Zhou Wu smiled, cupped his hands and bowed. "Don’t worry, Master. Your disciple won’t disappoint you." He looked at Qiu Ling and raised his chin. Hadn’t that Sect Master of the Yun Zou Sect said that this guy hadn’t been in the sect for long? If that was the case, then Grandmaster Zhangsun couldn’t have taught him much. It wouldn’t be impossible to beat him. No, not just that. He would definitely beat him! The honor of his Master and their Yang Huo Sect depended on it!

He went up onto a jade ring in the middle of the clearing and looked at Qiu Ling again. The dragon king beamed. He was a little sad that he couldn’t bask in his beloved’s attention any longer but he was hyped up that he was finally able to compete.

Watch me, my love! I’ll show you my might!

It would certainly be a beautiful scene: He would defeat this guy in a few moves, demonstrating his boundless strength and finesse and then, he would step down from the stage and walk up to his beloved, finally saying the words he had prepared meticulously! His beloved would be moved to tears and melt into his arms, happily promising the rest of his life to him. Then he would pick him up and take him away so they could get married. Ah, too great!

His heart beating wildly, Qiu Ling stepped onto the ring. He couldn’t wait for the end of this fight! Mn, he should hurry up and end this fast! Then again, he also needed to display his skills …

Qiu Ling couldn’t help but feel troubled by these two options. Just what should he do? Before he could decide, the Elder in charge of the fights nodded at them and sounded the gong to begin.

Qiu Ling furrowed his brows. Ah! He wasn’t ready yet! He still hadn’t contemplated which of his moves were the most dashing! They couldn’t expect him to just start like this, could they?

Elder Gongxi’s disciple unsheathed his sword and took up a stance, waiting for Qiu Ling to make the first move. Since it was his Master that had supposedly gone wrong, then he should let his opponent have a small advantage. Furthermore, this would also allow him to claim later on that he had been at a disadvantage and had thus lost. Nobody would be able to say that his Master hadn’t taught him well.

Unfortunately for Zhou Wu, his opponent just casually stood there as if he had no intention to attack at all. Zhou Wu waited but there was still no movement on the other side of the ring.

Zhou Wu frowned. It seemed he had to be more direct? "That there, considering I am doing this as an apology on behalf of my Master I will let you have three moves first. Please." He motioned at Qiu Ling.

The dragon king looked up with glimmering eyes. "Three moves?" Ah, that was really hard … He had finally identified the best moves to use but he had only narrowed it down to five. Well, there would be more fights later. He could just use the first three now and then show off the other two in the later fights.

Qiu Ling didn’t waste time with words. He leaped forward, turned on the ball of his foot and kicked out. His sleeves fluttered and his hair described a black arc in the air. The martial sisters on the ground screamed. Jing Yi didn’t say anything but his cheeks flushed red. Ah, heroes really were all handsome young men in white robes!

Qiu Ling turned further, his sleeves and hair fluttering once again until he stood in front of his opp—

Uh? Where was his opponent? Qiu Ling looked around in confusion but couldn’t see him. Was this fellow good enough to evade his move and then mask his presence in preparation of a sneak attack? But that was strange. It had felt like the kick connected.

Qiu Ling took some cautious steps forward while looking around. He couldn’t believe that a human would manage to land a good hit on him just because he hid well. Qiu Ling finally arrived at the edge of the ring and spotted his opponent: Zhou Wu was lying on the ground with his arms stretched to the sides and one foot awkwardly sticking into the air. The kick had sent him flying out of the ring.

Qiu Ling raised his brows. He wouldn’t have thought that his attack had been this successful. He waited but that Zhou Wu was just lying there. Qiu Ling angrily narrowed his eyes. "What are you still doing down there? Get up and continue the fight."

Grandmaster Zhangsun coughed. "Qiu Ling, you already won the fight."

"What? But I only used one move!"

Zhangsun Xun Yi raised his brows. Good that you know …

Qiu Ling pressed his lips together. "I won’t accept this!"

Zhou Wu could only groan. He had already kicked him off the ring this viciously and he still wanted to go again?!

Grandmaster Zhangsun sighed. Why was his disciple so thrilled about this fight? Was there something special about it that he had failed to see so far? It had been strange enough that Qiu Ling volunteered to take part in the Gathering but now he didn’t even want to stop this additional fight … Had he really missed something? "You’ll be participating in the Gathering. Just fight there."

Qiu Ling paused. Mn, right, this one wasn’t good enough of an opponent to showcase his skills. He could wait another hour before meeting his beloved if it gave him the opportunity to find a better opponent and show off, thus awing his beloved even further.

Qiu Ling smiled at that Master of his and stepped down from the ring. Mn, please, Elder in charge, hurry up and tell me who my next opponent is!