Chapter 212 - 109: Can You Handle Such a Fierce Woman?

Chapter 212: Chapter 109: Can You Handle Such a Fierce Woman?

Aside from Zhao Qian himself, the strongest fighters in the Prince Lie’s Mansion were Xiang Zeren and Tan Yu. If Xiang Zeren hadn’t displayed that move suspected to be the Overlord Dragon-piercing Spear today, Tan Yu would have been the undisputed top Mansion Official.

’She’s done with the easy targets and is already taking on the tough ones?’

Zhao Yan breathed a small sigh of relief. Tan Yu’s strength was nothing to scoff at. After losing to Zhao Ci a few days ago, he had even undergone specialized training to handle pressure. Plus, his own Body Technique was decent. As long as he could dodge her thunder techniques, he should be able to keep Kan Luotang in check.

As for the Corpse Puppets, they were corpses. Their movements were entirely sustained by Tan Yu, and their bodies had been refined to be incredibly tough. There was no way they could be paralyzed.

He didn’t need to win. As long as he could drain a significant amount of her True Qi, there was no way she could achieve nineteen victories within four hours.

Spurred on by Zhao Yan’s encouraging gaze, Tan Yu ascended the Martial Arts Arena with his three Corpse Puppets.

A burly human shield.

A chain-wielding man specializing in control.

And a dwarf who excelled at assassination.

They were sure to cause Kan Luotang immense trouble.

"Begin!"

Zhao Yan shouted.

Then.

"BOOM!"

"BOOM!"

"BOOM!"

"BOOM!"

Four thunderous blasts descended, and the three Corpse Puppets collapsed to the ground without a fight.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"

Tan Yu was dumbfounded. He tried to forcibly channel his True Qi, only to find that the delicate threads of energy connecting him to his Corpse Puppets through his acupoints had been completely severed by the blast.

’W-what’s going on?’

As he stood there in a daze, he saw Kan Luotang charging at him, sword in hand.

Gritting his teeth, he steeled himself and met her with his own sword. ’I refuse to believe that someone who’s mastered thunder techniques can also be good with a sword...’

Huh?

’Where’s Kan Luotang’s sword?’

A sudden chill ran down his spine. Not only had Kan Luotang’s sword vanished, but she had disappeared along with it.

He then felt a cold sensation on his back as his robes were sliced open.

A chilly draft blew against his exposed skin.

’When did she get behind me?’

’What the hell is this Body Technique?’

’So much for my Body Technique!’

"I give up!"

Utterly defeated, Tan Yu didn’t even look back. He hoisted his Corpse Puppets onto his shoulders, stepped down from the arena, found a corner, and started sulking.

Zhao Qian’s expression froze. "Wh-what just happened?"

Zhao Xie gloated, "The Kan Family’s thunder techniques are the epitome of yang and resilience, the perfect counter to anything with yin properties. The Tan Family’s Corpse Control relies on cultivating yin-earth qi to connect to the puppets’ acupoints. It’s borderline demonic to begin with.

Forget Tan Yu; even someone who has opened their spleen’s Earth Divine Treasure would have to give a wide berth to thunder techniques.

And to think he was so smug about never having been struck by lightning before. Turns out he’s just incredibly naive."

"You son of a bitch..."

Cursing under his breath, Zhao Qian got up from his seat and went to the corner to console Tan Yu.

Zhao Yan continued, "Next up, from the Ninth Prince’s Mansion, Tan Kuang!"

Tan Kuang: "I forfeit!"

Everyone: "..."

In all the years of inter-mansion competitions, they had never encountered anyone who specialized in thunder techniques.

Now that one had suddenly appeared, everyone was a bit bewildered.

Zhao Yan shook his head and called for the next victim.

Zhao Ci could see it too. Kan Luotang was like a top student, a natural test-taker. She deeply understood the principle of tackling the easy problems first before moving on to the hard ones. She was taking out the weaklings and those she had a type advantage against first, saving the toughest opponents for last.

A fighter like her—high agility, high attack, and strong crowd control, but physically fragile—was most vulnerable to resilient Martial Artists with powerful physiques.

And eventually, she would have to face such Martial Artists. Among the remaining competitors, most had a Flesh Soul of the fourth rank or higher.

Luckily for her, two of the fighters from the three strongest mansions were from the Tan Family, which saved her a great deal of effort.

The further she went, the harder the fights became.

She was beginning to struggle. Her first fifteen matches had taken her a total of one hour.

The next three matches were against the Heirs of Prince Shu, Prince Xiang, and Prince Yan. These three were brutes who cultivated the Imperial Extreme True Qi, which greatly weakened the effect of her thunder techniques. She could only rely on her Body Technique to dance around them, and the fights were incredibly draining.

Fortunately, she managed to use her thunder techniques at critical moments to momentarily impede their movements, allowing her to strike their vital points with her sword tip and be declared the victor by Zhao Yan.

These three matches alone took a full two hours.

The toll on her stamina was immense.

The last person.

It was the Poison Master from the Prince Lie’s Mansion, Yang Ling.

There was still an hour left.

"Match nineteen, from the Prince Lie’s Mansion, Yang—"

"Prince Gong, wait!"

Zhao Qian shot to his feet. "We forfeit!"

Zhao Yan was surprised. "Are you sure you want to forfeit?"

"We forfeit, we forfeit! To be swept eighteen-to-nothing by a single girl... even if we won the last match, there’d be no glory in it!"

Zhao Qian looked over at Zhao Ci. "We accept our defeat wholeheartedly. Your Tenth Prince’s Mansion has placed third!"

Zhao Ci smiled. "Then I thank you. I’ll remember this favor and be sure to repay it in the future."

’This Heir of King Lie is a crafty one.’

’There’s still an hour left. Kan Luotang only needs to stall for a little while to recover most of her stamina. Besides, the Kan Family’s medical arts are renowned, so the effectiveness of the Yang Family’s Poison Skills would have been diminished anyway.’

’It was better to sell a favor instead.’

’But it was a favor I had no choice but to accept.’

’After all, when I went to crash their party at the Prince Lie’s Mansion a few days ago, their people suffered the most... intestinal distress.’

’Although the Imperial Clan Court couldn’t punish me without evidence...’

’...everyone knew who the prime suspect was.’

’It was, admittedly, a bit underhanded.’

’So that "accept our defeat wholeheartedly" line was a jab at me!’

On the high platform.

Zhao Yan nodded. "Since the Prince Lie’s Mansion has forfeited, the top three finishers in this Martial Arts Competition are the Ninth Prince’s Mansion, the Prince Ying’s Mansion, and the Tenth Prince’s Mansion. The representatives may come forward to receive their rewards."

With the Tenth Prince’s Mansion squeezing into the top three, neither Zhao Yong nor Zhao Xie looked pleased. If they had known it would turn out this way, they would have gone easier on the Prince Lie’s Mansion.

The two exchanged a look before ascending the high platform to receive their rewards.