Amid the snowflakes filling the sky, a black, drifting figure skimmed over the treetops, diving straight toward the merchant caravan that had fallen into slight chaos because of the snowfall.

Gongsun Ding pursued closely from behind. “Demon woman, what are you trying to do?”

Lin Nan naturally did not respond.

What was she trying to do? Of course—she wanted more people to see her.

Seeing the two figures chase each other out of the forest, the merchant streamer who had been secretly livestreaming nearby hurriedly turned and chased after them.

The livestream chat exploded with curses.

“Hey, streamer, move your legs faster! With reactions this slow, you’re really putting us in a bind—should we follow you or not?”

“Hurry, hurry! If the Cold Moon Witch leaves my sight for even a second, I’ll die! Streamer, you’ll be responsible!”

“This is what you call a true peak duel between masters—so damn satisfying! It’s like a big-budget fantasy movie. Way better than those previous streamers who just hack monsters like it’s child’s play. Zero watchability.”

“Haha, exactly! I bet 100 yuan on Thousand Birds City winning!”

“Whoa, why?”

“Haven’t you figured it out yet? Ever since that inner-discipline disciple Gongsun Ding made his move, the Cold Moon Witch has basically been dodging passively and hasn’t attacked at all. I guess there’s still a level gap between them. Otherwise, judging by her usual temper, she would’ve one-shot him already.”

The players immediately recalled the scene where the Cold Moon Witch had killed a crossbowman with a single move. Indeed, she never showed mercy to her enemies. Yet this time, she had adopted a defensive stance, and since the fight began, she hadn’t taken the initiative to attack even once.

“What a pity. The Cold Moon Witch isn’t going to fall this soon, is she? I was planning to keep following her. But for the sake of the bet, I’ll put 500 on Gongsun Ding, haha.”

“You trash—weren’t you all shouting about watching the Cold Moon Witch? Where’s your integrity now? I’ll put in 100! Betting on… Gongsun Ding, heehee.”

“I collapse!” The crowd burst out laughing.

Most of the players were veterans from Dominion of the Heavens, so their judgment of the situation was fairly accurate.

Thus, aside from a very small number of true Cold Moon Witch fans, most players rationally placed their bets on Gongsun Ding.

After all, among Thousand Birds City’s forces present, besides Gongsun Ding, there was also an immortal crane that hadn’t yet joined the fight. If that big bird entered the fray, it wouldn’t take long for the Cold Moon Witch to perish and vanish forever from the world of Dao Inquiry.

Some players were already recording their screens, even having come up with video titles like “On the Tragic Fall of the Cold Moon Witch.”

In their eyes, this might be the final value of this suddenly emerged hidden boss.

Lin Nan, of course, had no idea about the players’ psychological shifts. Her system interface was different from that of normal players—even the livestream page was completely blocked.

So the only thing on her mind right now was to quickly raise her “Coolness Value” above 200. That way, the skill effect of Black Snow could reach a satisfying level—at the very least, the snow filling the air could finally turn into a despair-inducing black.

At this moment, the use of the “Flowing Wind” skill had reached its absolute limit.

Without resting, her stamina bar could hold out for at most five more minutes.

When Lin Nan suddenly appeared above the caravan, the mix of players and NPCs were startled, scrambling to avoid the raging blizzard that accompanied the Cold Moon Witch.

At this critical moment, the Cold Moon Witch actually descended into the crowd. With peerless grace, she slowly took two steps forward. When Gongsun Ding’s sword techniques came slashing toward her, she leapt into the air again. The distance between them always remained extremely close, yet his longsword could never touch even the corner of her clothes.

After several such maneuvers, everyone present was completely captivated by the Cold Moon Witch’s calm expression and her leisurely, stroll-like demeanor.

Even the streamer couldn’t help muttering, “What is she doing? She must be toying with the people of Thousand Birds City.”

“Coolness Value +10.”

“Coolness Value +10.”

“Coolness Value +10…”

In less than two minutes, Lin Nan’s Coolness Value exceeded 200.

And without anyone really noticing, the snow falling from the sky had completely turned black.

Since becoming the chief inner disciple, Gongsun Ding had never suffered such humiliation. After being toyed with again and again, he finally couldn’t take it anymore.

He performed a swift aerial flip and landed atop the immortal crane’s head.

Sheathing his sword, he clasped his hands together and silently chanted an incantation. Moments later, a radiant glow appeared around his body.

At the same time, ten short azure swords floated before him, spinning and glowing continuously.

Each of these swords was a mind-forged blade that Gongsun Ding had cultivated with immense effort. Every time he used them, it consumed enormous mental energy, which was why he rarely deployed them.

Moreover, if even a single azure sword were destroyed, it would deal severe backlash damage to his body.

But in Gongsun Ding’s view, using the mind swords was merely a way to quickly kill the demon woman. To destroy his swords, one would need at least level 80 strength. From his observations so far, this demon woman was at most in her twenties or thirties in level—aside from her lightness skill, she was good for nothing.

“Die, demon woman!”

With a furious roar, all ten azure swords pointed their tips at Lin Nan and shot toward her at high speed.

He had originally planned to spare her life and bring her under the sect’s control, but now it was clear—this demon woman could not be allowed to live.

Mid-flight, the azure swords suddenly doubled in size. Their indestructible momentum terrified the caravan members, who hugged their heads and fled in panic, afraid of being caught in the blast.

Lin Nan’s expression did not change. The instant she drew the Black Wind Sword, Gongsun Ding—who was controlling the mind swords—stuttered, and the azure swords slowed briefly.

As her sword traced a flower-like arc, the black snow filling the sky spiraled toward the tip of the Black Wind Sword like a vortex.

Snowflakes that could turn solid at any moment suddenly became as hard as diamonds.

The azure swords slammed head-on into the snow vortex, producing sharp screeching and grinding sounds.

Gongsun Ding’s face changed drastically.

He had never imagined the Cold Moon Witch would use such a bizarre move. Snowflakes that were originally soft had become rock-hard, and their numbers were countless.

Even though the azure swords shattered some of the snowflakes, the endless black snow falling from the sky instantly replenished the vortex.

The foremost azure sword gradually became riddled with cracks under the countless impacts.

With a loud bang, one sword shattered completely.

Gongsun Ding spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed crookedly onto the crane’s back, his face pale as paper.

He could no longer endure the loss of another sword and hurriedly tried to recall the remaining ones.

But Lin Nan understood perfectly the principle of striking while the enemy was weak. Since he intended to kill her, she would not hold back her desperate counterattack.

After all, the grudge with Thousand Birds City was already set. Even if she spared Gongsun Ding this time, it would only waste a chance to eliminate enemy strength.

Thus, Lin Nan swung her sword decisively. The long-prepared “Phantom Sea” activated instantly.

The summoned undead creatures themselves were of little importance to her, but at the moment Phantom Sea was cast, it generated an enormous shockwave.

Driven by that shockwave, countless hardened snowflakes rolled toward Gongsun Ding.

Gongsun Ding knew well how terrifying the black snow was—after all, it had just destroyed one of his mind swords.

But the black snow came too fast. Having only just steadied himself, Gongsun Ding had no choice but to deploy his mind swords again to resist.

With a series of crack, crack sounds, two more azure swords shattered while blocking the black snow.

Spitting another mouthful of blood, Gongsun Ding immediately used his final life-saving measure. He pulled a small red figurine from his chest and hurled it downward.

As the rising smoke dissipated, the heavily injured, deathly pale Gongsun Ding had vanished without a trace.

Only the pitiful immortal crane remained, still suffering under the ravages of the black snow.

Seeing that Gongsun Ding had escaped, Lin Nan immediately withdrew the snow. In an instant, the sky—once filled with dark clouds and raging blizzards—cleared completely.

The lightly injured crane tried to spread its wings and flee, but after Lin Nan coldly glanced at it, the crane let out a mournful cry and obediently landed on the ground, lowering its head like a wronged child, not daring to move.

The first widely watched clash between good and evil in the world of Dao Inquiry came to an end.

The livestream chat fell silent. No one had expected the final outcome to be like this.

“Th-this… this is way too exaggerated.”

“The Cold Moon Witch is this strong? Gongsun Ding went all out and still couldn’t beat her!”

“Ahhh, my money! If only I’d supported the Cold Moon Witch… damn these uncontrollable hands of mine!”

“Heh, you fair-weather fools. Didn’t you notice? From start to finish, the Cold Moon Witch was toying with Gongsun Ding. The ridiculous part is that you all thought she was completely at a disadvantage.”

One netizen stammered, “Who could’ve imagined that at such a critical moment, she’d still have the leisure to tease Gongsun Ding?”

“Heh. This time the Cold Moon Witch didn’t even bother using a teleport skill. That alone shows what level Gongsun Ding occupies in her eyes. And I just checked Thousand Birds City’s data—Gongsun Ding is level 45. Although the Cold Moon Witch’s level is hidden and unreadable, judging from this, she’s definitely at least an 80+ level boss.”

“So much regret, sob! Next time there’s a similar battle, I’m definitely backing the Cold Moon Witch. Damn system, insisting on setting up some betting nonsense and scamming all our pocket money.”

Amid the wails, the few players who had bet on the Cold Moon Witch were jubilant. Winning big with small stakes naturally made them ecstatic.

Just then, the merchant streamer saw the Cold Moon Witch coldly walking step by step toward the immortal crane.

“What’s she going to do? She’s not going to kill the sacred beast to vent her anger, is she?”

“Nooo… that’s Thousand Birds City’s exclusive immortal beast—extremely rare! Cold Moon Witch, please don’t!”