But judging by the expressions of Mingyi and Ji Bozhai, they had clearly reached a consensus and were determined to proceed this way.
Qin Shangwu was seething with anger.
He had mentored many students before. Though none were as talented as these two, none had ever been this disobedient either. Was victory more important or letting those two recover? This was absurd! Childish! Utterly unreasonable!
Did they think anyone would be moved by this? No! Their opponents would only attack them even harder, besiege them, and use the burdens behind them to push them into a corner!
Muxing had already suffered heavy losses—how could they afford to lose these two as well?
Yet the next day, Ji Bozhai still went with Mingyi to participate in the duo treasure hunt competition.
This round tested the ability to detect Essence Power. There were three crystal treasure boxes hidden on the mountain, and the three cities that retrieved them would be ranked as the Upper Three Cities based on the order of acquisition.
Mingyi excelled in competitions like this that didn’t require high Essence Power intensity. Even without using a Divine Tool, she quickly sensed the location of the treasure box nearest to them.
But after sensing it, she and Ji Bozhai stood back-to-back, unmoving.
The wind suddenly picked up, and restless waves of Essence Power surged toward them from all directions.
The audience outside the sixth mirror had already begun cursing: "Isn’t this still a siege? Do they all just want to challenge our Muxing? How coordinated!"
"They’re only thirty meters apart. I don’t believe the people from Moonchase City didn’t sense the Essence Power of Sunspire City’s Fighters, yet they still only targeted Bo Zhai. Do they think we’re blind?"
"This Moonchase City tournament is the most unfair Six Cities Tournament I’ve ever seen!"
The uproar grew so loud that someone on the main platform had to step in to calm the crowd: "No one in the arena has broken any rules so far. Please remain calm."
"If beating Fan Yao and Chu He half to death yesterday wasn’t against the rules, then what is?"
"The Six Cities Tournament is a life-and-death competition. Deliberate harm isn’t against the rules," a Fighter from Moonchase City sneered. "Injuries or deaths can only be blamed on one’s own lack of skill."
"You—"
Just as the argument was about to escalate, the sixth mirror was suddenly obscured by a fog of black and white Essence Power.
The crowd froze, rising to their feet to see what had happened, but could only vaguely make out Mingyi and Ji Bozhai darting around.
Today, neither of them concealed their Essence Power, displaying their natural colors openly. They weren’t in a hurry to retrieve the treasure boxes—instead, they were focused on attacking people.
That’s right, attacking people.
As the fog thinned slightly, the audience clearly saw Mingyi stomp a Moonchase City Fighter’s face into the mud with such brutal force that it hardly seemed like something a woman could do.
The Fighter beneath her foot instantly lost the ability to fight, and a Nether Domain quickly gathered overhead, attempting to shield him. But Mingyi was faster—she hurled him away, narrowly missing the Nether Domain, and sent him crashing into a nearby rock.
The Fighter spat blood and muttered resentfully, "You… settling a personal grudge…"
"Not at all," Mingyi replied sweetly. Seeing the Nether Domain closing in on him, she grabbed his foot and flung him away, slamming him into another rock.
With a dull thud, the spectators in front of Moonchase City’s mirror seemed to hear the sound of the Fighter’s bones cracking all over his body.
"This is too much! Foul!" The Moonchase City representatives angrily stood up in protest.The previously indignant crowd from Star Yearn City had now calmed down, straightening their hair and robes with elegant composure as they remarked, "In the Six Cities Tournament, life and death are one's own responsibility. Even intentional harm doesn’t count as a foul."
"Exactly. Injuries or death can only be blamed on one’s own lack of skill. Accusing others of foul play—doesn’t that just sound like sore losing?"
One sarcastic comment after another infuriated the people of Moonchase City, who immediately protested to the judges' platform, demanding intervention for the injured Fighter.
However, they were too slow. By the time the elimination barrier from the Nether Domain descended upon the Fighter, his injuries were no less severe than Fan Yao's.
"I used to think that endless vengeance was pointless, and that violence only begets more violence," Mingyi said with a smile as she advanced toward the next opponent. "But now I see things differently. If you repay kindness with malice, then what should repay kindness?"
Ji Bozhai listened with a faint smile, his starry eyes gleaming as he gracefully snapped another Moonchase Fighter’s arm.
His strikes were ruthless, yet his handsome face still sent the spectators behind the mirrors into a frenzy, clutching their cheeks and sighing, "Even as a butcher, Lord Ji is peerlessly elegant."
"That’s our Bo Zhai—even his movements are more refined than anyone else’s."
"Bozhai, watch your back!"
The voices outside couldn’t reach him, but Mingyi sensed the attack from behind. She threw herself forward, using her Shield to block the strike for him, then darted like lightning toward the assailant. With overwhelming Essence Power, she forced the Fighter’s Meridians to rupture instantly.
This had always been her winning tactic—destroying Meridians halted all attacks and crushed a Fighter’s competitive spirit. Though they could never cultivate again, at least they’d keep their lives.
But this time, something was different. Despite the man’s agonized screams, he still managed to wrench his hand free and strike her abdomen.
Mingyi recoiled in pain, stumbling back two steps before she could counter. Before she could react, a dark shadow shot past her.
A black dragon coiled around the man’s throat, twisting violently before the elimination barrier could even descend.
A sickening crack echoed.
Outside the mirror, the people of Sunspire City rose to their feet.
Ji Bozhai had just killed Zhou Qin—a Fighter from Sunspire, once a follower of Ming Xian, later one of his bitterest enemies. Zhou Qin had been hailed as a rare genius in Sunspire, winning the Six Cities Tournament at just fifteen. Yet now, he had fallen so pathetically, without even the strength to fight back.
The Sunspire delegation’s faces darkened. Wei Changsheng outright cursed, "Ungrateful traitors! Both of them!"
Zheng Tiao, seated in a nearby section, couldn’t help but chuckle at the outburst.
Wei Changsheng, already seething, whipped around to glare at him. "You, a perpetual loser, dare to laugh?"
"I lost to Ming Xian, not to any of you," Zheng Tiao retorted. "You’d better realize—without Ming Xian, none of you stand a chance against me."
Wei Changsheng, enraged, lunged forward, only to be held back by his companions. "Save it. There’ll be plenty of chances to meet him in the arena. Zheng Tiao has never beaten us before, and he won’t this time either."
Grinding his teeth, Wei Changsheng turned back to the mirror, watching as Zhu Wu was brutally injured by the duo. His hatred burned so fiercely it felt like he could wring a bowl of blood from his heart.
They knew Mingyi well—believed themselves to be her most formidable opponents, bar none. Yet despite all their preparations, when they finally faced her, she still crushed them effortlessly.
And beside her stood Ji Bozhai.This person appeared arrogant in the first match, but in truth, he hadn't exerted his full strength at all. It was a waste that they'd spent so much time analyzing how to counter Essence Power disguises based on that first match—none of those strategies proved useful now. They could only watch helplessly as he swept Sunspire City's contestants into the elimination Nether Domain like they were mere radishes and cabbages.
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