A Calculated Provocation

Lin Mo’s candid declaration, ‘Your Highness is simply Your Highness,’ was like a pebble dropped into a still, silent lake, sending out invisible ripples that spread endlessly.

Her posture, her gaze, had long transcended the boundaries of ordinary close friendship.

Yet, who dared to question it?

Moreover, such unparalleled beauty standing together, even in intimacy, evoked not a shred of aversion, but rather a pleasing and harmonious sight.

Indeed, what man in this mortal world could possibly imagine himself truly worthy of these two peerless beauties standing side by side?

Unconsciously, a great banner was raised in the hearts of onlookers. They stopped watching the competition, their attention solely fixed on the two of them conversing.

“So you knew all along I was wearing makeup?” Ji Xue asked, her face flushed as she glanced sideways. “Then why didn’t you say anything, letting me make a fool of myself with this makeup?”

Lin Mo chuckled innocently. “I thought you liked it. If you didn’t like it, who would show it to others?”

‘Wrong. If I truly liked it, I should hide it away, preventing anyone else from seeing it,’ Ji Xue thought.

‘If I were to gain power in the future, I would keep you in my palace, for my eyes alone to behold,’ she mused.

However, Ji Xue did not voice these innermost thoughts, for the time was not yet right. Her own future remained shrouded in uncertainty, and she was unsure if she stood any chance against her imperial sister at this moment.

She could not offer a vague and empty promise to the one she cherished.

Furthermore, she knew Lin Mo’s focus was entirely on the competition, his gaze unwavering.

Though a pang of jealousy struck her, seeing him so intently absorbed in another woman, the current martial practice held profound significance for him, so Ji Xue refrained from disturbing him and quietly watched alongside him.

Meanwhile, Liu Ruyan, seated nearby, took in the entire scene. The young girl’s lips were tightly pursed, stubbornly refusing to look at the two standing together any longer.

Earlier, when everyone’s astonished gazes had converged on Ji Xue, she could still console herself that it was merely an appreciation of beauty.

But when Lin Mo so calmly recognized Ji Xue, uttering the words, ‘Your Highness is simply Your Highness,’ an unspeakable bitterness and panic instantly seized her.

That impossibly beautiful face, the focused, unwavering gaze of Sister Wan’er, and the declaration, ‘You are not to leave my side for half a step,’ all made her feel a threat unlike any she had experienced before.

She detested this newcomer who had suddenly appeared to snatch away her Sister Wan’er, yet Liu Ruyan simply couldn’t bring herself to truly dislike her.

It was because she hadn’t abandoned Sister Wan’er when she was at her lowest, and had even protected her in Liu Ruyan’s absence.

Conflicting emotions intertwined ceaselessly within her heart, leaving her mind in a chaotic tangle as she nervously twisted the hem of her skirt, her fingernails almost digging into her flesh.

‘But I was here first… Sister Wan’er should be mine… If only… she weren’t here,’ she thought.

‘Bah, bah, bah!’, she mentally chided herself.

‘What am I thinking? I mustn’t think like that!’

She lowered her head, shaking it slightly, desperately trying to dislodge the dark thoughts from her mind, striving to calm her surging emotions.

Time passed quietly. The clear sky was now adorned with stars and the moon, twinkling brightly, yet the entire training ground remained brilliantly lit, and the disciples continued their fervent battles.

Many disciples were already succumbing to fatigue; sitting for such a long time, watching the matches, inevitably led to weariness.

Liu Ruyan frequently dozed off, even unconsciously leaning against Ji Xue. Her small head slipped, landing directly on Ji Xue’s lap, where she promptly fell asleep.

Ji Xue didn’t mind, for she herself was leaning on Lin Mo’s shoulder, feeling weary, her eyes struggling to stay open.

Lin Mo, conversely, remained spirited, his gaze utterly fixed on the competition.

His attention lingered on the duels between the Bing-domain disciples.

The fighting styles of these two female disciples were even more bizarre and cunning. Their movements were as slippery as loaches, their techniques completely without fixed form, seemingly following an unorthodox ‘wild style’ with no discernible lineage.

One wielded a dagger, but in her hands, the dagger was more like a feigned lure. Her true killing moves were inch-long steel spikes hidden within her sleeves, which, during close-quarters combat, she would cunningly stab at vital points such as the eyes, throat, and armpits.

The other was even more peculiar; her attacks were utterly unpredictable, her fists and feet interspersed with thrown sand and quicklime, and she even attempted to grab her opponent’s hair or tear at their clothing, employing sinister and vicious tactics without restraint.

Despite the arena floor being so clean.

‘Maintain distance, continuously suppress and interfere with spiritual energy, wait for their spiritual energy to deplete or for them to make a mistake in anger, then deliver a decisive thunderous strike,’ Lin Mo swiftly concluded in his mind, his gaze growing even more focused.

Such combat experience from the Bing-domain was incredibly precious to Lin Mo.

Watching them was like witnessing a true struggle for survival, one that demanded meticulous calculation and forbade recklessness. Thus, their precise management of spiritual energy was no less impressive than that of any other domain’s disciples. The insights into how and when to use spiritual energy greatly inspired Lin Mo.

Suddenly, an unexpected change occurred!

In a fleeting moment during an exchange of positions, at an incredibly tricky angle, a faint, almost imperceptible red glow flashed from the wrist of the woman wielding the dagger and steel spikes!

The light, as small as a needle and as swift as lightning, silently shot towards her opponent’s lower abdomen, taking advantage of the moment her opponent’s weight shifted slightly, drawn by the fake move of her left hand!

“Sizzle—!”

A faint yet extraordinarily sharp sound rang out!

“Urgh!” The attacked woman let out a short cry of pain. The clothing over her lower abdomen was instantly scorched with a small, blackened hole, revealing the red, swollen, and bleeding flesh beneath! Her movements stiffened instantly, and her previously fluid offensive collapsed!

At the same time, her opponent, allowing no breathing room, kicked her directly off the arena.

The match concluded abruptly.

It seemed that the most dangerous attacks were often not the flashiest, but those most deeply hidden, with the trickiest angles, and the most perfectly timed execution.

Lin Mo realized that when facing formidable enemies, one’s observational skills had to be honed to the extreme to seize these fleeting, potentially fatal opportunities, or to prevent being ambushed by similar concealed methods.

His divine sense would be a crucial point, as it was far more comprehensive than merely ‘seeing’.

During his battle with Zhao Miaozhi, it was by relying on his divine sense that he could accurately perceive the flow of spiritual energy within her meridians, penetrate her internal body, and precisely target her ligaments.

Then there was the psychological warfare.

Now that he thought about it, weren’t Qiu Yue’s previous actions all designed to undermine his will? To wear down his resolve…

But conversely, wouldn’t it be even simpler for him to strike at Qiu Yue’s mind?

If he could make Qiu Yue lose her composure, his chances of victory in their duel would increase.

He lifted his head, withdrawing his gaze from the arena, and looked directly towards Qiu Yue’s location.

His eyes met the vacant stare projected from her hollow pupils on the arena floor!

That chillingly sweet smile, upon noticing Lin Mo’s gaze, even tilted her head slightly.

It seemed she had been watching him the entire time?

Though she maintained her smile, Lin Mo was all too familiar with the true nature of this ‘smiling tiger’.

Having endured, a scheme formed in Lin Mo’s mind.

If the goal was to provoke Qiu Yue, wasn’t this method the best?

Thus, Lin Mo raised the hand Ji Xue was holding, their fingers intertwined, clasped tightly together, displaying it for Qiu Yue to see, even shaking their joined hands triumphantly.

Such blatant provocation, even for Qiu Yue, who was capable of great forbearance, caused her fury to nearly erupt at that moment.

‘He’s cheating!’

‘My Lin Mo is cheating, purely seduced by that vixen, that worthless imperial princess!’

‘That ugly, shoehorn-like face? It was merely a disguise to deceive my eyes!’

‘It’s all so clear now!’

‘How could Lin Mo not see through such a scheming green tea? It’s clearly meant to sow discord between us!’

‘Ji Xue can’t possibly be that beautiful! She’s simply tricking you! And you’re proudly holding her hand and showing it to me?’

‘And letting her lean on your shoulder for so long?’

Rage surged, veins instantly bulging on her temples and the back of her hands. Her skin, usually like jade, flushed crimson, as if boiling wrath, not blood, coursed through her veins.

‘Good!’

‘Excellent!’, she thought.

Qiu Yue clenched her jaw tightly, her teeth almost grinding to powder.

Lin Mo had been out for too long; it had made him a little too complacent.

It had made him forget who he belonged to.

‘Just wait, Lin Mo,’ she vowed.

‘Just wait.’

Her falling hair veiled Qiu Yue’s eyes, yet even so, the monstrous rage could not be hidden.

But what was most infuriating was that Lin Mo paid no mind to her anger, simply turning his head back to the arena.