Chapter 112: Final Circle

Before Chen Mobai burst onto the scene, Shi Yuanqing was undeniably the top student at Immortal Gate Fifth High School.

Song Zheng was also considered a genius, but he was only at Qi Condensation Level 7. He couldn't even compare to Shi Jingjing or Cao Yaling, let alone Shi Yuanqing.

Yet, Song Zheng's current opponent was Xue Luan, who had even defeated Shi Yuanqing when the latter gave his all.

As they spoke, they had already followed to Chen Mobai's dueling arena.

His opponent was named Kan An, a Qi Condensation Level 7 student from First High School.

It was just as Chen Mobai had observed: an ordinary opponent.

In less than two minutes, he finished the battle.

After stepping down amidst cheers, Chen Mobai inquired about Song Zheng's match and found it hadn't ended yet.

However, about ten minutes later, the result came through.

As Shi Yuanqing had predicted, Song Zheng lost.

By then, only three students from Immortal Gate Fifth High School remained.

In the fourth round, Chen Mobai's luck continued to hold. His opponent was still an ordinary Qi Condensation Level 7 practitioner, only slightly stronger than Kan An from the previous round, but they only lasted three minutes against him.

However, during this round's duel, Chen Mobai used a Tier 1 high-grade talisman for the first time: the "Grass and Trees Become Soldiers" talisman. This was a small setup for his tactics in the final two rounds, laying a groundwork in advance.

Shi Yuanqing, on the other hand, encountered a strong opponent—a Qi Condensation Level 8 practitioner skilled in palm techniques. However, having removed his own restrictions, he unleashed astonishing combat ability, defeating his opponent and advancing to the next round.

Cao Yaling, however, did not possess such strength. She faced a woman named Ji Jing. Although she changed her tactics, attempting to use her spiritual eye to find her opponent's weaknesses in a prolonged battle, her composure and willpower were inferior to her opponent's. In the end, she was the first to exhaust all her spiritual energy and had to surrender.

In the subsequent fifth round, Chen Mobai finally met an interesting opponent named Jia Mo, Qi Condensation Level 8, from Second High School. He was from the same school as Kong Feichen and Yang Jing, both of whom possessed rare spiritual roots.

However, when Jia Mo stepped onto the stage, he was already intimidated.

"I know I'm not your match, but I will give it my all." Jia Mo, with a determined expression, spoke to Chen Mobai after the referee stepped down.

"Have you ever fought Kong Feichen?" Chen Mobai asked. Jia Mo paused, surprised. As he showed a look of hesitation, Chen Mobai pressed on.

"How long can you last against him?"

"If he were to go all out, I probably wouldn't last more than three moves."

After hearing Jia Mo's words, Chen Mobai nodded.

"Three moves means that without using talismans, he could defeat you with three spells."

These self-muttering words made Jia Mo frown. He felt that even though Chen Mobai was on the same arena as him, his mind was completely elsewhere. How disrespectful!

Angered, Jia Mo immediately activated his two Tier 1 mid-grade talismans.

Coincidentally, Chen Mobai also possessed these two talismans: the Wind Blade Talisman and the Wind Restraint Talisman. When used together, their power would increase by 30%.

As the talismans activated, streaks of green wind blades lit up in mid-air. Then whirlwinds swept through, enhancing the power of the wind blades. Under Jia Mo's spiritual sense, a wind blade already slashed towards Chen Mobai.

A wooden shield materialized out of thin air, easily blocking the first wind blade. But what followed was wave after wave, a total of eight wind blades crisscrossing into a net, covering all spaces Chen Mobai could evade into. As the wind blades attacked, they also stirred up swirling green air currents, suddenly stagnating the atmosphere within a three-meter radius around Chen Mobai, causing his movements to involuntarily slow down and his limbs to stiffen.

This was the effect of using the Wind Blade Talisman and Wind Restraint Talisman together; they could enhance each other. Solely concerning these two talismans, Jia Mo used them more skillfully than Chen Mobai. Furthermore, his talismans were clearly of better quality, unlike the ordinary ones Chen Mobai bought online.

However, under the triple protection of the Wooden Shield Talisman, Golden Light Talisman, and Water Elemental Barrier, Jia Mo's wind blades still couldn't break through Chen Mobai's defenses.

Next was the Wind Restraint Talisman. Chen Mobai felt his limbs as if they were laden with hundreds of jin of weight. A talisman slipped from his sleeve into his palm, and he infused it with spiritual energy, activating it.

At the same time, Jia Mo had already prepared his trump card, a Tier 1 high-grade Shocking Spirit Talisman.

Although Chen Mobai was confident in his Water Elemental Barrier, it was better not to meet force with force if possible. So, he also activated a Wind Blade Talisman. The air currents that were supposed to bind him, at the instant this talisman activated, instead became a propellant and were completely swept away by the wind blades.

Under Jia Mo's disbelieving gaze, twelve wind blades, even more exaggerated than his own, tore through the air. He deployed his remaining two defensive talismans simultaneously; a golden light and a wind wall appeared before him, blocking the twelve wind blades controlled by Chen Mobai's spiritual sense.

"The Shocking Spirit Talisman is ready."

Just as Jia Mo blocked the Wind Blade Talisman and was about to unleash his trump card talisman, he suddenly felt his hands and feet wrapped. It was a simple Entanglement Talisman, but he could no longer perform the motion to activate his talisman.

Chen Mobai moved in front of him and knocked him unconscious with a single hand chop.

"Victor, Chen Mobai."

It was another swift and decisive victory. Unlike Shi Yuanqing and the others who had to exhaust their spiritual energy, Chen Mobai's battles were always surprising, breaking down his opponents' attacks with the most suitable tactics, precise as a surgeon's scalpel.

After the fifth round of duels concluded, this series of duels, which had lasted for nearly a month, finally drew to a close.

By then, only nine people remained: Gong Xiangyu, Kong Feichen, Yang Jing, and Yan Feng, all at Qi Condensation Level 9; Xue Luan, Hong Gang, Shi Yuanqing, and Ji Jing, all at Qi Condensation Level 8; and finally, Chen Mobai, the rather conspicuous Qi Condensation Level 7 participant.

What followed was a redraw of lots. Furthermore, since there were nine participants, the rules of the duels would also change slightly. The Scarlet Robe True Man and representatives from the Daoist Academy would also appear at this final lottery ceremony, or rather, only students who had made it this far were deemed worthy of their personal presence.

Evening.

Jia Mo, who had just lost earlier that day, opened the door to his cave dwelling, and Kong Feichen and Yang Jing entered.

"How did it feel to fight him head-on?" Kong Feichen asked first. Jia Mo frowned in thought, then shook his head.

"Although I lost quickly and felt like I didn't get to unleash my full strength, after thinking about it carefully now, even if we fought ten more times, I probably wouldn't be able to defeat him."

"Oh, is he really that powerful? The Wind Restraint Talismans and Wind Blade Talismans I refined, plus her Shocking Spirit Talisman, couldn't even force him to reveal his true strength." Kong Feichen had originally thought that only Yan Feng and Gong Xiangyu would be his biggest opponents in these duels; he never expected Chen Mobai to appear out of nowhere.

"The Shocking Spirit Talisman couldn't be activated, so he might still have a weakness in his spiritual sense. You can devise a strategy targeting that." Jia Mo returned the unused Shocking Spirit Talisman to Yang Jing and shared his assessment.

"I understand, thank you." After Kong Feichen received the answer he needed, he and Yang Jing took their leave.