Chapter 4: Someone Was Watching

“Junior brother.” Yunnan You landed gracefully with his long sword not far from Mu An.

Confusion flickered in his eyes. His attack just now hadn’t even employed any special technique—why had his junior brother not dodged and simply taken the hit?

Mu An panted heavily, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. “Senior brother, your skills have grown even more refined.”

Inside, however, he was cursing. [Damn it! Yunnan You’s attack just now didn’t have nearly enough force!]

He had originally planned to use that strike to fall directly off the arena. But after actually taking the hit, he realized that if he rolled off the stage with that amount of force, it would be far too obvious that he was throwing the match.

He had no choice but to land within the arena, deciding to act it out a few more times before letting Yunnan You defeat him.

Without giving himself a moment to catch his breath, he charged again fiercely with his twin swords.

Yunnan You frowned slightly and quickly counterattacked.

Feeling that his earlier acting had been too poor and fearing he might be seen as deliberately trying to lose, Mu An decided to go all out with his ultimate move.

He channeled all his spiritual energy into the twin swords, instantly amplifying their power. The oppressive sense of peak-level force made many of the watching junior disciples and sisters involuntarily step back.

Seeing that Mu An was using his real techniques, Yunnan You set aside his doubts for the moment and also channeled all his spiritual energy into his long sword.

[Host, take it easy. Don’t actually go all out and accidentally win. Then you’ll be in trouble.]

“Yunnan You is no pushover. I won’t win that easily, so don’t worry.” After replying to the system, Mu An’s twin swords inexplicably flickered with flames, making him appear even more flamboyant and radiant.

Yunnan You summoned a swirl of cyan wind around himself, blocking Mu An’s heavy strike.

“Senior brother, are you still holding back? Are you looking down on your junior brother?” Mu An’s lips curled slightly.

The unrestrained arrogance in his eyes made Yunnan You’s heart skip a beat. The next moment, Mu An launched a fierce attack.

Yunnan You dodged in a fluster, a few strands of his dark hair severed.

He was stunned. [I actually got distracted just now.]

On the high platform, Shen Shengqing’s eyes darkened. [Why is my disciple repeatedly holding back? With that move, he could have directly knocked Yunnan You off the stage.]

He lightly tapped his fingers on the tabletop. Yi Chen glanced over and saw a web of cracks spreading across the surface.

[What a man who shows no emotion, this Wanghua Immortal Lord.]

She looked up to see Mu An attacking Yunnan You once more. There was a hint of reckless urgency in his aggressive style, yet every lethal strike failed to land.

[Could Mu An be close friends with Yunnan You in private?]

Yunnan You also stopped holding back. On the arena, his offensive grew increasingly fierce.

Mu An gradually reduced his strength, exposing more and more openings. He was blasted away, crashing hard against the edge of the arena and spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Yunnan You’s hand tightened on his sword. Mu An grew increasingly dissatisfied. [The hell are you doing, fighting me? Why do you hit and then stop? Shouldn’t you just land a blow on me right now so I can gracefully exit the stage?]

Mu An sent a wave of spiritual energy toward Yunnan You from a distance. Yunnan You actually took the hit without dodging or blocking, spitting out blood as well.

[Host, be honest with me. Have you and Yunnan You had some kind of relationship behind my back?]

“What the hell are you talking about?”

[Anyone watching would think you two are flirting out here. Fighting all reluctant to part—you throw a move, I throw a move.]

“Ugh—I’m already spitting blood. Can you not annoy me?”

Mu An looked up at Yunnan You with cold eyes and launched another attack, forcing Yunnan You to strike back. The blow landed on his ribs, and he immediately used the momentum to fly off the arena.

He crashed to the ground with a smack, a hint of broken resentment in his brows and eyes as he stared up at Yunnan You.

Yunnan You’s heart trembled at the sight, inexplicably regretful.

[My junior brother yielded to me at every turn. How could I actually let him lose?]

“Yunnan You—victory!” the impartial elder announced in a cold, firm voice.

As soon as the verdict was given, the crowd erupted in heated discussion.

On the platform, Shen Shengqing let out a cold laugh.

[Good. Very good!]

Yi Chen had also clearly noticed that Mu An had deliberately held back. He clearly hadn’t wanted to win. She had no intention of kicking someone when they were down.

Still, she felt deeply displeased. [My disciple has no need for Shen Shengqing’s disciple to throw a match! This is an utter disgrace.]

Down below, Yunnan You flew from the stage, wanting to help Mu An up, but Mu An avoided him.

Mu An struggled to his feet from the ground and glared at Yunnan You with unwilling eyes. “Today’s humiliation will be repaid in the future.”

Having delivered his threatening line, Mu An clutched his chest and limped forward.

Yunnan You stood frozen, his outstretched hand hanging stiffly in midair.

***

Mu An hobbled to a quiet, secluded clearing and immediately grimaced in pain. “Jeez, system, crank up the pain blocker to max. That hurt like hell. Even at 50%, it’s excruciating. What would I do without you?”

[Okay, okay! It’s maxed, it’s maxed.] The system quickly maxed out the blocker for him.

The pain vanished instantly. Mu An let out a sigh of relief. “Whew—if I’d known there’d be fight scenes, I should have studied martial arts performance years ago. Then I wouldn’t have had to get knocked flying so many times just to lose.”

[It’s really hard to get the balance right, but you fought very well, host! Even though you two had that whole ‘love-hate, mutual destruction’ vibe going on, you perfectly completed the mission.]

“Next, I just need to be rejected by my master, and then I can express my bitterness with something like, ‘The bright moon hangs high, yet its light does not shine on me alone.’”

Mu An had planned it out perfectly. Then, suddenly, a chill ran down his spine.

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