824 Sage at 18

"Mm, if that's the case, then we won't be holding back anymore." Dao Hun nodded upon hearing Dao Xin's words and turned to look at the figure wearing the Yin-Yang mask.

At the fighting platform, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple who was serving as emcee looked stunned. After all, the fight had ended all too quickly.

The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple glanced at Fang Miao, who was half kneeling on the ground, before turning to look at Mu Qingfeng.

Upon seeing Mu Qingfeng's nod, the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple took in a deep breath and made his announcement.

"Black Knife from the Nine Pinnacles Mountain has won the first round!"

"This Black Knife… he's amazing!"

"Yeah, I was expecting Fang Miao from Yin Yang Hall to…"

"Thank heavens that I did not rush to sign up for the tournament. The Five Sects of the Holy Region truly deserve their name!"

The disciples from the various sects had not expected the skill standards of the tournament to be so high.

"Alright, let us proceed with the second round, Yin Yang Hall versus the Nine Pinnacles Mountain!" The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple announced after discussing with the judging panel.

Following the announcement, the figure wearing the Yin-Yang mask walked out from the Yin Yang Hall camp. The mask obscured the entire face of the figure except for a pair of eyes that were as black as the abyss.

"18 years old." The figure wearing the Yin Yang mask said in a cold and calm voice. It seemed as though he had not seen the blood and gore from the first round.

The Heaven Dao Pavilion emcee, as well as the disciples from the various sects, felt like they had been struck by lightning upon hearing his words.

18 years old?!

No one could believe their own ears. The age limit of the tournament was 30. Wasn't it true that one got stronger with age? Why had an 18-year-old appeared instead?

Was this some kind of mistake?

Everyone turned to look at Dao Hun, the Hallmaster of Yin Yang Hall. The only answer that they got from him was silence.

"Are they really going to send out an 18-year-old?

Does the Yin Yang Hall intend to forfeit this tournament?" The disciples from the other sects speculated upon seeing Dao Hun's silent admission.

"18 years old? Is there no one else in Yin Yang Hall?" Black Knife smirked behind his hood upon hearing the youth in the Yin-Yang mask introduce himself.

The youth in the Yin-Yang mask did not let himself get riled up by Black Knife's words. He continued to stand at his spot, his eyes as dark as the night.

"This… does the Nine Pinnacles Mountain want to substitute their current contender?" The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple questioned Black Knife.

After all, the victory requirement of the tournament was strictly two wins out of three rounds. Beyond that, the rules were rather flexible. The winner of a round could choose to either continue or to take a break.

Black Knife's lips moved a little but he did not speak. He turned to look at the masked youth Bai Fei, who was sitting at the Nine Pinnacles Mountain camp.

Black Knife turned back to the announcer after he had gotten a nod from Bai Fei.

"No!"

"Alright, let us proceed!" The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple took two steps back hurriedly and made his announcement.

The brows of Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi creased slightly. They had seen what Black Knife did.

Bai Fei?

Had he managed to consolidate his power in the Nine Pinnacles Mountain within a few short months? Just how powerful was he in order for a highly skilled person like Black Knife to be at his beck and call?

Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi were slightly perplexed but they did not let it affect them overtly. The match between Black Knife and the youth in the Yin-Yang mask was about to begin.

On the contrary, Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi were not surprised at the emergence of this youth in the Yin-Yang mask. Judging from where he stood in the Yin Yang Hall camp, they could tell that he had a high position within the sect.

The only thing that stood out was his age of 18 years. Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi frowned some more.

At this point, Black Knife made his move.

He did not greet his opponent nor put up a flashy display. Black Knife moved up close to his opponent like what he did with Fang Miao.

His knife glinted blood-red in the light of day and shot forward. It was apparent that Black Knife had no intention of letting his opponent from Yin Yang Hall off easy, however indignant he might feel about his young age.

"Swish!" The shadows stirred along with the thrust of the knife.

Just as Black Knife approached the youth in the Yin-Yang mask from the front, his figure seemed to multiply until there were eight shadowy figures surrounding the youth from all sides.

"Boom!" Suddenly, a black ray of energy emanated from the youth in the Yin-Yang mask and rushed up into the skies.

At the same time, a blood-red shadow began to materialise beneath the feet of the youth in the Yin-Yang mask like a spreading pool of blood.

It was an unearthly sight.

Black lights and red shadows.

The key thing was that when the blood-red shadow had appeared, a bone-chilling aura had been unleashed by the youth in the Yin-Yang mask.

"It's the Sage State!"

"A master of the Sage State!"

"How can this be? 18 years old… since when had a master of the Sage state appeared in the Holy Region?"

The disciples from the various sects had been astounded when they saw the black ray of energy rush out. The rich quality of this dark energy was a display of power derived from the Sage State.

18 years old and already in the Sage State?

Had the world gone mad?

No one had any idea as to what was going on. Still, their eyes could not lie to them and the cold aura of the youth in the Yin-Yang mask was chilling them to the bone.

"Ding!" A metallic sound rang out as Black Knife tried to stab his knife into the body of the youth in the Yin-Yang mask.

It was an ear-splitting sound but the youth in the Yin-Yang mask did not even move at all.

"What's going on?!" The disciples from the various sects widened their eyes. Their mouths were agape.

A claw formed by the black energy was holding onto the blade of Black Knife's knife with an inhuman strength and keeping it at bay.

Not only that, but several other claws had been formed by the black energy and were snapping at the shadows surrounding the youth in the Yin-Yang mask.

"Boom!" A wretched figure retreated backwards in haste. Gaping holes had been torn into his cloak and even his hood had been pulled off.

It was a man with a pale face. His face was so common that no one would have recognised him in a crowd.

It was Black Knife!

Black Knife's face had been revealed on merely the first encounter with the youth in the Yin-Yang mask!

If Black Knife had shocked the crowd with his skills, the youth in the Yin-Yang mask was terrifying the crowd with his power.

A master of the Sage State at 18 years of age.

Besides, the youth in the Yin-Yang mask looked as though he had not exerted much energy in launching the attack on Black Knife.

This was fantastic.

Everyone knew that the tournament was going to be exciting when Mu Qingfeng had first suggested it. However, this was almost too much for them to handle.

After all, the martial artists who had been invited to the Heaven Alliance Meeting were all skilled in their own right but it seemed like they were all nothing compared to the youth in the Yin-Yang mask.

"Swish!" Just as the hood flew off Black Knife's head, the youth in the Yin-Yang mask rushed towards Black Knife.

"So fast!" Not only did the disciples from the various sects let out a collective gasp of amazement, but even Mu Qingfeng and Mo Shanshi inhaled sharply upon seeing how quick the youth in the Yin-Yang mask was.

At this point, everyone understood why the youth in the Yin-Yang mask was standing behind Dao Hun and Dao Xin, and why the elders of Yin Yang Hall had not objected to his participation in the tournament.

"Bump!" A sound rang out from midair.

Black Knife's body fell down straight to the floor. It was as if he had been kicked towards the ground, which was actually the truth. He had indeed been kicked down from midair by the youth in the Yin-Yang mask.

The youth in the Yin-Yang mask had even managed to connect his feet directly with Black Knife's face. The force of the kick had shattered his facial features.

"Kaboom!" Black Knife's body landed on the ground with a heavy thud. He spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

It had all happened in a flash.

As with the fight between Black Knife and Fang Miao, this had been a one-sided combat. The only difference was that Fang Miao had not managed to get to his feet while Black Knife did.

Even though his pale face was covered in blood, Black Knife still clambered onto his feet tediously, his hand still gripping tightly onto his knife.

"You, not bad!" Black Knife pressed a hand to his chest and held his knife with the other hand. His eyes glittered coldly.

"Off you go." The masked youth Bai Feng, who was seated at the head of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain camp, had spoken.

"Yes…" Black Knife shuddered as he retreated back to the Nine Pinnacles Mountain camp. He was obviously dissatisfied but he did not dare to disobey Bai Fei's orders.

"Has the Nine Pinnacles Mountain admitted defeat?"

"Black Knife looks like he still has some fight left in him!"

"Yes, Black Knife doesn't look like he was completely defeated. However, the difference in skill level between the two contenders is too obvious. Yin Yang Hall will win this round no matter what."

"Mm, that makes sense!"

The disciples from the various sects were somewhat surprised at Black Knife's retreat but they quickly understood why.

"Alright, Yin Yang Hall has won the second round. Yin Yang Hall and Nine Pinnacles are tied at one win each. Nine Pinnacles Mountain can send out another contender!" The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple quickly made his announcement.

"Tsk, to think that a master of the Sage State would appear in this tournament!"

"Yeah… a master of the Sage State below 30 years of age. No, 18 years old… this is crazy!"

"The Five Sects of the Holy Region never fail to amaze!"

The disciples from the various sects were not surprised at the results but they were astonished at how it had happened.

"Sect Leader, Black Knife has been defeated. Let me go next!" A figure approached the masked youth Bai Feng from behind.

"No need for that." The masked youth Bai Fei shook his head and looked at the youth in the Yin-Yang mask who was still standing in the arena. Before long, he got to his feet and made an announcement.

"We, the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, admit defeat."

"Admit defeat?!"

"Are they not going to fight on?"

"They are tied at one win each and Nine Pinnacles Mountain is going to give up?"

A commotion followed Bai Fei's announcement. His decision had come as a huge surprise to everyone.

"This Bai Fei… what an interesting fellow!" Dao Xin cast a glance at Bai Fei and fell silent.

The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple who was emceeing turned to look at Mu Qingfeng and upon seeing his nod, he walked over to the youth in the Yin-Yang mask.

"Since the leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain has forfeited the third round, Yin Yang Hall will progress to the second stage of the tournament!"

"Wait a minute!" It was Mo Shanshi who had spoken. He cast a sweeping glance over the crowd and settled his gaze on the youth in the Yin-Yang mask.

"I have no issue with Yin Yang Hall proceeding to the second stage of the tournament. However, there is a need to enforce the rules of this tournament!"

"The rules? Valley Master Mo, how do you intend to enforce them?" The Heaven Dao Pavilion disciple asked.

"The rules of this tournament state that contenders cannot be above 30 years of age. Our friend from

the Yin Yang Hall has also said that he is 18 years old. However, if he doesn't show his face or reveal his name, how can we be sure that he is telling the truth? An 18-year-old attaining the Sage State… hehe, I don't believe it!" As Mo Shanshi finished speaking, his lips curled up into a cold smile.