake, Xin Yi'an once again led everyone back a good distance. Almost everyone retreated nearly to the coastline before stopping, fearful of being caught in the crossfire of Leng Leng's Prison of Her Own Making.

The space around Leng Leng was utterly empty; within a hundred meters in every direction, not a single figure could be found. Yet everyone knew Duanmu Yu must be hidden somewhere in that open ground, waiting for the chance to strike a single fatal blow.

But where on earth was she?

Everyone, Xin Yi'an included, strained to find Duanmu Yu's figure, but it was doomed to be futile. Duanmu Yu had used it at least three times in the previous four rounds. Unless she chose to reveal herself, not even a skilled early Foundation Establishment cultivator like Xin Yi'an could pin down her location. If it could be broken that easily, Leaf Fall Heralds Autumn would never have become the Leaf Spirit Sect's signature.

Of course, Wei Zhao was the sole exception. Leaf Fall Heralds Autumn could fool an early Foundation Establishment expert, but trying to fool someone of his level would be far too far-fetched.

Unfortunately, Leng Leng was not Wei Zhao. Since the others could not sense Duanmu Yu's position, neither could she. That was why she had cast Prison of Her Own Making upon herself; otherwise, she would not have needed to take such a risk.

"This Leng Leng really is strong!" Duanmu Yu frowned inwardly at the sight. She had indeed hidden herself with Leaf Fall Heralds Autumn, but it could only conceal her from the opponent's perception. That bone-piercing cold she felt with perfect clarity—and because of the desolate autumn chill, she felt it even more keenly than the others. This bone-piercing cold could truly kill.

That was hardly surprising. What truly startled Duanmu Yu was that the power of Prison of Her Own Making could rise to such a level within a mere three moves—it almost completely overturned her earlier judgment!

In Leng Leng's earlier battle against Xue Jianming, if anyone in the arena had watched most attentively, Duanmu Yu was certainly among them. After all, both were formidable opponents she might well have to face.

As the Leaf Spirit Sect's lead senior sister, Duanmu Yu's insight was first-rate—it was the bare minimum requirement for entering the Leaf Spirit Sect. Though she had seen it only once, she had already grasped a thing or two about the workings of Prison of Her Own Making.

Duanmu Yu knew very well that this was a powerful killing move that required moves to build up to it. The more buildup, the greater its power!

It was precisely because of this judgment that Duanmu Yu had been firmly resolved from the start to end the fight quickly. Not only could it avoid the risk of exhausting true qi and stamina, it could also counter the opponent's most dreaded Prison of Her Own Making—two birds with one stone.

Had her own Leaf Fall Heralds Autumn not likewise required time to gather power, Duanmu Yu would have unleashed it at the very first moment. Of course, merely trading a few moves with the opponent was within acceptable limits—but she never expected that after only three moves, Leng Leng's Prison of Her Own Making would already reach such intensity, even a bit stronger than when she had faced Xue Jianming!

Did that mean her earlier judgment had been completely wrong? Duanmu Yu's confidence could not help wavering. All her deductions were, after all, based only on surface appearances. To be honest, reaching such conclusions from a single observation was already quite impressive; it was just a pity that she ultimately did not know the principle behind Prison of Her Own Making.

The presence of shattered-ice aura was the foundation of Prison of Her Own Making. To leave behind enough shattered-ice aura, one naturally needed enough moves to build up to it—but if the target was Leng Leng herself, she was the very source of the shattered-ice aura. What need was there for any buildup of moves? (To be continued.)