You think I have mixed spiritual roots? I became an immortal through a spirit gourd, so what are you

"Eighth level of Body Refinement, and she's a female disciple." Chen Huai'an looked at Liu Qiaogui with a puzzled expression.

"You heard me right, it's Liu Mei, who's at the eighth level of Body Refinement. She's the most beautiful girl on Lingshu Peak, and she has quite a few suitors among the many miscellaneous disciples," Liu Qiaogui said with a hint of gossip.

Chen Huai'an asked, "What is this woman's relationship with the Zhang family?"

"I'm not sure if Senior Sister Liu has any connection with the Zhang family, but I've heard that she's incredibly strong, and none of her opponents can even withstand a single blow from her," Liu Qiaogui said with a serious expression.

Although Liu Mei's opponents were all at a lower level than her, she was able to easily defeat them, which shows that they were very strong.

Liu Mei is strong; her talent and aptitude are both top-notch. She has a superior wood spirit root and a complete set of spirit weapons and armor, all gifts from her suitors.

Liu Mei isn't one of the strongest disciples, but with his talent and equipment, he has a great chance of making it into the top 100, no, even the top 50.

The only good news is that Liu Mei has a wood elemental root, and Chen Huai'an's flame sword technique has a certain restraining effect on her.

However, the opponent's cultivation level had reached the eighth level of the late stage, while Chen Huai'an had just broken through to the seventh level of the late stage of the Body Refinement Realm. There was still a big gap between the two, and his slight advantage was completely gone.

This is what Liu Qiaogui and the others are most worried about.

"How can we fight this battle? The other side is a woman, and she has many suitors. If we lose, it'll be embarrassing. If we win, her suitors will tear us to pieces!" Liu Qiaogui said with a look of gloom.

The bounty offered by the Zhang family had already given them a lot of headaches, and now they had encountered a formidable opponent, making them even more frustrated.

"Fight, of course I'll fight. Our attributes are mutually exclusive. She has a wood elemental root, and I have a fire elemental root. My chances of winning are pretty high." Chen Huai'an smiled.

The worries of Liu Qiaogui and the others were irrelevant to Chen Huai'an, because his true cultivation level was the peak of the eighth level of the late stage of Body Refinement, the same as Liu Mei's.

"A new round of challenges is about to begin. Please welcome Chen Huai'an and Liu Mei to the stage," the referee's voice rang out.

Upon hearing the sound, Chen Huai'an lightly leaped onto the arena.

During halftime, he took a high-grade body-refining pill, and his combat strength has been restored to its peak.

He was absolutely confident that he could win this battle.

"You're Chen Huai'an?" Liu Mei was a voluptuous and charming young woman, dressed in white, and looked to be only seventeen or eighteen years old. In Chen Huai'an's opinion, her looks, if not the most beautiful, would certainly be in the top three.

Of course, this is also related to the fact that Chen Huai'an has had relatively few interactions with women.

Upon seeing this woman, Chen Huai'an's first thought was that she was a femme fatale.

Such a beautiful woman evokes pity and makes one reluctant to harm her.

"Greetings, Senior Sister Liu." Chen Huai'an cupped his hands in greeting and smiled.

One shouldn't hit a smiling face. As long as Liu Mei didn't show strong hostility towards him, Chen Huai'an didn't want to be her enemy.

The challenge match is just a normal sparring match, a way for sects to select talents, not a life-or-death battle.

"You're quite impressive. I've been following your progress. You've gone from the fourth level of the mid-stage Body Refinement Realm when you registered to the seventh level of the late-stage Body Refinement Realm. Such a cultivation speed is something I can only dream of." Liu Mei smiled at Chen Huai'an.

Chen Huai'an frowned, surprised that the other party knew so much about his deeds.

Given all this, what secrets could he possibly have among the menial disciples of Qingyun Peak?

Therefore, for safety reasons, he must keep a very low profile from now on.

But now, even if Chen Huai'an wanted to keep a low profile, he couldn't. From the moment he stepped into the challenge, his life was destined to be at the forefront of controversy.

In fact, this is not just Chen Huai'an; it is many disciples from poor families. As long as they dare to stand up, they will be targeted and suppressed by these disciples from aristocratic families.

A poor student from a humble background, penniless and desperate, wants to defy fate in the challenge, which would threaten the interests and privileges of certain individuals, and certainly no one would agree to it.

"Senior Sister Liu, please enlighten me." Since the other party was not speaking ill of her, he naturally would not use words to provoke her.

From what I understand, Liu Mei doesn't seem to have reached an agreement with the Zhang family. So, to win this competition, he must rely on his true strength. However, he also faces a problem: he can't afford to offend Liu Mei too much. The best course of action is to stop short of causing serious harm.

Winning against Liu Mei would naturally bring many benefits, but it would also offend her, which is what Chen Huai'an is worried about.

Unlike other male disciples, if Liu Mei were defeated, the opponent would definitely retaliate if he was petty. Even if the opponent wasn't petty, his suitors and sycophants would cause trouble for him afterward to win her favor. This was what Chen Huai'an was most worried about.

"You've just broken through to the late stage of Body Refinement, so I'll let you make the first move." Liu Mei smiled charmingly at Chen Huai'an. Her smile was so captivating that it could topple cities and kingdoms. For a moment, Chen Huai'an's mind was momentarily stunned.

While Chen Huai'an was in a daze, Liu Mei across from him moved.

"As expected, you can't trust what this beautiful woman says." Chen Huai'an swung his sword to meet the spirit whip and spirit weapon that the other party was throwing.

Liu Mei wielded a spirit whip, which was also of the wood element. Chen Huai'an, on the other hand, wielded a fire-element spirit weapon. The opponent's spirit whip was like a serpent, striking his wrist from a tricky and unpredictable angle.

Liu Mei also took a flexible approach, avoiding any direct confrontation with Chen Huai'an.

At the end of the spirit whip was a steel cone, which would pierce a hole in the spot where Chen Huai'an landed with each attack.

If Chen Huai'an were to be struck by this whip, he would also have an extra hole in his body.

She appears to be a delicate and beautiful woman, but her attacks are exceptionally sharp and ruthless.

The moment he engaged in combat with his opponent, Chen Huai'an's contempt for him vanished completely. His expression became extremely tense, and a fine layer of sweat appeared on his palms.

Chen Huai'an had become a little arrogant after winning several matches in a row, but after witnessing Liu Mei's attack methods, he realized that there were always people more skilled than him among the menial disciples.

No matter what kind of opponent he is facing, he should give it his all.

"Is it still not enough? Liu Mei's strength is really too strong. Brother Chen can only parry and has no power to fight back." Liu Qiaogui and others watching from below the stage saw Chen Huai'an fleeing in a sorry state on the stage like a stray dog, resisting Liu Mei's spiritual whip attacks. They all had worried expressions in their eyes.

"No, we can't continue to be passive like this. We must take the initiative." Chen Huai'an also realized that he couldn't keep dodging like this. He had to attack head-on. The previous way of fighting would not win this match at all.

Most disciples with wood-elemental roots are not very good at fighting, but Liu Mei is definitely an exception.

Chen Huai'an's only advantages are his elemental counters and his great strength. Simply running away won't solve the problem.

Just as Liu Mei's spirit whip struck again, Chen Huai'an did not dodge, but allowed the opponent's spirit weapon to entangle the long sword in his hand.

Chen Huai'an then suddenly stomped his foot on the ground, and a terrifying force burst forth from his longsword, sweeping along the opponent's spirit whip.

The spirit whip in Liu Mei's hand suddenly became taut, and a look of doubt appeared on her face.