Yu Qing watched the expert return to his seat, then suddenly looked at Baili Xin beside him and asked, “What is this person’s name?”
This was actually a question many people wanted to ask right now.
In fact, the names of the two combatants had been announced on stage before they appeared, but no one had made a conscious effort to remember them. Coupled with the sudden and unexpected turn of the fight, people had simply forgotten what they were called.
As expected, Baili Xin still had excellent eyesight. Even if she had forgotten, she had just seen the name on the flying dart and replied, “Xiang Zhen.”
Unexpectedly, Wu Tian on the stage also shouted loudly, “In this round, Xiang Zhen is the winner. Please have the participants of the second round bring their tokens to the stage to verify their identities.”
“Xiang Zhen?” Yu Qing muttered as he looked at the expert, finally memorising the person and the name.
Countless members of the audience felt the same way and basically memorised this person and this name. Indeed, strength was the thing that commanded respect and left a deep impression. Previously, they could not even remember the name that had just been announced, but now they were all actively asking around.
Two figures flew down onto the stage again, handed over their wooden tokens, verified their identities, and then flew down into the arena at the signal of Wu Tian, who was presiding over the competition.
As the dense drumbeats suddenly stopped, the two competitors faced off briefly before launching attacks and engaging in a fierce back and forth struggle.
The match could not be called anything less than intense, but with the previous brilliant display setting the standard, the current bout seemed rather underwhelming by comparison, leaving the audience somewhat uninterested.
Before long, a winner was decided. This time there was no fight to the death. The loser fell to the ground, and with a sword pressed against his chest, he conceded defeat.
Immediately following was the third match. Baili Xin flew onto the stage and went to the presiding platform to verify her identity.
Nan Zhu looked on with eager anticipation, while Yu Qing and Mu Aotie exchanged a glance. The two shared the same thought, secretly hoping Baili Xin would be killed in the arena so they would no longer have to feel awkward because of Nan Zhu and could finally relax.
However, the situation on the presiding platform seemed somewhat unusual and did not appear to follow the normal procedure. Baili Xin was muttering something to Wu Tian, and due to their angle, Yu Qing’s lip reading technique was of no use.
“What is wrong?”
Someone in the audience asked curiously.
Nan Zhu, whose concern clouded his judgement, also stood up, craning his neck with a very worried expression.
Yu Qing and Mu Aotie also felt surprised, not knowing what was going on.
A moment later, Wu Tian on the stage was seen leading Baili Xin over to Sun Lianxing, who was responsible for supervision, and they spoke about something unknown.
This time, Yu Qing managed to read some of the conversation. He frowned and muttered, “Concede?”
Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie both turned their heads to look at him in unison.
Soon, the negotiation on stage seemed to reach a conclusion. Wu Tian brought Baili Xin to the front of the stage and beckoned the other competitor over. The two competitors stood on his left and right.
Facing the crowd, Wu Tian announced loudly, “In the third round, Baili Xin voluntarily concedes due to physical discomfort. Chen Gaosheng advances.”
Baili Xin cupped her hands towards the crowd in a gesture of apology.
That Chen Gaosheng, on the other hand, looked both amused and exasperated, feeling as though his victory was somewhat unmerited.
There was a slight uproar at the scene, followed by a wave of whispers. Out of the three matches that had just begun, two had already produced unexpected results.
Yu Qing and his two senior brothers were naturally left speechless in stunned silence.
In the stands, Xiao Changdao, who was seated at the feet of the Gui Jian Villa members, scoffed, “Talking about physical discomfort is just an excuse.”
Wu Ronggui, who was nearby, chuckled softly, “It is quite normal for disciples of the Long Guang Sect to be unskilled in close quarters combat.”
The woman a level higher up the steps, Yong Zexue, who was Chan Shaoting’s mother, glanced down at the two men discussing the matter and asked her son beside her, “Are disciples from the Long Guang Sect also participating in the competition?”
Xiao and Wu below both turned their heads back. Chan Shaoting confirmed it and briefly introduced the situation.
On the other side, Baili Xin also returned to her seat. Nan Zhu immediately asked with concern, “Are you feeling unwell?”
Baili Xin glared at him and ignored him.
Yu Qing also felt that their seventh brother’s words were somewhat redundant, as there was no way she was genuinely unwell, but he still asked curiously, “Why concede so easily?”
Baili Xin replied calmly, “I am not here to compete, so there is no need to take this risk.”
Yu Qing nodded slightly and immediately said to his two senior brothers, “Listen to her. This is a wise choice, so you two should learn from her.”
Nan and Mu remained silent.
The matches continued one after another. The overall strength of the participants was generally quite good, but there were no real highlights.
Despite this, when noon arrived and it was time for lunch, very few people left the venue. The competition would not stop for meals. They were all cultivators and did not care about such mundane routines, even though the dining hall had prepared food as usual.
They stayed because they were afraid of missing out. Who knew if another ‘Xiang Zhen’ would suddenly emerge in the next match?
The pace of the matches was actually not slow. By mid afternoon, the match that Yu Qing and his brothers had been waiting for finally arrived. It was the thirteenth match, which corresponded to the token number Mu Aotie had drawn.
“Thirteenth match, please have competitors Wu Ji and Dou Guan come to the stage to verify their identities.”
After seeing off the participants from the previous round, Wu Tian on the stage shouted loudly to the crowd again.
Mu Aotie stood up resolutely.
Yu Qing suddenly felt somewhat nervous, even more so than if he were going on stage himself, and urgently instructed, “Ninth Brother, if you can win, then win. If you cannot, do not force it. We do not need to fight for a temporary victory or defeat.”
Among cultivators, he was actually quite young. In the past, he could only say he knew certain principles, but he did not truly understand them. After walking this path and experiencing various events, he had gradually come to empathise with those truths.
For instance, right now, he would have found it very difficult in the past to speak such heartfelt words about not fighting for a temporary victory or defeat.
Of course, saying it was one thing, but whether he could actually do it himself later was another matter entirely.
Mu Aotie gave no response and flashed away, flying towards the presiding platform.
Nan Zhu pressed his lips together, clearly becoming somewhat tense as well.
Soon, the drumbeats sounded, and the two combatants flew down from the stage into the arena once more.
As soon as the drums stopped, Wu Ji immediately flashed forward like a flying swan, swinging his sword to strike.
Mu Aotie, however, maintained a calm and arrogant demeanour. He waited until his opponent’s blade was almost upon him before drawing his sword with a swish, effortlessly blocking the strike. His attack speed was clearly a notch faster, prompting Wu Ji to immediately follow up with a continuous assault.
Figures and sword lights intertwined in an instant, creating fleeting, flashing images.
At first glance, Wu Ji’s attack speed was extremely fast, while Mu Aotie’s reactions seemed slightly delayed and simplistic, making it look as though he was being besieged by Wu Ji. However, that was merely the perspective of an amateur.
Only an expert could see the true mechanics and recognise that Mu Aotie was simply dealing with the situation with effortless composure.
To outsiders, Mu Aotie appeared unhurried, but Yu Qing frowned, believing Mu Aotie was underestimating his opponent. To dare to slight the enemy without even gauging the depth of their strength, waiting until the opponent’s sword was almost upon him before drawing his own, was truly unwise.
Even Nan Zhu could not help but mutter, “This guy, Ninth Brother, has the habit of acting cool ingrained in his very bones. The more people watching, the more he likes to put on airs.”
However, worrying about it was useless, as they were not the ones competing on the field.
Wu Ji, whose solo attacks felt like a besieging army, was somewhat annoyed by Mu Aotie’s disdain.
Before stepping onto the stage, he had received instructions from Ke Ran that he was only allowed to lose and not to win. Because he was also using a fake identity, victory or defeat meant nothing to him. Ke Ran’s intention was for him to willingly give up the opportunity to advance, so the outcome of this match had been destined from the very beginning.
He had never expected Mu Aotie to treat him with such disregard in front of everyone. Who did not have a competitive spirit deep down?
Furthermore, Mu Aotie’s strength was not as weak as he had imagined. The image of Yu Qing visiting their door flashed through his mind, bringing a sense of surprise, so he gradually stopped holding back, and his attack speed grew faster and faster.
Yet Mu Aotie continued to only defend and not attack, maintaining his air of calm composure.
This scene gave Yu Qing a headache, and he agreed with Nan Zhu’s assessment, unable to help but curse in a low voice, “This guy, Ninth Brother, will he die if he stops showing off?”
Nan Zhu gave a bitter chuckle. He could actually somewhat understand Ninth Brother, as Ninth Brother also wanted to stand tall in the arena and be seen by everyone.
Of course, the two of them also gradually relaxed, as they could see that Mu Aotie was indeed able to handle Wu Ji with ease.
What had worried them at first was not knowing the true extent of Wu Ji’s strength.
In fact, Mu Aotie was not entirely just putting on airs and acting cool. He had noticed something from Wu Ji’s initial attack speed.
In the Immortal Peach Garden of Xiao Yunjian, he had fought against Yu Qing’s Dust Sealing Sword Art for nearly a year, and mostly at night when visibility was poor. Yu Qing had truly gone all out to beat them, showing no mercy whatsoever.
After a year of fighting, he was not even sure how much he had improved, as he had never had a point of comparison.
He only knew that Fifteenth Brother’s sword was fast, incredibly fast. The sword shadows pressing in within a single breath could leave one flustered, and that sense of oppression would feel suffocating if one was not used to it.
As proud a person as he was, he had stubbornly endured being beaten by Yu Qing in that environment for a year. He did not know how much he had improved because Fifteenth Brother’s sword had also become increasingly faster. In short, he had always been suppressed and always left room to be beaten.
In his opinion, Wu Ji’s sword speed was far inferior to Fifteenth Brother’s. After exchanging a few moves, he became increasingly confident in his ability to cope calmly, so he chose to only defend and not attack.
Of course, he truly did have the intention of showing off. In a competition that decided victory or defeat, choosing to only defend and not attack would be strange if he did not have some ulterior motive.
The act of only defending and not attacking seemed low key, but in this kind of setting, it was actually a highly conspicuous display.
He had kept a low profile his entire life and had never been ostentatious because he had never possessed the qualifications to be so. At this moment, emotions were surging within his heart.
How could someone who had never been ostentatious have the qualifications to be low key?
For a moment, he truly could not hold it back.
Gradually, Wu Ji forgot Ke Ran’s instructions and fought with all his might. At first, he grew angrier the more he fought, feeling that his opponent was humiliating him. Later, he became increasingly alarmed as he fought, realising that this Long Guang Sect disciple before him was actually an expert who had been passively defending and had not yet even launched an attack against him.
He did not know what kind of devastating power his opponent would unleash once he finally decided to attack.
In the stands, Xiang Zhen, the winner of the first match, gradually focused his gaze and stared intently at Mu Aotie.
Ke Ran slowly turned his head and looked at Yu Qing, his face full of speechlessness. He did not know what this guy meant by coming over to greet them earlier, or if he was deliberately showing weakness.
On the presiding platform, Wu Tian’s expression showed some surprise.
Chan Shaoting in the stands felt the same way. His mother, Yong Zexue, said slowly, “The Chaoyang Assembly is indeed a place where new talents emerge in abundance. This person has quite the air of a hidden master. Does Ting’er know which sect this disciple belongs to?”
Chan Shaoting replied slowly, “He is also a disciple of the Long Guang Sect, one of those four.”
Yong Zexue was surprised. “The Long Guang Sect is not skilled in close combat, so I did not expect them to cultivate such a disciple. No wonder they dared to come to the Chaoyang Assembly. That being said, perhaps that woman from earlier truly was feeling unwell.”
Down on the steps below, Xiao Changdao and Wu Ronggui looked at each other, their expressions somewhat unpleasant.