At dawn the next day, as the morning sun rose, the martial arts arena of the City Lord's estate was bustling with noise.
The two-day challenge matches had come to an end, and today would be the top ten ranking matches to determine the final standings.
The ten young geniuses who had advanced all stepped onto the stage, standing on opposite sides of the arena. Each of them was a top expert among Baiyun City's younger generation.
Once the crowd quieted down, the announcer on the high platform declared in a clear voice, “For today's top ten ranking matches, the ten contestants will draw lots in order.”
“Number one against number ten, number two against number nine, number three against number eight, number four against number seven, and number five against number six. In the first round, the pairs will duel to determine the top five and bottom five.”
“Afterward, the top five will compete in a round-robin format, as will the bottom five. The final rankings will be determined based on a comprehensive score of wins, losses, and overall performance.”
The geniuses present looked solemn upon hearing this. Every single battle today would affect their recruitment by the sects afterward, so none of them dared to be careless.
The ten contestants stepped onto the stage in order to draw lots. The spectators below held their breath and watched. Before long, the drawing of lots concluded, and the matchups for each group were announced.
Ye Ling drew number five, and her opponent in the first round was number six, Li Yanran.
Ye Chen would face Ye Ling, old rivals meeting once again. Ye Fei would take on Su Qinghe. Li Wanxi would face Wang Lingyue. Liu Daoyao was matched against Jiang Chenxiao.
The announcer on the high platform loudly declared the first combatants: Li Wanxi of the Li family versus Wang Lingyue of the Wang family.
As soon as these words were spoken, the arena instantly erupted. The two of them were the top rankers of the Li and Wang families' respective tournaments, making this duel without a doubt the most anticipated match of the first round.
Two figures leaped onto the arena one after another.
Li Wanxi wore a simple yet elegant set of martial arts attire. Her figure was slender, and in her hand, she held an entirely pitch-black long whip that shimmered with a faint, eerie light.
Her spiritual energy was steady and refined, and her eyes were calm yet filled with confidence. The Li family had established their clan through their whip techniques. Li Wanxi had practiced the whip since childhood, and after years of bitter cultivation, her whip technique had already reached Mastery.
Opposite her, Wang Lingyue wore a dark martial arts uniform. He stood tall and straight, his right hand tightly gripping a long sword with a bright, gleaming blade.
The Wang family was founded on swordplay. Wang Lingyue's sword techniques were fierce and swift, his execution clean and decisive. Having practiced the sword since childhood, he was already the undisputed number one among the Wang family's younger generation at eighteen.
The spectators below were incredibly excited. One was skilled with the whip, while the other was proficient with the sword. With two completely different paths clashing head-on, everyone wanted to know who would have the last laugh.
In the waiting area, Ye Ling stood with her hands behind her back, her fingertips resting lightly on her scabbard as her gaze calmly fell upon the stage.
On the stage, the two confronted each other from a distance, their battle intent surging.
As the signal was given, Wang Lingyue was the first to strike.
With a flick of his wrist, his long sword left its scabbard, carrying a cold gleam. Channeling his Houtian Ninth Layer spiritual energy into the blade, his sword momentum surged like a wave, thrusting directly toward Li Wanxi's face.
His sword moves were broad and sweeping, fierce and rapid. Without the slightest probing, he went into a full-on offensive right from the start.
Li Wanxi remained composed. With a light flick of her wrist, her long whip lashed through the air. The whip was flexible and agile, carrying fine ripples of spiritual energy as it danced like a circling black python.
She did not clash head-on with the long sword. Moving nimbly across the stage, her long whip sometimes wrapped, sometimes swept, and sometimes lashed, precisely evading the sword's edge to target the trajectory of Wang Lingyue's swordplay.
On the stage, sword light gleamed and whip shadows crisscrossed. The crisp ringing of clashing metal was continuous.
Wang Lingyue's sword was extremely fast, and his attacks were continuous, aiming to shatter her agility with raw strength.
However, Li Wanxi's movement was incredibly light. She always managed to evade his lethal strikes in the nick of time while using her whip to counterattack at every opportunity, repeatedly grazing Wang Lingyue's sleeves and forcing him to retreat and defend.
The two fought fiercely for dozens of rounds, evenly matched.
Unable to break through for a long time, Wang Lingyue grew increasingly impatient, and tiny flaws began to appear in his sword moves.
He suddenly unleashed all his spiritual energy to execute the Wang family's ultimate trump card sword technique. The sword light flared as a fierce sword gang slashed out, doubling in power as he sought to crush his opponent in a single blow.
Now was the moment. A sharp gleam flashed in Li Wanxi's eyes as she seized this fleeting opening.
The long whip in her hand abruptly abandoned its defensive posture. With an explosion of spiritual energy, the whip instantly straightened like iron. No longer looping or wrapping, it lashed out in a precise and swift thrust.
Crack!
The crisp, explosive sound echoed across the stage. This strike was as fast as lightning, anticipating where Wang Lingyue's sword would land and striking his wrist with absolute precision.
A surge of sharp pain hit him, numbing Wang Lingyue's wrist. His long sword slipped from his grip, clattering onto the ground.
With his weapon lost, the match was decided. Wang Lingyue froze in place, his breathing ragged and his face pale.
He had poured everything into his offensive, but in the end, he was still one step short.
The announcer on the high platform declared loudly, “Li Wanxi wins!”
Deafening cheers erupted below. Li Wanxi stood with her whip retrieved, her breathing steady, with only a light sheen of sweat on her forehead.
She was calm and composed. Wang Lingyue walked off the stage dejectedly, filled with regret, yet completely accepted his defeat.
The first major battle had concluded, with Li Wanxi securing a victorious start.
In the second match, Ye Fei faced Su Qinghe.
Ye Fei was dressed in light green martial arts attire, a silver soft whip wrapped around her waist. She had a tall figure, and her dark hair was bound by a jade hairpin.
Her expression was solemn as she slowly unleashed her Houtian Ninth Layer cultivation, her aura steady and condensed.
Su Qinghe was still dressed in her usual plain clothes, holding a common iron sword, her delicate face carrying a hint of coldness.
She stepped onto the stage and released her aura, fully displaying her Houtian Ninth Layer cultivation.
With both of them at the same cultivation level, neither held an overwhelming advantage.
As the command was given, Ye Fei was the first to strike. Her silver soft whip shot out like a spiritual snake leaving its cave, targeting Su Qinghe's lower body. Her whip technique was agile and ever-changing, forming a continuous offensive.
Su Qinghe sidestepped to evade, slashing her iron sword in one fluid motion, the blade grazing past the edge of Ye Fei's clothes.
She was neither rushed nor impatient, each of her strikes simple and direct, devoid of any unnecessary flourish.
The two locked in combat for dozens of rounds. Ye Fei's whip technique was exquisite, while Su Qinghe's swordplay was sharp, making it difficult to determine a victor for a time.
Ye Fei tried to wrap her whip around the sword several times, but Su Qinghe nimbly avoided them, while Su Qinghe's counterattacks also failed to breach Ye Fei's web of whip shadows.
As the fight dragged on, both had consumed a significant amount of spiritual energy, and their breathing began to grow heavy. Yet, neither was willing to yield even half a step. The cheers from the audience below rose and fell in waves.
Ultimately, Su Qinghe seized an opening when Ye Fei was retracting her whip to catch her breath. With a thrust of her iron sword, the tip of the blade rested against Ye Fei's shoulder. She did not release her energy, clearly holding back.
Ye Fei froze for a moment before retracting her whip and conceding defeat.
“Su Qinghe wins,” the announcer declared.
In the third match, Liu Daoyao faced Jiang Chenxiao.
Liu Daoyao carried a broad saber on her back, dressed in practical, short-sleeved martial arts attire, her features filled with heroic spirit.
She strode onto the stage and drew her blade to slash immediately, without a single word of nonsense. Her saber momentum was heavy and fierce, each strike wrapped in thick energy that caused the protective formation on the stage to tremble slightly.
Jiang Chenxiao was also a saber cultivator with a fierce style. Both favored head-on clashes, their blades colliding and sending sparks flying in all directions. The audience below watched with boiling blood, their cheers echoing one after another.
After dozens of rounds, Liu Daoyao's endurance began to show.
Hailing from a minor family with scarce resources, her ability to reach this point was entirely due to her hard training. Her resilience and endurance far surpassed those of her peers.
Jiang Chenxiao's offensive gradually slowed down, and his breathing began to grow erratic.
Seizing an opportunity, Liu Daoyao delivered a horizontal slash, forcing Jiang Chenxiao back three steps.
Without waiting for him to stabilize his stance, she closed the distance, her second strike following immediately as the flat of her blade tapped against Jiang Chenxiao's shoulder.
“Liu Daoyao wins!”
No one had expected that the genius whom the Jiang family had placed high hopes on would be stopped short of the top five.
Below the stage, the members of the Liu family were so moved that tears welled in their eyes. For a hundred years, no one from the Liu family had ever been able to reach this stage.
In the fourth match, Ye Chen faced Ye Ling.
The old rivals met once more. Standing on the stage, Ye Ling looked at Ye Chen opposite him with a complex gaze.
During the family tournament, he could still put up a fight against Ye Chen, but now, things had completely changed.
The two did not exchange pleasantries. The moment the signal sounded, Ye Ling was the first to attack. Fully unleashing his Houtian Ninth Layer cultivation, his sword momentum was sharp and fierce.
He knew Ye Chen possessed a sword technique at Great Perfection, so he could not afford to give him any room to breathe.
However, once Ye Chen executed his Great Perfection movement technique, his figure became elusive. Ye Ling launched over ten consecutive strikes but could not even touch the hem of his opponent's clothes.
Ye Chen countered with only a single strike. With a flash of sword light, he tapped precisely on the weakest point of Ye Ling's blade, jarring him backward.
Ye Ling's hand holding the sword trembled slightly. Looking at Ye Chen, he ultimately did not strike again.
“Ye Chen wins.”
Ye Ling sheathed his sword and stepped down, his retreating figure looking somewhat desolate. The genius of the past had now been left far behind.
In the fifth match, Ye Ling faced Li Yanran.
Li Yanran was the number two seed of the Li family, a Houtian Ninth Layer expert who was skilled in using the long whip.
Ye Ling's achievements in the family tournament were known to the entire city. Crushing Ninth Layer experts with only Seventh Layer cultivation—such combat strength was not something she could contend with.
But she still stepped up. Even if she was going to lose, she wanted to do so with dignity.
The moment the signal sounded, Li Yanran lashed out first. Her long whip cut through the air, heading straight for Ye Ling's shoulder.
Instead of retreating, Ye Ling advanced. Her figure suddenly flashed forward, bypassing the whip shadows as she pressed her right index and middle fingers together, lightly tapping Li Yanran's wrist.
Li Yanran's wrist went numb, and her long whip slipped from her hand. She stood frozen in place, watching as Ye Ling retracted her fingers and stepped back to her original position.
“Ye Ling wins.”
There were no gasps from below the stage, only a blanket of silence. From beginning to end, Ye Ling had not even drawn her sword.
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