"Fine," Wei Shiming said first. "One kilometer. That’s fair."
Shen Suning nodded with a forced smile. "Since it’s being live-streamed, there’s no reason to refuse."
Zhao Xiaoling said softly, "As long as we can see, that’s enough."
Long Yifan looked at them coldly. "Good. Then let’s move."
The judges, Gu Jichun, Mr. Gu, and Mrs. Gu, followed behind him. A few guards from the competition organizers also joined to make sure the rules were followed.
As they walked toward the gate, Gu Jichun set up the live stream on a special floating crystal.
The crystal hovered in the air and showed everything clearly on a big screen in the arena.
Soon they entered inside.
Everyone in the crowd could now see what was going on in real-time.
"There she is..." someone whispered from the audience.
Gu Jin sat in the middle of a quiet field.
Her body looked peaceful, her eyes closed. Light moved gently around her, like she was surrounded by a glowing mist.
The live stream zoomed in a little. The crowd went silent again.
"She’s really in an epiphany," a young alchemist whispered.
"That energy... it’s so pure..."
"She’s... beautiful," someone else muttered.
Wei Shiming stared at the screen. His smile faded a little.
Shen Suning squinted his eyes, and Zhao Xiaoling held her hands behind her back, hiding the tight grip she had on her fan.
Long Yifan turned to the judges. "Do you want me to show the Soul Mirror too?"
The Soul Mirror was a rare item that could show a person’s soul state. If someone was having a real epiphany, the mirror would shine with a special light.
The judge nodded. "Yes. That way, there will be no more doubts."
Gu Jichun carefully held the Soul Mirror up. The mirror glowed brightly—stronger than before. The golden-blue light lit up the area again.
"That’s no trick. This is a true soul breakthrough."
Mr. Gu looked proud. "That’s my daughter."
Mrs. Gu wiped a tear from her eye.
Even some people in the crowd were starting to cheer.
"She didn’t cheat at all!"
"Everyone who doubted her should apologize!"
Wei Lin, who was still sitting on the ground in the arena, turned his head away in shame.
Long Yifan looked at the screen and smiled just a little. Then he turned to the three family heads.
"Are you all satisfied now?"
Wei Shiming gritted his teeth but nodded. "We’ve seen what we needed to see."
Shen Suning said nothing, just bowed slightly.
Zhao Xiaoling smiled and said, "Thank you for letting us see."
Just as Zhao Xiaoling finished speaking, a soft breeze passed through the air. It felt normal at first—but then, the leaves nearby started to shake strangely, even though there was no wind.
Long Yifan narrowed his eyes.
Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound flew through the air.
A thin needle made of ice shot out from Zhao Xiaoling’s sleeve. It was nearly invisible and aimed straight at Gu Jin’s heart!
Everything happened in a blink.
But Long Yifan was faster.
He raised his hand, and a black shield of energy appeared in front of Gu Jin. The needle struck the shield and shattered into tiny pieces.
Gu Jichun’s face turned pale. "They tried to kill her!"
Mrs. Gu screamed, and Mr. Gu’s face turned dark with anger.
Long Yifan’s eyes burned with fury. He didn’t even look at Zhao Xiaoling. He raised his hand and sent out a wave of force.
Zhao Xiaoling was thrown backward like a leaf in the wind. She crashed into a tree and coughed up blood.
Her fan fell from her hand.
"You dare!" Long Yifan’s voice was like thunder.
The trees shook, and the sky turned dark as clouds gathered above.
Everyone watching the live stream screamed in shock.
"She tried to kill Gu Jin?!"
"But... she smiled just a second ago!"
"That’s murder! That’s cheating!"
Shen Suning and Wei Shiming looked at each other.
Shen Suning suddenly turned and punched the floating crystal that was live-streaming everything.
The crystal cracked, sparked, and then exploded into pieces of light.
The big screen in the arena went black.
"No! The live stream!" someone in the audience shouted.
"We can’t see anything!"
Before anyone could react, Wei Shiming moved like lightning. He raised both hands, and two huge waves of fiery energy shot toward Mr. and Mrs. Gu.
"Watch out!" Gu Jichun shouted.
Mr. Gu grabbed Mrs. Gu and jumped back. The fire hit the ground where they stood a second ago, burning the grass to ash.
Gu Jichun tried to help, but Shen Suning moved in. His hands glowed green, and sharp wind blades flew out, cutting toward Gu Jichun.
Long Yifan stepped forward, ready to block—
But just then, Zhao Xiaoling, still coughing from the ground, raised her voice.
Her voice rang clear through the chaos. The judges, who had just pulled out their weapons, paused.
Zhao Xiaoling stood up slowly, her body shaking. Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, but her eyes were still sharp.
She looked at the judges and smiled again—this time, a cold, sly smile.
"Think carefully," she said, her voice soft but full of meaning. "Do you really want to side with the Gu Family?"
"You saw what they did," one of them said. "They attacked during an epiphany. That’s a crime!"
Zhao Xiaoling laughed a little. "And what if I offer something better?"
"Better?" another one asked.
"As long as you all don’t interrupt, the three alchemy families will hire you. We will provide free herbs till the end of your life. We will also give you all 100 billion yuan!"
The judges’ eyes went wide.
"One hundred billion yuan?" one of them whispered.
"And free herbs for life?" said another, his voice shaking.
Zhao Xiaoling nodded, still smiling even with blood on her lips.
"Yes. All of it. And ancient recipes that haven’t been seen for hundreds of years. You’ll be powerful... richer than you ever dreamed."
The judges looked at each other. Their hands slowly dropped. The glow from their spells faded.
Mr. Gu’s face turned red with anger. "You would sell your honor for money?!"
Zhao Xiaoling’s smile grew colder. "Honor doesn’t feed your family. And in this world, only power matters."
One judge turned to Long Yifan. "We’re sorry, but this is bigger than just one girl."
"You’re choosing the wrong side," Long Yifan said, his voice low and dangerous.
Another judge stepped back. "We’re choosing the winning side."
Gu Jichun gritted his teeth. "You cowards!"
Zhao Xiaoling let out a small laugh.
"Now, kindly step aside. This doesn’t concern you anymore."
Shen Suning raised his hand, summoning more wind. Wei Shiming’s flames glowed brighter.
Gu Jihu, who guarding Gu Jin, noticed the commotion and shouted,
"Yifan, come here and protect Gu Jin. I will deal with one of them. Father can deal with another, and mother and Jichun could stop the another one."
Long Yifan nodded without a word and rushed back to Gu Jin’s side.
He stood in front of her like a wall, his energy forming a thick shield around her.
Gu Jihu drew his sword. "I’ll take Shen Suning."
Mr. Gu stepped forward, his eyes burning with rage. "Wei Shiming is mine."
Mrs. Gu moved beside Gu Jichun. "We’ll stop Zhao Xiaoling together."
Zhao Xiaoling wiped the blood from her mouth and smiled again. "You think you can win? Fine. Let’s see."
Shen Suning laughed as green wind circled around his body. "Let’s make this quick."
With a loud whoosh, the battlefield bursts into action.
Long Yifan stood still, guarding Gu Jin. His eyes were sharp, watching everyone.
Gu Jin’s body began to glow brighter. The glowing mist around her thickened, and a golden flower bloomed in the air above her head.
The judges watched from the side, unsure what to do. They had taken the bribe... but now things were turning against them.
One of them stepped forward. "Should we help...?"
"No," another whispered. "Just wait."
The battle continued for the next half an hour.
All three members of the Gu family had ice element.
Wei Shiming, Shen Suning, and Zhao Xiaoling were at Heaven Rank’s Tier 3.
(Primary --> Intermediate --> Advanced --> Super--> Emperor -->Heaven)
(Sub category: Tier-1 --> Tier-2 --> Tier-3)
Mr. Gu and Gu Jihu were at Heaven Rank Tier 3, too. At the same time, Mrs. Gu and Gu Jichun were only at Heaven Rank Tier 1.
Though the difference was only of 2 tiers, it was still a bit difficult for them to fight against Zhao Xiaoling.
Seeing that they were at a stalemate, Shen Suning shouted at the judge,
"Come and help us. In return, we will agree to one of your requests! Even if you request 1000-year-old spirit herb, we are ready to give it to you!"
Shen Suning’s words moved the judge’s heart.