Chapter 265: Liu Ruhua

The next day arrived.

Yan Buji's opponent was obviously stronger than before; although there was no human artillery turret, his dueling experience was indeed rich.

Fortunately, Yan Buji was slightly superior and won easily.

Since only two matches had eliminated over half the cultivators, the atmosphere in the arena was relatively solemn.

After all, everyone had paid the entry fee; they didn't expect to go far, but at least they wanted people to know who they were, right?

So some cultivators started acting eccentric—either descending from the sky in a stylish entrance, or loudly announcing their names before the fight, hoping everyone would remember them.

Sometimes fame is useless and actually invites disaster.

But precisely because of that, not attracting envy is mediocrity.

Yan Buji still pretended to struggle to win the match, then stood aside watching others fight.

It is worth noting that the three people Yan Buji had heard about before performed exceptionally well on stage.

Zhao Guoping is a middle-aged cultivator, looking much like Yan Buji did when he was younger, also full of vigorous energy, the type of a battlefield commander. He has a tiger's back and bear's waist, extraordinary bearing, a stern countenance, and the courage to withstand ten thousand men.

Yet the cultivation technique he uses is extremely gentle water-based, which contrasts sharply with his own temperament, making it seem somewhat incongruous.

However, his water-based technique has many variations; if they really fought, Yan Buji would do best to counter with earth or lightning, and since he cultivates the Five Elements, he has means to restrain it, so it's not a big problem.

Niu Long, an old acquaintance, is also not bad; his metal-based cultivation is top-notch, and at Qi Refining Ninth Layer he can burst forth with the power of Qi Refining Peak, his lethality not low.

But that's all I've seen of him; perhaps he also has hidden tricks. In any case, Yan Buji is confident facing him.

The key lies with that Liu Ruhua.

This person is rather strange; the cultivation method she practices is an attributeless technique Yan Buji has never seen—such a method either requires no talent or demands extraordinarily high talent.

Moreover, her spells are highly variable; she can effortlessly cast spells of any attribute, and to this day no one knows how many kinds of spells she actually knows.

Liu Ruhua.

At a glance, Yan Buji saw she was a beautiful girl no less lovely than Feng Xiaoqing.

All I saw was her: long hair flowing in the wind, a green robe that restrained all wildness; on the stage, her every move showed elegance. No thought of clouds, flowers dancing and scattering, letting all blossoms lower their brows.

Looking back, under the moon on the jade platform, a clear silhouette invites imagination.

Such a beautiful female cultivator is rare in Yan Buji's experience. Still, natural beauty cannot compare to the myriad arts of cultivation—appearance itself can be changed, and for cultivators it's even easier.

Yan Buji stood to one side, watching her leave alone, while the surrounding cultivators also gazed at her with envy:

"That Junior Sister Liu is truly beautiful!"

"I don't know which lucky guy could get the fairy's favor; if I had that luck, I'd be willing to achieve Foundation Establishment and Golden Core."

"You don't suffer any loss at all."

Yan Buji pinched his chin, thinking he probably wouldn't meet them tomorrow, which made him relatively relieved.

After all, he has two senior brothers backing him up, so at the very least he should only meet them in the quarterfinals.

Besides, a strong dark horse is likely to be matched against them tomorrow; it just depends on who reveals more of their trump cards.

"Junior Brother Huang."

Niu Long walked over, looking at him strangely.

"Isn't that Senior Brother Niu? Long time no see." Yan Buji smiled.

"Junior Brother Huang, I heard you went to Accumulation Device Peak?" Niu Long inquired.

"Yeah, sigh. I've been on Accumulation Device Peak for half a year, just tending to flowers and plants every day; I still haven't even seen the peak master." Yan Buji sighed.

Niu Long froze for a moment, then laughed: "There's nothing to be done; I heard the peak master of Accumulation Device Peak is helping the sect leader refine an Accumulation Device, and probably won't emerge for several years...."

"Sigh."

Yan Buji sighed again, his words full of bitter resignation.

Niu Long looked at him and thought it better not to say more: "Since Junior Brother Huang is participating in this Qi Refining Grand Competition, he must have prepared; I, as senior brother, hope to see you in the finals."

"Haha, not necessarily that lucky."

"Junior Brother Huang is joking; I'll leave it at that for now and go."

"Senior Brother Niu, take care."

Seeing Niu Long leave, Yan Buji guessed he might have come to pump him for information.

After all, Yan Buji comes from Accumulation Device Peak; he fought two matches without using any Accumulation Device, so maybe he intended to ask whether he had any powerful Accumulation Device or the like.

Waiting until the third day.

Yan Buji's opponent was still an unremarkable person.

However, this person does have some ability; he holds two offensive Accumulation Devices, a blade and a sword, switching back and forth, which is quite formidable.

Yet Yan Buji still pretended to struggle greatly, dodging desperately at first, then seizing the opportunity to turn the tables in one move, thereby drawing many surprised glances.

"Wow, that senior brother is quite strong; I dodged for half a minute and thought he couldn't dodge either."

"He can turn it around? I could do it too."

"Are you blind? If it weren't for that senior brother's first spell being directly pierced through, how would he suddenly fall into a disadvantage?"

"Still not careful enough."

Yan Buji's performance seemed to satisfy most cultivators; at least in the commentary, there weren't many praises.

Yan Buji wiped the sweat from his face, stepped off the stage, and continued watching the matches.

Suddenly, someone walked over from the side and stood beside him.

Yan Buji glanced at him and said nothing.

"This Junior Brother Huang?"

"You are... Zhao Guoping of the Law Enforcement Hall, Senior Brother Zhao, right?" Yan Buji smiled.

Zhao Guoping nodded: "I watched your match; why pretend you can't win?"

"Pretend? Senior Brother is joking; I'm this old, and being able to fight until now is already satisfactory."

"Is that so?"

How can everyone tell that I'm pretending?

Or maybe these skilled cultivators can actually see my clumsy acting?

Zhao Guoping stared at Yan Buji: "In the whole Grand Competition, few people catch my eye. You're one; Liu Ruhua is also formidable. My eyes have been trained in Pupil Technique, so I can tell you're holding back everywhere."

"Oh?" Yan Buji was somewhat surprised.

Training in Pupil Technique isn't too difficult, but attaining profundity is very hard.

However, Pupil Technique, as a kind of technique, is indeed quite good for observation and detection.

He can speak of his own Pupil Technique so directly; he must be quite confident in his own strength.

"Junior Brother Huang, I came to find you mainly because of Liu Ruhua. If the two of us encounter her, we should try to force her to use her true strength." Zhao Guoping said calmly.

"Oh? Senior Brother, what do you mean by that?"

"In short, whether it's you or me facing her, we don't want to lose. If so, then let's do our best."

Having said that, Zhao Guoping left directly.

Yan Buji stood where he was, frowning, not understanding Zhao Guoping's meaning.

Could it be that Liu Ruhua has some shameful secret?

Did she also learn Martial Dao Profound Skill like me?

It's too much of a coincidence; then her cultivation method must be flawed.