“Poor Lian Hua.”

“It’s a shame but what can she do?”

“Yeah, it’s senior master Zhao Ren. You can’t say otherwise to him.”

“Ssh! Keep it down. What if he hears it.”

“The last fight. Dong Yun An. And Fang Xin (Fidelity).” Fang Yun announced.

“So who do you think will be the last?”

“Fang Xin, of course. Dong Yun An had fought pretty well but she won’t get through this one.”

“Fight!” Fang Fun declared the last fight.

“You said that four times ago.”

“This time- This time it will be different. Unlike other people, it’s Fang Xin. He is the fourth strongest among them. She will definitely lose.”

“You know nothing, Xu Lin. You can say that because you know nothing.” A third disciple chimed in.

“What’s with you today? Why are you defending her?”

“Yesterday, the junior master was told to fill the storage house with wood.”

“Wait. Isn't it the job for the lower disciples?”

“About that. Senior master Zhao Ren, senior master Xu Feng (mountain peak), and junior master Xu Fu (good fortune) were chatting with her yesterday, asking about her background.”

“Those three? They probably didn’t have anything good to say to her. Anyway, what happened next?”

“The junior master told them she used to sell firewood in Xincheng, so they told her to fill up the storage house, saying it’s a good way for her to contribute to the sect.”

“That’s bully, isn’t it?”

“Just before the fight too. They must have wanted to drain her strength. If you are a good cultivator, you can use qi to increase your stamina and do the work for you. I don’t think Dong Yun An can use qi that well yet.”

“Seems so. Wait. Wouldn’t this benefit Fang Xin? Why did you tell this story?”

“Because I haven’t finished yet. Do you know what the junior master did?”

“She can’t be trying to fight the three masters, right?”

“Are you retarded? Of course not! Listen!! She went into the forest then brought back a full grown tree, 15-20m long.”

“She cut down an entire tree?”

“There was no cut mark. She uprooted the entire tree with roots and dirt attached!”

“Then how did she get it through the entrance?”

“She threw it over the wall.”

“The entire tree?”

“The entire thing. Then she broke it piece by piece and shoved it to the storage.”

“She went for two more trips and filled the storage house to the brim, to the point that no one could close the door.”

“No one told her to stop?”

“We did but she said the three masters had told her to fill the storage, so she would follow to the letter. Later, the commotion attracted the attention of other elders and masters. I don’t know what happened to her after. It’s not important. The important thing was the entire time she barely broke a sweat. Do you think any of you could do something like that?”

“…no. But-”

Before the boy could retort, a loud noise brought their attention back to the ring.

While they were arguing in their seats, blows were exchanged between the two contestants. The most recent of those resulted in mutual injuries. Both Yun An and Fang Xin fell off their feet.

In a different corner, several expert pairs of eyes assessed the situation.

“That gots to hurt. They are just acting tough.”

“Hmm. Fang Xin received less damage.”

“That’s to be expected.”

Dong Yun An has stepped into the early stages of Mid qi manipulation. This was widely accepted.

Mid qi manipulation means qi imbuement on more than one body part. For Dong Yun An, the current number was two. During the last assault, they’ve seen qi only on her hand and one foot. Assuming Dong Yun An’s innate strength and her meager qi produced the same power as Fang Xin’s strike empowered by his qi, his qi flesh, qi skin, qi bone, and qi vessels, the other aspect that needs to examine would be their defense.

Since Yun An used her qi on her hand and foot, this left her body wide open with only normal bones and muscles as protective layers. Fang Xin had those plus qi imbuement from Upper qi manipulation that he could spare, his qi body (constructed as part of the first four levels of Qi forming stage) and the qi armour over his chest (as the advantage of the fifth level of Qi forming stage). Needless to say, Yun An was the one on the back foot.

A few rows away, Tian Zhong was watching with an uneasy face.

Don’t trade blows with him, Yun An. Qi armour can easily be repaired in-fight. Your body isn’t. Don’t accumulate any more damage.

Despite his wish, Yun An did the exact opposite.

Why? Ah. How could I forget? She isn’t trying to win.

Dong Yun An didn't try to win. Hence, as this fight would be the last in a while, she had no reason to be afraid of injuries.

Still, is this the same with Yin Yu’s fight? What good is there for her to take on his qi?

In the ring, Fang Xin landed a hit on Yun An’s abdomen, causing blood to trickle out from her mouth.

“Yun An!”

She latched onto Fang Xin's wrist and shattered his chest armour again.

“What’s that?”

“What’s that rattling sound?”

“Did Yun An break Fang Xin’s ribs?”

“No way. She broke through his qi armour?”

Tian Zhong didn’t think so. It was likely the same noise as the time Yun An made the wind howled with her sword. Yun An must have pulled a punch so strong, it laid immense stress on her skeletal structure.

“Yun An. Just don’t be greedy… like me.” Tian Zhong whispered. "Cultivation is not a race. You need not to race."