Chapter 28: A Small Show of Skill, Dazzlingly Brilliant
Two stones shot forth from the ritual artifact.
Gu Lin was matched against Li Rui.
A Heavenly Mystery Guard member in a Qilin robe pointed toward Platform Eight.
Gu Lin stepped forward slowly.
The crowd from Shiyang Academy called out words of encouragement.
Zhao Yao fixed a cold stare on Gu Lin, a chilling smile spreading across his face:
“Think you can survive the first round?”
“Try not to die on the platform…”
His voice cut off abruptly, the second half of his thought left unspoken.
‘Once I’ve entered service at a Sacred Ground, you’ll die by my own hand!’
Failing the willpower assessment had been the greatest defeat of his life thus far—even his own elder brother had been utterly disappointed in him.
The Zhao family had reached out to court this fellow, and he’d dared to refuse on the spot—this Gu person had been courting death from the very start!
Wei Xuan said in a low voice:
“Gu Jingming, if you’re outmatched, don’t push yourself past your limits. Surrender in time.”
Only the first round had already claimed three lives and crippled two others—she had no wish to see young Master Gu’s soul depart for the underworld. He absolutely mustn’t gamble his life for the sake of pride.
Gu Lin stepped down from the high platform and onto Platform Eight.
In an instant, every spectator from Shiyang fixed their eyes unwaveringly on Platform Eight.
If there was one hero from Shiyang Academy most likely to meet a gruesome end, it was Gu Lin.
Not because his strength was weak, but because of the forceful, uncompromising character he’d shown during the academy’s Selection Trial—he likely wouldn’t surrender easily even on Platform Eight, and should he run into a particularly formidable opponent, there was a very real chance he might lose his life.
Gu Changchuan clenched his fists tight, his whole body trembling.
Zhou Man had already shut her eyes, unable to bear looking at Platform Eight any longer. She held no cultivation and couldn’t even see Platform Eight from where she sat—all she could do was pray with all her heart, over and over.
Meanwhile, far in the distance, Li Qingwu sat slumped in a wooden chair, a veil draped over her head, her entire being consumed by venomous hatred. She couldn’t wait—she wanted to see that beast drop dead this very instant!
Beneath the gaze of countless eyes, a young man in black battle attire stepped onto Platform Eight.
The two stood facing each other, ten paces apart.
Li Rui’s internal energy erupted in full—Energy Condensation Sixth Level, at its very peak!
He fixed his opponent with a cold, indifferent stare and said in a chilling voice:
“I’ve heard of you—claimed first place in Shiyang Academy’s willpower assessment, suppressed Young Master Qilin, an Energy Condensation Third Level rivaling Energy Condensation Sixth Level.”
“But I’m not the same.”
“Now, either surrender, or die!”
Li Rui’s presence surged with overwhelming force, his voice carrying an oppressive weight, attempting to break down Gu Lin’s defenses and let fear take root and spread.
Dong—
The war drum thundered suddenly.
Li Rui shot forward like a taut bowstring released, but in the very next instant, his pupils contracted sharply.
A figure appeared right before him, its movements bizarre and elusive, a fist crashing down like sudden thunder.
Bang—
Li Rui failed to dodge in time. The right side of his skull caved in, brain matter and blood spraying wildly.
Gu Lin turned and walked off Platform Eight.
Li Rui collapsed with a thud, dead on the spot.
The Heavenly Mystery Guard member in the Qilin robe kept his expression unchanged throughout, yet he cast a deeply penetrating glance at Gu Lin.
Such lightness art—truly exquisite.
A mere Energy Condensation Fifth Level cultivation, yet his lightness art had left a peak Sixth Level opponent unable to even react.
“Gu Lin advances, Li Rui eliminated!”
Once the announcement was made, he waved his hand casually, and the Blade-Bearers moved in to clear away the corpse from Platform Eight.
Far more eyes than just those from Shiyang County turned toward Platform Eight—the crowd murmured amongst themselves, unable to hide the shock in their eyes.
Of all sixteen dueling platforms, Platform Eight had finished the fastest!
A single punch!
“He won! Lin’er won!”
Gu Changchuan felt the weight lift from his chest, the muscles of his face twitching with excitement.
The eyes of Shiyang’s notable figures brimmed with admiration—this was the Gu heaven-blessed talent of Shiyang, still shining just as brilliantly even on the Sacred Ground Selection Trial’s stage!
Gu Lin returned to the high platform.
“You broke through to Energy Condensation Fifth Level?”
Yan Shouxu, Wei Xuan, and the others stared at him in shock, unable to believe it.
Gu Lin said nothing.
He had only revealed the strength of Energy Condensation Fifth Level.
The group exchanged glances, disbelief plain in their eyes.
Breaking through from Third Level to Fifth Level in the span of a single month?
Or had Gu Lin been deliberately suppressing his realm all along, even back at the academy’s Selection Trial?
The chill in Zhao Yao’s expression deepened further.
He certainly didn’t care about the cultivation level of an ant like this.
But this particular ant carried far too many secrets.
Secrets were opportunity—if offered up willingly, he might now have a chance to seize the Sacred Ground Selection Trial for himself, becoming a ruler standing even above the heaven-blessed talents!!
After advancing, Gu Lin sat cross-legged, quietly cultivating.
The reason he’d struck the killing blow was simply because of Li Rui’s threat—”either surrender, or die.”
Then die it was.
In the second round of drawing lots, no one else from Shiyang Academy was selected besides Gu Lin.
Two quarter-hours later, the second round concluded.
Three more lives lost, three more crippled!
Two Blade-Bearers came bearing trays, each holding a single precious pill.
Only those who had advanced were permitted to consume it.
Within half an hour, it would restore one’s internal energy—not quite to a full peak state, but enough to fight the next round at roughly ninety percent condition.
Gu Lin tucked it into his sleeve without consuming it.
Next came the third round of drawing lots.
Three from Shiyang County were selected.
Wu Tong.
Liu Suifeng.
And Zhao Yao!
The moment Zhao Yao’s opponent was revealed, the entire arena erupted into an uproar, the noise surging like a collapsing mountain, nearly enough to overturn heaven and earth!
Because his opponent was none other than Cao Wuji, the top talent of Anfu Academy!
Cao Wuji stood at the very peak of Energy Condensation Ninth Level!
Chuwei Prefecture’s betting houses had ranked him thirteenth, while Young Master Qilin, Zhao Yao, sat at fifth!
And yet, out of two hundred fifty-six contestants, these two had crossed paths!
In that moment, not a single soul paid any mind to the other fifteen dueling platforms.
Only Platform Six remained—the focal point of every gaze in the arena.
This was the cruelty of the Sacred Ground Selection Trial—fortune, too, was part of cultivation. A mighty Energy Condensation Ninth Level, the most dazzling talent of an entire county, and one of them was fated to be stopped in the very first round!
Either one of them could have guaranteed themselves a spot in the top sixteen, yet here they were, forced to collide with one another!
Facing the countless gazes fixed upon him, Zhao Yao showed not a trace of fear, striding with his Qilin gait toward Platform Six.
Cao Wuji let out a sigh, casting aside every unnecessary thought, likewise advancing with the bearing of a dragon and the stride of a tiger.
Neither would concede they were inferior to the other!
The two faced off, ten paces apart.
Members of all Four Great Sacred Grounds turned to look on, one after another.
Zhao Can, clad in his black three-legged golden crow official robe, wore an entirely relaxed expression, not a trace of worry upon his face.
The middle-aged man in the pure white official robe standing before him turned back and asked with a smile:
“Zhao Can, what odds do you give your younger brother?”
Zhao Can cupped his hands respectfully:
“Reporting to you, my lord Centurion—Zhao Yao is certain to win!”
The Martial Extremity Palace’s Centurion nodded and said no more.
Upon Platform Six.
Cao Wuji closed his eyes to gather his focus, building up his presence, his internal energy circulating through the Minor Cosmic Cycle, a faint pale-green glow rippling before him.
Zhao Yao stood the entire time with his hands clasped behind his back, his internal energy erupting in full.
Merely Energy Condensation Ninth Level.
Yet his presence overwhelmed even Cao Wuji’s!
Heaven and earth fell utterly silent; nearly a hundred thousand spectators held their breath.
Dong—
The war drum thundered suddenly.
A golden vortex appeared above Zhao Yao’s head, his black hair whipping wildly, and amid the flashing golden light, his body shot forward like a bolt—from the tips of his hair down to his court boots, every inch of his frame surged with the force of his fist technique.
Cao Wuji felt as though thorns pricked his back. His left hand rose, five fingers curling into a grasping claw, and with a thought, his internal energy seemed to writhe like a spirit serpent, rapidly forming into six successive palm strikes.
Even as he struck, his right hand covered over it, and from the acupoints on the back of his hand, a black thread surged forth, shooting straight toward the body now bearing down upon him.
Peng dong—
Zhao Yao took all six palm strikes head-on with his flesh and blood, and Cao Wuji, crushed beneath the overwhelming pressure of the counterforce, was sent stumbling backward, retreating over a dozen paces in an instant.
“Is this what you’ve been relying on?”
Zhao Yao landed and flicked his finger, the energy and blood at his fingertip snapping the black thread cleanly in two.
This scene left countless onlookers utterly dumbstruck.
Both stood at Energy Condensation Ninth Level—Cao Wuji was even at its absolute peak—yet a single probing strike had sent him staggering back ten paces, suffering greatly for it.
Why was the gap between them so vast?
Only the members of the Four Great Sacred Grounds could see it most clearly.
The disparity in resources was simply too stark—Zhao Yao’s physique, flesh, blood, and orifices had all been meticulously refined and polished, his internal energy cultivation method of the very finest grade, and he even regularly consumed Sacred Ground pills to condense and refine his blood and energy, to say nothing of the gap in martial technique.
Zhao Yao’s moves were simple yet devastatingly swift; a young cultivator at the same realm simply couldn’t find a single opening in his defense.
It seemed, on the surface, riddled with gaps—as crude and reckless as a brute throwing his body into every punch—yet every part of his body was, in truth, a trap.
A disparity across every single dimension!
Upon the dueling platform, Cao Wuji steadied himself once more, deliberately sealing off the three Yang meridians of his hands and the three Yang meridians of his feet, leaving open only the Ren meridian running down the center of his chest and abdomen.
Within moments, blood seeped from all seven of his orifices, his entire face turning a deep shade of purple-black.
“Reversed blood flow?”
Many spectators felt their scalps prickle—a single exchange, and it had already forced the heaven-blessed Cao to exhaust himself to this extreme?
In the very next instant, Cao Wuji stamped the ground and launched himself forward, surging toward Zhao Yao like a great roc spreading its wings, his chest and abdomen emitting a series of resonant cries, his arms hard as solid rock, his legs sweeping through the air as sharp and swift as twin blades—the aftershock of his technique alone cracked jagged fissures across the granite of the dueling platform.
“You’re not worthy!”
Zhao Yao let out a long, ringing cry and met the attack fist-first, his legs carving a terrifying disc of internal energy through the air.
Boom—
A tremendous collision rang out. The disc caught and bound Cao Wuji’s arms as Zhao Yao’s palms bore down against the twin blades of internal energy. After only three breaths of deadlock, blood soaked the disc through and through, wounds opening across every part of Cao Wuji’s body.
“I…”
Crack—
Cao Wuji gathered his strength for one final blow, the acupoints of his neck the most vulnerable point.
Zhao Yao’s disc of internal energy had, as it happened, gathered precisely at Cao Wuji’s neck.
‘Die for me!’
Zhao Yao abruptly redirected his internal energy, wrenching Cao Wuji’s neck around and snapping it clean.
Bang—
Cao Wuji crashed to the ground, his eyes wide open in death, his final expression a picture of tragic horror.
The entire arena fell dead silent, nearly a hundred thousand people struck with a chill that ran down every spine.
Cao Wuji hadn’t lost—he had died!
Young Master Qilin was this ruthless, this merciless!!
Even while completely dominating the fight, Cao Wuji had only managed to utter the single word “I”—and still lost his life.
Everyone understood full well that Cao Wuji had meant to say, “I surrender.”
A member of the Literary Dao Academy in a lotus-flower robe kept his expression unchanged and declared in a ringing voice:
“Zhao Yao advances!”
Zhao Yao swept his gaze across the entire arena. He watched a hundred thousand people fall silent before him, and he walked away with a smile, head held high.
Of the six positions available, one had to belong to him, Zhao Yao—no one could stop that!
With his elder brother having paved the way for him, if he were to fail now, it would bring nothing but shame upon his brother’s name!!
The arena remained gripped in dead silence.
Cao Wuji—what a formidable talent he’d been, the undisputed leader of Anfu County’s younger generation, his combat experience thoroughly seasoned. He’d struck simultaneously at both the upper and lower vital points of Young Master Qilin—any single one of those blows should have been enough to leave a martial artist newly arrived at the Cavern Mystery realm in dire straits.
Yet Young Master Qilin had blocked it.
Not merely blocked it—he’d unleashed a thunderous counterattack!
How absurd it was—the heaven-blessed Cao, stopped in the very first round, unable even to reach the top one hundred twenty-eight.
With his own blood and bones, the heaven-blessed Cao had paved the dazzling, brilliant path beneath Young Master Qilin’s feet.
Zhao Yao returned to the high platform. Fear filled the eyes of every other participant—even the Cavern Mystery talents felt a wave of apprehension rise within them.
Zhao Yao’s true strength, in truth, lay even more so in Lord Zhao Can of the Martial Extremity Palace.
From laying his foundation to every single step he’d taken since, Lord Zhao had meticulously planned it all—though Zhao Yao’s natural talent fell slightly short of Zhao Can’s own, he stood where he did carried aloft by his brother’s support.
In the other matches, Liu Suifeng and Wu Tong of Shiyang Academy both fell in defeat one after another. Wu Tong came dangerously close to losing his life, and though he managed to survive, he was left with his meridians shattered beyond repair.
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