In comparison, Ling Biâerâs rather average draw luck had improved considerably. She actually drew an eighth level origin realm genius from a fifth rank sect as her opponent. It was a rare opportunity for Ling Biâer to readjust her mentality.
Generally speaking, it was impossible for an eighth level origin realm genius from a fifth rank sect to compete against a peak ninth level origin realm genius from a fourth rank sect. Moreover, Ling Biâer was currently in a state where she was on the verge of breaking through to sage realm. She was brimming with qi, without a doubt a great boost to her power. Ling Biâer would be much stronger than usual in this situation.
Shen Qinghong and Jun Mobai were both sage realm geniuses. They were protected, and thus it was impossible for them to encounter another sage realm opponent. As long as their opponents stayed beneath sage realm, then it was all the same to them no matter who they drew. Shen Qinghong walked up to Nie Chong. âDo what you can and donât force yourself. We can afford to win just as we can afford to lose. There is no need to struggle pointlessly out of pride.â
Nie Chong might be at the peak of ninth level origin realm, but he was obviously incomparable to the peak of first level sage realm Jin Feng. If his opponent was any other sage realm genius, they wouldâve taken care not to go overboard and ruin a weaker opponent just because they were stronger. They wouldnât do so unless that weaker opponent purposefully taunted them.
However, the sage realm genius heâd drawn was from the Sacred Sword Palace. That was a problem. The Sacred Sword Palace and the Regal Pill Palace were sworn enemies.Their battles were incredibly intense every time they fought each other. Take Wang Jing and Jiang Chenâs match for example. The stance Wang Jing had assumed from the beginning wasnât one suitable for an exchange of martial arts. Jiang Chenâs counterattack had also obviously gone overboard.
Nie Chong inhaled deeply and nodded with a darkened expression, âI will be careful.â
He was a man who preferred baring his fangs over hiding them. He couldnât accept forfeiting the moment he went up stage.
âAll participants, please head for your rings.â
On the Regal Pill Palaceâs side, Jun Mobai walked next to Nie Chong and patted him on the shoulder. However, he said nothing to him.
Ling Biâer said faintly, âBe careful.â
Jiang Chen walked over and stretched out his hand, âGood luck.â
Nie Chong understood that there was no way that peers wouldnât take joy in the misfortune of someone in their own sect. He accepted their feelings, and strode into the ring with no more hesitation.
When Jiang Chen finally walked up the stage, his opponent had already been waiting for him for a while.
âMu Gaoqi?â The Sacred Wolf familyâs Li Xin had truly underwhelming looks. He had a sharp chin, a common pair of triangular eyes, and thin cheeks. His countenance gave off an incredibly sinister feeling, and his voice carried within it a strange, metallic quality that numbed a listenerâs skull.
Jiang Chen nodded but said nothing. This was a martial arts competition. They had neither grudges nor bonds with each other, so there was nothing to talk about. He would let his strength speak for itself.
Li Xinâs mouth curled into a weird, eerie smile, âMu Gaoqi, I have heard of you. You are born with an upper rank innate wood constitution, and a future pill king.â
Jiang Chen cast a glance at this Li Xin expressionlessly. He wasnât sure what this guy was trying to say.
âI donât wish to hurt you. How about this: Iâll let you have ten moves and then allow you to persevere for an hourâs time in the ring. Then, Iâll send you off stage with your dignity intact. What do you think?â
When Jiang Chen heard this, he couldnât help his annoyance and his amusement. âWhy?â Jiang Chen was curious about his reasons.
âI donât wish to offend a future pill king. Is that good enough?â Li Xin appeared to be very confident in himself. He didnât seem to care about Wang Jingâs defeat yesterday.
âAre you so absolutely confident that you can beat me?â Jiang Chen asked indifferently.
Li Xin was caught off guard by the question. He felt that his opponent was now spouting nonsense. I am a genius from the Great Cathedral, and you are just a seventh level origin realm Regal Pill Palace disciple. Isnât it normal that I will defeat you?
As for Wang Jingâs defeat, what the hell does it have to do with me? Li Xin was at the ninth level origin realm, and a member of the Great Cathedral. The only people he paid attention to were sage realm cultivators like Wang Han. That peak eighth level origin realm cultivator Wang Jing? Li Xin had never paid him a whit of attention. He was completely unconcerned with Wang Jingâs victory or defeat.
Those of the Great Cathedral wielded absolute confidence in the Myriad Domain. In fact, they were almost blindly confident in their power. Therefore, Li Xin couldnât help but laugh out loud at Jiang Chenâs question. He calmly replied Jian Chenâs question with a question of his own, âYou canât be thinking that you stand a chance against me, hmm?â
Jiang Chen let out a soft sigh. Why were the Myriad Domainâs geniuses always so blindly confident in themselves? Heâd fought against the geniuses of the first rank sect Ninesuns Sky Sect several times, but hadnât found this kind of blind confidence in them at all. Be it Cao Jin or that fatty Wu Heng, theyâd never displayed such blind haughtiness. The geniuses of Ninesuns Sky Sect might be confident in themselves, but that didnât mean that they lacked prudence. They acted within boundaries, and was calm in the face of most surprising situations. They were neither blindly confident nor unduly humble. Although they were enemies, Jiang Chen had to admit that both the strength and the temperament of a first rank sect genius far exceeded those possessed by a Myriad Domain genius.
âStop wasting your breath already. Come at me,â Jiang Chen frowned.
Li Xin sneered, âAre you sure you want me to act first? You may not have the chance to act if I do so. I will give you one last chance: Ten moves, and an opportunity to descend this stage with dignity.â
âNo, thank you.â Jiang Chen said indifferently.
âSo youâre saying that you want to refuse a toast and be forced to drink a forfeit?â Li Xinâs voice turned chilly. He wasnât someone who normally had a good temper. The only reason heâd given Jiang Chen an option was because he didnât wish to offend a future pill king. After all, what if he had a favor to ask of the pill king in the future?
âThis is a martial arts competition, not an invitation to a meal, so cut that toast and forfeit crap. If youâre afraid to attack me, I can throw you a few punches instead.â Jiang Chen really didnât wish to waste his breath with this fellow any longer.
He took a few steps forwards, clenching his hand into a fist and abruptly dashed towards Li Xin like a beam of light. It was just the simple clench of a fist, but the crisp roar of a tiger and the howl of an ape accompanied it. The entire arena seemed to shake, as if an entire army was running across its surface. The battlecry of this illusory, yet incredibly powerful army seemed almost ceaseless.
In that moment, an illusion descended onto Li Xinâs consciousness. It was as if heâd been thrown into an ancient slaughter ground. He couldnât believe that this one simple preparatory move for a punch could conjure so many profound illusions. His eyes, ears, skin, and every sensory organ he had was combining forces to assault his mind.
âNot good!â Yet, Li Xin was a Great Cathedral genius after all. That animalistic battle instinct he possessed wasnât for show. He slapped his head fiercely and repeatedly with both hands in attempt to chase out the attack on his consciousness. Then, he opened both his hands and transformed great waves of qi into ten sharp blades.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
The ten sharp swords conjured numerous phantom edges that resembled wolf fangs. Those full and crisscrossing blades of power actually transformed into shields of aura made of wolf fangs.
âGale Wolf Shield!â The engraved runes in the wolf shield vibrated intensely as it emitted rays of dark light that lent it a deep and abstruse air. The wolf shield formed from the fangs had obviously undergone a special rune treatment. Its defensive power was not to be underestimated.
Jiang Chenâs fist slammed into the shield.
Bang!
The pressure from the fist caused the shield to emit a sharp crack! The wolf fangs that made up the wolf shield actually began to fragment, and the engraved runes vanished like shooed flies.
âWhat?â Li Xin was completely flabbergasted by this. He knew very well just how tough his Gale Wolf Shield was. Forget an seventh level origin realm cultivator, not even a peak ninth level origin realm cultivator could break it with just their boxing aura. In fact, even immensely treasured weapons would be hard pressed to break through his Gale Wolf Shield.
Instinct took over in the absence of thought. Li Xinâs hands blurred through hand gestures as he hastily buffed himself with a defensive glyph. At the same time, his body twisted like a wolf in an attempt to dodge his opponentâs fist.
However, while Jiang Chenâs boxing technique appeared to be common, it obviously contained incredibly profound mysteries within it. Obviously, this punch wasnât as simple as a one-two punch. Jiang Chen took one step forwards, drawing back his fists before unleashing a quick two strike combo on his opponent.
Crack crack crack!
Li Xin might be quick, but he wasnât faster than Jiang Chenâs fists. The defensive barrier created by his glyph was mercilessly shattered into pieces by Jiang Chen while he desperately dodged. Jiang Chenâs fists seemed to be akin to indestructible divine weapons that prevented Li Xin from escaping his dire predicament, no matter how hard he tried to evade or defend. By now, as confident as Li Xin was, even he knew that he had drastically underestimated his opponent.
He could barely defend himself against his enemyâs fist, much less counterattack his opponent and go on the offensive. For a moment, Li Xin was filled with bitterness and regret. He was known for his outstanding offensive power. His defensive ability was passable, but they were ultimately incomparable to his stunningly powerful offensive power. However, he had been denied any opportunity to attack even once in this battle.
Defend, defend, and defend once more.
Jiang Chen obviously didnât plan to waste too much time on this battle. He wanted to end this match as soon as possible. His technique changed slightly, and the powerful force of metal was added to his boxing aura. It was as if hundreds and thousands of swords was imbued into his fists to shatter seas and mountains.
Once again, he threw out a perfectly normal punch.
Wham!
Every defense Li Xin possessed shattered into pieces in that instant, and the punch continued to strike his chest. Just before Jiang Chenâs boxing aura entered Li Xinâs body, Jiang Chen pulled back his fist slightly and withdrew ninety percent of his strength.
Bam!
The remaining ten percent of power rammed into Li Xinâs chest. Blood spurted out of Li Xinâs mouth as he was launched sharply backwards. He was lucky Jiang Chen had been merciful. As Li Xin careened through the air, he slammed his hand into the ground, digging a trench into the arena as he tried to stop himself. After expending every ounce of his strength, he managed to reach a stop at the very edge of the arena. Another step, and he wouldâve fallen off the ring. He spat out another mouthful of blood.
Li Xin stood dumbstruck at the edge of the arena with a gloomy look on his face. He was unable to immediately accept that he had just been defeated. However, when the mountain winds brushed by and caused Li Xin to shudder, he ultimately understood that his opponent had shown him mercy. If his opponent hadnât withdrawn a large portion of the strength behind the punch after it broke through his defenses, he would likely be a corpse on the floor already.
When his thoughts reached that point, Li Xin lost all courage to stay in the ring any longer. He gave Jiang Chen a deep, meaningful glance before clasping his hands and sighing, âThank you for your mercy. I concede.â
What?
Gasps of astonishment rang from beneath the stage. Was this really a member of the Great Cathedralâs Sacred Wolf family? The Sacred Wolves was known to be the most warlike and competitive among the Great Cathedralâs four great families! Had Li Xin truly just surrendered after being punched twice?
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