Fang Xing remained clasped to Xu Linyun’s leg with his hands wrapped behind her. Although Xu Linyun couldn’t tell what he was holding in his hands, those outside the Thousand Cliff—if they paid close attention—could see that a yellow talisman with a purple tint had been stuck onto Xu Linyun’s rear. It was easy to tell it wasn’t an ordinary talisman even with a quick glance, and Chief Elder Chen Baoyan of Shuwen Valley—whose discipline was centered around making talismans—knew very well how powerful this talisman was.

　　“Your Highness, how large would the impact be… if someone were to activate one of the Fuyao Palace’s Exploding Flame Talisman?” Sect Master Chen Xuanhua bitterly asked Xuan Si’nyang.

　　Xuan Si’nyang sighed. “At the very least, half of that small realm would be destroyed!”

　　Upon hearing this, Chen Xuanhua immediately shut his mouth. He did not dare to speak further.

　　No one had expected Fang Xing to take out the Exploding Flame Talisman that the Fuyao Palace had awarded to him. It had to be said that this talisman was a special talisman made only at the Fuyao Palace for the sole purpose of causing as much damage as possible—its power was extraordinary. Its rarity was even greater than its power, and Fang Xing hadn’t used it against Hua Yuanye earlier specifically because of how precious it was, yet he’d chosen to take it out now.

　　If the talisman were to be activated in such close proximity, let alone Xu Linyun, even someone in the Foundation Stage wouldn’t be able to avoid injury.

　　After a short period of silence, Elder Qin’nyao was not yet convinced and voiced her thoughts,”That… that’s not fair! Even if the boy were to activate it, he’s so close to Linyun that he would be wounded as well!”

　　Sect Master Chen Xuanhua released a sigh. “But Linyun already said earlier that if they were to end up in a stalemate, it would be considered her loss.”

　　This left Elder Qin’nyao unable to argue any further, and she was so angry her complexion turned ashen. With their cultivation levels, it wasn’t hard for them to hear the conversation that had taken place inside the Thousand Cliff. No one had thought anything was wrong at the time and they instead felt each of Xu Linyun’s suggestions was quite fair, since they would prevent the two from fighting an extended battle that could lead to injuries on both sides and give Xiao Jianming the advantage. However, no one had expected at the time that Fang Xing would use such a method to finish this match.

　　Once Elder Huang heard those words, he was left with no other option but to announce, “Fang Xing is the winner!”

　　Xu Linyun—who’d been tugging on Fang Xing’s ear the entire time—let go. She was completely dumbfounded by the announcement and didn’t understand what had just happened. Fang Xing, however, simply showed a wide grin and said, “Please slow down, Shijie Linyun. Let me remove the Exploding Flame Talisman from you first….” This left Xu Linyun astonished, as she finally realized the boy had done something she wasn’t aware of.

　　After withdrawing the Qi he’d instilled into the Exploding Flame Talisman, Fang Xing finally released the tight hold he had on Xu Linyun’s leg and began to laugh. That was when Xu Linyun also saw the talisman in his hand, and it gave her quite a fright when she realized how dangerous it could have been; if he’d activated the talisman, even he himself would have been blown into mincemeat.

　　“Shijie Linyun, you promised earlier that if we ended up in a stalemate, it would be considered my win!” Fang Xing began. “If I had activated this Exploding Flame Talisman, we both would have become mincemeat; this is considered a stalemate, right? So based on our earlier agreement, it is my win. Don’t try to deny this now!”

　　“Detestable…” Xu Linyun pinched Fang Xing’s ear once again as she felt a sudden surge of anger she couldn’t suppress. “Why did you not tell me directly?”

　　Fang Xing smirked. “Because holding your leg is very comfortable….”

　　Xu Linyun didn’t want to speak with him any longer. She’d studied so diligently for the past three months to not only increase her cultivation level to the ninth tier, but also refine her Qi, making her actual battle prowess much greater than an ordinary cultivator of the same tier. Furthermore, with her proficiency in Qing-Yun Nine Swords, she had a chance of winning even against Xiao Jianming. Who would have thought she’d face this boy first and he would use such a shameless method to force her to admit defeat?

　　At the end of the day, she had underestimated just how shameless this boy was. In a proper fight, she would never have allowed him to close in on her, and it wouldn’t matter that he had the Exploding Flame Talisman since he wouldn’t have had the chance to stick it on her.

　　However, she wasn’t someone who liked to linger on matters. What was done was already done, so she simply let out a soft sigh and moved to leave the Thousand Cliff. Just as she was about to do so, Fang Xing lowered his voice and spoke in a serious tone, “Shijie Linyun, Xiao Jianming is very powerful. Even the you of right now is not fit to be his opponent. Let me handle him, and I will give you the Foundation Pellet!”

　　Xu Linyun was shocked by this, and she showed a bitter smile. “Wouldn’t it be even more dangerous for you to go against him?”

　　“I am very powerful now!”

　　Unable to reason with him, Xu Linyun turned towards Fang Xing. “Don’t take risks, and take him seriously,” she reminded him before expressionlessly leaving the Thousand Cliff.

　　Outside, Xu Linyun bowed in front of Elder Qin’nyao and said in a low voice, “It is my incompetence.”

　　“Hmph, you are indeed incompetent!” Elder Qin’nyao furiously waved her sleeve and turned away, leaving Xu Linyun standing behind.

　　Everyone’s gazes were filled with surprise to see Elder Qin’nyao get angry at Xu Linyun in public, and Xu Linyun’s face was bright red from embarrassment. It wasn’t until Elder Qin’nyao had walked out of view that she slowly stood back up, and it was then that Xiao Mahn suddenly came over to her and grabbed onto her arm with a smile. “Shijie Linyun, the Protective Frost form you used from the Qing-Yun Nine Swords was so powerful! Can you teach it to me? Oh, and I also want to eat the red fruits from your Linyun Valley!”

　　Xu Linyun showed a gentle smile. She gently patted Xiao Mahn’s head and the pair left together.

　　Fang Xing squatted within the Thousand Cliff and watched Xu Linyun leave, and he couldn’t help but to sigh as well. ‘Shijie Linyun, I should have let you win this match, but I must fight Xiao Jianming. Forgive me….’

　　With such thoughts, Fang Xing’s gaze chilled and drew towards Xiao Jianming. Xiao Jianming also happened to look towards him at the same time, and neither tried to hide the murderous intentions within their eyes. Quite a number of Qing-Yun disciples saw this and could feel the murderous intent between the two, leaving them shocked. It seemed the final battle would end up between this boy and Xiao Jianming!

　　Between these two, who would win?

　　The disciples had originally wanted to take advantage of Fang Xing and Xu Linyun’s match to see precisely what kind of battle prowess Fang Xing had, but no one had expected the boy to use such a shameless method, and nobody was able to tell his true battle prowess. He’d fought against Hua Yuanye and then against Xu Linyun, yet his battle prowess was still shrouded in mystery….

　　Under such conditions, everyone felt a sense of curiosity. The tournament was still ongoing, yet everyone’s mind was distracted by thoughts of Fang Xing and Xiao Jianming.

　　It didn’t take long before the top five of the tournament had been determined, and it included Xiao Jianming, Fang Xing, and two disciples from the Hall of Heaven’s Tribute. Aside from them, the last one to make it into the top five was a disciple from Shuwen Valley—Pi Junzi.

　　“Today’s rounds are finished; we shall continue tomorrow!” The refereeing Elder Huang announced from outside the Thousand Cliff once the sun had begun to set. With this, the disciples all began to leave.

　　‘Tomorrow? I’ve waited so long!’ Fang Xing thought to himself while standing up as well. Although he appeared relaxed on the surface, his true emotions didn’t match. He’d behaved in such a shameless manner in his match against Xu Linyun, but he’d still felt a sense of danger within the Qing-Yun Nine Swords techniques she’d performed against him.

　　Fang Xing had also noticed that the Qing-Yun Nine Swords Xu Linyun performed today was a little different compared to the one Yu Jie had used. While Yu Jie had used only the sword, Xu Linyun had used the exact same technique but was already able to perform it using only sword intent. Sword intent required a level of proficiency that was much harder to master than using only the sword, and was naturally much harder to counter. If she had been able to achieve such a level, there was no reason why Xiao Jianming—who had spent all of his time studying this discipline—wouldn’t have reached this level as well, if not even higher.

　　Simply put, from the fight against Xu Linyun, Fang Xing’s expectations of Xiao Jianming’s battle prowess increased even more.

　　Since the Fuyao Palace guest had arrived earlier than expected, Fang Xing’s Hundred and Eight Thousand Swords had not yet achieved basic proficiency, and the sword light he was currently able to control at the same time was only at thirty-six. Was that enough to take Xiao Jianming down?

　　Even Fang Xing felt it was unlikely.

　　The golden crow seemed to sense Fang Xing’s concern, and he waited until there was no one around before he reminded, “You’d better be careful from now on!”

　　Fang Xing could only sigh and didn’t answer as he tried to think of a plan.

　　The golden crow started to do the math instead. “You see, you’ve got me to assist you and that Xiao person has an eagle. My battle prowess is certainly just a little bit higher than that eagle, and you seem to be just a little bit weaker than that Xiao person. With my little bit of ‘stronger’ plus your little bit of ‘weaker’, we basically don’t have any advantage….”

　　Fang Xing’s eyes suddenly lit up as he patted the crow’s wings. “Nice thinking, Goldy!”

　　Believing the boy was going to once again use him to vent his anger, the crow was startled and jumped aside while yelling, “Don’t you move! If you hit me, I’m going to go on strike tomorrow and you’ll have to fight both of them all by yourself….”

　　Fang Xing then started to giggle. “Why would I hit you? I actually have to thank you!” As he spoke, he dragged the crow over and whispered into his ear. The golden crow’s eyes brightened up before he finally nodded and sighed, “Sh*t, that is not just shameless, but shameless to the extreme! But I like it quite a bit…. Yes, let’s do it!”