Chapter 0527 Rock-Paper-Scissors

Chapter 0527: Morra

There was still some time left before the incense burned out, but the Azure Thunder Sword Academy had already lost!

Everyone watching felt chills run down their spines.

After the barrier dispersed, Qin Yun asked an elder from the Alchemy Hall, "Senior, if they had taken an antidote, could traces of it still be detected in their blood?"

"Of course! The antidote for Drunkenbone Flower Poison must dissolve in the bloodstream, and its potency is strong—very easy to identify!"

The elder from the Alchemy Hall spoke as he knelt beside spilled blood to examine it.

A dozen or so onlookers from the Alchemy Hall had gathered, including both youths and middle-aged men.

Now, they followed the elder like pupils, examining the blood of the Azure Thunder Sword Academy disciples.

"Their blood shows traces of ingesting an antidote—and in large doses! They took heavy doses beforehand so they could neutralize poison swiftly if poisoned!"

The elder from the Alchemy Hall said with a grave expression, "The evidence points clearly to them being the ones who poisoned you!"

It was indeed the Azure Thunder Sword Academy disciples who had poisoned them!

"It... it was our teacher who ordered us to do it!" one of the middle-aged men blubbered.

Other Azure Thunder Sword Academy disciples who could still speak also began accusing their teacher, saying the poison had been provided by him.

The teacher from the Azure Thunder Sword Academy bellowed in rage, "You dare collude to slander me?! After all the years I’ve spent painstakingly teaching you!"

Jian Lang gave a meaningful look to two golden-robed elders, and the teacher was escorted away at once.

"Qin Yun, how did you all detoxify? No pills may be taken mid-battle!" An elder from the Yang family stepped forward and questioned sternly.

The Yang family held considerable influence in the Blade and Sword Manor, serving as elders, so his words carried weight.

"I have a special artifact on me that can absorb toxins in the body," Qin Yun replied coldly.

"What kind of artifact? Show it to me!" The Yang family elder held out his palm.

"Here!" Qin Yun took out a black pearl and placed it in the elder’s palm.

The moment the Yang family elder took it, his palm immediately turned black, making him recoil and drop the pearl to the ground.

"Qin Yun, are you trying to kill me?!" He hurriedly purged the poison from his palm.

"You were the one who demanded to see my artifact!" Qin Yun picked up the black pearl and huffed.

"That’s enough! Everyone, return and rest. Tomorrow’s assault continues!"

The Sword Hall Master also felt exhausted, as two of their sword academies had severely violated the rules during the defensive battle.

Though the Saber Hall held a lower status, they had never broken the rules during defense—always abiding by them faithfully.

This time, the Sword Hall suffered a grave loss of face.

Qin Yun and the others were also exhausted and hurried back to Fandao Hall.

After returning, Yue Wulan returned the cute Little Jade Rabbit to Qin Yun. Both she and Tian Ruoleng were intrigued but asked no further questions.

The lower-tier Fandao Hall once again overpowered an upper-tier sword academy, and did so while suffering from poison!

For two consecutive matches, the sword academies violated the rules.

The Azure Thunder Sword Academy even resorted to poison, which shocked all the disciples of the Blade and Sword Manor, as the consequences of such actions were extremely severe.

Of course, the disciples of the Azure Thunder Sword Academy were all rendered powerless by Qin Yun!

...

The next morning, Qin Yun paid a million purple crystal coins to choose his next opponent—the Sharp Edge Sword Academy!

Eleven middle-aged disciples of the Sharp Edge Sword Academy stood in their academy’s shielded arena.

When they saw Qin Yun, Tian Ruoleng, and Yue Wulan charging toward them with lethal aura, their legs instantly went weak.

The incident involving the Celestial Sword Academy and the Azure Thunder Sword Academy the day before was, of course, known to the Sharp Edge Sword Academy!

They bitterly regretted their greed for the bounty and their desire to disable Qin Yun and his companions!

As soon as the battle began, the eleven middle-aged disciples of the Sharp Edge Sword Academy defended themselves with overwhelming fear.

In under half an hour, the battle ended!

Back when these eleven disciples of the Sharp Edge Sword Academy had attacked Fandao Hall, they had taunted Qin Yun and the others endlessly.

Overconfident, they had vowed to disable Qin Yun, Tian Ruoleng, and Yue Wulan to claim the bounty.

During their challenge, all eleven had employed vicious strikes, surrounding and assaulting Qin Yun, Tian Ruoleng, and Yue Wulan!

Tian Ruoleng remembered every moment of it clearly.

"If your attack had been a normal friendly sparring match, we might have let it go!"

"But you were all after the bounty, determined to shatter our *Dao Pills* and turn us into cripples! This is the consequence of your own actions!"

"Now taste your own medicine!"

Tian Ruoleng’s voice was icy.

Seeing the disciples of the Sharp Edge Sword Academy disabled, the crowd couldn’t help but feel that the Long Family and the Yang Family were the true villains.

If not for their bounty, so many disciples wouldn’t have been driven to attack Qin Yun and his two companions.

Moreover, during the initial assessment, it was the Yang and Long Family members who started the trouble first!

Tian Ruoleng and Qin Yun fought back in self-defense.

The disciples of the Yang and Long Families were the real instigators!

Scoring Fandao Hall 24 points for defeating three upper-tier sword academies in a row kept them solidly in the lead!

...

In the afternoon, Yue Wulan, Tian Ruoleng, and Qin Yun followed Dao Fan to the Blade Hall plaza.

The disciples of the Blade Hall gazed in awe as the members of Fandao Hall entered.

Even the disciples of the top-tier blade academies looked on with reverence!

No one would compete with Fandao Hall for the selection privilege, so Qin Yun snagged it for just a million purple crystal coins.

"This time, we choose Juncai Sword Academy!" Qin Yun declared.

Juncai Sword Academy was a low-tier academy, and even if they won, it would only earn them two points!

With Qin Yun's strength, attacking an upper-tier sword academy would be no issue at all, granting them eight points instead.

Juncai Sword Academy housed the Sword Blind and another disciple from the Sword Family, along with Long Wuchen and Yang Mutian, making them a powerhouse—currently ranked second!

Though ranked second, they lagged far behind Fandao Hall, the top-ranked faction, by dozens of points!

"Qin Yun, the Sword Blind from Juncai Sword Academy is no pushover!" Xiong Dao quickly interjected. "Are you sure you want to attack Juncai Sword Academy?"

A middle-aged man from a mid-tier sword academy added, "Not only is the Sword Blind difficult to handle, but Long Wuchen and Yang Mutian are also a real pain to handle! Even we struggle to break through them!"

"Qin Yun, if you attack Juncai Sword Academy, you’ll have your work cut out for you just to defeat those two sword cultivators!"

Many spoke of Juncai Sword Academy's fearsomeness.

Qin Yun wasn’t surprised—the Sword Blind’s bonded blade was already a broken existence, akin to a mystical weapon!

"Let’s go!"

Qin Yun had already made his decision, which they’d settled on the night before.

Dao Fan led the way, guiding his disciples toward Juncai Sword Academy!

...

Though Juncai Sword Academy was a low-tier academy, its environment was quite pleasant, and its barrier-enclosed arena was a circular plaza a hundred meters wide.

The Sword Blind stood straight in the center of the barrier-enclosed arena, hands behind his back, radiating a blade-sharp aura.

The moment Qin Yun entered Juncai Sword Academy, he felt the overwhelming sword intent emanating from the Sword Blind.

Though blind, the Sword Blind possessed keen senses and immediately detected Qin Yun’s arrival, causing his sword aura to dissipate in a flash!

Tian Ruoleng sensed the disappearance of the Sword Blind’s sword aura and understood it as a gesture of goodwill.

Long Wuchen and Yang Mutian remained expressionless, but they were uneasy deep down.

"Yang Mutian, Long Wuchen, long time no see. You look well!" Yue Wulan chuckled sweetly, though murder gleamed in her eyes. "Your families placing bounties on me—how generous of you!"

"Yang Mutian, you were brought to your knees once. Have you still not learned your lesson?"

Tian Ruoleng slung the Frostcloud Blade over her shoulder, cutting an intimidating figure.

"Yue Wulan, Tian Ruoleng! You damn wenches, don’t get ahead of yourselves! I swear, you’ll be left rotting in a ditch!" Yang Mutian snarled through gritted teeth, his fury palpable.

"They’re my elder sisters. Insult them, and I’ll shut your mouth for good!" Qin Yun said coldly.

"Qin Yun, you can only act tough within Blade and Sword City. Step outside, and you’ll be left rotting in a ditch!" Long Wuchen sneered. "You’ve killed two more of our Long Family members—this has pissed off the entire Long Family!"

Qin Yun sighed and shook his head. "It was your Long Family who provoked this first! If not for your high-handed bullying and trying to steal from us, would things have escalated like this?"

Tian Ruoleng mocked, "The Long Family’s disciples have always been a pack of thugs! Hiding behind their clan’s power, they’ve pillaged and slaughtered everywhere, getting away with murder."

"Your Long and Yang families have been accustomed to tyranny, and now that someone resists, you can't stand it?" Yue Wulan sneered. "Don't worry, this resistance will continue—until your clans are wiped out!"

Most warriors in the Spirit Barrens know all too well the true nature of the Long and Yang families.

But most could only grit their teeth in silence, as both families have disciples within the Five Star Gates and the Five Immortal Sects, making them forces to be reckoned with.

"Let's begin!" Jian Lang only hoped this assault wouldn’t encounter any unexpected issues.

The barrier flared to life!

Fandao Hall had nine disciples in total.

As the fight began, they fanned out—a common defensive tactic among sword halls, where everyone fights their own battles.

"Our targets are just Long Wuchen and Yang Mutian, but there are three of us. What should we do?" Yue Wulan giggled. "Xiao Yun, Second Sis isn’t backing down for you—I want to fight too!"

"I’m gonna give them a beating too!" Tian Ruoleng chimed in.

"Then what? I’m not sitting this out!" Qin Yun frowned.

Long Wuchen and Yang Mutian flew into a rage.

Never in their lives had they been disrespected like this!

The spectators didn’t know whether to laugh or facepalm.

The three from Fandao Hall were actually arguing over who got to take down Long Wuchen and Yang Mutian—as if they were just some pushovers.

"Let’s settle this with rock-paper-scissors! The winner picks first!" Qin Yun suggested.

"Deal!" Yue Wulan quickly agreed.

"Rock, paper, scissors..." Tian Ruoleng chanted.

Tian Ruoleng threw scissors, while Qin Yun and Yue Wulan threw paper.

"I won first! I’ll take Long Wuchen!" Tian Ruoleng crowed victoriously.

Next, Qin Yun and Yue Wulan played.

Qin Yun threw rock, beating Yue Wulan’s scissors.

"Yang Mutian’s my mark!" Qin Yun grinned.

"Hmph!" Yue Wulan pouted, sulking openly.

But no one was angrier than Yang Mutian and Long Wuchen!

"You dare treat us like practice dummies?!" Long Wuchen spat furiously.

Qin Yun and the two women were literally picking their targets with rock-paper-scissors!

This was a straight-up insult—like they weren’t even top-tier geniuses!