Chapter 17: The Duel (Part Two)

She forcefully dispelled the energy waves, her arms moving at lightning speed. Rows of elemental energy waves surged one after another, quickly forming ten tiers of energy waves.

Ji Jiu’er raised both palms and pushed fiercely!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Within Bai Ling’s first energy gate, a massive surge of elemental power erupted, mingled with the mysterious drop of blood, converging into Bai Ling’s right fist, which then struck out!

The first row of energy waves exploded instantly, stirring up dust from the ground.

The second row... boom!

The third row... boom!

The seventh row... boom!

Bai Ling felt excruciating pain in his right hand, as if countless blades were slashing through it.

Frowning, he immediately followed up with a punch from his left hand.

In Ji Jiu’er’s shocked eyes, Bai Ling’s left fist followed closely behind!

Boom!

One punch shattered the last three layers of energy waves!

Passing through the waves, it slammed directly into Ji Jiu’er’s palms!

Crack!

Accompanied by the sound of shattering bones, Ji Jiu’er’s expression turned terrified. Her eyes widened, lips slightly parted, her body trembling as disbelief spread across her face.

“No... impossible! I... I, Ji Jiu’er... how could I... be defeated...?”

A storm of emotions surged within Ji Jiu’er’s heart. The fist before her was like an iron beast, breaking through the first technique of her Nine Yuan Sacred Heaven Art.

Moreover, the power of his left fist was as terrifying as the force generated by the punch itself.

After breaking her first technique, it charged toward Ji Jiu’er’s chest.

In her eyes, Bai Ling’s fist swelled rapidly.

Boom!

Bai Ling’s fist struck her chest.

Crack!

Ji Jiu’er’s delicate body trembled, letting out a cold snort as her ribs instantly fractured.

---

With a tremendous force, Ji Jiu’er was blasted back, landing three meters away.

At the moment Bai Ling’s left fist shattered the three layers of elemental energy waves—

“Stop!!!”

Three loud shouts echoed through the sky.

Bai Ling furrowed his brows. One shout came from Bai Zhentian, another from Ji Kun, and the third was a cold, indifferent female voice from above.

He looked up to the sky, where a tiny black dot at ten thousand meters altitude rapidly expanded.

Bai Ling’s gaze returned to Ji Jiu’er, a confident smile playing across his face.

“Ji Jiu’er, don’t think that joining the Holy Yuan Immortal Palace makes you invincible. You have lost!”

Standing calmly, Bai Ling spoke each word with ease.

Outside the Lord’s Mansion of Liu Yue City, everyone stood frozen like wooden statues, utterly shocked—some even frightened—by what they had witnessed.

A disciple of the Holy Yuan Immortal Palace—defeated?

Ji Jiu’er was known as a woman of extraordinary talent in Liu Yue City. She had spent three years cultivating in the Luo Xuan Empire, with rumors whispering that she was personally mentored one-on-one by a powerful Earth Element Realm master within the Imperial Secret Pavilion. Her future was boundless—perhaps even destined to become one of the empire’s foremost city lords, or to step into the legendary Celestial Element Realm.

Recent rumors claimed that the Holy Yuan Immortal Palace, a reclusive force with millennia of heritage, had accepted her as a disciple. The palace had neither confirmed nor denied the news, but it was said they had indeed taken in a disciple from the Luo Xuan Empire.

Though Ji Jiu’er had been in the Holy Yuan Immortal Palace for less than a month, her mysterious movements and martial techniques demonstrated she had already grasped some of the palace’s teachings. Her comprehension was nothing short of terrifying and prodigious.

Meanwhile, Bai Ling, despite his uncle’s close ties with Liu Yue City’s Lord Ji Kun, had been labeled a worthless nobody just three days ago. At only eighteen, he was perhaps the last awakened individual in the world, the subject of widespread ridicule.

But now, Bai Ling had won—he defeated Ji Jiu’er, the Holy Yuan Immortal Palace disciple!

What a stunning upheaval!

Everyone’s expressions were complex. Ji Jiu’er’s terrifying talent had long been unreachable for countless cultivators, yet now, an ordinary young man, fists clenched, had triumphed over her!

Bai Zhentian abruptly stood, leaning forward with tears streaking down his face. He had feared Bai Ling might act rashly and kill Ji Jiu’er, worried the youth’s humiliation three days prior would turn him into a ruthless and cruel man. Seeing Bai Ling refrain from finishing off Ji Jiu’er, emotions he had suppressed for over a decade burst forth uncontrollably.

Xuan Ningyue slowly rose, her face lighting up with a radiant smile, mesmerizing the surrounding men who stood dumbfounded. That excessively beautiful woman had seemingly just linked arms with Bai Ling.

Ji Jiu’er’s mother’s voice shattered the silence with an angry roar: “He cheated! He must have cheated! Guards, where are you? Seize him! Interrogate him! My daughter could never be defeated!”

Ji Kun, Lord of Liu Yue City, was stunned, his mind blank as he stood frozen.

All eyes turned to this iron-willed man, the city lord Ji Kun.

After several seconds, Ji Kun ignored his wife’s roars. He bypassed the table and walked step by step toward Ji Jiu’er. Seeing her bloodstained chest and vacant eyes, his heart ached deeply.

---

He gently lifted Ji Jiu’er, cradling her in his arms. A grade-two medicinal pill appeared in his hand, which he placed into her mouth.

“Father... Father, did Jiu’er... was Jiu’er wrong?” Ji Jiu’er’s eyes were blank and dull.

After a moment, her gaze shifted toward Bai Ling, clad in white with a confident smile. Tears welled in her eyes and slid down her cheeks.

Bai Ling shook his head as he looked at Ji Jiu’er. “You were the one who proposed breaking off the engagement. I awakened my bloodline and defeated you. Why are you crying?”

Ji Jiu’er did not respond, burying her head in Ji Kun’s embrace.

The sound of his daughter’s sobbing pierced Ji Kun’s heart like a knife. He gently patted her shoulder and whispered words of comfort.

At that moment—

Above, clouds churned.

A female figure appeared, rippling the clouds around her as she descended gracefully.

“What is that?” the head of the Ye family, one of the three great clans, exclaimed, leaping from his seat in shock.

“Ling... Ling crossing the void!!!” the head of the Li family narrowed his eyes and murmured.

“Ah... heavens! A Celestial Element Realm master!!!”

“The strongest in Liu Yue City is Lord Ji Kun himself, an Earth Element Realm master! Could it be that today a Celestial Element Realm master has arrived in Liu Yue City?!”

“Could she be from the Holy Yuan Immortal Palace?”

“Fool! Have you forgotten that Ji Jiu’er is a disciple of the Holy Yuan Immortal Palace? Hiss... that means Ji Jiu’er holds a status far beyond an ordinary disciple, guarded by a Celestial Element Realm master in secret!”

...

The crowd erupted in commotion, like ants on a hot pan, wildly excited. In their memories, since the founding of Liu Yue City, no one had ever appeared who could cross the void at the Celestial Element Realm.

And now—

Such a master had arrived, prompting endless speculation.

Ji Jiu’er’s status in the Holy Yuan Immortal Palace was unimaginable. Having been defeated by the once-disgraced fiancé, what was this master’s true purpose? Was it to kill Bai Ling outright?

After all, Bai Ling, a prodigy capable of unleashing terrifying power at the eighth level of the Initial Element Realm, was nothing before a Celestial Element Realm master crossing the void.

One glance from such a master could kill Bai Ling a thousand times over.

Xuan Ningyue looked up at the expanding black dot in the sky. Her expression instantly chilled, as cold as frost, causing those around her to shiver as if trapped in an ice cellar.