Six days passed by, and the first round of the personal disciples battle had ended.
As expected, all of Zhang Wentaoâs disciples passed, out of which Sun Mo paid more attention to a young girl called Liu Yuzhi. Her martial prowess was quite high and she was also quite brutal.
However, the thing that puzzled Sun Mo the most was that he couldnât detect this young girlâs data with Divine Sight.
On the Central Province Academyâs side, out of the three disciples Jin Mujie had sent out, two of them lost and one won.
The student who retained a hint of hope for her was called He Ben, a personal disciple she had just taken in last year. He had a great aptitude.
However, after the first round of battle, he was severely injured.
After Sun Mo used God Hands in addition to all sorts of medicine packets, He Ben managed to recover 90% of his battle prowess, but it was hard to say how the second round would turn out. They could only try their luck.
Hopefully, he could get a weakling as his opponent.
The second round onward was still decided by drawing lots.
This time around, the lucky mascot didnât draw a red lot. She lost the chance to take the pick. However, Li Ziqiâs luck took a turn. She could draw lots to pick her opponent.
As for Ying Baiwu, she didnât care about all of this. Regardless of who her opponent was, she only had these words: Fighting life for life! Fighting to the bitter end!
Ying Baiwu was picked in the third round.
When the iron-headed young girl got on the stage, she first asked her opponent, âCan I use this longbow?â
Shan Lian looked depressed. She was a lot older, and her cultivation level was also a lot higher than her opponent. If she were to say no, itâd be too embarrassing. But if she were to say yesâ¦
That was a saint weapon they were talking about. In addition to Ying Baiwuâs peerless-grade saint-tier archery, even if Shan Lian were to win, sheâd probably suffer and itâd affect her next battle.
Shan Lian was still torn when Sun Mo spoke up.
âBaiwu, donât be rude!â
Helian Beifang couldnât help but say. âWow, I didnât expect Senior Martial Sister Baiwu to know how to play tricks.â
âBaiwu has a headstrong temper and is a ruthless person whoâd swallow a fallen tooth that was struck down. If it wasnât to let Teacher advance, she wouldnât resort to such tricks.â
Li Ziqi explained.
âIâve got it!â
Ying Baiwu changed the longbow.
If she were to win, she was going to do it impeccably, not giving others a chance to criticize her.
The audience whistled. Although doing this was fair, why wasnât one allowed to use a good weapon when they could afford it?
If that was the case, then saint-tier cultivation arts should be forbidden as well. The Saint Gate should let everyone use the same cultivation art to fight against each other. After all, this was something that broke the balance even more.
âAbsolute fairness doesnât exist in the world.â
Mei Ziyu sighed.
The reason the Saint Gate did this was to give the poor great teachers a way to be promoted. If people were to be able to use alchemical pills and weapons freely, then aristocratic and influential clans would take over all of the exam slots.
To speak the truth, great teachers with a commoner background like Sun Mo should be the type that the Saint Gateâs rules took care of. However, he had earned a massive wealth for himself.
His cultivation arts and wealth were a lot greater than those from the influential great teacher clans with 100 years of history.
âStart!â
The moment Tong Yimingâs note ended, Ying Baiwu immediately backed off, pulling the bowstring to send out explosive shots.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Semi-translucent arrows flashed in the air, looking exceptionally eerie.
Shan Lian gave chase while swinging her sword, creating a series of sword shadows in front of her that crushed those spirit qi arrows into fragments.
The game of cat chasing the mouse had started.
Ying Baiwuâs cultivation level was low, and she was a lot weaker than her opponent. If they were to have close-range combat, things would be over for her. Therefore, she could only move about and wear her opponent down.
Shan Lian had wanted to end the battle quickly. However, she couldnât catch up to Ying Baiwu at all.
This young ladyâs movement was outstanding!
âSheâs too agile! This is definitely a saint-tier movement technique!â
âThis is all because of the difference in their strength. Otherwise, Shan Lian would have lost.â
âNot only does this young lady have strong physical attributes, but she also has a strong mind!â
The great teachers talked amongst themselves, and some of them revealed a greedy expression.
They wanted such a genius disciple too.
âThis canât continue!â
Shan Lian felt embarrassed. She took a deep breath and exerted force in both her legs, shooting out and pouncing for Ying Baiwu.
Looking at her opponent rapidly getting close, Ying Baiwu didnât even frown at all. After drawing her bow, she had a small pause to gather strength, and when Shan Lian charged up in front of her and slashed her longsword down, Ying Baiwu released the bowstring.
Swoosh!
The arrow shot out.
Shan Lian turned her body to dodge it. Although the movement wasnât great, it was enough to cause her attack to be delayed by a second.
Looking at this scene, everyone thought that the iron-headed young girl would be relying on her outstanding movement technique to continue dodging, but she threw away her bow and crashed into Shan Lian instead.
Swoosh!
A dagger slashed out toward Shan Lianâs throat.
How brutal!
How decisive!
The great teachers cheered in exhilaration from watching this battle. This battle tactic was to go all in or get done in. Without the guts to bet on oneâs life, no one would dare to use it.
Shan Lian was also caught off guard by Ying Baiwuâs abrupt retaliation. However, her cultivation base was really too high.
Pa!
She slapped away Ying Baiwuâs dagger and was about to do a hand chop on her neck to knock her out. But suddenly, a beam of light shot out from Ying Baiwuâs left index finger.
Ssss!
The distance between the two of them was far too close and in such a situation where it was a fast win or immediate loss, given Ying Baiwuâs experience and aptitude, there was no way that sheâd make a mistake.
Pffft!
The light beam pierced through Shan Lianâs right chest. She frowned and instinctively raised her leg to kick out.
Bang!
Ying Baiwu was kicked in the chest and rolled out in a forlorn state.
Drip! Drip!
Blood flowed out.
Shan Lian was enraged. She bit her teeth and was about to give chase when she was stopped by her teacher.
âStop!â
Shan Lian stopped and looked toward her teacher, feeling baffled. âWhy?â
âYouâve lost.â
This great teacher, who was past his sixties, let out a sigh. âIf this was a life-and-death battle, that attack earlier would have pierced through your heart. How would you have been able to retaliate?â
âBut⦠but her attack could have missed as well.â
Shan Lian rebutted.
âThereâs no way. Given such a short distance, even a fool wouldnât miss.â
This old great teacher looked toward Ying Baiwu and smiled. âThank you young friend for showing mercy!â
He then looked toward Sun Mo and continued to express his thanks.
âThe disciple that Teacher Sun taught is really kind!â
âTeacher, youâ¦â
Shan Lian felt anxious. (Youâre already in your sixties and youâve been craving to rise to 4-stars for such a long time, so why are you giving up now?)
âLian`er, the most important thing to a person isnât their achievements but their persistence and bottomline. If someone shows me respect, then Iâll return it in folds.â
This old great teacher was very broad-minded.
âThis old man is a guy with principle. Is he a fool?â Qin Yaoguang mumbled.
âYaoguang, donât speak recklessly!â Li Ziqi reproached, âAmongst the great teachers, many are noble and prestigious.â
Qin Yaoguang stuck out her little tongue, not daring to speak too much.
âYou donât have to admit your loss!â
Ying Baiwu clutched at her chest and stood up. After spurting out a mouthful of blood, she said with a calm expression, âThe reason I didnât hit you in the heart is because I donât want to taint Teacherâs name, to have others saying that he has a ruthless female student. However, I wasnât hoping to rely on you guys admitting your loss to win this round.
âIâve guessed her attack.â
Ying Baiwu waved the longbow in her hand. âIâd take the opportunity after she sent me flying to pick up this bow again and continue my kiting tactic. However, because sheâs injured, she wonât be able to catch up to me.â
(I can fly, but your actions will slow down after you are injured, so thereâs no need to. Youâll definitely lose.)
Everyone was surprised. So this was an interlocked stratagem.
Shan Lianâs countenance turned grim because she discovered that the direction in which Ying Baiwu rolled out happened to be where the longbow had fallen.
This meant that everything had been planned.
Thinking of this while sensing the intense pain from her injury, Shan Lian suddenly felt lingering fear. If her teacher hadnât stopped the battle and she was to continue fighting, itâd be really embarrassing.
âDoes she have to be so brutal to herself? That kick must have broken at least two of her ribs, but this young girl didnât even frown.â
The examinees were convinced.
Her guts and battle tactic were really above Shan Lian.
âSigh, it was a great performance opportunity, but itâs a pity that this old man has stolen the limelight!â
Gu Xiuxun felt gloomy.
No one was paying attention to Ying Baiwu because everyone was praising that old great teacher for his noble character.
âNo matter what, itâs a win.â
Mei Ziyu felt very happy. Sun Mo was only one step away from being a 4-stars.
The competition continuedâ¦
The next morning, a young man with a swollen face, as if he had been stung by over 100 bees, was limping toward the lot box.
The examinees instantly became nervous, hoping to get picked.
This young man was called Cao De. During the first round, he had a long struggle with his opponent. That round went on for half an hour and it was hard to decide on the victor.
In the end, he clinched the victory because his opponentâs stamina couldnât hold up.
âPick me! Pick me!â
The examinees prayed.
Lu Zhiruo put her hands together, blinking her big eyes and looking at Cao De. (If I am chosen, Iâll offer incense to Heaven Grandpa every day.)
Cao De drew the lot. When he saw the name on it, his big and swollen mouth instantly broke into a grin.
âKa ka!â Cao De was elated. âHeaven is on my side this time around!â
âDe`er, how is it?â his teacher quickly asked.
âItâs Lu Zhiruo! Sun Moâs disciple!â
Cao De felt so happy that he had the urge to sing loudly. He had thought that it was all over but didnât expect that the obstacle in front of him would be suddenly removed, with new hope being presented.
(As expected, Iâm heavenâs most beloved child!)
âDonât be careless!â
Although his teacher said that, he couldnât help but smile as well.
Someone like Sun Mo stood out a lot.
After the first round had ended, everyone immediately started to gather data on his various disciples. Although they didnât know the concrete details, they were clear about their cultivation levels.
They were at a level that anyone could crush.
âTeacher, just you see. Iâll definitely get you the 4-stars title!â
As Cao De said this, he walked toward the arena. Since he was too excited, in addition to everyone else also choosing to jump up the arena instead of taking the steps, he jumped like a champion.
However, his body was seriously injured. He had just exerted force when his entire body started to ache as if it was cramping up, causing his actions to become distorted.
The arena wasnât high, being only five meters tall. Usually, a newbie at the first level of the Body Refinement Realm would be able to jump up with great ease. But this time around, Cao Deâs distorted jump caused the base of his right foot to scrape against the edge of the arena.
âF*ck!â
The moment Cao De shouted this, he knelt on the floor.
Bang!
Along with the sound of a strong impact, there was also a crisp âkachaâ sound.
That piercing sound caused all the audience in the surroundings to shiver and their hearts to contract.
His kneecap must have been shattered, right?
They had no idea if it was shattered, but it definitely hurt a lot.
Even tears and snot were coming out. How painful must that be?
â¦
At the next instant, all the examinees turned to look toward Lu Zhiruo.
Comments(0)
Join the discussion — sign in to leave a comment
Sign In to CommentNo comments yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!