Su Lan had unleashed all of her power and capabilities, but with it not succeeding against Adam, she couldn’t help but begin to lose her confidence and composure.

Although minor, with her no longer being as calm and indifferent as she was at the start of their battle, the Still Blossom Blade was one that required one’s mind to be unshakeable, so her attacks began falling apart.

And she was also running low on energy after their quite stretched out battle, in which she had used all sorts of powerful and draining attacks, so she was nearing her limits.

Meanwhile, Adam, despite being covered in wounds, hadn’t faltered in the slightest and through the constant onslaught of thousands of tiny petal blades, he managed to close the distance between them.

Su Lan had wanted to remain a few metres away from her unpredictable opponent, but with Adam using the Burst Movement Skill and her energy reserves running very low, she was unable to react in time.

Suddenly an overwhelming sense of impending doom bore upon her as she subconsciously released all the attacks and skills she was using in order to defend herself as Adam went to slice her neck.

But it was to no avail, and even the Branch Master couldn’t react in time, after being mesmerised by their awe-inspiring battle and not expecting the tides to turn so quickly.

‘At least I get to fall the blade of a master,’ Su Lan couldn’t help but think to herself, believing it was impossible to stop Adam’s sword strike after he unleashed it with such force and momentum.

However, just as the cold blade reached her neck, it froze along with Adam’s entire body.

At first, she thought that maybe she had experienced a painless death and had her eyes closed, while everyone else was silent as they watched the tense battle.

But, when they realised that Adam had stopped just as the blade was about to slice her neck, the crowds burst out into cheers and the Branch Master let out a sigh of relief.

If Adam hadn’t been able to hold himself back, he wouldn’t have been scolded considering how tough and intense their battle was, but he definitely would have gotten into trouble with his seniors or Su Lan’s family.

Meanwhile, Su Lan, after realising that Adam had managed to stop himself, was even more amazed by her opponent, knowing how much control and skill it required to stop such a fast and powerful attack just as it was about to cut her down.

But her mind and body were too fatigued as she lost consciousness and went to collapse backwards.

Catching her in his arm, Adam, who willingly left the Ethereal Trance that he had complete control over, had quite a severe headache after overusing the Mind Ring and the Ethereal Combat Trance Skill.

However, despite that, he still had a smile on his face and hadn’t expected to enjoy their battle and be pushed to such an extent, with him feeling as though his swordsmanship had greatly improved.

Over the course of the tournament, he had trained and improved in the use of all sorts of weapons, but the Ethereal Combat Trance and the full power of his Mind Ring made it so that his swordsmanship reached an entirely different level.

One that was even above that of Su Lan who had lived by the blade her entire life.

But, he wouldn’t have been able to reach it without facing her and he saw a fire in her eyes that he liked. 

With her skills and talent, which were nothing to scoff at, along with her demeanour, she definitely had the potential to become someone very powerful, and Adam felt as though she still had some untapped capabilities.

Despite her loss, there were barely any wounds on her body and she hadn’t suffered much physically, with her losing consciousness only because she had overused her energy reserves and pushed her mind past its limits.

Meanwhile, Adam was the one that was covered in injuries.

But the truth of the matter was, Adam could feel that none of her attacks had any killing intent behind them, which made her blade dull and made it so that he could get the upper hand much more easily.

There was also no malicious intent from her the entire battle, with her only seeking to win the battle, which was why he had also attacked her sparingly and sought only to win in their battle.

And despite how much he seemed to be bleeding and all the slashes all around his body, they were merely flesh wounds that could be healed very quickly.

With the Ultimate Plum Blossom Blade Art, she could have dealt much more damage to Adam if she aimed for vital and vulnerable areas like his eyes, heart, neck and groin, but instead, she attacked mercifully.

Which made Adam even more curious as to who she was and her background, as becoming a capable cultivator without some ruthlessness was almost impossible.

Her purity and kindness were refreshing, and thinking back on the rest of her matches, all of her opponents had only suffered flesh wounds or had been forced off the stage, which also counted as a loss.

It was only right that Adam repaid her kindness with some of his own, as he carried her away.

“Where do you think you are going? And what are you doing carrying her away?” the Branch Master inquired, with a confused expression as he appeared beside him with incredible speed.

He had believed Adam was a capable cultivator that seemed quite upright, but now his view of him was changing drastically.

With Su Lan being a peerless beauty that many sought after, it was suspicious and weird for him to carry her unconscious body off with him without even explaining where he was taking her.

And there were medics on standby, but he didn’t seem to be heading towards them.

Seeing that people were starting to look at him as if he was some weirdo, he realised the misunderstanding.

[Ugh, why are people so despicable and dirty-minded?] he thought to himself as he sighed.