Chapter 824
The Year's Agreement, Entering the Semi-Finals
"Accepted."
Li Yufeng bowed with his hands clasped in greeting.
Although he won the competition and successfully qualified for the semi-finals, the bitterness on his face was even more obvious than that of Qin Zhengdao, who lost the competition.
Qin Zhengdao's expression was complicated. He never expected that he would become Li Yufeng's stepping stone.
In all the pre-match plans, Li Yufeng, who came on as a substitute and kept advancing by "luck", was never taken seriously by them.
Unexpectedly, his opponent used this method to step over his head and advance into the semi-finals.
Even though Song Changsheng was given a "bye" and thus guaranteed a spot in the tournament, he remained calm, considering the opponent's strength was considerable.
But what is Li Yufeng anyway?
If it were any other opponent, such as Song Changsheng or Ji Liangyu, he would fight with all his might as long as he had a sliver of strength left, after all, he was not lacking in the courage and will to dedicate himself to the court.
But when facing an opponent like Li Yufeng, he didn't even bother to give him a second glance, because it was already a done deal that Li Yufeng had made it to the semifinals. Even if he severely injured Li Yufeng, it would be meaningless and wouldn't have any impact on the outcome of the battle.
Even if he were at his peak, he would have been giving away points in the semifinals anyway, so there was no need to jeopardize his future.
"Humph."
Qin Zhengdao snorted coldly and dragged his heavy body back to the platform belonging to Zhulu Academy.
Since the start of the Grand Tournament, the only two losers who have managed to step down from the Cloud Arena and still stand upright are Xiong Tu and Xiong Tu.
"The next match will be between Ji Liangyu, an instructor from the Tianshui Ji Clan branch, and Long Han, an instructor from the Beast Taming Sect branch!"
As Yingyue Zhenjun finished speaking, the two seeded players collided again.
If things had gone according to the original script, the elders of the Tianshui Ji Clan would have been overjoyed at this outcome, since Long An had suffered a great loss at Ling Xiao's hands.
But now, it's obvious to anyone with eyes that the Beast Taming Sect has used some kind of treasure, and Long Han's injuries have almost completely healed.
If Ji Liangyu were to confront them at this moment, wouldn't he be repeating the mistakes of Long Han and Ling Xiao?
Seeing the worry on the faces of the family elders, Ji Liangyu said calmly, "Do you think I am no match for him?"
"That's not the case. The main concern is that it might affect the young clan leader's performance in the semifinals."
"Dealing with him won't take much effort."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Liangyu stood with his hands behind his back in the air and calmly looked at Long Han opposite him, saying, "In your current state, fighting me will only add new wounds to your old ones. You should step down. Your Beast Taming Sect won't miss this defeat. It's meaningless."
"Don't you think it's ridiculous to say such things in front of me, the Holy Son?" Long Han's expression was icy. Even though he had lost the Azure Scale Armor and his spirit beast was seriously injured, it was wishful thinking to expect him to admit defeat!
You will come to terms with reality.
As soon as he finished speaking, Ji Liangyu's figure vanished from the spot without leaving a trace, as if he had evaporated into thin air.
Song Changsheng, who was watching from below, twitched his brow. He was all too familiar with this scene. The Great Perfection Realm of the [Spatial Law]!
As the Grand Competition has progressed, although everyone has demonstrated their expertise in the [Laws of Space] to varying degrees, few have impressed him, including Ji Liangyu from before.
Perhaps because the opponents they faced earlier were not strong enough, they did not want to reveal too much of their strength and therefore concealed it.
But now, facing Long Han, who is also a seeded player, she has finally shown her full strength.
"Long'an's defeat is inevitable." Song Changsheng couldn't help but sigh softly.
Just as Ji Shinian had told him before, during his previous fight with Ling Xiao, Long Han had already shown signs of "demonic transformation" due to excessive use of the "dragon blood" within him.
Although it has been contained now, the impact still exists, which creates a very obvious vulnerability.
As long as you keep stimulating Long An to use the power of his precious blood during the fight, and once it reaches a certain level, you can use speed to wear him down to death.
Although Long An has considerable expertise in the [Laws of Space], he is far from reaching perfection.
Given Ji Liangyu's speed, as long as she focuses on avoiding battle, Long Han's final fate is predictable.
"It seems my opponent is Zhao Yin."
It was an incredibly despairing statement, yet it came out of Baili Yuntu's mouth with such calmness.
Actually, Song Changsheng had this premonition when he was "left out," but now it has become a reality.
“Fellow Daoist Zixu has already entered the semi-finals. You don’t need to feel too much pressure. Your priority is to protect yourself,” Ji Shinian said softly.
Defeating Zhao Yin was almost an impossible task for them. After Ling Xiao was eliminated, let alone securing a top-three finish or even a top-one spot, they would be grateful to even make it into the top three.
It was already a pleasant surprise that Song Changsheng made it to the semifinals; with Li Yufeng in the running, it was practically a guaranteed spot in the top three.
In this situation, he felt there was no need to make any further unnecessary sacrifices.
After all, there is still a huge gap between Zhao Yin and Baili Yuntu, and even injuring him is a luxury.
In this situation, there's no need to go all out. Although the burned essence can be replenished, the process is extremely long, and it's unavoidable that it will affect cultivation, making it a losing proposition.
If it weren't for the concerns about the sect's reputation and self-esteem, Ji Shinian would have preferred to have Baili Yuntu simply admit defeat.
"I see."
As soon as Baili Yuntu finished speaking, a roar that soared straight to the heavens came from above. Long Han was shrouded in a thick layer of bloody aura, and a hideous half-human, half-demon phantom seemed to be about to burst out of his body at any moment.
"Get out here!" Long Han's eyes were bloodshot, and he exhaled scorching breath from his nostrils, his face contorted in extreme grotesqueness.
He couldn't see Ji Liangyu at all; he could only sense the occasional ripples emanating from the surrounding space.
The arena in the clouds has a limited range, and he knew that Ji Liangyu could not possibly leave this range no matter what, but he just couldn't pinpoint Ji Liangyu's exact location.
While the influence of the precious blood within him on his will was certainly a factor, the main reason was that he couldn't keep up with Ji Liangyu's speed.
The feeling of having the strength to hit nothing but air is so frustrating it's maddening.
This is the first time I've done this since I started cultivating.
The more his mind was disturbed, the greater the influence of the precious blood became on him, and after several hours he was on the verge of losing control.
Seeing that the time was right, Ji Liangyu launched a fatal attack on Long Han!
Her figure appeared behind Long Han like a ghost, and a flash of silver light appeared from her sleeve, instantly shattering Long Han's protective aura. A strange flower of blood appeared, and Long Han's chest was directly pierced by this silver light.
Long Han's expression froze instantly. Looking at the coin-sized hole in his chest, disbelief flashed in his eyes. Stimulated by the blood, the last shred of reason in his mind was devoured by raging anger. He felt a slight itch on his back, as if something was about to burst out of his flesh.
Anyone could see that Long An's defeat was inevitable, but Ji Liangyu did not stop. With a cold expression, he slowly raised his right hand, preparing to finish off Long An completely.
If you don't admit defeat, you're still the enemy!
"We concede!" The elder leading the Beast Taming Sect hurriedly spoke up to concede on behalf of Long Han, fearing that Ji Liangyu would take this opportunity to deal a severe blow to Long Han.
They won't lose their lives, but they'll definitely lose half their lives.
"Hmph!" Ji Liangyu calmly dispersed the magical power gathered in his palm and returned to the platform where the Ji family was located with a disdainful expression.
For her, defeating such an opponent brought her no sense of accomplishment whatsoever.
If Long Han were at his peak, she might have been somewhat interested in him, but now he was nothing to her; he was just a fool controlled by his bloodline.
"In this round, Ji Liangyu, the instructor of the Tianshui Ji Clan branch, wins."
The next match will feature Baili Yuntu, a tutor from the Wanxiang Palace branch, against Zhao Yin, a tutor from the Zhulu Academy!
"I'm going."
Baili Yuntu nodded slightly to the crowd, took a deep breath, and slowly stepped into the arena.
Zhao Yin remained calm and said, "Your swordsmanship is quite good, but the chance of you defeating me is zero. Therefore, I can give you a chance to make a move. You have plenty of time to prepare carefully. Before that, I will not make a move against you."
"it is good."
Baili Yuntu agreed very readily.
He waved his hand and summoned the Yin-Yang Two Elements Formation, which had been improved by Song Changsheng. Golden threads outlined a black and white Tai Chi diagram in the air, with a spiritually powerful green sword inserted into the Yin and Yang energies, slowly rotating in the air along with the Tai Chi diagram.
Endless sword energy gathered around the sword diagram, and the sharp sword energy condensed into flying swords on the array diagram, one becoming two, two becoming four, four becoming eight...
In a short while, the entire sky was filled with these flying swords formed from sword energy. Then, these flying swords were split in two and merged into the two flying swords at the two extreme points.
"buzzing"
The surrounding space trembled violently under the influence of the sword energy, as if it might shatter like porcelain at any moment.
After absorbing a large amount of sword energy, the two green swords emitted a dazzling light, so bright that everyone could not open their eyes.
"Yin and Yang unite, and the heavens are cleaved with a single sword!"
Baili Yuntu suddenly shouted, then bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of crystal-clear blood essence, which he poured into the two flying swords.
The essence blood was instantly absorbed, and the two green swords, one on the left and one on the right, became wildly intertwined within the sword diagram, gradually merging completely with the array diagram.
Endless sword energy converged wildly in the air.
"Here comes the sword!"
The powerful black and white energies swept down, and a giant sword thousands of feet long appeared in the black and white waterfall, its clanging sound shaking the heavens.
Before this giant sword, both Baili Yuntu and Zhao Yin appeared as insignificant as dust.
Baili Yuntu's eyes were filled with determination.
"cut!"
With a single sword strike, the spatial barrier crumbled under its strain.
Zhao Yin stared directly at the earth-shattering sword strike, neither dodging nor avoiding it. His gaze was sharp and unwavering, and a wisp of purple energy had already subtly enveloped the silver spear in his hand.
"break!"
With a thrust of the spear, a wisp of spear light collided violently with the giant sword in the air.
In an instant, endless sharpness erupted in the air, and the violent shockwaves generated by the battle spread out in a regular pattern, causing the space to ripple like a lake.
A series of chilling cracking sounds rang out in the air, and the spatial barrier, spanning thousands of feet, developed spiderweb-like cracks.
The aftershocks even extended beyond the arena in the clouds, affecting the spectator stands.
The two remained locked in a stalemate for several breaths. A trickle of bright red blood involuntarily flowed from the corner of Baili Yuntu's mouth, and his arm began to tremble slightly.
On the other hand, Zhao Yin appeared calm and composed, showing no signs of pressure.
"Your sword strike was quite good."
"But unfortunately, it's still a little short. If you were proficient in the [Yin-Yang Laws], this sword diagram could unleash even greater power in your hands." Zhao Yin's tone revealed a hint of something inexplicable, as if carrying a touch of regret.
As his words fell.
With a deafening roar, a crack appeared on the giant sword that Baili Yuntu had painstakingly condensed, spreading from the tip along the spine of the sword, and then the Tai Chi sword formation shattered with a crash.
Two flying swords shot out from the center, grazing past Zhao Yin's ears and severing a lock of black hair from his temple, which then drifted away in the wind.
"puff"
Baili Yuntu spat out a mouthful of bright red blood, his face turned deathly pale in an instant, and his aura plummeted. He knelt down in the void in front of him.
Zhao Yin reached out and caught the severed strand of black hair. He looked up at Baili Yuntu and said, "If your cultivation level can catch up with mine before I break through to the Nascent Soul stage, you can come to Zhulu Academy and fight me again. There will be no restrictions then, and you can unleash your full potential. I hope you won't disappoint me."
After saying that, he turned around and returned to the viewing platform where Zhulu Academy was located.
At this moment, Baili Yuntu stood up with difficulty and shouted in a deep voice at Zhao Yin's departing figure: "I will definitely come back to find you in less than a hundred years. At that time, I will definitely not only have one move left!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yin paused slightly, then said without turning his head, "I might not wait for you for a hundred years."
Although he did not express it explicitly, his attitude already indicated that he had accepted this century-long agreement!
The Moonlit True Monarch announced in a loud voice: "In the final match of this round, Zhao Yinsheng, the instructor of the Deer Chasing Academy, will win!"
The list of participants who have advanced to the semi-finals is now announced: Song Changsheng, mentor of Wanxiang Palace Branch; Li Yufeng, mentor of Baiding Pavilion Branch; Ji Liangyu, mentor of Tianshui Ji Clan Branch; and Zhao Yin, mentor of Zhulu Academy!
Seven days later, the semi-finals will be held here to compete for the top three spots.
Let me reiterate the format of the semi-finals.
The semi-finals will use a point-based system.
Each player starts with three points and can challenge other players once each. The winner will gain one point from the loser. After three challenges, the points will be calculated, and the player with the highest points will be the first place, and so on. Please do not slack off and strive to give full play to your strongest abilities.
On behalf of the Array Dao Academy, I will guarantee the fairness and impartiality of the final competition!
...(End of chapter)