"It's alright, Father. I believe our mother would have wanted me to have a fair and honorable battle with Gyeong-joo." Kim Yeon-ju's gaze locked onto Kim Gyeong-joo's.
Her aura flared, almost like a provocation.
Kim Gyeong-joo turned her eyes: "Your mother is Liu Qingxi!?" The words came out through gritted teeth.
A faint smile appeared on Kim Yeon-ju's cold expression as she nodded: "Correct. Your mother should be Aunt Min-seo, right?"
"Shut up!!!!" Kim Gyeong-joo shouted. "You don't deserve to call my mother 'Aunt'!"
The thought of how her mother had been framed by her own sister, leaving hidden injuries that caused her early death, made Kim Gyeong-joo's rage burn uncontrollably.
She would absolutely, without fail, seek justice for her mother.
The debt spanning over a decade would begin being collected today!
Kim Nam-won's eyes held amusement. "Mr. Clark, what do you think?"
Passing the buck to Lu Ding.
Looking at Kim Yeon-ju standing straight as a ramrod, Lu Ding truly couldn't figure out what schemes this girl had in mind.
In that case: "Then fight."
Even if the outcome was unfavorable, it didn't matter - because he would intervene.
With Lu Ding's approval, the scene shifted to Gong Cang stepping forward: "Young misses, please follow me outside."
Kim Gyeong-joo and Kim Yeon-ju followed him out in turn, with the rest of the crowd trailing behind.
In the plaza, the two women stood facing each other.
Kim Yeon-ju held her sword with razor-sharp intent, her entire being resembling an unsheathed blade.
Seeing Kim Gyeong-joo empty-handed, she put away her sword.
"What do you mean by this?" Kim Gyeong-joo questioned.
Kim Yeon-ju formed a sword finger gesture and pointed: "This is fairness."
Quite the display of spirit.
Kim Gyeong-joo didn't look down on her just because she'd sheathed her sword.
In her mind, the deity's previous advice echoed: 'In battle, you must immediately use your killing moves and trump cards. Know your weaknesses and play to your strengths.'
"My weakness is lack of combat experience, but Demon Possession can compensate for that."
"Decide it in one move!"
As this thought formed, Kim Gyeong-joo's gaze grew resolute.
Cutting off conversation, she began forming hand seals.
A portal several meters tall materialized behind her, carved with grotesque demons and monsters.
As Kim Gyeong-joo completed the seals: "Open!!!!"
The Gate of Evil Spirits slowly opened, disgorging hordes of terrifying monsters that surged toward Kim Yeon-ju amidst billowing black energy.
Watching Kim Yeon-ju's sword fingers strike out - slashing, stabbing, flicking - releasing sword energy, the situation grew instantly tense.
Kim Nam-won stood beside Lu Ding, arms crossed as he watched, smiling: "Mr. Clark, who do you think will win?"
Kim Gyeong-joo had Demon Possession - undeniably powerful.
But it was only acquired last night.
And how could something briefly activated compare to over a decade of relentless effort?
Even Lu Ding hadn't become instantly formidable upon gaining his cheat - it was built up through continuously stacking techniques.
Once activated, never turned off.
That's why he was strong.
From this perspective, Kim Yeon-ju had better odds. But this girl had also been one of Lu Ding's previous candidates.
So her standing forward and not using her sword made Lu Ding feel this wasn't a situation to judge normally.
Contrarily: "Kim Gyeong-joo," he said casually.
Kim Nam-won nearby shook his head in disagreement: "No no, I believe Kim Yeon-ju has better chances."
"Her Green Bamboo Sword Art originated long ago from Great Han, embodying bamboo growing through rock crevices, weathering wind and rain while breaking through stone."
"Combining ferocity with endurance, she has no weaknesses whether in quick battles or prolonged fights."
Mentioning Great Han right away.
Lu Ding couldn't be bothered to expose his transparent scheming.
But the battle did unfold as described.
Though Kim Gyeong-joo's Demon Possession was powerful with wide coverage, if not quickly decisive, a prolonged battle might become dangerous for her.
After all, she didn't have an enormous spiritual sea like Lu Ding.
With more development, she might have secured victory.
Meanwhile, Kim Yeon-ju remained unshaken, defending tightly despite difficulty - impenetrable as still water.
In Kim Gyeong-joo's continuous attacks, a gap appeared due to inexperience.
And Kim Yeon-ju precisely seized this opening.
Gathering sword energy in her hand,
A vision manifested - a lone bamboo standing straight and green on a cliff, enduring winds from all directions.
The sword intent tore through the black energy, stabbing directly at Kim Gyeong-joo.
With the battle seemingly decided,
Kim Nam-won said: "Seems I guessed right."
Means getting slapped.
Kim Yeon-ju's sword finger slightly veered, leaving her flank exposed.
Monsters from the black energy crashed into her,
Sending her flying as she spat blood.
Such blatant throwing.
Stunned everyone present.
"She... she's insane!!"
"How dare she?! At such a critical moment - a slight misstep and she'd have been torn apart by demons!"
"Outrageous! Completely lawless! Right before Father's eyes, openly helping this Kim Gyeong-joo cheat!!!"
"This is cheating!!!"
Outrage erupted instantly.
"Yes! Cheating!!! Unfair!!"
"If this counts, then what about our past battles where we fought covered in wounds?!"
Hearing this, Lu Ding's gaze fell on Kim Yeon-ju picking herself up from the ground.
Beside him, Kim Nam-won's frozen expression thawed as he applauded: "Excellent, truly excellent. Who knew among my children there was such talent."
Though Kim Gyeong-joo losing might have given him more bargaining power,
It also risked Lu Ding immediately lashing out.
When envoys from strong nations suffer in weak ones - regardless of reason - it's unacceptable.
Because the strong preying on the weak follows no logic. The source of thɪs content is ɴovelfire.net
Kim Yeon-ju's actions resolved multiple issues:
The earlier awkward lack of challengers,
A boost for Kim Gyeong-joo,
And alleviated some of Kim Nam-won's concerns.
While Kim Gyeong-joo losing would have been better, it involved gambling.
Her winning was also good; losing would be even better - no downside.
Now she'd brilliantly reframed Tianxing Group's collective disrespect toward White Eagle officers
Into an individual cheating incident.
Truly a clever woman.