CHAPTER 220: GRAND COMPETITION XIX

Yue tried to shake her leg free, but Han Yi held on like a man refusing death itself.

Ling Qingxue moved instantly.

She grabbed Yue’s collar with one hand before both of them went flying off the edge.

Yue dangled in midair, one foot on the platform, body tilted dangerously forward.

Han Yi dangled behind her, clinging to her leg like a terrified koala.

"LING! PULL HARDER!" Yue shouted.

"I am," Ling replied calmly.

Han Yi sobbed,

"I REGRET JOINING THIS COMPETITION!"

The board wobbled violently under the weight of all this nonsense.

Tian Lei looked up and sighed.

"That board was expensive..."

Ling shifted her stance again, pressing her heel on another balance point.

The platform steadied.

Yue gasped in relief.

"I swear... if I survive this... I’m punching Han Yi first."

Han Yi wailed,

"I DIDN’T DO ANYTHING WRONG!"

"You grabbed my leg!"

"You were jumping!"

"That’s called fighting!"

"That’s called suicide!!"

Ling finally pulled Yue fully back onto the board.

Yue immediately kicked backward to shake Han Yi off.

"HEY—I’M STILL—AGHHHH—"

He flew backward across the platform like a sack of potatoes and hit the opposite side with a squeak.

He lay there, face down.

"...I’m dying..." he whispered.

"No, you’re not," Ling said.

"YES, I AM," Han Yi insisted dramatically.

Yue dusted herself off and glared at Ling.

"You’re really starting to annoy me."

Ling nodded.

"I know."

Yue blinked.

"You KNOW?!"

"Yes."

"What kind of answer is that?!"

"A simple one."

Yue wanted to scream.

Instead, she charged again with pure frustration.

Han Yi lifted his head weakly.

"No... please... stop... attacking... the platform hates me..."

Yue ignored him.

She launched a heavy punch.

Ling deflected.

She followed with a spinning kick.

Ling stepped aside.

The platform tilted sharply.

Han Yi slid again, barely stopping himself with his fingertips.

"WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME?!"

Yue switched tactics and punched low.

Ling blocked again.

Yue ground her teeth.

"You’re impossible!"

Ling tilted her head slightly.

"You’re getting slower."

Yue froze for half a second.

Then she smirked.

"Yeah... because I’m saving my strength."

Ling blinked once.

Yue suddenly dropped low and swept her leg across the board.

The platform jerked violently.

Han Yi flew again.

"NOOOOOO—"

Ling stepped onto a different balance point—

—but Yue had predicted it.

Her leg sweep caught Ling’s ankle.

Ling lost footing for the first time.

Yue’s eyes widened in surprise.

Ling fell backward—

—and landed on one knee.

She didn’t fall off, but she was off balance.

For a moment, Yue looked stunned.

Han Yi cried,

"IS SHE GONNA FALL?! PLEASE LET SOMEONE ELSE FALL FOR ONCE!"

Ling exhaled slowly and pushed herself back up.

Yue stepped back, chest heaving.

"That... was my best move," she admitted.

Ling nodded.

"It was good."

Yue cracked her knuckles.

"Good enough to beat you?"

"No."

Yue groaned loudly.

"OF COURSE NOT!"

Tian Lei shouted from below,

"Last one to fall wins!"

Han Yi immediately screamed,

"I DON’T WANT TO FALL!"

Yue pointed at him.

"You won’t."

Han Yi’s eyes lit with hope.

"Really?"

Yue smirked.

"Because I’ll throw you off before that happens."

Han Yi:

"WHAT KIND OF ENCOURAGEMENT IS THAT?!"

Yue charged again—

Ling shifted—

The platform trembled—

Han Yi prepared to scream again—

And Round Three moved toward its chaotic end.

Yue rushed forward again, fists tight, eyes burning with stubborn determination.

Ling Qingxue moved with the same calm expression as always, stepping lightly across the board.

The moment Yue’s foot slammed down, the platform shook.

Han Yi slid one inch.

Just one inch.

He already screamed like he’d been stabbed.

"IT’S STARTING AGAIN—NOOOO!"

Yue attacked with a fast combination of punches.

Ling blocked each one, smooth and precise.

Yue’s hits were strong enough to shake the entire platform—

even Ling had to adjust her footing.

Han Yi was rolling around like laundry in a washing machine.

"I DIDN’T COME HERE TO TRAIN—THIS IS TORTURE—"

Yue tried an elbow strike.

Ling pushed her wrist aside.

The board tilted.

Han Yi’s scream pitched higher.

"AAAAAAAH—MY LIFE IS FLASHING—AND IT’S BORING—"

Yue leaped back, then jumped in again.

"STOP JUMPING!" Han Yi wailed.

But Yue ignored him and aimed a spinning back kick straight at Ling.

Ling caught her ankle mid-spin.

Yue’s eyes widened.

"No way—"

Ling pushed lightly—

Yue stumbled sideways, arms flailing.

The platform tilted sharply.

Han Yi slid like he was on a water slide.

"I’M—SLIPPING—AGAIN—"

He rammed into Yue’s leg from behind.

Yue tripped forward, hitting the board with her hands.

Ling stepped back just in time to avoid being dragged with them.

The board wobbled violently.

Han Yi clung to Yue’s waist like a terrified child.

"PLEASE DON’T LET ME DIE—"

Yue screamed,

"YOU’RE PULLING ME DOWN!"

Ling steadied her stance again, touching another balance point.

The board stopped shaking.

Han Yi was still hugging Yue.

Yue’s face twitched.

"I swear... when this match ends... I’m breaking his spine."

Ling sighed quietly.

"You two cause too much chaos."

Han Yi shouted,

"YOU THINK I WANT THIS?! I WANT TO GO HOME!"

Yue shoved him off.

Han Yi rolled away, whimpering.

Ling and Yue faced each other again.

Yue wiped sweat from her forehead.

"Okay... this time... no more mistakes."

Ling nodded.

"I’ll end it now."

Yue blinked.

"Hey—don’t say scary things like that!"

Ling charged for the first time.

Yue’s eyes widened.

She tried to block.

Ling’s strike was fast—clean—controlled.

Yue barely deflected it.

The board shuddered.

Han Yi screamed again.

Ling stepped in and struck with a palm thrust.

Yue blocked by crossing her arms.

She slid backward dangerously close to the edge.

"No—no—nonono—!"

Ling’s eyes narrowed slightly.

She stepped forward again.

Yue had no chance to recover.

Ling’s final palm strike hit Yue’s shoulder.

Yue stumbled—

Her heel slipped off the platform—

She grabbed the edge—

But her grip failed.

"AHHHHH—!"

She fell.

THUD.

A moment of silence.

Then Tian Lei raised his hand.

"Yue Shanshan, eliminated!"

From below, Yue shouted,

"LING! I’M COMING BACK FOR A REMATCH!"

Ling stood alone on the platform.

Stable.

Balanced.

Perfectly calm.

Han Yi peeked over the edge of the board where he was hanging.

He blinked.

Then pointed at himself.

"...Wait... does this mean... I win?"

Tian Lei looked at him with zero emotion.

"No. You fell off six different times."

Han Yi gasped.

"What?! But I’m still on the board!"

"You were thrown, rolled, and kicked off repeatedly. That counts."

Han Yi’s jaw dropped.

"So who wins then?!"

Tian Lei raised his hand.

"Winner: Ling Qingxue."

Ling nodded once, utterly unfazed.

Han Yi collapsed on the wooden board, face first.

"...I hate this sect..."