Volume 1 Chapter 23
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Volume 1 Chapter 23: The First Ring
After Zhang Hualing announced the start of the competition, Xu Qingfan looked confused at the bustling crowd in the square, not understanding how Zhang Hualing expected them to compete. There wasn’t even a platform; did they have to fight in public on the square?
Just as Xu Qingfan was confused, the answer was revealed.
Suddenly, a tall old man stood up from the main seat. He was mumbling something, and with a flick of his hand, he pointed to an empty spot in the square. Upon his command, a loud rumbling filled the air. To the astonished eyes of the disciples, the flat ground in the square suddenly rose to form several long platforms made of stone, each about ten yards wide.
The Taoist spell is truly profound, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but exclaim.
It seems that these stone platforms are the stages for this grand competition among the sect.
At that moment, the elders who did not have disciples competing soared into the air, flying toward each platform to act as judges for them.
There are a total of sixteen platforms, each with sixteen disciples, and only one disciple can stand out and enter the final sixteen.
Xu Qingfan was number sixty-six, placed on the fifth platform. Yue Qingru was assigned to the sixth platform, while Jin Qinghan, having signed up earlier, was placed on the third platform.
Xu Qingfan also noticed some other people, like Feng Qingtian, who was on the second platform. Additionally, Nangong Qingshan was unexpectedly placed on the same platform as Yue Qingru.
Seeing this, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but worry a little about Yue Qingru. It wasn’t that he doubted Yue Qingru’s strength; Yue Qingru had reached the late stage of the Inedia Stage over twenty years ago. Many experts who had entered the Lingji Stage either did not bother to compete or had been in training for over a hundred years. So with Yue Qingru’s prowess at the late stage of the Inedia Stage, he was among the top contenders in this competition. Although Nangong Qingshan had good talent, he was definitely no match for Yue Qingru in strength.
Xu Qingfan was concerned that Yue Qingru, remembering their old friendship, might hold back against Nangong Qingshan and give him a chance to exploit.
But Xu Qingfan didn’t care about Yue Qingru anymore. First, he realized that Yue Qingru and Nangong Qingshan did not compete at the start; more importantly, Xu Qingfan found that he was the first person to compete at the fifth arena.
Xu Qingfan felt very nervous before the competition. Apart from hunting with his tribe in the Southern Wasteland, he had never participated in a battle, and he had no experience at all. Let alone competing with a cultivator.
"I can’t be so nervous, or I will mess up. I still have to get back my master’s relic," Xu Qingfan took a deep breath and then sighed long, encouraging himself.
As Xu Qingfan stepped onto the arena, his nervousness gradually calmed down. He didn’t know if it was because of his own encouragement or if he was naturally good at staying calm.
When Xu Qingfan stepped onto the stage, his first opponent also appeared, a young man about twenty-five or twenty-six years old. This young man looked even more nervous than Xu Qingfan had before. Although his steps were steady, his face was tense, and sweat was dripping; when he saw Xu Qingfan bowing to the elder judge, he hurriedly followed suit.
Using the "Sky Eye Skill," Xu Qingfan slightly frowned. It was not because this young man was so powerful, but because he was too weak, only at the late stage of the Qi Refining Stage. Xu Qingfan really wondered why someone with such a low cultivation would come to compete.
"I am Xu Qingfan. Please guide me," Xu Qingfan said softly after giving a slight bow to the young man.
"I am Sheng Yuji, a younger generation. Greetings, Martial Uncle," the young man noticed that the calm-looking person in front of him not only had a level of cultivation he couldn’t see through but was also his elder, making his eyes even more flustered. After bowing to Xu Qingfan, he hurriedly spoke.
"In battle, there’s no distinction of size. Although this is not a battlefield, it is not far from it, so you don’t need to be so formal," Xu Qingfan said with a gentle smile, looking at the young man who seemed a bit flustered.
"Yes. I understand." The young man clearly did not take it in.
"Well, let’s begin." Xu Qingfan shook his head helplessly at the young man’s expression.
Since this person was only at the Inedia Stage and was his junior, Xu Qingfan decided to be a bit bold and let the young man attack first, allowing him to lose gracefully, so he wouldn’t lose confidence later.
However, after keeping a watchful eye for a long time, Xu Qingfan unexpectedly found that the young man still showed no intention to attack; he only looked at him defensively, as if facing a great threat.
"Why aren’t you making a move yet?" Xu Qingfan said after waiting for a long time, finally feeling a bit impatient.
"I am waiting for you to make a move first, senior."
Hearing this, Xu Qingfan was speechless and could only wave his hand, saying, "You should attack first."
After hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, Sheng Yuji had no choice but to carefully summon his hands, sending dozens of fist-sized fireballs rushing toward Xu Qingfan. At the same time, he quickly crushed a jade talisman, and a burst of yellow light flashed around him, clearly adding a soil-based defensive spell to himself.
Seeing Sheng Yuji’s cautious behavior, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but feel a bit amused. But he suddenly retreated, moving so fast that it was indescribable, leaving behind a series of afterimages! The fireballs Sheng Yuji launched simply broke the afterimages, crashing to the ground and creating small sparks, but they did not hurt Xu Qingfan at all.
At that moment, Xu Qingfan’s terrifying speed, created by combining "Turtle, Elephant, Leopard" and "Art of Divine Action," finally showed its power.
Seeing Xu Qingfan’s amazing speed, Sheng Yuji was very surprised, but he did not stop attacking. Fireballs and waves of fire kept shooting at Xu Qingfan, but all missed due to his terrifying speed.
With the constant attacks, Sheng Yuji became more skilled, and he started to think that this Inedia Stage senior was not so impressive after all; even though he was fast, he couldn’t really threaten him.
From the scene, things seemed to be just as he imagined, Xu Qingfan was being pushed back by his attacks and could only move around the edge of the arena.
At that moment, Xu Qingfan finally felt it was time for him to attack. Defeating this young man now should not severely hurt his confidence, right?
Just when Sheng Yuji decided to really go all out, he suddenly saw a blur, and Xu Qingfan vanished in front of him. Just as he thought something was wrong, he felt a great force come from behind his collar. Then he found himself lifted into the air, and when Sheng Yuji finally landed safely, he realized he was standing outside the arena.
It turned out that Xu Qingfan had quickly dashed behind him, grabbed the back of his collar, and thrown him out of the arena.
"Xu Qingfan wins." The old voice of the elder, who acted as the referee, rang out.
After the elder’s words, Xu Qingfan first bowed respectfully to the elder, then gave a slight nod to Sheng Yuji, ignoring his surprised expression, and walked away gracefully.
Xu Qingfan was the last to finish in the first round, while the others had already won.
On that day, besides Xu Qingfan, Yue Qingru, Jin Qinghan, Nangong Qingshan, and Feng Qingtian all easily achieved victory. It makes you wonder if there was something strange about the match arrangements. In the first round, there were no expert duels from the Inedia Stage, and all the Qi Refining Stage students who were competing with a stroke of luck were completely eliminated.
But this ease would not last long, because although half of the competing students were eliminated, the remaining ones were all experts from the Inedia Stage.