However, at this moment, as a senior, it wasn’t her place to teach a lesson to this reckless fool.

If Lu Xiaoqing were here, she could have handled it. But now, she only had Zhou Qingmei with her.

Although Zhou Qingmei’s talent was extraordinary, her foundation was still lacking. The man before them had been able to fight He Yuting to such a degree, proving he was already a formidable figure among the younger generation.

Even if she sent Zhou Qingmei to fight, she would probably be defeated.

Just as she was about to swallow her anger, she heard Zhou Qingmei snort coldly:

"A flippant apology and that’s it? You people from the Southern Domain truly have no manners. You spoke arrogantly to a senior, and now your apology lacks any sincerity whatsoever.

"You should get on your knees, kowtow, and properly beg my master for forgiveness!"

Zuo Qingshuang was surprised. She knew Zhou Qingmei had a sharp edge to her personality, but she wouldn’t normally reveal it so brazenly on an occasion like this.

She glanced back, her gaze falling on Fang Shuwen beside her. A thought suddenly struck her, and she decided to wait and see how things would unfold.

The young man’s expression darkened, as expected:

"You want me to kneel? That’s ridiculous..."

Hearing this, Zhou Qingmei said no more. She simply leaped into the air, and with a SHING, the Wind Shock Sword was already unsheathed.

She flew forward, aiming a thrust straight for a vital acupoint on his chest.

The black-clothed young man’s expression hardened. He twirled the short dagger in his hand, about to parry the sword’s edge at an angle.

To his surprise, the sword strike was merely a feint.

Zhou Qingmei’s Thousand Character Sword Technique treated the sword as if it were a paintbrush. Years ago, the founding master of Zhuji Pavilion had comprehended the mysteries of Swordsmanship from calligraphy.

Every slash and sweep, every lift and hook, was a masterful technique.

The Thousand Character Sword Technique was built on this foundation. Though it ultimately boiled down to basic strokes—horizontals, verticals, slashes, and sweeps—the combinations were endless.

Therefore, whether a move was a feint or a true strike was determined by a single thought.

After a feigned thrust, her blade instantly angled downward, striking toward the Futu Acupoint on his leg.

These two strikes, one high and one low, were polar opposites.

Without a second thought, the black-clothed young man changed his dagger technique again. Instead of blocking, he thrust forward with a flash of his blade, aiming to slash at Zhou Qingmei’s forearm.

But at that very moment, Zhou Qingmei lifted the tip of her sword a fraction, its edge pointing directly at the Shenmen Acupoint on the edge of his palm.

This sudden change of attack was truly astonishing.

What was astonishing was not Zhou Qingmei’s split-second reaction, but the realization that for her sword technique to change so quickly, she must have been prepared for this in advance.

’So her strike toward the Futu Acupoint must have also been a feint.’

’Otherwise, how could she possibly change her moves so effortlessly?’

The black-clothed young man’s expression changed. The move was too fast, but he was by no means an ordinary foe. He immediately redirected his force, intending to use the hilt of his dagger to knock aside Zhou Qingmei’s Wind Shock Sword.

But in the instant he redirected his force, the black-clothed young man’s pupils suddenly filled with panic.

He had already been fighting He Yuting, and his Inner Strength was unstable and depleted. Now, Zhou Qingmei’s consecutive Sword Techniques—two feints and one true strike—had forced him to shift his Inner Strength several times. At this exact moment, its circulation faltered.

The pause wasn’t long, just a momentary hesitation, but it made it impossible for him to move the hilt of his dagger as he wished.

With a flash of blood, the short dagger flew from his hand.

Her sword had struck the Shenmen Acupoint!

Zhou Qingmei let out a sharp cry. Her sword lifted and fell in a flash, but she used the flat of the blade and slapped it hard against his shoulder:

"Kneel!!"

The blow was heavy. With a THUD, the black-clothed young man did indeed fall to his knees.

For a moment, his pupils lost all focus, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.

’Defeated!’

’Utterly and inexplicably defeated!’

’He could tell that in a true contest of Martial Arts, Zhou Qingmei was far from his match.’

’But thinking back now, from the moment Zhou Qingmei drew her sword, I had fallen right into her trap.’

’She saw the constraints on my Inner Strength, so she forced me to constantly change its flow, all to set up that final strike to the Shenmen Acupoint.’

Intense indignation and resentment instantly filled his heart.

Then, he heard Zhou Qingmei’s cold voice:

"It’s good you know how to kneel. This time, my master is magnanimous and won’t bicker with a disrespectful lout like you.

"If there’s a next time... Hmph!"

With that, she turned and walked toward Zuo Qingshuang.

Seeing this, however, rage surged in the black-clothed young man’s heart, and malice overtook him.

He couldn’t help but roar in fury:

"You deserve to die!!!"

Weng Zhenliu, whose face had been expressionless, suddenly showed a look of fury:

"He Yuanzhou, stop!!"

But it was too late.

He Yuanzhou flicked his left hand, and a silent glint of light shot straight toward the center of Zhou Qingmei’s back.

Zhou Qingmei was still unaware of what was happening when a figure blurred before her eyes.

Fang Shuwen, who had been walking toward her, had somehow appeared at her back.

She turned to look at him:

"What is it?"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she saw that Fang Shuwen was holding a Silver Needle as fine as a strand of cow hair.

He raised an eyebrow slightly:

"Is this the same trick you used on Miss He?"

When the members of Yuqing Pavilion saw the Silver Needle in Fang Shuwen’s hand, they instantly understood what had happened.

The beautiful woman holding He Yuting arched her elegant brows in fury:

"Excellent, excellent. What a silent and deadly Hairs Needle, meant to kill and claim a life!

"Weng Zhenliu, do you not owe Yuqing Pavilion an explanation?"

Weng Zhenliu’s expression darkened, and he shot a cold glance at He Yuanzhou:

"I was not aware of this matter.

"A disciple of my sect has committed a grave error. Setting Sun Valley has lost all face to ask for the Yuqing Fruit. We will take our leave now!!"

As he spoke, he walked over to He Yuanzhou and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"We’re leaving!"

"Stop them!!"

How could Yuqing Pavilion possibly let them escape?

Never mind the treacherous sneak attack and dirty tricks used during a duel; they still didn’t know how to remove the Cow Hair Silver Needle from He Yuting’s body.

How could they let them just walk away?

However, Weng Zhenliu’s Body Technique was faster, and the masters behind him moved as swiftly as startled rabbits.

They were about to break away before an encirclement could form, but at that exact moment, Weng Zhenliu’s steps suddenly faltered.

It was because two people had appeared in front of him.

One was a woman dressed in black, whose Lightweight Technique was number one in the world... Miao Feichan!

The other, of course, was Fang Shuwen, who was still toying with the Silver Needle.