Yan Xiao thought Ji Bozai was worried about Ming Yi and sighed, “Why don’t you just go stop her yourself instead of asking me to do it?”
Ji Bozai replied calmly, “We’re not that close yet.”
What did he mean by that? Yan Xiao was confused.
But when the fight broke out in the hall, he suddenly understood.
It wasn’t that Ji Bozai wasn’t close enough to Ming Yi, but that he wasn’t close enough to Liang Xiuyuan.
Liang Xiuyuan’s Yuan Power was cyan, his style tricky and unpredictable, his moves swift and catching people off guard.
But Ming Yi…
Yan Xiao saw a side of Ming Yi he’d never seen before.
Her wide sleeves were tied tightly at the wrists. Her usually alluring phoenix eyes now gazed calmly ahead, giving her a valiant air. Around her, within a ten-foot radius, cyan Yuan Power fell like a waterfall.
He had thought this Mingyu was Liang Xiuyuan’s, but judging from Liang Xiuyuan’s slightly shocked expression, it seemed to be Ming Yi’s.
Cyan Yuan Power?
He clicked his tongue. “For a woman to cultivate cyan Yuan Power, that’s truly not easy.”
“That’s not it,” Shu Zhonglin on the side looked gravely at the Mingyu. “Ming Yi’s Yuan Power isn’t cyan. This is a disguise.”
“You feel it too, right?” Xu Tianji glanced sideways, trying to appear calm but with a hint of resentment. “With her build, she doesn’t look like someone with cyan Yuan Power. It must be a low-grade color disguise, just to scare people.”
It would be exposed once the Yuan Powers clashed!
“No,” Shu Zhonglin shook his head. “I mean, Ming Yi’s Yuan Power is above cyan.”
This move seemed to be learned from Ji Bozai, using the opponent’s Yuan Power color to confuse them, hiding her true strength—even her expression was similar to his at the welcoming banquet.
Just as he finished speaking, Liang Xiuyuan in the arena lashed out with a twisting stream of Yuan Power, speeding towards Ming Yi too fast to see clearly. The Yuan Power moved in a snake-like pattern, swaying left and right, making it impossible to aim at or block.
Ming Yi didn’t make a move, standing still without even shifting her feet.
Liang Xiuyuan’s face showed a triumphant smile, staring intently at her, expecting to see her beaten to a pulp. But unexpectedly, that streak of Yuan Power directly hit her protective shield.
With a loud bang, that agile cyan Yuan Power suddenly became as rigid as iron, and moments later, it shattered like porcelain, falling piece by piece.
The shield is a duelist’s last line of defense to protect their physical body, usually about one-tenth of their own Yuan Power strength. Only duelists four or five levels higher than their opponent would contemptuously use a shield to block attacks.
The hall erupted in an uproar of discussions. Liang Xiuyuan’s face turned pale. “Impossible, you’re deliberately humiliating me.”
Ming Yi replied gently, “How could that be? In duelist battles, there’s only strong and weak, high and low. How could there be deliberate humiliation?”
As she spoke, she unleashed an identical cyan Yuan Power, mimicking his previous move, following the snake-like pattern and suddenly striking at him.
Ming Yi learned quickly, and she had speed and endurance honed over years of training. In the same move, her Yuan Power was more than twice as fast as Liang Xiuyuan’s. Before Liang Xiuyuan could react, Yuan Power had already shattered his shield.
The cyan snake’s head enlarged in his pupils, carrying a sharp wind, undoubtedly about to tear his head apart.
At the critical moment, the cyan snake’s head suddenly changed direction, avoiding his head and biting fiercely into his shoulder.
“Ah—” A scream of agony echoed through Xingyun, shaking dust from the rafters.
As the Mingyu fell, Xu Tianji rushed forward to support Liang Xiuyuan, looking up angrily at Ming Yi. “You dare to injure an inner court official in public?!”
Ming Yi: “…”
Wasn’t it just said that injuries and deaths would be at one’s own risk?
Moreover, Liang Xiuyuan wasn’t up to par. Although his foundation was decent, he hadn’t practiced diligently. He couldn’t even withstand his technique, obviously just learning from a master without dedicating himself to refining his skills. Not to mention, ordinary duelists would continue fighting even when injured, but he had fallen and cried out.
This group of young masters who spent their days fooling around was truly wasting their talents.
She couldn’t help but glance at Ji Bozai beside her.
Ji Bozai:?
Wait, Liang Xiuyuan’s lack of practice and incompetence had nothing to do with him. Although he also drank and attended gatherings, he still practiced diligently, not falling behind at all. Who was comparing him to them?
Yan Xiao came to his senses and quickly moved forward to stop Liang Xiuyuan’s bleeding. Liang Xiuyuan, not wanting to appear weak in front of Xu Tianji, gritted his teeth and glared at Ming Yi as soon as the cyan color was removed: “You stole techniques and won unfairly.”
Ming Yi nodded repeatedly: “Indeed, the moves that took you years to learn, I mastered with just a glance. It’s truly frustrating. Let me offer you a toast as an apology.”
Liang Xiuyuan: “…”
This was beyond endurance!
He angrily shouted to his attendants: “Seize her for me!”
“Xiuyuan!” Shu Zhonglin hurriedly tried to stop him. “You’ve lost your senses!”
“She didn’t issue a challenge letter and attacked an official on the street. Why can’t I arrest her?!” Liang Xiuyuan’s eyes were red with anger.
Ji Bozai, who had been watching the show, stood up.
Before Shu Zhonglin could say anything more, a black challenge letter flew through the air, hovering in front of Liang Xiuyuan.
“This is what you wanted,” Ji Bozai said with a hint of intoxication in his eyes, smiling at him. “I’ll only use thirty percent of my strength. We’ll be responsible for our own lives and deaths.”
Liang Xiuyuan: “…”
He calmed down but still couldn’t let it go: “We’ve been brothers for so long, and you’d risk my life for a woman?”
“Aren’t you also going mad here for a woman?” The smile faded from Ji Bozai’s face as he looked down at him. “She doesn’t have you in her heart; she’s just using you. You’ve been a playboy for so long, yet you’ve fallen for such a woman. Is it worth it?”
“You think Ming Yi has you in her heart?” Liang Xiuyuan said angrily. “She wouldn’t even return to your manor when you asked her just now. Does she have you in her heart?”
Ji Bozai was at a loss for words, frowning slightly.
At this moment, Ming Yi chimed in: “I do.”
He was stunned and turned to look at her.
The young lady before him smiled gracefully, hooked her arm through his, and said to Liang Xiuyuan: “I think Lord Ji is the most formidable man in all of Qingyun Realm. If there’s anyone in my heart, it can only be him. What about your Miss Tianji? Does she think you’re the most formidable man in Qingyun Realm?”
Xu Tianji was taken aback by the question, wanting to retort to save face for Liang Xiuyuan. But with Ji Bozai present, she couldn’t bring herself to say Liang Xiuyuan was the strongest.
After stammering for a while, she fell silent, clutching Liang Xiuyuan’s arm.
Liang Xiuyuan was furious. He struggled free from Yan Xiao’s bandaging hand and said coldly: “There’s no need for this meal anymore. We don’t need to be brothers either. Let’s part ways here.”