Following the conclusion of Zhao Wuji’s match, the second round of the competition officially began.
This was the first time Wu Yan had ever seen so many sects and eccentric practitioners she had never even heard of. For instance, there was a contestant from the Wuji Sect who claimed to be a master of boxing. Despite shouting “Iron Fist No Second Strike,” he spent the entire match poking his opponent with a long spear. He pretentiously claimed that he had received an immortal’s revelation and had integrated the essence of Taiji into his spear techniques.
“The fourteenth match: Ji Xuerou of the Lingxiao Sect versus Li Heng of the Mad Blade Gate!”
When Ji Xuerou’s poised figure appeared on the stage, the cheers from around the Martial Arts Platform nearly pierced the sky.
“Saintess! Saintess!”
“Fairy Ji is unrivaled in this world!”
Compared to Ji Xuerou, her opponent, Li Heng, was quite unremarkable. He was so ordinary that the audience only realized the match had begun when he finally made his move.
Li Heng was a skilled wielder of the heavy blade. His Spiritual Power erupted as he raised his massive blade, swinging it down toward Ji Xuerou’s face with overwhelming force.
“Eat my blade!”
Facing Li Heng’s straightforward attack, Ji Xuerou simply tilted her body to the side, effortlessly dodging the strike. However, Li Heng’s offensive was not as simple as it appeared. With a twist of his wrist, the heavy blade turned from a vertical cleave to a horizontal slash at a distorted angle, sweeping toward Ji Xuerou.
Clang —
Li Heng froze in place, still holding his horizontal slash posture. He looked at the blade in his hand — the same weapon he had used to defeat countless powerful enemies — with an expression of pure disbelief. A visible crack was spreading across the center of the blade’s body.
Clatter.
The broken half of the blade hit the ground. No one had seen exactly when Ji Xuerou had drawn her sword.
Li Heng stared blankly at the remaining half of his blade, then looked at Ji Xuerou, who stood before him completely unharmed. Not even a corner of her robe was soiled. A chill surged through his heart, and his back became soaked with sweat.
‘How terrifying! Is this the true strength of the number one person in the Golden Core Stage?’
With just one strike, she had seen through his technique and shattered his weapon simultaneously.
“I surrender!”
Since his weapon was destroyed, Li Heng did not linger on the stage. After forfeiting, he returned to his sect’s preparation area.
“One sword! It only took one sword!”
“Saintess Ji is way too fast! I couldn’t even see her movements!”
“Incredible! As expected of the number one expert of the Golden Core Stage!”
Exclamations and praise erupted like a tsunami. Bathed in the spotlight, Ji Xuerou’s expression remained abnormally calm.
‘Acting again!’ Wu Yan (Inner) rolled her eyes with disdain, floating in the air with her arms crossed. ‘She probably feels amazing hearing all those cheers, yet she has to pretend to be so cold and indifferent.’
‘And that crowd has no taste! She was just a bit fast with her move, look how excited they are! Little Wu Yan, you could do the same if you went up there!’
As she spoke, she didn’t forget to mimic the fanatical expressions of the audience, making a funny face. ‘”Saintess Ji is so cool!” …Ugh! That makes me sick. How can these people say such disgusting things?’
“Are you jealous?” Wu Yan saw through Wu Yan (Inner)’s thoughts immediately.
“Jealous my foot!” Wu Yan (Inner) retorted instantly. “Her moves are just useless, flashy tricks. You go up there and end your match in a second, too! You have to be faster and cooler than her, got it?”
Wu Yan closed her eyes to rest, acting as if she hadn’t heard a word.
“The seventeenth match: Wu Yan of the Piaomiao Sect versus Lei Wei of the Purple Skies Pavilion!”
Hearing her name, Wu Yan opened her eyes and prepared to head onto the stage.
“Senior Sister, good luck!”
Just before she stepped up, Yu Qingyao made a cheering gesture toward her.
“Mhm, I will.”
Lei Wei of the Purple Skies Pavilion.
The moment he stepped onto the stage, the air around the entire platform became dry. He wore a pair of dark purple gauntlets with formations carved onto their surface. Electric arcs flickered around his body, making his hair stand on end. He looked like a walking thundercloud.
“Wu Yan of the Piaomiao Sect? Are you the one who killed a Nascent Soul Stage Demonic Ape alongside Saintess Ji in the Cangwu Secret Realm?”
Lei Wei grinned, revealing a row of bright white teeth. His smile was very pure. “Then you must be very strong, right?”
He slammed his fists together, causing light to explode outward. “I love fighting strong people like you!”
As soon as the referee gave the command, Lei Wei dropped into a half-crouch and slammed both fists into the ground.
“Thunder Domain: Earth-Walking Dragon Snake!”
With him at the center, several thick purple lightning snakes suddenly erupted from the stone slabs of the stage.
Zzzt —
The hard platform was covered by countless bolts of lightning, turning it into a sea of thunder filled with an aura of destruction. His Spiritual Power was continuously converted into violent electricity, bombarding every corner of the stage. Simultaneously, the lightning snakes bared their massive fangs and lunged toward Wu Yan.
“Hahahaha! I hope you can give me a heart-pounding battle!”
‘Little Wu Yan, has this guy’s brain been fried by his own lightning?’ Wu Yan (Inner) floated in the air, looking speechlessly at the laughing Lei Wei.
While Lei Wei’s personality was baffling, his offensive was not simple. There were lightning snakes above and a pool of thunder below. If an ordinary cultivator were facing this, a single misstep could lead to disaster.
But for Wu Yan, his attack was far too amateur. She moved with precision, weaving through the gaps between the lightning snakes’ strikes. Every spot she stepped on was a place where the lightning had just dissipated and was about to surge again.
The attack looked intimidating, but it actually relied on his total volume of Spiritual Power. There was an inevitable gap in the flow of power between each strike, meaning the ground could never be completely covered by lightning at all times.
Wu Yan calmly analyzed her opponent’s attack patterns while closing the distance between them. Although he wore gauntlets like a close-combat fighter, his primary method of attack relied on field control and his lightning snakes.
As Wu Yan got closer, she could see a rune on his left gauntlet flickering at an extremely high frequency. It was the core hub that converted his Spiritual Power into lightning.
Seeing Wu Yan draw near, Lei Wei decisively retracted the lightning from the field and concentrated it within a space of a few feet around himself.
‘He’s quite considerate, drawing a circle to imprison himself! This kid is surprisingly well-behaved.’
Regardless.
Lei Wei likely thought this move was clever, but to Wu Yan, who had already seen through his attack, it was a mediocre play.
Wu Nian left its sheath, letting out a crisp ring.
“How bold!”
Seeing that Wu Yan had finally stopped dodging, Lei Wei shouted as a thick bolt of lightning struck toward her. At the same time, the lightning snakes converged on her from all directions.
“Break.”
Spiritual Power surged as the lightning bolt was cleaved down the middle.
The blade, thin as a cicada’s wing, pierced through the electric current surrounding Lei Wei with lightning speed, accurately striking the rune on his left gauntlet that was vibrating at the highest frequency.
Sharp Spiritual Power flowed through the tip of the sword directly into the device.
Sizzle — Pop!
The lightning snakes behind Wu Yan suddenly vanished.
With the influx of Wu Yan’s Spiritual Power, the central rune was destroyed. The violent lightning around Lei Wei lost control, flickering wildly before dying out completely. The stage, which had been surging with electricity, returned to normal.
“W-What?!”
Lei Wei felt a sharp pain in his left wrist, followed by his surging internal Spiritual Power losing its outlet.
“Pfft!”
He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, his knees buckling as he collapsed heavily to the ground. A wisp of black smoke rose from the dark purple gauntlets.
Wu Yan sheathed her sword and stood 3 feet away from Lei Wei. Her daoist robe was still tidy, though the hem was slightly curled from the high temperature.
“Your Spiritual Power is too scattered. You rely too much on external items.”
Looking at the kneeling Lei Wei, Wu Yan offered her assessment.
Lei Wei looked up with a gaze full of frustration and disbelief. His proud Thunder Domain tactics had been seen through in an instant. He hadn’t even managed to force her to use a proper technique.
“Thank you for the match.”
Wu Yan bowed and stepped off the stage. Her movements were smooth and decisive.
On the stage, Lei Wei shouted toward Wu Yan, “I will definitely fight you again!”
Below the stage, the audience’s applause was like rolling thunder.