As Zhao Xinyi saw Li Xiaoyao gazing at her with a faint smile, her expression turned cold. "There are always some degenerate scoundrels in this world, who abandon martial cultivation and fill their heads with filthy thoughts," she said icily. "I'd like to see just how many lives you have."

With that, Zhao Xinyi leaped from the hot spring lake. Her clothes were drenched, clinging tightly to her graceful figure, exuding an alluring charm. In another life, her beauty and curves could drive countless men mad.

However, Li Xiaoyao had already experienced death once. His resolve was unshakable, far beyond that of ordinary men. Even with such a stunning sight before him, his heart remained as solid as stone.

"She really thinks I'm some lustful scoundrel trying to take advantage of her," Li Xiaoyao mused to himself, his gaze casually sweeping over Zhao Xinyi's body, a faint mischievous smile playing on his lips. "Well, since she accuses me of lechery, why not play the part?"

Zhao Xinyi noticed the wicked glint in his eyes, her face turning livid as she nocked an arrow and drew her bowstring.

"You're courting death!"

The arrow whistled through the air, with faint bursts of energy crackling at its tip, a hint of white light flickering around it.

"Her strength has grown," Li Xiaoyao thought to himself, his expression unchanged. He released his technique, Nine Waves, and the sound of crashing tides filled the air. The arrow trembled and wavered within the torrent before its force was completely nullified, falling harmlessly to the ground.

Li Xiaoyao had grown incredibly skilled with Nine Waves, and with strength exceeding nine thousand jin, he could easily intercept one of Zhao Xinyi's casual arrows.

"So this so-called degenerate dares to come back. But with just this level of power, you're full of yourself?" Zhao Xinyi taunted, her Arrow Martial Spirit appearing behind her. She nocked another arrow, drawing the bowstring to a full moon as it hummed with tension.

"Go."

The arrow flew forth, faster and more ferocious than before!

Li Xiaoyao smirked coldly. With a single step, his momentum surged. Nine Waves roared from his left hand, filling the space with a furious storm of energy. Although the arrow was hindered by the wave, it still pressed forward. But this time, his right hand moved as well, unleashing another barrage of Nine Waves, each wave more powerful than the last.

"Hm?" Zhao Xinyi's brows furrowed. "His strength has grown so much?"

Without hesitation, she nocked another arrow and released it with domineering force.

"You think only you can attack?" Li Xiaoyao sneered, his figure a blur as he dashed forward. Just as the arrow was about to strike, his sword sprang from its sheath, gleaming like autumn water. With a swift motion, he sliced the arrow in half.

Surprise flickered in Zhao Xinyi's eyes. Li Xiaoyao's progress was astonishing—he had cut her arrow with ease.

"Dragonfly Touching the Water!" Zhao Xinyi moved gracefully, her body light as a shadow, darting backward to avoid letting Li Xiaoyao get too close. At the same time, she drew three long arrows and nocked them on the bowstring. "Three arrows at once, each carrying over nine thousand five hundred jin of force. I'd like to see how you'll block this," Zhao Xinyi thought coldly. She took a deep breath, pulling the bow to full draw, and the three arrows tore through the air.

"Sword Howl, Thunder Clap." Li Xiaoyao swept out his sword. Before the arrows could even reach him, his sword energy had already split the air. "Thunderous Strike." With the wild sword energy swirling around him, he unleashed another slash. The sword's brilliance flashed brilliantly, obliterating the three arrows in an instant.

"How is this possible?" Zhao Xinyi's pupils constricted. Right now, she could barely shoot three arrows at once, but if she tried using five, their combined strength would only reach nine thousand jin. That might work in group combat, but for dealing with a single opponent, three arrows at nine thousand five hundred jin each were far more effective. And yet, Li Xiaoyao had easily broken them.

Watching the faint smile on his lips, Zhao Xinyi instinctively retreated, nocking another three arrows and letting them fly again. But the result was the same. With a single slash, cold as silver light, he shattered everything.

When Li Xiaoyao's sword hovered at Zhao Xinyi's throat, she felt as if she were dreaming. She remembered the first time Li Xiaoyao had appeared here—he was utterly powerless. The second time, when they met again in Wind Valley, he had shown noticeable improvement, daring to take the initiative against her. Now, this was the third time. The outcome was completely reversed. She was the one who was powerless. "How... how could this be? How has he improved so much?"

Zhao Xinyi had always been proud of her talent, feeling her strength grow day by day. But Li Xiaoyao's progress had utterly shaken her. Seeing the faint, mocking expression on his face, a cold chill spread through her body. "What do you want to do to me?" Zhao Xinyi's eyes locked onto Li Xiaoyao, her lips lightly quivering.

Li Xiaoyao looked at Zhao Xinyi's drenched body, her alluring appearance dripping with temptation. It was enough to make any man lose his senses, and he had to admit to himself that she was a rare beauty, though cruel and ruthless at heart. His gaze swept over her seductive figure before he let out a cold snort. "Don't flatter yourself. I have no interest in you. Now leave."

Li Xiaoyao's voice was calm. He sheathed his sword and turned away without sparing her another glance, walking toward the cave. Zhao Xinyi was momentarily stunned. Then, as she stared at his retreating figure, she bit her lip hard, so hard that her red lips bled.

Zhao Xinyi is sixteen years old this year and has reached the ninth level of the Qi Martial Realm. With her powerful long-range archery skills and Arrow Martial Soul, few among the outer disciples of the Canghai Sect can match her. Her talent is exceptional.

With her stunning looks, almost everyone in the Canghai Sect knew Zhao Xinyi. Even many inner and core disciples were interested in her. Because of this, Zhao Xinyi assumed Li Xiaoyao was just a lecher, coming here repeatedly for her beauty. She always thought highly of herself.

However, today Li Xiaoyao not only crushed her confidence in her cultivation but also dealt a heavy blow to her pride. "Don't think too highly of yourself!" Li Xiaoyao's cold words and disdainful look left a deep mark on Zhao Xinyi's mind.

"I will definitely defeat you," Zhao Xinyi thought, a determined look flashing in her eyes. Instead of leaving, she jumped back into the hot spring, fully immersing herself in the water. Once her inner strength grew, she would be able to draw her powerful bow, and with her arrow spirit, the arrows she shot would be much stronger.

Li Xiaoyao entered a cave and found it quite spacious, with a faint pleasant scent lingering in the air. At the back of the cave was a stone bed covered with a clean cloth—clearly, Zhao Xinyi had trained here before.

"That woman really knows how to pick a spot," Li Xiaoyao thought, quite pleased with the cave. The Canghai Sect had been around for thousands of years, with new disciples replacing the old. These caves, dug out by predecessors, were now used by the newer generation, and fights over these prime training spots were not uncommon.

Li Xiaoyao sat on the stone bed, releasing his Shadow Spirit, which heightened his senses and spread toward the cave entrance. Any movement would be detected immediately. He quickly entered a meditative state, and the surrounding energy began to stir as he started his cultivation.

Time passed unnoticed. One day, the energy in the cave surged, and Li Xiaoyao's body absorbed the white glowing aura like an endless vortex. When he opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashed across them, and a smile appeared on his lips.

"Ninth level of Qi Martial Realm. Now, as long as I don't face someone from the Spirit Martial Realm, I can move around with ease."

Back when he was at the eighth level of Qi Martial, he could already fight those in the Spirit Martial Realm. Now, having broken through again, Li Xiaoyao knew he still wasn't fully prepared to take on true Spirit Martial Realm masters. Many of them had undergone a "life awakening" of their Martial Spirits, making them extremely powerful. The Lu Bu he met before had a fierce but somewhat lacking Eagle Martial Spirit, which hadn't undergone a life awakening—making him a weaker Spirit Martial Realm fighter.

"I don't know how long it's been， I hope I didn't miss the annual meeting," Li Xiaoyao said as he stopped his training and walked out of the cave. He was surprised to see Zhao Xinyi still in the hot spring lake.

Zhao Xinyi noticed Li Xiaoyao too. She glanced at him coldly but felt he seemed to have changed in some way, though she couldn't pinpoint what it was.

"How many days have I been training?" Li Xiaoyao asked with a calm smile, ignoring Zhao Xinyi's gaze.

"Twenty days," Zhao Xinyi replied coldly.

"That long?" Li Xiaoyao raised an eyebrow, surprised that so much time had passed.

He then walked toward the cliff, realizing that the annual meeting was coming soon and it was about time to return to Cangyun City.

"What is your current cultivation level?" Zhao Xinyi finally couldn't help but ask, curious about Li Xiaoyao's progress.

"I just entered the ninth level of Qi Martial Realm," Li Xiaoyao answered before disappearing from sight.

Zhao Xinyi was taken aback, feeling a mix of emotions. It turned out that when Li Xiaoyao was only at the eighth level of Qi Martial Realm, he could easily defeat her. She had thought herself a genius, yet she got defeated by someone at a lower level JUST RIGHT NOW......