Chapter 45 Scene 1

  The competition is divided into three rounds.

  The first round was for each family to send out ten people, and they would practice against the Ling Xuan First Class Warrior sent by Old Man Chen. If they could hold on for a specified period of time, it would be considered a pass. Of course, if they could directly knock down that Ling Xuan First Class Warrior, it would also be considered a pass. However, the difference between the Jing Xuan and the Ling Xuan was like heaven and earth, and even with a numerical advantage, winning wouldn't be an easy task.

  The second round is to pick out the family sons who were not eliminated in the first round, and have them compete against each other in pairs.

  The third round was completely different from the first two rounds, which were group battles. The last round was a one-on-one battle between the most outstanding and highest-cultivated young masters from each family, all of whom were under 21 years old.

  At Ji Fan's command, everyone retreated to the temporary stands in an instant. The square was divided into sixteen areas.

  At this time, sixteen robust men in black clothes quickly stepped into the field and stood at sixteen positions.

  Ji Fan waved his hand again, and the sixteen young men stepped into the arena, each choosing an opponent.

  Qin Hao followed behind Qin Feng and stood on the platform. Not far away, Lin Zhanbei occasionally looked at him with a cold smile at the corner of his mouth, and a strong provocative meaning surged in the twitching corners of his eyes.

  Qin Hao shook his head and smiled, not paying attention to him. His eyes swept across Old Man Chen's body, and what surprised him was that as soon as the old man stepped onto the stage, he closed his eyes, leaned back against the chair, and seemed completely uninterested in everything.

  In the center of the square, a giant stone of several feet in size stood upright at some point. On top of the giant stone, a dark red crystal about the size of a cat's eye was inlaid. The crystal was a six-sided crystal body, delicate and transparent, smooth and flawless. When the sun rose to its highest point, a ray of sunlight shot directly onto the crystal, and then, a dark red glow suddenly rose from within the crystal, shooting straight up into the sky. The red glow on top of the crystal continued to flash, lingering for a long time without dispersing.

  "Begin." Ji Fan was full of energy and let out a loud shout.

  In an instant, the figures of sixteen people from different regions flashed simultaneously, and in the shortest moment, they burst into the most intense collision. The spectators in the field also shouted at this time, and the shouts of thousands of people rapidly formed a huge wave of sound, as if it would break through the sky.

  The entire square was filled with countless dark energy lights flickering, which was dazzling and resplendent.

  Earth-based Xuanqi is stable and long-lasting, Metal-based Xuanqi is sharp and unstoppable, Fire-based Xuanqi is strong and hard to resist, Wind-based Xuanqi is agile and floating...

  And what was most dazzling were the sixteen city masters who had been sent, from the start their entire bodies were surrounded by a halo of mysterious light, exceptionally resplendent, and their strength also left people's hearts in shock.

  Sixteen masters of the mysterious and profound martial arts, with their techniques unfolding smoothly without any stagnation. Their movements were circular and smooth, unmatched in their elegance. Although each was outnumbered ten to one, they didn't fall short, and some even showed overwhelming superiority.

  Small family of Wooden House, ten people average strength initially entered the sixth heavy, good at earth-based Xuanqi, with a reputation for tight defense and long-lasting physical strength. However, at this moment, those dozen or so people were quickly forced to the brink of disaster by the sharp and powerful attacks of the previous fire-based Lingxuan realm warrior. As soon as they faced each other, the ten-man formation was completely defeated, and one person was even knocked out of the arena, losing their qualification. Later, the remaining nine people were forced to flee in disarray, looking extremely miserable...

  The Huang family, with an average strength of ten people at the peak of the sixth layer of the Condensed Mysteries stage, excelled in using agile wind-type mystic energy. They were facing a strong opponent who was a Earth-type Mystic Realm warrior. The ten members of the Huang family were extremely intelligent and did not directly confront their opponent head-on. Instead, they cleverly used their footwork to constantly dodge and weave around the area, taking advantage of any opportunity to launch a probing attack. If the attack missed, they would immediately retreat. The Earth-type Mystic Realm warrior was not skilled in attacking, so for a while, it seemed that the Huang family had the upper hand. However, this was only superficial. The true strength of the Earth-type Mystic Realm warrior lay in its defensive capabilities and endurance, which were far beyond what these young Condensed Mysteries stage cultivators could imagine. In less than a moment, the Huang family's movements slowed down significantly, and they were repeatedly hit by their opponent. On the other hand, the black-clothed warrior seemed to gain momentum as he fought, exuding an aura of majesty and grandeur.

  ……

  Similar scenes are being staged everywhere.

  Small families basically do not dare to confront horizontally, but adopt the method of delaying time. However, the gap in strength is too large, and they are at a disadvantage on the scene. Medium-sized families still have the power to probe, occasionally they can even seize several times of initiative to attack, but as time goes on, they are also gradually suppressed.

  Many onlookers' gazes unconsciously shifted to a location in the west, where ten blue-robed young men stood out. The Blue family's juniors had cultivated their skills to the peak of the Seventh Realm of Condensed Mysteries, which wasn't particularly high, but their tacit cooperation and suitable application of martial techniques allowed them to thoroughly rebound after initially being suppressed. Many members of the Blue family excelled at water-based mystic energy, which was slightly lacking in power, but made up for it with its sustained force, making it suitable for entangling battles. The ten men continuously moved around their opponent, punching and kicking out in rapid succession, unrelenting and unceasing, completely sealing off the opponent's attacking position and binding their hands and feet.

  Ling Xuan Wu was entangled and couldn't break free, his spiritual energy completely depleted, surrounded and desperately defending himself on the spot.

  This is the real balance, unlike other medium and small families who use instant bursts of mysterious energy to exchange for a moment of peace. People with a little bit of insight can see that they are not launching crazy attacks, but rather slowly dragging on, with several people attacking in groups, while others either cover or defend against potential damage. And once the attackers become tired, they retreat slightly and take on a covering role, only to be replaced by another group of people who come forward again to surround and attack.

  That Ling Xuan Wu was so strong, but he couldn't even use it, and for a while, he was beaten to the point of being suffocated.

  Qin Hao gazed at the scene in the arena, nodding to himself. The people of the Blue family indeed had some strength, no wonder they dared to cooperate with the Lin family and challenge Qin Jing'ai.

  "Good!"

  Suddenly, a loud noise like thunder exploded from the east side of the square, spreading throughout the entire square. Everyone's eyes immediately focused on it, and Qin Hao's eyes also turned in that direction.

  Only ten young men were seen, who forced a martial artist to retreat repeatedly, and that martial artist, who should have had the upper hand in the spiritual realm, was in a sorry state, utterly powerless.

  Ten young men were the Lin family's children. At this time, the ten people kept pressing forward, their formation like a long knife, with a powerful and shocking momentum constantly charging forward. Four of them, whose strength was clearly above the Eighth Layer of the Congenital Realm, were at the forefront of the knife, using their unmatched martial skills to continuously attack, while six others provided support from behind, gathering all their power at the forefront, making it seem incredibly powerful.

  Ling Xuan Wu's hands and feet were constantly being hit, and when he tried to counterattack, he was somewhat powerless. When dodging, his footwork became increasingly disordered.

  At this sight, the ten Lin family juniors suddenly dispersed in an instant, and then burst out violently, like ten blue arrows shooting straight over.

  At that moment, the ten young men exuded an intimidating aura, and their martial skills were even more astonishing. In an instant, the Lin family's youngsters' formidable strength was fully revealed without reservation.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

  The black-clad warrior continued to parry and retreat in disorder, and when he blocked the last attack, his left foot had already stepped out of the range.

  Ling Xuan was defeated once and for all, thoroughly routed, without any strength to resist.

  "It's indeed the Lin family, their prestige hasn't diminished at all. The martial artists sent by the city lord didn't have a single chance from start to finish."

  "That's natural, being first in three years isn't a joke? These are all victories won with fists."

  "That's true, the Blue House warrior is quite strong too, but compared to him, they still fall short."

  ……

  The murmurs in the arena were endless, and many people shouted with all their might. The momentum of the Lin family's counterattack, as well as the bets they had placed under pressure from the Ruyi Pavilion, gave them ample reason to be so flustered.

  Lin Zhanbei smiled faintly, but his eyes gleamed with unspoken triumph. Lin Bi also cast a scornful glance at this moment. Qin Feng's face looked somewhat unpleasant as he gazed out at the situation in the square.

  Qin Hao's expression remained as calm and unchanged as ever.

  Not bad, the ten people from Lin's family were indeed not bad in his eyes, but just not bad. If their reliance was only on this, then there wouldn't be much to see through in this match.

  When the Lin family's ten people withdrew from the field, the Blue family's outcome was also decided. The young master of the Blue family seized the moment and struck with all his might, at the cost of one person being eliminated, he knocked his opponent out of the field and advanced through selection.

  As Lin and Lan's two families withdrew, everyone's attention inevitably focused on the Qin family. The cultivation of the Qin family's children was the highest, averaging around the eighth level of Congxuan, but the successive defeats over the years had reduced people's expectations for them.

  Although it was the case, as another big family, the Qin family became the focus of the scene. However, with just one glance, many people's eyeballs almost popped out and their chins nearly dropped off.

  "You say, is this really a Qin family descendant? The Eight Trigrams Fist of the Condensed Mysteries?"

  "Take two shots at me and see if I'm wrong?"

  "Am I still dreaming? Is this really a once-a-year tournament? Isn't it just a low-level martial artist competition on the streets?"

  "What's going on here."

  It's not surprising that everyone reacted this way. Although the Qin family's performance in previous years was not good, relying on their relatively high cultivation and strong martial skills, they could at least show a sense of determination during the trial. But what did they see now?

  Among the ten people in the arena, nine of them had stiff and awkward control over their inner energy, and when they used their martial skills, they didn't have the same power as before. Moreover, many of them rarely used their martial skills anymore. They were the type who would start swinging wildly with a "wang ba quan" (a type of fist technique), striking randomly, using techniques like "hei hu tou xin", "lao shu pan gen", "ye cha tan hai", "shuang long tan zhu", and "cha hou shuang zhi". They used all sorts of unsightly martial skills.

  Logically, this kind of play should have been eliminated long ago. It's just that at this point, their disadvantage isn't too obvious, and the reason lies in their movements. It's not that their movements are clever; if anything, they can only be described with two words - despicable, or four words - extremely despicable.

  Just like a dog skin plaster, sticking tightly and stubbornly, taking every opportunity to stick to one's body, no matter how hard you try to shoo it away, it won't leave, shamelessly clinging on, refusing to budge, with no regard for rules or decorum, utterly infuriating.

  Apart from Miss Qin Yuxian, whose figure is still as elegant and stunning as when she used to fight, the fighting styles of everyone else are unbearable to watch, the more you look, the more disappointing...

  That black-clad warrior was formidable, but he had never seen such a despicable fighting style before. He was momentarily at a loss, and from time to time, he would be hit by the king's fist.

  But as the crowd watched, many of them showed disappointment after their initial shock. Who would have thought that a member of the Qin family had degenerated to such an extent...

  ***

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