The moment those words fell, Xue Jianming's eyes lit up. Though there was no real bond of friendship between him and Luo Shasheng, the man was, after all, a disciple of the Snow Sword Sect—this was truly a heaven-sent opportunity.

"Junior Brother Luo, a word with you." Xue Jianming crooked a finger at Luo Shasheng.

Xue Jianming was no cripple now; given his strength and standing, there was naturally no one in the Snow Sword Sect who would disobey him. Luo Shasheng was instantly flattered beyond measure and scurried over, his face wreathed in fawning smiles. "What orders does Senior Brother Xue have?"

"Against this Qiu Lingshan—how confident are you?" Xue Jianming asked casually.

"Completely," Luo Shasheng said with confidence. He had already been a formidable early Foundation Establishment cultivator more than ten years ago; though he had never broken through since, that was only because he lacked pills. Among all the early Foundation Establishment disciples of the Snow Sword Sect he ranked near the top, and now he faced merely a newcomer who had just broken through with an unstable foundation—a woman from the secular world, no less. If he could lose even this, he might as well eat shit.

"Good, then. This match concerns the Snow Sword Sect's face—losing is absolutely out of the question. But, well…" Xue Jianming looked Qiu Lingshan up and down in the distance, a cold flicker of killing intent passing through his eyes.

Luo Shasheng followed his gaze, rolled his eyes, and said, "I understand. Rest assured, Senior Brother Xue—I'll stop at the right point. I absolutely won't be cruel enough to destroy a flower."

Qiu Lingshan was, after all, a rare beauty—a modest maiden is a gentleman's fond desire—and he assumed Xue Jianming was scheming after this woman.

"Wrong. What I want you to do is exactly the opposite." Xue Jianming gave a cold laugh. He had indeed once set his sights on Qiu Lingshan—and not only her. He had drooled over other beauties like Ying Ziyu as well; if Xu Shilan and Cheng Yiyi had not stayed behind in the secular world instead of coming along, he had even considered simply taking Wei Zhao's entire harem in one sweep. But now was not the time to wallow in lust—so long as one's strength was sufficient, beauties could be had in any number. What mattered most to him at present was using this chance to strike at Wei Zhao.

"The opposite? What do you mean?" Luo Shasheng was taken aback.

"Simple. I want you to kill her." Xue Jianming's voice was low and heavy.

"Kill?" Luo Shasheng was startled. His name meant "killing life," and he had slain no small number of people in the past, but facing a great beauty like Qiu Lingshan he truly found it hard to bring himself to do it. Moreover, this was the trial tournament—though killing was not forbidden, without some deep-seated grudge, most people would not go for the kill.

"That's right. From now on, anyone belonging to Wei Zhao—for every one you kill, there's a rich reward. Otherwise, you're slapping me in the face. Do as you see fit." Xue Jianming gave a cold snort.

"Very well. Then just watch, Senior Brother Xue." Matters having reached this point, Luo Shasheng had no room left to hesitate. If an early Foundation Establishment disciple like him offended Xue Jianming, he could forget about ever making his way in the Snow Sword Sect again. Besides, blades and swords have no eyes—even if he accidentally killed someone in the trial tournament, he would bear no responsibility.

Over on his side, Xue Jianming was huddled with Luo Shasheng, whispering and muttering, thinking he had lowered his voice very far—never imagining that Wei Zhao's perception far surpassed that of an early Golden Core expert like himself, and that he had heard every word of this conversation clear as day.

Wei Zhao immediately warned Qiu Lingshan: "Be careful in a moment. That creature has listened to Xue Jianming and is preparing to go for the kill against you. If you can't manage, just concede outright—whatever you do, don't take risks and try to tough it out. Safety first, understand?"

"Don't worry, I know my limits." Qiu Lingshan nodded. Amid the cheers and encouragement of the crowd, she stepped calmly into the arena with no small measure of a general's bearing.

Wei Zhao nodded to himself. After years of tempering in the mysterious Investigation Bureau, Qiu Lingshan's strength had not advanced much, constrained as it was by objective conditions, but her whole bearing and spirit had matured a great deal. In a sense, such a transformation was even more heartening and precious than an advance in strength.

At Xin Yi'an's command, the duel formally began. Qiu Lingshan had not the slightest intention of seizing the initiative—after all, in terms of raw strength she was at an absolute disadvantage. A reckless assault would not only fail to gain her any advantage but would instead expose flaws for her opponent to exploit. The best strategy for her was defense and counterattack.

Seeing Qiu Lingshan's stance, as though facing a great enemy, Luo Shasheng immediately laughed. "Since that's the case, I won't hold back! This blade of mine is called the Slaying-Life Saber—drawn, it must see blood. You had best look out for yourself, young lady!"

He had been contemptuous from the start, and now he paid Qiu Lingshan even less mind. Drawing his long saber, he came straight at her with a vertical chop—at first glance nothing remarkable, seeming like a careless blow born of underestimating his opponent.

"Not even using the Snow Sword Sect's mental cultivation method, and he thinks he can casually hack me to death?" Qiu Lingshan frowned slightly and chose to retreat and evade. Had Wei Zhao not repeatedly warned her beforehand, she might well have launched a counterattack at this moment.

She didn't take the bait? Luo Shasheng frowned as well. This strike of his was indeed plain and unremarkable—to onlookers it looked like nothing but brute force, devoid of any subtlety. Little did they know it was merely a surface-level smokescreen.

On the surface Luo Shasheng looked like a thick, burly brute, but in truth he was deeply calculating. His posture of careless contempt was three parts genuine, but seven parts put on for show. If Qiu Lingshan thought she saw an opening and rashly attacked, that would be exactly what he wanted.

At first glance his strike looked crude beyond words, but hidden within it were exceedingly dangerous follow-up variations. With a single shift of his intent, he could transform it at any moment into one of the Snow Sword Sect's most perilous techniques: the Snow Slaughter Form.

Qiu Lingshan did not yet know that she had just skirted the gates of hell. Had she truly fallen for Luo Shasheng's scheme, with her current strength there would have been no chance of survival—unless Wei Zhao forcibly intervened to stop it, and then she would have lost.

Utterly unaware of all this, Qiu Lingshan simply followed Wei Zhao's prior instructions, enduring a full ten moves in a row, forced back again and again by Luo Shasheng, in constant peril. Fortunately, her early Foundation Establishment strength was no mere ornament—even if she could not beat Luo Shasheng head-on, as long as she focused solely on dodging, she could still hold out for a while.

"Heh heh, I wonder what foolish tactic Wei Zhao gave her, to actually concede ten moves in a row and let Luo Shasheng so easily complete his snow momentum. Is there any need to keep fighting after this?" Xue Jianming mocked.

The most distinctive feature of the Snow Sword Sect's mental cultivation method is the snow momentum. Starting from the opening move, every strike and every form exists to build up snow momentum—the stronger the momentum, the greater the power. An ordinary strike might have only five parts of force, but with snow momentum amplifying it, that at least doubles to a full ten parts! (To be continued.)