"Then back off!" Lei Ruolan spat, raising her sword to point it at him.
Qiu Yunru looked back and forth from her bloody, battered from, to the giant shadow puppet. The puppet stomped, causing the earth to crack and sending a group of disciples flying through the air. People had begun to run back into the woods in terror.
Judging by the size of this thing and the strength of the demonic qi radiating off it...
It had to count for at least two hundred points.
Qiu Yunru gripped his sword tightly. He could distinctly feel a bead of sweat dripping down behind his ear.
Even if he had come for safety and not for points, wasn't this also an opportunity to ensure a tournament win? Generally, the highest scores reached five hundred or so. If he could kill this puppet...then...
Lei Ruolan suddenly lunged at the puppet's enormous, shadowy foot. Silver flashed.
BOOM!
A thick black foot slammed into the ground where Lei Ruolan had just been standing, leaving an indent in the earth the size of an ox.
"Fuck!" Lei Ruolan cursed. She had barely managed to dodge, and had fallen to the side, nearly impaling herself on her own sword. She crawled back cautiously, her blood burning with rage. How was she expected to kill this thing?!
Qiu Yunru's mind was still racing. There were too many factors--with the size of this creature, it would probably be smartest to evacuate everyone and set off a flare out of the puppet's range. Who had created such an enormous Spirit Demon Puppet, anyways? Wasn't this a huge safety hazard? Hello, tournament organizers? He hadn't read about anything like this in articles about previous tournaments!
Then, there was the fact that he was unsure whether he'd be able to kill this thing at all. If Lei Ruolan, the clan's greatest swordsperson by far, could barely scratch its ankles, even his Magnetized Qi Powder likely wouldn't be enough to stop this creature.
And if he somehow did manage to kill it...even if it helped ensure a much more likely win for him, Lei Ruolan would probably strangle him to death!
"Qiu-shixiong!" Pan Fa called out. His face was as white as a ghost's. "What should we do?"
Qiu Yunru swallowed, inhaling deeply. In the end, it was most important to survive. If he had to deal with a strangling later, so be it.
"Evacuate everyone you can," He said quickly, digging his hand into his pouch and pulling out a heavy handle of sparkling Magnetized Qi Powder. "Set off flares once you're far enough away that they'll be able to light up properly. Direct the tournament officials here as soon as possible."
Like crushing garlic, Pan Fa nodded, his eyes wide with terror and tears. "Yes, shixiong!" He scrambled off and began yanking people into the woods diligently, despite his fear.
Qiu Yunru's heart couldn't help but be a little warmed, even considering the situation. What a good kid!
Next, he turned and began to creep up behind the enormous Shadow Puppet Demon. Its beady red eyes were focused on Lei Ruolan, who was stabbing repeatedly at its misty black toes.
"Die!" She shouted. Her hair was matted his sweat to her cheeks, and her eyes looked slightly crazed. Qiu Yunru shivered. He'd never seen her like this!
He opened his mouth to call out, but then closed it.
He was going to say,
Lei-shijie! Such a big puppet can't be harmed by attacking its extremities. Only attacking the concentration of demonic qi at its core will have an effect!
But the words stuck on his tongue like flakes in honey.
If he told her, wouldn't he be making it easier for her to secure the kill, and the points?
Qiu Yunru bit down on the inside of his cheek, feeling a little sick at his own behavior. He wasn't really a bad person for not telling her--no. As long as she wasn't in true danger, he could keep it to himself. After all, did he desperately need the points?
A thought flashed across his mind--that Lei Ruolan might also desperately need the points, perhaps to please he cold father--but he quickly swept it away. There wasn't time for such thoughts--only time to act!
Qiu Yunru ran back towards the woods.
"You!" Lei Ruolan hollered after him, her voice cracking in shock. "What the hell? Didn't you come here to help? Are you that much of a fucking coward? Ah!"
"Sorry!" Qiu Yunru called back apologetically.
In truth, he wasn't running away. He scanned the nearby treeline, then made a beeline for a particularly tall cypress tree. Sheathing his sword and yanking the tie of his powder bag closed, he shoved his feet into the tree's slight dents and began pulling himself up. Due to his Jumping Lightness Ability, this wasn't too hard; by grabbing branches and exerting some upper-body force, he was able to properly himself all the way to the top, where he snatched a high-up branch and pulled himself up to stand on it.
It was true that, to get himself to this height, he could have used his sword to fly. However, it seemed the puppet was particularly visually aware of flashing metal; its eyes followed Lei Ruolan's sword with inhuman speed, aware of its every movement. Among the leaves of the trees, he would be less visible.
Now, he pulled out his sword and waved it a bit above the treeline, allowing it to flash brightly in the moonlight. The great Shadow Demon Puppet, though distracted by Lei Ruolan's incessant stabbing and swearing, sensed a flash of metal, and turned to the treeline with narrowed eyes. Qiu Yunru flashed the sword again: once, twice, three times, then pulled it back down.
Now, seeing something once was one thing, but seeing it four times was another. What's more Qiu Yunru's sword, despite being incredibly plain-looking, had a strong spiritual energy. The stronger the spiritual energy of a sword, the more powerful it is. Thus, figuring a larger threat was nearby, the great puppet lumbered away from Lei Ruolan, nearly trampling her, and hobbled towards the trees.