Tuo Ba Xiu was a beautiful young woman. Her hair was tied up, and she was dressed in a loose black robe. All in all, she was dressed like a man, and it did not detract from her beauty at all. If she was dressed like a woman, there was no doubt that she would be even more stunning. Her expression was as cold as her voice as she said to the seventh unseeded participant who challenged her, “Make your move.”
“Very well.”
The seventh unseeded participant from the Feudal Lord Mansion charged out with a prominent divine artifact in his hand as he mobilized his Divine Energy. Since Lin Dong Lai had compared Tuo Ba Xiu to Duan Ling Tian, it was clear that she was very outstanding. As such, he did not dare to be reckless and did not hold back his strength at all.
Tuo Ba Xiu did not move despite her opponent charging toward her menacingly. However, her loose black robes fluttered wildly in the wind.
Swoosh! Swoosh Swoosh!
When the participant from the Feudal Lord Mansion drew close, a storm of ice and snow suddenly raged around Tuo Ba Xiu. A freezing energy swept out immediately for thousands of miles with her body in the center.
In just an instant, the participant from the Feudal Lord Mansion was frozen. If one looked close enough, one would be able to see the fear brewing in the depths of his eyes.
Everyone was still shocked by Tuo Ba Xiu’s display when Lin Dong Lai suddenly said, “Your opponent just admitted defeat to me through Voice Transmission.”
Then, Lin Dong Lai waved his hand, melting the ice and snow immediately.
Tuo Ba Xiu withdrew her Divine Energy and silently left the battlefield.
The participant from the Feudal Lord Mansion was pale and trembling violently after Lin Dong Lai saved him.
“Do you want to continue?” Lin Dong Lai asked. Then, he added without waiting for the other party’s reply, “I advise you to give up your second challenge since you’re seriously injured. Otherwise, it’ll definitely affect your performance in the future…”
“I give up. Elder Lin, thank you for saving my life,” the participant from the Feudal Lord Mansion said after taking a deep breath. He still felt afraid when he thought about the earlier scene. If Tuo Bai Xiu did not hold back, he would have died as soon as he was frozen.
‘The rudimentary form of the Mastery Dao?’ Duan Ling Tian hovered in the air as he looked at the figure in the distance. His eyes were shining at this moment. Perhaps, the people present on the scene were not familiar with the Mastery Dao so they were unable to sense Unless one studied the Mastery Dao and was familiar with it, it was difficult even for an Emperor of Gods to detect it. Since he had also comprehended the Mastery Dao, he naturally could sense it.
The Mastery Dao was different from the Weapon Dao. If the Mastery Dao was used along with the profundities of a law, it was almost undetectable. On the contrary, there was almost no way to conceal the Weapon Dao.
Duan Ling Tian was slightly surprised to discover that Tuo Ba Xiu, the disciple from the Underworld Mansion’s Yuwen clan, had comprehended the rudimentary form of the Mastery Dao. His expression was slightly solemn as he thought to himself, ‘So this is the ability of the prodigy whom the Underworld Man poured their resources into…’
Earlier, Tuo Ba Xiu did not use a prominent divine artifact. She only used her law of ice along with her Mastery Dao.
Based on that alone, Duan Ling Tian speculated that Tuo Ba Xiu was not any weaker than Wanqi Hong. Needless to say, Wanqi Hong from the past, whom he had defeated in Seven Kills Valley, was much weaker than Tuo Ba Xiu.
Similarly, everyone was also shocked by Tuo Ba Xiu’s performance and was fervently discussing among themselves.
“Tuo Bai Xiu is really terrifying!”
“The law of ice she comprehended is extremely powerful! That person from the Feudal Lord Mansion didn’t even have a chance to get close to her before he was frozen!”
“It’s not surprising considering the Underworld Mansion invested all their resources in her…”
“It’s true that the Underworld Mansion played a big part, but I’m sure she was already highly talented to begin with. If we were in his shoes and were given so many resources, we might not even be as powerful as she is now.”
“I agree.”
Everyone thought that it was really enviable that Tuo Ba Xiu received the collective resources from the top forces in the Underworld Mansion. However, no one denied her talent and comprehension skills. If she was only average, she would not have been chosen by the Underworld Mansion to begin with. If she was not talented, she would not have grown so strong even if she was given a lot of resources.
“If Tuo Ba Xiu is so strong, then Luo Yuan from the Divine Morning Mansion’s Autumn Leaves Sect can’t be any weaker. No wonder Elder Lin compared them to Duan Ling Tian!”
“That person from the Feudal Lord Mansion probably did not expect this when he wanted to satisfy his curiosity. As the saying goes, ‘Curiosity killed the cat’.”
“That’s right. He clearly only challenged her because he was curious!”
“Now, he ruined his chances completely.”
“I’m afraid no one will dare to challenge Tuo Ba Xiu and Luo Yuan after this.”
“Of course! Who will challenge Luo Yuan after seeing Tuo Ba Xiu’s strength? After seeing that person from the Feudal Lord Mansion no one will dare to challenge the duo!”
At this time, the unseeded participant who drew the number eight flew into the battlefield. It was none other than Lan Xi Lin, the great-grandson of Lan Zheng Ming, the founder of the Pure Yang Sect’s Zheng Ming faction.
Lan Xi Lin could also be considered outstanding among the younger generation in the Pure Yang Sect even if he could not compare to the likes of Ye Ying Cai and Yun Ye Wei. His strength was only behind the other five top young disciples of the Pure Yang Sect, not counting Duan Ling Tian.
Lan Xi Lin looked around. His eyes stopped briefly on the seeded participant from the Alliance of Benevolence and Justice. However, he dismissed the idea of challenging that person since he knew he was no match for the other party. Even if he wanted to show off his strength to his peers and bring glory to the Pure Yang Sect, he was aware of his limitations. His rationality won over his impulse. Finally, his eyes landed on a figure from the Consonance Mansion.
Alas, although Lan Xi Lan was careful with his choice, he was still defeated by the seeded participant from the Consonance Mansion within 30 moves.
Lan Xi Lin was not discouraged by his defeat. After all, from the beginning, he held very little hope of ranking in the top 30. Those few who were stronger than him were not even chosen to become seeded participants. He only participated to gain experience and as a formality.
‘I’m really lucky I managed to enter the Ambitious Group. I just hope I won’t get kicked out of the top 100…’
Those in the Ambitious Group would have to fight for their ranks. There were about 100 people, or to be precise, there were 102 people in the group. As such, in the end, there would be two people who failed to rank in the top 100.
In fact, the rewards for those who ranked in the bottom of the 100 places were not worth mentioning. However, the prestige of ranking in the top 100 was quite high. One could proudly tell others that one ranked in the top 100 during the Seven Mansions Feast.
…
The challenges continued. However, none of the first 30 unseeded participants won their challenges. The 30 seeded participants were like unmovable mountains, blocking the others from grasping victory in their hands.
“The 31st unseeded participant, please enter the battlefield,” Lin Dong Lai said.
Following that, Duan Ling Tian saw Ye Ying Cai, who was standing nearby, flying out.
“It’s Ye Ying Cai!”
Ye Ying Cai was a famous prodigy from the Pure Yang Sect. Before Duan Ling Tian joined the Pure Yang Sect, he and Yun Ye Wei were the top two prodigies among the younger generation in the Pure Yang Sect. When the prodigies of the Pure Yang Sect were mentioned, everyone would think of them. However, people would only think about Duan Ling Tian now when the prodigies of the Pure Yang Sect were mentioned. The others were completely overshadowed by Duan Ling Tian.
‘Don’t tell me he’s planning to challenge that seeded participant from the Alliance of Benevolence and Justice?’ Duan Ling Tian wondered inwardly when he saw Ye Ying Cai looking at the only seeded participant from the Alliance of Benevolence and Justice.
In just a moment, Duan Ling Tian obtained his answer.
“I challenge Hu Chai Yi of the Alliance of Benevolence and Justice,” Ye Ying Cai said calmly without a change in his expression when Lin Dong Lai asked him whom he would like to challenge.
Hu Chai Yi was a tall and burly young man; he was nearly two meters tall. He was dressed in a loose blue robe. When he flew out, his figure was like a tower. His appearance was ordinary, but he left a deep impression on everyone. His face was angular and sharp, looking like it was carved by a knife.
Hu Chai Yi looked at Ye Ying Cai icily as soon as he arrived and said, “Ye Ying Cai, you almost killed my junior brother. I was wondering if you’d challenge me, but I really didn’t expect that you really dared to challenge me. This is great. I’ll be able to avenge my junior brother.”
Ye Ying Cai was the catalyst of the feud between the younger disciples of the Pure Yang Sect and the Alliance of Benevolence and Justice. He had dealt a heavy blow, seemingly for no reason, to Wang Yi Shan, his opponent, severely injuring Wang Yi Shan. Although Hu Chai Yi was not very close to Wang Yi Shan, they were from the same sect after all. Moreover, usually, Wang Yi Shan would greet Hu Chai Yi respectfully whenever they encountered each other in the sect. Wang Yi Shan also helped Hu Chai Yi with many trivial matters. It was only natural that he would avenge Wang Yi Shan now that the chance presented itself to him. This was something everyone in the Alliance of Benevolence and Justice was aware of.