Chapter 175

When everyone saw the appearance of the Formless Immortal Venerable, they were somewhat shocked, because most of them thought the Formless Immortal Venerable had already left the Ninth Province.

I didn't expect he was still in the Ninth Province.

Xu Yanzhi's expression was stern, his whole person exuding an aura of dignified authority without anger; as soon as he appeared, everyone hurriedly bowed to him.

Except for one person.

That was the Thousand Mountain Immortal Lord.

The Thousand Mountain Immortal Lord had already taken his seat; he did not rise to greet Xu Yanzhi, nor did he even give him a glance.

Xu Yanzhi glanced at the Thousand Mountain Immortal Lord without changing his expression, then slightly nodded to the assembled crowd, saying, "There's no need for excessive courtesy."

Having said that, he flicked his robe and sat down.

At the same time, he seemed to sense a gaze, and he lifted his eyes unintentionally, only to see the white-clad girl standing on the dueling platform staring at him.

He remembered her.

Her name was Lu Xiangxiang, the seventh disciple of Qianjue Mountain.

And the events of the previous night were still vivid in his mind.

Due to the relapse of an old wound, he lost his reason, embraced Lu Xiangxiang, and almost kissed her, but at the critical moment, another person shoved them apart.

His gaze shifted to Yuan Yao's face; she seemed even more beautiful.

Yuan Yao possessed an innate noble air, innocent yet clever, playful and adorable. Lu Xiangxiang appeared frail, but her eyes occasionally revealed a calculation and depth beyond her years.

From the start, he faintly sensed that Lu Xiangxiang seemed to harbor a strong possessive desire toward him.

As for Yuan Yao's attitude toward him, it began with curiosity, then turned to disdain, and finally to hatred.

There must be some secret hidden between the two of them.

Xu Yanzhi withdrew his gaze; for some reason, he kept dwelling on the events of the previous night, feeling both relieved and lost, as if he had lost something.

At this moment, Fan Quan Immortal Venerable stood with hands behind his back, using spiritual power to project his voice across the entire Grand Competition venue: "Today we will commence the fourth round of disciple duels! Next, we will hold the matches without interruption until we determine the top 100, top 50, top 30, top 10, top 3, and finally the champion of this year's sect grand competition!"

"The competition format remains the promotion-style ladder tournament."

"I'm sure all you young disciples have made every preparation; you fight for your sect, for your honor! Whether you can make it into the top 100 of the disciple rankings is up to you!"

Though Fan Quan Immortal Venerable's voice was aged, it was unusually resonant and inspiring.

"Show your strength, fight for the sect! Fight for yourselves!"

Upon hearing these words, the youths standing at the center of the Grand Competition venue were all inspired, each eye filled with confidence and resolve.

The disciples of various sects in the spectator seats raised their arms and shouted!

"Fight! Fight! Fight!"

The atmosphere on site was exceptionally fervent.

After many days of competition, we have now entered the white-hot stage.

The 125 young disciples who have entered the finals stage drew lots.

This time, the person who drew the number-one lot was Second Senior Sister Xiao Lingwei.

Xiao Lingwei leapt up and flew onto the dueling platform.

She stood firm, her posture upright, slightly turned sideways, her whole bearing exuding a heroic and spirited aura; she still wore a phoenix-patterned headband, and the wind lifted its ribbons, causing many male disciples present to stare in awe.

The spectators murmured, "Xiao Lingwei is only eighteen, yet she has already broken through to the mid Nascent Soul Realm; she is now the strongest female cultivator among the younger generation!"

"Lingwei Fairy! Go on!" many people cheered for Xiao Lingwei.

Hearing the surrounding voices, Xiao Lingwei smiled at the corners of her mouth, her brows slightly raised, confident and exuberant.

Meanwhile, her opponent was already trembling.

"I... am Wei Yangming of the Thunder Sect," the young man said, clasping his hands, his voice uncontrollably trembling.

Xiao Lingwei returned the salute, "Carefree Sect, Heavenly Martial Peak, Xiao Lingwei, I have met you, Daoist Wei."

After the salutations, the referee announced the start of the match.

Wei Yangming drew his sword, intending to strike first, but he did not expect Xiao Lingwei's speed to be greater; a long whip lashed through the air with astonishing power.

Wei Yangming's face changed drastically; he raised his sword to block, but he did not expect his hand to go numb with intense pain, causing him to drop the long sword.

Smack!

The long whip struck his chest heavily.

Instantly the skin split and flesh tore, a bloody mess.

And Wei Yangming's whole body, like a kite with its string cut, flew backward and crashed heavily to the ground.

"Pfft—" he spat out blood.

Xiao Lingwei retracted the whip, holding the handle in one hand and a segment of the whip in the other, rather nonchalantly.

She stepped forward slowly.

Wei Yangming felt a burning, excruciating pain in his chest; seeing Xiao Lingwei approach, he panicked.

He gritted his teeth, enduring the pain, raised his hand to summon his long sword back into his grip, then thrust the sword downward into the ground!

"Thundercloud Array Sword!"

"Open!"

He gave a low shout; in an instant, a huge mass of dark clouds appeared above the platform, with lightning flashing and thunder rumbling.

Immediately thereafter, countless sword blades rained down from the sky, attacking toward Xiao Lingwei's direction!

Swish swish swish!

Xiao Lingwei turned and swung the whip upward!

The bone-joint long whip suddenly burst forth with a mighty, nearly terrifying whip aura, directly splitting the clouds above in two!

Boom!

A tremendous roar accompanied by lightning and thunder, until it dissipated.

And Wei Yangming climbed to his feet, swinging his sword at Xiao Lingwei.

Xiao Lingwei tilted her head to glance at him, feeling that he was full of flaws from head to toe, and the speed of his attacks was——

"Too slow!"

She swept her whip horizontally, directly lifting Wei Yangming off his feet by the waist!

Boom!

The sound of a heavy object hitting the ground rang out, and Wei Yangming was seen being knocked off the platform.

Seeing this, the crowd felt a slight jolt in their hearts.

"This Fairy Xiao Lingwei is too fierce," someone said timidly.

"I think one lash from her whip could kill me."

"No need to think; the fact is indeed so."

The young disciples both revered and feared Xiao Lingwei; originally some male disciples had developed affection for her, but seeing this, that affection was replaced by fear.

The big shots could naturally tell that Xiao Lingwei wasn't really trying; otherwise, with her cultivation strength, she could have split Wei Yangming in half with a single whip.

"Carefree Sect's Xiao Lingwei versus Lei Sect's Wei Yangming, Carefree Sect's Xiao Lingwei wins!" the referee announced.

Xiao Lingwei retracted her long whip, hanging it at her waist; she seemed to think of something, and glanced in the direction of Xu Yanzhi.

Xu Yanzhi noticed her gaze, but his expression hardly changed.

And Yuan Yao saw this, and an alarm instantly rang in her mind.

"Second Senior Sister!" she sprang to her feet and shouted.

Xiao Lingwei instantly came to her senses, looking toward where Yuan Yao was.

Yuan Yao frantically waved at her, as if she had something urgent to say.

Xiao Lingwei's expression shifted slightly; she leapt down from the platform and headed toward Yuan Yao.

And Yuan Yao's behavior also attracted the attention of many.

Among them was Xu Yanzhi.