Chapter 54

Watching Chen Xingxu, the wielder of the "Snake Blade," walk further and further away, Tang Gu remained silent, but a sense of respect for him arose within her.

What a stubborn person.

In the afternoon, the final battle, the fifth one, arrived, marking the beginning of the top three battles. As long as she won one more match, Tang Gu could enter the top three. The next day would be the final ranking battle for the top three, where the first, second, and third places of the Inner Courtyard would be decided. At the same time, the most generous rewards in the history of the Inner Courtyard's grand competition would also be awarded during the top three ranking battle.

Tang Gu's opponent was none other than the third disciple of the Inner Courtyard, who had also remained undefeated throughout this grand competition: "Ice Palm" Ping Jiushan.

The two stood facing each other on the stage. "Ice Palm" Ping Jiushan lived up to his name, his entire body exuding a chill. He wore a thick, padded robe, his hands tucked inside the sleeves. His face, prematurely aged and full of wrinkles, looked like that of a simple old farmer, with dull, lifeless eyes.

However, no one in the Inner Courtyard dared to underestimate him. As Chen Xingxu had said, each of the top three in the Inner Courtyard was stronger than him and could not be underestimated.

"Let's begin!"

"Begin!"

Without further ado, the two immediately engaged in battle. "Ice Palm" Ping Jiushan slowly drew his left hand out of his sleeve.

What a hand it was—emaciated and cold, resembling an eagle's claw, pale white with no blood color, the veins prominently protruding from the palm, clearly visible like the roots of an old tree. One could clearly see the blood flowing inside, but it was not the normal bright red; instead, it was icy blue, like a pool of water.

He moved his eyes, looking at Tang Gu, his voice hoarse: "Junior Brother Tang, for a newcomer to reach this point is truly no easy feat, but I will not let you pass."

"If you want to enter the top three, defeat me first!"

As he spoke, his dull eyes suddenly burst with a dazzling light, seemingly brighter than the stars in the sky. His aura changed dramatically, like a divine sword being unsheathed.

"Clang!"

His left foot stomped down, and "Ice Palm" Ping Jiushan's palm floated out.

"Whoosh," instantly, snow and ice danced in the air, the cold wind howling, and Tang Gu felt as if she were suddenly in a snow country.

Is this the power of the "Ice Palm"? Tang Gu's eyes flickered, finally experiencing the pain others felt when fighting her. The bone-chilling cold penetrated deep into her lungs, drilling into her body. Her internal meridians felt slightly frozen, and the flow of her vital energy was not as smooth and natural as usual. If this continued, she might collapse without even fighting.

"Frozen Meridians!"

Tang Gu's eyes flickered, and she shouted, "Fine, let's see if my ability to turn water into ice can match your 'Ultimate Ice Palm'!"

Her body spun, and her toes lightly touched the ground, lifting her off the ground. She raised her left palm, and as she struck, a whistling wind swirled around her palm. Then, pale purple ice blocks condensed in her palm and flew forward.

The sky was filled with purple ice, each piece shimmering like glass in the twilight. The two attacked each other with their palms, fighting fiercely. The sky was filled with purple and white ice, a dazzling and mesmerizing sight.

Cheers erupted from the audience below.

"Bang!"

Another clash of palms sent snow flying, and both retreated. The entire stage trembled three times. Upon closer inspection, "Ice Palm" Ping Jiushan showed no signs of abnormality, while Tang Gu's face suddenly turned red, and her shoulders trembled as she took three steps back.

"Fourth stage of Qi Dao!"

Indeed!

The top four in the Inner Courtyard were all at the fourth stage of Qi Dao or higher. Apart from "Jade Sword" Ning Qingjun, the current top-ranked "Snake Hand" Ye Guyu was at the late fourth stage of Qi Dao, and the second-ranked "Thunder King" Fang Jingshuo was at the mid-fourth stage.

The third-ranked "Ice Palm" Ping Jiushan could not possibly be only at the third stage of Qi Dao.

A purple light flashed in his body, and Tang Gu's vital energy surged, instantly transforming from the mid-third stage of Qi Dao to the late third stage, and then to the peak.

Seeing this, "Ice Palm" Ping Jiushan's eyes flickered with surprise: "Junior Brother indeed concealed his strength. No wonder you are so confident. However, the peak of the third stage of Qi Dao is enough to deal with ordinary people, but it is still a bit low to deal with me."

"Is that so?"

As he spoke, Tang Gu took the initiative, her body suddenly creating three afterimages. Then, one to the left, one in the center, and one to the right, all floated toward "Ice Palm" Ping Jiushan.

On her side, purple ice floated in the air, and suddenly, a faint red flame appeared on the purple ice.

"Three Traces Transforming Shadows and Ice to Fire—Half-step Transformation!"

"Ice Palm" Ping Jiushan had not seen Tang Gu's previous battle with "Ancient Spear" Chen Hun. Seeing this strange movement, his eyes flashed with surprise, and he let out a low exclamation.

But then he reacted: "It's just a superficial Three Traces Transforming Shadows. Half-step Transformation, what can it do to me?"

He shouted, "Vortex Force!"

"Bang!" A huge, vortex-like green palm force shot out, and the thousands of purple ice blocks Tang Gu had launched were instantly uncontrollable, being sucked into the vortex-like green palm force and shattered.

"Boom, crack, snap..."

Three crisp sounds, and two of Tang Gu's afterimages instantly shattered. Seeing this, "Ice Palm" Ping Jiushan's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and his body strangely drifted to Tang Gu's left side, moving incredibly fast.

Tang Gu knew it was bad and immediately turned left, attacking the figure coming toward her. However, before the figure could get close, it shattered.

Amid the audience's exclamations, "Ice Palm" Ping Jiushan's true figure suddenly appeared on Tang Gu's right side, lightly pointing at her back.

A cold ice palm force shattered the air, suddenly breaking through and appearing on Tang Gu's back.

The audience below exclaimed, "It's a second-grade movement, the Left-Right Shift Technique!"

Tang Gu saw the afterimage dissipate and knew it was bad: "It's an illusionary movement..." In the critical moment, she sank her body, and the Dark Cloud Iron Sword behind her suddenly unsheathed, transforming into a dense purple curtain to protect her back.

"Bang!"

A dull sound, and blood trickled from the corner of Tang Gu's mouth as she staggered forward four or five steps, almost falling off the stage. The Dark Cloud Iron Sword let out a mournful cry and flew back to its sheath on her back. "Ice Palm" Ping Jiushan had already swung his palm again, attacking Tang Gu.

Her body flickered, and she suddenly drifted to Tang Gu's right side.

"Is this another afterimage? Hmph, a small trick, watch me break it!"

Tang Gu no longer paid attention to "Ice Palm" Ping Jiushan's movements. She raised her left palm to the sky and her right palm backward, spinning her body and then moving instantly.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."

She stepped in a strange pattern, her body blending with the wind, moving with the shadows, and instantly transforming into three figures again.

And these three figures, with a "snap," instantly scattered in three directions: one to the left, one to the right, and one forward.

Instantly, a light "hmm" sounded in the air, and "Ice Palm" Ping Jiushan's figure was forced to reappear, landing next to one of the afterimages and striking it with his palm, shattering it.

But he regretfully discovered that it was not Tang Gu's true body.

"Surprisingly, you found the weakness in my Left-Right Shift Technique so quickly. Interesting, let's go again!"

He moved again, about to chase after one of Tang Gu's afterimages in the air, but at that moment, a smiling voice came from behind him.

"No need, it's already over."

A powerful force came from his back, and with a "bang," "Ice Palm" Ping Jiushan stumbled forward, almost falling off the stage.

"What is this?"

He was in the middle of the battle and did not see what happened, but the audience below clearly saw that the three afterimages split and rushed in three directions. However, when he attacked one of the afterimages, the other two did not move far, only a few yards behind the first one.

The three afterimages formed an inverted triangle in the air, supporting each other. This was a trap set by Tang Gu. No matter which afterimage he attacked, he would inevitably be hit by a powerful attack from behind.

PS: First update, making up for last night. Sorry, I will try to update during the day in the future. Recently, many authors have had health issues due to staying up late, so unless absolutely necessary, I will try to adjust my schedule.