Not only were the surrounding spectators' hearts filled with complicated feelings, even Du Lingfei herself felt jealous of Bai Xiaochun's luck. Chen Zi'ang and the others felt the same way. The four of them had all entered the top five, each battle costing them energy. If one of them had gotten a bye this round and could rest, it would have be a huge advantage for the battles ahead.
Elder Sun glanced at Bai Xiaochun and smiled faintly, not paying much attention. As for Li Qinghou, his expression remained calm.
Soon, with Bai Xiaochun watching the scene like an onlooker, Du Lingfei and the other three began their battles. Du Lingfei's opponent struck with sharpness—clearly someone experienced in hunting fierce beasts, bloodied from many battles, cautious of Du Lingfei's casual attitude. His movements were fast and well-protected.
The duel between the two drew the crowd's eyes. Occasionally, exclamations of shock escaped as the dangerous exchanges unfolded. Among the cheers, one sharp voice stood out, leading the crowd's rhythm.
"Ah, such a sword!"
"That 'Heaven Dragon Tail Sweep' move—wait, turn around, quickly turn around!"
"Come on!!" Bai Xiaochun watched with great involvement, even clapping occasionally. He wasn't doing it on purpose but truly admired Du Lingfei's fight. Mentally, he had long stopped seeing himself as a contestant.
This behavior made Elder Sun cough a few times, while Li Qinghou showed no expression but was inwardly helpless—after all, Bai Xiaochun was really fulfilling his request.
Du Lingfei, fully focused on her fierce opponent, fought for about the length of a joss stick burning before she successfully used the "Lightness of Lifting" technique three times to win.
However, she had consumed more than half of her spiritual energy. After dripping sweat, she stepped down from the stage, intending to recover. Then she heard Bai Xiaochun's excited shout. Thinking about how hard she had worked to enter the top three while Bai Xiaochun had achieved the same with no effort, she felt wronged and wished she could beat him up.
Bai Xiaochun blinked. He had long noticed Du Lingfei's resentment and now felt equally wronged, staring at her pitifully. This look almost made Du Lingfei want to attack immediately.
Chen Zi'ang's fight was relatively easier, lasting half a joss stick and consuming some spiritual energy before winning. Like Du Lingfei, he too was jealous and envious of Bai Xiaochun.
"Top three are out. You three are the outstanding disciples of the outer sect. Step forward to choose the order for the next round. The one who draws the number three ball will get a bye and automatically enter the final battle," Elder Sun said after clearing his throat. When he said "outstanding disciples," he hesitated briefly. Then he waved his right hand and the balls appeared again.
Chen Zi'ang was the first to go, drew a ball marked "2," sighed, and stepped aside.
Du Lingfei took a deep breath, was about to step forward, but suddenly stopped and coldly said, "You go first!"
Bai Xiaochun, who was watching casually, did not refuse and directly put his hand into the bag. Du Lingfei glared at him coldly, and so did all the surrounding spectators.
Even Elder Sun and Li Qinghou looked on similarly.
Under all these gazes, Bai Xiaochun felt a bit shy but didn't care about the number. He randomly picked a ball and was stunned when he saw it.
Number three.
"That's because you told me to pick first," Bai Xiaochun coughed and looked at Du Lingfei.
Du Lingfei's eyes flashed with fierce light. She clenched her fists tightly, staring at Bai Xiaochun with chest heaving violently, feeling as if a breath inside her was about to explode.
Chen Zi'ang's eyes widened and he was dumbfounded. He couldn't imagine how lucky a person could be to get a bye twice.
The crowd erupted into noise when they saw the number in Bai Xiaochun's hand.
"He actually got a bye again! His name is Bai Xiaochun? What kind of luck is this, twice?!"
"This shameless guy did nothing but got into the finals..."
"If I had such luck, I'd be the same!" The crowd outside the eliminated participants were filled with extreme jealousy.
Elder Sun hesitated, glanced at Li Qinghou, who sighed deeply. Even he had to admit Bai Xiaochun's luck was impressive.
Feeling the strange atmosphere, Bai Xiaochun awkwardly smiled and quickly ran off the stage, standing outside the gate looking embarrassed.
"I originally planned to give up..." Bai Xiaochun looked at the ball in his hand, amazed himself.
Du Lingfei took a deep breath, suppressing her sour feelings. She bit her silver teeth and looked seriously at Chen Zi'ang, who she knew was a formidable opponent.
Chen Zi'ang also sighed and stared at Du Lingfei seriously.
They exchanged glances for several breaths and suddenly attacked simultaneously. The sound of clashes echoed as this was the most thrilling duel of the contest so far. Chen Zi'ang unleashed his full strength, even producing attacking spirit plants from seeds, using the power of plants in battle, which impressed Bai Xiaochun.
Du Lingfei used the "Lightness of Lifting" to control flying swords that whistled sharply. After prolonged battle, she took out a wooden sword, making two swords fly intertwined, creating a deadly scene, pushing the duel to its peak.
Neither side could hold back their secret techniques or limit their spiritual energy consumption; the battle intensified.
Bai Xiaochun watched outside, heart pounding, and cheers kept rising.
After nearly half an hour of fighting, a loud boom was heard as Du Lingfei sacrificed one wooden sword, shattering it into countless wooden shards, which she used to block all directions with "Lightness of Lifting" speed, forming a deadly trap that forced Chen Zi'ang to retreat repeatedly until his spiritual energy was exhausted and he sighed, admitting defeat.
The outer sect disciples watching were full of admiration, respecting Du Lingfei, and even Chen Zi'ang gained fame from this battle.
Elder Sun was quite satisfied, especially with Du Lingfei, even considering taking her as a disciple.
Regardless of the final result of this minor contest, Bai Xiaochun's name would spread.
When Chen Zi'ang admitted defeat, Du Lingfei looked pale and shaky on the stage. Her spiritual energy was almost drained, and after taking some pills, she knew they were ineffective. She needed to meditate for hours but the contest rules did not allow so much rest since this was only a minor contest.
"Bai Xiaochun, come up here!" Du Lingfei gritted her teeth and stared fiercely at Bai Xiaochun outside the stage. She wanted to take advantage of her remaining energy to finish off the lucky bastard who had matched her into the final battle by sheer luck.
As Du Lingfei shouted, everyone turned to look at Bai Xiaochun with schadenfreude. In their eyes, even though Du Lingfei was exhausted, defeating the luck-based Bai Xiaochun would be easy.
Bai Xiaochun blinked and looked at Du Lingfei, who was barely standing. Suddenly he felt he might actually win first place.
"This time, I, Bai Xiaochun, can finally make a name for myself. When I get on stage, I'll show 'Lightness of Lifting' and make everyone cheer," Bai Xiaochun thought proudly as he strode onto the stage.
But just as he stepped up, Du Lingfei's eyes flashed cold light. With a sudden finger-seal, the wooden sword beside her shot toward Bai Xiaochun.
The sword radiated sharp killing intent, chilling the air. This was Du Lingfei's full spiritual energy's ultimate strike, giving the sword power beyond normal.
More astonishingly, Du Lingfei herself dashed forward, almost merging with the flying sword as she pressed her finger on its hilt, becoming one with it, rushing at Bai Xiaochun.
With a boom, the sword's speed skyrocketed, even faster than when fighting Chen Zi'ang, causing a sharp whistle as it sliced through the air like a rainbow, approaching Bai Xiaochun in an instant.
Everyone was shocked and shouted.
"A Flying Sword Immortal Strike!"
"Senior Sister Du has actually mastered this sword technique!"
Elder Sun's eyes suddenly brightened. Li Qinghou nodded slightly. They knew Du Lingfei hadn't really mastered the technique but had understood it in a desperate moment, using her last spiritual energy to barely unleash its power.
"By risking it all, she understood the meaning of this sword technique. This Du Lingfei is impressive. She is more suited for Qingfeng Mountain," Li Qinghou said admiringly.
At this moment, all the outer sect disciples were stunned. The surroundings blurred except for the figure of Du Lingfei merged with the flying sword, which was strikingly clear.
The sword howled as Du Lingfei followed it, her face tired but her eyes sharp. She was confident this strike would win.
At the critical moment, when the sword was about to hit Bai Xiaochun, his eyes narrowed and all his jade pendants and talismans exploded with power, forming layers of protective shields as his body swiftly retreated.
However, this flying sword was clearly extraordinary. It pierced through all his defenses, slowing down but not breaking the shield. The sword tip stabbed directly into Bai Xiaochun's body.
But it seemed to lose momentum upon piercing him. As Bai Xiaochun stepped back, the sword shook with his body. From his torn outer clothes, layers of leather armor were visible beneath.
Everyone gasped in astonishment.
"This Bai Xiaochun actually has protection!"
"This guy is so scared of dying. For a sect minor contest, he not only has protective artifacts and talismans but also wears leather armor!"
Du Lingfei's face turned pale as she watched Bai Xiaochun retreating like a rabbit with its tail stepped on. She clenched her teeth and tried to retrieve the flying sword with a finger seal. But her spiritual energy was almost gone; the sword trembled but wouldn't move.
Panicking, Du Lingfei tried to recover the sword's control but coughed up blood, staggered back, collapsed, and her spiritual energy completely dried up.
She felt endless grievance. After all her hard work, she reached the top two, yet Bai Xiaochun, who barely used any energy, had matched her again. Her frustration turned into rage, and her gaze burned with murderous intent. If looks could kill, Bai Xiaochun would have died countless times. If she still had strength, she would have bitten him hard.
Bai Xiaochun took a deep breath and quickly stepped back, surprised by Du Lingfei's secret move.
"Damn it, good thing I came prepared with seven or eight layers of leather armor," Bai Xiaochun muttered, looking at the sword sticking in his shoulder. The sword had pierced his defenses but lost much power after penetrating the layers of tough leather. The remaining force barely touched his skin.
Thanks to his immortal skin, he didn't even feel a mosquito bite.
Bai Xiaochun nervously looked at the sword in his shoulder, pulled it out, and glanced at the panting Du Lingfei.
"Senior sister, don't throw your treasure around carelessly. If you don't want this sword, I'll take it," Bai Xiaochun said happily as he tossed the sword into his storage bag. Then he took out his small wooden sword, ready to perform "Lightness of Lifting" and make everyone cheer.
Du Lingfei's eyes turned red as she watched Bai Xiaochun take her sword. She went mad with anger, then suddenly fainted.
This was the second person to be fainted by Bai Xiaochun in this minor contest.
"Eh, why faint again?" Bai Xiaochun looked at the unconscious Du Lingfei with some helplessness, holding his small wooden sword.