At this moment, beneath Yao Nietian’s feet… a magic array suddenly appeared!

A surge of sinister energy shot out in all directions, like a turbulent wave, with considerable power.

This indiscriminate defensive counterattack caused Ruoyu's sword moves to falter momentarily.

But… only momentarily.

A second later, sword energy erupted, unstoppable, shattering the evil energy that blocked Ruoyu's sword.

Yao Nietian was shocked to see this and quickly grabbed the demonic staff at hand to meet her attack head-on.

*Clang*—

Weapons clashed, a resounding crash echoing.

The struggle between sword energy and evil energy stirred up turbulent currents of energy.

This exchange forced Li Ruoyu back three steps, while Yao Nietian… was sent flying backward a full thirty zhang, his feet leaving the ground.

At this point, the arrogant Yao Nietian opened his eyes, his expression solemn, “What is this power?”

The energy released from Ruoyu's sword… was neither the true meaning of the sword, nor the holy aura of Buddhism, nor pure force… but her sword energy possessed aspects of all three.

Yao Nietian had never encountered such an opponent. The special attributes of a traveler from another world clearly exceeded his understanding, causing a wavering in his heart.

"Are you asking me?" Ruoyu replied in a deep voice, "Sorry, I've practiced many different cultivation methods, each with its own lineage, and I don't even know how to classify the 'power' I'm using right now." She paused for a moment, "I only know… this power is perfectly suited to restrain your evil spirit power."

As she spoke, she had already shortened the distance between herself and her opponent, and adjusted her stance.

Before her voice faded, her ultimate move was unleashed…

In an instant, Ruoyu's figure transformed into multiple afterimages, surrounding her opponent.

In a single breath, dozens of lightning-fast sword lights struck Yao Nietian from all directions… and each sword energy carried the force of a thousand *jin*, its power fierce.

[Butterfly Spirit Shadow] is an advanced combat technique recorded in the "Dragon Slaying Chapter" of the Seven Ghost Valley Essays. It is also the strongest single-target attack skill Li Ruoyu possesses, aside from [Bipolar Harmony Slaughter].

According to Ruoyu's past performance, any NPC who directly received this move, with the exception of boss-level characters, would at least be seriously injured.

Undoubtedly, this record… would continue in this battle.

“Ugh—” Although Yao Nietian managed to avoid any fatal injuries by releasing demonic energy and wielding his staff to block, he still sustained more than ten blows in this round of attacks, suffering considerable damage.

“Damn it… to be taken advantage of by this nameless junior…” Yao Nietian thought resentfully after taking the blows. At the same time, he took a large step backward, leaped into the air, and once again created distance between himself and Ruoyu.

"Can you run?" Ruoyu asked as she pursued him with her sword after retracting her attack, without the slightest pause.

In terms of speed, she was much faster than Yao Nietian; in terms of moves, as a swordswoman, she was naturally several levels higher than the demonic monk.

In this battle, what Yao Nietian could rely on… was his centuries of foundation and his ability to summon evil spirits; however… Ruoyu, who had the title of [Thousand Evil Slayer], was the nemesis of evil spirits. Her [Consecration] regarded evil spirits as experience points, and it was especially effective against opponents like Yao Nietian.

It could be said… that Ruoyu held advantages in all aspects of this battle. If she wanted to, she could end it quickly.

But… she didn't do so.

On the surface, Ruoyu was indeed aggressive. Whether in words or actions, she was constantly on the offensive. But in reality… she only used seventy percent of her strength in each move.

For example, in the [Butterfly Spirit Shadow] just now, if Ruoyu had used her full strength, Yao Nietian would have already been beaten to the brink of death. The reason she secretly held back and created this seemingly overwhelming illusion was for only one purpose, and that was…

"Junior! Don't push me too far!" On the other side, seeing Ruoyu pursuing him with her sword, Yao Nietian quickly formed a demonic seal in the air and shouted angrily, "All the evil in the world, heed my call!"

With that shout, the evil spirits hovering in the air all surged down, attacking Ruoyu.

"Hmph…" Ruoyu snorted coldly, a slight smile on her lips.

In that instant, only one person in the entire martial arts tournament venue… realized the meaning behind her expression.

"So that's it…" Feng Bujue thought, watching Ruoyu on the stage. "She wants to use Yao Nietian's 'ability to summon evil spirits' to farm the number of spirits slain by [Consecration]." Thinking of this, he also revealed a hint of a smile, "To rationally maximize profits while maintaining an advantage; to not be arrogant when successful, nor impetuous when in a superior position… this kind of strategy, this kind of composure… in other guilds, she would be more than qualified to be a captain…"

Just as Brother Jue was pondering, dozens of evil spirits had swiftly flown down and surrounded Ruoyu.

And Ruoyu… was waiting for this moment.

Behold!

Figure spins, sword shadow follows.

Qi emerges in thousands of clusters, falling like petals, light blooms in ten thousand blossoms, scattering lotus flowers.

With one move, [Fallen Blossom Scattered Skirt], she killed those evil spirits, leaving not a trace behind, and turning them into fragments of light.

"Ha—" At the same time, Yao Nietian, who was more than ten meters away, had suddenly landed and, taking advantage of the few seconds that Ruoyu was delayed by the evil spirits, he had already prepared his next move: "Demon Transmission ~ Seal of Ten Directions!"

While shouting, Yao Nietian spun the demonic staff in his hand twice, then thrust it into the ground.

The next second, he retracted his arms, crossed his hands to form a palm seal, and then thrust his arms out!

In an instant, ten layers of swastika-shaped evil energy flew out from his palms, soaring into the sky and falling towards Ruoyu's location.

"Ignorant swordswoman, meet your end!" With his ultimate move unleashed, Yao Nietian immediately declared his certain victory, seemingly very confident in the power of his move.

However, this attack… ended in failure.

*Boom*—

A shocking explosion was heard, and a giant swastika-shaped pit was instantly carved out on the stage. All ten layers of violent energy crashed down at this spot, but… Ruoyu's figure had already appeared elsewhere.

[Name: Desert Shadow, No Trace]

[Skill Card Attribute: Active Skill, Permanently Learned]

[Skill Category: Combat]

[Effect: Upon being attacked, perform a super-high-speed movement (cooldown time of three minutes, can only be activated when attacked from a distance, there must be a path of movement between the target location and the current location)]

[Consumption: Stamina Value 300]

[Learning Requirements: Combat Specialization A]

[Note: Created by the Jianghu figure known as "Death God of Shadows," Shi Daxia. Shi Daxia was exceptionally skilled in lightness techniques, upright, and spent his life upholding justice and eliminating evil. Unfortunately… he was born with an extremely ordinary face, so unremarkable that no one could remember his appearance except for his wife and children, and no one could even remember his name. So… people always just called him "Shi Daxia."]