Chapter 182: The Result is Decided

Before you have absolute certainty, never attempt to clash head-on by mobilizing all your internal energy against an opponent.

Dodge if you can. If you cannot dodge completely, mobilize all your internal energy to protect your body, then evade as much as possible. Especially when the opponent’s internal energy might be deeper than yours, never rashly engage in a contest of raw power.

Of course, if the two of you have already fought to a standstill and you feel the opponent has exhausted most of their strength with little internal energy left, then you can give it a try.

Otherwise, if you can use a weapon, prioritize using the weapon to strike them.

Thus, Lian Li immediately retracted all his attacks and mobilized his internal energy for protection. Pushing his movement technique to its limit, he vanished and reappeared thirty meters away in an instant.

At that exact moment, Zhou Yu’s internal energy erupted. With him as the center, everything within a ten-meter radius suffered a massive shock, sending gravel and fallen leaves flying everywhere.

Watching this scene, Lian Li couldn’t help but feel fortunate. Luckily, he had remembered Yun Huizhou’s reminders and slipped away quickly.

While this power was far inferior to that of the Eastern Island Master or Yun Huizhou, it was still far too intense for a “small fry” like him. It was a good thing he hadn’t chosen to clash internal energy.

Zhou Yu’s ultimate move hit nothing but air. He looked up at Lian Li in disbelief.

In a duel between evenly matched opponents, shouldn’t the end always consist of both parties using their maximum strength for a final clash?

He had seen some of the Senior Brothers and Sisters in his sect compete; even if they didn’t end with a direct internal energy clash, they would always finish with a palm-to-palm strike to see who was forced back further.

This person—how did he just dodge?

Zhou Yu’s expression was seen clearly by the people of Maple Leaf Valley and Yun Huizhou, as well as the onlookers who happened to be facing him.

The crowd wasn’t quite sure what he was so shocked about, but the people of Maple Leaf Valley and Yun Huizhou understood perfectly.

The expressions of the Maple Leaf Valley disciples darkened simultaneously, while Yun Huizhou’s brow relaxed. He reached into his robes again and pulled out an oil-paper package.

Feeling the temperature of the contents through the paper with his fingers and finding it just right, he simply held it in his hand and waited.

Seeing Zhou Yu completely dazed, Lian Li naturally wouldn’t let the opportunity slip by. Moreover, Zhou Yu had just mobilized all his internal energy for a big move and was currently in a state of weakness.

If he didn’t take this chance to win the match, he would have to drag things out for a long time once Zhou Yu recovered. If he accidentally revealed a flaw and Zhou Yu caught it, allowing the opponent to turn defeat into victory, that would be disastrous.

Seeing Lian Li attack again, Zhou Yu hurriedly tried to defend. Several times he attempted to mobilize his internal energy to meet the blows, but Lian Li forcibly interrupted him every time.

After a few exchanges, the internal energy within Zhou Yu’s body was a complete mess, unable to be organized at all.

Given Zhou Yu’s current state, Lian Li only needed to use thirty percent of his internal energy to deliver a palm strike, and it would be enough to leave Zhou Yu with internal injuries for several months.

If he used his full strength, it would be no different from a killing blow.

The situation between him and Zhou Yu hadn’t reached that level of animosity yet.

However, to prevent any last-minute upsets, Lian Li didn’t plan to get close and deliver a light palm strike. Instead, from a safe distance, he used his whip to coil around Zhou Yu and tossed him toward the group from Maple Leaf Valley.

Zhou Yu couldn’t organize his internal energy and was flung away by Lian Li. Seeing that he was about to slam into the ground, someone from the Maple Leaf Valley side indeed flew out to catch him.

The intervention of a third party meant the duel was over.

The result was decided.

In this round, Lian Li was the victor once again.

Lian Li landed in the center of the field, standing with a casual posture, his expression as indifferent as before.

Upon landing, he deliberately used his internal energy to create a ripple effect at his feet, blowing away the fallen leaves near him.

The leaves drifted into the air and then slowly fell around him; they were very close, yet not a single leaf touched his body.

A few stray locks of hair on his forehead also fluttered for a moment under the influence of his internal energy, exactly in the manner he had envisioned.

In an instant, his aura of prestige was dialed to the absolute maximum.

To be honest, creating this effect wasn’t difficult at all; generally, any third-rate martial artist with a bit of internal energy could do it.

But normal people wouldn’t waste internal energy just for visual effects.

Many people in the surroundings were stunned by the scene, a flash of amazement crossing their eyes.

Jin Manjue, in particular, had an even brighter light in his eyes as his brush danced frantically across the paper once more.

Meanwhile, the people of Maple Leaf Valley looked quite unpleasant.

However, Lian Li didn’t care at all whether they were happy or not. After all, if they were happy this time, then he, Yun Huizhou, and the elders on Drunken Dream Island would be the ones who were unhappy.

Comparing the two, it was more important that they themselves were happy.

Yun Huizhou, who understood Lian Li well, watched him with a hint of doting laughter in his eyes.

He remembered that when Lian Li’s internal energy had first shown progress, he often used it to do strange things.

Lian Li called those things “special effects.” At the time, Yun Huizhou didn’t quite understand why he would waste internal energy on such boring things.

However, seeing Lian Li arrange these things with such meticulousness—ensuring even the smallest details were perfect—it served as a way to practice controlling internal energy, so he hadn’t paid it much mind.

He also remembered that Lian Li was particularly envious of his ability to release blade qi, and how he could condense it into a solid form when using his ultimate moves. For a period, Lian Li often pestered him to show him the blade qi release or to condense the solid blade qi for him to see.

Sometimes it wasn’t just about watching; Lian Li would nag him about whether he could add “special effects” like lightning or the phantom image of a tiger or dragon head onto the solid blade qi.

He could do it, but for him, the consumption was a bit high and it was somewhat troublesome.

It was fine to mess around with it for fun normally, but if he were actually fighting, he certainly wouldn’t use it.

Furthermore, every time they went together to watch the elders spar, Yun Huizhou would be studying the martial arts, while Lian Li, at the beginning, was just watching the “special effects.”

Lian Li stood in place posturing for a good while. He was starting to get a bit bored, yet no one had come forward to speak and announce the result.

He thought to himself: Damn, I forgot to find out who the referee was before the match. Otherwise, I could just call the referee out now and tell him to stop being immersed in my peerless elegance and come out to declare the result.

But… did this match even have a referee?

Or were all the onlookers considered referees? After all, anyone with eyes could see that he had won this duel.

Just as Lian Li was debating whether to stand there and posture for a bit longer or to fly back to Yun Huizhou’s side with cold detachment, put on his bamboo hat, and leave, someone finally spoke.

Jin Manjue put away his brush and picked up the paper in front of him, blowing on it gently. Once the ink was dry, he carefully rolled the paper and tucked it into a long tube.

“In this duel, Young Hero Lian of Drunken Dream Island is the victor.”

Lian Li looked toward Jin Manjue. Jin Manjue was currently dressed in magnificent dark gold robes and wore a purple-gold crown inlaid with gems; his entire being exuded an air of nobility.

A faint, lingering smile played on his lips, but his tone of voice brooked no argument.

If he hadn’t seen the man’s wretched and cowardly side before, it would be very difficult for Lian Li to connect the person announcing the result now with Jin Manjue.