Chapter 413: Raking It In

The battle in the arena raged on. It was clear both combatants were reaching their limits and couldn't hold on for much longer.

After all, they had been fighting for nearly an hour. Even for Foundation Establishment Realm Cultivators, sustaining such a high-intensity battle for so long was a difficult feat.

This made You Qingtian grow anxious, as he still hadn't managed to defeat Bai Xue.

Although Bai Xue was also nearing exhaustion, her defense was astonishing. No matter how You Qingtian attacked, she remained undefeated.

If this kept up, his composure would shatter. He was on the verge of giving up.

"Surrender now, or I'll be forced to use lethal force!" You Qingtian threatened Bai Xue, his voice sharp and cold.

He knew that if this stalemate continued, he would suffer a miserable defeat. It couldn't go on.

"No! In your dreams!" Despite how difficult her situation was, Bai Xue stubbornly refused to surrender.

"You asked for this," You Qingtian said, gritting his teeth. As he spoke, his longsword erupted with countless beams of light, its power growing even more terrifying.

At that moment, Venerable Xue Feng saw this and a delighted smile spread across his face. "The match is finally coming to an end."

"Celestial Sword Technique!" Bai Xue had no other choice at this point. She had to make her move.

'If I don't use the Celestial Sword Technique now,' she thought, 'I'll have no chance of winning.'

So, she mustered all the power in her body and channeled it directly into the longsword in her hand.

SWOOSH—

In an instant, the longsword tore through the air, shooting straight for You Qingtian.

It moved so fast that before You Qingtian could even react, the longsword was already at his neck.

A keen aura burst from the blade. The slightest movement, and his head would be severed from his body.

You Qingtian froze completely. He could feel the aura of death; in a real battle, he would already be dead.

Bai Xue was gasping for breath, having expended an enormous amount of energy. The longsword hovered, pressed against You Qingtian's neck. She, too, was stunned.

'I never expected the Celestial Sword Technique to be this powerful.'

"Lady Bai Xue, please, don't do anything rash! I surrender! I surrender right now!" Seeing this, You Qingtian broke out in a cold sweat and spoke in a rush.

He was terrified that with a single slip, Bai Xue would slit his throat, and his life would be over.

"We won? Darling! We won! She's incredible!" Su Miaoke was stunned for a moment when she saw this, then she began jumping for joy, absolutely thrilled.

Now that You Qingtian had surrendered, Bai Xue had naturally won the match.

Seeing You Qingtian surrender, Bai Xue didn't press her advantage. Instead, she respectfully cupped her fist and said, "Thank you for the match."

'In truth,' she knew, 'if You Qingtian had gone all-out from the very beginning, I would have certainly lost.'

"Lady Bai Xue, your Celestial Sword Technique is simply too fast," You Qingtian said with a wry smile. "It was so fast I couldn't even mount a defense. I was on guard for it the entire time and still couldn't block it. *Sigh*... it's truly a difficult move to counter."

"I was merely lucky," Bai Xue replied. "If you had used your full strength from the beginning, I would have already lost."

With that, the two of them walked off the battle stage.

At this moment, on the platform of the Martial Arts Venerables and in the area for those at the Martial Arts Peak, everyone was utterly dumbfounded.

It was supposed to be a surefire victory, yet You Qingtian of the Netherworld Sect had still lost?

Who could have imagined such an upset at the very last moment?

If they hadn't seen it with their own eyes, no one would have believed it was possible.

"This... This is fucking match-fixing!" Upon seeing this, Xue Wujian shot to his feet and roared.

He was seething with anger, his fists clenched tightly.

When the crowd saw this, they all understood in their hearts: it was over for them.

Spirit Sword Valley, the Snow Sword Sect, and the Snow Mountain Sect had all suffered a massive loss.

Chu Feng paid no mind to Xue Wujian's furious outburst, instead turning his gaze directly to the Seven Kills Sword Master.

At that moment, even the Seven Kills Sword Master hadn't yet recovered from the shock.

It was clear he also never expected Bai Xue to win the match. The outcome was simply unbelievable.

However, after a moment's hesitation, he announced decisively, "In this wagered duel, the victor is Venerable Chu Feng!"

As his voice faded, he handed over the one hundred and eighty Martial Cultivation Spirit Stones and the Heaven-Slaying Sword to Chu Feng.

After subtracting his own initial stake, Chu Feng had profited by one hundred and forty Martial Cultivation Spirit Stones.

Gazing at the bag stuffed full of Martial Cultivation Spirit Stones, Chu Feng's eyes burned with excitement. 'As expected of a major sect,' he thought, 'Spirit Sword Valley is truly loaded.'

"Well now, I never thought just being a Martial Arts Venerable could earn me so many Martial Cultivation Spirit Stones. I've really struck it rich," Chu Feng said, hefting the bag of stones in his hand.

As he did this, he deliberately glanced over at the old women from Spirit Sword Valley, as well as Xue Wujian and Venerable Xue Feng.

The sight nearly made them die of rage. They wished they could just draw their swords and cut Chu Feng down where he stood.

But no matter how much they hated him, they ultimately restrained themselves, not daring to make a move.

Because if they did, the consequences would be dire.