One couldn’t help but stare at him, carefully savoring this cursed, contradictory sense of beauty.
Although Yun Huizhou knew in his heart that this was a look Lian Li was intentionally putting on, he still couldn’t help but stare for a long time.
At the same time, he could hear the sound of the surrounding crowd gasping and whispering in low voices.
“Truly worthy of someone competing for the eleventh spot on the Beauty List; this appearance and temperament are peerless.”
“I take back what I just said. This person is the most beautiful I’ve seen in thirty years.”
“Sss—we’re all human, so how did his face turn out so well while ours look so… sketchy?”
“Having seen such a beauty, I can die without regrets.”
“I declare, next year when Jinzui Pavilion tallies the annual Beauty List, I am definitely voting for this young hero.”
Compared to his opponent, Lian Li’s overall styling could only be described as casual.
Yet it was precisely this casualness that added a touch of being untainted by worldly dust.
Where the styling fell short, posturing made up the difference.
Although the people present were smart enough not to say outright who they thought looked better, judging by their reactions, Lian Li’s entrance had clearly left a deeper impression.
This round went to Lian Li.
Yun Huizhou lowered his head to hide the smile on his face, then looked toward the Maple Leaf Valley side. As expected, their expressions were not particularly good.
Especially Zhou Yu, the one who had challenged Lian Li; his eyes flickered, clearly no longer as emotionally stable as when he first appeared.
Yun Huizhou watched as he seemed to take a deep breath, his lips moving as if about to speak.
Yun Huizhou immediately went on high alert, his brain working at high speed. If the opponent said something difficult to answer, he would have to figure out how to help Lian Li deflect it.
However, while Lian Li was simple and usually a bit dazed, he was no fool.
At this moment, the rhythm was clearly in his hands. How could he let the opponent speak first and snatch it back?
Thus, the very moment he saw Zhou Yu’s lips move, he preemptively spoke the lines he had prepared.
As soon as he opened his mouth, it was in the Gu Long style.
“You have come.”
His hand moved to the whip at his waist. With a gentle flick, the whip uncoiled from his waist as if it had come to life. Then, with a casual twirl of his wrist, the whip was coiled around his hand.
He casually raised his hand to point at Zhou Yu.
“You are my opponent?”
This action seemed provocative no matter how one looked at it, but paired with his cold expression and indifferent tone, it only made people feel that this man truly possessed the air of a master.
Zhou Yu’s words were already at his throat, but Lian Li choked them back down. His face flushed unnaturally.
Lian Li pressed his advantage, giving him no chance to speak as he continued, “In that case, let us begin. Let’s not waste everyone’s time.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he flickered into the center of the field and made a “please” gesture.
Having been cut off twice in a row, Zhou Yu had completely lost the initiative.
At this point, if he said nothing and simply followed Lian Li’s lead by entering the field to start the match, he would feel stifled, as if he were merely obeying the other’s commands.
However, if he delayed entering the field and couldn’t say anything to steal back the spotlight, the onlookers would likely think he was a coward.
Nearby, the people invited by Maple Leaf Valley to record the event witnessed this scene. Several of them glanced at each other, seeing the surprise in one another’s eyes; they clearly didn’t know how to record this.
After all, they were invited by Maple Leaf Valley. Although it wasn’t explicitly stated, seeing how much preparation Maple Leaf Valley had put in, everyone understood their intention.
But the current situation was clearly not what Maple Leaf Valley wanted. Should they still record it?
Those who were unsure were only a portion of the recorders. Another portion actually worked for Jinzui Pavilion and were only there to earn some extra money from Maple Leaf Valley.
Backed by Jinzui Pavilion, they weren’t particularly afraid of Maple Leaf Valley causing them trouble—especially since their Pavilion Master was right here.
They hardly hesitated before putting pen to paper to begin recording. The artists also frantically sketched the current scene and the grace of the two combatants.
Jin Manjue wore a formulaic smile at the moment, also putting pen to paper.
His face revealed nothing; no one knew what he was thinking.
Zhou Yu stood in place for a good while, still feeling that he couldn’t just obediently go up. He took a step forward and said, “Before the match, state your name. Otherwise, people might think I, Zhou Yu, am dueling a nobody.”
Hearing this, Lian Li instinctively wanted to curl his lip. He felt that this Zhou Yu… was a bit stupid.
He was the one who issued the challenge, he was the one who publicized it, and he was the one who dressed up so elaborately to attend.
To say such a thing now—while not technically a major error—was ultimately inappropriate and a bit foolish.
Despite thinking this, Lian Li naturally wouldn’t say it; he had to maintain his current persona.
Thus, he frowned slightly and spoke softly, “I am but an unknown junior, hardly comparable to Young Master Zhou’s far-reaching reputation.”
He raised his hand again, urging, “Young Master Zhou, please.”
He had no intention of following Zhou Yu’s lead. As long as he didn’t engage directly with the opponent’s words, he wouldn’t fall into the other’s conversational rhythm. Furthermore, he could forcefully maintain his own.
Lian Li felt he was simply brilliant. Although saying this made him feel like he was “overflowing with tea fragrance,” as long as he was the one being the “green tea,” or the target was someone else, it felt wonderful.
Furthermore, Zhou Yu had been practicing martial arts within Maple Leaf Valley and had never traveled the Jianghu before; this was his first official outing.
In terms of reputation in the Jianghu, even if Lian Li wasn’t very famous yet, there were definitely more people who knew him than Zhou Yu.
After all, the incidents of capturing Ma Tie with strange methods at the Martial Arts Assembly a year ago and impersonating Miss Su in Fengyi City were known to many.
Even if they didn’t know the specific details, they had heard him mentioned and knew there was a “Young Master Lian.”
Later, during the trip to the Spirit Sect in Southern Xinjiang, although he wasn’t the protagonist, he was involved, so his name was bound to be known.
Therefore, saying he was a nobody compared to Zhou Yu sounded like humility to most, while making Zhou Yu seem arrogant.
Yun Huizhou, who knew Lian Li could be quite black-hearted at times, was almost unable to hold back his laughter.
He could only cross one arm over his chest and hold the other hand in a fist to his mouth, pretending to watch the field with great seriousness while actually hiding the corners of his mouth that were threatening to curl up.
Lian Li’s urging forced Zhou Yu to enter the field. His weapon was a sword, the most common type of weapon.
But Lian Li didn’t dare underestimate it. Precisely because it was the most common, it was also the most widespread, and profound sword techniques were the most numerous.
