What does my ancestor's pregnancy have to do with me, a mere servant?

Behind the arena formation, layers of outer disciples surrounded the open space.

Some mischievous inner disciples brought over a table, unfurled a banner, and set up a gambling den on the spot, betting on who would become the Holy Maiden.

The odds were written in cinnabar on the wooden sign. Jianghuai Yue: 1 to 1.3. Lin Feilu: 1 to 2.

"Place your bets now! The Saintess Election finals are about to begin!" the bookmaker shouted, banging on a gong. "Senior Sister Jiang has her corpse refined, and her late-stage Foundation Establishment power will crush everyone. Bet on Senior Sister Jiang, and you're guaranteed to win!"

The crowd threw spirit stones at the tray with Jiang Huaiyue's name on it. Lin Feilu's tray, however, received very few.

The gap was enormous. Everyone was convinced that Jiang Huaiyue, with the help of the bronze-armored corpse, would undoubtedly win.

Standing on the outskirts of the crowd, Lin Yuan listened to the lopsided odds and inwardly cursed, "One to two? Are these outer disciples blind? Is my saturation firepower just for show?"

He remained calm and collected, silently circulating the Formless Transformation Technique to minimize his presence, and squeezed his way to the side of the table with the flow of people.

He took out an extremely ordinary black storage bag and casually tossed five thousand spirit stones into the tray next to Lin Feilu: "I'm betting everything on Lin Feilu."

A three-second silence fell over the area. Everyone stared at the storage bag, then glanced at the masked man in black robes.

"Bet all five thousand spirit stones? This guy must be out of his mind."

"They're practically begging to hand over their money to the bookmakers; it's truly eye-opening."

The dealer paused for a moment, then quickly counted the number of spirit stones. After confirming that everything was correct, he swiftly inscribed a jade talisman and handed it to Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan put the jade talisman into his sleeve and turned to leave.

Half an hour later.

The final arena in the center of the martial arts arena was cleared. The referee elder stepped into the arena and activated the arena's grand formation by forming hand seals. A semi-transparent spiritual light barrier enveloped the entire square arena.

"The Grand Election Final. Lingcui Peak's Jiang Huaiyue versus Xuan Yin Peak's Lin Feilu. The winner will be crowned the Holy Maiden of the Xuan Yin Sect!"

The referee elder's voice echoed throughout the arena. He stepped back to the sidelines and waved his arm.

"start!"

Jiang Huaiyue, dressed in a bright red silk dress, had a sinister look in her eyes. She had no intention of making a move; instead, she formed a hand seal and pointed sharply forward.

The towering bronze-armored corpse let out a muffled roar. Its dark blue feet stomped on the bluestone slab, instantly turning the slab into dust. Its massive body, exuding a terrifying aura, slammed into Lin Feilu, who was dozens of feet away.

The air currents parted, and the barrier's light curtain rippled in layers.

Lin Feilu looked at the enormous creature that was crushing towards him and placed his right hand on the hilt of his sword.

The magical power within his body sank.

The Wind and Thunder Phantom Boots are activated.

A series of low, rumbling thunderclaps exploded beneath her feet. Lin Feilu's figure swayed. A series of incredibly realistic afterimages remained in place.

The bronze-armored corpse crashed heavily into the afterimage. The airflow exploded, and the afterimage dissipated.

Lin Feilu had already appeared at the other end of the ring. The two had created some distance between them.

Lin Yuan stood below the stage with his arms crossed.

He also crafted a set of these boots for himself. Even with his Qi Refining stage cultivation, if he used his full power, a mid-to-late Foundation Establishment cultivator simply couldn't catch up in a short time.

Jiang Huaiyue lost sight of her target and suddenly turned around.

Lin Feilu didn't give her a chance to readjust. She then formed a sword incantation with her fingers.

The supreme flying sword emitted a piercing sword cry. In mid-air, the sword split into three. Three silver sword beams tore through the air, sealing off all of Jiang Huaiyue's escape routes and heading straight for her face.

Jiang Huaiyue's pupils contracted sharply, an intense sense of life-or-death crisis instantly sealing off her entire body.

At the critical moment, a black, exquisitely crafted shield at her waist trembled violently, and a dark light shot into the sky, instantly transforming into a three-foot-tall Xuanwu (Black Tortoise) ghost-faced shield in front of her.

This shield is a top-grade magical artifact bestowed by Sima Duan, specifically designed to defend against deadly attacks.

"when!"

A deafening roar. The silver sword light struck the shield. The air shield cracked, and the flying sword was forcibly deflected at an angle.

The sword's edge grazed Jiang Huaiyue's cheek. A strand of long hair fell to the ground.

A bloody line ran from Jiang Huaiyue's cheekbone down to her jaw. Blood seeped out and dripped down her chin onto her red dress.

In the main stands.

Sima Duan stopped moving the iron gall bladder.

His withered lips were pressed tightly together, and his face was gloomy. His proud disciple had his face cut in the very first exchange.

On the arena.

Jiang Huaiyue reached out and touched her cheek. Her fingertips were covered in warm blood.

"You're going to die!" Jiang Huaiyue's eyes were bloodshot, her once proud appearance ruined, which enraged her.

She clasped her hands together abruptly.

Upon receiving the command, the bronze-armored corpse's dark gold runes turned a blinding blood red.

It opened its maw wide. Thick, purplish-black corpse energy erupted like a river bursting its banks. In just a few breaths, the corpse energy spread and engulfed the entire arena. The spectators outside could only see the swirling purplish-black energy within the barrier; they couldn't see the battle at all.

"The aura of death is so strong. It not only pollutes magical artifacts and treasures, but it is also extremely corrosive." Disciples below the stage retreated one after another.

Lin Feilu looked at the surging corpse energy.

Her expression remained unchanged as she steadily channeled her spiritual energy into her plain-colored dress.

The patterns on her Hundred Flowers Ice Silkworm Skirt swirled. A heavy, ice-blue shield stretched across her body. Water-attribute spiritual energy circulated continuously.

The purplish-black corpse energy slammed against the shield, making a hissing sound. The ice silkworm silk, refined from extremely cold materials, possessed a natural suppressive power against this insidious method. The corpse energy couldn't penetrate even a fraction of it.

Jiang Huaiyue's divine sense pierced through the corpse energy and saw Lin Feilu standing unharmed in the same spot.

Corpse energy is ineffective. Corpse refining is countered by speed.

Jiang Huaiyue bit her fingertip and wiped it on the storage bag.

A blood-red long dagger appeared in her palm. The blade was serrated, and it reeked of foul-smelling blood.

On the stands, an elder from another peak suddenly stood up.

"Breaking Formation Blood Blade! Old Ghost Sima, you even gave her this kind of weapon specifically designed to break formations?"

"The rules of the competition don't say anything about not being able to bestow magical artifacts! This blade is my signature weapon from when I was in the Foundation Establishment stage. Today, I'll use this ice-cold junior as a sacrifice! Anyone who disagrees, come down and spar with my refined corpse!"

Jiang Huaiyue spat a mouthful of blood onto the dagger. His magical power surged forth.

The Blood-Breaking Blade transformed into a dark red streak of light. Unhindered by the corpse energy, it trailed a long bloody tail and headed straight for the icy blue heavy shield.

The tip of the dagger slammed into the shield.

The red and blue lights collided wildly. The serrated edges of the blood blade spun rapidly, emitting an extremely piercing cutting sound.

The icy blue shield burst into blinding crimson sparks under the frenzied cutting of the serrated edges, its surface rapidly caved inward, emitting a teeth-grinding "crackling" sound.

The originally crystal-clear water-based spiritual energy surged wildly like boiling water, and the surface of the shield was even stretched into terrifying deformation, as if it would collapse under the extreme brute force and bloodlust at any moment.

Click click.

An extremely piercing cracking sound echoed within the barrier.

The serrated edge of the Blood-Breaking Blade spun wildly, finally tearing a gap in the icy blue shield of the Hundred Flowers Ice Silkworm Skirt.

The disciples who had bet on Jiang Huaiyue couldn't help but cheer.

Lin Yuan, standing at the back of the crowd, had his hands tucked into his sleeves, his eyes narrowed behind his mask. He thought to himself, "The weapon that Old Ghost Sima gave me is indeed quite ingenious. However, the higher the prey jumps, the harder it will fall."