The Samsara God King's rebirth

CHAPTER 17

“Dao masters, cultivators, and beautiful ladies. We have come to the last round of the 13th Moon Meet,” Lin Xue announced.

An uproar of applause thundered across the valley.

Lin Xue adjusted his collar, a brown scroll in his hands. “At this stage, we have four top contestants left. Tan Su, Yun Li, Mo Yueli, and Li Wei.”

Cheers filled the air.

Xie Linger cheered the most as though her brother was amongst them.

“I pray he wins.” She clasped her hands together, her eyes dazzling.

Lin Xue cleared his throat, controlling the cheers.

“Now, these four will fight against each other in pairs.”

He gestured for the four to come onto the platform, and they obliged, three except one—Mo Yueli.

Lin Xue swept his gaze across the crowd, searching for Mo Yueli.

Just then, a young maiden walked up the platform and approached Lin Xue.

“Where is the princess?” Lin Xue asked quickly, his voice low as though he was afraid of the crowd hearing.

The young maiden dipped her head. “I passed your message to her.”

Lin Xue nodded impatiently.

“She seemed rather un…”

“I’m here.” Mo Yueli’s voice rang from the other end of the valley.

Lin Xue straightened, and a small sigh escaped him.

Everyone turned in her direction. She was now wearing a combat robe, her thick, dark waves of hair now tied into a messy bun with loose strands falling over her temples.

Luo Yuyan nodded his head in his seat.

With slow steps, she walked up the platform. The young maiden left the stage quickly and joined the crowd.

Lin Xue cleared his throat and continued. “As I said before, these four will fight against each other in pairs.”

He stepped to the side. “Tan Su and Li Wei against…”

Mo Yueli’s eyes widened. “No.” The word escaped her lips before she could stop it.

Lin Xue turned to her sharply. “Princess?”

Everyone’s lips parted.

“What is she doing?”

“Why must she always have a problem with everything?”

Some of the villagers frowned, their murmurs rippling across the valley.

Shen Wuyin watched her but didn’t say a word.

Adjusting the sleeves of her robe, she turned to Lin Xue. “Can’t we choose our partners?”

Lin Xue let out a small scoff and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Why is she insufferable?” he muttered under his breath.

“Answer me,” Mo Yueli hissed.

Li Wei and Tan Su turned to her, irritation flashing in their gazes.

“Pretty one,” Tan Su scoffed. “You…”

Mo Yueli turned to him sharply. “Watch it,” she snapped.

Lowering his hands, Lin Xue responded. “Princess. Contestants do not have the right to choose their pairs.”

Mo Yueli’s shoulders dropped. Squinting, she folded her arms under her chest.

I’d give anything to get that sword and, more importantly, to wipe off that smug from that man, Yun Li, she thought.

Lin Xue cleared his throat once more. “With no more interruptions, let’s move forward.”

“Tan Su and Li Wei against Mo Yueli and Yun Li.”

With that, Lin Xue channeled qi into his feet and bolted off the stage.

Tan Su and Li Wei stood beside each other, with Mo Yueli and Shen Wuyin facing them.

“Now, begin.” Lin Xue’s voice boomed across the valley.

With a single flick, Mo Yueli’s sword and Li Wei’s battle axe materialized in their grips with a sharp clang.

Tan Su shoved his hands in his pockets, a smug grin spreading across his face.

“I would have loved to have a face-off with the pretty one, but nah… I doubt she would have any remains afterwards.” He shrugged.

Mo Yueli’s eyes darkened, her knuckles cracking as her grip tightened around the hilt of her sword.

“You smug rat,” she cursed through her teeth.

Shen Wuyin stood unfazed. His gaze swept over his opponents discreetly.

Tan Su uses a dismissal technique for sure, though I don’t know which one he uses. Li Wei’s battle axe deals a lot of damage with one strike, but he is the least of the problem.

The problem is Tan Su. He can counter any strike with his dismissal technique, and so far, no contestant has been able to land a hit on him.

He stood, studying Tan Su closely.

“Are we going to end this or what?” Li Wei jeered, a grin curved on his lips.

Shen Wuyin shifted his gaze to Mo Yueli. She stood afar from him, her gaze locked on Tan Su.

“Princess,” he called out.

Mo Yueli barely acknowledged him.

She channeled qi into her sword. Purple flames churned around the blade, its intensity thick and suffocating.

“Don’t go for Tan…”

Before Shen Wuyin could complete his sentence, she lurched forward, holding her sword with both hands.

Qi shot inches around her. She drove her hands down, sending a lethal slash to Tan Su.

A faint white haze revolved around Tan Su immediately, swallowing Mo Yueli’s strike as though it never existed.

“Oh, this guy has a lot under his sleeves,” Lin Xue commented, excitement etched in his voice.

Mo Yueli paused, her eyes narrowing. “That’s impossible.”

“Oh, is it?” Tan Su let out a small laugh.

Just then, Mo Yueli’s strike rebounded, aimed directly at her.

Before she could react, Shen Wuyin stepped in front of her, the strike stopping inches away from him.

“You don’t listen,” he gritted.

Mo Yueli pushed him aside and shot her hands out. Purple flames formed into a glowing sphere.

Without a fuss, she slammed it into the strike. The slash shot towards Li Wei.

Just as it reached him, he swung his battle axe.

Both the slash and the sphere were tossed towards the other end of the valley. Dust rose into the air. The ground shook from the impact.

“You had better stay put with Tan Su, else…” Li Wei ran a hand through his strands.

Mo Yueli’s nose flared.

Shen Wuyin took a position beside her. “If you lose here, it will actually save me the stress of having to put up with your arrogance later,” he said curtly.

Mo Yueli turned to him, her eyes burning with rage.

“That’s if I don’t take you out myself,” she threatened through her teeth.

A sharp pop sounded as Tan Su tilted his neck to the side. “Come on already.”

Shen Wuyin lifted his hand, and a sledgehammer appeared in his grip. He channeled qi into the hammer, combining it with his flame technique. Within seconds, red flames danced around the hammer with terrifying intensity, but it didn’t hurt his hand.

“Impressive.” Tan Su and Li Wei smirked in unison.

Mo Yueli rolled her eyes.

“Whatever,” she scoffed.

With that, Shen Wuyin lurched forward. With a single hit, Li Wei stumbled to the edge of the platform. His battle axe skidded across the platform and stopped at Mo Yueli’s feet.

“You are weaker than I thought,” Tan Su sneered as he lowered his gaze to Li Wei.

A small cough escaped Li Wei. Just then, he kicked to his feet.

“I wasn’t expecting that. But I’m okay.” He dusted his shoulder.

Stretching forth his hand, his battle axe returned to his grip.

All four stood in a fighting stance, their gazes locked on their opponents.

Shen Wuyin against Li Wei.

Mo Yueli against Tan Su.

Since he dismisses every strike, then I might as well use my hidden technique, Mo Yueli thought.