Watching Yan Lie grow angrier and angrier, Li Mingfu had to force himself to stop laughing.
He wiped the corner of his eyes and said,
"Alright, alright. I already know I can win by waiting until you run out of Qi."
He stretched lazily.
"But that would be boring."
He glanced around the arena.
"Plenty of people want to see an exciting match."
Then he smiled.
"So I'll defeat you now."
Yan Lie laughed loudly.
"Oh? Now you're not afraid anymore?"
Li Mingfu chuckled.
"Let's stop talking. If I keep laughing, I won't be able to fight properly."
Then he said calmly,
"Are you ready?"
"I'm coming."
And he disappeared.
Yan Lie immediately spun around, searching for him.
But before he could find anything.
Li Mingfu appeared at the far side of the arena.
He stood there, gathering Qi into his palm.
"Water Ball!"
A condensed sphere of water formed in his hand.
Then he shouted dramatically,
"Water Ball! Go!"
The sphere shot forward like a cannonball.
Yan Lie was forced to raise his arms and block with flames.
BOOM!
The water ball smashed against his fire Qi.
Li Mingfu continued enthusiastically.
"Water! I summon you!"
Another water ball formed.
"Water Ball! Blast him away!"
BOOM!
Another heavy impact.
The spectators stared in confusion.
Then Li Mingfu shouted again,
"I call upon the sky! Water Ball!"
Another projectile blasted forward.
In reality, Li Mingfu was simply drawing water from the air and compressing it with Qi and firing it.
All the extra shouting was just him having fun.
Yan Lie, however, had no time to question it.
Each water ball fired made him defend himself.
He tried to attack, but every time he moved, a water ball would hit him.
He was forced to constantly burn Qi to block them.
One after another.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Yan Lie was angry and tried to charge foward but a water ball blasted him.
BOOM!
Forcing him to defend and take a step back.
Li Mingfu simply stood there happily launching water balls.
Meanwhile, Yan Lie's fire Qi was draining rapidly.
Yan Lie noticed his Qi was running low and charged forward, using no Qi and only his body.
Li Mingfu noticed but kept shooting the water balls, because he knew how much damage a water ball could do.
Just like he expected, Yan Lie got hit a couple of times and retreated, and used his fire Qi to defend himself.
Yan Lie was frustrated and roared.
His fire Qi surged violently.
Flames exploded around him, burning hotter than before.
"This ends now!"
He charged forward like a blazing meteor.
A flaming figure rushing across the arena.
Li Mingfu smiled.
He condensed another water ball.
But instead of firing it, he kept it floating over his palm.
He made the water spin more with Qi.
Then he jumped high into the air toward the charging Yan Lie.
Yan Lie was about to jump up for a head-on collision.
But suddenly his foot slipped.
He tripped and fell forward.
With his previous running momentum, he started sliding across the arena.
He landed directly beneath Li Mingfu, who was in the air.
Li Mingfu descended rapidly with a wind spell using Qi.
His right hand slammed downward with a spinning water sphere.
"Spinning Water Ball Attack!" He shouted.
BOOM!
The water ball slammed onto Yan Lie's back
The attack was powerful enough to leave a hole in the back of his clothes.
At the same time, Li Mingfu landed on top of Yan Lie.
His left-hand dagger pressed against the back of Yan Lie's neck.
The blade was coated in water Qi.
Every time Yan Lie tried to ignite his Qi into flames.
They were instantly extinguished by Li Mingfu's water Qi.
Li Mingfu said calmly,
"Admit defeat."
"Otherwise, you will die."
Yan Lie laughed crazily.
"I will never admit defeat!"
"Go ahead and kill me!"
"You wouldn't dare!"
"My master will avenge me!"
Li Mingfu chuckled.
He pressed the dagger slightly deeper.
Blood slowly trickled down Yan Lie's neck.
But Yan Lie still refused to surrender.
So Li Mingfu sighed.
He condensed another water ball.
This time, he did not slam it down.
Instead, he placed the floating water sphere over Yan Lie's head.
Yan Lie's eyes widened.
Time passed slowly.
Eventually, Yan Lie began struggling for air.
Just before he lost consciousness.
Li Mingfu lifted the water ball.
Yan Lie gasped violently.
Li Mingfu smiled kindly.
"Ready to admit defeat?"
Yan Lie glared at him.
"Never!"
Li Mingfu laughed again.
Then the water ball dropped back over Yan Lie's head.
After a few seconds, he lifted it again.
Yan Lie coughed violently.
Li Mingfu sighed.
"Since I can't kill you publicly…"
"I guess I'll just keep doing this until I crush your pride."
He leaned closer and whispered.
"By tomorrow, everyone in the sect will know."
"A top-grade spiritual root was defeated by a high-grade spiritual root."
"You'll be famous."
"Isn't that what you wanted?"
He tilted his head.
"Oh wait…"
"You probably couldn't hear what I just said."
"When did I put you underwater again?"
He lifted the water ball again.
Li Mingfu didn't realize that when he was talking to Yan Lie, he subconsciously placed the water ball on his head.
Yan Lie was still refusing to surrender.
Still threatening him.
Still glaring.
Li Mingfu glanced around the arena.
No one was stopping the match.
The elders were simply watching.
So Li Mingfu sighed.
"Well… alright then."
He dropped the water ball one more time.
After several seconds, he kicked Yan Lie hard.
Yan Lie flew across the arena.
Li Mingfu wanted to make sure he couldn't come back.
Just before Yan Lie crashed onto the ground.
Someone caught him.
A tall figure.
The person glared at Li Mingfu with killing intent.
Li Mingfu simply smiled back and waved.
That man is probably Yan Lie's senior brother.
After all this talking, Yan Lie still didn't say which peak he belonged to.
He could only sigh and turn to look at the referee.
The referee hesitated for a moment and looked around.
Seeing that no elder made a move or said anything.
He announced loudly,
"Winner… and Champion… Li Mingfu!"
The arena erupted in applause.
Some disciples cheered loudly.
Even a few elders clapped.
Soon, the leading Inner Sect Elder stepped forward to distribute rewards.
Rankings were announced.
But second place had to be skipped.
Yan Lie had already been taken away.
So the elder handed Li Mingfu his prize.
A spatial ring.
A large number of sect points.
And permission to access the second floor of the library.
To pick out another technique.
Li Mingfu smiled politely.
But deep inside, he sighed slightly.
He had hoped for something more rewarding.
With these new points, he could finally buy better daggers.
So the competition wasn't entirely worthless.
As Li Mingfu left the arena with Little Flower and Little Moon, many Inner Sect Elders looked like they wanted to approach him.
But something seemed to stop them.
They hesitated.
No one stepped forward.
Li Mingfu didn't care.
He returned to his villa and enjoyed a wonderful dinner.
Both servants were extremely excited.
"Young Master was amazing!"
"You crushed everyone!"
"Especially that arrogant Yan Lie!"
They kept talking endlessly.
Li Mingfu smiled while eating.
That night, he slept peacefully.
A full eight hours.
The next morning, he woke up refreshed and enjoyed breakfast with the two servants.
He was about to begin training when he suddenly felt someone touching the barrier outside his villa.
Li Mingfu walked out to check.
Standing outside was Leng Shuyin.
Li Mingfu immediately bowed.
"Hello, Senior Brother."
"What brings you here?"
Leng Shuyin smiled.
"I came to congratulate you on your victory."
"I enjoyed your fight."
"You brought great honor to our peak!"
Li Mingfu waved his hand.
"It was nothing. Just a small competition."
Both of them laughed.
Then Leng Shuyin said,
"My master wants to see you."
"I was asked to bring you."
Li Mingfu blinked nervously.
"Your master?"
"Who is your master?"
Seeing Li Mingfu suddenly nervous, Leng Shuyin burst into laughter.
"Our Peak Master."
Li Mingfu immediately sighed in relief.
"Then let's go."
Leng Shuyin summoned a flying boat.
The two of them boarded it.
As the boat rose toward the peak, Leng Shuyin suddenly said casually,
"If I were you… I would have kept cutting Yan Lie."
"Piece by piece."
"If he still refused to surrender…"
"I would have started to peel his skin slowly."
"After some torture, he would have definitely given up."
Then he laughed cheerfully.
Li Mingfu laughed nervously.
Inside his mind, he thought,
Senior Brother seems friendly… but he is terrifying.
I should never get on his bad side.
They chatted briefly during the flight.
Soon, the boat arrived at the top of the mountain.
Leng Shuyin stopped near a large cave entrance.
"This is as far as I go."
"Enjoy your conversation with Master."
Then he left.
Li Mingfu walked forward alone.
He raised his hand to knock.
But before he could.
The door opened by itself.
And a voice came from inside.
"Come in."
So Li Mingfu stepped inside.