Chapter 341: Win

Kong Yueqing wanted to settle this quickly, because only by doing so could she shock everyone present; therefore, she did not immediately choose to use talismans to fight. After all, as exorcists, using talismans was a skill almost everyone possessed.

Thus, when she lunged at Ma Chulan empty-handed, many people showed expressions of unexpected surprise.

Ma Chulan was, of course, no exception. Having not expected Kong Yueqing to start with hand-to-hand combat, she was caught off guard at the beginning and fell into a disadvantage.

"All of Kong Yueqing's ambition is placed on Lanlan," Su Yan remarked derisively.

Kong Yueqing's moves were quite clean and efficient, every strike aimed directly at Ma Chulan's vital points.

As one of the four great families, the Kong family had a foundation spanning hundreds of years; it was not strange for their disciples to know some martial arts.

There was no trace of impatience on Ma Chulong's face. "If she wants to step on the Ma family to rise, she'll have to see if she actually has the ability!"

The corner of Su Yan's mouth curled up slightly; from Ma Chulong's expression alone, she knew Kong Yueqing was not gaining the upper hand.

Sure enough, Ma Chulan quickly adjusted her state, moving from merely dodging passively at the start to taking the initiative to attack.

The Ma family's martial arts were completely different from the Kong family's, focusing more on overcoming hardness with softness.

Soon, Kong Yueqing went from holding the initiative to being evenly matched.

Kong Yueling watched the two of them nervously, not forgetting to seek guidance from Gan Hua and Ruan Tao beside her.

"Senior Brother Gan, Senior Brother Ruan, Senior Sister will win, right?"

To lose in front of so many eyes would be truly humiliating.

Gan Hua and Ruan Tao both had grim expressions. They were much stronger than Kong Yueling, so naturally, they could see much more.

"As it stands, it's not very optimistic," Ruan Tao answered in a low voice, then looked at Gan Hua.

Gan Hua's reaction was almost identical to his.

Hearing them say this, Kong Yueling's expression grew increasingly tense.

In the blink of an eye, Ma Chulan and Kong Yueqing had exchanged over thirty moves; Kong Yueqing's wish for a quick victory was completely shattered.

Only at this moment did she realize she had underestimated Ma Chulan's strength; she might even be defeated if she wasn't careful.

Her expression became extremely unsightly, and as time passed, the agitation in her heart grew heavier.

In contrast, although Ma Chulan's breathing was also somewhat unstable, her overall state was far better than Kong Yueqing's.

"Lanlan is going to win," Su Yan's tone was incredibly certain.

Ma Chulong's eyes brightened noticeably, and his worry for Ma Chulan completely relaxed.

Sure enough, after another dozen or so moves, Kong Yueqing's dodging movement was a step too slow, and she was struck directly in the chest by Ma Chulan's dual palms.

Ma Chulan had used ten parts of her strength for this strike. Kong Yueqing felt a burst of intense pain, and her blood surged in her chest.

"Good!"

A chorus of cheers erupted from the surroundings.

Kong Yueqing stumbled backward four or five steps before finally stabilizing her body.

Seeing the tense faces of Kong Nian and Kong Xiang, as well as the fanatic gazes others directed at Ma Chulan, she nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

This was absolutely not the outcome she wanted!

Ma Chulan crossed her arms over her chest and looked at her triumphantly. "I thought the people of the Kong family were something special, but it turns out they only have this much skill."

This single sentence provoked not just Kong Yueqing, but the entire Kong family.

Ma Chulong and Su Yan clearly saw Kong Nian and Kong Xiang's faces darken.

"Little sister, you shouldn't say it like that. Kong Yueqing couldn't beat you simply because her training is insufficient; the strength of the Kong family is beyond doubt." Ma Chulong immediately corrected Ma Chulan's words, giving the Kong family face in front of the crowd.

As the leader of the Kong family, Kong Nian could only temporarily suppress her anger.

"Senior Brother Ma is right. We are all members of the four great families, and not everyone can achieve diligent cultivation. Today's matter was an impropriety on our Kong family's part; we will certainly discipline our disciples more strictly in the future."

Her attitude was very clear: between tearing faces with the Ma family and Kong Yueqing, she decisively chose the former.

Kong Yueqing's face felt as if it were on fire; her resentment toward Kong Nian even exceeded that toward Ma Chulan.

Did Kong Nian not see that the injured person was her?

She wouldn't even say a single word for her!!

"This is my private grudge with Ma Chulan and has nothing to do with the family!"

She spat the words out through gritted teeth, her gaze toward Ma Chulan looking like a venomous snake.

"Our match isn't over yet!"

At this moment, Kong Yueqing's mind was actually exceptionally calm; she knew she had to win back her own dignity.

A shadow passed through Kong Nian's eyes. She had just spoken, yet Kong Yueqing actually dared to ignore her reprimand in front of everyone?!

She turned her head to look at Kong Xiang, who was standing beside her.

Kong Xiang spoke immediately, "Yueqing, have you made enough of a scene? Come back this instant!"

Kong Yueqing's whole body trembled, and aggrieved tears were already swirling in her eyes.

Her nails dug deeply into her palms within her clenched fists.

At this moment, Ma Chulan said with a half-smile, "Uncle Kong, since she said our match isn't over, then give her another chance."

Since she was still unwilling to submit, she would fight her until she did.

Kong Yueqing completely exploded. "I don't need you to plead for me!"

With a furious roar, all her spiritual power and talismans were unleashed toward Ma Chulan.

Having learned from the previous experience, Ma Chulan had long been prepared for a sudden attack and immediately took defensive measures.

"Don't think you're the only one with talismans."

Along with her words, activated talismans flew out.

Such a duel, let alone in a place like this and at a time like this, was extremely rare even in the past decade.

Although the four great families had no explicit rules, because their strengths and foundations were comparable, and because they all had to be cautious during these special times, instances of internal fighting between family members were very rare.

The onlookers were shocked by the dazzling light of the talismans, occasionally letting out exclamations of admiration.

Su Yan also took in all the talismans, spiritual power, and moves used by Ma Chulan and Kong Yueqing.

She quickly reached a conclusion.

That was that the talismans used by Ma Chulan were clearly more powerful than those used by Kong Yueqing.

But this was only natural, as Ma Chulan was the biological daughter of the Ma family head.

"That's not right."

Ma Chulong had placed all his attention on Ma Chulan, but he immediately heard Su Yan's murmur.

"What's not right?"

Could it be that Kong Yueqing was about to use some dirty trick?

Su Yan looked toward the direction of the fight and voiced her doubt, "The power of Kong Yueqing's talismans doesn't seem to reach Lanlan."

For example, the Flame Talisman Kong Yueqing had just used—the flames had clearly landed on Ma Chulan, but in the next second, they vanished without a trace.

Hearing her question, Ma Chulong actually laughed and said with strength, "That is because Lanlan is carrying a protective treasure; those methods of Kong Yueqing's cannot harm Lanlan in the slightest."

(End of Chapter)