Chapter 111: Qingyu Talisman

As Chen Mobai pondered how to counter the Swiftness Talisman, Shi Yuanqing revealed his true strength on the arena.

Wu Xue was moving at incredible speed when she suddenly paused, finding her right foot bound. She looked down to see a wisp of dust, like a chain, seeping from the cracks in the stone arena floor and wrapping around her ankle.

"Caught," Shi Yuanqing said coldly. He then spread the fingers of his right hand, causing the pebbles at his feet to rise. With a flick of his palm, they rained down like countless blossoms, enveloping Wu Xue's entire body.

However, as the second-greatest talent at First High after Gong Xiangyu, Wu Xue had overcome numerous challenges to reach this round and was certainly no easy opponent. She pressed her palms together, activating a talisman. A swirling current of water enveloped her, forming a powerful defense.

"Water Dragon Talisman!" Chen Mobai exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the talisman. It was one of his favorite talismans, part of the same set as the Water Sword Talisman. This first-tier, high-grade talisman was nearly second-tier in power, a formidable tool for both offense and defense.

"Are they going for a decisive strike again, right from the start?" Shi Jingjing muttered. She had suffered from her own hesitation; in the second round, her cautious probing had inadvertently led her into a prolonged battle with Hong Gang, ultimately resulting in her defeat against his powerful Vitality and Indestructible Vajra Body. Cao Yaling had learned from this, understanding that in a prolonged battle, a woman's stamina would inevitably be inferior to a man's. Therefore, she had devised a strategy to strike decisively with a single move. Coincidentally, Wu Xue had witnessed that entire battle from below the stage and adopted Cao Yaling's strategy for herself.

"Everyone is improving," Chen Mobai mused. "Is this the true purpose of combat cultivation?" He observed that compared to the first round, where many students had been flustered upon entering the stage, the opponents who had made it to the third round already possessed a basic tactical awareness. If Qiao Xingwen had fought two more rounds before encountering him, it might have taken him five minutes to resolve the fight.

On the arena, Wu Xue ascended, enveloped by the powerful spiritual energy of the Water Dragon Talisman. She resembled a female dragon deity, wrapped in swirling currents of water, forming a translucent, dragon-shaped watery phantom.

However, having learned from Xu Yuan's previous mistake, Shi Yuanqing also activated his talisman at the same time. He held a beautiful talisman, translucent like jade yet adorned with faint patterns, between two fingers of his right hand and pressed it against his forehead. From the talisman, square jade-like porcelain tiles spread across Shi Yuanqing's body like a mosaic, instantly forming a porcelain armor with no blind spots.

"Azure Jade Talisman!" Shi Jingjing, Shi Yuanqing's cousin, couldn't help but show a look of envy when she saw the talisman.

A water dragon's roar echoed, accompanied by surging waves of water that swept across the sky. Wu Xue's spiritual energy surged, maximizing the talisman's power. Her skin flushed red as she charged directly at Shi Yuanqing, who was covered in jade-like porcelain armor.

Boom!

At the center of the arena, the point where the two talismans collided slowly began to distort, and a faint, extremely muffled thunder could be heard. Chen Mobai could no longer look directly at it; the intense spiritual light forced him to squint. But Shi Jingjing and Cao Yaling, using their spiritual eyes, watched the outcome of the two powerful talismans' collision intently.

"He won!" Shi Jingjing's cheer rang out as the spiritual light at the center of the arena slowly dissipated. Chen Mobai saw Wu Xue collapse at Shi Yuanqing's feet. The latter knelt down, then raised his right hand and struck Wu Xue heavily on her pale neck. Her eyes wide with disbelief, Wu Xue, who had expected Shi Yuanqing to show some gentleness, fainted.

"Referee," Shi Yuanqing coldly called out to the referee outside the arena, after delivering the finishing blow.

"This guy," Chen Mobai thought, "it feels like he's going a bit extreme." While Shi Yuanqing's actions were perfectly acceptable from a combat cultivation perspective, Chen Mobai still felt that something was amiss.

"He's been shy since childhood," Shi Jingjing began to ramble. "Only Xu Yuan can make him let his guard down." Shi Yuanqing was the most spiritually gifted among their generation in the family, but his timid nature and baby face almost led him to develop autism in childhood due to his family's excessively high expectations. The Xu and Shi families were neighbors, and whenever they interacted, Xu Yuan would take Shi Yuanqing to play. After more than a decade, their bond was closer than that of blood brothers. "Yuanqing was the first in our school to reach the eighth level of Qi Cultivation," Shi Jingjing continued. "If he hadn't held back his progress to consider Xu Yuan's feelings, he might have already reached the ninth level." Shi Jingjing knew Shi Yuanqing's talent best. His dual Earth and Fire spiritual roots were exceptionally high, no less impressive than Gong Xiangyu's, and the Azure Jade Art he cultivated was a perfect fit.

After hearing this, Chen Mobai looked at Shi Yuanqing, who was silently walking off the arena, and an idea sparked in his mind. "Xu Yuan has been eliminated," Chen Mobai said to him. "From now on, you shall carry his share." Shi Jingjing and Cao Yaling, standing nearby, looked utterly bewildered, completely unable to understand what Chen Mobai was saying. But Shi Yuanqing, whose face had been impassive, had a flash of brilliance in his eyes upon hearing this. He then clenched his fist, thumped his chest, and nodded emphatically. "Count on me," he replied.

*Are these two crazy?!* Shi Jingjing and Cao Yaling found that their thought processes simply didn't align with these two. If Mo Simin had been there, she would have strongly resonated with their feelings.

"Well, there's still Song Zheng's match next," Chen Mobai said, "but I won't have time to watch it." Chen Mobai checked the time; his match was in an hour, and the arena wasn't even in this location. He needed to go to another peak.

"It's fine," Shi Jingjing replied. "He'll probably be eliminated anyway, so we won't bother watching." Shi Jingjing's words made Chen Mobai lament Song Zheng's poor popularity.

"Old Song actually has some skills," Chen Mobai said. "He's mastered quite a few formidable spells. Maybe he'll cause an upset." Chen Mobai felt his own match was practically a sure win, another one-minute resolution. If his classmates came with him, they wouldn't have any viewing experience. It would be better to go cheer for Song Zheng. What if this small external factor spurred him to unleash his full potential?

"Xue Luan's strength is similar to mine," Shi Yuanqing stated. "Song Zheng's chances of winning are less than one in ten." After the college entrance exam, to hone their combat cultivation skills, he and Xu Yuan had been sent by their parents, through connections, to the military. Among the fifty people in their cohort, he and Xue Luan were the most formidable. Shi Yuanqing had deliberately suppressed his strength a little so as not to overshadow Xu Yuan, but Xue Luan had seen through it. During one training session, Xue Luan intentionally injured Xu Yuan, enraging Shi Yuanqing. That evening, on the training ground, Shi Yuanqing found Xue Luan waiting for him, and the two fought a fierce battle. Although Shi Yuanqing was stronger than Xu Yuan, he still lost after suppressing his own abilities for an extended period.