In the Spatial Plane, Ming Dandan and Yao Changying appeared. After appearing, they quick increased the distance between them.
Yao Changying's appearance was a bit different from before. She was wearing a white and green robe with floral designs on it while her hair was left open at the back. She was also wearing feathered earrings in both her ears.
Her long hair swayed lightly in the air while a cold and disinterested look was on her face. Her Hazel Brown eyes looked at Ming Dandan for a moment, before she gripped her sword sheath.
Yao Changying's sword seemed to be different too, having switched to a long sword instead of her usual slim sword.
The two were about two hundred meters apart which gave Ming Dandan enough time to summon the Mulch Crawl eater beast. Till this part, Lin Mu and Ming Dandan had already predicted what would happen.
But just as Ming Dandan summoned her beast, Yao Changying made her move.
She directly drew out her sword a layer of black energy covering it. The black energy made the light around the area bend and wrap around it. Ming Dandan who saw the energy felt an instinctive fear of it.
She wasn't able to do much before Yao Changying stabbed her long sword lightly in the air.
The move seemed rather causal and done with little force, and yet it sent forth a black sword imprint that struck the Mulch Crawl Eater Beast in the blink of an eye.
The sword imprint pierced through the beast directly, its residual force striking Ming Dandan, knocking her out instantly!
~SHUA~
Ming Dandan and the Mulch Crawl Eater beast both turned into a flash of light before being teleported out.
"Yao Changying is the winner!" The announcement was heard while the formation screen changed to show the result as well.
The audience cheered in excitement, but Lin Mu and his companions did not have the same feelings. Lin Mu looked at it all with concern while Ming Aolian was horrified.
"I…" Ming Aolian was having a hard time to speak.
"Lu Xu, go with her." Lin Mu spoke, his voice firm.
"Yes." Without even a moment of hesitation, Lu Xu stood up.
He went to check up on Ming Dandan right away, while Lin Mu thought about what had just happened.
"Brother Mu Lin, that…" Qian Wen spoke with hesitation.
"I know… this wasn't what we planned." Lin Mu replied. "But we'll just have to go with it." He spoke while several thoughts went through his mind.
'Yao Changying changed her techniques?' That was the biggest thought that was present in Lin Mu's mind.
Being a sword user with Sword Intent, Lin Mu could very easily tell that what Yao Changying had used was not her original sword technique. While the stab she used seemed to be rather simple and casual, it wasn't like that at all.
'That sword technique is certainly not the same as before… the energy and aura are all different.' Lin Mu analyzed. 'Her original was a lot more gentle, but this was made for killing.'
This made Lin Mu think about what else had changed about Yao Changying and he realized it wasn't just her sword technique.
'She changed the way she dresses too…' Lin Mu realized.
He had ignored it at first, as there weren't normally any implications to that, but now that she had suddenly used a sword technique that was specialized for killing.
Since Lin Mu's immortal sense hadn't entered the Spatial Plane yet, he couldn't tell whether Yao Changying had killing intent with the sword technique, but his gut was telling him that it was there.
"We might have to change our strategy a bit more…" Lin Mu muttered.
So far, they had planned their tactics according to how Yao Changying had behaved, as well as the techniques she had used. Of course, Lin Mu knew that she hadn't actually used all her skills, as most of her fights ended quickly.
But now, Lin Mu was sure that there were a lot more changes than just that.
'We might just have to trash all the original strategies perhaps…' Lin Mu thought to himself. 'Ming Dandan was also unable to use the bracelet to weaken Yao Changying, which will make it harder for others later.'
He wondered whether it would be enough for Ming Aolian and Lu Xu to use it. Another factor that worried him was that as they went further in the tournament, the higher the chances of his companions facing someone other than Yao Changying as an opponent that would be too strong for them to face.
If they faced someone like Dugu Shanhe, Feng Baxing, or even Su Zian, Lin Mu knew they wouldn't be able to win even with his help.
'Hopefully, the Temple keeps on matching the stronger contestants against the weaker ones. That way, they'll have a higher chance of going against Yao Changying. Though there is an equally high chance of them being matched against someone among the top 5 too.' Lin Mu reckoned.
Though having thought about all this, Lin Mu was reminded of something.
'The change in Yao Changying… could it be due to the bracelet that Qian Wen used?' Lin Mu wondered.
It seemed to be the biggest factor that could have affected her, as other than that, there were no major things that could affect her.
'Crown Princess Shang said that it was intended to weaken the cultivation technique that Yao Changying obtained after sacrificing others… but what if it only made it hard for her to hide it?' Lin Mu pondered on it. 'If so, then that sword technique she used against Ming Dandan might be a part of the sacrificial power.'
The realization was concerning to Lin Mu, and he wondered if the Crown Princess was hiding something.
'I'll have to talk to them…' Lin Mu realized.
But for now, he needed to focus on the two matches that were still ongoing.
He let his Immortal sense enter the Spatial plans and started his routine.
