From a position toward the back of the spectator stands, Martial Aunt Yang wore a face full of smiles. "It looks like we're definitely going to have to treat them to that feast at Yaoxian Residence."
"Based on that Arena Master title alone, we have to celebrate for them," Martial Uncle Lu's voice was also tinged with excitement.
The doll-faced senior sister, Ke Xueqing, was holding her disciple jade token, frantically sending messages to Perfected Person Kong.
"Martial Aunt Kong, did you come to watch the New Disciple Competition? Let me tell you, that little junior sister you admire has really brought honor to us music cultivators..."
...
Regardless of the reactions below the stage, once Perfected Person Ye finished announcing the winner of the Arena Master title, she gestured for Jun Luo to take the stage and continue as the Arena Master based on his competition points.
This time, without Gu Ningyun there, he won eleven consecutive matches, pushing the competition to a new peak of excitement once again.
Because of their usual sparring, the five members of Ruiyu Pavilion understood each other's strengths very well.
If Gu Ningyun used 《Lingtai》, Jun Luo was indeed no match for her.
When Jun Luo first defended the arena, Gu Ningyun would have had to fight him sooner or later.
If she had gone up last, waiting until after he had won eleven consecutive matches to suddenly step up and knock him off the stage, she would have been using Jun Luo as a stepping stone to fame.
As a friend and teammate, she disdained such a move, and there was no need for it.
Furthermore, it didn't align with their original plan.
Therefore, Gu Ningyun had gone up first.
After she defeated Jun Luo, she went on to win against the following eleven opponents. This way, she could claim the rank that rightfully belonged to her while also downplaying Jun Luo's loss.
When Jun Luo took his turn to defend the arena again, his path would be clear and unobstructed.
Eleven consecutive victories was an equally brilliant achievement.
Of course, the strength of the others present was also beyond doubt.
To deal with them, Gu Ningyun had used methods outside of music cultivation, such as spells and talismans, in succession. Only then did she manage to secure victory without exposing her swordsmanship or the actual time it took for 《Lingtai》 to take effect.
If Jun Luo truly lost to one of them during this defense, it wouldn't matter; if one's skills were inferior to others, they could just go back and train more.
After Jun Luo, Wen Xuan's points were the highest among the remaining eleven. According to the arena match rules, it was her turn to defend the arena.
At the very beginning of the arena matches, Gu Ningyun had told Wen Xuan and Mu Chenze that their disguises could end here.
By managing to maintain the facade until this point, the serial strategy was already half-complete. The final bit of deception for the arena matches could be left to her.
What Wen Xuan and Mu Chenze needed to do now was to give it their all in this final stage of the individual competition, striving for their best possible results among the crowd of powerhouses.
When it was Wen Xuan's turn to defend the arena, she gripped her mace and certainly didn't hold back.
However, in her very first match, she was defeated by one of the sword talents, Si Puyu, and knocked off the arena.
After Si Puyu won ten consecutive matches and finished her turn, Wen Xuan's points remained the highest among the remaining ten participants.
She stood on the arena once more, only to be defeated again by the sword cultivator Fu Mingzhi.
After Fu Mingzhi won nine consecutive matches, the rules dictated that the next Arena Master was still Wen Xuan.
She stepped onto the arena a third time, but was once again knocked off by the final sword talent on the field—the girl who spent all her time practicing the sword, the thunder-attribute sword cultivator Ling Hanbai.
Seeing this, the disciples in the spectator stands broke into an uproar.
"Why must they treat our alchemy cultivators like this!"
"The rules are the rules, there's nothing that can be done."
"I can't even bear to watch!"
Hearing the words of the spectators, Gu Ningyun also felt a bitter taste in her heart.
At the start of the competition, when the first points leaderboard was released, Wen Xuan's points were quite high, ranking fifth just behind Gu Ningyun.
The two disciples ranked second and third had failed to make it into the top thirteen during the ranking matches due to insufficient strength.
Therefore, after Jun Luo and Gu Ningyun finished their defenses, the next defender according to the rules was inevitably Wen Xuan.
When they were arranging their arena match tactics earlier, considering this situation, Jun Luo had prepared to give Wen Xuan another sword array prototype, Mu Chenze had prepared another illusion array for her, and Gu Ningyun had stuffed a handful of talismans into her hands.
This way, she would at least have a higher chance of winning when facing Si Puyu, Fu Mingzhi, and Ling Hanbai.
However, Wen Xuan had refused them all.
Gu Ningyun still remembered her determined expression at the time. "No thank you, guys."
Her eyes had held a spark of confidence and persistence. "Partners, I've decided. For the final arena matches, I don't plan to use talismans, sword array prototypes, or illusion arrays."
"First, those were refined by Ningyun, Jun Luo, and Chenze; they don't count as my own strength."
"Second, the damage from a sword array prototype is too high. Like a poison pill, I'm unwilling to use it on my fellow disciples just for the sake of one competition."
"Third, if I have these trump cards from you, my opponents surely have hidden trump cards of their own. For the sake of a single match, having both sides exhaust all their secrets... I don't think it's necessary."
At that point, she had smiled. "Finally, and most importantly."
"In this round of arena matches, I want to rely on my own strength. I'll use the mace in my hands to defeat them openly and honorably."
"I want to tell everyone here that alchemy cultivators can also fight!"
Wen Xuan's voice seemed to still echo in her ears, but seeing her ascend the arena three times only to be knocked down in the first match each time made Gu Ningyun's heart ache uncontrollably.
Gu Ningyun covered her forehead.
There are winners and losers in every match; losing was nothing.
But Wen Xuan had defended the arena three times and had been defeated in the first match every single time.
In other words, across three opportunities, she hadn't managed to defend the arena even once!
Right then, a cry of surprise suddenly erupted from the spectator stands outside the waiting area.
"Everyone, look!"
Gu Ningyun instinctively looked up toward the arena.
At this moment, following Ling Hanbai's victory, Wen Xuan had stepped onto the arena for the fourth time.
Despite having been forced off the stage three times in a sorry state, the confidence and battle intent radiating from Wen Xuan hadn't diminished in the slightest.
She gripped her two-meter-long mace—which was taller than she was—and stood in the center of the arena with a straight back, her eyes burning with the will to fight as she looked at her opponent below.
A dark figure flew past, landing lightly on the stage.
Gu Ningyun remembered him; he was a saber cultivator with very solid fundamentals and difficult saber techniques.
Wen Xuan was utterly fearless, quickly exchanging over a dozen moves with the saber cultivator.
Gu Ningyun watched the steady and firm battle intent on Wen Xuan, and the blazing fire-attribute spirit energy on the mace in her hands.
Unlike her fear that Wen Xuan's spirit would flag after repeated failures, after experiencing three defeats, Wen Xuan showed no signs of dejection. Instead, the more she was thwarted, the braver she became; the more she fought, the stronger she grew!
In all their months of sparring, this was the first time she realized Wen Xuan could actually display such power.
She had underestimated her partner.
Wen Xuan won.
In her fourth time defending the arena, she held her ground through the first match, the second, the third... all the way until the seventh match, the final one, where she was finally knocked off by Jiang Yao.
But even so, the cheers rising from outside the arena were for Wen Xuan.
In this moment, there was no longer any division of teams in their hearts. There were only cheers and applause for a cultivator, for a warrior.
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