After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

On the arena, during a brief respite, Chu Yueyao's gaze passed over the sword's edge and landed on Luo Yiyan.

She narrowed her eyes slightly, her tone carrying a hint of scrutiny and resentment: "I didn't expect you to be so capable. It seems that Chu Yuxiu's defeat at your hands wasn't entirely unjust."

Luo Yiyan was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then gave a faint smile: "Thank you for the compliment."

He held his longsword horizontally in front of him, calmly meeting Chu Yueyao's gaze. "You targeted me right from the start, are you trying to avenge Chu Yuxiu?"

Chu Yueyao snorted coldly, a hint of disgust flashing in her eyes: "Who wants to avenge that good-for-nothing! I just can't stand your Tianheng Sect bullying others!"

These words seemed to come out of nowhere, leaving Luo Yiyan completely bewildered. He frowned, "The Tianheng Sect is abusing its power? What makes you say that?"

He thought carefully for a moment, confirming that he had never met Chu Yueyao before, let alone offended her. "Have I offended you before? Or did someone from the Tianheng Sect offend you?"

"Don't play dumb!" Chu Yueyao's voice was laced with a hint of gritted teeth. "My Chu family elders had their cultivation crippled and were expelled from the sect by your Tianheng Sect back then. Don't tell me you didn't know that!"

Luo Yiyan remained silent for a moment.

"I don't know what Elder Chu told you. But since he was able to sit in the position of elder, the Tianheng Sect naturally wouldn't have deposed him without reason. If he hadn't done something unforgivable, how could he have ended up like this?"

Chu Yueyao pursed her lips and remained silent.

She understood what Luo Yiyan was saying, and the Chu family understood it too.

The family was not entirely unaware of what the deposed elder had done back then.

But even though I understand, I just can't swallow this anger.

When that elder was in charge of the Tianheng Sect, the Chu family ranked first among the cultivation families, and no ordinary people came and went. How glorious they were!

After his cultivation was crippled and he was expelled from the sect, the Chu family's status plummeted. If it weren't for her being quite capable and doing her best to maintain the family's reputation over the years, they would probably have been removed from the list of major families long ago.

Chu Yueyao took a deep breath, and the rise and fall of her chest gradually subsided.

"Enough with the nonsense." She raised her sword, the tip pointing steadily at Luo Yiyan, her voice resolute. "Today's battle will mark the beginning of our feud. From this day forward, the Chu family and you, Luo Yiyan, are irreconcilable enemies."

The moment she finished speaking, her spiritual power surged again, and the fire on her sword blade suddenly shone brightly, turning the entire arena a fiery red.

Luo Yiyan also mobilized his spiritual power to confront her.

Lin Zhixu and Jiang Chen also clashed again.

The two exchanged blows for seven or eight rounds, their moves were sharp, but their expressions were completely different from the couple next door.

Jiang Chen swung his halberd down, and Lin Zhixu turned to deflect the force, his sword sweeping past him. In the instant the two brushed past each other, Jiang Chen even managed to glance at Chu Yueyao.

"Wow." Jiang Chen clicked his tongue. "Is your junior sister going to fight our senior sister Chu to the death?"

"...What kind of look is that? He's my junior brother, not my junior sister." Lin Zhixu corrected him expressionlessly, blocking Jiang Chen's pursuit with a backhand sword strike. "Besides, strictly speaking, it was your senior sister who made the first move."

"That's true." Jiang Chen nodded, but his hands didn't slow down at all. He swung his double halberds down in quick succession, while his mouth didn't stop either. "But to be honest, the little things between your Tianheng Sect and the Chu family have nothing to do with our Lingyun Sect. I'm here to compete."

Lin Zhixu deflected the blade of his halberd with a single sword stroke, his sword speed suddenly increasing: "Coincidentally, me too."

The ensuing battle then became quite delicate.

Next door, Luo Yiyan and Chu Yueyao were fighting fiercely, with flames shooting into the sky and golden light shining everywhere. Amidst the crisscrossing sword energy, Chu Yueyao's angry shouts and Luo Yiyan's occasional explanations could be heard.

The barrier vibrated and hummed, and the elder judge's eyelids twitched as he watched.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhixu and Jiang Chen's styles are quite unique.

Jiang Chen swept his halberd horizontally, and Lin Zhixu took a half step back to avoid it, then deftly flicked his sword to deflect the force of the blow.

Jiang Chen wasn't annoyed; instead, his eyes lit up: "Hey, this move of yours is interesting. It always manages to deflect my attacks. What's the name of this move?"

Have you ever studied the Eight Trigrams?

Jiang Chen shook his head, his face full of honesty: "I haven't learned it. But I've heard that it's something only Taoist priests in the mortal realm learn, isn't it?"

Lin Zhixu parried his short halberd with his sword, then earnestly corrected him, saying, "The martial arts of any school can be integrated and their essence extracted. The essence of Bagua lies in the balance of Yin and Yang, using softness to overcome hardness, stillness to control movement, and unchanging to respond to all changes."

Jiang Chen blinked, his movements slowing slightly: "Respond to all changes with inaction? Isn't that just standing still and letting yourself get beaten up?"

"...That's not what I meant." Lin Zhixu took a deep breath and decided to explain in a different way, "You see, your shoulder moves before you make a move."

Jiang Chen was taken aback: "Really?"

"Yes." Lin Zhixu lightly tapped the tip of his sword, precisely blocking the path of his next halberd strike. "You lower your right shoulder to prepare for a horizontal slash. You pull back your left shoulder to prepare for a straight thrust. I only need to look at your shoulders to know where you're going to go next. That's using stillness to control movement."

Jiang Chen was skeptical, and made a few more moves, but sure enough, Lin Zhixu intercepted each of his halberds in advance.

His eyes widened in disbelief, and finally he couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "Incredible! Your Tianheng Sect teaches this? Does the Tianheng Sect still accept new members? Is there still a chance for me to join now?"

Lin Zhixu: "...This isn't from the Tianheng Sect; I figured it out myself. If you're joining the Tianheng Sect for this reason, I don't think it's necessary."

Jiang Chen suddenly became respectful: "Brother Lin, you are a talented person."

"You flatter me."

"If I went there specifically for you, would the Tianheng Sect accept me?"

Lin Zhixu: "...I advise you not to."

Chu Yueyao gradually lost her grip. Her long sword was knocked away by Luo Yiyan's sword, and she staggered back several steps. Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced to the side, wondering if Jiang Chen could spare a hand to provide support.

Then she saw Jiang Chen actually chatting with Lin Zhixu!

"Jiang Chen!" Chu Yueyao's voice cracked with rage. She forced back Luo Yiyan's pursuit with her sword, then turned and roared, "What are you doing! Come help me now!"

Jiang Chen was startled by the shout. He hurriedly turned around and saw his senior sister glaring at him with eyes that looked like they were about to spit fire.

"Here, here, here!" Jiang Chen hurriedly cupped his hands in greeting to Lin Zhixu. "Brother Lin, let's chat again another day!"

Lin Zhixu raised his sword expressionlessly.

Jiang Chen shrank his neck and rushed towards Chu Yueyao.

When Chu Yueyao saw that he had finally come over, her anger subsided a bit.

She snorted coldly, pointing her sword at Luo Yiyan again. Just as she was about to say something harsh to regain her momentum, she heard Jiang Chen's low voice behind her.

"Senior sister, I feel that the Tianheng Sect is stronger than our Lingyun Sect. You can't beat Luo Yiyan, and I can't beat Lin Zhixu either. Why don't we admit defeat?"

Chu Yueyao's temple veins throbbed twice.

"...Shut up!"