Xu Ziqing was earnestly admonishing Su Xin out of goodwill, while Su Xin, though fully aware of that goodwill, was becoming increasingly flustered and desperately wished he had never opened his mouth.
Above them, the lot cylinder began trembling again, and two more jade slips flew toward opposite sides of the hall.
Su Xin immediately said, “Brother Ziqing, look! The contestants for the second match have been chosen!”
Xu Ziqing turned to look. Sure enough, two more people had risen from their seats and were already standing in the center of the hall.
Seeing that he had finally succeeded in changing the subject, Su Xin secretly wiped away imaginary sweat and smiled. “This time, Brother Ziqing gets to choose first.”
Xu Ziqing assumed he was still unwilling to accept losing the previous bet and good-naturedly smiled. “All right.”
The two returned their attention to the match and began comparing the strengths and weaknesses of the two contestants.
This time, both were men and both had cultivation at Qi Refinement layer 10, having made the Spirit-Gathering Treasure shine purple.
One was a man nine chi tall, broad-backed and thick-waisted, with the imposing build of a tiger or bear. He held no magical artifact. The other was thin, with fine brows and narrow lips, and a long red whip coiled around his waist.
The nine-chi man cupped his fists. “Luo Hou of the Heaven-Supporting Sect.”
The thin-browed man drew out his long whip and snapped it with a crack. “Diao Zimo of the Thunderfire Sect.”
Luo Hou and Diao Zimo were both men and seemed to have dealt with one another before. As they faced each other, both wore guarded expressions.
Spiritual power surged around their bodies and gradually formed two enormous vortices of air that collided in midair.
Boom!
Both vortices shattered. Luo Hou bent slightly and slammed both fists heavily into the floor, yet his feet remained firmly planted without moving at all. Diao Zimo, meanwhile, stepped back once, his back still perfectly straight.
They had tested each other and come out evenly matched.
Xu Ziqing could not help becoming more focused. At the same time, he sank part of his consciousness into the ring. “Brother Yun, this is the first time I’ve seen a contest like this. Are they probing each other?”
Yun Lie answered, “Yes,” then added, “Their cultivation is similar. Momentum is especially important.”
Xu Ziqing quietly committed this to memory. Indeed, during a fight, if one could suppress the opponent from the very beginning, one would naturally seize the advantage. For the opponent to regain the initiative afterward would be extremely difficult.
He remembered how, when Yun Lie had fought others before, that overwhelming presence could nearly freeze a person’s soul. Forget resisting. They could barely even move. Strength was certainly part of it, but who could say intimidation through sheer momentum played no role? This was something worth learning.
After the probing exchange, Diao Zimo had barely steadied himself when his wrist flicked and he attacked first.
The red whip instantly left behind one afterimage, then abruptly transformed into a hundred, a thousand whip shadows that surrounded Luo Hou from every direction.
Luo Hou still did not draw any magical artifact. He slammed his fists together, and tremendous force erupted between them, taking shape as a long dragon of spiritual power that twisted and lunged straight into the forest of whip shadows.
The dragon was extremely agile. It could not distinguish which whip shadow was real and which was false, but it did not care. It simply charged recklessly through them and quickly plunged into the encirclement.
The whip shadows were densely packed. Just as the spiritual dragon raised its head, the thousand shadows suddenly merged back into one. Everyone’s vision blurred, and when they focused again, the red whip had already wound tightly around the dragon, binding it in place as it struggled furiously.
Diao Zimo sneered. “Crush it!”
The long whip immediately tightened and forcibly shattered the body of the spiritual dragon, preventing it from gathering into form again.
Luo Hou’s expression darkened. He had known the dragon would not be enough to defeat Diao Zimo, but he had not expected it to be dispersed so easily. That genuinely surprised him.
Still, disciples of the Heaven-Supporting Sect had never feared the advantage of magical artifacts.
By now the two had already exchanged several rounds. Su Xin watched with delighted exclamations and turned to Xu Ziqing. “Time for another bet. Brother Ziqing, choose quickly!”
Xu Ziqing had watched carefully as well. He nodded. “I’ll bet on Fellow Daoist Diao.”
Su Xin himself favored Luo Hou. His temperament carried a somewhat explosive streak, so he naturally preferred people who fought with similar brute force and toughness. He immediately said, “I’m betting on Fellow Daoist Luo. Someone that fierce is definitely going to win!”
Xu Ziqing smiled faintly. “We’ll know afterward.”
Neither spoke again. Both turned their attention back to the center of the hall.
Luo Hou and Diao Zimo’s battle had already become intensely fierce.
The disciples of the Heaven-Supporting Sect possessed exceptionally sturdy bodies. They never relied on magical artifacts and instead met attacks directly with their fists. Luo Hou suddenly charged forward, swung both fists high, and brought them down toward Diao Zimo’s head.
Diao Zimo remained calm. His long whip looped outward and lashed viciously toward the incoming fist while he lowered his body and shifted his legs apart, already dodging the direct attack.
“Ha!”
Luo Hou shouted. His right fist met the whip, while his left hand abruptly changed course and seized the end of the lash.
The next instant, his body stiffened. He landed hard and staggered backward seven or eight steps.
Everyone was startled. Diao Zimo’s long whip was clearly an upper-grade magical artifact and already extremely formidable, yet after Luo Hou struck it head-on, not only was he driven backward, his fist had also been charred black.
The corner of Diao Zimo’s mouth curved upward. The red whip began to crackle. Looking closer, everyone could see blue-violet arcs of electricity racing along its surface with a constant zzzt-zzzt.
Only then did everyone realize the whip carried lightning.
“Th-that is thunder!”
“Diao Zimo can actually attach lightning to a magical artifact. How did he do it?”
“As expected of a talented disciple of the Thunderfire Sect. He can command lightning! Luo Hou is probably doomed to lose…”
“Senior Brother Luo Hou really has terrible luck!”
The cultivators began talking among themselves.
Even Tang Wenfei appeared somewhat surprised.
Xu Ziqing asked in astonishment, “What cultivation art is this?”
Yun Lie considered briefly. “It should have evolved from a surviving fragment of the Myriad Thunder Heart Scripture.”
Only after hearing Yun Lie’s explanation did Xu Ziqing understand that nearly all thunder arts ultimately traced back to the Myriad Thunder Heart Scripture. But the Myriad Thunder Heart Scripture was a Legendary Cultivation Art that had long since been lost. Only scattered fragments remained. Various sects that obtained them painstakingly reconstructed what they could and developed many different thunder-attribute methods.
Even so, not everyone could cultivate thunder arts.
Everyone knew that there were countless cultivation arts beneath heaven, yet in the end they all fundamentally belonged within the Five Elements.
Thunder arts were exceptionally difficult. Many demon beasts might possess thunder as an innate divine ability, but for a human cultivator to practice thunder arts, the demands on aptitude and spiritual roots were extremely high.
First, one had to possess both Water and Fire spiritual roots, and the Fire spiritual root had to be thicker than the Water spiritual root. Otherwise, thunder arts could not be cultivated at all.
Second, when first learning a thunder art, the cultivator had to draw natural lightning into the spiritual roots and endure the torment of thunderfire scorching the heart. Only after repeated tempering and comprehension of the natural Dao of thunder could cultivation continue.
Of those two requirements, the first depended on innate talent. The second demanded not only talent, but ruthlessness toward oneself and unwavering perseverance. Thus cultivators who truly succeeded in learning thunder arts were extraordinarily rare.
Once even a minor level of accomplishment was achieved, however, not only would the cultivator gain tremendous advantages against future heavenly tribulations, they could also dominate almost without restraint among others of the same cultivation level.
Once thunder arts appeared, there was no longer any suspense in the battle.
Luo Hou was indeed extremely powerful, and his physical body was exceptionally tough. But Diao Zimo had learned thunder arts. After only a few more exchanges, Diao Zimo swept out one lightning-charged whip and Luo Hou was defeated.
Diao Zimo put away the whip and raised the corner of his eyes. “Once you’ve learned your sect’s Great Art of the Indestructible Vajra, then you’ll have the qualifications to fight me.”
Luo Hou did not make a fuss about it. A loss was a loss. He cupped his fists with admirable straightforwardness. “Then we’ll fight again at that time!”
Diao Zimo laughed. “By then my thunder arts will have advanced greatly. Don’t lose to me again.”
Luo Hou’s gaze sharpened, refusing to yield even an inch. “Today’s victor had better not become tomorrow’s loser.”
After exchanging those few words, the two returned to their seats and received their respective victory and defeat slips.
Both of the first two matches had been extraordinarily exciting. The contestants had also fought with impressive bearing and had not used any sinister tricks, so the spectators found the contests deeply satisfying.
Next came the final two cultivators at Qi Refinement layer 10. One was Yan Boshang, Young Sect Master of the Tianyan Sect, whose Spirit-Gathering Treasure had shone deep purple and whose cultivation stood only a thread away from Foundation Establishment. The other was Zhuo Hanyan of the Rogue Cultivator Alliance, one of only two women among the six highest-level experts.
Both had flying swords hovering above their heads, spiritual light flowing along the blades. It looked like the most ordinary setup imaginable, yet it also made their intentions perfectly clear.
Su Xin, who had been full of excitement until now, suddenly sighed.
Xu Ziqing assumed he was upset about losing the second bet as well. He wanted to console him, but worried that doing so might sound like boasting and did not know how to begin.
Su Xin did not notice Xu Ziqing’s dilemma. He merely looked troubled. “Brother Ziqing, I’ve already lost two rounds. I’m afraid I’ll lose this one too.”
Xu Ziqing blinked. So Su Xin was not annoyed about the bet itself. But why say this?
Before Xu Ziqing could ask, Su Xin gave a bitter smile. “This time, Senior Sister Zhuo is definitely going to lose.”
Only then did Xu Ziqing understand.
That was indeed true. Zhuo Hanyan’s cultivation was profound. During the civil contest, one person had produced deep purple light, three medium purple, and two pale purple. She and Ji Banlian were the only women among the six. Ji Banlian had shown only pale purple, while Zhuo Hanyan’s result was medium purple. She was not inferior to the men at all, which showed how exceptional she was.
Unfortunately, her luck was poor.
The first two matches had paired pale purple against pale purple and medium purple against medium purple. Only in Zhuo Hanyan’s match did medium purple face deep purple.
Yan Boshang could presently be called the strongest cultivator below Foundation Establishment. Against him, what chance did Zhuo Hanyan have? Su Xin’s worry was entirely reasonable.
Su Xin continued, “Senior Sister Zhuo is the strongest expert among the younger generation of the Rogue Cultivator Alliance and the person our Alliance can most proudly put forward. I know she’s almost certain to lose, but I’m still betting on her to win. Even if that means I have to practice with you for nine days in total, I’ll accept it willingly.”
Xu Ziqing felt moved by those words. After thinking briefly, he said, “Brother Su, that’s not quite right.” Before Su Xin could respond, he continued, “You’re a member of the Rogue Cultivator Alliance, but am I not as well? Since someone from our own Alliance is fighting, naturally I must bet on her too.”
At that, he smiled. “So this round, both our stakes are on the same person. No matter what happens, this one ends in a draw between us.”
A trace of emotion flashed through Su Xin’s eyes. He smiled as well. “Then… a draw it is.”
Their prediction was correct. Zhuo Hanyan truly did lose.
In fact, the result was decided far more quickly than anyone expected.
The moment the fight began, their flying swords had only just touched when Yan Boshang curled one finger and flicked it outward.
An invisible force struck Zhuo Hanyan squarely in the chest. She immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood, and her expression became weak and listless in an instant.
“True essence!” someone blurted out.