Zhang Ruochen’s first opponent was a young warrior in yellow. He seemed nearly 20 years old and was at the Medium State of the Yellow Realm.
He could be considered as a genius of martial arts since he had practiced to the Medium State at such an early age.
The young warrior in yellow held a broadsword, and said in a loud voice, “Hao Shiqi from the Hao’s, I am the first to challenge you. Please draw your sword!”
Zhang Ruochen gripped the hilt of the Flash Shinning Sword with his right hand, shook his head, and said, “I don’t need my sword to defeat you. If I draw it out, you may get hurt.”
“Arrogant!”
The young warrior in yellow poured his Genuine Qi into the broadsword to activate two Inscriptions of Power within it. The weight of the broadsword increased to 143.5 kg.
He held the broadsword with both hands, brandishing it, and rushed toward Zhang Ruochen.
With his momentum, even a warrior at the Final State of the Yellow Realm would not dare to confront him directly.
“Boom!”
Zhang Ruochen was completely still. With a wave of his arm, the scabbard cleaved at the young warrior’s neck.
“Ding!”
The broadsword clattered to the ground.
The young warrior in yellow screamed, and fell from the Coliseum, out of his bearings.
He covered his neck, returning to the Coliseum to pick his broadsword up. He glanced at Zhang Ruochen respectfully, and said, “Thank you for not killing me.”
He was quite lucky that Zhang Ruochen had hit him with the scabbard, or his head would not be on his neck anymore.
Round two, won!
Round three, won!
Round four, won!
Zhang Ruochen won three consecutive matches.
He stood in the center of the Coliseum as steady as rock, never moving his feet at all.
Whoever challenged him was struck down from the Coliseum with the same movement, no matter what cultivation they had reached.
“How could the boy be so powerful? Even Luo Tian, whose cultivation is at the Final State of the Yellow Realm, was defenseless against that scabbard strike.” A 16-year-old noble girl stared at Zhang Ruochen curiously.
Zhang Ruochen was too young and had such great strength. Warriors at the Final State of the Yellow Realm were unable to force him backward a step, let alone make him draw his sword.
“He must have practiced the Sword Comprehension to the realm of ‘Sword Following the Mind’. Unless the challenger can deal with his Sword Comprehension, will be struck down from the Coliseum by him with only one move.”
Xue Bingsheng brandished the fan in his hand, smiled and said, “Haha! Don’t you know who he is?”
“Do you know?” Many people asked.
Xue Bingsheng said, “He is the Ninth Prince of Yunwu Commandery. He could beat the geniuses at the Final State with the cultivation of the Beginning State in the Year-end Assessment. According to his practice speed, he must have reached the Medium State by now. Unless warriors at the Completion of the Yellow Realm challenge him, nobody can beat him.”
“Haha! So it’s the Ninth Prince, the famous genius of martial arts. Let me challenge him.”
A bald man kicked off of the grandstand while holding two hammers and covered a distance of 10 meters before falling on the Coliseum.
“The Ninth Prince, I Guo Sihai, will fight you for round five. You should be careful. My hammers weigh 400 kg. Even a man made of iron will be crushed if he gets hit,” said Guo Sihai.
Warriors who could gain five repeated victories in the Yellow Fighting Palace were almost all at the Completion of the Yellow Realm. Only a few geniuses were at the Final State of the Yellow Realm.
Guo Sihai was a warrior at the Completion of the Yellow Realm. He was 1.85m whose arms were wider than Zhang Ruochen’s thighs and his body was full of palm-sized muscles.
“Guo Sihai was born with amazing power. He can burst out with the power of 30 bulls in the Completion of the Yellow Realm. Maybe the Ninth Prince will lose!”
Hearing the discussion of the crowd, the Ninth Commandery Princess started to worry. After all, it was a warrior at the Completion.
A warrior in the Completion and a warrior at the Final State were not at the same level at all.
“Ow!”
Guo Sihai roared, and his bones popped. He swung the two hammers with his arms like a windmill, emitting gusts.
“Wild Hammer!”
Guo Sihai struck out with all his power, using a martial technique of the inferior class in the Human Stage. He swung the two hammers at Zhang Ruochen concurrently.
A hammer aimed at Zhang Ruochen’s head, and the other at his legs.
Under such wild attack, Zhang Ruochen would have needed to step back even if his cultivation was stronger.
Once Zhang Ruochen stepped back, he would continue to pressure Zhang Ruochen with his following movements and beat Zhang Ruochen with a thunderbolt-like momentum.
“Bang!”
Zhang Ruochen just cleaved with his scabbard just as before, slamming into one hammer.
The hammer changed direction immediately, crashing into Guo Sihai’s chest.
“Boom!”
Guo Sihai fell down from the Coliseum with his two hammers.
“How… how can that be?”
Guo Sihai covered his bloody chest and climbed up from the ground with great difficulty. He stared at Zhang Ruochen, who was standing straight in the center of the Coliseum. He did not see how Zhang Ruochen waved his scabbard at all.
All he knew was that he was struck down from the Coliseum by his own hammer.
“Even Guo Sihai couldn’t force him to draw his sword! How could he be that powerful?”
Xue Bingsheng seemed a bit more serious, and said, “The Ninth Prince’s Sword Comprehension is at least at the Intermediate Stage of the realm of ‘Sword Following the Mind’, maybe it is already in the Advanced Stage.”
“Impossible! Even for warriors of the Black Realm, only a few can train to the Advanced Stage of ‘Sword Following the Mind’ Realm.”
Xue Bingsheng smiled a little and said, “Let’s see! It’s only round five now. The following warriors will be more powerful as it continues. Eventually, someone will find his weakness. If he lasts to round eight, I will go to the Coliseum to beat him myself.”
At this moment, the Ninth Commandery Princess and Shan Xiangling were very shocked as well. They didn’t expect that Zhang Ruochen was that strong.
“He beat a warrior at the Completion of the Yellow Realm with just one move! Could my ninth brother’s cultivation have broken through to the Final State of the Yellow Realm?” The Ninth Commandery Princess said.
“It must be the Final State of the Yellow Realm!”
“How long ago was the Year-end Assessment? The Ninth Prince’s cultivation has progressed two levels since then. That is incredible.” Shan Xiangling said.
She would not be able to believe that there was such an incredible man in the world if she had not witnessed it.
Another warrior at the Completion of the Yellow Realm went up to the Coliseum. It was a woman in her twenties in an indigo robe. She also used a sword.
The woman in the indigo robe stood across from Zhang Ruochen, watching his every movement carefully, searching for a flaw.
“There are no flaws at all! I have to force him to reveal one.”
“Crash!”
The woman in indigo robe moved fast as a lighting with special footwork. She attacked Zhang Ruochen’s legs with a fish intestine rapier.
Even if she was unable to defeat Zhang Ruochen, it would count as an achievement if she could force him to move.
Once he moved, he would show flaws; beating him became much easier.
Zhang Ruochen finally seemed serious. The indigo robed woman’s sword technique was quite sharp. It had reached the realm of “Sword Following the Mind”. Although she was just at the Initial Stage, she was much more powerful than the other warriors at the Completion of the Yellow Realm.
Zhang Ruochen closed his eyes, only using his ears to catch the sound of the sword breaking air.
“Ding!”
He waved the scabbard, aiming at the space between them. He parried woman’s attack down to his legs.
The woman was a little stunned, but she changed her movements quickly. She used three sword techniques in a row, yet each one was accurately blocked by Zhang Ruochen.
There was a “Dong” when she was about to start the fourth movement. She felt a sharp pain in her chest and a rib of her seemed broken.
Zhang Ruochen pointed the scabbard at the female’s chest and said mildly, “You lose!”
The scabbard had once again saved a life. If it were the point, her heart would have been punctured.
The woman sheathed her fish intestines rapier, made an obeisance to Zhang Ruochen by cupping one hand in the other before her chest, and said, “No wonder the Ninth Prince is the Genius of Martial Arts. I admit your superiority!”
Another warrior at the Completion of the Yellow Realm had lost without forcing the Ninth Prince to retreat.
“Hum! Damn it! He is only 16, but his martial cultivation was that high. I can’t let him live, absolutely not.”
Liu Chengfeng was very angry. He said to a royal guard standing behind him, “Go get Han Fu. Tell him it’s the time.”
“Copy that!” The royal guard rushed off at once.
Liu Chengfeng stared at Shan Xiangling, who was standing at the bleacher below. A filthy smile appeared as he said, “Shan Xiangling, I’ll see who can save you when Zhang Ruochen dies in the Coliseum. Haha!”
Due to Zhang Ruochen’s incredible performance, the entire Yellow Fighting Palace cheered upwards loudly.
Finally, Zhang Ruochen met his seventh challenger.
Hong Tao, whose cultivation was at the Completion of the Yellow Realm, had developed an Ice of Profound Sacred Mark. He gained a record of seven consecutive victories four times in the Yellow Fighting Palace.
In addition, he also had reached the Initial Stage of the Following the Mind Realm.
But he used a whip instead of a sword. Whip Followed the Mind.
“I, Hong Tao, greets the Ninth Prince. I hope the Ninth Prince will forgive me if I offend Your Excellency later.” Hong Tao seemed refined and courteous. There was always a smile on his face, but his eyes were sharp.
Hong Tao touched his wrist gently and uncoiled a long golden whip.
The golden whip was 13 meters long, only the width of a little finger wide. It seemed like a Genuine Martial Arm made of some savage beast.
Normal people couldn’t even swing the long whip properly.
“Bang!”
Hong Tao shook his arm, making the golden long whip flail immediately. It coiled around his body like a flexible spiritual snake, radiating golden lights.