Chapter 86: The Extinguishing Candles

A soft “whoosh” sounded.

Li Yuanling landed on the other’s wooden boat, her sharp eyes catching, by the boat’s candlelight, a jade tablet held by one of the young men.

Without hesitation, she swiftly extended her snow-white, jade-like arm, her pale, lovely face twisted into a ferocious snarl, transforming instantly into a bandit, lunging to snatch the tablet.

The three young men, finally reacting, were startled.

How could such a beautiful girl strike with such terrifying ferocity?

This wasn’t just stealing the jade tablet—it felt like they were about to be devoured alive.

But their strength was no match for Li Yuanling; in moments, she knocked them all to the ground.

After seizing the jade tablet, Li Yuanling’s ferocious expression instantly softened like a spring breeze, her face lighting up with secret delight.

“Easy pickings—another one.”

She turned and waved the jade tablet at Li Muxian, who sat with closed eyes, utterly indifferent.

Seeing this, Li Yuanling snorted, but she didn’t grow careless; she turned back and carefully tucked the tablet away.

Her gaze swept over the three young men huddled in the corner of the boat, then her eyes narrowed slightly; suddenly, she blew a sharp breath, extinguishing the candle on their table.

Then, with a light step, she leapt toward another nearby wooden boat.

On the dark boat, the three young men stared at the direction Li Yuanling had vanished, all thinking the same thing:

What a cruel woman—she stole their jade tablet and then blew out their candle, leaving them not a single chance.

They’d barely accumulated ten marks to begin with; now they had no chance to relight their candle, forced to sit in utter darkness until the half-hour ended and they were eliminated.

Meanwhile, emboldened by her success, Li Yuanling began to spiral into a frenzy.

Next, she leapt continuously from boat to boat, and nearly every leap yielded another jade tablet.

Budebushuo , as the princess of Da Li, her martial prowess was indeed formidable.

But more importantly, Li Yuanling had sharp eyes—she never provoked those who looked dangerous, only targeting the weak, and she had never failed.

Of course, after each theft, she never forgot to “cut the roots”—blowing out their candles as well.

Thus, among those whose jade tablets she’d stolen, her reputation was abysmal; some hated her with a burning fury.

Some even, upon spotting other skilled warriors on nearby boats, deliberately pointed toward where Li Yuanling had gone and shouted:

“Chase her! That woman has dozens of jade tablets—catch her and you’ll make the top ten!”

In truth, Li Yuanling currently held only seven jade tablets.

Most who heard this didn’t believe it, continuing with their own plans to steal tablets from nearby boats.

But a very few, gambling on the chance, chased after Li Yuanling’s direction.

Meanwhile, Li Muxian sat calmly on his boat, bathed in the glow of the candle on his table, letting the boat drift toward the center of the underground lake.

At that moment, a middle-aged man in a green robe suddenly leapt from the darkness and landed on Li Muxian’s boat.

He had a square face, broad forehead, strong build, a goatee, and a potent martial aura.

The middle-aged man glanced at Li Muxian and said in a low voice:

“Hand over the jade tablets.”

Hearing this, Li Muxian lifted his gaze, shrugged, and said:

“I don’t have any.”

The man in the green robe studied Li Muxian carefully; it seemed he was merely guarding the boat, with no jade tablet on him.

He shook his head and turned to leave.

He was only fulfilling his young master’s orders—if he could avoid a fight, he had no wish to provoke one.

But then, from a nearby boat, a young man’s voice called out:

“Zhang Fu, even if he has no jade tablet, don’t come back empty-handed—blow out his candle. Every less competitor helps.”

Hearing this, the man in the green robe turned and acknowledged the voice, then raised his palm and sent a palm wind toward the candle on the table.

He lowered his gaze, preparing to leave the boat and move on to another to steal more jade tablets.

But the next instant, he froze, suddenly turning back toward the table, his brow furrowing.

He had clearly unleashed his palm wind—enough to extinguish the candle.

The young man on the boat had no qi at all, and had made no move when he attacked.

Yet, strangely, the candle on the table had not gone out—it still burned, casting a dim yellow glow.

The man in the green robe instinctively glanced at Li Muxian, seated calmly across from him, expression unchanged, saying nothing.

He seemed utterly unconcerned by the attempt to extinguish the candle.

“Did I miss?”

The man in the green robe frowned, then channeled his qi again, fixing his eyes on the candle, and struck another palm wind.

A fierce gust roared sharply as it swept over the candle.

To his disbelief, the candle did not flicker—his palm wind had no effect whatsoever.

“This…”

The man’s square face showed shock, when suddenly, from a nearby boat, a voice cried out in fury:

“Who? Who just blew out our candle?”

Hearing his young master’s voice, the man in the green robe turned quickly—only to see his young master’s candle had been extinguished, the boat now pitch black.

But since they had fully cleared the first trial with forty marks, they had four chances within three breaths to relight their candle.

The young master immediately relit the candle.

Yet the moment it flared, it went out again, silently, plunging the boat back into darkness.

“Who? Who is it?”

The young master roared, but no one answered from the darkness.

One of his companions stood, scanning the surroundings, but found nothing.

Helpless, they relit the candle again—this time, both released qi to shield the flame completely.

But the next instant, the same thing happened again.

The surrounding qi vanished soundlessly, and the candle went out once more.

“This is impossible…”

In the darkness, the young master sat stunned, no longer daring to shout.

(End of chapter)