Chapter 192: Chapter 192: Hidden Crisis, Dominant Ten Consecutive Wins
“A middle-aged swordsman at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, why didn’t he even have a chance to draw his sword?”
“Could that purple-haired beauty be the organizer’s daughter?”
Everyone felt it was far-fetched.
On the ground.
The middle-aged swordsman felt the immense pressure of an invisible force upon him and was greatly shocked, thinking it was a special spell cast by Ji Ziling.
That was precisely why he couldn’t draw his sword.
“Four consecutive wins,” Jia Yulan murmured.
“Well done, Sister Ziling, strive for ten consecutive wins!” Ouyang Yu shouted loudly.
On the stage.
Ji Ziling took a deep breath, recovering her expended energy.
As long as her opponent was not very strong, she could restrict them with her Divine Sense Power, and then finish with a Vitality Bullet. To force her to exert her full strength, the opponent’s cultivation level had to be high enough to break through the suppression of the Divine Sense Power.
“I’ll take the fifth match!”
A Qi Refining Realm peak expert stepped onto the stage.
On a clay hill outside Yunxiao Ancient City.
Qinghun Zhenren stood on a rock and suddenly frowned while looking towards the northwest.
“Grumble grumble!”
Little Piggy made a noise.
Qinghun Zhenren looked down at him and said, “Don’t worry, it’s just a trivial matter. It won’t affect our plans; in fact, it will make tonight even more interesting.”
Ten miles from Yunxiao Ancient City.
Ye Feng sat on a metal leaf blade, half a meter wide and two meters long, clasping the Heaven-Asking Mirror and watching the battle on the stage.
“Not bad at all, it looks like they’re having a great time.”
After speaking, Ye Feng looked down at the metal leaf underneath him.
This was the Spirit Artifact he had entrusted Zheng Yaoshou to forge last time—etched with durability and reinforcement formations, and exceptionally hard to the extent that even Element Gathering Realm would find it difficult to damage.
For other cultivators, this metal leaf was useful only for its hardness.
But for Ye Feng, who possessed the Heroic Spirit Power, it was a durable tool for both transportation and combat.
“Strange, why do I suddenly feel a little uneasy?”
Ye Feng rubbed his brow, his Crisis Awareness giving him a premonition of impending danger, which is why he didn’t immediately return to Misty Peak but waited here instead.
In case Jia Yulan and the others encountered an irresistible danger, he would be able to rescue them in time.
“Eh, a seven-win streak!” Ye Feng glanced through the Heaven-Asking Mirror and saw the situation, “However, Ji Ziling should be able to win two more matches. By the last match, she will probably face the organizer’s interference.”
Following that, Ye Feng took out the Refining Furnace.
“Mo Ying is about to break through to the Element Gathering Realm; it’s no longer fitting to use a lower grade Spiritual Artifact like the Breeze-riding Flying Sword. I might as well forge a middle-grade Spiritual Artifact for her now that I have all the materials.”
“She likes swords, so let’s make a sword…”
Ye Feng communicated with the Refining Furnace through telekinesis and, following the prompts, threw in dozens of cast metal ingots along with ten middle-grade Spirit Stones.
Ding ling dang lang!
Noise emanated from the Refining Furnace, but Ye Feng isolated it with his Heroic Spirit Power, preventing it from spreading too far.
He was unaware that Qinghun Zhenren and Little Piggy were only a few miles away.
Similarly, the latter two were also oblivious to Ye Feng’s proximity.
On the stage.
Bang!
Ji Ziling first suppressed her opponent using Divine Sense Power. Even though her adversary was a peak sixth-level Qi Refining cultivator who could rely on his cultivation to break through the suppression of Divine Sense Power, he was continuously forced into a passive position.
“Wind Spirit Step!”
“Spirit Disc Flying Blade!”
“Vitality Bullet!”
After that, Ji Ziling unleashed three First Grade Spells she had cultivated to Perfection. First, with Spirit Disc Flying Blade, she broke through her opponent’s shield, then a Vitality Bullet sent the adversary flying.
“Nine consecutive wins!”
“She’s the only one to reach this record; could it be that someone is finally about to win ten matches in a row in the arena?”
The audience stopped eating, their eyes wide open, not wanting to miss any detail.
“In the tenth match, Sister Ziling will face a real challenge,” Jia Yulan whispered.
“If Sister Ziling can’t win, then we’ll go next!” Ouyang Yu was eager to try. Now equipped with the Qingfeng Sword, her cultivation level was nearing the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refinement. Under Mo Ying’s guidance, she had perfected Streaming Light Sword Qi and cultivated the auxiliary method, “Second Qi Sea”, making her overall strength around the seventh or eighth levels of Qi Refining.
In the entire Yunxiao Ancient City, she was considered top-tier.
As for Jia Yulan, there was even less need to mention.
By the stage.
The white-browed elder presiding over the event looked respectfully at the young master beside him and said, “Young Lord, are you going to take the stage now?”
“Of course!” The young man in red robes lightly flicked his feather fan, brimming with confidence.
As the organizer of the current tournament, he commanded five seasoned Qi Refining Realm practitioners at the seventh level—he could send any one of them to end the winning streaks of other cultivators.
But until now, Ji Ziling hadn’t encountered anyone at the seventh level of Qi Refining.
This was all arranged by the young man in the red robe.
“In the final battle, this young master will defeat the beauty, but deliberately admit defeat. Couldn’t I then win her favor and take the beauty home?”
Having said this, the young man in the red robe stepped onto the ring.
The aura of someone at the Seventh Level of Qi Refinement Peak swept across the arena instantly.
“It’s Zhuang Chen, son of City Lord Zhuang Gaoyi!”
“It’s said that he is the future City Lord of Yunxiao Ancient City, the current Young City Lord. How come even such a VIP has arrived?”
“That’s what makes it worth watching!”
The crowd of onlookers all became interested.
They didn’t know that Zhuang Chen was actually the real organizer of the ring battle.
“You are my final opponent?” Ji Ziling sized up Zhuang Chen and found that his aura was strong; he seemed to be leisurely fanning himself, but he had long been gathering his momentum, which could not be suppressed by the beginning of the Second Grade of Divine Sense Power.
“Fellow Daoist, you’ve fought nine bouts in a row and must be greatly depleted. This young master does not take advantage of others, so you are permitted to rest for half an hour,” Zhuang Chen said as he moved around, choosing a position with his back to the sun and adjusted his stance, giving off the air of an elegant noble.
“As expected of Zhuang Chen, so handsome. I want to have his babies!” blurted some infatuated young girls, unable to control themselves.
“Vulgar!” someone sneered with contempt.
On the ring.
Ji Ziling found that her spiritual energy was indeed greatly depleted, but as someone with a Supreme Grade constitution, she recovered quickly. Half an hour was enough for her to do a lot.
“Thanks, I’ll rest for half an hour and also make a breakthrough in my cultivation level,” she said, the latter half of her statement only in her mind.
She sat cross-legged under the tree where Jia Yulan and Ouyang Yu were, eating a Lower Grade Cultivation Qi Pill. As she recovered her spiritual energy, she easily broke through to the Fifth Level of Qi Refinement.
Afterward, Ji Ziling diligently cultivated the “Nine-Turn Heavenly God Technique”, making a push for the middle phase of the Second Grade.
“As expected of a Supreme Grade constitution. Ziling has made quick progress. If her Telekinesis reaches the middle phase of the Second Grade, she has a chance of winning,” Jia Yulan smiled.
Zhuang Chen returned to his seat, waiting silently.
Outside the city.
Ye Feng was still refining tools.
Qinghun Zhenren and Little Piggy flew towards the northwest corner of Yunxiao Ancient City and upon witnessing a thick cloud of dust hundreds of miles away, they smiled.
“Indeed, it’s them!”
An hour passed in the blink of an eye.
On the ring.
Ji Ziling and Zhuang Chen confronted each other from twenty meters away.
“Fellow Daoist, my name is Zhuang Chen. May I have the honor of inviting you to the bustling Divine Artifact Tower for a drink tonight? Of course, this includes your two fellow disciples as well,” Zhuang Chen said as he spotted Jia Yulan and Ouyang Yu, finding both women quite stunning, and immediately wished to meet them.
“I can’t, no time,” Ji Ziling flatly refused.
She may have appeared naive and not well-versed in the outside world, but she was quite accurate in judging people. She knew who was sincere and who harbored ulterior motives, having a strong sense of crisis awareness.
Zhuang Chen, though smiling on the outside, felt displeased at being rejected.
“Seven-Leaved Flying Flower!”
Zhuang Chen suddenly waved his fan, sending out a spiritual energy flower that bloomed in mid-air, transforming into seven blades shaped like leaves to block Ji Ziling’s retreat.
Yet, with a thought from Ji Ziling, her Telekinesis slowed the leaves’ speed, then she easily dodged them with a display of the “Wind Spirit Steps”.
Because she had used a Spell, Ji Ziling’s aura of Qi Refinement at the Fifth Level was revealed.
“She actually made a breakthrough!”
Not only Zhuang Chen but the other spectators also showed surprise.
“However, a mere Qi Refinement at the Fifth Level can’t beat me,” Zhuang Chen retracted his fan, his hands continuously forming seals, condensing a large net of spiritual energy that flew towards Ji Ziling.
“Spirit Disc Flying Blade!”
Ji Ziling formed a seal with one hand, and a glowing disc appeared in front of her. Several flying blades were launched, but they were deflected by the large net of spiritual energy.
“It’s no use. You are only at Qi Refinement of the Fifth Level; even if your Spell is at Perfection, it can’t break through my Spirit Net, which is at the Major Achievement stage,” Zhuang Chen assured himself of victory.
“Not necessarily!”
Ji Ziling refused to concede. She kept forming seals with her hands, and countless pink petals appeared in front of her. Each petal was sharp as a blade, continuously cutting the spiritual energy net.
At the same time, her Divine Sense Power wrapped around the spiritual net, tearing at it relentlessly.
Rip!
Ultimately, the spiritual energy net was shattered.
Ji Ziling stepped on the petals and suddenly closed the gap to Zhuang Chen, shooting out a Vitality Bullet.
“Sandstone Wall!”
Zhuang Chen stomped his foot, and a wall of rock rose from the ground to block the Vitality Bullet, but in that moment, Zhuang Chen suddenly found his movements slowing down as if restrained by some invisible force.
“Break!”
He pushed his cultivation force to the limit and, with a shake of his momentum, dispersed the Divine Sense Power.
However, Ji Ziling had already used “Wind Spirit Steps” to get behind him.
Boom!
Three consecutive Vitality Bullets hit Zhuang Chen’s back, sending him spitting blood as he was thrown out of the ring.
Ji Ziling, victorious!
The onlooking crowd was all dumbfounded.