Chapter 0573 The Important Duel

Chapter 0573: The High-Stakes Duel

Upon hearing this, the elders of the clan factions all had their faces twist in shock.

"Only if Qin Yun's sentence is reduced will he agree to compete! If you insist on keeping him imprisoned, then find me a young disciple skilled in carving totem patterns!"

"If the disciple you bring fails and we lose the Celestial Artifact, cut off one of your arms!"

"If you can't do that, then get the hell out and shut your traps!"

Granny Ma's eyes burned with an icy glare, her voice tinged with anger.

The elders of the clan factions had no choice but to back away silently.

Qin Yun knew this duel was important, but it turned out to be far more consequential than he’d thought.

A loss wouldn’t just cost them a Celestial Artifact—it would also force the members of the Dharma Protector Hall to sever one of their arms.

"Dammit, I should’ve gone all out and demanded more!" Ling Yuner cried out in frustration.

Qin Yun felt the same way. Had he known the consequences of losing were so severe, he would have pushed for way tougher terms.

Ying Chengyu smiled slightly upon seeing Qin Yun arrive. "You’ve got some guts!"

"I've got the rules down. When can we begin?" Qin Yun asked calmly.

"We can start immediately!" Ying Chengyu then brought out a dozen-plus puppets, some humanoid and others beast-shaped.

Though Ying Chengyu’s disciple appeared tall and lean, he radiated power.

After all, he was a martial artist at the Spirit Martial Realm, his aura thick with pure flame energy.

Sensing that fiery aura, Qin Yun felt a jolt of surprise.

"Peng Wang, pick first," Ying Chengyu told his disciple.

Suddenly, Granny Ma called out, "Wait! I need to inspect them first!"

During the inspection, she summoned Mu Fengxiao, the bald man, and Chu Binyu to check the unengraved puppets together.

These unengraved puppets were already refined—all that remained was engraving the totem patterns to activate them.

From the materials alone, Qin Yun could tell they were made of Mystic-grade materials.

He believed his skill in carving totem patterns wouldn't be an issue; the real test was winning.

This wasn’t just about precision—it was about the puppet's combat strength.

"These puppets are all quite similar. The only difference is that some are humanoid while others are beast-shaped," Mu Fengxiao told Qin Yun after checking.

Chu Binyu and the bald man nodded along.

"Young Master Qin, what kind of puppet do you plan to craft?" Liu Jingmeng asked softly from behind Qin Yun.

"Still deciding," Qin Yun replied, still considering his options.

Even if he lost, he wouldn’t be imprisoned again.

But he still wanted to win—this was a golden chance to prove himself.

These puppets were all prepared by Ying Chengyu, and as his disciple, Peng Wang knew them inside out.

He must have practiced repeatedly before.

Peng Wang immediately chose a beast-shaped puppet.

After some thought, Qin Yun also selected a beast-shaped puppet—one that resembled a tiger, entirely black and crafted with heavy Xuanyuan Steel reinforcement.

"Qin Yun, I heard your totem is the Golden Ape Totem, which would be more suitable for crafting a human-form puppet!" Ying Chengyu remarked with some surprise.

"Senior, I actually plan to use the Golden Ape Totem to put a bounty on the heads of the three family heads from the Tian, Yang, and Long families of Ao Xing Province! If you wish to obtain the Golden Ape Totem, all you need to do is bring me their heads," Qin Yun said with a smile.

This matter had already been rumored earlier.

Qin Yun had suffered greatly under the oppression of those clan factions in the Immortal Flame Pool, hence his decision to retaliate in this manner.

Now, hearing Qin Yun say it outright, everyone was shocked and began discussing the matter.

The members of the clan factions present had faces flushed with anger.

Qin Yun's Ancient Dao Artifact had previously been seized by the Medicine Immortal Vale, so everyone assumed he could no longer issue bounties against those family heads.

Yet now, the Golden Ape Totem he offered was even more enticing.

"The Golden Ape Totem is quite a decent totem. Any Runes Master without one would surely try to obtain it," Ying Chengyu chuckled.

The family heads of the Long, Yang, and Tian families would have to be extremely cautious when venturing out from now on.

The loss of his Ancient Dao Artifact to the Medicine Immortal Vale had stuck in Qin Yun’s craw.

Though those Dao Artifacts weren’t crucial to him, they were still immensely valuable.

It was as if the Medicine Immortal Vale had robbed him of a king’s ransom—a debt he was determined to settle with them.

Qin Yun also wanted to place a bounty on the Medicine Immortal Vale’s sect master, but the Golden Ape Totem alone was far from sufficient. He needed something even more valuable.

Lacking suitable alternatives, he had to shelve the idea for now.

Have you all finalized your puppet bases? Then let’s prepare to begin... It’s now afternoon, and the competition will end at sunrise tomorrow," Ying Chengyu announced.

When engraving totemic runes, only engraving blades are required.

The engraving blades provided were all standardized low-tier mystical weapons.

Using an unfamiliar engraving blade made the task even more challenging.

Peng Wang picked up the blade and swiftly began engraving the puppet base, his fluid strokes betraying years of practice.

"Ying Chengyu, you’ve prepared quite thoroughly," Granny Ma said coldly.

"Victory favors the prepared," Ying Chengyu replied with a chuckle. "Qin Yun, lad, don’t rush. Your strength is considerable, and even if you lose, no one will mock you—after all, you’re barely at the Ninth Layer of the Martial Path!"

Though Qin Yun couldn’t use the Spirit Rhinoceros Mystic Brush, it had fused with him, allowing him to harness the Beast King Rune Spirit within it.

Face unreadable, Qin Yun tightly gripped the unwieldy engraving blade, channeled his Blood Soul Power, and began engraving.

Engraving totemic runes on these puppet bases required extremely precise techniques.

The runes had to be carved inside the puppet bases, with no trace visible externally.

It can also be carved on the surface, but if the surface totem patterns are damaged, the puppet will be ruined.

"Young Qin Yun, are you sure you want to carve the Golden Ape Totem on this tiger-shaped puppet blank?"

Ying Chengyu couldn’t see what totem patterns Qin Yun was carving either.

"I never said I was carving the Golden Ape Totem!" Qin Yun replied.

The square erupted in gasps!

The totem patterns Qin Yun mastered weren’t limited to just the Golden Ape Totem!

Old Ma smiled inwardly, seeing their odds improve. She barked at Ying Chengyu, "Stop disturbing Qin Yun and let him focus on carving the totem patterns!"

Qin Yun had possessed the Dragon-Tiger Totem for a long time and knew it inside out. Moreover, it had been evolved by Mo Mo, the grand priestess.

His Dragon-Tiger Totem patterns were Mystic Totems!

Mystic Totems were vastly more intricate and potent than Spirit Totems.

Absorbing the same amount of energy, the power released by a Spirit Totem was no match for that of a Mystic Totem.

"Well now, isn't this interesting!" Ying Chengyu remained confident and composed as he said to Old Ma, "A talented disciple needs proper guidance. Word is he's been pushed around by plenty!"

"Ying Chengyu, trying to steal him away?" Old Ma asked coldly.

"Wouldn't dream of it. I’m merely reminding you to treat talented disciples well!"

But Ying Chengyu did have that very thought—he wanted to recruit Qin Yun.

Immortal Armament City held their mighty Celestial Artifact. Losing here would leave them trailing behind the Five Immortal Sects.

Thus, Old Ma and the others absolutely couldn’t let that happen.

Among the spectators were many from other immortal sects, including those from the Medicine Immortal Valley and Canghuo Immortal Mountain, who'd love nothing more than to see Immortal Armament City fall.

That way, they could stop looking over their shoulders at Immortal Armament City.

Though each major immortal sect had its own Celestial Artifact, Immortal Armament City’s was the strongest.

The crowd buzzed with anticipation.

If Immortal Armament City lost, they would witness the beginning of a super sect’s decline.

Watching totem patterns being carved was a snooze-fest with nothing to see.

When Qin Yun and Peng Wang carved the totem patterns, they poured their Blood Soul Power deep into the puppet blanks’ interiors, keeping the patterns completely hidden.

Even many veteran Runes Masters were left in the dark.

Those waiting killed time chatting about this and that, mostly recent events.

The most anticipated topic was the upcoming Martial Arts Championship, which was said to be handing out sacred techniques—provided by the Runes Hall.

The reason the Runes Hall organized this Martial Arts Championship was because it was formed by various sects and had raked in hefty profits over the years.

Thus, the Runes Hall frequently put on spectacular shows, dishing out lavish prizes to outstanding martial talents.

As the crowd waited patiently, the night soon passed, and daybreak came.

At this moment, Peng Wang was the first to finish.

Seeing Qin Yun about to lose, the clan factions were getting antsy.

If the Celestial Artifact were to be lost to Ying Chengyu here, they wouldn't get as many resources as before.

With the decline of Immortal Armory City's strength, they'd get crushed in the resource game in Proudstar Province.

"What the hell is Qin Yun doing? He's way behind!"

"Is he even gonna make it?"

"Granny Ma, we should've put Liu Jingmeng in instead. Look, he still hasn't finished!"

The clan factions were practically climbing the walls.

Many of Immortal Armory City's mining industries and other assets were under their management. Without the Celestial Artifact to deter other immortal sects, their resources would get snatched up.

"Shut up!" Granny Ma shouted at the clamoring elders, her palms sweaty, her heart racing.

Though Qin Yun was slow, his progress was steady.

With the aid of the Beast King Rune Soul, carving beast totems was a piece of cake for him.

He was going slow on purpose to make the totem patterns stronger.

By infusing more Blood Soul Power during the carving process, the totem patterns would grow thicker, allowing the energy flow to become more intense.

"I'm done!"

As dawn broke, Qin Yun shouted.