Being a technique unique to the Gu clan, though the two Elders of Qinse had seen the motion behind the Wind Blade’s release, they hadn’t truly grasped the mechanics behind it!

The Gu clan head was the first to see through it clearly. He couldn’t help but glance over at Jun Beiyue, sharing in the same astonished disbelief as everyone else in the crowd.

Among the Gu clan’s own disciples, none — whether in strength or talent — surpassed the three hall masters. To train up masters of this caliber in such a short span of time seemed nearly impossible.

There was only one way it could be done: by lending Jun Beiyue’s own internal energy to these five disciples!

Just as the Gu clan head had once given his own internal energy to save Jun Beiyue’s life, though in that case, no matter who lent Jun Beiyue their energy, his own foundation made absorbing it easy.

But for these five disciples to receive Jun Beiyue’s internal energy was another matter entirely — their own dantians simply couldn’t handle that much power all at once. It could only work through Jun Beiyue’s own precise control and mastery of the energy transfer.

How much painstaking effort must this have taken — and just how astonishing a level of mastery over the Gu clan’s internal energy had Jun Beiyue achieved, to pull this off?

The Gu clan’s internal energy could be transferred to others, used by others — this was the Gu clan’s own closely guarded secret. Let alone the crowd — even Elder Qin himself had seen no hint of the truth behind it, never imagining anything like this was possible.

Combined with the fact that Jun Beiyue had brought along such a seemingly weak lineup and remained utterly unmoved throughout everyone’s malicious anticipation, the crowd now had no choice but to conclude that the Gu clan truly did harbor hidden depths.

But this reality was genuinely difficult to swallow!

Never mind the Yu clan’s outrage — the rest of the crowd was equally unwilling to accept it, because if this was true, there would be no more entertainment left to watch at the Gu clan’s expense.

Even the Bai clan head couldn’t resist chiming in. “For five minor disciples to possess such profound internal energy — then what must the others be capable of? Ha, the Gu clan truly is the foremost great clan after all, isn’t it!”

The Bai clan head deliberately stressed the word “great” — sounding like praise, but really dripping with mockery. If these five young boys were truly this formidable, wouldn’t the three hall masters have been even more astonishing still? How could they possibly have been so easily killed by Mu Fusang?

The Bai clan head simply didn’t believe what Elder Qin claimed to have seen — there had to be something suspicious going on here!

Jun Beiyue watched coldly, still refusing to say a word, while Ziqing savored her tea with evident enjoyment, her mind entirely absorbed in it, paying no attention whatsoever to anything happening around her.

“If the Bai clan head wishes to see for himself what the others are capable of, then he’s welcome to focus his attention on the other side of the platform — lest he miss his chance to witness it firsthand later,” the Gu clan head said, gesturing toward the other half of the arena with a smile.

At this, the Bai clan head’s expression instantly soured. He rose and bowed to Elder Qin. “Elder Qin, there’s no disputing that the Gu clan’s internal energy is a supreme, top-tier technique capable of killing without a trace. But this is, after all, a ranking tournament — with all the brothers of Liuxian Island present, as well as guests from across Longyuan. If it isn’t made clear to everyone exactly how the Gu clan won, I fear it may invite gossip down the road, and reflect poorly on our entire island!”

“Precisely!” the Yu clan head immediately chimed in, glancing coldly at the dead eagles still clutched in the hands of the Gu clan’s five disciples. “At the very least, those eagle corpses should be examined before everyone here, right now!”

“Won’t shed a tear until he sees the coffin,” Situ Haonan said with a cold smile. Jun Beiyue and Ziqing, for their part, remained remarkably patient.

Given what the Bai clan head had said, Elder Qin had precisely this intention as well, and immediately had the Gu clan’s five disciples present the eagles for inspection.

The Yu clan head hurried forward anxiously, practically desperate to examine them himself, while the Bai clan head watched closely as well — if the Gu clan really had managed to cheat their way through, then the decisive final round would pit the Bai clan directly against the Gu clan.

Judging by the internal energy these five disciples had displayed, the Bai clan’s only real chance of victory rested on Mu Fusang alone. If that were the case, the whole situation would flip entirely, leaving the Bai clan with no advantage at all!

Elder Qin examined the eagles with great care, but no matter how long he searched, he couldn’t find a single wound anywhere.

The atmosphere grew tense once more, and as time dragged on, both the Yu and Bai clan heads grew increasingly confident, their earlier arrogance and self-assurance returning in full force — while the Gu clan head kept glancing anxiously toward Jun Beiyue. Could it be he’d guessed wrong — that Jun Beiyue hadn’t actually transferred his internal energy to these disciples after all?

And yet, moments ago, it truly had been Jun Beiyue’s doing — the Gu clan really hadn’t cheated!

Elder Qin, too, grew increasingly doubtful the longer he searched. Could he possibly have been mistaken earlier after all?

In the end, Elder Qin genuinely could not find a single wound anywhere on the birds.

“Hmph, Gu clan head, what do you have to say for yourself now!” the Yu clan head demanded furiously, while the Bai clan head sat back down with a satisfied air, watching coldly from the sidelines.

The Gu clan head was just about to respond when, unexpectedly, one of the young disciples spoke up first. “Elder Qin, the wound is in the internal organs. Please, cut it open.”

The words caught in the Yu clan head’s throat, leaving him momentarily speechless, while Elder Qin, eager to know the truth, hastily cut open the eagle’s belly — and there, within the ravaged internal organs, was a clean, sharp wound, unmistakably the mark left by a Wind Blade!

The Yu clan head staggered back several steps, utterly and finally silenced!

The Gu clan head had already broken out in goosebumps from shock — he’d been right after all. Jun Beiyue really had lent his internal energy to these disciples. But the results were simply beyond belief — five boys, none of them even eighteen years old yet! Enough to shame every elder present in the arena.

The Gu clan head’s body stiffened slightly. He cleared his throat a few times, feeling he ought to say something — but found he couldn’t find the words. He simply bowed to Elder Qin and returned to his seat, which, as it turned out, carried far more of the dignity befitting a clan head than any words could have.

The Yu clan head stood frozen, while the young Gu disciple who’d spoken up shot him a disdainful glance and snorted coldly. “So this is what a clan head amounts to.”

His voice carried loud and clear, reaching every corner of the arena!

At these words, the crowd erupted into an uproar. Never mind the Bai and Hai clan heads — even the two teams still fighting on the platform froze in place, momentarily stunned.

What kind of talk was this?

Who exactly was this person?

This was unheard of!

An utterly unremarkable young disciple of the Gu clan, openly expressing such contempt for the head of the Yu clan, humiliating him before the entire crowd — where could the Yu clan head possibly hide his face now?

This could only mean one of two things: either the Gu clan was simply too powerful, strong enough that even its most junior disciples could overpower a clan head — or the Yu clan was simply too weak, its own clan head unable to even match a mere junior disciple.

Whichever the reason, it was utterly unacceptable to the Yu clan!

Having said his piece, the young disciple gave a disdainful snort and turned to walk toward Jun Beiyue.

Before the eyes of the entire crowd, amid the ongoing uproar and shock, he flung the dead eagle down before Jun Beiyue, and together with the other four, bowed deeply. “This disciple has not disgraced the young master’s mission. We hope the young master finds this offering satisfactory!”

Jun Beiyue nodded with satisfaction, paying no mind to the surrounding commotion, saying only flatly, “Well done. Someone, prepare for the next match.”

He didn’t even spare the Yu clan a second glance — and that alone was enough to tell the entire arena that a clan whose lowliest disciple could defeat them with a single move wasn’t even worth his attention.

He’d said nothing at all, and yet he’d completely changed everyone’s opinion of the Gu clan, their entire assessment — even the whole trajectory of the tournament itself.

The Bai clan head watched with growing unease, unable to fathom exactly what was going on with these disciples under Jun Beiyue’s command. Where he’d once felt brimming with confidence, his heart now hung suspended with worry.

Just then, the gong sounded, and the other half of the platform reached its own conclusion. Only then did the Bai clan head remember his own clan still had a match underway. He turned to look — and at the sight of what was happening on the platform, he very nearly toppled clean out of his chair!

“Father, how is this possible!” Bai Feiyao gasped, unable to believe what she was seeing!