Chapter 394: You Won

The golden energy surrounding her seemed to drift slowly toward the princess, but in truth, its speed was astonishingly fast.

In a single breath, she appeared as if clad in golden armor.

He Pingsheng tried—he had struck twice just as Princess Qinghe was gathering this golden Gang qi.

Useless.

Around Liang Huaqiu's body, a powerful force of Daoist cosmic rules enveloped her.

Ordinary attacks could not pierce it.

And when this divine technique fully formed, she smiled.

"He Pingsheng…" Liang Huaqiu said, "I have unleashed my ultimate technique. The Liang Emperor's Heavenly Gang qi empowers me, increasing my offensive power by fifty percent!"

"My next strike may well end your life!"

"You still have time to surrender!"

The Liang princess radiated overwhelming confidence.

The Liang Emperor's Heavenly Gang qi was a secret passed down only within the Liang imperial family.

Even among imperial members, not everyone could cultivate it.

Who could cultivate it depended solely on the imperial ancestors' decree.

At this moment, He Pingsheng's battle spirit ignited. "I'd like to try…"

"Good!" Princess Qinghe said. "If you can withstand this strike… then you'll have the right to speak of marriage with me…"

"Cut…"

Princess Qinghe looked down at He Pingsheng's golden shield and roared.

A crimson fire-based attack surged forth.

In the void, a red blade eighty zhang long formed.

This blade was not a true magic treasure—it was merely a divine technique condensed from spiritual energy and cosmic rules.

Boom…

"Cut…"

He Pingsheng refused to yield.

He roared, and his right hand moved.

Instantly, seven ice arrows formed in the void.

Technique: Ice Arrow Chain Technique.

This technique was strengthened from the ancient master Ruokai's 【Ice Arrow Technique】.

During those years in the Hell Abyss, whenever he had free time, he cultivated this technique alongside the 【Heavenly Snow Lock Realm】 divine art.

Though not perfected, he had already achieved great mastery.

Bang… bang… bang…

Seven massive ice arrows shot forth, each colliding with the eighty-zhang-long blade.

Yet after all seven ice arrows shattered, they only reduced the blade's length from eighty to fifty zhang.

The remaining fifty zhang crashed down upon He Pingsheng's head.

Fortunately, He Pingsheng's body was protected by a shield: the Golden Shield.

Fire overcomes Metal!

Thus, after melting thirty zhang of the fire blade, the Golden Shield shattered outright; the remaining twenty zhang of the blade's shadow struck He Pingsheng directly.

Spurt…

A spray of blood flew outward.

In midair, Princess Qinghe stiffened.

Outside, in the private booth, the Ninth Imperial Prince leapt to his feet: "Damn it… oh no… Brother, you can't die!"

Below, countless mouths gaped open.

The fire faded, revealing He Pingsheng's figure.

He was not dead.

But a long gash had been carved into his body by the blade.

Remember, the final two or three tenths of the blade's light had been absorbed purely by his body.

He cultivated the Nine Poison Golden Body, a heavenly-grade body refinement art—his physique was immensely formidable, so enduring twenty zhang of the blade's light was certainly possible.

The only question was the severity of the injury.

The result? He Pingsheng endured the residual force with his bare flesh—and his body remained unbroken.

This was awkward.

How could he lose?

So He Pingsheng used an illusion technique to artificially create a long blade wound upon himself.

"You… are you alright…?" Princess Qinghe's voice carried a hint of panic.

He Pingsheng forced his face to look pale, then looked up. "I'm fine… Your Highness, you've won!"

"I cannot match you—I surrender!"

Having just fought this battle, He Pingsheng now understood the woman's combat power. This daughter of heaven, ranked number one on the Liang Dragon Tablet, was utterly beyond his match.

After all, he hadn't even used his true cards.

Throughout the entire fight, he had only used a few simple techniques.

The final blow? He had deliberately injured himself—otherwise, without dodging, Liang Huaqiu couldn't have harmed him even slightly.

He only sought defeat—losing meant a clean retreat; winning would bring unknown troubles later.

Losing was better.

When He Pingsheng came to the Dragon Platform, he had already decided to lose to her.

Now, with her using the Liang Emperor's Heavenly Gang qi, it was the perfect opportunity to go along with it.

Still, to be fair, the Liang Emperor's Heavenly Gang qi was truly powerful.

Though it couldn't harm He Pingsheng, its ability to boost combat power by fifty percent was incredibly tempting.

"Cough… cough… cough…"

He Pingsheng coughed violently, spitting out a great deal of blood.

Princess Qinghe descended from the void and hastily pulled several healing pills from her storage ring. "Quick, take these!"

But He Pingsheng pulled out a top-grade Golden Bone Pill himself and swallowed it whole.

For cultivators, as long as the sea of consciousness, spiritual sense, dantian, Golden Core, Dao root, or spirit root aren't damaged, everything else is merely external injury.

He Pingsheng's injury was only external.

After swallowing one top-grade Golden Bone Pill, within half a stick of incense, his wounds were fully healed.

"Your Highness, no wonder you're ranked number one on the Dragon Tablet—I am no match for you!" He Pingsheng bowed to Princess Qinghe. "I take my leave!"

He leapt off the arena in one step.

Watching He Pingsheng's clean, swift departure, Princess Qinghe felt a strange, bizarre sensation: she felt as if he had deliberately distanced himself, avoiding further contact with her.

Could it be… he came here to fight me today only to go through the motions?

"Big sister!"

On the other side, the Ninth Imperial Prince approached and bowed to the eldest princess.

"Little Ninth," Liang Huaqiu frowned. "You told me how powerful he was—how he instantly killed two of the Thirteenth Prince's attendants!"

"Yet today, why did he seem so weak against me?"

She tilted her head toward the Ninth Prince, her brow furrowed with confusion.

"I… I don't know," the Ninth Prince shrugged. "Maybe he relied on that magic treasure artifact back then. Or perhaps there's a vast difference between Golden Core and Foundation Establishment. Or maybe… Big Sister, you're just too strong!"

"After all, you're the number one on our Liang Dragon Tablet—who could possibly stand against you?"

Hearing this, Liang Huaqiu's mind eased somewhat. "Perhaps…"

"I hope to see him at the Nine Kingdoms Grand Competition!"

"Of course!" the Ninth Prince said. "Even if he can't beat you, making the top ten is no problem—don't worry!"