“Wow—”
Lin Bei let out a cry of amazement at the grand scene before him.
Today was the main competition of the Shu Mountain Summit, and the spectator stands next to it were extremely impressive. Compared to yesterday’s mahjong tournament, today’s main event was undoubtedly on a whole different level.
The plaza of Tongtian Peak was packed to the brim, with only a fighting stage in the center to ensure that all battles received the utmost attention. Every chief disciple had to step onto the pinnacle under the watchful eyes of all their fellow sect members!
Today was the first round of the main competition, where sixty-four disciples would be whittled down to thirty-two, and Chu Liang was also set to take the stage later.
Although Lin Bei’s strength might not be weaker than some of the top sixty-four, he had dragged his feet too much on the Heavenly Ladder Path and had failed to complete the first three levels, regrettably missing out in the preliminary selection.
He wasn’t the only one; his follower B was in the same boat.
Within the Mountain God Ritual team, aside from Chu Liang, only Shang Ziliang had made it into the main competition, and he was about to take the stage for his match.
“Shang Ziliang’s opponent today is named Ling Ao,” Lin Bei ran out to gather information and reported back, “He’s the last remaining disciple of Guxuan Peak, with a cultivation at the late stage of the Divine Intent realm.”
Guxuan Peak, was that the disciples of Elder Sikong?
Chu Liang couldn’t help but take a closer look at Ling Ao on the stage, seeing him dressed in black, of medium build, with a lock of hair covering half of his face, his expression quite indifferent.
Elder Sikong had been focused on dragon-seeking for Shu Mountain in recent years and hadn’t spent much effort on cultivating disciples. There were only a few disciples in this generation from Guxuan Peak, with only Ling Ao entering the preliminary selection.
His cultivation was only at the late stage of the Divine Intent realm, which in theory should pose no problem for Shang Ziliang, who was at the peak of the same realm. Yet, for some reason, the moment Chu Liang saw him, he felt a sudden thump in his heart, as if sensing danger.
Could this person have some unique trait?
As an elder in a long robe gave the command, the duel began immediately.
Shang Ziliang immediately shouted, “Rise!”
With his command, his fingers moved through a series of gestures, and his flying sword whistled out of its sheath, transforming into hundreds of sword techniques aimed directly at Ling Ao.
Starting with the Hundred Swords Technique, which was both offensive and defensive, was a common opening move for Shu Mountain disciples.
Ling Ao’s eyes narrowed, and without drawing his sword, he flew forward, charging straight into the dense sword light from Shang Ziliang!
His reckless disregard for his own life took Shang Ziliang by surprise, causing him to hesitate.
After all, it was a sparring match between fellow sect members; it was not meant to be lethal. Facing his opponent’s flesh and blood with his flying sword, he inevitably hesitated.
But Shang Ziliang quickly composed himself, focusing on controlling the sword light. If the opponent insisted on using his body to collide with the sword formation, then he would aim to wound non-vital areas, just enough to incapacitate him.
Just as he was concerned about injuring his opponent, Ling Ao suddenly accelerated, moving like a ghost, and in the blink of an eye, he passed through the swathes of sword light, even leaving behind afterimages!
What kind of speed was this?
The audience below was startled.
Shang Ziliang felt it even more directly; the enemy was suddenly in front of him, causing a shock to his heart, and he immediately changed his finger gestures, summoning an invisible breeze to sweep around him, forming a solid barrier in front!
On the stage of the Shu Mountain Summit, each disciple was allowed to use only one magical artifact besides their flying sword, which had to be reported in advance and approved by the elders; using anything else was considered a violation.
This rule was to prevent some contestants from using multiple powerful magical artifacts to overpower others, creating an unfair situation. After all, the Shu Mountain Summit was about selecting the most outstanding disciples, not the wealthiest.
But this made disciples like Shang Ziliang somewhat uncomfortable.
He had chosen an offensive magical artifact this time, and under normal circumstances, offense was definitely more important than defense; his choice wasn’t wrong. But suddenly faced with this situation, with the opponent closing in too quickly, he was accustomed to using magical artifacts for protection, but now he couldn’t deploy them.
He could only rely on the Clear Wind Barrier for temporary defense.
But as Ling Ao charged in front of him, it took only one punch.
Boom—
Shang Ziliang’s barrier was instantly shattered, and along with it, he was sent flying high into the air, crashing down heavily the next second.
Snap.
The fight ended with exceptional crispness and clarity.
Ling Ao had charged straight through Shang Ziliang’s sword light, then with a simple punch, he had easily taken down his opponent.
The audience below was dumbfounded.
Was this the speed and strength of the late Divine Intent realm?
“He must have had some fortuitous encounter…” Chu Liang murmured to himself; otherwise, it was definitely not normal.
Ling Ao seemed to have not exerted his full strength, but the physical prowess he displayed was almost comparable to Chu Liang’s own. Chu Liang had reached the Golden Elixir realm and had many enhancements, so how could Ling Ao be so strong?
The Shu Mountain Summit was indeed full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Although Chu Liang had made some progress, it seemed he couldn’t afford to relax in the slightest.
…
“Silver Sword Peak, Chu Liang!”
“Zhi Shou Peak, Cheng Jian!”
After waiting for nearly half a day, it was finally Chu Liang’s turn to take the stage, and he was already eager to begin.
His opponent was a young disciple from Zhi Shou Peak, who appeared to be a few years older than him, but his cultivation was also at the peak of the Divine Intent realm, which was average for their age group.
But Chu Liang was not about to underestimate him; he solemnly saluted, “Brother Cheng, please.”
“Brother Chu, please,” Cheng Jian also returned the salute.
After the two exchanged courtesies, the elder in the middle gave the command, and the duel began immediately!
Chu Liang immediately took the initiative, raising his hand and casting out a streak of green light!
“Roar—”
A winding green serpent rose into the air, aiming viciously for Cheng Jian’s head!
Allowed only one magical artifact on stage, Chu Liang naturally chose the Green Leaf artifact, without a doubt.With a raise of his hand, Chu Liang executed a controlling technique, and the sight of the green snake’s massive fangs sent chills down Cheng Jian’s spine! He quickly lifted his hand, summoning a golden jade talisman, and in an instant, a light screen appeared in front of him, firmly blocking the attack!
Boom—
The green snake bit down on the light screen, emitting a dull thud.
Cheng Jian had brought a defensive magical artifact onto the stage. As he summoned the jade talisman to block Chu Liang, he immediately launched a counterattack, not willing to be outdone.
With a flick of his right hand, in a flash, nine streaks of lightning-like black sword lights shot out! They came from all directions, leaving no room to dodge!
Chu Liang had already recalled the green snake, and with a flash of light, it transformed into a large green umbrella, blocking the incoming black sword lights from all sides. Then, lifting it high, he dashed forward.
Whoosh—
He moved as swiftly as the wind!
Cheng Jian was shocked by his advancing speed and immediately recalled his flying sword. The nine sword lights merged into one, forming a slender black longsword in his hand, ready to execute a sword technique.
But just as Cheng Jian was about to make his move, Chu Liang’s forward charge suddenly halted, and with another flash of light, a curved blade appeared in his hand, which he fiercely hurled forward. The blade moved so fast that only its afterimage flickered past!
Cheng Jian was startled and almost instinctively summoned the jade talisman again, placing the light screen in front of him.
Hiss—
But the next second, he felt a pain in his back.
Eh?
He focused on the sensation, and sure enough, it was pain.
“Ouch!” Only then did he cry out in pain, falling forward to the ground. In his back was a gleaming Flying Leaf Dagger!
Immediately, disciples from the Dan Ding Hall surrounded him, stopping the bleeding and treating the wound. They quickly healed the simple knife injury.
However, he had already lost the match.
Still, Cheng Jian was somewhat unconvinced and approached the elder in the center of the arena, saying, “Aren’t we only allowed to use one magical artifact? He used at least three just now!”
The elder’s face darkened as he said, “Chu Liang indeed used only one magical artifact.”
When Chu Liang registered the Green Leaf magical artifact, it had sparked some controversy among the elders. Some felt that the artifact’s multiple functions were unfair. However, others argued that the rule was only meant to prevent divine weapons or mass destruction weapons from appearing on the stage, and that normal magical artifacts made from ordinary materials should not be restricted.
Ultimately, they found that the artifact was indeed crafted by a junior disciple of the Transmission Sword Hall, and they no longer objected. If Shu Mountain disciples couldn’t bring their own crafted magical artifacts, then what could they bring?
Who would have thought that once this magical artifact entered the arena, it would easily secure victory.
“This is just one magical artifact?” Cheng Jian looked at Chu Liang in disbelief.
“Senior Brother Cheng has been generous,” Chu Liang replied with a slight smile. “If it weren’t for the advantage of the magical artifact, I indeed would have had difficulty defeating you. But this… is truly just one artifact.”
Good morning.