Chapter 122: Keeping Some Strength in Reserve

"Second round, Ye Liuyun, challenges Xu Lang!" Steward Yue spoke again.

This time, the challenger became Ye Liuyun.

Screech!

Xu Lang's figure, like a leopard, leapt onto the platform.

Ye Liuyun observed him through the Illusion Pupil, discovering that in both strength and speed, Xu Lang was somewhat stronger than Long Yue.

Sweep Across a Thousand Troops!

Xu Lang also didn't waste words, attacking as soon as he got on stage.

His movement was agile, similar to a spirit cat, but his punches were wide open, with crisscrossing force.

This punch swept over, with a "hiss", carving a one-foot-deep groove into the black-rock-forged platform, stone chips flying.

Ye Liuyun's dodging space was also naturally restricted.

Needless to say, Xu Lang's combat sense far surpassed Long Yue's, his fist technique seamless, making it hard for Ye Liuyun to get close.

Ye Liuyun originally wanted to practice his movement more with him, but to avoid excessive consumption with Xu Lang, he still decided to strike early.

Pointing his finger in mid-air, illusionary changes made Xu Lang dazzled, as several different arcs shot from various angles.

He hurriedly circulated True Essence Body Shield.

But while he had to attack and defend at the same time, the Protective True Origin inevitably revealed flaws.

With a soft "puff", a blood hole appeared on his thigh, his figure momentarily stalled.

Next, Ye Liuyun continually used the Illusion Pupil to search for weaknesses on him.

Xu Lang himself didn't even understand how he got hit; those offstage who could see clearly were even fewer.

In just a few exchanges, Xu Lang's whole body was pierced with over a dozen holes.

Just as he was stunned, Ye Liuyun punched him in the back, the lightning and holy fire scorching his rear, green smoke rising.

He himself was also directly knocked off the platform, falling flat on his face.

The crowd below gasped again.

Xu Lang lost even faster than Long Yue!

"Chu Li, just drag out time, wear down his stamina!" Yuan Meng's voice sounded in Chu Li's ear.

Chu Li nodded upon hearing it, then walked toward the platform at an unhurried pace.

"Second round, Ye Liuyun defeated Xu Lang successfully. Ranked ninth! Third round, Ye Liuyun challenges Chu Li!"

Steward Yue didn't even go up onto the stage this time, announcing directly from below.

He also couldn't wait to see how far Ye Liuyun could go.

Chu Li stepped onto the platform and stood firmly.

Ye Liuyun sized up his opponent with the Illusion Pupil, finding that his realm was about the same as Xu Lang's. But from his demeanor and aura, he was much more stable than Xu Lang.

Chu Li's fist technique was actually the same as Xu Lang's. Yet when he struck, he held back power, yet was incredibly swift, his movement both advanceable and retreatable, and he displayed a different style.

The two figures crossed on the platform, you come, I go.

Chu Li never struck rashly, wholeheartedly welcoming the battle, meticulous; for a while, Ye Liuyun also found it hard to spot a weakness, feeling somewhat tricky.

And after Chu Li witnessed Ye Liuyun's movement, he knew victory was hopeless; rashly attacking would only increase his own flaws.

"Although dragging it out longer could also wear him down to reveal a flaw, the cost to myself would also be large, not worth it!"

Ye Liuyun felt that if he didn't reveal a bit of his trump card, it would probably be hard to win quickly.

Thinking this, he decided to try the Illusion Eye Technique, but if he used moves like the Purple Lightning Prison, Chu Li would notice and then divulge his secret.

The best method is to use illusion technique, making him unable to tell whether it's my movement or pupil technique, so as not to arouse others' suspicion.

Ye Liuyun then spent two exchanges with Chu Li, then took a deep breath, and his movement suddenly sped up.

At the same time, his Illusion Eye Technique was pushed to the extreme, gazing into Chu Li's eyes.

Because his movement is hard to catch, no one noticed he was staring at his opponent.

And when the Illusion Eye Technique invaded Chu Li's Divine Sense, Ye Liuyun realized this method was effective.

Chu Li never expected Ye Liuyun to attack him in the Divine Sense aspect, so he was completely unaware.

Thus Ye Liuyun used the Illusion Pupil to execute illusion technique; suddenly, five Ye Liuyuns appeared in Chu Li's eyes, each performing a Purple Lightning Obliteration strike toward him.

Chu Li's face changed dramatically; for a moment he didn't know which was the real body, so he could only do a full-body defense.

And he felt that these five figures were all real bodies, with five streams of True Essence attacking him simultaneously.

And at the instant of Ye Liuyun's attack, his entire aura surged, and his condensed True Essence Power erupted fully.

At this point, Chu Li was already panic-stricken, realizing he was about to suffer misfortune. He could only release all his True Essence for a full-body defense, while his two hands spread apart to block toward the two Ye Liuyun figures.

Below, Yuan Meng saw Ye Liuyun's aura surge, his eyes also narrowing slightly.

Many people were greatly surprised, not expecting Ye Liuyun to have held back strength in his previous battles.

In other words, his battles with Long Yue and Xu Lang had essentially consumed nothing of him.

"Impossible! The solidity of this True Essence is even stronger than mine..."

Feeling Ye Liuyun's sudden eruption on stage, Long Yue felt a deep sense of defeat.

Boom—crack!

Accompanied by a thunderous boom, Chu Li, due to his scattered strength, had his True Essence Body Shield pierced by Ye Liuyun's full-force strike. His rear was a bloody mess, far worse than Xu Lang's.

At this moment he had been blasted away, unconscious on the platform.

Ye Liuyun's mouth corner curled with a smile, fleeting.

This was also his first time using illusion technique in actual combat, and he didn't expect the effect to be so good.

Everyone also found it strange; Ye Liuyun was clearly aiming to strike Chu Li's back, yet he seemed to still be defending the front.

But nobody thought much of it, all assuming Chu Li had been confused by Ye Liuyun's movement. Even if Chu Li were to say so later, everyone would still think he was confused by Ye Liuyun's movement.

At this moment, the crowd's emotions were mostly shock and excitement.

The shock was because Ye Liuyun had hidden his strength and easily defeated Chu Li; the excitement was because Ye Liuyun was about to face Yuan Meng next.

They didn't dwell too much on what they couldn't understand; after all, they never could have understood Ye Liuyun's footwork anyway.

Only Steward Yue finally confirmed their suspicion.

It really was an illusion!

But it was obvious that Ye Liuyun hadn't broken any rules; he had defeated Chu Li through genuine strength.

So he directly announced: "In the third match, Ye Liuyun succeeded in challenging Chu Li, achieving sixth place in the outer sect rankings."

Next, Steward Yue arranged for people to carry Chu Li away for treatment.

At this moment, many outer sect disciples present, seeing the unconscious Chu Li being carried away, had to admit that Ye Liuyun was qualified to challenge for third place.

Yuan Meng's expression, however, was somewhat grim. He hadn't expected Chu Li to lose so quickly, and to lose so badly!

At this point, the crowd's opinions had already shifted somewhat, with some people believing Ye Liuyun would win.

Because from the current situation, Ye Liuyun had won three consecutive matches, all very easily, without hard battles or any consumption, much more easily than when he fought Huang Wenxuan!

This sound reached Yuan Meng's ears, and his expression grew even grimmer.

"Fourth match: Ye Liuyun challenges Yuan Meng."

Steward Yue's voice sounded again. His eyes also flickered with anticipation.

Whether Ye Liuyun could win outright now depended on this final battle.

Yuan Meng's strength was such that he could even defeat a Sea Transformation realm expert; in a sense, he had already surpassed the True Essence Realm.

The crowd also became excited, their enthusiasm reaching unprecedented heights.