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--- Chapter 312 ---
"Well, I didn't expect to face you again, Xun'er," said Han Yuan, facing the princess of Gu Clan. "We haven't fought each other for years now."
Gu Xun'er put on a weak smile, "Please, don't remind me of my dark past, Han Yuan. You knew I really hated myself at that time."
In fact, even to this day, Gu Xun'er still hates herself for being blind to her own situation. If not for Han Yuan paying a price with his sacrifice, she might not have woken up from that self-deprecating dream.
She calmed herself down and then put on a determined look, "Han Yuan, I want to see how I am compared to you now after our last fight!"
"So, let's do this."
After saying that, Gu Xun'er lowered her body a little and then raised her clenched right fist forward.
Han Yuan smiled faintly and used the same stance as her, "Alright, let's do this."
Meanwhile, everyone in the venue watched Han Yuan and Gu Xun'er with great interest. These two were the most mysterious new students of Jia Nan Academy; no one had ever seen their full strength, and even at that moment, they didn't know how powerful these two truly were.
"Heh, Xun'er is so lucky. If I hadn't met my brother in the semifinal, I could have fought him in the final," Xiao Yixian said, pouting because she wished she were the one facing Han Yuan in the final.
Qing Lin giggled. "But Sister Yixian, you still fought Brother Yuan earlier, right?"
Xiao Yixian retorted, "That's different!"
"Eh, I think it was the same," Qing Lin stuck out her tongue.
However, deep down, Qing Lin also felt a pang of jealousy toward Gu Xun'er because if she hadn't met the princess of the Gu Clan first, she could have shared the final stage with Han Yuan as well.
Yes, the deciding fight between Han Yuan and Gu Xun'er was the final of the qualification tournament.
The white moon hung in the sky, illuminating the stage they stood on, making them look like dazzling figures among the ordinary.
Even the elders couldn't help but breathe quietly, fearing they would miss any detail from this fight.
Then, both Han Yuan and Gu Xun'er moved.
To be safe, they showcased only their realms: Han Yuan was at 3-Star Dou Master, while Gu Xun'er was at 4-Star Dou Master.
Even with those limitations, it shocked everyone, and the elders nodded to Han Yuan's decision to conceal his true strength. They knew this young man was at least a Dou Grandmaster in cultivation and even able to hold off a Rank 6 Magical Beast for some time.
As Han Yuan and Gu Xun'er accelerated, Gu Xun'er secretly utilized her martial soul, enhancing her physical strength with the unique power of her Chaos-attributed Blood.
Han Yuan didn't need to fortify his body; even without using the Lawless Turtle King's martial soul, he remained stronger than others of his degree. Not to mention, he had awakened the White Mist Emperor's body.
Bang!
Han Yuan's elbow collided with the punch thrown by Gu Xun'er, creating a small shockwave between them. Gu Xun'er quickly threw another punch with her other hand.
Han Yuan dodged, ducking out of the way, and delivered a sharp kick to her waist, causing everyone to wince. Such a beautiful girl, yet he was so ruthless.
Gu Xun'er smiled, unfazed by Han Yuan's fierce move.
She appreciated the fact that he didn't underestimate her by not making it easy for her in their fight.
To her, Han Yuan's approach was respectful.
Gu Xun'er kicked off the ground and dodged the kick, watching as it flickered with wind Dou Qi.
BOOM!
The wind Dou Qi swept across the arena and struck the ground, causing it to shatter.
If that attack had hit Gu Xun'er directly, she would have sustained only a slight injury, a testament to the power of her 'Blood' martial soul and Han Yuan's exceptional control over his Dou Qi.
After that, they exchanged various martial techniques, demonstrating their mastery of martial arts to perfection, one after another.
Bang!
Han Yuan and Gu Xun'er traded punches, both being pushed back several steps from each other. Their shoes brushed the tiled floor hard.
Gu Xun'er stared at Han Yuan and giggled, "Let's kick this up a notch, shall we?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Han Yuan replied with a chuckle.
White flames engulfed Gu Xun'er like a beautiful princess's dress, while a combination of Wind and Thunder Dou Qi covered Han Yuan like armor.
Qing Lin watched Gu Xun'er and murmured, "Because of that white flame, none of my sword techniques can touch Sister Xun'er. What is this dou technique actually?"
"It's just another manifestation of a Dou Qi cloak, which Xun'er adapted from Han Yuan's idea of constantly adjusting and controlling it to create a fiery dress that enhances both her offense and defense," Xiao Yixian answered casually. "If I remember correctly, she named it the White Flame Dress?"
"In fact, I can do it as well, but mine is too dangerous to use in a mere tournament like this."
"T-Then, can Qing Lin learn this?" Qing Lin asked excitedly.
Xiao Yixian patted Qing Lin's head and said, "Of course you can! Big Brother Yuan should have told you about the Heavenly Demon Eyes, right?"
"Mm," Qing Lin nodded.
Xiao Yixian smiled smugly. "Once you cultivate the Heavenly Demon Eyes and train your spiritual power, it will just be a matter of time before you can create something similar to Xun'er's."
"Heavenly Demon Eyes... Got it!" Qing Lin clenched her fist, eager to craft her own dress.
Gu Xun'er raised her palm and then attacked, "White Mountain Burning Palm!"
CRUSH!!
A scorching image of a massive palm with immense momentum appeared in the air, charging at Han Yuan with its intense white flame.
Han Yuan analyzed the move, 'White Mountain Burning Palm, one of Misty Mountain Lineage's infamous dou techniques, and since Xun'er possessed the Golden Emperor Burning Sky Flame, this technique became even more fearsome...'
'Yet, no matter how strong your technique, even with so much coverage, it would still be useless if it couldn't hit me.'
Swoosh!
Han Yuan's figure flickered rapidly, dodging the palm attack. His green and purple silhouettes left everyone gaping in shock because they couldn't catch his figure.
"This kid... He's a bit too fast, no?" One elder commented in disbelief.
Another elder shook his head, "No, no, no, you missed the whole point. Is this even the speed a Dou Grandmaster could reach?"
"Yeah, even I couldn't exert such a burst of speed continuously." The third elder in the group admitted he wasn't as good as Han Yuan.
As the White Mountain Burning Palm descended and hit the ground with its fiery nature, an explosion crushed the arena, but the rustling of wind and thunder still echoes.
Gu Xun'er looked around warily, frowning because of the smoke she had created. She used Heavenly Demon Eyes, but still couldn't find Han Yuan's presence.
She caught a glimpse of that young man and made her move, "White Lotus Steps."
Gu Xun'er knew she couldn't match Han Yuan in pure speed, but that doesn't mean she was slow either.
After using White Lotus Steps, Gu Xun'er chased after Han Yuan's figure and launched a barrage of attacks, whether it was a palm, a kick, or a punch, but none of them hit.
The arena has long become fiery pits, leaving the elders and especially Hu Gan's mouth twitching.
Let's say the cost of repairing the arena wasn't cheap.
"Sister Yixian..." Qing Lin called Xiao Yixian while holding her sleeve. "Is it just me, or Sister Xun'er looks very happy right now?"
Xiao Yixian snorted, "Of course, she is."
"Xun'er is a proud girl."
"She longed to reach the highest point in this world, and the person she chased right now is her target. Even for a bit, just a little bit, if she could chase after her target, she would definitely be content."
'But I don't know if I should call this happy or content. That girl is 'literally' turned on right now, jeez.' She added inwardly.
Gu Xun'er looks flushed. She chased after the wind and thunder with a big grin on her face, stretching her hands to grasp the figure.
"Golden Emperor Fist!"
BOOOOOOM!!
Gu Xun'er threw a punch, and then her eyes widened because her punch hit nothing. She thought it was Han Yuan.
"Are you tired?" Someone asked Gu Xun'er.
Gu Xun'er glanced back and laughed softly, "Hehe, I am not!"
"Good girls shouldn't lie, you know?" After all that chasing, what Gu Xun'er caught was merely Han Yuan's shadow while he was standing behind her all along.
He had his hand resting behind her back and playfully said, "So, do you admit defeat, Xun'er?"
Gu Xun'er pouted, "Fine, I admit defeat!"
The referee wiped cold sweat off his forehead and announced, "With this, the winner of the qualification tournament is Han Yuan!"
Gu Xun'er wasn't sad that she couldn't win. She glanced at Xiao Yixian and Qing Lin in the audience and gave them a victorious smirk before falling into Han Yuan's embrace.
"I am tired..." She whispered coyly.
"B-Big Brother Yuan, can you carry me?"
Han Yuan was stunned before chuckling weakly, "You're not going to accept defeat that easily, huh?"
"Mm," Gu Xun'er hummed.
Even though Han Yuan was speechless, he still carried Gu Xun'er off the stage while receiving standing applause and cheers from everyone in the venue.
That night, Han Yuan made a legend in the Outer Court of the Jia Nan Academy. While not revealing all of his ability, he had given everyone, including some spies, a shock.
So, what Han Yuan did was not really mind-blowing, which also helped the academy avoid disaster.
He unknowingly became a decoy for himself.
Hehe, talking about irony.