A duel?

Ziqing halted, her voice cold. “I don’t accept challenges from those I’ve already defeated.”

At these words, the crowd couldn’t help but draw a sharp breath—this woman was truly arrogant. Still, she did have far more grounds for such arrogance than Bai Feiyao.

The two elders of Qinse Valley exchanged a glance, both clearly appreciating what they saw. Amid the crowd, Jun Beiyue rubbed his chin, unable to help a helpless smile.

“Han Ziqing, you!” Bai Feiyao took several deep breaths before managing to calm himself somewhat. Burning with resentment, he mustered every ounce of strength left in him and lifted a transparent glass vial, declaring loudly, “Han Ziqing, if you beat me, this Fusang seed is yours!”

This… a Fusang seed—this was no ordinary treasure. Something this rare might not appear even once in a hundred years!

The porcelain vial containing a single white seed was held high by Bai Feiyao, and every eye in the arena instantly fixed upon it. This treasure, it had to be said, was the first of its kind to appear in a hundred years!

The Fusang tree was revered as a divine tree, always prized as an extraordinarily rare species. Fusang wood never decayed—impervious to water, fire, and poison alike.

Whether for palaces, coffins, medicines, or protective items, Fusang wood was considered the finest material in the world!

Across the entire Longyuan continent, finding even a single Fusang tree was considered harder than reaching the heavens, and on Liuxian Island, only the Bai family possessed one!

It was said to be over a thousand years old, remarkably tall, and had existed on Liuxian Island since long before the island was ever developed.

A Fusang tree seed appeared only once every hundred years—whether on Liuxian Island or across the Longyuan continent, what Bai Feiyao now held in his hand was an extraordinarily precious thing!

For a moment, the entire arena fell silent, even the two elders of Qinse Valley unable to hide a flash of covetous longing, and even Xuanyuan Lige’s normally clear eyes grew complicated with emotion.

“So, Han Ziqing, is this stake enough for you? If you win, this seed is yours. If you lose… ha, I’ll have you sever all ties with the Gu family!” Bai Feiyao snorted coldly, wearing that same arrogant, prideful expression as always. He simply refused to believe that Han Ziqing wouldn’t be tempted by something so precious!

He stared at Ziqing provocatively, smugly certain that she’d agree—after all, this was a treasure that existed nowhere else in the entire world, belonging solely to his Bai family. Surely Han Ziqing was already itching to snatch it away!

Everyone present, had they not encountered this young master of the Bai family, would likely have gone their entire lives without ever laying eyes on a Fusang tree seed!

Faced with Bai Feiyao’s provocation, Ziqing remained silent. Everyone waited anxiously for her answer—Patriarch Gu nearly spoke up to accept on her behalf!

What would it mean to obtain a Fusang tree seed? It would mean that whichever family possessed it could, like the Bai family, one day possess a divine Fusang tree of their own, and even future seeds from it!

Agree! Han Ziqing, hurry up and agree!

“Well? Do you agree or not?” Bai Feiyao pressed again.

And Ziqing did agree, with a swift, decisive “Fine.”

Bai Feiyao immediately broke into a grin—this was exactly the answer he’d been waiting for. He seized the moment to mock her further, feigning regret. “Han Ziqing, and here I thought you had some real backbone. Had I known, I wouldn’t have even bothered bringing this out!”

At these words, quite a few people couldn’t help but sigh, though it was unclear whether they were sighing at Bai Feiyao’s lack of decency, or at Han Ziqing’s apparent lack of pride.

Yet, faced with such temptation, even the proudest of people might set aside their dignity!

In the face of Bai Feiyao’s deliberate mockery and the growing murmurs of disappointment, Ziqing paid it no mind, casually tossing him the antidote.

The moment Bai Feiyao took it, he recovered almost instantly, leaping to his feet, his voice even louder than before, shouting furiously, “Han Ziqing, I challenge you to a duel—using our family techniques!”

He then turned and bowed to the two elders of Qinse Valley, saying, “Han Ziqing, poison arts and vine arts are indeed both unconventional skills, but just now, she was representing the Gu family’s young master—so tell me, since when did the Gu family’s wind-blade technique become poison arts? Or perhaps she simply isn’t qualified to represent the Gu family at all!”

This argument actually held some merit and won a measure of agreement from several people.

Han Ziqing’s poison arts truly were unexpected—no one had yet figured out exactly how she administered her poison. Such skill would surely rival even the poison den of the Nanzhao pharmacy clan!

Seeing this show of support, Bai Feiyao quickly continued, “The two elders, this duel should be a true representation of our respective families—let’s compare family techniques, and let the two of you preside as judges!”

Family techniques—that would mean the Gu family’s wind blades. But she’d never learned the Gu family’s internal cultivation techniques—how could she possibly produce wind blades?

Given the circumstances, this put her at a serious disadvantage!

Yet Ziqing said nothing at all, giving no indication of whether she was worried, or confident!

Patriarch Gu, by contrast, was brimming with confidence, stroking his long beard with an expectant expression, while behind him, Gu Suying and Jiang Chen’s faces grew uglier by the moment.

“Jiang Chen, something this important, and you didn’t make it clear?” Gu Suying whispered.

“I thought you’d reported it—I only mentioned it briefly. Young master Bai didn’t seem to think much of it at the time anyway!” Jiang Chen immediately shifted the blame. Back when Han Ziqing had produced wind blades in the Gu family’s main residence, they had indeed mentioned it, but young master Bai simply hadn’t taken it seriously, believing it had been the power of the Wuzheng zither, not any skill of Han Ziqing’s own!

But judging by how composed Han Ziqing remained now, this woman surely wasn’t as simple as she seemed!

Jiang Chen and Gu Suying could only fret anxiously, not daring to speak up, not even daring to give Bai Feiyao a warning glance. And at that moment, old Elder Qin spoke up. “Han Ziqing, young master Bai’s words aren’t without reason. Today you came as the Consort of Prince Yao, a guest of Liuxian Island—but if you wish to represent the Gu family, then you’ll need to…”

Before he could finish, however, Ziqing cut him off. “Wind blades. Fine.”

Bai Feiyao glanced at the zither sitting beside her seat and immediately gave a cold laugh. “Then let’s begin! Han Ziqing, the Gu family is famous for turning sword energy into wind blades—shall this young master lend you a sword?”

“No need. Dealing with you doesn’t require sword energy or wind blades,” Ziqing said earnestly.

Bai Feiyao immediately raised his vine whip and, with a sharp “whoosh,” lashed it toward Ziqing. Ziqing sidestepped, retreating, and the whip cracked against the ground with a “snap,” instantly sprouting a green thorny bramble that lunged at Ziqing!

Ziqing dodged again, still not resorting to her poisoned vines. Bai Feiyao lashed out again, and Ziqing continued to dodge, retreating step by step amid the wildly sprouting thorns and Bai Feiyao’s relentless, fierce whip strikes, until at last she found herself backed against the very edge of the zither platform.

In an instant, every thorny bramble surged toward Ziqing at once. She planted one foot at the platform’s edge, spread both arms wide overhead, fingers splayed, body leaning back. Bai Feiyao leapt into the air, laughing wildly and arrogantly, whip cracking furiously. “Where are your wind blades? Why don’t you use them now?”

“Fine.” Ziqing, who had remained expressionless the whole time, suddenly broke into a smile, her raised arms slashing down violently. In that instant, her arms unleashed two terrifying, massive wind blades, sweeping like a pair of great swords slicing through the air, while her ten fingers flicked out two smaller, but no less powerful, wind blades, striking directly at the wildly leaping Bai Feiyao high above, knocking him unexpectedly straight out of the sky.

At the same time, Ziqing leapt into the air. Beneath her feet, every thorny bramble was swept away and shattered by the wind blades like an avalanche. Bai Feiyao landed with a “thud” amid the shattered thorns, his face utterly stunned.