Chapter 349: Victory and Temptation
Under Jiang Qing’s startled gaze, Xu Zhi clenched her fist and charged straight at her. Jiang Qing couldn’t understand it at all—she still had a weapon in hand, while Xu Zhi was barehanded and injured. How could this make sense?!
And why was her suppression over the domain still as firm as ever? Just how vast were her extraordinary reserves?
There was no time to question it. Even with serious injuries, Xu Zhi’s speed hadn’t slowed in the slightest. In the blink of an eye, she was already in front of Jiang Qing, forcing Jiang Qing to thrust her sword forward!
Without a weapon, Xu Zhi dodged more than before—but she still deliberately didn’t evade certain attacks, letting them land on her body, all for the sake of ensuring her fists or elbows could strike Jiang Qing.
And Jiang Qing quickly realized—
Without a blade, Xu Zhi hadn’t become any easier to deal with.
Every part of her body had become a weapon. And any hit she landed would at the very least fracture bones!
—Bang!
Another heavy roundhouse kick slammed into Jiang Qing’s sword arm. Xu Zhi’s movement was clean and decisive. One leg supported her entire body steadily, her slender waist twisting with powerful force, black hair cutting an arc through the air. The expression on her face matched her movements—fierce, bloodthirsty, almost arrogant.
—Clang.
The sword fell to the ground.
Jiang Qing’s hand trembled, her fingers hanging weakly at her side. But she didn’t surrender—she used what little extraordinary energy she had left to force Xu Zhi back momentarily, then quickly retrieved her sword with her other hand.
She couldn’t fight like Xu Zhi, abandoning her weapon.
That was something only a monster could do.
She wasn’t a monster.
She was human.
“You probably can’t use your abilities anymore, right?”
The “monster” smiled at her, that smile tinged with the scent of blood. Jiang Qing’s lashes trembled slightly. She didn’t answer—but in her heart, she admitted it.
Her extraordinary energy was nearly depleted. She had to use what remained to maintain her domain and create opportunities for her teammates. As for herself—she could only stall, wait for a chance, and try to kill Xu Zhi.
Even now, she had no intention of giving up.
And that pleased Xu Zhi.
Now that Jiang Qing’s abilities were exhausted, her strength had dropped. This fight would likely end soon.
Xu Zhi felt a trace of regret—but she had no intention of dragging it out.
She could clearly see Jiang Qing’s movements growing sluggish. Compared to her, Jiang Qing’s speed was simply lacking. Only with the help of her domain and occasional “future sight” had she managed to keep up—but now, without her primary offensive method, her decline was obvious.
Xu Zhi herself bore many wounds. While dodging, Jiang Qing tried to worsen those injuries, aiming to slow her down.
But then Jiang Qing’s gaze fell on Xu Zhi’s chest.
There had been a gaping hole there not long ago. Yet despite the intense battle, it had already healed by nearly half.
It was absurd.
Even among [Heart]-attribute users, such pure regenerative power was rare at the same level!
…Can I really defeat her?
The thought flickered through Jiang Qing’s mind.
Realizing her own hesitation, her expression hardened. She cut off the thought entirely and focused only on the fight.
One arm was nearly useless. Several bones in her back were fractured. Two ribs were broken. Without her teammate’s support, she wouldn’t last much longer.
She had to end this quickly.
Her expression sharpened. Her swordplay lost some of its earlier precision, becoming more aggressive.
Xu Zhi, noticing this, smiled even wider.
Yes—this was how it should be.
This was what made a fight interesting!
A sharp gust accompanied the translucent blade as it thrust toward Xu Zhi’s left shoulder, clearly aiming to disable her arm. Xu Zhi moved to dodge—but at the exact instant she reacted, Jiang Qing abruptly altered the trajectory of her blade, stabbing straight into Xu Zhi’s adjusted position.
“Future sight, huh?”
Xu Zhi’s expression didn’t change at all, even as the tendon in her left shoulder was severed.
This had happened several times already—Jiang Qing would suddenly deviate from the paths revealed by the [Eye of Secret], striking her instead. The Eye could only see what was happening, while Jiang Qing could anticipate Xu Zhi’s reactions and adjust accordingly.
That was the troublesome part of “future sight.”
But—
That was also what made the fight interesting.
Otherwise, Jiang Qing as she was now wouldn’t last more than a few exchanges.
The sword withdrew immediately after severing the tendon—Jiang Qing clearly knew she was facing something dangerous and didn’t dare linger.
Xu Zhi, meanwhile, felt her left arm lose connection, becoming difficult to control.
“So impressive.”
She praised lightly. “Now we each have one unusable arm. Fair.”
…Not really fair.
Jiang Qing still had her sword.
Xu Zhi didn’t care.
She charged again.
Jiang Qing’s future sight couldn’t be used constantly, but the intervals were short, and since it was tied to her domain, it consumed little energy.
Without it, she had almost no chance against Xu Zhi.
But now that Xu Zhi had lost one arm… maybe—
Before she could finish that thought, Xu Zhi was already in front of her, throwing a punch straight at her face!
Jiang Qing barely tilted her head to avoid it, striking back with her sword—but Xu Zhi vanished from sight.
The next instant—
A heavy blow crashed into her back. An elbow strike.
…Wrong.
She had been completely wrong.
Losing one arm meant nothing to Xu Zhi.
What truly mattered was Jiang Qing’s own steadily declining condition.
If this had been a few minutes earlier, she would never have failed to dodge that strike.
Her belief that she might still win was crumbling.
She even began to think—
Perhaps there was no way to turn this around anymore.
Rely on her teammates?
She knew them well—they couldn’t defeat Chu Xiaoyue’s fully empowered domain.
Rely on herself?
…Could she defeat Xu Zhi?
No more delays.
Gritting her teeth, Jiang Qing decided—when her future sight became available again—she would make one final, all-out attempt.
The vision flashed before her eyes.
She saw herself raising her sword toward Xu Zhi’s neck. Xu Zhi would attempt to dodge, creating an opening. In that instant, she could alter her trajectory and drive her blade into Xu Zhi’s not-yet-healed chest wound.
Then, with all her strength, she could cut through her body from that point—
And maybe, just maybe, defeat this monster.
Everything unfolded just as she had seen.
She closed in, raised her sword to Xu Zhi’s throat. Xu Zhi dodged as expected, exposing the wound on her chest.
Golden light flickered in Jiang Qing’s eyes as she thrust forward, aiming straight at that injury.
Xu Zhi had just moved—her footing unstable. She couldn’t reposition without exposing an even bigger opening.
And yet—
She hadn’t planned to dodge.
—Thud.
The sound of a blade piercing flesh.
But not Xu Zhi’s chest.
Her left hand.
The very hand Jiang Qing believed was useless moved—blocking the sword.
The blade pierced through her palm, but her bones clamped down, stopping it from going any further.
A liar!
Didn’t she say she couldn’t use that hand?!
A rare flash of anger rose in Jiang Qing—but what shocked her more was this:
How could Xu Zhi still move that arm?
What kind of willpower and control did it take to raise that hand and stop the attack?!
The moment this strike failed, Jiang Qing’s heart sank completely.
She knew—
That attack hadn’t just exposed Xu Zhi.
It had exposed her.
A far bigger opening.
And Xu Zhi had seen it.
Those pale gray eyes met hers, a malicious smile forming, along with a hunger that sent chills down Jiang Qing’s spine.
Then—
—Bang!
A punch struck directly over her heart.
Her sternum shattered instantly. Her heart, crushed by an overwhelming force, collapsed and burst.
“Goodbye.”
The “monster” stepped closer, even leaning in to take a light sniff, whispering those two words at the very end of her consciousness.
After that—
There was only the realization of defeat.
And fear.
This person… could truly kill her.
Xu Zhi slowly withdrew her fist from Jiang Qing’s chest, watching as those golden eyes dimmed.
Then the prodigy of Lingzhou—the core of their team, the genius praised by countless people—collapsed at her feet.
Xu Zhi thought to herself:
So this is what the outside world’s “geniuses” are like.
But Jiang Qing…
She looked at her, her overheated mind gradually cooling.
Jiang Qing was different.
Or maybe not Jiang Qing—
Maybe it was her first time fighting someone of the [Lamp] type like this.
She should test it more. Fight others of the same type.
Was that strange feeling because of Jiang Qing?
Or because of [Lamp]?
That odd sensation—
Like back in Cloud City, after she had accidentally obtained [Cup], when it would occasionally surface…
Sometimes, when she smelled Jiang Qing’s blood—
It seemed… fragrant.
Tempting.
She wanted to devour her.
Was that normal?
The unsettling feeling snapped Xu Zhi out of her battle frenzy.
Something wasn’t right.
Was it her problem?
Jiang Qing’s?
Or the nature of [Lamp]?
Xu Zhi stood there, unmoving, not even turning to help her teammates. She simply stared at Jiang Qing’s body, lost in thought.
Strange.
Now that Jiang Qing was dead…
She didn’t smell as appealing anymore.
Before she could figure it out, she sensed several people approaching. Recognizing their presence, she knew they were her teammates.
Which meant—
The others from Lingzhou had already been dealt with.
Su Ran’s healing ability fell upon her. Her heavy body gradually grew lighter.
And through the microphone, she heard the host’s powerful voice echo across the arena—
“—Victory! Lian City Academy!”
