Had Bai Feiyao actually fallen to his knees?

Everyone was instantly stunned, even Jun Beiyue not far away furrowing his brow, unable to understand what had happened.

Bai Feiyao, in disbelief, stared at his own arm where he’d been wounded earlier—the blood that had once been bright red had already turned black!

Poison!

It had to be poison!

This woman had poison on her hands!

Ziqing didn’t even spare him a glance, dancing gracefully with her sword, moving in time with Xuanyuan Lige’s melody as it soared high, then dropped low—sometimes light and dancing, sometimes fierce and sharp!

She danced all around Bai Feiyao, now utterly drained of strength, yet never once looked at him.

If, earlier, in the face of Bai Feiyao’s extreme arrogance and provocation, Ziqing’s silence had been a kind of unconcerned indifference, then now, before a Bai Feiyao who couldn’t even stand, that same silence was an expression of absolute contempt!

Bai Feiyao gritted his teeth, struggling to rise, but found not only his legs but even his hands utterly without strength!

Ziqing remained silent, yet he foolishly began shouting, “Han Ziqing, you’re despicable, you actually used poison!”

“Han Ziqing, this victory of yours is dishonorable!”

“Han Ziqing, if you have any guts, let me go!”

…

If he’d stayed silent, it might have been better. But by shouting like this, he only gave Ziqing further reason to ignore him, making himself look all the more like a superfluous figure left dangling on the stage.

Finally, unable to gain Ziqing’s attention, Bai Feiyao fell quiet. But then, suddenly, he spat a seed from his mouth, launching it like a hidden weapon straight into Ziqing’s shoulder.

Ziqing felt a slight pain in her shoulder but paid it no mind, continuing her sword dance!

Bai Feiyao was so furious he nearly coughed up blood, wishing he could rush forward and grab her by the head! Would it kill this woman to say something? Would it kill her to look at him?

Yet he held back!

The seed he’d used possessed the strongest vitality, the fastest growth rate—shot directly into her flesh and blood, the moment it sprouted, its roots and stem would immediately pierce into her bloodstream. He refused to believe she’d have any chance to poison it in time, that she could poison the very roots!

This woman’s poison must be hidden in her fingernails, and the poison in the vines earlier must have been on her skin!

This time, he wanted to see what other tricks she still had up her sleeve!

Finally, Bai Feiyao fell silent, watching Ziqing’s dance steps and swordwork with disdain, waiting with composed patience!

But soon, his expression began to change!

Suddenly, his eyes went wide, and just as he was about to speak, Xuanyuan Lige’s music gradually came to a stop. Ziqing spun around, her sword stabbing straight toward his face, missing by the barest hair’s breadth, close enough to have wounded him!

“You… you…”

Bai Feiyao was too shocked to speak, and the entire arena, too, fell utterly silent.

How could this be? They had all seen that seed of Bai Feiyao’s just moments ago—anyone from the Bai family struck by such a seed, once it took hold, was surely doomed to certain death!

Could this woman really have broken the Bai family’s century-old, unbroken record with their vine arts?

In the dead silence, Ziqing calmly sheathed her sword, her expression as flat and composed as ever, as if entirely indifferent to her surroundings. She drew out a dagger, and with a light flick of its tip against the wound on her shoulder, immediately flicked out a seed.

With one hand she sheathed the dagger, and with the other she caught the seed. Only then did she look directly at Bai Feiyao, slowly bending down to present the seed to him. “I don’t care for this thing. Here, take it back.”

The moment Bai Feiyao saw the blood-soaked seed in her palm, his heart skipped several beats. No matter how bloodied it was, he could see clearly—the entire seed had turned black!

This was a dead seed, one that hadn’t even had the chance to sprout before being poisoned to death!

This… how could this possibly be!

Could it be that the poison within this woman’s very flesh and blood was even more terrifying than the poison on her skin?

If that were true, how was she even still alive? She should have died from her own poison long ago!

Bai Feiyao remained too stunned to recover for a long while. Ziqing’s expressionless face suddenly turned cold. “Young master Bai, do I have the qualification to dance alongside you on this platform?”

Bai Feiyao was at a loss for words.

But Ziqing didn’t wait for his answer, continuing, “Young master Bai, do I have the qualification to fight you?”

Weren’t these the very two questions he’d used earlier to deny her?

This woman wasn’t refusing to answer—she was holding a grudge!

Bai Feiyao was once again at a loss for words!

Ziqing, however, didn’t ask again, instead answering for him. “Bai Feiyao, you don’t even have the ability to stand up—what did you come to this zither platform for? To bring shame to the Bai family and make a spectacle of yourself, or to kneel before my Gu family and admit your fault?”

“You!” Bai Feiyao finally found his voice.

“What about it?” Ziqing said coldly, with contempt.

“You! You’ll stop at nothing, you’re despicable, you used poison! This isn’t fair!” Bai Feiyao roared angrily.

“You have your vine arts, I have my poison arts—both are unconventional skills. If that’s despicable, then your entire family is despicable. How is that unfair?” Ziqing shot back coldly.

“You! Watch your mouth!” Bai Feiyao choked with fury.

Ziqing smiled coldly to herself—this was the same man who’d insulted her by saying she’d come “to sell smiles” just moments ago, and now he was lecturing her about watching her mouth!

Bai Feiyao’s talent was indeed impressive—for someone so young to show such gifts, he was undoubtedly a young man of great potential. But when it came to how he conducted himself, he truly left much to be desired.

“Your whole family is despicable—so what?” Ziqing snorted coldly, her tone dripping with arrogance.

“Han Ziqing!” Bai Feiyao roared, suddenly trying to leap up, but the moment he tried to exert force, all his strength drained away.

“Stand up, then—if you don’t accept defeat, stand up! If you can’t even stand, I suggest you just roll off this platform instead—it’ll save you the effort.”

“Han Ziqing! I… you… you!”

Bai Feiyao was so furious he nearly lost his mind, shouting without regard for his dignity. But Ziqing paid him no more attention, giving a cold snort as she turned to face the crowd, then called out loudly, “Friends from the Longyuan continent, this welcome gift my Gu family has offered you on behalf of Liuxian Island—did you enjoy it?”

The moment these words fell, a loud cheer immediately rang out. “Excellent! Truly excellent!”

It was none other than Patriarch Gu himself, the old man practically glowing with joy, nearly rising to offer Ziqing his own seat. Meanwhile, Gu Suying and Jiang Chen’s faces were as ugly as could be.

At the same time, the entire arena erupted into thunderous applause and cheers of admiration.

The long-standing rumor that the Bai family was about to replace the Gu family had instantly collapsed.

With the Gu family’s stunning comeback, who would dare offend them now?

No one quite knew how the Gu family had managed to forge such a connection with Jun Beiyue and his consort, but it was now clear the Gu family’s position as ruling power was secure after all.

And once Jun Beiyue’s status as adopted son was formally announced, once he officially took over the Gu family, that would be an even greater matter entirely!

After all, this prince was already a dominant force in his own right on the Longyuan continent!

For a moment, everyone couldn’t help but speculate, even look forward with anticipation—would Jun Beiyue participate in the year-end ranking tournament for rising talents?

Ziqing bowed to the two elders of Qinse Valley, then nodded to Xuanyuan Lige. With Jun Beiyue standing right there, had she avoided him out of caution, Xuanyuan Lige might well have been pleased instead—but she remained so openly forthright that it nearly broke his heart.

Just as Ziqing was about to leap away, suddenly, two vines shot up rapidly from beneath her feet—not piercing her skin, but instead wrapping tightly around both her legs.

“Han Ziqing, I refuse to accept this outcome. I challenge you—dare you duel me one on one!” Bai Feiyao said, word by word, with utmost seriousness.