I, who was turned into a woman by the Jade Maiden Master, want to rebel against the Heavenly Gang.

Ruan Yan's expression was extremely solemn. She then transformed into a few fallen leaves and disappeared into the swirling sand and dust.

Qin Rufeng countered each move with a quick, swift motion, rising to pick up her pipa and rapidly strumming the strings with her delicate hands. Fine dust particles hovered in the air, and the stirring music seemed to echo with the sounds of clashing swords and galloping horses across a vast desert.

"Fine wine in a luminous cup, I long to drink, but the pipa urges me on; do not laugh at me, drunk and fallen on the battlefield, for how many have returned from ancient battles..."

Although Ruan Yan could conceal her form, the sound waves that stirred up the dust would change direction as they swept over her body, making her impossible to hide from.

Ruan Yan was actually very close to Qin Rufeng; if she hadn't noticed in time, he could have touched her from behind and stabbed her in the neck.

But now that it has become visible, that's a different story!

Qin Rufeng, holding her pipa, lifted her long, snow-white legs and shattered the ice lotus with a scorpion-tail kick. In an instant, ice shards scattered and burst forth.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Ruan Yan hurriedly used the Wooden Armor Technique to protect herself.

Water nourishes wood, so ice shards are not effective against wooden armor. Although Ruan Yan was unharmed, her invisibility was broken, forcing her to create distance again.

Although she can levitate on quicksand, doing so will constantly deplete her spiritual energy.

Qin Rufeng remained calm and composed, a smile on her face. She had previously killed three people in the Mangshan Secret Realm, narrowly escaping death herself. Therefore, this kind of sect arena battle was no different from playing music, singing, drinking, or savoring tea.

She stood on one ice lotus, her pipa reversed, and began to sing "Moon Over the West River." The melody had changed from the earlier "Qin King Breaks the Formation" and "Liangzhou Ballad," filled with the sounds of war and swords, to a gentle melody of spring flowers and autumn moon.

The spiritual energy of the surrounding plants, trees, rocks, and mountains quickly gathered on Qin Rufeng, helping her to recover her spiritual energy.

Although this cannot compare to the effect of the Qi Condensation Pill, its ability to continuously restore spiritual energy during combat is already a miraculous skill.

Not to mention the onlookers, even Master Liu Bailian was astonished by her beloved disciple's performance. She couldn't help but turn to look at Dongfang Zhi beside her…

Dongfang Zhi quickly leaned over and whispered, "Don't worry, Venerable Liu, I only took one of your disciple's musical scores and a few jars of Dream-Entangling Wine."

Liu Bailian was overjoyed, but on the surface he remained calm and said with his eyes half-closed, "Since Junior Sister likes the Dream-Entangling Wine, I will have Yun Yishui send you a few more jars later."

Dongfang Zhi smiled and said softly, "Then thank you, Venerable Liu."

Yun Yishui, standing to the side, frowned and muttered under his breath with a helpless expression, "Why is it me who has to deliver it... It's not like they're going to keep your precious disciple and not return him."

At this moment, Ruan Yan on the arena was already losing her composure. She quickly formed hand seals and chanted incantations.

In the blink of an eye, leaves were flying and dancing on the arena.

These leaves resemble bamboo leaves, with extremely sharp edges. The blade-like leaves swirled and danced in the wind, their eye enveloping Qin Rufeng.

Ruan Yan's eyes widened, and her originally gentle and elegant face now showed a hint of murderous intent. She silently uttered "Gather!" and the whirlwind of blades rapidly contracted, slicing through Qin Rufeng like a thousand blades.

In terms of the power of the blade alone, it certainly cannot compare to the "Thousand Mountains Flying Snow" which is a manifestation of sword energy, but this method of encirclement and killing is more efficient than "Thousand Mountains Flying Snow".

If nothing unexpected happens, each blade will be able to cut Qin Rufeng.

However, as expected, something unexpected is bound to happen...

Suddenly, a pair of fiery wings unfurled from Qin Rufeng's back! The True Qi of Blazing Fire instantly burned the wood-attribute blade leaves into snow-white ash.

Ruan Yan couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "You! Just how many spiritual roots of magic do you know?!"

It's obvious to anyone with eyes that Qin Rufeng's Fire Phoenix Seal is definitely a direct inheritance from the Vermilion Bird Saintess Ji Xuelan.

The crowd was still buzzing with discussion, but the voices of disdain and mockery had largely disappeared...

Nangong Yue, who was also watching the battle, had a very serious expression. She had seen Qin Rufeng's Fire Phoenix Wings once before in the Mangshan Secret Realm, but at that time, Qin Rufeng released black flames using entropy control.

Seeing real phoenix wings this time confirms it...

Nangong Yue frowned and muttered to herself, "Qin Rufeng, I'd like to see what you've got that has earned Master's favor!"

At this point, Ruan Yan was completely on the defensive. Qin Rufeng hadn't even used his ultimate move yet; he was simply playing the zither.

She changed the piece back to "The Qin King's Battle Song". At this point, Ruan Yanxin was already in a state of turmoil; the constant sounds of the zither were putting immense pressure on her mental state.

Standing on the arena, she saw dark clouds gathering, dust swirling in the wind, and a rain of arrows whistling down from the sky, as if a massive army was rushing towards her with overwhelming force.

Chapter 76 is completely unique.

Concealing her form was now useless, so Ruan Yan could only use the Wooden Armor Technique to protect herself.

To onlookers, it appeared as if her feet were sinking into quicksand. She was completely disoriented, desperately casting hand seals to protect herself with a wooden armor technique.

Suddenly, Qin Rufeng's eyes widened, and he swung his hand to strum the strings. An invisible sword aura struck Ruan Yan's throat without warning.

Ruan Yan was sent flying backwards and fell off the stage...

In an instant, the audience fell silent; you could hear a pin drop.

A moment later, a loud voice announced, "The outcome is decided. The victor is Qin Rufeng!"

The crowd remained silent, as if the air itself had frozen. After a long while, cheers and exclamations finally broke out.

Although the cheers were noticeably less loud than in the previous two events, the number of people in the audience who recognized Qin Rufeng was vastly different from before.

It might not be accurate to say that the battle completely changed people's impression of her. But at this moment, from top to bottom, from senior elders to new disciples, no one in the Jade Maiden Sect dared to underestimate Qin Rufeng anymore.

Everyone understood that she was no mere pet or pretty face; she was a highly accomplished disciple of the Xuanwu Saintess. Her music was unparalleled, her appearance as beautiful as jade, her heart as pure as orchid, and her swordsmanship as fierce as a rainbow.

Ruan Yan accepted her defeat wholeheartedly. She knew that if it weren't for the protective array of the Flowing Cloud Realm level arena, Qin Rufeng's sword energy would have already taken her head.

Most of the onlookers believed that Qin Rufeng had transformed his zither music into a sword, and apart from the sect elders, very few could see the truth.

Qin Rufeng's sweeping motion across the strings was a mere illusion; she was actually using the second move of the Taihua Sword Sect's Myriad Swords Technique: Ambush from Ten Sides.

As the saying goes, your figure vanishes, my sword energy is formless. Thunder roars in silence, true skill is revealed in the smallest details.

The other groups then engaged in fierce competition. After the first round, only two matches were unexpected.

One major upset was Qin Rufeng's victory over Ruan Yan. The other was Qin Rufeng's second-round opponent, Gan Mingyue of Hou Tu Tang, who defeated Hua Ying, the personal disciple of the White Tiger Saintess.

After a short rest, the second round of arena battles began.

Most contestants rushed into the second round before they had fully recovered, which was in stark contrast to the previous round where they had to wait an entire night after the draw.

The intention behind this is quite simple. In actual combat, there's no time for rest; continuous intense fighting is a common occurrence. A war of attrition is also an effective way to wear down a skilled opponent.

The effects of this arrangement were immediately apparent on the arena. In the first match, Suzaku disciple Nangong Yue defeated her opponent from Ruijin Hall with almost no effort.

Firstly, because of the elemental advantage of her spiritual roots, and secondly, because her opponent had already exhausted herself in the previous arena match. Nangong Yue, on the other hand, still had plenty of energy left.

Nangong Yue's next opponent will be the winner between Qin Rufeng and Gan Mingyue. Therefore, she specifically went to Qin Rufeng's side and said, "Hey, you better not lose!"

Qin Rufeng thought these words were encouraging, but Nangong Yue's expression didn't seem to suggest so.

She knew that Nangong Yue was upright but extremely proud. The fact that she possessed the Fire Phoenix Seal taught by Ji Xuelan was a knot in Nangong Yue's heart, a proper disciple of the Vermilion Bird Saintess. Without untying this knot, her Dao heart would be unstable.

The time it took the Qingyun Pavilion members to repair the arena with their magic was longer than the time it took Nangong Yue to instantly kill her opponent. During the wait, everyone was buzzing with discussion…

"I'm optimistic about Gan Mingyue in the second match."

"Me too."

"Qin Rufeng's moves are flashy but impractical and overconfident; they won't work against a tough opponent."

"Her music was illusory, but Senior Sister Gan's formation was real."

"Yes, the thousands of troops played on a three-foot-long zither can't shake the real million-strong golden armor."

Qin Rufeng had watched two demonstrations of Gan Mingyue's moves: one was yesterday's martial arts performance, and the other was the fight he had just witnessed.

Gan Mingyue's signature skill is called "Golden Armor Formation." This is a formation that requires both metal and earth elemental roots, and it's not something just anyone can use.

The effect was simple: golden-armored warriors kept emerging from the formation. No matter what magic the opponent used, they would just rush in and hack and slash wildly.

This might not seem like much, but those golden-armored warriors possessed ridiculously high attack power. Their opponents often found it difficult to withstand them.

However, the golden-armored warrior has almost no defensive capabilities; it will dissipate if hit.

However, new golden-armored warriors will soon emerge from the ranks, in an endless stream.

Hmph... How could it possibly be inexhaustible?

In the Mangshan Secret Realm, Qin Rufeng consumed several Qi Condensation Pills. Her biggest feeling during combat was the severe lack of spiritual energy.

The Flowing Light and Flowing Water technique consumes spiritual energy, as does the Fire Phoenix Seal and the Weak Water and Sinking Sand technique. Even the Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix technique cannot summon many swords due to insufficient spiritual energy.

Therefore, Qin Rufeng did not believe that the Golden Armored Warrior would consume little spiritual energy.

Therefore, a high consumption of spiritual energy is the first piece of information about an opponent.

The second piece of information is that the golden-armored warrior is strong in offense but weak in defense.

Are there any more?

Qin Rufeng glanced sideways at Gan Mingyue, while his opponent seemed unimpressed. She simply stood upright, her posture as imposing as a statue.

Upon closer inspection, this fairy indeed possesses extraordinary bearing. Her hair is tied up and she wears a crown; her eyebrows are like unsheathed scimitars, and her bright eyes radiate a clear and fierce spirit.

Her facial features were sharply defined, with striking and beautiful features that were neither delicate nor pretentious. She truly possessed the valiant and outstanding demeanor of a female general.

And her figure was exceptionally good. A pair of large, white breasts rose and fell with her breath. Two gleaming gold breastplates topped her round, large rabbit head. They were shaped like animal head rings, practically like door knockers. If you grabbed one in each hand… the image was unimaginable.

Qin Rufeng wondered, how did this thing get stuck? Could it be that she wore it too…?

Just as I was pondering this, the site was finally repaired.

Gan Mingyue was the first to step onto the stage. She held a steel whip in one hand and a battle flag in the other. She wore a beast-head breastplate and a python-skin belt. Her lower body was covered by a mountain-patterned armor and a long skirt.

Cultivators are mostly ethereal and otherworldly, and it's rare to see someone as dignified and heroic as Gan Mingyue. Even the elders of the sect couldn't help but nod slightly when they saw her.

Looking at Gan Mingyue on the stage, Qin Rufeng suddenly had a flash of inspiration!

Gan Mingyue is wearing golden armor. Xia Bailing previously wore black armor. Is there any difference?

Golden armor... consumes a lot of spiritual energy... Golden-armored warriors are strong in offense but weak in defense...

Based on these three pieces of information, let's make an assumption. Suppose that her metal and earth spiritual roots are not balanced, but rather metal is stronger than earth. Therefore, armor is metal armor, and the warrior is also metal armor, but with strong offense and weak defense.

In that case, that thing should be useful...

Gan Mingyue waited a while in the arena before Qin Rufeng slowly walked onto the stage. People seemed to have gotten used to her entrance in this manner.

What was that thing she was holding in her arms?

The image of Qin Rufeng carrying a pipa and holding a zither, playing and singing on stage, is deeply ingrained in people's minds. To those who don't know her, she seems like someone skilled in using music as magic.

However, in this performance, Qin Rufeng neither carried a pipa nor held a zither. She also removed all the headdresses, including the gold flower hairpins and jeweled ornaments, and tied her hair into a neat high ponytail.

She carried the sword case given to her by Yan Qingping on her back, and held in her arms... a large painted vase.

Chapter 77 Shaking

The onlookers were completely bewildered...

"what happened?"

"Where's the zither? Where's the pipa?"

"What exactly is Qin Rufeng trying to do?"

What is she holding?

"A treasure vase? Aren't we forbidden from using magic items?"

The sect leader, Shen Yuchen, who was watching the battle, sized up Qin Rufeng and then said to Liu Bailian, "Liu'er, your disciple is holding a vase from my corridor. Although it's not a treasure, it's still a rare item. Don't let her break it."

Yun Yishui was speechless. Without waiting for Liu Bailian to speak, she immediately left the spectator stands and went down to the arena. No matter what tricks Qin Rufeng was up to, she had to make sure this pretty face didn't break.

At this moment, Qin Rufeng was holding the vase high above his head...

Not to mention the onlookers, even the people supervising Qingyun Pavilion at the scene carefully used their divine senses to investigate whether the vase was a magic weapon.

"Crash..."

In full view of everyone, Qin Rufeng poured all the water from the bottle over himself, soaking him from head to toe.

Everyone was still completely bewildered...

Is that water?

"Aren't we forbidden from using magic weapons? This is against the rules."

"No, right? None of the people from Qingyun Pavilion called for a halt."

"The water flowing from the treasure bottle, isn't that a magic weapon?"

"Aren't bottles meant to hold water?"

"Could it be that she only brought a bottle of water to the ring?"

"This is too..."

Yun Yishui kept giving Qin Rufeng meaningful glances from below the stage.