Chapter 584: 537 Victory and Defeat

Following the arrow that had inexplicably shifted, the sun was struck, and the first round of Sword Fighting ended in a muddle.

The bow Xinglao held had yet to recover, remaining in the shape of a full moon, and just like that, he stood stunned, followed by both his arms beginning to tremble.

It was not because he could not hold it up from exhaustion; it was from anger.

He was so angry that his mind went completely blank!

The whole way had been smooth sailing without a single obstacle; his opponents were all weaklings who crumbled at the mere sight of him. It was clearly a landslide victory, yet at the very last moment, for some reason, someone had actually snatched the result away?!

This result was inexplicable and stifling beyond compare!

To Xinglao, if this final sneak attack had been someone lying in ambush at the finish line who suddenly struck and killed him with a sword, it would not have been so hard to bear. After all, failing to detect an ambush or a sneak attack meant one's skills were inferior, and it would have been a fitting end. But it was not a sneak attack; it was simply that his arrow had been confiscated, and another person had used that arrow to complete the mission requirements. It was just like saving money for years to buy a house, only to have the money stolen by a thief at the door of the house he had chosen.

It was stifling to the point of explosion!

With trembling hands, he roared, "Who? Who! Which rat stole the fruits of my victory?! Come out! Since you dared to do it, why don't you dare to come out?"

He bellowed, and that golden bull also roared; despite being a bull, it actually emitted a roar like that of a dragon or a tiger.

Naturally, no one around answered. Xingzi frowned and said, "The arrow was shot from over there; let's go over and take a look."

In fact, someone had just gone to that position, and Xingzi had already guessed a little, but out of consideration for Xinglao's face, she did not mention it.

After all, it was he who had let them go with his own hands.

The two rushed toward that direction, and after taking only a few steps, the thick fog around them gradually dissipated, and the swamp began to ebb.

That was the venue being reclaimed—the first round of Sword Fighting had truly ended.

Halfway there, the thick fog in the sky completely dispersed, and the sounds from the outside world poured in from all directions, instantly filling their eardrums.

The surrounding stands were as noisy as a boiling pot, with screams, boos, people cursing, and others laughing wildly.

All in all, the cursing was the most piercing.

"Damn it, what the hell is that?"

"Cheating, cheating!"

"Trash, give me back my money!"

"It's already over! Refund!"

Among these frantic curses, there were certainly some troublemakers dissatisfied that the ending was too hasty, but the main ones were those who had lost money on bets.

This was probably the first time in Xinglao's life he had been called trash, yet he could not talk back. He could not help but have bloodshot eyes, partly from resentment toward the group of fat, brainless pieces of trash in the stands who dared to curse him back, and even more from resentment toward the person who had snatched his victory.

Amidst the angry curses, a laugh came through: "Good, worthy of my Changfa Manor, seizing victory without shedding blood; this is what is called 'the best military policy is to attack the enemy's strategy'! A great achievement for one skilled in war!"

Who was this? Whoever it was, they were from Changfa Manor.

Another voice said, "That doesn't count! That was an arrow shot by my person; no matter which direction it was shot from, it was shot by him holding the She Ri Bow. Just because the direction was changed, does it not count?"

This voice was clearly Wu Shayu.

The first person laughed: "Where are your eyes? Was that changing the direction? It clearly disappeared. It disappeared, dissipated, failed! The one shot afterward was a new arrow! Your person failed, my person succeeded; the successful one wins, the failed one loses, what is the problem?"

Amidst the back-and-forth, someone guided the scattered Sword Guests back to the drawing location.

The first round of Sword Fighting had, after all, ended.

It was just that the result had not yet been announced.

Both sides were still arguing intensely.

Xinglao and Xingzi returned to the drawing platform in a rage, and as soon as they returned, they drew their swords and shouted, "Who is the thief? Stand out!"

He scanned his surroundings, seeing that the Sword Guests who had returned totaled about a dozen, some heavily injured, some fine. In a single glance, his gaze fixed on one woman's face.

She was a woman in her twenties, with a heroic and elegant appearance, and she was also the one person he was most familiar with besides his own people. She was the woman who had followed him the whole way and with whom he had briefly exchanged blows. This woman had previously been stabbed by him once, but now the wound was bandaged, and she was chatting and laughing with another person, a completely different person from the timid state she had been in the passage before.

Inexplicably, his intuition found the answer.

"It's you—" he pointed at the woman and shouted: "It must be you! When you fought me, you secretly did something to me, and at the critical moment, you stole my She Ri Arrow and claimed it as your own, you damned thief!" He subconsciously touched his ear; a lock of hair had been shaved off there, and if she had done something, it could only have been at that time.

A lock of hair caused him no harm, but it could serve as a trigger for certain Sword Arts.

This bitch had racked her brains just to pull off a switch.

The woman looked over nonchalantly and smiled: "Why are you shouting so loudly? Loser?"

This remark completely detonated Xinglao; he charged out, person and sword as one, transforming into a furious bull in mid-air, aiming to gore the woman's heart in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, a small tiger darted out from the side; the short little tiger was at most a foot tall, looking exactly like a tiger-head plush toy, blocking the middle of the path, and with one paw, it held back the bull.

Looking at their sizes, the bull and the tiger differed by more than a hundred times; this was truly a case of a mantis trying to stop a chariot. But just such a small tiger, with a single paw, easily held back the charging bull.

The bull roared, its hooves frantically digging into the ground; it looked as if it would charge out and gouge a hole even if a mountain were in front of it, but that little tiger stood on the ground as steady as a mountain.

Seeing the ground where the bull's four hooves kicked cracking into pieces, Xingzi called out, "Bull, let it go."

At the same time, the little tiger gave a gentle push, and the bull retreated several steps, its outline becoming more illusory the further it retreated, until it finally dissipated, revealing Xinglao holding his sword, sweating like rain and panting, like a water buffalo panting at the moon.

The little tiger then dissipated as well, and someone said, "The Sword Fighting is already over; you are still making a move, do you not hold the two Manor Lords in your eyes?"

Xinglao tilted his head slightly and saw a young man with a sword standing there; he was an absolute stranger, and he was certain he had never seen this person, because if he had seen that face, he would never have forgotten it.

At this time, the Sword Guests who had come down from the arena had already gathered around, standing clearly on two sides, a distinct balance of power. It looked like if Xinglao were to make another move, it would immediately trigger a second chaotic battle. Xinglao knew there was no other way, and looking at the young man again, he gritted his teeth and said, "Sword Hero?"

Only a Sword Hero could stop him; at the First Tier of Sword Guest, he was invincible.

... At least on the frontal battlefield, he was invincible.

The person who arrived was naturally Tang Zhao, who said, "You can't be a sore loser; playing dirty and trying to settle scores later? That's very shameful."

Xinglao said angrily, "I didn't lose, she used a sinister scheme."

Tang Zhao said, "She used a Sword Art, and you were hit by a Sword Art, that's correct, right? Does using a Sword Art not count as winning, and being hit by one not count as losing?"

Before Xinglao could answer, the arguing voice behind them shrilled: "Quibbling, you are quibbling! The rule said to draw the bow and shoot the arrow; who drew the bow, who shot the arrow? It was my person who drew the bow and shot the arrow, how can that count as you winning?"

The other side shouted back: "The rules say the one hit by the She Ri Arrow wins; you just tell me if it was the She Ri Arrow shot from our side or not?"

Seeing that the argument was getting out of hand, Tu Fei said, "The two of you, since you each have your own version, how about we ask the Abyss Envoy to act as an arbitrator?"

The noise stopped slightly, and then Wu Shayu said loudly, "That won't do, the Abyss Envoys above have their own manor's patron Abyss Envoys; what if they are biased?"

Then someone asked, "Eh, can they be biased?"

Immediately following, the surrounding phantom images coalesced, and a large group of demons and monsters of varying heights appeared in the center of the clearing; they were the very group of Abyss Envoys who had originally been watching the excitement from the stands.

The one who had just Ask-ed was naturally Xin Ying, who rushed to say: "Since favoritism is allowed, then it goes without saying, Changfa Manor has won."

Beside it was naturally the pipa-playing Manying, who immediately plucked a string and spoke: "Xin Ying, your words invite suspicion; what do you mean by 'favoritism'? According to the rules, Changfa Manor won on its own. It doesn't need your favoritism." As she spoke, there was no lack of echoing voices among the group of Abyss Envoys.

An old ape to the side shook its head and swayed, saying: "No, no, no, I think Sunset Manor won; he was the one who drew his bow and shot the arrow first." Immediately, several other Abyss Envoys echoed from the side.

Xin Ying was greatly displeased and said: "Lueying, are you going against me?"

The old ape Lueying sneered: "One is one, two is two; do you expect me to tell lies with my eyes open just to agree with you?"

These Abyss Envoys actually had differing opinions; one dispute had not yet subsided, and it looked as if they were about to fall into a new one.

Fortunately, they were merely watching the excitement and were not involved in the interests, so it was just a temporary flare of temper; Manying came out to settle the matter, saying: "It is just a small thing; right or wrong, it is all just a game. Let us not hurt our harmony among our own people. How about this: everyone vote. Those who think Sunset Manor won, stand on the left; those who think Changfa Manor won, stand on the right."

This was to cast aside right and wrong; whoever had the loudest voice won. If it were like this, it seemed there was no need to Sword Fighting at the beginning at all; voting directly would have been the same. However, the Abyss Envoys were high and mighty; their decision meant that the two manors, plus the roaring audience on the stands, had no way to object.

In the end, this rule was accepted by all the Abyss Envoys, and they stood in their places on both sides one after another.

Manying stood on the right and counted them one by one.

"One, two, three... seven. Seven standing for Sunset Manor."

"One, two, three... seven. Standing for Changfa Manor... also seven."

Everyone was silent for a moment; fourteen Abyss Envoys had come to the scene, and it turned out to be exactly seven on each side.

Manying swept a glance and realized that this alignment was not based on right or wrong, but entirely on who they were close with. Those on good terms with Xin Ying stood on the right, and those on good terms with Lueying stood on the left.

This was not strange; although most of the Abyss Envoys were not as childish as Xin Ying, they also had no concept of right and wrong and were not interested in truth or falsehood. Perhaps not even a few of them had watched the competition just now; such a major event that determined the fate of Sunset Manor and Changfa Manor was merely a game to them. Just as the manor lords could decide the fate of the sword slaves on a whim.

But with the numbers tied, a winner could not be determined. Xin Ying noticed this and said unhappily: "This is all because Panying didn't come. If it had come, there would be fifteen in total, seven on one side and eight on the other, and we would have been able to determine a winner regardless. Now there is still no sign of it; what on earth has it gone off to do?"

When it mentioned Panying, Manying's heart stirred as she thought of something, and she immediately decided not to let this topic continue, suddenly saying: "I have thought of a method. Since we are tied, let them decide. After all, this is a Sword Fighting, isn't it? Whoever has the stronger strength wins. So—whoever has more survivors and lighter injuries shall be the victor."