Chapter 82: Laying Back

Chapter 82: Laying Back

The audience made sure to cheer in the pauses between each verbal strike. Such trash talking hadnt been common during the tournament.

Without further ado, Yu Tao and Wei Muchen charged at each other for the first tussle. From an outsider point of view, it was quite artistic as lighting and bluish qi intermingled, surged, whirled and was projected in different directions.

The deep hatred was felt through the violence of every shock and explosion after explosion rocked the stage.

At some point, the two parted ways.

Wei Muchen tried to act cool. Is that all you got?

Yu Tao jeered. Im just warming up; I dont want this fight to end so soon. But fine, how about you show me your strongest move?

You asked for it!

Wei Muchen shouted and took his sword with two hands. During a pause of one breath with his sword pointing forward at a slight upward angle, dozens of azure qi swords were appearing around him in the same exact position. He raised his sword above his head and sword images followed his exact movement. Then after another shout, he slashed down with all his might and all the sword fused into one downward motion.

This was Wei Muchens pinnacle. He knew the danger Yu Tao posed. All his qi reserves condensed in one final move. Wei Muchen also believed that Yu Tao wouldnt dodge it with his personality and he decided to just give up if that move didnt prove enough.

Indeed, Yu Tao didnt plan on dodging this attack. While Wei Muchen had been taking his time to channel his strike, Yu Tao was preparing his own as well.

Lightning danced around his arms. He pointed his spear straight ahead and used his entire body for the perfect thrust. The spear zoomed forward and stayed level; the force concentrated on a single point at the spear tip. It was a sharp forward motion that didnt permit any future quick backwards retreat due to its momentum. This was one spear to destroy all.

A lightning dragon emerged and raced to meet a giant blue qi sword.

During the previous months, Yu Tao had been provided a pile of random books from his teacher, each with a link with lightning. One was an obscure lightning art developed by a disciple with a similar lightning affinity. Unfortunately, this disciple had died before reaching a cultivation high enough to adapt this art to a wide audience.

Yu Tao had still been inspired by these notes and the miracle revelation came when he was admiring lighting on a stormy night. He caught the necessary understanding to create the first form of his martial art. Yu Tao named this form the Roaring Dragon.

Time seemed to slow down as the Lightning Dragon was about to make contact with the Qi Sword. Many 2nd year disciples watching on were blinded by the following explosion and couldnt see the result immediately.

When they looked back at the stage, Yu Tao was standing proudly, facing a burned down fuming pile of flesh that vaguely had a human form. A disciple next to the stage gagged at the smell of cooked meat that wafted to his nostrils.

Just earlier, the collision of sword and dragon had only lasted for an instant as the dragon had immediately consumed the qi sword which created the flash of light. Wei Muchen had been watching the result of his attack expectantly when he was hit head on by that raging dragon without the time to dodge. His defenses had then been directly overcome by the astonishing force and profundity of the dragon qi attack.

Looking at the thousands of spectating disciples, Yu Tao triumphantly raised his spear. He had just executed one of his worst enemies and had his fulfilling revenge. Once again, the crowd cheered for the spectacle and entertainment. Even the Elders of the Cheng Huang School applauded, it was admirable that someone actually killed one of the White Tiger Sects greatest threats.

The four that made it to the semifinal were:

1- Xue Guo (Cheng Huang School) 8th after phase 1.

2- Yu Tao (White Tiger Sect) 10th after phase 1.

3- Dai Huiling (Cheng Huang School) 3rd after phase 1.

4- Zeng Yiengjie (Peach blossom island) 5th after phase 1.

Before the semifinals took place, there was the interlude for the 4 losers bracket. Many rooted for Han Lingyun again as he had already climbed up from two brackets, he had become a new dark horse.

Few anticipated that Han Lingyun would stop his climb before he had to put his life on the line once again. None of the four that lost in the quarterfinals were in a severe state. Zhang Peizi was the only one that had been injured quite badly but he had already recovered to a large extent with the expensive pills and potions he had been served.

Wang Yimo and Han Lingyun had a discussion over what to do. Those four were all very powerful with some dangerous attacks that might take him off guard and crash into him even in his black cloud. Not to mention their unknown trump cards.

And for his strategy to work, Han Lingyun also had to close the distance to less than 20 meters to his opponent first. Finally, Han Lingyun lacked a powerful qi attack at their level to collide with theirs. In the end, Han Lingyun and Wang Yimo figured it wasnt worth the risk to challenge one of the top 8 members. Therefore, Han Lingyun ended in 9th position with Wang Yimo in 10th.

The pair slumped in their spectator seats as they laid back while spectating the last duels. The stress level that had remained high for the past few days was finally dropping and fatigue relaxed their bodies.

Frankly, Han Lingyun didnt care too much about the final winner of the competition. However, in his usual style, his mind wouldnt just stop analyzing the events.

The 4-disciple loser bracket was eventually won by Su Xiaoli, the eccentric sword cultivator from the Eastern Warriors Temple.

Back to the true semifinals: Xue Guo, Dai Huiling and Zeng Yiengjie all had a cultivation at the late qi condensation realm which was remarkable at this age. Yu Tao was the exception at the early qi condensation stage.

For the semifinal, Yu Tao would face Dai Huiling, the only girl to make it this far and a cut above the other 4th grade talent in that years roster at the Cheng Huang School. Still, she knew that she didnt have the tools to defeat the extraordinary Yu Tao so she just ended up giving up. She was likely aiming for the 3rd rank.

The next semifinal was Xue Guo versus Zeng Yiengjie. Both had 5th grade talents but the match was decided in a few strikes with Xue Guo completely overpowering his opponent. Some in the audience were unconvinced and claimed it was due to his Deep Abyss sword that artificially raised his comprehension.

Afterwards, the 5th ranked Su Xiaoli didnt try to upgrade his rank to the next bracket due to lack of interest after the repeated duels and Dai Huiling had her match against Zeng Yiengjie for 3rd place. The boy from Peach Blossom Island managed to win after a wonderful display of technique.

This also highlighted the difference with Xue Guo and cemented the latters position as favorite against Yu Tao. Zeng Yiengjie had just displayed his immense talent and yet he had been incapable of resisting Xue Guo convincingly.

The audience was now holding its breath for the grand finale. Xue Guo versus Yu Tao. Many claimed it would be the symbol of the struggle between the Cheng Huang School and the White Tiger Sect.