Chapter 1026: Duanmu Qing

The situation at Tai Xu Sect was quite severe.

Most of the sect's cultivators, including the three sect leaders, felt uncertain in their hearts.

Because they had no idea who they would face in the upcoming Sword Debate, nor what the outcome would be.

The opponents in the Earth-Level Sword Debate were determined by the Dao Debate Celestial Apparatus.

After each match, the celestial apparatus would immediately deduce the list for the next round.

Until the Dao Debate Celestial Apparatus had completed its calculations, everything remained unknown.

Mo Hua had secretly tried to calculate the celestial apparatus.

In fact, if it were possible, he had even considered using divination techniques to tamper with the list generated by the apparatus.

A little manipulation—placing weaker teams on their side while forcing top geniuses like Xiao Wuchen, Ao Zhan, Duanmu Qing, and Shen Linshu to fight and eliminate each other—would be ideal.

Letting them battle so fiercely that their brains spilled out.

This way, Tai Xu Sect could advance with ease.

With Shen Linshu and the others engaging in internal strife, at least half of the top geniuses would fall in the Earth-Level Sword Debate.

Mastering destiny, stirring the winds and clouds.

Manipulating cause and effect, using others as tools to kill.

This was the true way to wield the power of fate.

Unfortunately, Mo Hua was far from having such abilities.

The Dao Debate Celestial Apparatus was an unparalleled treasure left behind by the ancestor of Dao Debate Mountain.

And that ancestor was a legendary figure in Qianxue Prefecture.

No one knew whether he was an ordinary Void Stage cultivator, a late-stage Void powerhouse, or an unfathomable being beyond the Void Stage…

Such an enigmatic ancestor, with a treasure of such ancient heritage, enshrouded in layers of fate and karma,

Was simply beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators.

Even Void Stage cultivators might not be able to interfere with it.

Let alone Mo Hua, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Thus, the upcoming Sword Debate would largely depend on the "mood" of the Dao Debate Celestial Apparatus.

Whatever hand it dealt, Mo Hua could only accept.

In extreme cases, if his luck was terrible and he kept running into "Xiao Wuchen"-level geniuses,

Then Mo Hua would simply have to accept his misfortune and lose all the way.

A day later, the Dao Debate Celestial Apparatus activated, deducing fate.

Mo Hua's next opponents were revealed.

One of the Four Great Sects—Longding Sect.

This time, luck was slightly better, as their opponent wasn't the top genius, "Ao Zhan."

But it wasn't entirely fortunate either, because their opponent was the strongest disciple under Ao Zhan in Longding Sect:

Ao Zheng.

Ao Zheng's abilities were nearly identical to Ao Zhan's,

Except that his spiritual roots, cultivation techniques, and Dao comprehension were slightly inferior.

A slight gap.

But in the Four Great Sects, where geniuses were abundant, this was the difference between first and second place—a gap that was impossible to bridge.

However, for Mo Hua, facing Ao Zheng in the Sword Debate was no different from facing Ao Zhan.

Mo Hua calculated and frowned, realizing victory would not come easily.

If they fought head-on, they would likely suffer the same fate as last time—losing to Longding Sect.

And to make things worse, this Sword Debate match was a Demon-Hunting Competition.

Lose to Ao Zhan first, then lose to Ao Zheng next?

Mo Hua sighed softly.

There weren't many rounds left in the Earth-Level Sword Debate.

At this point, every victory mattered.

If the Dao Debate Celestial Apparatus decided to be unkind and dealt him another top-tier genius next round, then all hope would be lost.

But how could he defeat Ao Zheng?

Mo Hua calculated with his fingers while studying the terrain map of the Sword Debate.

After some thought, his eyes brightened with a plan.

Yet, he sighed and said:

"I'm such an upright person… I really don't want to do this, but if I want to win, I have no choice..."

Afterward, Mo Hua finalized his tactical arrangements.

On the day of the Sword Debate—

The venue was packed as always.

However, the inner mountain, where the disciples fought, was much quieter.

Mo Hua arrived early at the Dao Debate Mountain's inner region with Linghu Xiao and the others, standing guard at the mountain entrance.

All Sword Debate participants would enter through this passage.

Tai Xu Sect and Longding Sect were no exception.

Linghu Xiao and the others lined up solemnly along the mountain path.

Meanwhile, Mo Hua lazily played with a blade of grass, casually practicing array inscriptions on the ground.

As an array master, he had to practice inscriptions at every opportunity—never wasting a single moment.

This was the self-discipline of an array master.

After practicing for a while, Mo Hua suddenly tossed the grass aside, looked up, and said:

"They're here."

Linghu Xiao and the others tensed.

A moment later, a group of towering figures strode down the mountain path.

Each exuded arrogance, clad in the ornate robes of Longding Sect.

Leading them was a square-faced, imposing young man whose every movement radiated an intense, blood-essence-infused aura.

This was Ao Zheng.

Today's Sword Debate—Longding Sect versus Tai Xu Sect.

The two sides were natural adversaries.

Ao Zheng's gaze was sharp and filled with deep battle intent.

And, faintly, a trace of killing intent.

As Mo Hua stood up, his expression instantly shifted from relaxed and friendly to cold and indifferent.

He positioned himself on the stairs, looking "down" at Ao Zheng.

Otherwise, given his height, he would only reach Ao Zheng's shoulder and fail to exert any intimidation.

Ao Zheng was indeed momentarily "shaken."

Mo Hua, the so-called "Array Dao Leader" of Tai Xu Sect, was known for his mystery and unpredictability.

Now, with his icy expression, Ao Zheng instinctively felt wary.

However, as a proud body cultivator and genius, Ao Zheng remained confident and merely sneered before walking toward the mountain gate.

He didn't say a word.

He wanted to destroy Tai Xu Sect's team, wanted to kill Mo Hua.

But he disdained to boast before the battle.

Actions spoke louder than words.

Only after crushing Tai Xu Sect and eliminating Mo Hua would he mock them.

That was true strength.

Bragging without proving it was mere weakness.

Everything would be decided in the arena.

Ao Zheng ignored Mo Hua and walked forward.

But just as they passed each other, he suddenly heard a crisp yet icy voice:

"Your Longding Sect's Ao Zhan offended me last time..."

Ao Zheng froze, turning to look at Mo Hua.

Mo Hua lifted his chin, arrogance in his cold gaze.

"In this Demon-Hunting Competition, I'll settle the score."

"Tai Xu Sect isn't so easily provoked."

"You five… will all die!"

Ao Zheng's expression twisted in rage as he glared at Mo Hua.

Yet, when his gaze met Mo Hua's deep, eerie eyes, a shiver ran down his spine, making him choke on his retort.

Mo Hua sneered and swaggered off like a true "bully" of Tai Xu Sect, flanked by Linghu Xiao and the others.

For a moment, even the Longding Sect disciples were stunned into silence.

Only after Mo Hua had left did they snap out of it, seething with anger.

Ao Zheng's expression was icy, his brows furrowed deeply.

Mo Hua's words still echoed in his ears.

That gaze—filled with killing intent and suffused with an overwhelming aura of menace— Was real.

The murderous intent in those eyes was unmistakable.

This gaze carried real killing intent.

The murderous aura was incredibly intense.

Without experiencing true slaughter, it was nearly impossible to have such eyes.

This person called Mo Hua was definitely ruthless and cold-hearted.

That brief moment of eye contact gave Ao Zheng a deep and personal realization.

And… he said…

He wanted to settle a debt?

Ao Zheng frowned and carefully recalled.

During the last Sword Debate between Tai Xu Sect and Dragon Cauldron Sect, Mo Hua and his team were utterly defeated. Ao Zhan had crushed them—first killing them, then hunting monsters.

Tai Xu Sect had no power to resist and lost completely.

"So this Mo Hua wants to settle that debt?"

"He wants to do what Ao Zhan did—first kill all five of us, then hunt monsters to restore his dignity and take revenge?"

Ao Zheng slowly nodded, then sneered in his heart:

"A mere Tai Xu Sect… what do they have to fight us?"

"Relying on Linghu Xiao? Or…?"

Suddenly, Ao Zheng's heart skipped a beat.

Formations?!

A few days ago, during the Tai Xu Sect vs. Qian Dao Sect siege battle, the entire city had been obliterated by a terrifying formation explosion.

That sight was still fresh in his mind.

Even as a top-tier prodigy, Ao Zheng felt uneasy recalling it.

On the surface, the elders of Dao Mountain claimed that the explosion was an "unintentional accident" and had nothing to do with Mo Hua.

But… was that really the truth?

This Mo Hua was the foremost genius in formation arts.

Who knew what terrifying killing arrays he had up his sleeve?

If he used them in this Monster Hunt Match…

A chill ran through Ao Zheng's heart, and his expression grew solemn. He immediately instructed:

"In today's Monster Hunt Match, be extremely cautious of formations."

"Mo Hua is sinister and ruthless. He excels at formations, loves sneak attacks and ambushes, and holds deep grudges. Do not underestimate him."

"As long as we avoid his formations, Linghu Xiao will be overwhelmed alone. Tai Xu Sect is nothing to fear."

"Understood!" The other Dragon Cauldron Sect disciples responded in unison.

----

Dao Mountain – Inner Region.

The "Tyrant" Mo Hua walked at the front.

Cheng Mo and the others followed behind.

After a while, seeing that no one else was around, Situ Jian finally couldn't hold back and whispered:

"Senior Brother, wasn't it a bit reckless to provoke Dragon Cauldron Sect like that? Are we really going to kill them later?"

"We're not fighting them," Mo Hua replied.

Situ Jian was stunned, and the others looked confused as well.

Lowering his voice, Mo Hua explained:

"I was fooling that big idiot..."

"Dragon Cauldron Sect is too strong—we can't beat them. If we can't win, why fight them head-on?"

"I just threw out some harsh words to make them suspicious. After that, we'll move quickly."

"This is a Monster Hunt Match. If we finish off the monsters fast enough, we win—who cares about them?"

Mo Hua spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Linghu Xiao and the others looked at him, their expressions complicated.

For a moment, they didn't know whether to praise Mo Hua for his wisdom or call him devious.

Mo Hua let out a small sigh.

As expected, these junior brothers were still too green.

Their acting skills needed serious improvement.

That was precisely why he hadn't explained this plan earlier—he was afraid Linghu Xiao and the others would slip up due to poor acting.

Mo Hua lowered his voice further and gave another instruction:

"Remember—once we enter the field, I'll mark the monster's location. Follow me immediately, take it down as fast as possible. Every second counts—

the quicker, the better!"

Linghu Xiao and the others nodded solemnly.

…

Shortly after, the Sword Debate began.

The moment Mo Hua entered the battlefield, he quickly scanned his surroundings and unleashed his powerful divine sense. In less than an instant, he located the monster's tracks.

It was a late-stage second-rank bear demon.

Mo Hua pointed ahead. "Charge!"

Linghu Xiao and the others wasted no time, activating their movement techniques and dashing toward the direction Mo Hua indicated.

Normally, locating a monster was one of the hardest parts of a Monster Hunt Match.

In the complex terrain of the mountains and forests, one needed to analyze the habits of the beasts and track their movements—this often took time.

But Mo Hua's divine sense was simply too abnormal.

Moreover, he came from a lineage of demon hunters and was far too familiar with demonic beasts.

With his divine sense combined with his experience and instincts, he found the crucial target in an instant.

Without hesitation, the Taixu Sect group rushed toward the bear demon.

With their full speed, it took them only a quarter of an hour to arrive.

Then came the part everyone was familiar with—the monster hunt itself.

This was a process Mo Hua's team had mastered to perfection.

Their coordination was seamless.

They had done this countless times in the Demon Refining Mountain.

Set bait, lay traps, arrange formations, lure the demon.

Then, the trap would ensnare the beast, the formation would explode, leaving it heavily wounded.

Linghu Xiao would gather sword energy, dealing further damage.

The others would assist from the sidelines, restraining and chipping away at the monster's strength.

Everything proceeded in perfect order, executed with the utmost efficiency. Their rigorous training in Demon Refining Mountain was on full display.

Their systematic, almost militarized approach to demon hunting left the observing cultivators in stunned silence.

And just like that, the powerful late-stage second-rank bear demon collapsed with a thunderous crash.

With a single strike, Linghu Xiao cleaved open its chest and abdomen.

Cheng Mo stepped forward, reached into the beast, and extracted its inner core—crushing it instantly.

The Sword Debate was over.

Meanwhile, Ao Zheng and the disciples of Dragon Cauldron Sect, despite their formidable cultivation, were still cautiously navigating the mountains, scanning their surroundings with extreme vigilance—constantly on guard against Mo Hua's formations, engaged in a battle of wits with… nothing but air.

Mo Hua wanted to kill him.

That meant Mo Hua would definitely use formations first.

Ao Zheng's sharp gaze scanned every direction, filled with suspicion.

Where would the killing formation be?

Could the ground ahead be hiding a deadly array?

Could there be an ambush waiting in the forests up ahead?

If they encountered a monster, should they even engage it?

What if it was one of Mo Hua's traps?

The image of Mo Hua's last siege, where he blew up an entire city, flashed in Ao Zheng's mind repeatedly.

It reached a point where Ao Zheng felt uneasy just looking at the entire mountain range.

He even began to suspect—would that lunatic Mo Hua go so far as to blow up the entire mountain just to bury them all alive?

Yet along the way, they encountered absolutely no one.

Gradually, Ao Zheng began to realize something was off.

But by then, it was already too late.

Before Ao Zheng and his group could react, the Dao Mountain bell rang.

They were forcibly transported out of the hunting grounds.

The match was over—Dragon Cauldron Sect had lost.

Ao Zheng stood there, dumbfounded for a long time.

Then, an outer disciple handed him a "Shadow Image Record"—a playback of the battle.

As Ao Zheng watched, a surge of fury erupted from within, burning through his veins, making his entire body tremble with rage.

He wanted nothing more than to punch Mo Hua into a bloody pulp.

Before the match, that brat had looked so cold and ruthless, saying things like:

"This debt must be repaid."

"You five will all die."

But the moment the match started, he shamelessly ran off to kill the monster instead.

From the looks of it, he had never even intended to fight Dragon Cauldron Sect at all.

For the first time in his life, Ao Zheng truly understood the depths of Mo Hua's shamelessness.

And what was worse, every word Mo Hua had said, everything he had done—it was all premeditated.

He had deceived them with words.

Intimidated them with his gaze.

Made them wary with the threat of formations.

He had even manipulated Ao Zheng's own overthinking to stall him.

"Mo Hua…"

Ao Zheng's face turned red with fury, his teeth grinding with resentment.

…

This sword competition— only Ao Zheng and the disciples inside the arena knew about Mo Hua's "sinister, despicable, insidious and shameless" schemes.

For the spectators outside, things appeared much simpler.

In their eyes, the Tai Xu Sect acted with clear objectives, strict discipline, and swift execution, successfully hunting down the demonic beast.

Meanwhile, the Longding Sect hesitated every few steps, constantly looking around cautiously, missing their opportunity to strike.

To the audience, they looked like a bunch of "big fools."

As a result, Longding Sect's reputation took a hit, and as expected, Mo Hua's list of enemies grew by five more names.

Another five "Slay Mo Orders" found new owners.

The influence of the Slay Mo Alliance within Qianxue Prefecture expanded once again.

On the Tai Xu Sect's side, they felt somewhat relieved.

They had won yet another round, securing their ranking a little further.

The entire sect, while overjoyed, also breathed a sigh of relief.

However, before they could fully relax, they found themselves on edge once more.

Two days later, the Dao Discussion Celestial Instrument revealed the next match.

This time, their luck was unbelievably terrible.

Mo Hua's opponent was Wanxiao Sect's Duanmu Qing.

Wanxiao Sect was the strongest spellcasting sect among the four great sects.

Duanmu Qing was also one of the Four Heavenly Geniuses of Qianxue Prefecture, alongside Xiao Wuchen, Ao Zhan, and Shen Linshu.

She was a true top-tier genius among the four great sects.

Moreover, she was the only female disciple among them.

Not only that, but it was said that Duanmu Qing was breathtakingly beautiful, with a cold and aloof temperament, ranking among the top beauties of Qianxue Prefecture.

The number of male disciples who adored Duanmu Qing was as vast as those who admired Lu Zhenlong, the number one beauty of Zixia Sect.

Their sheer numbers could line up from the Dao Discussion Mountain all the way to Yan Shui River…

However, unlike Lu Zhenlong, Duanmu Qing's talent was too outstanding, her beauty too striking, and her demeanor too cold—often making others feel unworthy of her.

Even those who admired her could only bury their feelings deep in their hearts, never daring to express them in front of her breathtakingly beautiful face.

Some men didn't even dare to speak a single word to her.

Mo Hua had specifically gathered this information from Hao Xuan.

The last time, he had accidentally burned the face of Zixia Sect's number one beauty with a fireball technique and was hated for a long time because of it.

Even his uncle Zhang Lan, who had traveled from afar, questioned him about it.

Since then, Mo Hua had taken it as a serious lesson.

Before this sword competition, he made sure to investigate everything about this "Duanmu Qing" to avoid making the same mistake and causing unnecessary trouble.

Women were troublesome.

The more beautiful the woman, the greater the trouble.

That said, gathering intelligence didn't seem to be of much use.

Duanmu Qing was no Lu Zhenlong—she was a true member of the "Four Heavenly Geniuses of Qianxue."

Even in a direct battle, Mo Hua wasn't sure he could defeat her, let alone rely on fireball techniques.

Furthermore, Wanxiao Sect's team was overwhelmingly strong as well.

Mo Hua pondered for a long time but remained at a loss.

Given their current conditions, their chances of winning were extremely slim.

The Four Heavenly Geniuses of Qianxue—these four top-tier prodigies, including Duanmu Qing—were nearly insurmountable obstacles.

Mo Hua sighed.

But this was the situation. There was no avoiding it.

All he could do was try his best and fight with everything he had.

If they fought hard, there might still be a chance.

If they didn't, there truly wouldn't be any chance at all.

Afterward, Mo Hua proceeded with his usual preparations, formulating battle strategies.

On the day of the sword competition, Mo Hua, as usual, led Linghu Xiao and the others toward the inner mountain of Dao Discussion Mountain.

However, just as they arrived at the mountain gate of the inner mountain, Mo Hua suddenly froze and looked up.

In the distance, another team of cultivators was approaching.

Two men and three women, each with an extraordinary presence.

Leading them was a woman with jade-like features, as if meticulously carved, wearing an exquisite and noble Wanxiao Dao robe infused with the five elements. Her aura was cold and detached, her gaze indifferent to all beneath the heavens.

This was today's opponent.

The only female among the Four Heavenly Geniuses of Qianxue.

"Duanmu Qing…"

Even Mo Hua, upon seeing her for the first time, was momentarily dazed.

Linghu Xiao and the others were also slightly lost in thought.

Duanmu Qing was indeed stunningly beautiful, possessing an extraordinary air of pride and cold elegance.

Pure beauty alone wasn't particularly noteworthy, but when combined with an undeniable strength, it became impossible to ignore.

.

.

.

(End of this Chapter)