Volume 1 Chapter 31

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Volume 1 Chapter 31: Magical Powers

The first match took place between Sheng Yushan and a disciple named Wang Qingfeng. The winner between these two would face the winner of Xu Qingfan and Nangong Qingshan to compete for a spot in the top four.

"The next match will be between us; I am looking forward to it," Sheng Yushan suddenly said to Xu Qingfan before his match. His voice was calm, but if listened to closely, there was a hint of excitement in it.

"First, you need to win this match," Jin Qinghan coldly replied from the side before Xu Qingfan could say anything.

Hearing Jin Qinghan’s words, Sheng Yushan turned to give him a cold look and said, "You’re lucky; according to the schedule, we won’t meet until the finals."

"I don’t think we’ll meet because I believe you won’t make it to the finals," Jin Qinghan replied coldly.

"What are you two talking about?" Just as they were staring coldly at each other, Bai Qingfu suddenly walked over and asked with a smile, easing the tense atmosphere.

When Sheng Yushan saw Bai Qingfu coming, a spark appeared in his eyes, but he said nothing more and turned to walk towards the arena. There, Wang Qingfeng was already waiting on the field. Only a confident statement lingered in the air.

"The truth will prove everything."

"This person is too arrogant," Jin Qinghan said coldly, staring at Sheng Yushan’s back.

"If his strength is about the same as Li Yuhan’s, then he indeed has the reason to be arrogant," Xu Qingfan said lightly.

"If we only consider attack power, he is much stronger than Li Yuhan due to his focus on divine arts," Bai Qingfu said with a smile.

Hearing Bai Qingfu’s words, Xu Qingfan turned in surprise and asked, "How do you know so much about it?"

Bai Qingfu touched his nose and replied casually, "I was trained by the same master as them. Since we are similar in age, we spent a lot of time together."

"May I ask, Senior Brother Bai, which elder did you learn from?" Xu Qingfan then remembered he didn’t know Bai Qingfu’s background and asked.

"Did I not tell you? My master is Zhou Huahai, the Supreme Protector of Jiuhua Gate, and my senior brother is Bao Qingfang, the only one from the ‘Qing’ generation to reach Condensed Core Stage," Bai Qingfu said with a cheerful smile, looking completely unconcerned.

After hearing Bai Qingfu’s words, Xu Qingfan and Jin Qinghan couldn’t help but glance at each other, growing more wary of Bai Qingfu, who seemed harmless yet was deeply mysterious. It should be noted that Zhou Huahai is known for his discerning eye when it comes to choosing disciples; he usually does not pay attention to those whom others view as worthy to inherit their teachings. The fact that Bai Qingfu became his disciple already indicates that he is not ordinary.

On the scene, Wang Qingfeng showed no annoyance at Sheng Yushan’s lateness; he simply stood quietly waiting. He was a handsome, tall middle-aged man, and his gentle eyes and carefree demeanor added to his charm.

When Sheng Yushan slowly walked onto the stage, Wang Qingfeng was the first to clasp his hands and say, "Master Sheng, I have long admired your great name." His voice was gentle like water, showing no hint of arrogance despite the age difference.

Seeing Wang Qingfeng’s gentle demeanor, Sheng Yushan couldn’t help but feel fond of him, so he politely bowed slightly in return and said, "Martial Uncle Wang is too kind."

"On the battlefield, there is no distinction of size; Master Sheng, you are no different." Wang Qingfeng smiled casually and said.

"Yes."

"Let’s start the contest now; Master Sheng, please go ahead."

"Then I must offend you." Seeing Wang Qingfeng’s eagerness to let him strike first, Sheng Yushan said.

As he spoke, Sheng Yushan raised his hands, gathering a large amount of Earth Spirit Qi around him. Under the shining yellow light, two towering Rock Golems appeared from the ground, just like the "Stone Puppet Art" that Li Yuhan and Xu Qingfan had used during their contest.

Once the Stone Puppets appeared, they did not hesitate. Under Sheng Yushan’s control, they raised their feet and attacked Wang Qingfeng. However, Wang Qingfeng was incredibly fast and instantly dodged out of range of the Stone Puppet’s attack, moving as swiftly as Xu Qingfan. Then he snapped his fingers, and sharp howling winds filled the air, with countless gusts forming blade-like winds that rapidly charged toward Sheng Yushan. Because the wind blades were so quick, Sheng Yushan had no time to instruct the Stone Puppets to defend, and he could only awkwardly dodge. But his right arm was still cut by several wind blades, and blood flowed out, quickly soaking his entire sleeve.

"So fast!" Xu Qingfan, watching from below, was somewhat surprised and exclaimed.

"Indeed." Jin Qinghan frowned and said. "I didn’t expect that, besides Senior Brother Xu, there would be someone from the Inedia Stage at Jiuhua Gate with such incredible speed."

"As far as I know, Wang Qingfeng practices wind-type techniques, so among fellow cultivators, he is certainly the fastest." Bai Qingfu said with a slight smile. "I have always believed that the Stone Puppet Art is a rather useless technique. It’s okay for moving things and doing heavy work, but not suitable for fighting. The Stone Puppet itself moves too slowly. Li Yuhan is better; in addition to the ‘Stone Puppet Art,’ he also knows ‘Earth Binding Technique.’ But Sheng Yushan has been greatly influenced by Li Yuhan since he was young, and he prefers to use ‘Stone Puppet Art’ first when competing. Against a weak opponent, it can serve as a distraction, but against a skilled opponent, especially someone as fast as Wang Qingfeng, it is merely a waste of Spirit Qi."

The wind-type technique is a rare kind of technique. People who cultivate this technique cannot absorb pure elemental energy on its own; it is always mixed with other Spirit Qi. Normally, such people are not suited for cultivation, but if the fire Spirit Qi absorbed is mixed with wood-type Spirit Qi in the right proportion, wood and fire can create wind, allowing for the cultivation of wind-type techniques. Since it requires absorbing both fire and wood energy from nature at the same time, it is very difficult to cultivate, but once mastered, it holds great power.

"Sheng Yushan is your beloved student, right? Why do I feel there’s a hint of schadenfreude in your words?" Jin Qinghan asked with a frown.

"This Sheng Yushan always listens to Li Yuhan but ignores what I say. It’s good for him to learn a lesson this time. Not listening to the advice of elders brings trouble." Bai Qingfu continued to smile while speaking, and if Xu Qingfan hadn’t heard his words, he might have thought he was praising Sheng Yushan.

"Are you saying that Sheng Yushan will lose this match?" Xu Qingfan asked in surprise.

"No, he will win," Bai Qingfu said confidently.

"Why?" Xu Qingfan asked.

"Sheng Yushan’s strength is not in his skills but in his powers," Bai Qingfu explained with a gentle smile.

Divine Powers are classified as a type of Dao method, but they are very different from Dao. In ancient times, when humans were still very weak, they not only worked hard to explore cultivation methods suitable for themselves but also learned offensive and defensive skills from the powerful ancient races. These skills became the prototypes of the Divine Powers that human cultivators practice.

However, these Divine Powers belong to those ancient races and go beyond the five elements. Although humans can practice them with great power, even exceeding ordinary Dao methods, there is a clear downside that cannot be improved. That is, the progress of cultivation in these Divine Powers is very slow, so cultivators rarely practice them. Unexpectedly, Sheng Yushan began to practice them.

Indeed, when Sheng Yushan on the field realized he couldn’t deal with Wang Qingfeng using his Dao, he stopped using the "Stone Puppet Art" and began to chant. In an instant, Sheng Yushan’s right arm rapidly enlarged, soon bursting through his sleeve, becoming four or five times thicker and two or three times longer. The exposed skin on his right arm sparkled with a silver light, shining dangerously. The wound on his right arm had vanished.

When Wang Qingfeng noticed Sheng Yushan’s change, his face turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "Divine Power? ‘Silver Dragon Hand’?"

"Martial Uncle has great insight," Sheng Yushan replied calmly; "Please teach me more, Martial Uncle."

With that, Sheng Yushan charged toward Wang Qingfeng without hesitation, swinging his six-foot-long right arm down hard toward him.

Seeing Sheng Yushan using Divine Powers, Wang Qingfeng felt he couldn’t be careless. He raised both hands, and a whirlwind suddenly surged up around him, trying to delay Sheng Yushan for a moment. At the same time, a fierce wind gathered next to him, clearly preparing to unleash a powerful Dao method to counter Sheng Yushan.

But Wang Qingfeng underestimated the power of the Divine Powers that Sheng Yushan practiced. Sheng Yushan’s facial expression suddenly became fierce, revealing his meridians. A small opening appeared between his eyes, swirling with a ghostly light, resembling an eye, looking eerie and terrifying. As soon as this strange single eye appeared, it shot out a ghostly light, striking the whirlwind that stood in front of Sheng Yushan. In an instant, Wang Qingfeng felt his control over the whirlwinds weakened significantly. Then, Sheng Yushan’s mutated right arm smashed down, scattering the whirlwinds, and Sheng Yushan finally reached Wang Qingfeng.

"It’s over," Bai Qingfu sighed from below, "The terror of the ‘Evil Exorcising Eye’ lies in its ability to weaken a cultivator’s control over Dao methods and magical tools. Wang Qingfeng was still too careless."

Indeed, Wang Qingfeng was shocked to see Sheng Yushan rush in front of him so easily. At that moment, his "wind technique" was not yet ready, and he had no strength to resist against Sheng Yushan, who suddenly appeared before him. As a result, he had all the speed and skills but couldn’t use them and was knocked out of the ring by Sheng Yushan’s palm.

Because Sheng Yushan had a good feeling about Wang Qingfeng’s composure, he controlled the power of his strike. Although Wang Qingfeng was knocked out of the ring, he did not get hurt.

"I lost," Wang Qingfeng said with a bit of disappointment after being knocked out, but he gracefully admitted it.

"Martial Uncle Wang, you do not understand the power of my techniques, so you were defeated by a junior. If you knew about both of my techniques, it would not have been so easy for me to defeat you," Sheng Yushan said calmly. At that moment, his right arm had somehow returned to normal, and the missing eye between his brows had disappeared. However, his right sleeve was torn, leaving his right arm bare and exposed outside his robe, making him look a bit funny. But no one dared to look down on him because of his comical appearance.

"A loss is a loss; no excuses matter," Wang Qingfeng said with a wry smile, and then he cupped his hands towards Sheng Yushan on the stage and said, "Congratulations to my junior for entering the top eight."

"Thank you for your guidance, Martial Uncle," Sheng Yushan replied, cupping his hands as well.

The audience around saw the two and began to clap and cheer loudly, celebrating not only their wonderful performance in the match but also their actions after the victory and defeat.

"This Wang Qingfeng is indeed a character, and it’s a pity that he got eliminated," Jin Qinghan said, looking at Wang Qingfeng’s carefree demeanor.

"Every cultivator who can master wind techniques is someone with a strong will and an open mind. Wang Qingfeng is no exception," Bai Qingfu said with a faint smile, his tone carrying appreciation.

At that moment, Xu Qingfan did not speak; his mind was already drifting to the upcoming match. In that match, he would face Nangong Qingshan.

A conflict that had twisted for over ten years, a showdown arranged by fate.

"Next match, Xu Qingfan against Nangong Qingshan," an elder on the high platform said, his voice easily quieting the cheers of the crowd and pulling Xu Qingfan from his unknown thoughts.

After hearing the elder’s announcement, Xu Qingfan did not greet Jin Qinghan and Bai Qingfu; he slowly walked towards the arena.

At that moment, his eyes were only on Nangong Qingshan, who was also entering the arena.