The Zhao Clan cultivator—confident, arrogant, and already envisioning his victory—charged in with a blaze of techniques.
After all, he was a Top Nascent Soul cultivator. And Nie Fengzhuo?
At best, early Nascent Soul. Worse, he had no major clan or sect backing him.
How strong could he possibly be?
Even at the same cultivation level, with his superior techniques, he believed it would be an easy victory for him.
That was the assumption.
And that assumption cost him everything.
Nie Fengzhuo effortlessly dodged the Zhao cultivator’s techniques as if they were child’s play, his movements calm and unhurried.
“H-How?”
All his attacks, it only hit air and nothing else.
Then when he has finished attacking, Nie Fengzhuo.
Nie Fengzhuo’s sword moved only once.
A single slash!
Clean. Sharp. Deceptively simple.
The Zhao cultivator’s defenses shattered as though they were paper, and blood sprayed across the stage.
In an instant, the proud scion of the Zhao Clan was lying on the ground, groaning and unconscious.
Gasps rippled through the arena.
He didn’t just win.
He won instantly.
Everyone expected that the match would be instant, though it was the other way around than they thought. It was Nie Fengzhuo who ended things in one move.
A fight that was supposed to be a routine victory for the Zhao Clan… ended in total humiliation.
“Nie Fengzhuo is this powerful?”
“I heard that he was just trash! Who would have thought that the rumors were false?”
“Is this the best of the Zhao Clan? Truly disappointing from one considered among the Top 3 Strongest Clans of the Empire!”
…
While many complimented Nie Fengzhuo’s strength, others questioned the Zhao Clan’s strength.
After all, throughout this whole competition, none of the Major Clans had lost in such a disappointing manner—and that was especially true for the Li and Bai Clans.
Of course, the truth was that Nie Fengzhuo was strong, but one couldn’t help but put down others who lost as well.
This made Zhao Chen angry.
This was the tournament where they were going to regain their lost face and trust, but actually, it got worse.
“That trash…”
Zhao Chen also couldn’t help but blame his fellow clan members.
He wasn’t the only one; others, including the elders of Zhao Clan, looked at him like an abandoned clan member, and anyone could tell that his life, once back in the Zhao Clan, wouldn’t be anything less than miserable.
On the other hand, Bai Clan members didn’t know what to say.
On one hand, they were happy that their enemy was getting humiliated like this.
But the fact that the one doing so happened to be their Young Miss’s ex-fiancé, whose relationship with them wasn’t great—
They also couldn’t insult Nie Fengzhuo because Bai Zihan had shown the intention to recruit him into the clan.
Insulting him might be seen as insulting Bai Zihan’s judgment. So, they could only watch without saying anything.
Bai Xueqing narrowed her eyes, surprised by Nie Fengzhuo’s strength.
When she went to break their engagement, his cultivation was barely at the Qi Refining Stage.
Two years later, it reached the Nascent Soul realm, a feat that she couldn’t say that she could do.
Moreover, she had thought that Nie Fengzhuo—despite his cultivation—would lose to others, because unlike the others from Major Clans and Sects, he probably didn’t have powerful techniques.
Well, it was still not sure whether he did—because all it took was one move from him to end the fight instantly.
Still, outside, she remained calm and expressionless, like it didn’t matter to her at all.
After that stunning upset, the matches resumed.
The remaining battles in the first round proceeded without surprises.
No other match stirred the arena the way Lin Xuan’s clash with Jin Yuanzhan had… or Nie Fengzhuo’s instant victory over the Zhao Clan’s elite.
That was the only real upset of the entire first round.
Eventually, as the last scheduled match concluded and the dust settled over the arena, the overseer stepped forward once more, his voice echoing through the formation-amplified platform.
“That concludes the first round of the Dragon and Phoenix Competition!”
The crowd responded with polite applause—many were still murmuring about the earlier events.
“The second round will begin in three days’ time,” the overseer continued, arms clasped behind his back.
“During this period, all participants are advised to rest well, tend to their injuries, and recover their strength.”
“Your true battles have only just begun!”
His voice rang out with subtle weight, and the crowd slowly began to disperse.
As the crowd filtered out and the disciples returned to their quarters, a quiet yet unmistakable tension hovered over the Bai Clan pavilion.
Bai Xueqing, accompanied by Chu Ziyan, made her way across the sect compound and into the Bai Clan’s reserved area.
They passed several guards and attendants who bowed respectfully, though the atmosphere was thick with tension.
Inside the pavilion, Bai Zihan stood in quiet conversation with a few elders when he noticed their approach.
Bai Xueqing didn’t waste time.
“You,” she began. “What were you thinking?”
Bai Zihan stood calmly in the corridor behind her, his hands clasped behind his back, face serene as ever.
“You’ll need to be more specific, dear sister.”
He said lightly, though his gaze sharpened a touch.
“Nie Fengzhuo,” she replied, whirling around. “You offered him a marriage to the Bai Clan?”
Her voice wasn’t raised, but there was heat in it.
Bai Zihan didn’t flinch.
“He’s strong and someone who would be useful to me.”
“You call that an explanation?”
Her brows arched.
“Yes!”
Bai Zihan replied without hesitation.
Bai Xueqing’s hands clenched at her sides, her voice cold.
“Do you care about anything besides your damned schemes? Do you even think about how this affects my face?”
Bai Zihan met her glare calmly.
“No,” he said flatly. “I don’t care about face. Face doesn’t protect the clan. Face doesn’t build strength. It’s vanity—and for the bigger picture, vanity must be sacrificed.”
His words struck like a slap. Bai Xueqing stiffened.
“You say that as if you have some grand vision. But you don’t,” she bit out.
“If you had a plan—something real—explain it. I’d listen.”
Her voice cracked slightly at the end, but her gaze was still sharp. Still demanding.
Bai Zihan’s lips curved—though it wasn’t quite a smile.
“I do have a plan, my dear sister,” he said quietly. “But even if I explained it… you wouldn’t understand.”
Like—how would she even begin to understand that Nie Fengzhuo is the key to gaining an Immortal Emperor?
Not to mention, it was likely similar to bringing back the dead, which sounds even more impossible.
No matter which, one was more absurd than the other. And he can’t explain how he’s going to bring back the dead and only knows that Nie Fengzhuo can.
So, there are many things going on which Bai Zihan honestly can’t explain and expect others to believe.
Her eyes widened in disbelief, fury rising behind them.
“And it has to be him?”
She asked, almost scoffing. “Out of everyone you could use for your so-called plan—it must be him?”
“It must be him!”
Otherwise, he doesn’t even know what the first thing he would need to create a body for the soul.
“I see now,” she whispered.
“This isn’t because of some grand scheme that you have. You’re doing this because you want to humiliate me.”
Bai Zihan stared at Bai Xueqing for a second and sighed.
Perhaps he had been less considerate of Bai Xueqing’s feelings, but when looking at what benefit he could get, he knew that Bai Xueqing’s face wasn’t worth it.
“What makes you think that?”
Bai Zihan asked.
Bai Xueqing didn’t answer.
He took a step forward, gaze never leaving hers.
“Very well,” he said at last. “Let’s settle it another way.”
Her brow furrowed.
“A bet,” Bai Zihan said.
She blinked.
“If you win the Dragon and Phoenix Competition—I’ll yield.”
“Yield what?”
“Everything,” he said plainly.
“You want me to stop? I will. I’ll listen to whatever you have to say and obey it—three times. No matter what it is.”
His tone didn’t waver. Neither did his gaze.
That gave her pause.
“Three times…”
She echoed.
“I swear it,” Bai Zihan replied. “On my name!”
Chu Ziyan, standing nearby, narrowed his eyes but stayed silent.
Three times—it seemed to be nothing, but not when the person was Bai Zihan.
He didn’t say when and no limits. With his position, he was going to be Clan Leader and perhaps even more than that.
By that time, if one could keep hold of this promise, then there were many things that one could ask of Bai Zihan.
Of course, seeing that it was Bai Xueqing, Bai Zihan’s sister, everyone knew that it wouldn’t be too harmful to Bai Zihan or the Bai Clan itself.
So, they just watched, believing this to be just a little thing between siblings.
And motivating Bai Xueqing to win the competition was great for the Bai Clan as well.
Bai Xueqing’s fingers curled slightly, her nails pressing into her palm.
“And if I lose?”
“If you lose,” Bai Zihan said slowly, “then you shouldn’t interfere with what I am doing.”
“And perhaps… help me bring Nie Fengzhuo into the Bai Clan.”
Bai Xueqing’s eyes flashed.
“You want me to apologize to him?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
“…”
“Sure! Be ready to serve me like a servant after I win because that is what I am using those promises for!”