Chapter 553: Heart-Refining Array, Harvest

"Bang!"

"Pfft! Cough, cough."

On the 18th combat platform, Jun Jun Moyan, who had been moving at high speed, suddenly came to a halt. He looked at Li Taibai, who had lost his combat capability not far away, and bowed slightly:

"Brother Li, you concede!"

At the same time, he felt a sense of relief in his heart.

As their battle concluded, Jun Jun Moyan's many supporters among the spectators outside the plaza immediately erupted into enthusiastic cheers:

"Jun Jun Moyan!" "Jun Jun Moyan!" "Jun Jun Moyan!"

"As expected of a new-generation powerhouse from our Dongxuan City. With Jun Jun Moyan's combat strength, the position of champion for this new generation is secure."

"Exactly, exactly. Jun Jun Moyan did not disappoint us."

"Hmph, wait for the next new-generation Qi Refining Realm grand competition; it will surely be my world."

"Alright, alright, we know. Go away, little brat."

"You—"

On the 18th combat platform, having just finished the battle, Jun Jun Moyan shook his head slightly upon hearing the cheers around him.

The two of them had maintained this battle for a full half-hour; he had not won as easily as it appeared.

If Li Taibai had not launched attacks and had focused on evasion instead,

it would truly not have been so easy for him to take down Li Taibai so smoothly.

Moreover, although Li Taibai's attacks could not break through his defense, blocking them required him to push his physical strength to the limit, consuming a great deal of energy.

Fortunately, Li Taibai did not avoid the fight and kept launching attacks at him.

During the battle, although Li Taibai's movement technique was nimble, in the full half-hour of combat, he had managed to strike Li Taibai three times in succession by taking advantage of his frequent offensives.

It was precisely these three successive strikes that left Li Taibai severely injured and unable to continue fighting.

Otherwise, the outcome between the two of them would still be unknown, and perhaps they would have remained in a stalemate for some time longer.

Opposite him, Li Taibai had recovered after a brief period of regulation. He raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, looked at Jun Jun Moyan, and said very calmly:

"This battle, I have lost. It is also my first defeat among the new generation."

Standing up, Li Taibai took a deep look at Jun Jun Moyan and said in a flat tone, "I hope you can win the championship of this generation!"

After speaking, Li Taibai put away the long sword in his hand and flew off the combat platform.

This defeat was one Li Taibai accepted wholeheartedly, and it did not affect his state of mind.

Although he could have persisted longer had he avoided the fight and focused on maneuvering,

he would never have had a chance to win if he hadn't launched fierce offensives to deplete Jun Jun Moyan's strength.

Furthermore, the pride in his heart did not allow him to avoid the battle.

So, if it happened again, he would still launch a fierce offensive against Jun Jun Moyan.

He lost this time simply because his sword was not sharp enough.

Next time, it would be unknown.

Thinking of this, Li Taibai, who had already flown off the platform, showed a look of determination in his eyes, and the edge he radiated became even sharper.

Seeing this scene, Jun Jun Moyan, still on the platform, narrowed his eyes slightly. After watching Li Taibai for a moment, he flew off the platform with the fighting spirit still burning in his heart.

At this moment, the other contestants were silent as they watched Jun Jun Moyan and Li Taibai finish their battle, their eyes flickering uncertainly.

Even Xiao Xiao Yuexian from Liyan Commandery City, who had maintained a perfect record alongside Jun Jun Moyan and Li Taibai until now, showed a look of hesitation in her eyes.

Although she could also erupt with Foundation Establishment Realm combat strength, the emotional fluctuations of the crowd did not affect the progress of the grand competition.

After the battle between Jun Jun Moyan and Li Taibai ended, the text on the scroll floating high above the combat platforms began to change and reorder again.

Once the new round of battle pairings was determined, fierce battles erupted once more across the fifty combat platforms.

In the subsequent rounds of combat, Jun Jun Moyan and Li Taibai, having already revealed their strength, swept through, defeating one opponent after another.

During this process, Xiao Xiao Yuexian was also matched against Jun Jun Moyan and Li Taibai in succession.

But there were no surprises; although Xiao Xiao Yuexian also erupted with Foundation Establishment Realm combat strength, making everyone's eyes light up,

she ultimately fell to Jun Jun Moyan and Li Taibai one after the other.

Perhaps, when she felt hesitant after seeing the strength Jun Jun Moyan and Li Taibai erupted with earlier, her failure was already destined.

Just like Li Taibai.

After Xiao Xiao Yuexian's cultivation base reached the peak of the Qi Refining Realm, she did not break through to the Foundation Establishment Realm in order to participate in this new-generation Qi Refining Realm grand competition.

Instead, she began practicing secret techniques to expand her dantian and refine the quality of her spiritual power in advance, hoping to accumulate enough foundation and combat strength to win the championship of this generation.

It was a pity that although Xiao Xiao Yuexian's combat strength had reached the level of the Foundation Establishment Realm as she had hoped, she was still no match for Jun Jun Moyan and Li Taibai.

As time passed, round after round of battles went by, and soon the ninety-ninth round of combat concluded smoothly.

During this period, Shi Huang from Shi Village experienced several more defeats, completely missing out on the top ten of the grand competition.

Shi Huang's talent was no lower than some of the opponents who had defeated him, and he was even slightly stronger than some individual opponents he had beaten.

Unfortunately, Shi Huang had practiced for too short a time, and the resources he enjoyed in Shi Village were far inferior to those of other new-generation cultivators. It was already quite impressive that he could fight until now and achieve a record of eighty-seven wins and twelve losses.

After all, the contestants who could come to participate in the finals were not weak. Just the contestants with the same seven-element spiritual root talent as Shi Huang numbered as many as seven.

And it was not as if there were no contestants with talent surpassing Shi Huang's.

Therefore, it was already very outstanding for Shi Huang to achieve his current record in the grand competition with only three years of cultivation.

Although Shi Huang, who had lost the opportunity to advance to the top ten, felt some regret in his heart, he was not disappointed.

Participating in this Xingluo Continent new-generation Qi Refining Realm grand competition, he had experienced battle after battle without restraint, and the growth he had gained had already exceeded his previous imagination.

So, although he lost the chance to advance to the top ten, Shi Huang was not too disappointed or concerned about the gains and losses.

After the ninety-ninth round of combat ended,

Jiang Wen, who had been closing his eyes and resting on the floating platform, suddenly opened his eyes, stepped forward, and a vast power of spiritual sense surged out.

Under the control of his spiritual sense, Jiang Wen instantly activated the Heart-Refining Arrays on the fifty combat platforms. Afterward, Jiang Wen scanned the hundred contestants below and said with a solemn expression, "This is the Heart-Refining Array personally set up by the City Lord. After entering the Heart-Refining Array, your consciousness will enter a special space."

"In this special space, a replica will be created that is identical to you in every aspect, including cultivation base, spells, and even appearance. What you must do is defeat your own replica."

"There are only fifty combat platforms, so you will be divided into two batches to enter the Heart-Refining Array in turn to challenge yourselves."

Having said this, Jiang Wen paused for a moment, scanned the hundred contestants below again, and said in a slightly softer tone, "I hope you can overcome yourselves and win the final round of the competition."

"I announce that the final round of the Xingluo Continent new-generation Qi Refining Realm grand finals, the Self-Battle, officially begins."

As Jiang Wen's voice fell, the text on the scroll floating in the air changed again, directly dividing the hundred contestants into two batches.

Among the first batch of contestants, the names of Jun Jun Moyan, Li Taibai, Xiao Xiao Yuexian, Li Gexiao, Bing Bing Ruyi, Zi Dutian, Yuan Yuan Qingcheng, and others were prominently listed.

After seeing the combat platforms they were assigned to,

the first batch of contestants flew toward the Heart-Refining Arrays on their corresponding combat platforms.

Xiao Xiao Yuexian, who was a few steps behind, looked at the figures of Jun Jun Moyan and Li Taibai, and a trace of unwillingness flashed in her eyes.

Then Xiao Xiao Yuexian looked toward the direction of the Heart-Refining Array, a look of determination appearing in her eyes, and she thought to herself, "This time, I will not lose again."

Soon, the first batch of contestants had all entered the Heart-Refining Arrays on the combat platforms.

Not long after entering the Heart-Refining Array, the consciousness of these contestants was pulled into a special space by the power of the Heart-Refining Array.

In this special space, the consciousness bodies of the contestants controlled the same power as their physical bodies.

And the opponents of the contestants were another 'self' replicated by the Heart-Refining Array.

With the start of the final round of the Self-Battle, the fifty combat platforms appeared calm, but fierce battles had begun within the spaces of the fifty Heart-Refining Arrays.

This time, because the contestants were evenly matched with their opponents, each battle lasted for a very long time.

To end the battle,

either the contestant had to make a breakthrough, turn the tide, and defeat their replica,

or they would exhaust their heart and strength during the intense battle, or fall into chaos and reveal flaws, only to be defeated by their replica.

This battle was extremely difficult even for Jun Jun Moyan, Li Taibai, and Xiao Xiao Yuexian; in fact, it was much harder for the three of them to defeat their replicas than for the other contestants.

They were strong, and their replicas were equally strong.

Moreover, the foundation the three of them had accumulated had already exceeded the scope of the Qi Refining Realm; without a breakthrough in their realm, it was undoubtedly harder than hard to make further progress in other aspects.

Time passed slowly.

Half an hour later, contestants began to wake up one after another on the fifty combat platforms, leaving the platforms with faces full of exhaustion.

Among these contestants who left the platforms, some had joyful expressions, while others were dejected.

Fortunately, this was the grand finals of the entire Xingluo Continent new-generation grand competition, and the new-generation powerhouses who could enter the finals were not lacking in any aspect.

Coupled with the tempering of nearly a hundred fierce battles, although the process of the Self-Battle was difficult, the contestants who overcame themselves and won the final victory ultimately accounted for the majority, roughly around seventy percent.

An hour later, Jun Jun Moyan, Li Taibai, and Xiao Xiao Yuexian also defeated their replicas one after another and woke up on the combat platforms.

Although they showed obvious signs of exhaustion when they woke up, the will revealed in their eyes was even more resilient and pure.

Clearly, their harvest in this Self-Battle was not small.

After the first batch of contestants had all woken up and finished the Self-Battle of the Heart-Refining Array, the second batch of contestants could not wait to step onto the vacated combat platforms.

Shi Huang, Ying Wuqiu, Yan Yan Ruyan, Wang Teng, Yue Yue Xiling, Leng Ren, Nangong Ji, and others were among this second batch of contestants.

After the second batch of contestants entered the Heart-Refining Array,

only a dozen minutes later, the first contestant to wake up appeared, and this person was Shi Huang.

Shi Huang was the youngest among the hundred contestants, and his cultivation base and spells had not yet reached the limit of the Qi Refining Realm.

These were his shortcomings in the previous battles of the grand competition, but in the Self-Battle, these shortcomings became his advantages.

In the special space of the Heart-Refining Array, although it was a consciousness body participating in the battle, the process also drove the contestant's physical body and influenced the improvement of the contestant's cultivation base, spells, and other aspects.

Therefore, not long after entering the Heart-Refining Array, Shi Huang's cultivation base, which had already been stimulated by successive battles, improved once again.

After all, during the successive battles of the Qi Refining Realm grand competition, Shi Huang had taken various elixirs prepared by Dongxuan City every time he was injured; these were elixirs Shi Huang had never taken before.

Although most of the medicinal power of these elixirs was for treating and recovering the contestants' injuries,

the energy of these elixirs merging into the contestants' bodies also influenced the progress of the contestants' cultivation base improvement at different levels.

Especially for Shi Huang, who had never taken elixirs to improve his cultivation base before.

That was why Shi Huang was able to raise his cultivation base to the eighth layer of the Qi Refining Realm in this grand competition and still have his cultivation base improve again in a short period.

Although he failed to break through to the ninth layer of the Qi Refining Realm as he had hoped, the improvement of his cultivation base indirectly influenced Shi Huang's combat strength.

Therefore, Shi Huang was able to be the first to defeat his replica not long after entering the Heart-Refining Array, ending this final battle.

Half an hour later,

Ying Wuqiu, Yan Yan Ruyan, Wang Teng, Yue Yue Xiling, Leng Ren, Nangong Ji, and others also woke up one after another, ending their battles.

Among them, except for Ying Wuqiu, the others all defeated their replicas and won the final Self-Battle.

It must be said that although Wang Teng had been excessively touted by his father, Wang Teng's talent and intelligence were indeed among the best in the entire Xingluo Continent.

Being able to fight his way through and enter the grand finals of the Xingluo Continent new-generation grand competition already exceeded ninety-nine percent of the cultivators in the Xingluo Continent.

It was just that, compared to the talent touted by Wang's father, Wang Teng's actual talent was indeed somewhat overshadowed.

And after this Xingluo Continent new-generation Qi Refining Realm grand competition, experiencing battle after battle in the finals also allowed Wang Teng to recognize his own talent and strength.

The initial failure might have been hard to accept, but after a hundred battles, Wang Teng himself felt much more relieved.

The arrogance that had originally come from his father's daily touting had now been worn away completely.

Compared to the arrogant Wang Teng from before, the current Wang Teng was undoubtedly much more calm and restrained.

Perhaps,

the one who gained the most in this new-generation grand competition was not anyone else.

It was Wang Teng.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 554 =====