In the third round, Chu Xinxin received a bye and directly entered the top ten.

—The top ten cannot withdraw from the competition; if their lives are in danger, the referees will intervene.

Chu Xinxin really wanted to rip off the beard of Emperor Liang, who had established these rules.

System: [Sister, people are betting on who will win.]

Chu Xinxin looked down: "Hmm? Who are they all betting on to win?"

[There are two trending topics, one of which is you...]

"Me? Do they think they have too many spirit stones?"

[Let me finish. The other one is the Third Prince Qingyun. Your odds are 23.33, while the Third Prince's odds are 1.33. Actually, 70% of people bet on him to win, since he relies on his strength, not his magical treasures.]

Chu Xinxin was somewhat surprised that Qingyun, who spent all his time in Qingxianglou surrounded by women, was able to break through the encirclement through his own strength.

"Wait a minute, are you implying that I only rely on magical treasures?!"

With such high odds, don't you have any idea what's going on?

The system's tone was extremely disdainful.

"Uh... never mind, I'm already quite satisfied with 30% of the people who support me." Chu Xinxin comforted herself, reminding herself that people should learn to be content with what they have.

[I didn't say you were the remaining 30%. In fact, you only account for 10%. The remaining 20% ​​is divided among the other eight contestants. Don't be angry, sister. You're still the favorite.]

Chu Xinxin: ...Suddenly I really want to win.

The top ten are no longer a simple one-on-one elimination tournament; a points system has been implemented, where each person has to play against the other nine in one match.

Chu Xinxin encountered Qingyun right away.

When Qingyun saw it was her, his eyes crinkled with laughter: "Miss Xinxin, please go easy on her later."

He said that, but he didn't hold back at all when it came to the competition with Chu Xinxin.

As the third prince, Qingyun possessed many spiritual treasures and medicines, rendering Chu Xinxin's spiritual treasure and medicine techniques completely ineffective. In fact, due to Qingyun's ethereal movements and exquisite swordsmanship, she was forced to retreat again and again, on the verge of losing.

The system suddenly announced: "Sister, Xiao Linyi just bet billions of spirit stones on you winning."

We can't afford to mess with spirit stones.

Chu Xinxin snapped to attention, her thoughts of taking advantage of the chaos vanishing instantly. She twirled her sword, sheathed her spirit sword, summoned her three-section whip to repel Qingyun, sat down on the ground, and the ancient zither, Raoliang, appeared in her hand.

"Zheng—"

Chu Xinxin's fingertips were wrapped in spiritual power. She raised her hand and played the Battle Song. The Battle Song was a song used to encourage soldiers before a battle between two armies. The melody was fast and urgent. The bursts of zither music transformed into the sharpest swords, attacking Qingyun impenetrably.

"Qingyun is going to lose." On the viewing platform, Emperor Liang shook his head slightly.

The emperor and empress beside them were displeased: "Why are you boosting the morale of others while diminishing your own? Qingyun shows no signs of decline, and the outcome is still uncertain."

Emperor Liang: "Do you know what the most terrifying thing about qin cultivators is? It's that their music can confuse people's minds. Skilled qin cultivators can even create illusions. Unfortunately, Chu Xinxin is one of them. She hasn't used this yet, which proves that she still has the ability."

The Emperor and Empress disagreed: "I have the exact opposite opinion. Chu Xinxin didn't use that move because she was suppressed by Qingyun and couldn't use it at all."

Emperor Liang did not want to argue with her, so he secretly instructed his confidant when the Empress was not paying attention: "Um, help me bet 30 million spirit stones on Chu Xinxin to win."

Confidant: ......

Emperor Liang was actually right; Qingyun was about to give up. However, he had a preconceived notion that Qin Xiu could attack from a distance but not in close combat. Coupled with the fact that Chu Xinxin had been forced to retreat repeatedly by him at the beginning, Qingyun became even more convinced of his guess and just wanted to hold on a little longer and find another opportunity to get closer to Chu Xinxin.

The atmosphere on the field is tense and dangerous, but off the field it seems like a completely different story.

One sat on the ground playing the zither, while the other danced and wielded a sword. The contestants on the next arena had unique weapons: flower petals as swords. The flower petals on the ground were blown by the wind and fluttered down between Chu Xinxin and Qingyun.

A young female cultivator couldn't help but exclaim, "What a perfect couple!"

By sheer coincidence, Xiao Linyi, who had exceptionally good hearing, overheard these words and found the scene extremely jarring.

System: [Sister, if you keep dragging this out, Xiao Linyi's newly gained favorability points will be lost three times over.]

Chu Xinxin: "What did he do now? Does he have to be jealous of me and Qingyun having a martial arts match?"

[We suggest you finish them off in one decisive blow, dear.]

Qingyun was already at his limit. Chu Xinxin played faster and faster, and she became anxious. Qingyun couldn't keep up and was knocked off the stage by Chu Xinxin's extremely powerful sound.

Despite his defeat, Qingyun remained composed and bowed to Chu Xinxin from below the stage, saying, "Miss Xinxin is very strong. Qingyun concedes defeat."

Chu Xinxin smiled at him: "You flatter me."

System: [Sister, if you smile again, we'll have to start the mission all over again.]

Chu Xinxin's smile froze instantly.

Next is a half-incense stick's time break.

Chu Xinxin sent a message to Xiao Linyi, asking him to split the spirit stones he won 50/50. Xiao Linyi immediately replied that he would give them all to her if she won.

The material rewards were too generous, so Chu Xinxin fought her hardest in the remaining nine matches. Each match was extremely difficult, and her final victory was a narrow one.

—That seems to be the case. Chu Xinxin's cultivation level hasn't changed since the system activated her martial arts skills, but her spiritual sense is strong, and she can see through her opponent's moves at a glance.

Chu Xinxin explained that she wanted to keep a low profile, as geniuses are always envied.

Xiao Linyi saw through her little actions clearly and couldn't help but smile.

Emperor Liang, standing nearby, thought he was seeing things; even an iceberg could melt one day.

Wow, the power of love is truly amazing.

Chu Xinxin won all ten of her matches and took first place, while Qingyun lost one match and came in second.

Emperor Liang originally thought his son would win, so he specially chose a particularly good defensive Earth-grade spiritual treasure. However, Chu Xinxin took it away. Defensive Earth-grade spiritual treasures are rare, and Emperor Liang was a little heartbroken.

Unexpectedly, Chu Xinxin took the magical treasure and immediately handed it to Xiao Linyi, saying, "Sect Master, this is for you."

Xiao Linyi's heart skipped a beat, but he didn't reply: "I don't need it."

Nothing on the Emperor Yao Continent can harm him now, and Chu Xinxin, who is about to enter the Holy Land, needs this treasure even more than he does.

"It's okay if you don't need it." Chu Xinxin directly took his hand and put the Earth-grade spiritual treasure silver ring on his finger.

The silver ring automatically adjusts its size; its simple design and sharp lines make Xiao Linyi's hands appear even longer.

Chu Xinxin looked at it from left to right and said, "I won this with great difficulty, so I'm giving it to you. You can wear it every day, okay?"

System: [Sister, you're so skilled.]

Chu Xinxin had admired the view enough and wanted to let go, but Xiao Linyi grabbed her hand. If the occasion hadn't been inappropriate, Xiao Linyi would have even wanted to hug her.

He wanted to go back to Zichen Palace immediately and lock Chu Xinxin up, so that no one could see her, only him.

Xiao Linyi ultimately just gently squeezed Chu Xinxin's hand, looked down at her, and solemnly replied, "Okay."

[Ding—System notification: Your favorability rating for your target, Xiao Linyi, has increased by 666 points, now standing at 8888. Keep up the good work, host!]