Chapter 086
Chapter 86: The Ever-Extinguishing Candle Flame
With a soft whoosh, Li Yuan Ling landed lightly onto the wooden boat. Her bright, piercing eyes instantly noticed the jade token held tightly by one of the young men, illuminated by the flickering candle flame.
Without hesitation, she swiftly extended her snow-white arm, her delicate face twisted fiercely, transforming instantly from a graceful lady into a ruthless bandit, snatching at the jade token.
The three youths were startled awake by her sudden aggression. They could scarcely understand how such a lovely young woman could move with such terrifying violence. It felt as though she wasn’t just after the jade token but intended to devour them whole.
Yet their strength was no match for Li Yuan Ling. Within moments, she had knocked them all to the floor and snatched the token from their hands.
As soon as she held the jade token, her frightening expression melted into delight, blooming like the spring breeze.
“So easy, another one down!” she called happily, waving the jade token at Li Mu Sheng.
Li Mu Sheng, however, remained seated, eyes closed, resting quietly, clearly uninterested.
Seeing his lack of reaction, Li Yuan Ling pursed her lips slightly but quickly returned her attention to carefully securing the jade token. She glanced toward the three defeated young men cowering in a corner, her eyes narrowing slightly. Suddenly, she blew hard, extinguishing the candle flame on their boat.
With a graceful leap, she immediately moved towards another nearby boat.
Left in total darkness, the three youths stared after Li Yuan Ling’s shadow, sharing the same bitter thought: [What a cruel woman! Taking our jade token wasn’t enough, she even snuffed out our candle flame, leaving us with no chance at all.]
They had already fallen short of the required ten markings. Now, unable to relight their candle, they could only wait miserably in darkness for half an hour until they were eliminated.
Meanwhile, encouraged by her easy victory, Li Yuan Ling was growing increasingly bold. She began to jump relentlessly from boat to boat, snatching tokens as she pleased. Each leap brought her yet another jade token.
Admittedly, as a princess of Great Li, her martial abilities were indeed formidable. More importantly, Li Yuan Ling had sharp eyes. She carefully avoided those who looked tough, picking only the weakest targets, never once failing.
And each time after taking a jade token, she never forgot her ruthless follow-up move—blowing out their candle flame, ensuring no rivals remained behind.
As a result, Li Yuan Ling soon earned a terrible reputation among those she robbed, leaving many grinding their teeth in hatred.
Some even deliberately shouted to nearby stronger contenders, pointing in the direction Li Yuan Ling had fled, urging loudly, “Quick, chase her! That woman has dozens of jade tokens. Catch her, and you’ll surely make the top ten!”
In truth, Li Yuan Ling had only gathered seven tokens so far.
Most people didn’t fully believe such exaggerated claims, choosing instead to continue their own plans. Only a few, tempted by desperation, chased after her.
Meanwhile, Li Mu Sheng calmly sat aboard their wooden boat, allowing it to drift lazily toward the center of the Underground Lake, the faint candle glow illuminating his serene face.
Just then, a middle-aged man dressed in a green robe leaped from the darkness onto Li Mu Sheng’s boat. He had a strong physique, square face, broad forehead, and a small goatee. Martial power emanated from his presence.
Glancing at Li Mu Sheng, he spoke firmly, “Hand over your jade token.”
Li Mu Sheng raised his eyes lazily, spreading his hands helplessly. “I don’t have any.”
The green-robed man observed him closely. Realizing Li Mu Sheng indeed seemed unarmed and merely guarding the boat, he shook his head, preparing to leave. His main goal was completing his young master’s mission; unnecessary fights were best avoided.
However, from another boat nearby, a young voice called, “Zhang Fu, even without a jade token, don’t leave empty-handed! Extinguish his candle flame and remove one more competitor.”
The green-robed man acknowledged the instruction. He swiftly turned and waved a palm wind toward Li Mu Sheng’s candle flame.
About to leap away to the next boat, he suddenly paused, turning to stare incredulously at the candle flame he’d just attacked.
Clearly, his palm wind should have easily extinguished it. Li Mu Sheng showed no signs of Qi cultivation, nor had he moved to defend.
Yet, astonishingly, the candle flame remained calmly burning, unaffected by the strong gust.
The green-robed man glanced uncertainly at Li Mu Sheng, who remained utterly unconcerned, as though oblivious to the attempted attack.
[Did I miss somehow?] he thought doubtfully.
Frowning deeply, he focused his Qi again and swung a more powerful palm wind at the candle flame. A piercing whistle filled the air as the wind struck, yet the candle flame stood utterly still, unaffected.
“What is this?” Confusion filled his rugged face.
At that very moment, a furious shout erupted from the nearby boat: “Who was it? Who extinguished our candle flame?”
Hearing his young master’s voice, Zhang Fu swiftly turned his head. His master’s boat was plunged into total darkness—the candle flame mysteriously extinguished.
Fortunately, they had earned forty markings in the first round, granting them four chances to relight the candle within three breaths. Hastily, the young master ignited it once more.
But instantly, the candle flame flickered out again, plunging the boat back into darkness.
“Who’s there? Who dares?” shouted the young master angrily, but no one answered from the darkness.
One companion stood up, scanning around cautiously but seeing nothing unusual.
They quickly lit the candle again, both releasing their Qi to guard the flame carefully. Yet despite their efforts, the protective Qi vanished silently, and the candle flame once more mysteriously went out.
“This is impossible…” whispered the young master, stunned and wary. This time he didn’t dare to shout recklessly again.