The crowd buzzed with excitement, murmuring about the Dagger Goddess and her legendary feat.

Chen Ai Yun turned to Zhu Ren. “Did you learn anything from the story?”

Zhu Ren tilted her head slightly, blinking slowly. “I… think I did? I believe the woman achieved a state of oneness with her blade. That’s what I’ll strive for.”

Chen Ai Yun nodded. “A good first step. But I must caution you—there’s one thing we know for certain about the Dao of the Dagger Goddess: you must never fall in love.”

“Can’t fall in love…?”

“Yes. From the story, you should understand—the Dagger Goddess was a widow. Her Dao is only suitable for widows… or women untouched by love.”

“Oh… well, that’s fine. I practice the Internal Yin Scripture.”

Chen Ai Yun shook her head. “That only prevents physical intimacy with men. But this Dao is more demanding. You cannot fall in love—at all. Not even in your heart.”

Zhu Ren furrowed her brow, silent as she considered. A moment later, she nodded.

“Thank you, Sect Master. I know what I must do.”

She drew a dagger, gazed into her reflection for a brief second—then, without hesitation, dragged the blade across her own face.

“What—?!”

Gasps and cries echoed across the stadium. No one could comprehend what she'd done.

“There,” Zhu Ren said, beaming even as blood poured down her face and split her lips in four. “Now no one will fall in love with me. And love will be my choice—only mine.”

As her words settled into the silence, her wounds began to knit together. The skin scabbed, then flaked away to reveal a single, jagged scar running from her chin to the top of her forehead.

It was the mark of her Dao. A scar no healer could ever erase. Not even a legendary Immortal Saint.

Sighing, Chen Ai Yun placed a hand on Zhu Ren’s head. “Your path is set. I wish you luck.”

Then she turned toward the stadium. “Now, hopefully with no more interruptions… let the tournament resume!”

Zhu Ren was the first to move, leaping from the platform with an eager grin.

Jin Shu sighed, then stood and reappeared on the stage in the blink of an eye, Ripple Walking before Zhu Ren could even land. With Biyu’s help, the mental strain that had plagued him had finally lifted and he could now use his technique again.

Zhu Ren arrived a heartbeat later, stepping onto her daggers midair to slow her descent before touching down gracefully.

“Will you be using a dagger again?” she asked with a teasing smile. “If you do, maybe you can learn a little of my Dao.”

“Yeah… no.” Jin Shu gave her a dry look. “After that story, I’d rather not become a widow before I’ve even married.”

He began untying his outer robe, revealing a tightly fitted black combat robe beneath his hanfu. His brow twitched slightly as he glanced down at his chest—and the inconvenient fullness that came with his current female form.

Briefly he thought about removing them, but that would reveal his transformation technique. 

Over the combat robe, he wore straps and holsters fitted to his frame. He reached into his spatial ring and placed his chosen weapons into them with quiet efficiency: three blunt knives, two pistols, and three magazines, each filled with shimmering silver pellets.

Zhu Ren raised a brow. The judge mirrored her reaction.

These weren’t all of Jin Shu’s weapons—just the ones he deemed suitable for Zhu Ren. The rest, the ones he feared were too dangerous, he’d reserved for Ling Shi and Liu Hua.

“You two are already well aware of the rules,” the judge said, eyes narrowing slightly. “But just to be clear—no killing moves.”

Neither Jin Shu nor Zhu Ren protested. They simply nodded.

The judge stepped back. As with every match before, glowing qi barriers rose around the stage, sealing them in.

Without delay, Zhu Ren spread her one hundred and eight daggers across the arena. They floated mid-air, forming a loose, glittering web. She kept only one in her hand.

Jin Shu frowned slightly, curious. Why isn't she attacking with them? Why just let them hover—?

His thoughts shattered a moment later as Zhu Ren vanished—then reappeared behind him, her dagger slicing toward his back.

“Whoa!” He twisted aside, narrowly dodging the blade.

By the time he turned to face her, she was gone again. Spinning around, he caught her behind him once more.

How is she moving so fast? It’s like she’s teleporting!

His instincts took over. He opened a ripple and disappeared in a blur, reappearing across the stage an instant later.

Only… so did Zhu Ren.

But this time, he saw it.

A dagger shimmered into place where she had just stood—a dagger that hadn’t been there before.

She’s using them to teleport… short-range movement through her own formation. With one hundred and seven positions to appear from…

No time to think. He reached to either side, drawing his pistols from their holsters just as Zhu Ren reappeared, slashing at his ribs. He jerked away, barely avoiding the strike, then aimed toward the nearest daggers and fired.

Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!

Each bullet struck a hovering blade, knocking it off balance and spinning through the air.

Zhu Ren vanished again—replaced by a still dagger—but this time Jin Shu felt it: the shift in air, the pressure displacement from her arrival.

He didn’t turn. Instead, he raised his arms into a T-shape, one pistol aimed forward, the other behind.

Zhu Ren teleported again, appearing at his side, her dagger slashing toward his ribs before he could react.

“Ugh!” he grunted, stumbling back. The blade was dull, but the force behind it rattled his bones—maybe even fractured something.

He retaliated, whipping around and bringing the butt of his pistol's magazine down toward her head.

But she was already gone.

A floating dagger clashed with his strike instead, and he felt her qi shift to his opposite side.

He didn’t panic. He was ready. His second pistol was already aimed—he squeezed the trigger blindly.

Another dagger took the hit.

But this time, she appeared farther away, giving him a moment to breathe.

He glanced around at the daggers spinning near him.

Like I thought. She can’t move between daggers in motion.

But they were already slowing, wobbling less with each passing second. Soon, she’d be able to teleport again.

He needed a better plan than shooting them down one by one.

Reaching within, he called upon his affinity with the Wind element. A gust swept across the stage, just like the one Yin’er had conjured back then.

The gale roared to life, surging across the arena. One by one, the floating daggers were caught in the wind and blown to the far end of the stage.

Zhu Ren narrowed her eyes. “Hmph! So you countered my Dagger Substitute technique… but can you counter this?”

The scattered daggers spun around her, then gathered into a single formation. One-hundred and seven blades aligned, twisting into the serpentine shape of a dragon.

With a flick of her wrist, the dagger dragon surged forward—coiling, undulating, slicing clean through the gale as it closed in on Jin Shu.

Just as it reached him, the entire construct shimmered—and vanished.

Like a stone sinking into a still pond, the dagger dragon disappeared, leaving only a ripple behind.

“Eh?! W–Where did my daggers go?” Zhu Ren blinked in confusion. “I can still feel them… but I can’t see them…”

Jin Shu smirked from across the arena. “I’ll give them back after the match. For now… I’ll be holding on to them.”

He raised his pistols and fired without hesitation.

Ding! Ding!

Her lone dagger deflected both shots effortlessly.

But Jin Shu wasn’t finished. Four more pellets followed in quick succession—explosion runed shots, each meant to trigger on impact.

Zhu Ren spun her blade, deflecting them all.

No— Not just deflecting. She cut them, slicing each pellet cleanly in half.

The runes carved into the pellets—severed. Useless.

Jin Shu narrowed his eyes. “Fine. Let’s try this.”

He holstered his pistols and pulled two knives from his belt, gripping them in reverse. Metal qi surged through them, activating the sharpness runes etched into the steel.

Zhu Ren smiled, twirling her single dagger. “Are you sure you want to compete with me in the dagger?”

He shook his head. “Not competing.”

With a flick of both wrists, the knives shot toward her like twin rockets.

The next moment, his pistols were back in hand.

Two shots. Four shots. Six from each pistol.

Twelve pellets total—each aimed at a potential escape path.

If she dodged the knives, she’d walk right into the pellets. If she blocked the shots, she’d take the knives head-on.

It was a perfect setup.

Only—she didn’t dodge.

She didn’t even move.

As the knives closed in, she drew her arm back—and hurled her own dagger.

It sailed past the oncoming blades, flying directly toward him.

Jin Shu blinked. She’s giving up her only weapon?

He sidestepped the throw easily, keeping his focus on her.

What’s she—

“Oof!”

Pain exploded in his side.

He staggered back, breath caught in his throat.

Zhu Ren stood beneath him, her fist still raised from a clean body blow.

And then—before he could react—she lunged. Her other hand reached out to the side.

A dagger shot across the stage from the distance, pulled by her qi, and smacked cleanly into her waiting palm.

It was a perfect fit.

Jin Shu grimaced.

She never gave it up. She baited me… and won the trade.

He jumped back, quickly calculating a counter as he fired off more shots to stall her. Zhu Ren deflected them with ease.

He could have activated the runes—but at this range, he’d be caught in the blast too.

His eyes flicked to the lone dagger in her hand.

That's it, the dagger. Only one chance.

Splitting his focus between his two souls, he opened twin ripples—one in front of Zhu Ren, the other behind her.

From the first ripple, over a hundred daggers poured out, flooding the space between them and blocking her view of him.

“Eh?” She froze mid-step, instinctively reaching out to reassert control over her daggers.

That moment was all he needed.

Jin Shu stepped out from the second ripple behind her, pistol already raised, the barrel pressing gently against the back of her head.

“Winner, Jin Shu!” the judge called.

The barriers dropped, and the roar of the crowd washed over them, loud and excited.

“Wow! That’s amazing! She’s only at the Sixth Stage of the Core Realm and she just beat a Spirit Realm cultivator!”

“Jin Shu’s technique is insane! Where’d she even learn that strange teleportation technique? It’s not from our sect.”

“I think it has something to do with wind and water elements.”

“Ha! You think Jin Shu has two elemental affinities? That’s impossible!”

“No, it’s not! Liu Hua has three!”

“Yeah, but she’s Liu Hua.”

“...Yeah… I guess you’re right. She’s kind of a monster…”

Zhu Ren glanced at the pistol still pressed against her. “Mind moving that?”

“Ah—yeah, sorry.” Jin Shu stepped back and holstered it.

She turned to face him. “Why’d you go easy on me?”

He blinked, caught off guard. “What?”

“Was I not good enough for you to go all out? Is that it?”

He tilted his head, studying her. “I don’t know what you mean. That was not an easy fight.”

“My Dao Spirit can judge a person’s strength,” she said quietly. “And it feared you. It didn’t even react like that when I stood before the Sect Master.”

Jin Shu shrugged. “I’m definitely not stronger than my master.”

“No,” she shook her head. “That’s not what I meant. The Sect Master’s strength is too far above for my spirit to even measure. But you… it should have seen you as weaker. Your cultivation is lower. Yet it warned me you’re far, far more dangerous.”

He considered that, then gestured toward his pistols. “Probably because of my real weapons. These ones are just for training and duels. They’re not nearly as deadly as the ones I actually use.”

“I see.” Her eyes lingered on him a moment longer. “Well… maybe one day I’ll get to see those.”

“Sure,” he replied with a casual nod, already turning away.

He walked across the stage, retrieving his knives one by one, the last echoes of the crowd's excitement still buzzing around him.