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

Chu Yueyao gritted her teeth, suppressing the surging blood in her chest, and turned to Jiang Chen, shouting, "Enough talk, let's attack together!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Chen finally dropped his frivolous expression, gripped his twin halberds, and stood shoulder to shoulder with her.

The two attacked almost simultaneously.

Chu Yueyao's longsword, wreathed in blazing fire, launched a direct attack, distorting the air wherever the blade passed.

Jiang Chen then flanked from the flank, swinging his twin halberds to create a sharp gust of wind, blocking Luo Yiyan's retreat.

The two attacks, one from the front and one from the back, were executed with perfect coordination, eliciting gasps of surprise from the audience.

Lin Zhixu swiftly moved to Luo Yiyan's side, his longsword held horizontally, steadily blocking Jiang Chen's slamming double halberds.

The four of them clashed again.

Swords flashed and halberds clashed, and the sounds of spiritual energy colliding caused the barriers around the arena to tremble incessantly.

Unlike the previous one-on-one battles, both sides are constantly changing opponents and positions, with offense and defense changing in an instant, and a slight mistake could reveal a weakness.

Seizing an opening, Chu Yueyao poured all her spiritual power into the sword, transforming herself into a dazzling, fiery red sword beam that pierced straight toward Luo Yiyan's chest.

This sword strike was a full-force attack from her, and the tip of the sword produced a sharp sonic boom as it pierced the air.

Luo Yiyan's pupils contracted, he took half a step forward, his body slightly turned to the side, and his long sword rose from below, the golden light on the blade suddenly shining brightly, colliding with the fiery red sword light.

The two spiritual energies were locked in a stalemate in the air for only a moment before they exploded with a bang. Both of them were pushed back at the same time, and the aftershocks made them cough up blood.

The next moment, Luo Yiyan reacted quickly, his sword stance suddenly changed, and he swept the blade horizontally with the back of the sword as the edge.

Chu Yueyao was a step too slow and was knocked away, crashing heavily onto the stage. She felt a sweet taste in her throat and spat out a mouthful of blood.

Jiang Chen was alarmed upon seeing this and tried to pull away to help, but Lin Zhixu struck him in the chest with a sword and sent him flying backward.

Chu Yueyao struggled to sit up, wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, and gasped for breath while clutching her chest.

She raised her head, her gaze passing over the stray hairs falling across her forehead, and stared intently at Luo Yiyan standing not far away, saying unwillingly, "I lost."

The elder referee stepped forward, his gaze sweeping over the four individuals before finally settling on Luo Yiyan and Lin Zhixu. He announced loudly, "The final match is over! Tianheng Sect has won!"

The moment the words were spoken, a deafening cheer erupted from the audience.

This is what a competition should be like: evenly matched, incredibly exciting, and a truly exhilarating experience!

Lin Zhixu sheathed his sword, turned around and walked to Luo Yiyan's side, reaching out to help him up.

Luo Yiyan casually shifted her body slightly, avoiding his hand, and steadied herself with her sword before slowly walking off the stage.

Lin Zhixu's hand paused in mid-air for a moment, then he silently withdrew it.

Over in the audience, the disciples of the Tianheng Sect had already erupted in a frenzy.

As soon as they saw Luo Yiyan walking over, they all rushed over and surrounded him, excitedly asking him questions.

Luo Yiyan was surrounded by the crowd and pressed into a seat. He was in so much pain that he was gasping for breath, but he couldn't stop smiling.

He took the healing pills handed to him by someone and swallowed them in one gulp. He also drank half a pot of spiritual spring water before he felt the surging blood and qi in his chest gradually calm down.

When Lin Zhixu arrived, although everyone was excited, they did not rush to him like Luo Yiyan did. Instead, they all offered a few words of concern and greetings.

Only Zhou Tong, undeterred by Lin Zhixu's coldness, approached him.

"Senior Brother Lin, are you alright?"

Lin Zhixu shook his head: "I'm fine."

Zhou Tong breathed a sigh of relief and escorted Lin Zhixu to a quiet place to sit down.

Comparing the two, it's clear that Luo Yiyan is very popular.

The system suddenly spoke up: "Host, don't be sad, you still have me."

Lin Zhixu smiled: "Yes. Thank you."

The system suddenly seemed a little shy.

Although the host was a bit rebellious at first, he corrected his mistakes, which is quite good.

Actually, you can't blame the host for being rebellious; after all, no one would be happy to do something against their conscience.

But it will be over soon. Once the host escapes the constraints of the plot, he will be free.

He's going to find ten or eight handsome men to serve his host from now on!

……

In about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, both of their injuries had stabilized significantly.

After the elder judge finished deliberating with the other judges on the high platform, he stood up, his deep voice booming over the clamor of the hall: "Silence—"

The entire venue gradually quieted down.

"In the final round of this sect competition, Luo Yiyan and Lin Zhixu of Tianheng Sect have won! Please come forward to receive your awards."

The cheers erupted again, even more enthusiastic than before.

Luo Yiyan stood up and walked towards the podium with Lin Zhixu, one after the other.

The champion's reward is so generous that it makes people envious.

As the elder presiding over the award ceremony read out each item, a collective gasp rippled through the audience.

This is still the reward for the Foundation Establishment group; wouldn't it be even more amazing for the Golden Core group?

After the two received their awards, the competition was considered halfway over.

The Golden Core group competition was scheduled for three days later. During this break, disciples from various sects dispersed to the city at the foot of the venue, some recuperating from their injuries, others strolling around.

……

That evening, Luo Yiyan arrived as scheduled and knocked on Lin Zhixu's door.

"it's me."

The door creaked open.

Lin Zhixu stood inside the door. When he saw it was him, he said nothing and silently stepped aside.

Luo Yiyan walked in, and Lin Zhixu closed the door.

The candlelight flickered on the table, casting two long and short shadows that were projected crookedly onto the wall.

The two people in the room remained silent.

After a long silence, Luo Yiyan spoke first: "Why?"

Lin Zhixu lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"It's that same line again." Luo Yiyan gave a bitter smile. "It's always like this. Ever since you joined the Tianheng Sect, you've changed. I don't understand. We clearly swore an oath to cultivate together, to grow stronger together, to be together forever. How could you break your promise like this?"

Lin Zhixu had no answer to him and could only remain silent.

Luo Yiyan took a breath, and her voice suddenly softened, "You were the black-robed man who instigated Sun Sheng to harm me back then, weren't you?"

Lin Zhixu's pupils suddenly contracted.

"When did you find out...?"

Luo Yiyan forced a smile that looked more like a grimace: "I knew all along, after all, I know you so well. People with moles on their tiger's mouth do exist, but I have no grudge against them, so why would they want to harm me?"

"And you are the closest person to me, and the only one with a mole on the tiger's mouth."

"Lin Zhixu, I'm not stupid. Even if I can't be sure if it's you, I'll still have my doubts."

"I just couldn't believe it, and I couldn't understand why you would do this?"

"I don't understand. Why would you hurt me? You're the person I trust most. We grew up together, we're each other's support. How could you hurt me?"

"So I went to the elder of the Discipline Hall and asked him to stop investigating. After that, I kept thinking about it over and over, like I was going crazy. Then I suddenly remembered that we had a fight before."

He looked at Lin Zhixu, his eyes slightly red. "You told me you were jealous of me, so you didn't want to be friends with me anymore. Do you remember?"