Bai Zhiqiu always believed that luck was constant and that good fortune would never stay with only one person forever.
The abacus on her back bobbed up and down, the beads clacking together with a crisp sound that perfectly reflected its owner’s good mood.
“So, you specifically ran over here just to show off?” Yu Qingyao couldn’t stand Bai Zhiqiu’s smug, petty expression. Just because she got a bye in one round and made it into the top four, was there any need to smile that happily?
“You couldn’t be more wrong.” Bai Zhiqiu wagged her left index finger in front of Yu Qingyao’s face. “I am obviously here to cheer for you and Sister Wu!”
‘This girl is definitely treating Senior Sister and me as money-making machines again,’ Wu Yan thought.
By now, Wu Yan had already taken her position on the stage. To be honest, she hadn’t stepped onto a stage this many times across her two lifetimes combined.
‘That is because you lack experience!’
When it came to arena combat, Wu Yan was indeed a greenhorn compared to the other Wu Yan within her.
“I heard that in the first round, you and your junior sister bullied my beloved junior brothers?”
Opposite Wu Yan stood a muscular man about 6 feet tall. He was built like a tiger, with broad shoulders and a body covered in animal-patterned tattoos. He grinned as he questioned her.
The first round? Wu Yan suddenly recalled the first group she and Yu Qingyao had encountered after meeting—they did indeed seem to be disciples of Ten Thousand Beast Mountain.
“So what if we did?”
“Then it is all for the better.” The burly man’s grin widened. “My name is Manba. I hope that after I knock you off this stage, you will still be conscious enough to remember it.”
Manba’s cultivation was the same as Wu Yan’s, both being at the Mid Golden Core Stage. However, his primary means of attack involved four monster beasts at the Foundation Establishment Peak, combined with a physical body tempered by Beast Blood Essence. He was a very troublesome opponent.
Manba let out a furious roar, and four massive monster beasts suddenly leaped out from behind him. The four beasts landed in their respective positions, surrounding Wu Yan.
As soon as he finished speaking, Manba crouched. With a loud boom, the stage beneath him was actually crushed into two large pits by his feet.
Faced with a siege by four beasts and one man, Wu Yan did not panic at all.
She first leaped into the air, dodging the charge of the Iron-backed Bear and the thrust of the Golden-clawed Tiger. She then swung Wu Nian toward the Frost Crane, blocking its Frost Breath.
As she was about to land, she kicked away the Golden-clawed Tiger before it could retract its claws. The kicked tiger happened to collide with the Ghost-faced Ape that was hiding in the shadows preparing a sneak attack. After the two beasts slammed into each other, they fell unconscious on the spot, losing their ability to fight.
The offensive of four Foundation Establishment Peak monster beasts was easily neutralized by Wu Yan in just a single exchange.
As for Manba’s strike filled with brute force, Wu Yan’s response was even simpler. Taking advantage of being nearly a head and a half shorter than him, she ducked low, casually dodging his straight punch.
Wu Yan gripped Wu Nian in a reverse hold with her right hand. The tip of the sword rested against Manba’s chin, while the hilt happened to press against his upper thigh near his navel.
“Guh—!”
A cold sensation radiated from his jaw. A sense of crisis forced Manba to stop his momentum abruptly. His entire body twisted in a way that defied normal human logic as he retreated.
This was likely a result of absorbing monster blood essence—it provided not only a powerful physique but also the ability to perform movements only beasts could achieve. However, such a move was not without a price. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and more blood seeped from his knees and elbows.
“Damn it, this woman is truly difficult to deal with!”
Manba thought he had studied her enough, but he hadn’t expected her fighting style to be so sharp and versatile. His Siege Method was completely useless against her.
With a command, the Iron-backed Bear and Frost Crane, which were still capable of fighting, immediately launched an attack on Wu Yan. Simultaneously, the animal patterns on Manba’s body gradually turned red, his body temperature rose, and his muscles swelled.
Facing the Frost Crane’s attack, Wu Yan flicked Wu Nian. A gust of wind precisely wrapped around the crane’s breath and blew it toward the Iron-backed Bear.
The frost was expanded by the wind, freezing the Iron-backed Bear into a block of ice in an instant. The Frost Crane was also taken care of as she passed by, simply because it stood in the way of her path to Manba.
Now, only Wu Yan and Manba remained capable of fighting on the field.
When Wu Yan arrived in front of Manba, his size had expanded by nearly one half compared to when he first appeared. She could even hear the sound of the blood boiling inside him.
Suddenly, Manba snapped his eyes open. He bent his left arm and threw a savage elbow strike toward Wu Yan’s chest.
It happened so suddenly that Wu Yan had no time to prepare. She could only hold Wu Nian horizontally across her chest.
This strike was clearly much stronger than before. Wu Yan felt her blood and energy churn after being hit, and she was pushed back a significant distance.
Having landed a hit, Manba immediately pressed his advantage. Straight punches, side elbows, and sweeping kicks—his wide, sweeping movements were full of wildness.
Wu Yan was very familiar with this. In the Cangwu Secret Realm, the Demonic Ape that had burned its blood essence to enter its second stage was exactly like this.
All Wu Yan had to do was replicate that scene once more.
The pale-green Wu Nian sliced across Manba’s thick muscles. Every strike drew blood, which hissed with a sizzle as it hit the bluestone of the arena.
Wu Yan was like a drifting butterfly, dancing amidst Manba’s wild attacks. Dodge, counterattack. Dodge, counterattack.
Before long, Manba collapsed to the ground with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust. Wu Yan gave Wu Nian a light shake, and the blood on the blade slid off smoothly without leaving a single trace.
“The winner is Wu Yan of the Piaomiao Sect!”
From the start of the battle to the end, less than one incense stick’s time had passed. It was even shorter than the time Wu Yan had spent fighting Lei Wei.
Manba’s methods might be troublesome for others, but they were ineffective against Wu Yan. His Foundation Establishment monster beasts were of negligible use in a Golden Core level battle, especially in this situation. Only if he had possessed another fire-attribute deer and the five beasts could merge would he have stood a chance of defeating her.
To Wu Yan and the Wu Nian in her hand, his powerful physique was merely a durable sandbag.
‘That is why I said those savages from Ten Thousand Beast Mountain have ruined their brains by injecting too much monster blood,’ the inner Wu Yan commented.
As soon as Wu Yan returned to the waiting area, she saw Yu Qingyao still standing there, lost in thought.
“Qingyao, what’s wrong?” Wu Yan asked.
Yu Qingyao was snapped back to her senses by Wu Yan’s voice. She waved her hand. “Nothing… Senior Sister.”