The two of them had previously thought that forcing the Longguang Sect disciple to lower his bow and arrows would give them a chance of victory if they faced him again. Now it seemed they had miscalculated. The person before them in the arena felt profoundly unfathomable.
Xiao Changdao also secretly gritted his teeth and muttered, “No wonder he dared to come to the Chaoyang Conference.”
He was particularly worried because he would also face a Longguang Sect disciple in the first round, specifically that fat fellow.
Wu Ronggui seemed to guess his worry and comforted him, “Even among fellow disciples, strength varies. Did they not specifically seek you out and beg you to stop at the right point? This shows that the fat fellow’s strength is not much to speak of.”
Saying this, his sidelong glance at Xiao Changdao held a different meaning, leaving one to wonder what he was pondering.
However, this comforting remark did indeed make Xiao Changdao relax his brow. He felt the other’s words made perfect sense. If his strength were not lacking, why would he come to beg for mercy?
In short, the two began calculating the top ten spots again, and their own chances of winning in the Dingyin District.
The struggle in the arena continued. It was Wu Ji engaging in the grapple, while Mu Aotie still defended calmly, making it difficult for the former to break his defence.
Everyone watched closely, afraid of missing the moment Mu Aotie would strike back. They all wanted to see what it would be like when someone with such defensive strength finally counterattacked.
Usually, defence requires a stronger foundation of strength than offence.
However, Wu Ji did not let everyone get their wish. He suddenly stopped grappling, flashed aside to break away, and landed five or six zhang away from Mu Aotie, staring at him.
Mu Aotie held his sword at an angle and stared back, unsure of what the other meant.
Wu Ji gently exhaled from the depths of his lungs, feeling a bit regretful inside. He really wanted to see Mu Aotie make a move. Yet, despite exhausting all his abilities and pushing his attack power to the absolute limit, feeling as though his offensive momentum was like a violent storm, he still failed to force the other to strike. The opponent still responded with ease.
Only after doing his utmost did he realise that the opponent was not humiliating him, but truly possessed that level of strength.
With this profound realisation, he sobered up. He naturally remembered Ke Ran’s instructions and realised the opponent was holding back. To continue纠缠 would be tactless. Xiang Zhen killing his opponent in the first match should be seen as a lesson from the past.
Thus, he stopped, abandoned the grapple, and left his opponent. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he turned around and walked unhurriedly out of the ring. Later, with a leap, he glided back to his seat in the stands.
He left the arena without a word and sat back down beside Ke Ran without a word.
Leaving the designated arena, whether beaten out or leaving the designated circle voluntarily, meant defeat as long as the opponent remained inside.
Mu Aotie was stunned and froze.
Yu Qing and Nan Zhu looked at each other in dismay, not expecting this result either.
“Surrendered?”
Someone in the stands let out a sound of surprise.
In fact, many people felt the same surprise after considering the rules.
Of course, everyone found this surrender not too hard to understand. After all, he did not look like the opponent’s match at all. As the person involved, he should have a deeper understanding of his opponent’s strength.
In the arena, Mu Aotie, standing there all alone, felt somewhat at a loss and thus looked towards the host’s platform.
Wu Tian had already hurried over to Sun Lianxing. Although he could have just followed the rules, he still went to confirm the decision.
After receiving a definite answer, he returned to the front of the platform and announced loudly, “In the thirteenth match, Dou Guan wins and advances!”
After speaking, he waved at Mu Aotie, signalling him to come up to the platform.
Another wave of whispered discussions erupted in the surrounding stands. Most people were discussing just how strong this fellow, who had not fought back from beginning to end, actually was.
For the participants, it was hard not to pay attention. Although Xiang Zhen’s move was stunning, he had at least revealed his true strength and methods. This fellow before them, who won by defence, made the other participants anxious.
What is out in the open is not too frightening. An unfathomable opponent is the most terrifying!
Mu Aotie leapt up onto the host’s platform in a single bound. Wu Tian took down the dart engraved with the name “Dou Guan” and handed it to him.
Eventually, Mu Aotie returned to his seat holding the dart. The smiles on Yu Qing and Nan Zhu’s faces were hard to define as either happiness or a bitter smile, while Baili Xin continued to size him up with a very surprised look.
Then came the fourteenth and fifteenth matches, which also did not present any major highlights. The first day’s matches thus concluded.
There were forty-four matches in total for the first round. The first and second days each had fifteen matches, and the third day had fourteen.
After the first day’s matches ended, as evening approached, the three martial brothers, including Yu Qing, went to the dining hall again. They found that everyone looked at them differently, and many eyes were carefully sizing up Mu Aotie.
Yu and Mu both believed Mu Aotie had noticed this too, but they felt his demeanour was increasingly taking on that “cold and ruthless” tone.
It was after this day’s matches that all participants in the Dingyin District learned that the three martial brothers and Baili Xin were Grand Bowmasters. Everyone realised their previous views of the Longguang Sect were mistaken.
Evening glow gave way to morning dew, and sunset gave way to sunrise.
The first round of matches continued the next day. The martial brothers, like the other participants, went to the venue again to observe from beginning to end.
Throughout the day’s matches, as expected, the biggest highlight was Chan Shaoting, who appeared in the twenty-fifth match. Chan Shaoting did not even draw his weapon. Transforming his astral qi into a sword, he unleashed a hundred swords at once and struck his opponent with a single finger.
Using his finger as a sword, he injured his opponent with one strike, leaving them powerless to fight back.
In other words, Chan Shaoting defeated his opponent in a single move.
The crowd had not even fully grasped the essence of Chan Shaoting’s technique before the match was already over.
This scene was truly stunning, forcing everyone to secretly praise him. He was indeed worthy of being the grandson of the master of the Guijian Villa, the world’s top sword sect.
Many also felt pity for the loser, because from the moment of the strike, one could see the underlying skill. The loser’s strength was not weak, but they simply had bad luck in the draw, facing a much stronger opponent. The match was decided in one round, leaving no chance for a comeback.
To some extent, this was also the unfair aspect of the Chaoyang Conference. Some people might clearly have the strength to enter the top hundred, but their futures were ruined simply because they drew a much stronger opponent by bad luck.
However, this was the Chaoyang Conference. If you had sufficient strength, you could rank at the top no matter who you faced. If your strength was insufficient, you could only rely on luck. The rules gave everyone the same opportunity. Once you lost a match, there would be no second chance.
Looking at the opponent on the ground, struck down in one move and unable to get up, even Nan Zhu shook his head in amazement and had to admit, “I am definitely not this fellow’s match.”
Suddenly remembering something, he turned and asked Yu Qing, “Old Fifteen, could you win if you faced him?”
Hearing this, Baili Xin was greatly surprised and immediately turned to look. She wanted to say that Chan Shaoting’s immense strength was obvious to all, placing him far beyond the reach of most people. He probably even had the qualifications to compete for the championship of the Chaoyang Conference. Added to his background, he truly had the capital to be proud. The little moustache would definitely lose if he faced him, so why did the fat fellow ask such a question repeatedly?
She felt there was a hidden meaning in these words. Could it be that after seeing Chan Shaoting’s offensive moves, the fat fellow still believed the little moustache had the strength to fight Chan Shaoting?
Unexpectedly, Yu Qing’s words made her pause again. Yu Qing stared at the arena with an unruffled gaze, his expression calm and his tone flat, “We have not fought, and he has not revealed his follow-up moves. Who knows.”
Baili Xin was speechless. What did this mean? Could it be that after seeing it with his own eyes, this fellow still believed he could block Chan Shaoting’s strike of a hundred swords just now?
“True.” Nan Zhu sighed while staring at Chan Shaoting, “The cultivation inheritance of a top sword sect is indeed extraordinary.”
After winning, Chan Shaoting also maintained an unruffled appearance, as if he felt his victory was a matter of course.
In the stands, the people from Guijian Villa, led by his mother, Yong Zexue, were all beaming with joy, and his younger sister was even clapping her hands in delight.
The matches continued until the very last one of the day, which happened to be Wu Ronggui’s appearance. He defeated his opponent in the thirtieth match and secured his qualification to advance.
The second day of the first round of matches thus concluded.
On the morning of the third day, Chan Shaoting’s companion, Zhao Qing, took the stage and also defeated his opponent to win.
Ke Ran also appeared in the morning and defeated his opponent, but the other three people from his building had successively lost in the matches over these few days.
In the mid-afternoon, the forty-first match began. Nan Zhu and Xiao Changdao took the stage. This was also the final match between the three neighbouring households from the mountaintop in the first round.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Nan Zhu stood in the arena with his sword held horizontally. His gaze occasionally glanced at Baili Xin in the stands, and he subconsciously put on a calm and composed demeanour.
He had previously said that Mu Aotie liked to pretend, but now, was he not also pretending?
Of course, Mu Aotie’s victory had also given him confidence.
He considered his own strength to be no worse than Mu Aotie’s. With the comparison of their encounters, he had a solid foundation of confidence.
Xiao Changdao, standing opposite, also revealed his weapon, which was unexpectedly a long spear with a snow-bright edge and a pitch-black shaft.
After the rumbling drumbeats abruptly stopped, Nan Zhu still held his sword at an angle, with one hand behind his back, standing motionless in place, waiting for his opponent to attack with a calm and composed demeanour.
Xiao Changdao, on the other hand, was already treating this as a major confrontation. Holding his spear, he slowly circled Nan Zhu, looking for an opportunity to find a flaw for a sudden strike.
Over the past two days, he and Wu Ronggui had conducted careful research using Mu Aotie as an example. The reason for studying Mu Aotie before fighting Nan Zhu was the belief that since both Nan Zhu and Mu Aotie were Longguang Sect disciples, the probability of them cultivating similar techniques was very high.
Despite all their research, they could not derive any useful results, because Mu Aotie had not fought back at all. He was unfathomable and impossible to judge.
Precisely because he was unfathomable, they could sense one thing. Once the opponent fought back, the person facing him would most likely be severely crushed.
This very point made Xiao Changdao, who was about to duel Nan Zhu, extremely anxious.
The two of them dawdled and neither made a move. After the drum sounded for the second time, seeing that Nan Zhu’s calm and composed demeanour even surpassed Mu Aotie’s, Xiao Changdao’s mouth twitched slightly. A look of determination gradually appeared on his face, as if he had made some major decision.