Chapter 78 078 Despicable Methods

Po Yun's victory over Shen Miaoyin is almost certain, as his level far surpasses Shen Miaoyin's.

Jiang Yan was somewhat surprised that Yuanjian Pavilion did not propose a replacement.

She turned to Poyun and said, "Senior Brother Yuanjian Pavilion has openly sent Shen Miaoyin to fight, which may be a trap. You must be careful and it's best to finish this quickly!"

Po Yun nodded: "I know."

Just as he finished speaking, the person on the arena announced, "The next round of the competition begins, with Yuanjian Pavilion's Shen Miaoyin facing off against Hehuan Sect's Poyun."

As Po Yun leaped onto the stage, Shen Miaoyin gracefully landed in the center of the arena.

With a shout of "Begin!", Shen Miaoyin was the first to throw her longsword at Poyun's face.

Po Yun slightly turned his body to dodge, then raised his hand and struck her with a palm.

Shen Miaoyin frowned slightly, staggered a step, and barely managed to steady herself with her spiritual power.

Jiang Qun glanced at the people below the stage and secretly narrowed his eyes at her, as if the two had exchanged a secret message.

Below the stage, Ruoning took a handful of sunflower seeds from Meiqiu's hand and leisurely cracked them open.

They were certain to win this battle, so she wasn't flustered at all.

On the stage, Shen Miaoyin drew her sword and leaped behind Poyun, intending to launch a sneak attack.

Po Yun suddenly turned around, his eyes darkening, and struck the man back with another palm strike.

Shen Miaoyin retreated to the edge of the arena, her heels already dangling in mid-air. Suddenly awakened, she spun around and returned to Po Yun's side, the sword in her hand carrying a sharp edge, aimed directly at Po Yun's throat.

Po Yun frowned, his two fingers pressed together, precisely gripping the spine of the sword!

Shen Miaoyin frowned, exerted a little force, and while dealing with the group of people in the clouds, she suddenly flicked out the silver needle in her left hand and pierced his chest.

Po Yun immediately sensed something was wrong; his spiritual power seemed to be restricted. The next moment, he was pierced in the chest by an arrow from Shen Miaoyin!

Taking advantage of the situation, Shen Miaoyin kicked out fiercely!

Ruoning, Jiang Yan, and the others below the stage frowned in surprise at this sudden change.

"Senior brother!"

Ruoning frowned and asked, "What happened?"

"Shen Miaoyin cheated."

Ruoning frowned and said, "She dares to poison me? The rules of the 'Hundred Weapons Pavilion' competition clearly state that poisoning will result in immediate disqualification!"

"She dared to use it, so she must have made thorough preparations. It's unlikely that we'll be able to find any flaws in her strategy for the time being!"

As Po Yun was forced to retreat rapidly to the edge of the arena by that kick, everyone from the Hehuan Sect gasped in surprise.

At the critical moment, Po Yun mustered all his strength to steady himself, suppressing the metallic taste in his throat. He focused his energy in his dantian and swiftly appeared before Shen Miaoyin.

He conjured his natal sword, unleashing a chilling glint of light, and swiftly repelled the person before him.

Shen Miaoyin fell off the stage, staring incredulously at the people on it.

How could anyone be poisoned by their sect's specially made 'Soul-Devouring Powder' and still be able to exert any strength!

He Chong walked over and helped Shen Miaoyin up, asking with concern, "Junior Sister, are you alright?"

Shen Miaoyin withdrew her unwilling gaze, turned to look at Jiang Qun with tears in her eyes: "Senior brother, it's all my fault for being useless."

Jiang Qun said with a stern face, "It's alright. Po Yun has already been poisoned by the Soul-Devouring Powder, so he can forget about going on stage next. Junior Sister's loss this time wasn't in vain."

Thinking of this, Shen Miaoyin smiled again.

It should be noted that Po Yun is the highest-level participant from the Hehuan Sect in this competition. Eliminating Po Yun, a formidable opponent, will indeed give them an advantage in the upcoming matches.

On the Hehuan Sect's side, after Poyun came down from the arena, Ruoning immediately wanted to drag him to find the person in charge of the 'Hundred Weapons Pavilion' to argue with him.

Po Yun took the antidote pill handed to him by Jiang Yan and swallowed it. He frowned and said, "It's useless. The poison disappears the moment it enters the body. Even if we go there, we won't be able to find any evidence."

"By the time we wait for the 'Hundred Weapons Pavilion' to finish their investigation, the competition will have already ended. Our top priority is to retrieve the Xuanji Jade and the White Jade Bottle!"

Ruoning angrily said, "They're not as skilled as others, so they resort to despicable means! Utterly shameless!"

Jiang Yan probed Po Yun's aura and said, "This poison is indeed cunning. Senior Brother just used his internal energy to break through again. You must not use your internal energy again later."

Ruoning nodded and said, "I'll take care of everything from now on! If I encounter those damned Yuanjian Pavilion disciples again, I'll definitely slaughter them all."

Jiang Yan took out a bottle of medicine from her treasure bag and handed it over: "This is a poison-resistant pill. Although it cannot completely prevent poisoning, it should be able to delay the onset of the poison if you encounter it."

Ruoning took one and ate it.

In the evening, the Hundred Weapons Pavilion announced that the Yuan Sword Pavilion and the Xuan Sword Sect had entered the finals.

Ruoning faced He Chong, Shen Miaoyin's Daoist partner, in her first match. Before she went on stage, Jiang Yan had already analyzed He Chong's moves with her.

Jiang Yan had fought him in Wushan before, and she could still recall the moves he used.

After Ruoning sparred with her opponent, it was indeed as Jiang Yan had said that He Chong's moves had changed. However, He Chong's internal strength had not improved in a short period of time, so even if he changed his moves, it would be difficult to change his long-standing habit. Ruoning only needed to deliberately provoke him to make a move to easily find his weakness.

He Chong also wanted to give Ruoning the Soul-Devouring Powder, but the other party didn't give him the chance at all. He himself was also found to have a flaw because he was distracted.

Ruoning could have easily defeated the Golden Core cultivator from Yuanjian Pavilion, but she was currently burning with anger and wanted to vent it on He Chong!

So he deliberately kept the person hanging, stabbing and slashing with his sword from left to right.

Shen Miaoyin from the audience

Finally, taking advantage of his unpreparedness, Ruoning stabbed him in the dantian with her sword and pressed down hard. Only after watching He Chong's spiritual power drain away did Ruoning kick him away with a powerful kick!

He Chong stumbled and fell at Shen Miaoyin's feet. He looked up at her, her face filled with anger and disappointment, and said guiltily, "Junior Sister, I'm sorry."

Shen Miaoyin frowned and looked at him, then turned her gaze to Jiang Qun beside her: "Senior Brother."

Jiang Qun gave a cold smirk and leaped onto the arena: "I'm a substitute from Yuanjian Pavilion, I'll be going up next!"

Ruoning narrowed her eyes slightly and said, "It's even better if you come. Today, I will teach you shameless bastards a lesson on behalf of your sect!"

"I think you're just spouting nonsense! Take this!"

Jiang Qun raised his hand and unleashed a barrage of sharp blades, which shot straight toward Ruoning like a white rainbow piercing the sun!

With a slight frown, he immediately channeled his inner energy, and a condensed golden barrier instantly appeared around him.

"clang--!"

The sharp blade collided with the barrier, producing a piercing bang and sending shockwaves flying in all directions.

After a brief stalemate, the sharp blade seemed to have pierced through the golden barrier, but it continued its unstoppable advance towards Ruoning's brow!

Ruoning held her breath and raised her hand to deflect the sharp weapon aimed at her face.

In the next instant, Jiang Qun raised his hand and transformed those sharp blades into a long sword. He immediately exuded a powerful aura of ferocity, which rushed straight towards Ruoning!

Ruoning immediately summoned her natal sword and raised her hand to meet the attack!

She, Poyun, and her junior sister had discussed the swordsmanship of Yuanjian Pavilion, but Jiang Qun's swordsmanship seemed to be different from theirs.

Before the second move was even finished, Ruoning was stabbed in a vital spot, and instantly wisps of spiritual energy leaked out from the wound!

Dai Yue called out anxiously, "Ruo Ning!"