I am destroying the protagonist in the fantasy world!

Chapter 166: A conspiracy quietly arises, and justice is yet to be served

A gentle breeze rustled the shadows of the trees beside the martial arts arena, yet Lei Yi's heart was filled with turmoil. Miss Roushui, renowned in her family for her gentleness and sweetness, seemed a completely different person now, her eyes sinister and her movements stealthy. In her hands, she held a handful of shimmering, tiny crystals, which she buried in the ground of the martial arts arena in a strange pattern.

Lei Yi's mind raced. He was familiar with these crystals; they were the materials used by his family to set up formations! Could it be that... a terrifying thought surfaced in his mind. To ensure he lost the challenge, his family had actually resorted to tampering with the martial arts arena!

He took a deep breath and left calmly. He knew that now was not the time to alert the enemy. Returning to his residence, Lei Yi immediately found Dongfang Liuli and told her what he had seen.

"As expected, they're going to attack you!" Dongfang Liuli frowned, her beautiful eyes flashing with anger. "These despicable villains will do anything to achieve their goals!"

"What should we do now?" Lei Yi asked. He knew that Dongfang Liuli was resourceful and that her calm analysis was even more necessary at this moment.

"Since they want to play dirty tricks, we'll play along to the end!" Dongfang Liuli's eyes flashed with a gleam of light. "Don't worry, I have my own way to find out their conspiracy and make them suffer the consequences!"

Dongfang Liuli gathered his confidants overnight to investigate the matter. Lei Yi, on the other hand, was busy cultivating. He knew that tomorrow would be a fierce battle and he had to be fully prepared.

The next day, the challenge took place as planned. The arena was bustling with activity, with all the family members gathered together, and the atmosphere was even more lively than the previous day. Lei Yi and Miss Roushui stood facing each other, awaiting the signal to begin the challenge.

"Mr. Lei, please give me your guidance." Miss Roushui changed her usual gentleness, her tone was cold and her eyes were as sharp as a knife.

"Please." Lei Yi was alert in his heart, but remained calm on the surface.

With the command from the clan elder, the challenge officially began. Miss Roushui flashed, transforming into a shadow as she charged towards Lei Yi. Her speed and strength far surpassed those of yesterday, as if she had become a completely different person.

Lei Yi's heart sank. Sure enough, things weren't that simple! Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the crystals buried around the martial arts arena emitting a faint glow. The aura of Miss Roushui seemed to echo this light...

"Not good!" Dongfang Liuli suddenly exclaimed and stood up suddenly.

However, it was too late. Miss Roushui's attack had already reached Lei Yi, and the sharp palm wind mixed with powerful spiritual energy fluctuations seemed to tear him into pieces!

The atmosphere in the martial arts arena suddenly froze. Everyone's eyes were focused on Lei Yi, and they held their breath, waiting for the next scene.

Facing Miss Roushui's sudden attack, Lei Yi didn't dare to be careless. He misstepped and retreated like a ghost, barely avoiding the fatal palm strike.

"boom!"

The palm strike missed, slamming heavily onto the ground of the martial arts arena, sending dust and gravel flying. A deep palm print was blasted into the hard bluestone floor, demonstrating the terrifying power of the palm strike.

"When did Miss Roushui become so powerful?" There was a cry of surprise from the crowd. Everyone looked at Miss Roushui in disbelief and whispered to each other.

"Yes, although Miss Roushui was also a leader in the family in the past, she was only in the late Lingdong Realm. How come when I see her today, she seems to have broken through to the Huaxu Realm?"

"Could it be that the family deliberately gave Miss Roushui some secret medicine to enhance her power in order to ensure that Lei Yi loses the challenge?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down! Don't say that!"

……

On the stage, Lei Yi steadied himself, his heart awash with anxiety. Although he had anticipated Miss Roushui would have something to rely on today, he hadn't expected her strength to rise to such a terrifying level!

"This isn't her true strength!" Dongfang Liuli's voice echoed in Lei Yi's mind. "The fluctuations of her spiritual energy are extremely chaotic, as if they were forcibly boosted by some external force. She can't fully control it at all!"

When Lei Yi heard this, his heart moved and he stared at Miss Roushui closely, trying to find out the secret hidden in her.

Miss Roushui seemed unaware that she had been seen through by Lei Yi and Dongfang Liuli. Her eyes were red and her breathing was heavy. She was like a puppet that had lost its soul, being controlled by an invisible force, and constantly attacking Lei Yi.

Lei Yi fought and retreated, always keeping a certain distance from Miss Roushui, carefully observing her every move and every fluctuation of her spiritual power. He discovered that every time Miss Roushui attacked, a faint light would flash from her body, and the source of this light seemed to be...

"Mr. Lei, be careful!"

At that moment, Miss Roushui suddenly cried out, and her figure transformed into a flash of lightning, rushing straight towards Lei Yi. In her hand, a soft sword appeared, the blade was as light as water, but it exuded a cold murderous aura, and it went straight for Lei Yi's throat.

Lei Yi's pupils shrank and he quickly swung his sword to block.

"clang!"

A crisp sound of metal collision was heard, and Lei Yi felt a huge force coming from the sword, which made his palm numb and his body involuntarily retreated.

"Chance!"

Lei Yi said in his heart, and deliberately revealed a flaw to lure Miss Roushui closer.

Miss Roushui was fooled as expected. A hint of joy flashed in her eyes, and her figure followed closely behind him.

When the two were less than a foot apart, Lei Yi's eyes fixed on Miss Roushui's chest.

There, a faint light flashed and disappeared...

In a split second, Lei Yi's sharp eyes accurately captured the fleeting light. That light did not come from anywhere else, but from the jade pendant on Miss Roushui's chest.

This jade pendant is emerald green all over, crystal clear, and engraved with intricate patterns. It looks ordinary, but it emits a strange fluctuation, exactly the same as the chaotic spiritual fluctuations of Miss Roushui.

"I see!" Lei Yi understood. This jade pendant must be the key to Miss Roushui's sudden increase in strength. It must be a magical weapon that can enhance the wearer's strength. It's just that the method used is too overbearing, making it difficult for Miss Roushui to control her own power.

Thinking of this, Lei Yi no longer hesitated. He seized the opportunity when Miss Roushui attacked, turned his body to the side, avoiding the vital parts, and let the soft sword pass through his arm.

"His-"

The sound of clothes ripping echoed, and a bloody cut ripped across Lei Yi's left arm, instantly staining his sleeve red with blood. However, he seemed to feel no pain, instead using the force to fly back several feet, widening the distance between him and Miss Roushui.

"Mr. Lei, are you okay?" Dongfang Liuli, who was below the stage, saw this and suddenly turned pale and exclaimed in shock.

Lei Yi turned a deaf ear to her cries. He covered his wound, stared at Miss Roushui with scorching eyes, and said loudly, "Miss Roushui, we have no grudges against each other, why are you so cruel? Could it be that you want to kill me?!"

Miss Roushui was stunned by his sudden action and questioning, and subconsciously stopped attacking. A trace of panic flashed in her eyes, but she quickly concealed it.

"Master Lei, you're joking. I was just outmatched and lost my balance. How can I say 'I'm going to kill you'?"

"Missed? Haha..." Lei Yi sneered, his eyes slowly shifting from the soft sword in Miss Roushui's hand to the jade pendant on her chest. "Miss Roushui, do you dare to say that your strength is real? Do you dare to say that you didn't use any external force?!"

The moment these words came out, the whole audience was in an uproar. Everyone looked at each other in shock.

At the table of clan elders, the ghost-faced counselor's expression changed slightly, a sinister glint in his eyes. He turned sharply to look at the clan leader beside him and said in a low voice, "Head, this kid is very shrewd. I'm afraid he's discovered something! We can't let him continue!"

The clan leader's expression turned grim upon hearing this. He snorted coldly and was about to speak to stop them, but the clan elders got there first.

"Lei Yi, stop your nonsense! Roushui is a disciple carefully nurtured by our family. How could she do something so disgraceful to our family?" The family elder's face turned ashen as he shouted, "If you lose, just admit defeat without hesitation. Stop slandering me and ruining our family's reputation!"

Lei Yi had anticipated their denials, so he didn't get angry. Instead, he smiled faintly and said, "Elder, please understand. Everything I said is true. There is absolutely no falsehood! If you don't believe me, you can carefully check Miss Roushui to see if she's carrying anything prohibited!"

After saying this, he said no more, but just stared at the family elder with burning eyes, waiting for his decision.

The family elder looked at Lei Yi deeply, then looked at Miss Roushui, whose face was pale and eyes flickered, and he already had some guesses in his mind.

After a moment's silence, he said in a deep voice, "Come here, bring Miss Roushui here. I want to examine her myself!" Two family disciples responded and quickly walked to the center of the ring. One on each side, they "invited" Miss Roushui down. Although Miss Roushui was unwilling, she had no choice but to follow them down the ring under the authority of the family elders.

"Elder, this..." When the family patriarch saw that the family elder really wanted to check Miss Roushui, he suddenly felt a little panicked and wanted to speak to stop him, but the ghost-faced strategist secretly pulled his sleeve.

The Ghost-Faced Advisor shook his head slightly, signaling him not to act rashly. While the clan elder was stubborn and old-fashioned, he was also fairly impartial. If they tried to stop him now, it would only arouse his suspicion.

The family elder took the jade pendant from the family disciple and examined it carefully, but found nothing unusual. The jade pendant looked crystal clear and warm to the touch, and it was indeed a rare treasure, but no spiritual energy fluctuations could be sensed, and it did not seem like a magical weapon that could enhance strength.

"This jade pendant..." The family elder frowned slightly, turned to look at Miss Roushui, and asked, "Tell me the truth, what is the origin of this jade pendant?"

Miss Roushui's eyes rolled, and she said pitifully, "Elder, this jade pendant is a family heirloom. I've worn it since I was a child, and there's nothing special about it. I don't know why Young Master Lei suddenly said that I was using external forces. I hope Elder will understand!"

"A family heirloom?" The family elder pondered for a moment and carefully examined the jade pendant again. He still didn't find any clues and couldn't help but feel a little shaken.

"Elder, this jade pendant may look ordinary, but it actually holds a mystical secret." Seeing the family elder's disbelief, Lei Yi warned, "It can conceal the user's spiritual power, making it undetectable. Only when the user activates their spiritual power will its true form be revealed."

Hearing this, the family elder's heart moved, and he once again probed his spiritual power into the jade pendant. This time, he finally felt a faint fluctuation of spiritual power. Although this fluctuation was very weak, it was extremely pure, and it was definitely not something that someone of Miss Roushui's level could possess.

"This..." The family elder's face changed slightly. He had already believed Lei Yi's words in his heart, but in front of so many people, he couldn't directly expose Miss Roushui's lies. He could only feign confusion and ask, "Why is there such pure spiritual power in this jade pendant? You really didn't use any external force?"

Miss Roushui, seeing her secret exposed, simply stopped pretending and snorted coldly, saying, "So what? There's no rule in this challenge that prohibits the use of magic weapons, so why can't I use it?"

"You..." The family elder was so angry at her unreasonable words that his face turned pale and he was speechless for a moment.

"Miss Roushui, you've gone too far, haven't you?" Dongfang Liuli, who had remained silent the entire time, finally couldn't help but speak. Her beautiful eyes were filled with anger as she said coldly, "You clearly knew what this challenge meant to Young Master Lei, yet you resorted to such despicable means to win. Doesn't your conscience hurt?"

"Hmph, the victors are kings and the losers are bandits, it's been that way since ancient times. I just did what I wanted to do, why should I care about what others think?" Miss Roushui said with disdain. "Besides, even if I don't use magic weapons, do you think he can be my opponent?"

"You..." Dongfang Liuli was so angry at her arrogant words that she trembled all over, but she didn't know how to refute.

"Enough!" Lei Yi suddenly spoke up, interrupting their argument. He looked at Miss Roushui with cold eyes and said word by word, "I don't care what means you use. Today, I will defeat you fair and square and let you know what true strength is!"

After that, he no longer paid attention to Miss Roushui, but turned to look at the family elders and said in a deep voice: "Elder, please allow me to take off this jade pendant. I want everyone to see what exactly makes her so powerful!"

"This..." The family elder hesitated. He knew that Lei Yi did this to prove his innocence, but Miss Roushui was, after all, a disciple carefully trained by the family. If her lies were exposed in public, it would cause great damage to the family's reputation.

"Elder, what are you still hesitating about? Do you really want to protect such a cheater?" Seeing that the family elders were reluctant to agree, Lei Yi couldn't help feeling anxious, and his tone became a little tougher.

Upon hearing this, the family elder's face suddenly turned very ugly. He was about to scold Lei Yi, but suddenly he felt a powerful pressure emanating from Lei Yi. The pressure was so strong that even he, a Jindan stage cultivator, felt a palpitation.

"You..." The family elder looked at Lei Yi in horror, with a storm in his heart. He couldn't understand how a waste who had lost all his cultivation could have such terrifying strength?

"Stop!" Just as Lei Yi was about to forcibly remove the jade pendant, a cold voice suddenly rang out. The ghost-faced strategist flashed and stood in front of Miss Roushui. He stared at Lei Yi with a sinister look and said in a deep voice, "Boy, you've gone too far!"

Lei Yi ignored him, staring intently at the jade pendant on Miss Roushui's chest. He slowly extended his hand and said, "I've made up my mind. Today, I'll take this jade pendant!"