On the arena, the two stood facing each other.
"Heavenly Steel Palm!"
Xie Yanqing made the first move, his palm print roaring forth with a flurry of fierce winds as it pressed straight toward Yun Che.
"Ah! I never expected Xie Yanqing to unleash the Xie family's Yellow-tier mid-grade martial art, the Heavenly Steel Palm, right at the start! Is he trying to defeat Yun Che with thunderous momentum?"
Seeing Xie Yanqing strike, the onlookers couldn't help but feel nervous for Yun Che.
Just as the palm print rushed before Yun Che,
"Blazing Sun Art! Swish!"
Firelight erupted all around Yun Che—it was precisely the Yun family's Yellow-tier martial art, the Blazing Sun Art.
The violent flames collided with the palm print and exploded, gripping everyone's hearts. Yun Che staggered back five steps, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
"He actually blocked it? Why are these Yun family disciples all getting so ferocious?"
Although he had blocked the palm strike, Yun Che was directly injured.
"Take another blow and be defeated!" Seeing that his single strike had failed to defeat Yun Che, Xie Yanqing said somewhat irritably.
"Void-Shattering Finger!"
In the split second of a lightning flash, Xie Yanqing deployed the Xie family's Yellow-tier upper-grade technique, the Void-Shattering Finger.
Feeling the formidable momentum, Yun Che did not hesitate.
"Creation Three Profound Transformations! First Transformation, Flowing Light Radiates the Sun!"
"Boom!" Flowing light surged around Yun Che, and his dazzling, oppressive cultivation realm directly soared to the Ninth Layer of Pill Opening Realm!
"What kind of technique is this? It can actually forcibly raise one's cultivation realm by a full stage?!" Zhou Xing gasped sharply.
At this moment, Lin Dongtian, Liu Dong, Xie Wuji, and others were also quite shocked.
"Instructor Beigong, what martial art is this?" asked a fairy-like young girl. This girl was none other than Murong Mingxi, one of the four youths from Bright Moon Academy this time, while the other girl was named Xiao Ling'er.
"This should be a martial art capable of instantaneously elevating one's cultivation, but the consumption of spiritual qi is immense. If the opponent still has the strength to fight back, Yun Che is bound to lose," Beigong Han said, truly deserving of his vast experience.
"Brother Su, Little Che's Wuxing is simply too formidable! I'm only just now barely touching the threshold of the Creation Three Profound Transformations, yet he has actually comprehended the first transformation!" Yun Nantian and Yun Yi wore expressions of envy.
"Little Che has a pure mind and a tenacious nature. It's no surprise that such a disposition grants him unique talent in comprehending martial arts. Were it not for his shallow cultivation base, a spot in the top three would definitely be within his grasp," Su Qinghe couldn't help but nod inwardly.
Because the technique Su Qinghe himself practiced was the Great Heaven Creation Scripture, the accompanying martial arts were of the same origin; he only needed to continuously improve the cultivation level of his Great Heaven Creation Scripture to master them directly.
Yet for Yun Che, the difficulty of his cultivation was akin to comprehending an Earth-tier martial art.
"Blazing Sun Art! Summoning Lightning!"
On the arena, lightning flashed and rumbled as it surged forward. That destructive bolt of lightning directly smashed through Xie Yanqing's barrier of vital energy, striking him in the chest with a loud crash. Immediately afterward, Xie Yanqing collapsed limply to the ground, powerless to fight any longer.
"Gulp!"
"What's going on? Yun Che actually defeated Xie Yanqing!"
The morale of the Yun family soared, whereas the members of the Xie family wore gloomy expressions.
"I announce, the first match, Yun Che wins!" The black-robed elder at the side also took half a day to react.
At this moment, Yun Che was already at the end of his tether, the spiritual qi within his body having been instantly drained dry by the Creation Three Profound Transformations.
Su Qinghe looked at Yun Che. "Not bad. Restore your spiritual qi as quickly as possible."
The outcome of the first match was something no one had expected. The anticipated one-sided crushing defeat did not happen; instead, Yun Che, the one least favored, emerged victorious.
"Next match, Lin Feng of the Lin family versus Liu Zhou of the Liu family."
Immediately, the two youths walked onto the arena. Lin Feng's cultivation was at the Mid-Stage First Layer of Life Palace Realm, while Liu Zhou was at the Destiny Palace Realm First Layer Early Stage. The battle between the two held no suspense—after exchanging blows for a quarter of an hour, Liu Zhou proved no match for Lin Feng and actively conceded defeat!
"Second match, Lin Feng wins!"
"Next match, Lin Huan of the Lin family versus Xie Yanji of the Xie family."
"Third match, Xie Yanji wins!"
"Next match,..."
"..."
The matches that followed had nothing particularly remarkable about them.
Lin Hai of the Lin family defeated Liu Xu of the Liu family, Yun Yi of the Yun family defeated Lin Feng, and Yun Nantian defeated Xie Yanji.
It was worth mentioning that Yun Che actually ran into Zhou Wenjing, who was at the Early-Stage Third Layer of Life Palace Realm. After maneuvering around for several rounds with his abilities and discovering he had zero chance of winning, he simply chose to concede defeat.
This was normal; after all, the gap in cultivation was too vast to be bridged by martial arts alone.
Currently, there remained only Zhou Qing and Zhou Wenjing from the City Lord's Mansion, Lin Hai from the Lin family, Liu Ruyan from the Liu family, Xie Yanting from the Xie family, and Yun Nantian and Yun Yi from the Yun family—a total of seven people.
On the arena, the competition continued.
Stepping up next were Lin Hai of the Lin family and Yun Yi of the Yun family.
Lin Hai and Yun Yi were evenly matched in cultivation, both at the Peak of the Second Layer of Life Palace Realm. Moreover, one wielded a saber while the other used a sword. What followed would be a closely contested match—a duel between saber and sword.
"It seems the truly exciting battle is about to begin."
The spectators in the stands kept their gazes fixed on the two young geniuses in the arena, filled with anticipation for the upcoming showdown.
"Lin Hai."
"Yun Yi."
Their eyes met, the majestic aura of the Peak of the Second Layer of Life Palace Realm radiating outward as each saw intense fighting intent in the other's eyes.
"Bang!" The two struck simultaneously. Yun Yi rushed toward Lin Hai like a ghost. Just as Lin Hai prepared to receive the move, Yun Yi executed a positional cut, shifting horizontally to Lin Hai's flank and smoothly sliding out his sword to pierce straight for Lin Hai's vital points.
Yun Yi had always practiced the sword dao; the only thing he lacked was close-quarters combat capability, but the prior training under Su Qinghe had precisely patched up Yun Yi's shortcomings.
Lin Hai's heart tightened as he turned sideways, bringing up his saber to block Yun Yi's strike. Yun Yi pressed closely forward once more, his sword light flashing like a phantom as he thrust and parried. In an instant, Lin Hai found himself directly suppressed.
"Hmph, Yun Yi, don't you dare be so arro—"
Before Lin Hai could finish speaking, Yun Yi once again shifted horizontally at an unimaginable angle and slashed out with his sword. Combined with his drifting divine footwork and fierce sword Qi, a wound instantly appeared on Lin Hai's body.
Furious, Lin Hai brought his saber down in a direct chop. Brimming with momentum, it cleaved downward like Mount Hua splitting apart, forcing Yun Yi back.
Their exchange appeared lengthy, but in reality, they had traded dozens of blows in the flash of a spark.
"Too brilliant! Why are the younger generation of the Yun family all such freaks?"
Yun Yi's ghostly footwork and exquisite swordsmanship dazzled the onlookers.
"Eh, Yi'er has never been skilled in close combat. Since when could he display such astonishing close-quarters combat experience?" Yun Jinghong of the Yun family felt shocked and quite puzzled.
"Second Brother, this must be thanks to Qinghe. Chengyer's changes were already enough to astonish us, but I never expected Yi'er to undergo such a transformation as well," Yun Feng said, a wise gleam flashing in his eyes.
"Yun Yi, do you really think you can finish me off with just this bizarre footwork?" Lin Hai said, now driven to anger by embarrassment.
"Then let's decide the victory in a single move," Yun Yi said indifferently.
"Hmph, boastful!" Lin Hai's face turned gloomy, and he let out a loud shout.
"Shadowless Wild Sand Saber!"
Shadows of the saber filled the sky like a raging sandstorm lunging at Yun Yi, as if trying to devour him.
"Heavenly Crystal Sword Art — Radiating All Living Beings!"
The sword light around Yun Yi surged magnificently, erupting like ten thousand swords firing simultaneously as the cold glare of the blade thrust straight forward.
The instant the saber and sword collided, nothing was left in the entire arena except the flashing lights of blades and swords.
At this moment, the crowd could no longer clearly see the figures of the two.
In the end, who had won?