Chapter 524: Successive Challenges

The dazzling light on the stage faded away.

At one side of the ring, the figure of Chinizi emerged and the golden-red flame on his body dissipated. He opened his mouth and spat out blood. Fresh red blood also seeped out of the deep scar on his chest.

His face was pale and his body swayed a little as he half-squatted on the ground. He had his hands on the rifle, apparently using it to keep himself from falling.

On the other side, the blood on Fang Huifang’s back had faded as well. The black helmet in his head was smashed and shattered, revealing a sinister, but youthful face with a burn scar on his cheek.

He rested the bloody wide-backed sword against his shoulder and slowly turned around to face Chinizi.

“You have great strength. If you had challenged someone else, you might have had a chance of winning. Unfortunately, you chose me as your opponent,” Fang Huifang turned around and said coldly.

The corner of Chinizi’s mouth moved a little but no words came out.

“Fang Huifang is the victor and Chinizi has failed!” the red-browed youth announced the result in midair and waved the barrier on the ring away.

Fang Huifang regained himself and flew back to his original position on the far-right side of the ring.

From below the stage, two young men in bronze robes immediately came running up to take the seriously injured Chinizi for medical treatment.

Among the spectators, there was a burst of chatter. They were amazed by the skill that both the disciples possessed.

Chinizi’s defeat at the first battle had made the challengers look like nothing, but weaklings. The other disciples did not dare to come up to the stage and challenge anyone else out of ego.

As the red-browed youth began to take out the hourglass to track the time once again, a figure suddenly rushed toward the ring.

It was a man wearing a green robe.

“My name is Qing Zhangtian and I would like to challenge brother Tang Yiquan, who placed 95th in the Qinglan Rankings,” Qing Zhangtian said as he stood in the ring.

Shi Mu’s eyes flashed and realized Qing Zhangtian’s choice was somewhat unusual. His strength was much greater than Chinizi’s and he was placed 27th. When someone with such a high rank challenged someone who was below 50th place, the result would be unpredictable.

A bald youth with a copper bangle on his wrist flew to the platform and looked at Qing Zhangtian.

“Hehe. For you to challenge someone like me, you must be a pushover!” the bangled youth sneered.

Qing Zhangtian put away his ever-present smile and said with a cold voice, “Let’s see about that!”

“The battle begins now!” The red-browed youth immediately placed a protective barrier around the ring when he announced the battle.

At those words, Qing Zhangtian’s body blurred and vanished like a shadow on the stage.

He suddenly appeared next to Tang Yiquan like a ghost, carrying a short willow blade in his hand. He thrust it into Tang Yiquan’s back with all his might.

He was extremely fast. Even lightning could not compare to his speed, and the audience was unable to keep up with him.

Tang Yiquan seemed to be unable to react to the swift attack as he remained motionless.

Qing Zhangtian’s face had a hint of joy, and the willow blade in his hand was shining. Like an endless torrent, he continuously stabbed Tan Yiquan in the back.

Dong! A sound came out of nowhere.

Qing Zhangtian’s expression suddenly changed. The short willow blade in his hand seemed to have struck something hard, and he could not push it in any deeper.

Tang Yiquan moved his arm and turned it into a shadow, striking Qing Zhangtian in the chest.

“This isn’t good!”

The look on Qing Zhangtian’s face changed drastically. He quickly landed his feet on the ground and moved his body to the side.

Peng!

Qing Zhangtian was flung backward, rolling in mid-air before landing on the ground. He crouched down in pain as a bloody mark emerged at the corner of his mouth.

Although he tried his best to dodge the attack, he was too close and Tan Yiquan was just as fast. In the end, was not able to completely escape it and suffered some minor injuries.

Qing Zhangtian wiped the blood off his mouth and stared at Tang Yiquan with a dignified look in his eyes.

Tang Yiquan had undergone a major transformation and a bright golden light emerged around him. The light condensed into a translucent gold suit of armor.

The gold armor covered every part of his body, with a golden helmet protecting his head.

Every piece of the armor was covered with runes, emitting a glowing golden light. From afar, it looked like there were countless golden dragons swimming on it. His armor exuded an honorable feeling as he stood proudly.

Far above the high platform, an old man with a white beard said, “So this the Golden Dragon Curse Technique! That’s one of the secret defense techniques where one would need to integrate the blood essence of a dragon into one’s body. Though this is not a Xiantian-level technique, based on the power he exuded, it seems that he has reached the pinnacle of this technique’s cultivation. This is a rare sight!”

The middle-aged man in the blue robe nodded and said, “This defense technique is indeed effective. If this Qing Zhangtian man doesn’t have strength beyond the early Xiantian level, that armor cannot be broken.”

Standing in the middle of the ring, Qing Zhangtian’s face was extremely pale. His eyes were locked on Tan Yiquan’s dragon-shaped armor, seemingly thinking of methods and plans to breach it.

“Brother Qing, now it’s my turn!” Tang Yiquan looked at Qing Zhangtian dead in the face and grinned.

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As he spoke, his entire body was instantly bathed in dazzling golden light as he rushed toward Qing Zhangtian at great speed.

Qing Zhangtian blinked and shouted as his body moved, leaving only a residual image. Like a leaf in the wind, he was able to evade the brunt of the attack as he dodged to the other side.

Tang Yiquan’s expression was cold and he slammed his feet down on the ground with full force. He immediately turned around and continued to rush toward Qing Zhangtian.

Fast as he was, he could not match Qing Zhangtian’s speed. He easily avoided a series of his attacks.

Above on the high platform, the man in blue nodded and continued his praise, “This Qing Zhangtian is pretty good to be able to stand his ground against a millennium disciple like Tang Yiquan.”

The bearded old man shook his head and said, “Despite having such speed, it’s not enough to break through the golden dragon armor. In the end, he may still lose.”

A sudden commotion came out of the ring.

Several of Tang Yiquan’s attacks had had no effect on Qing Zhangtian. Frustrated, he immediately turned his hand around and took off the copper bangle he was wearing. As his eyes flashed in anger, he uttered some type of charm spell.

The bangle burst into a glaring golden light and vanished into thin air.

When Qing Zhangtian saw it, he could not help muttering to himself. His body shook, fading into a residual image.

As his image disappeared, it turned into three rows of shadows and flew in different directions.

Tang Yiquan sneered as he continued casting spells while conjuring with his hands.

The golden light on the left side of the afterimage flashed and appeared on a shadow.

Thump!

The true Qing Zhangtian emerged and rolled over. His body was now gripped tightly by the golden ring and his face showed some discomfort.

The other two shadows also dissipated, fading into nothing.

With a flash, Tang Yiquan appeared in front of Qing Zhangtian with a golden dagger in his hand. He pointed it right at Qing Zhangtian’s throat with a mocking expression.

“So what now? Can you still fight?”

“I lost. I admit my defeat.” Qing Zhangtian sighed miserably.

Tang Yiquan smiled and the dragon-shaped armor went back into his body with a flash. The golden ring holding Qing Zhangtian’s body also turned back into the copper bangle.

The red-browed youth announced the results, “Qing Zhangtian has lost and the winner for this round is Tang Yiquan!”

The atmosphere in the ring made an awkward shift.

“Even Qing Zhangtian lost. The power of the elder disciples is amazing!”

“All these elder disciples win so easily. It seems that not many people will win the challenge this year.”

On the platform, other challengers exchanged glances. Some, including the Wu brothers from the Wu Clan, and Jiang Shuishui, had gone pale. They seemed to be backing down from the challenge.

Qing Zhangtian was the best among them. At the beginning of the trial, he ranked second, only one place behind Zhao Ji. That being the case, the fights against the elder disciples were not going well for them.

A young disciple who had placed 9th in the rankings said sarcastically, “Well, you should only challenge us if you have sufficient skill. If not, it’s better for you to sit this one out. The power levels in this round are much greater than the previous one.”

A few other disciples around the curly-haired youth also sneered at their rivals, their eyes full of disdain. Those of them were no longer as brazen anymore.

The spectators on the nearby high platform, including the three officiating judges, looked over in silence. They did not say anything regarding the situation, but they seemed to be interested in humoring the rivalry between the disciples.

A group of challengers looked angry, but as soon as they remembered the results of the previous battles, they felt a little discouraged. Some people who had been smug also showed more reluctance.

Shi Mu glanced at the young man with curly hair and set his eyes on the monument. He learned his name: Shangguan Xin.

He looked at the person beside him and shook his head slightly.

The first two trials against Chinizi and Qing Zhangtian were justifiable. The fighting method used by Chinizi was very problematic and Qing Zhangtian had run into some bad luck when he was restrained by his opponent during his match. In fact, according to his observation, the elder disciples had not put as much thought into the fights as the challengers.

Suddenly, someone said, “I would like to challenge you.” It was none other than Zhao Ji.

His body swayed slightly as he walked to the ring.

There was a lot of discussion around the disciple. This man was one of the top disciples and possessed formidable strength.

Shangguan Xing’s face sank and his body swayed as he appeared on the ring.

“Well, you sure are bold to challenge someone like me. I don’t care if you’ve cultivated the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art. Those who dare challenge me will die,” Shangguan Xin said coldly, with a sinister smile on his face.

Zhangtian Ji did not hear Shangguan Xin’s remarks and showed no expression as he looked at him.

This man was one of the first to come to the Holy Land as a disciple. When Zhao Ji challenged him in the knockout round, it set off a frenzy and everyone was eager to place their bet.

Shi Mu looked through both of them with his spirit sense and realized that both of them were unexpectedly similar.

On the stage, Zhao Ji and Shangguan Xin had begun to confront each other fiercely.

A black light began to flash In Shangguan Xin’s hand as he summoned two black sledgehammers. The hammers emitted an amazing aura, making them one of the best pairs of spirit weapons he had ever seen.

The weapon seemed to be mixed with something special, giving off an extremely fierce aura.

As he began his incantations, the two black sledgehammers shone brightly, getting even more radiant. With a wave of his arms, the two sledgehammers spun rapidly, turning into two black hurricanes, storming toward Zhao Ji.