Meng Duo’er’s cry drew Meng Wanyue’s attention, but it had no effect on Baili Weisheng — his punch struck true.

But just as it was about to sink into Meng Wanyue’s abdomen, it was blocked by an invisible, colorless force.

Without a doubt — a barrier.

“There’s a barrier over her stomach! Hit somewhere else! Quick!” Meng Duo’er cried out in alarm. By now, she seemed to have finally understood Baili Weisheng’s intent.

Except…

“Why the hell didn’t you say so earlier!”

Baili Weisheng was truly furious now, seething. This was a life-or-death struggle — if she could see the barrier, why hadn’t she told him the moment she’d spotted it on Meng Wanyue?

If Meng Duo’er wasn’t his personal nemesis, then he must have owed her some debt in a past life, because in this one she seemed to have come purely to sabotage him.

After pouring every last drop of his internal energy into that punch, he hadn’t even so much as grazed Meng Wanyue.

Baili Weisheng stood there stunned, while Meng Wanyue, having already snapped back to full clarity, understood exactly what trick he’d been playing.

“Clever of you,” Meng Wanyue scoffed coldly, her twin blades swinging around to stab straight at Baili Weisheng.

That single punch had drained nearly all of Baili Weisheng’s internal energy, leaving him with no strength left to defend himself, so he dodged on pure instinct.

But suddenly, Meng Wanyue kicked upward from below. Caught between advancing and retreating with no good option, Baili Weisheng had no choice but to twist and roll to the ground, scrambling frantically off to one side.

Meng Duo’er had finally learned her lesson and sharpened up. She immediately unleashed her sealing arts to hold Meng Wanyue back, buying time for Baili Weisheng.

But a fully alert Meng Wanyue was far beyond her ability to handle — with a single wave of her hand, Meng Wanyue instantly scattered Meng Duo’er’s seal.

A single motion was enough to deal with Meng Duo’er. Meng Wanyue then closed in swiftly on Baili Weisheng, her longsword chasing his tumbling form, one strike after another slashing and stabbing, each blow landing against his Golden Scale Phantom with a ringing clang, coming so fast that Baili Weisheng had no room to dodge aside — all he could do was keep rolling forward.

At last, Baili Weisheng rolled all the way to the end, coming to a stop against Xuanyuan Lige, who blocked his path.

He had no time to spare a glance at Xuanyuan Lige, facing Meng Wanyue instead, her sword pressed right against his Golden Scale Phantom. Were it not for that armor, he would already have died beneath her blade.

“You can’t kill me!”

Baili Weisheng sneered, though he knew perfectly well that with only about thirty percent of his strength remaining, there was little he could do to Meng Wanyue.

“And you can’t stop me either!” Meng Wanyue sneered back, sweeping her hand out fiercely once more to shatter Meng Duo’er’s seal yet again.

“Go ahead and try, then!” Unlike Xuanyuan Lige’s cold indifference, Baili Weisheng smiled as though he couldn’t care less.

A cold smile curved at Meng Wanyue’s lips, but she said nothing, her gaze sweeping over Baili Weisheng as though searching for something.

Baili Weisheng, puzzled, remained fully on guard. Outwardly he appeared calm, but inwardly he was racking his brain anxiously for a way out.

The two of them remained locked in this standoff. Meng Duo’er could do nothing to help — no matter how hard she tried, Meng Wanyue shattered her seals instantly every time.

Off to the side, though Xuanyuan Lige lay collapsed and powerless on the ground, his eyes had never once closed. He watched everything in silence…

Soon enough, Baili Weisheng understood exactly why Meng Wanyue was sizing him up like that. A flicker of barely noticeable panic passed through his eyes, though he remained outwardly composed, still holding his ground against her.

He knew Meng Wanyue wouldn’t remain at a standoff with him for much longer — she would soon discover the secret hidden within him. What could he possibly do, what method could hold this woman off, even just for four or five days?

By now, outside, it was nearly noon.

Everyone had by now arrived at the peak of Yuqiong Mountain, beside the Heavenly Lake of Jade Water Nectar.

Ziqing and Jun Beiyue still had no idea just how much Xuanyuan Lige and Baili Weisheng had sacrificed to let them ascend the mountain so smoothly.

The entire summit of Yuqiong Mountain was remarkably flat and broad, like some enormous plaza.

At its center lay an enormous frozen lake, spreading across the summit like a silver mirror. No one knew how deep it ran, but its sheer vastness rivaled any great lake found on lower ground.

All around the frozen lake, hugging its shores, stretched a long wooden boardwalk, along which stood an artful scattering of pavilions and waterside towers.

At the very center, and the tallest of all the structures, stood a ship-shaped tower, as though a great pleasure barge had come to rest at the lake’s edge.

At that moment, Jun Beiyue and his companions were on that very tower-ship, together with the Prince of Nanzhao.

The Nanzhao royal family had once again extended Jun Beiyue the highest possible hospitality. On the tower-ship’s single open viewing platform, Jun Beiyue and the Prince of Nanzhao sat side by side, one to the left, one to the right.

Ziqing and the others sat to Jun Beiyue’s right, in order: Xiong Bao, Baili Xiaosheng, and Jue Mingzi. To the Prince of Nanzhao’s left sat Consort Qin, and below her, several princes.

By now, Consort Qin’s mind was completely elsewhere, unable to settle. There had been no word all through the night before, and she couldn’t bear to imagine what state Young Master Xuanyuan might be in — after all, that had been the very first time he’d ever sent her a signal for help.

Unlike Consort Qin, Ziqing remained fully composed, even though there had been no word from Baili Weisheng since they’d entered Nanzhao, and even though she knew that letting Meng Wanyue escape put her and Jun Beiyue in considerable danger here in Nanzhao.

Still, she stayed calm. She knew this gathering mattered a great deal.

The climax of the Lishang had always drawn its inspiration from sounds of nature, weaving those natural sounds directly into its most powerful passage.

If the last missing note truly was somewhere here, then without question every sound in this place deserved her full attention.

She was determined to stay fully alert, attentive to everything around her.

More than anything, Ziqing kept her attention fixed on the surface of the ice.

Beyond the opening ceremony about to begin, this gathering had only two other parts: the election of the new Beast Clan chieftain, held on the surface of the frozen lake, and the breaking of the ice to summon the venomous beasts from beneath the Heavenly Lake, to crown the new chieftain.

These were, apart from those in the Poison Beast World, the only naturally occurring venomous beasts left in all of Nanzhao. Ziqing thought that to produce a sound as sweeping and magnificent as the Lishang’s climax, in a place like this, it could only come from either the sound of ice breaking or the sound of the water’s waves.

Jun Beiyue rested one hand on the armrest while, as always, holding Ziqing’s hand with the other, silently watching as the seats around the frozen lake filled one after another. He wasn’t nearly as focused as Ziqing; his mind was preoccupied with the matter of Meng Wanyue.

Meanwhile, Xiong Xiaobao watched the large group of Xiao Family disciples below, each carrying a jade flute, and couldn’t help but reach into his sleeve to touch the white jade flute hidden there.

He had a bad feeling about something, though he couldn’t quite say what it was. “Young Lord, where do you think Master is right now?” Baili Xiaosheng asked in a low voice.

“Out at sea, probably,” Xiong Xiaobao answered absently. Uncle Scholar had sent a letter before setting out to sea, but there had been no word since.

“I just keep feeling so uneasy,” Baili Xiaosheng said again.

Xiong Xiaobao didn’t quite grasp what Baili Xiaosheng was worried about, and simply murmured, “Me too. I feel uneasy too.”

By now, every family of the Beast Clan had gathered in full, each sending twenty disciples to take part in the opening ceremony’s performance.

Disciples of the Xiao and Sheng families led the way. Every family had its own instrument of mastery, and these very instruments served as their weapons for taming beasts.

Hundreds of disciples sat cross-legged, every one dressed in white, holding their instruments with gentle, cultured grace.

A hush fell over the entire gathering as the reed pipes and flutes began to play, and the great ceremony began…