Chapter 224

On the high platform, the comfort that everyone had prepared was said at this time, but the object changed from the old man in the corner to this Gu He county magistrate beside him.

Official Xu smiled at this time: "Pei Ye is also one of the strong players in this session, and can be considered one of the facades of our county contestants. For those lords whose own are gone, look at this youth in the next few matches. I think he is firmly in the top eight, and mostly in the top four."

The Gu He county magistrate turned his head: "Good, Official Xu! You knew the inside story, but you didn't say it when I asked you just now."

Official Xu laughed: "Wronged, Official Qian, both are Fourth Life, I couldn't say your county was finished—now like this, you were happy for a while, weren't you?"

There was laughter on the platform.

Official Shen stood up and went to Chang Zhiyuan, moved the old man's chair to his side amidst the congratulations of everyone, and kicked the leg of the Can County magistrate's chair: "Official Meng, your contestants are already gone, yet you still occupy such a good position. Quickly move a place for Official Chang, we are still in a hurry to watch the next match."

Official Meng rolled his eyes at him and moved his chair to the left.

——

Below the arena.

Unlike the chatting atmosphere on the platform, the air here was filled with a strange silence.

The officials shuttled back and forth between the two arenas, uncovering the curtains and writing slips, busy for the more important matches in the next round, but the excited or lucky conversations of the winning contestants under the arena had disappeared, and their gazes were all focused on one place.

On the arena, Pei Ye took the last victory, but he didn't have much of a smile. After walking down, his first look was also at the person sitting and leaning under the arena.

His hair was slightly loose, his robe was on the ground, and there was a trace of fine blood on the corner of his mouth. That was the injury left when he was knocked off the arena in the previous match.

The match between Zhang Zongyuan and Zhang Mozhu was undoubtedly the biggest highlight of this round. Zhang Mozhu was the Fifth Life second only to Li Piaoqing on the surface, while Zhang Zongyuan had not made more than one move in two rounds—among the one hundred and twenty-eight people, besides Qijiao Shang Huaitong, he was the only one.

However, the confrontation between such two top-four candidates ended within five moves.

Everyone clearly remembered the arena fight just now.

The tripod sounded, and Zhang Mozhu raised his sword and went up. From his expression, one could see that he had not treated this nameless opponent with any slight.

The Bai Zhu Pavilion's body technique and sword technique were like the two wings on his body. When he turned his wrist in the air and a short blade like water light slid out, those who knew the ropes could see that this Zhang True Disciple had already reached the exquisite realm of "bamboo tips following shadows, short light cutting snakes" in Bai Zhu martial arts.

Although often regarded as a figure one level behind, and not reaching 【All-Control】 at the poetry society, that was only because the people above were too strong, not because he was too weak.

He had no adventures, nor did he know any wonderful swords. In a place like Bowang Prefecture, he was the most upright talent, representing the peak that the young martial artists of Bowang should reach.

Such a facade figure, his first sword was an unreserved full force, as if a white swallow swept across the air, and the short sword he extended was his sharp beak.

Fast, light, strong, this was definitely the most exciting move that had appeared on the arena in two days. The speed and strength of the Fifth Life exploded without reservation for the first time, cheers erupted from the stands, and the intensity of the battle was raised to an unprecedented level from the start.

And Zhang Zongyuan only moved when Zhang Mozhu swept to two-thirds.

The man stood still, only thrusting a staff forward, the momentum like a tiger coming out of the forest.

The body technique of the Bai Zhu Pavilion was shown here. The staff and the person met head-on. Zhang Mozhu's body was as light as if it had no weight. He reached out and tapped lightly on the staff, turned his body, and his sleeves bloomed into a light lotus flower. He was already in front of Zhang Zongyuan.

And then, like a flower heart spitting out stamens, a short sword probed out silently.

Using a short sword with a light blade against a heavy wind-thunder staff, naturally "heavy" and "strong" were better. Therefore, all countermeasures were nothing more than the four words "avoid the real and strike the empty." And it just so happened that the Bai Zhu Pavilion had a body technique that could avoid the real like a leaf in the wind, and a sword technique that could break the empty like a bee's tail needle.

This was also the reason why people thought this match would be exciting enough.

The quality of the first exchange was indeed worthy of people's expectations. Zhang Mozhu's body technique like flowing clouds went without saying, and the staff in Zhang Zongyuan's hand also showed the momentum of wind and thunder for the first time.

And just when people thought this was just a beginning, behind the flying white sleeves, Zhang Mozhu's face was revealed.

Unlike the graceful and calm imagination of the crowd, there was an expression of gritting his teeth and enduring pain on it.

Zhang Zongyuan pressed the end of the staff, and the parallel long staff suddenly stood upright, shattering the arena at the end, standing on the ground like a needle for calming the sea.

And then he swept up along the staff.

Everyone discovered the sudden derailment of the development.

This was not a needle-to-needle fight between "long-heavy" and "short-fast"—Zhang Zongyuan directly abandoned the advantage of the long weapon and actively met the Zhang Mozhu in the air with his bare hands.

And the one who was "faster" was not the graceful young master with body technique. The man's speed of sweeping up was even more terrifying, and it was heavy, and it was majestic, just like a swooping eagle.

And before those coarse claws and heavy beaks was a small, weak white swallow with thin bones and weak feathers.

Zhang Zongyuan supported the staff with one hand, and the other arm swung out a punch. The wind roared violently, and the black robe shook in the wind, already covering the white shirt of the man flying in the wind.

With such a punch coming toward his face, Zhang Mozhu retracted the short blade he had extended halfway, and his body twisted violently in the air. As if he really had wings in the void, clearly having no place to borrow strength, his body suddenly bent in a graceful curve and rose more than a zhang, and in the blink of an eye, he was again hovering a few feet above Zhang Zongyuan.

【Turning Back Kite Wings】, this was the most iconic body technique of the Bai Zhu Pavilion, which could support the practitioner to dodge the enemy's killing move while adjusting to a suitable position to send out moves, and at the same time send out a short sword, which was a move to reverse victory and defeat.

This was a body technique that disciples had to learn when they entered the sect, but only a few excellent ones could use it in the air, and being able to use it like this, adding a faster and stronger flip at the end of a flip in the air, looking through all the Bai Zhu disciples, only Zhang Mozhu was the one.

Such an amazing body technique successfully helped him dodge Zhang Zongyuan's full-force must-kill punch. Where the punch fell, the air exploded with a bang.

But the next instant, a force like destroying a mountain crashed into him.

Only to see Zhang Zongyuan's body also fully suspended in the air. At the moment his left fist missed, the man twisted his waist, and the overwhelming power exploded, reaching the end along his right arm.

Driven by this force, the long staff suddenly drew a sharp semicircle and swung up, and the invisible airflow was cut into a blade-like arc.

Amidst the sudden contraction of his heart, Zhang Mozhu turned his wrist sharply, the short blade stuck tightly to his forearm, and his Qi poured in frantically.

He only had time to make these movements, and Zhang Zongyuan's staff crashed into him fiercely. With a muffled thunder-like collision, his arms, chest, and whole body were shaken and moved, and his body flew horizontally, smashing heavily onto the ground.

When he struggled to adjust his breath and regained the strength to resist, and propped himself up from the ground, he saw that he was already under the arena.

And in the square, cheers and silence seemed to exist at the same time. People looked at this Bowang third true disciple, and only then did they find the reason why he showed pain at the beginning.

——The hand he used to tap on the staff to try to borrow strength was now slowly raised in front of him, skin torn and flesh open, blood flowing horizontally.

This was the reason for the quiet atmosphere under the arena at this time.

Zhang Mozhu's cause of defeat was clear and plain. There was no trick, nor was it a mistake in the game. He was thoroughly and completely a whole level behind.

He couldn't reach the realm of game moves and length at all. Strength, speed, Qi... in all basic qualities, Zhang Zongyuan had completely crushed him.

This only represented one thing.

This strange man invited by the Qiyun Firm finally revealed his true realm to everyone in the Jin Qiu Martial Arts Competition.

Sixty-four branches, Sixth Life of the Vein Tree.

Everyone knew he was a dark horse, but when the curtain was lifted, what was revealed underneath was a fierce tiger.

The position of the champion seemed to have a second person standing on it at this time.

————————————

"You must be careful," Li Piaoqing looked at Pei Ye, Yang Yan, and Shen Yao in front of her, her brows slightly furrowed, "This person's strikes look very heavy—Senior Sister Shen Yao, if you run into him, you should admit defeat if you should, there's nothing to it."

Shen Yao nodded: "Rest assured, Junior Sister, I understand."

The young girl cast her gaze over, and before she could speak, Pei Ye took the lead and said earnestly: "You must admit defeat immediately if you run into Qijiao Shang Huaitong. Don't hesitate, and don't fight."

"..." Li Piaoqing was noncommittal.

"Admitting defeat is just losing the formation, fighting and losing hurts people and loses the formation," Pei Ye looked at her seriously, "You are already injured, don't give him a chance to strike, do you hear me?"

"... I know." The young girl said gloomily.

Pei Ye felt relieved and turned his head to look at Zhang Junxue. The young woman was wiping her heavy saber silently to the side.

"... Junxue."

The young woman raised her head.

Pei Ye opened his mouth: "... Be careful."

"Hmm."

And no matter how shocked and uneasy the contestants were, and how they entrusted and cheered for each other with acquaintances, the next round would start as usual, and those powerful opponents would not change.

After half an hour of rest, a tripod sounded, and the sixteen winners lined up under their respective arenas again.

At this point, there was not a single weak hand.

And from among them, eight stronger ones would be decided, representing the highest level of this Jin Qiu Martial Arts Competition.

By this time, every step forward meant a completely different level, and the drawing of lots was increasingly the key factor in determining victory or defeat.

Especially for those ordinary martial artists in the middle and lower ranks, there were already too many people they couldn't meet at this time.

The arena was cleaned up, the curtain was replaced, the drawing of lots for the sixteen people in the two arenas was quickly completed, and the singing of names had started again.

"Arena A, First Match, Li Piaoqing, Zhang Huan."

"Second Match, Qijiao Shang Huaitong, Zhao Yanshang."

"Third Match, Yu Yingcai, Guan Yuan."

"Fourth Match, Gu Guang, Zhang Junxue."

"Arena B, First Match, Pei Ye, Fu Jianyu."

"Second Match, Yang Yan, Lin Guihe."

"Third Match, Shen Yao, Yang Shibin."

"Fourth Match, Zhang Zongyuan, Zhu Shaoqiu."

For many viewers who had been watching here from the beginning, this result of the drawing of lots already represented the candidates for the top eight who would emerge.

And on the high platform, Official Xu also smiled and shook his head at the officials: "We really didn't do any tricks."

The result was indeed without any suspense.

The first person to step into the top eight was Li Piaoqing.

In the four rounds of fighting, the young girl did not bring any eye-popping performance, but she never disappointed anyone. She consistently demonstrated the dominance that a strong Fifth Life should have. Facing any enemy, she never exceeded ten moves.

She was the inheritor of the best sword technique in Bowang Prefecture. At this moment, facing the Fifth Life 【Repair Fish】 Zhang Huan of the Seven Serpents Cave, she displayed the learning she had acquired for the first time. The sharpness of "Yellow Jade" whistled and bloomed on the arena, a sword technique even more heart-tilting than Zhang Mozhu's "Cutting Bamboo Sword."

Using the body of the Fifth Life of the Seven Serpents Cave as a step, in the first match of sixteen to eight, the young girl displayed even more brilliant and exquisite arts for the viewers.

Second match.

Watching the young girl in the green skirt twist the opponent's long sword with two swords and walk off the stage gracefully, Qijiao Shang Huaitong moved his gaze away faintly and walked toward the arena with his sword.

This young girl would not be the stubborn grass sufficient to test the "Grass-Pulling Chapter." She was indeed strong enough, but completely lacked the strength to face him, and from some subtle avoidance, it could be clearly seen that the injuries on her body had not yet healed.

But it didn't matter. As the martial arts competition progressed, these miscellaneous grasses and weaklings would fall with the wind. He would definitely be able to meet someone strong enough, sufficient to hone that sword.

He knew that this person definitely existed.

Master said that the Seven Serpents who wanted to pick the fruit died in the Changdao Martial Arts Hall. At that time, there were three people in the martial arts hall who needed attention—Pei Ye, Yang Yan, and Zhang Junxue.

One Fifth Life, two Fourth Life, actually killed a Seventh Life.

After seeing Pei Ye, he knew that he must be the so-called "fruit."

He was very sure that this youth was sufficient to become his whetstone, but it didn't have to be him—Zhang Junxue and Yang Yan mostly also mastered the power sufficient to cause damage to a Seventh Life.

As long as the "Grass-Pulling Chapter" could remove enough strong obstacles, it would prove that it was sufficient to fill the gap in the "Nether Immortal." He, too, could truly master this sword of "Nether Life."

Qijiao Shang Huaitong stepped onto the arena step by step, surrounded by increasingly surging cheers.

He gripped his sword calmly, his mind slowly immersing into it.

He often inserted his hands or sword deep into the soil, feeling their pulse in the darkness. At this moment, that feeling returned to his body, and he seemed to be deep in the earth.

All the real scenery on the arena, the square, and the sky retreated a layer. He raised his hand slowly, touching only silence, and thousands of threads.

Cheers, emotions, glory, interests... were all the nourishment he deserved, coming along these threads and pulses.

Qijiao Shang Huaitong looked down at this martial arts arena from such a perspective.

Who could reach this realm?

In front of such a sword, "moves" were ridiculous jokes, and "momentum" was just a toy to be played with. The so-called "Yellow Jade," the so-called "Cutting Bamboo Sword," these clumsy things they were desperately seeking, were they really worth a sneer from him?

They would never know in their lives what... was the true sword.

Holding such a sword in his hand, they were just a group of ducks quacking and eating shit and catching insects in Bowang Prefecture. Who among them could, and by what right did they dare to be above him!

Qijiao Shang Huaitong walked forward on the arena with an expressionless face.

How can one speak of grass and trees, I am all I am.

Except for the grass in front of him.

In the center of everything, he was competing with himself for this nourishment in the pulse.

Pulling grass.

A sword swept by, and this grass left the soil.

The whole arena was cheering, and Qijiao Shang Huaitong felt those dim threads trembling with excitement.

He walked off the arena with his sword and became the second top-eight candidate.

And for him, reaching this point, this martial arts competition could be considered just beginning.

The third person to step into the top eight was Pei Ye.

He was in the first match of Arena B and should have advanced at about the same time as Li Piaoqing, but he had been dragged until after Qijiao Shang Huaitong.

It had always been like this. This youth's competition was always slower than other contestants of the same level, always not showing his edge, and always too humble. For the weak, if they had to lose, everyone was more willing to lose to this youth.

He was very polite, even putting himself too low, always with a gesture of seeing or even asking for advice to fight with opponents who were far inferior to him.

He didn't seem to have any thirst for victory. He didn't see his excited cheers after victory, nor did he ever treat the loser as a step to win cheers from others. As long as there was no grudge, you could lose very decently, and even comfortably, under his hands.

The only ones still surprised were the county magistrates on the high platform.

The fourth was Yang Yan.

After that powerful saber technique slashed down four opponents, the clothes on his body no longer made people laugh, but formed a strangely powerful impression.

Compared to the previous youth, his fighting style was much more violent. Although he was also polite, his desire for victory had long been reflected in the fighting. He had been going all out and never giving his opponent any chance.

Although some people had said that being too hard would break, wasn't martial arts fighting just hard against hard? People didn't doubt at all that this youth had the strength to stand in the top four.

The fifth was Shen Yao.

The only Fifth Life of the Cuiyu Sword Sect besides the Young Sect Master, from Yilan Mountain to Shaolong Prefecture to the Luzhou Poetry Society, for half a year, she had been qualified to support this facade. Now, she once again sheathed her sword and walked off the stage steadily, stepping onto the fifth top-eight seat.

The sixth one to break through the encirclement was the Seven Serpents Fifth Life who was dressed as a scholar and had defeated Shen Yao at the poetry society, Yu Yingcai.

He had indeed been broken of his sword by the youth in one move, but the strength of a veteran Fifth Life had no moisture. If the situation that day came again, he would definitely not choose to compete with Pei Ye in sword moves, so the result would be unknown.

Compared to Shen Yao, he was a figure more sufficient to threaten the top four.

The seventh was naturally Zhang Zongyuan.

After stepping over Zhang Mozhu, he restored the style of breaking the enemy with one staff, and the opponent who drew him already had a stiff face, just walking through the motions on the stage.

This man who suddenly appeared and became famous in one fell swoop was silently and fiercely beyond everyone's expectations.

He was naturally going to take the championship.

And the competition for the eighth seat also started with the tripod sound at this time.

On the arena, both sides stood with sabers facing each other, equally tall, equally silent.

Zhang Junxue, Gu Guang.

Only one of them could walk to the next step.

(End of chapter)