Yun Man's speed far exceeded Yu Heguang's expectations, as she instantly arrived behind Yu Heguang.
Yu Heguang also shifted from offense to defense, and the moment Yun Man struck, he reversed his saber horizontally behind his back, barely blocking Yun Man's sword.
With the first strike missing, Yun Man immediately pulled back, preparing to find a new opportunity.
Yu Heguang also knew that if he relied only on the speed of his eyes, he wouldn't be able to keep up with Yun Man, so he closed his eyes.
Instantly, his Divine Sense spread out, using it to capture the trajectory of Yun Man's movements.
Yun Man then attempted several more attacks, but each time was predicted in advance and blocked.
Seeing that the initial attempts yielded no results, Yun Man directly created distance and stopped attacking.
If forceful attacks were useless, then she would wait for the opponent to attack; as long as he attacked, he would reveal flaws, and then she would strike.
Indeed, Yu Heguang kept standing still, focusing entirely on defense; if she couldn't forcefully break through Yu Heguang's defense, it would only turn into a war of attrition, which was meaningless.
"I already held you in high regard, but I still underestimated you. Your speed is indeed good, but if I don't give you a chance, you can't hurt me."
Although Yu Heguang was being attacked without being able to fight back, it was just as he said: as long as he didn't want to, he could keep defending indefinitely.
"I've already attacked; now it's your turn."
Yun Man stood in place, not planning to continue attacking, but instead letting Yu Heguang make a move.
"Since you're so strong, I'll also go all out."
Yu Heguang also focused with all his might.
Previously, Yun Man had seized the initiative, so he could only defend passively; now that she was letting him attack, he wanted to show Yun Man that movement techniques weren't something only she possessed.
Then, Yu Heguang instantly accelerated, his speed not inferior at all to Yun Man's previous speed.
Of course, Yu Heguang forcing himself to reach such speed naturally came at a great cost; this was a special movement technique, but it consumed a lot, unlike Yun Man, who only relied on the boots Qin Xiao gave her, so her consumption was naturally much smaller.
Although he had boosted his speed, Yu Heguang didn't dare to attack recklessly, because if he attacked carelessly and revealed a flaw, Yun Man would turn the tables and he would lose the initiative advantage.
Although Yun Man didn't move, she also released her Divine Sense; her Divine Sense had been strengthened by the Saint Origin Spirit Fruit, far stronger than Yu Heguang's, capturing things more accurately.
As Yu Heguang's figure changed positions, Yun Man still defended in an orderly manner, waiting for Yu Heguang to attack.
But he discovered that Yun Man's defense was not at all weaker than his own, and also knew that getting close wasn't a good opportunity to attack.
Then Yu Heguang instantly created distance, directly initiating his move; taking advantage of Yun Man not having reacted yet, he had already prepared the first move of his Thousand Saber Slash, Hundred-Shadow Slash.
However, he still underestimated the distance Yun Man's Divine Sense could explore; he thought he had reached a safe range, but he was actually still within Yun Man's Divine Sense range.
Just as Yu Heguang unleashed this move toward Yun Man, Yun Man's figure slowly dissipated; it was just an afterimage.
"Not good, I've been tricked."
Seeing the afterimage dissipate, Yu Heguang knew Yun Man had already arrived behind him, and hurriedly blocked with a reverse hand.
But no sound of collision came from behind; instead, his calf suddenly hurt, as a sword tip pierced straight through his calf.
"You think I'd do the same thing twice?"
Yun Man pulled out her sword and said slowly.
Now, the opponent's speed couldn't be boosted anymore; with a leg injury, even his defense would have flaws; the outcome was basically decided.
"I indeed underestimated you, but do you think this is my full strength?"
Yu Heguang then took out a Pill and directly swallowed it.
"This is the Mad Blood Pill; not only can it temporarily boost cultivation, it also blocks all pain sensations. Although it can't increase by a small realm like the Spirit-Burst Pill, it can still boost by half. Being able to force me to this step, you can already be proud."
After taking the Pill, Yu Heguang's body began to surge with blood energy, then Spiritual Qi was also stirred, and his cultivation began to skyrocket.
Yun Man naturally saw this too, and directly flashed away.
"Not good, this Yu Heguang used the Mad Blood Pill. Qin Xiao, quickly make Yun Man come down."
Lin Tiancheng naturally also recognized the Pill Yu Heguang had taken, shouting toward Qin Xiao.
Because he knew he couldn't make Yun Man listen; Yun Man only listened to Qin Xiao's words. With Yun Man's strength, she completely had a chance to compete for fifth place; there was no need to get injured here.
"Sect Leader, don't worry. If the situation turns bad, Yun Man will come down; she knows her limits."
Although Qin Xiao was also somewhat worried, this kind of Pill that temporarily boosts cultivation, Yun Man also had. Since she hadn't used it yet, it meant things were still within control.
Yun Man was now also somewhat conflicted. Although she had forced Yu Heguang to use his trump card, which was enough, she was also debating whether to use a Pill.
If she didn't use a Pill, wanting to win would require revealing a bit of her own trump card, undoubtedly increasing the risk of exposure. But if she used a Pill, after the effects wore off, she couldn't take another one within a day; when facing the top three opponents, she would have much less chance of winning, especially since her master's bet hadn't even started yet.
"Disciple, if you're confident, fight; if not, come back. Your master is here."
Seeing Yun Man retreat and not do anything, instead falling into conflict, Qin Xiao spoke up to remind her.
"Master, don't worry, I'm confident."
Yun Man suddenly thought that perhaps she didn't need to reveal other trump cards, nor take a Pill. Last night's sword technique had three moves in total; she had already mastered Mountain Severance, but the second move wasn't familiar yet. If she could use the second move, perhaps she could win this match.
It must be said that Yun Man's talent was indeed strong. In the same night's time, Lin Shimeng could only use the first move, the second move still at the Novice level, but Yun Man could already barely use the second move.
"Since you let me fully absorb the Pill's effects, to show respect, I'll also use my ultimate move in return."
Yu Heguang now seemed to have grown taller; this was the enhancement brought by the Mad Blood Pill, with all the blood in his body circulating wildly, stirring all the Spiritual Qi in his body to surge together.
Yun Man naturally didn't want to let the opponent complete his move, so she raised her sword horizontally in front of her chest, Spiritual Qi wildly gathering.
"Mountain Severance."
As soon as the two words were spoken, a ring-shaped sword Qi centered on Yun Man rapidly slashed out, scattering in all directions.
"What? You know this move too?"
Yu Heguang was gathering power, not expecting Yun Man to also know this move; he thought it was one of Lin Shimeng's ultimate moves.
Yun Man didn't answer him. After unleashing Mountain Severance, Yun Man didn't stop, but leaped directly into mid-air.
Yu Heguang directly used a protective treasure to block Yun Man's attack, and his ultimate move had also finished gathering power; he similarly leaped into the air.
The two faced each other, simultaneously unleashing their strongest attacks.
"Thousand Saber Slash's strongest move, Thousand-Shadow Slash."
Yu Heguang directly used all the Spiritual Qi in his body.
"Earth Rending."
Yun Man also didn't retreat, similarly using all the Spiritual Qi in her body.
"Boom!"
A huge explosion sounded in mid-air.
All Soul Formation stage cultivators present simultaneously acted, pouring Spiritual Qi into the Formation. They all felt the power of these two moves, knew the Formation couldn't withstand it, and could only intervene.
Then the entire arena continuously shook.
After the explosion's dust cleared, Yu Heguang was spitting blood but still standing.
Looking at Yun Man, she directly fell on the ground not far away.
Just as everyone thought Yun Man had lost, they saw Yun Man slowly get up, pat the dust off her body, then take out Spirit Liquid and start drinking it.
She needed to quickly replenish, because she didn't know if Yu Heguang still had other trump cards.
"I never expected Qingzhou to have such a prodigy. I concede."
Yu Heguang wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, speaking to Yun Man with full admiration.
As Yu Heguang left the arena, this match, Tianyuan Sect won.