Chapter 1648

The numerous disciples watching from the sidelines were stunned. Just a moment ago, Lou Wucheng clearly had the upper hand, so why did he suddenly vomit blood and faint? That kid surnamed Shi on the other side really was too infuriating with his words.

“This match…” The several grandmasters on the field exchanged glances. While ordinary disciples couldn’t see the issue, they naturally could. If Shi Dingtian had been holding a good saber, the outcome would have been decided long ago. But his saber was broken, and Lou Wucheng genuinely had an opportunity to turn the tables just now. He had also shown mercy but was then infuriated by Shi Dingtian’s words, causing him to faint. It was truly difficult to decide how to rule. If Shi Dingtian were declared the winner, it would likely cause Li Changsheng of Baiyujing to lose face. If Lou Wucheng were declared the winner, he had clearly fainted.

While they were deliberating, Li Changsheng calmly stated, “Wucheng’s temperament is insufficient. He became agitated during the fight, allowing himself to be taken advantage of. This defeat is not unjust.” With his decisive statement, the others visibly relaxed and naturally announced Shi Dingtian’s victory.

A ripple went through the crowd. No one had expected another major upset; Lou Wucheng, a favorite to win the championship, had actually lost to an unknown young man.

Li Changsheng floated onto the arena, extending a wisp of spiritual energy. Lou Wucheng slowly regained consciousness. Seeing his master’s cold expression and hearing the occasional disdainful remarks from the surrounding crowd directed at him, the former championship favorite, he was overcome with shame, wishing he could disappear into the ground.

At that moment, Zu An, from the high platform, suddenly spoke, “I actually think his temperament is quite good. From the beginning, he was unwilling to bully an unarmed opponent, and even when he had a chance to turn the tide, he didn’t take advantage of the situation. This aligns perfectly with a swordsman’s pride. I believe if he dedicates himself to training in the future, his achievements in the way of the sword will be immeasurable.”

Lou Wucheng, who had been utterly despondent, was startled. At this point, even his junior disciples, who usually respected and feared him, were looking at him with disdain. He had never expected that the person he considered his most detested love rival would speak up for him. He was overwhelmed with mixed emotions, and for a moment, he felt tears welling up. He quickly turned his face away, fearing someone might see him cry.

After Zu An started, Wang Wuxie and others naturally followed suit, praising Lou Wucheng a few times. After all, Baiyujing’s prestige was significant, and doing a favor was effortless.

Yan Xuehen looked at Zu An in surprise, thinking, “Aren’t their relations poor? Yet he’s speaking up for Lou Wucheng. Is it because Lou Wucheng is from Baiyujing, and he’s showing favoritism?” Thinking this, her fair cheeks flushed slightly.

Pei Mianman’s captivating peach blossom eyes gleamed at this moment. She thought, “A’Zu is becoming more and more like a true gentleman. Oh dear, this makes him seem like an elder to me…”

On the other side, Qiu Honglei also couldn’t help but have stars in her eyes: “A’Zu is truly so kind and generous.”

Yun Jianyue snorted, “In our Sacred Cult, ‘kind’ and ‘generous’ have never been good words.”

“A’Zu isn’t from the Sacred Cult,” Qiu Honglei retorted, ignoring her and resting her chin on her hand as she gazed at her distant lover.

“Stop being so infatuated. It’s almost your turn to go on stage. Don’t fall into a trap,” Yun Jianyue said, feeling an inexplicable irritation in her heart when she saw Qiu Honglei’s expression.

At this point, Wang Wuxie announced the end of the third match, and that the fourth match would be Liang Ling of Kunlun Void against Peng Wuyan of Kongming Island.

As the two ascended the arena, the curious disciples around them began discussing who would win this match.

Most people, relatively speaking, favored Liang Ling. After all, Kunlun Void was once one of the three top Daoist sects, alongside Biyun Palace and Lihentian. Although it was somewhat in decline now, Kongming Island was even more so. Furthermore, this Peng Wuyan was truly indescribably ugly, and her moves in the group stage were so ruthless. Everyone instinctively leaned towards the rather handsome Liang Ling.

Zu An, meanwhile, quietly observed the “ugly woman” in the arena, thinking, “Why do I keep feeling like this person looks a bit familiar? Is it because I helped her last time?”

Yan Xuehen, who was secretly watching him, subtly frowned. “Has this guy become so lecherous that he won’t let any woman go?” she wondered.

“Liang Ling of Kunlun Void!” the young man in the arena said, cupping his hands in greeting.

Qiu Honglei said with a smile, “Enough with the pleasantries. Let’s just start, so it doesn’t end up like the last match.”

Liang Ling’s breath caught. Thinking of Lou Wucheng’s miserable state in the previous match, he realized that sometimes, talking too much was indeed not a good thing. But then he suddenly felt a little confused. The woman opposite him was clearly ugly, yet why did her smile just now carry a hint of charm? “Good heavens,” he thought. He began to doubt his own taste. With a darkened face, he pulled out his long spear. He had originally intended to offer “ladies first,” but recalling her ruthless fighting style in the group stage, she hardly seemed like someone who needed him to yield. So he shouted, “Be careful, young lady!”

No sooner had he spoken than fierce flames erupted from his spear, and the entire weapon rapidly spun, forming a spiraling fire tornado. It ravaged everything in its path as it lunged directly towards Qiu Honglei.

Even with the protective arrays around the arena, the surrounding disciples still felt the astonishing heat. They thought, “Liang Ling’s reputation wasn’t as great as Wu Xiaofan’s or Lou Wucheng’s before, but who knew his fire control had reached such a level?” There were countless fire-element cultivators in the world, but there were also varying degrees of skill within the fire element. This could be judged not only by the color of the flames—the purer the flame, the lighter and more transparent its color, and the higher its temperature—but also by the proficiency of fire manipulation. Among the many fire-element cultivators present, it was clear that Liang Ling was one of the most skilled they had seen these past few days.

Of course, Pei Mianman’s previous black flames seemed to defy convention. Most people had never seen black flames before, and their power was immense, clearly indicating some kind of wondrous exotic fire.

At this moment, Qiu Honglei calmly watched the massive fire dragon attack. With her hands crossed in front of her, two short blades appeared in her palms. Simultaneously, a wall of light suddenly formed in front of her. The roaring fire dragon collided with the light wall, creating a small mushroom cloud, followed by a deafening explosion. As the firelight flickered, the entire space seemed to twist. After a moment, everyone saw that the fire dragon had vanished. Liang Ling’s spear was thrust against the light wall, but he couldn’t advance an inch.

“Wall of Lamentation!” Many experts in the vicinity immediately recognized the name of the move. “A light-element cultivator!” Even the sect leaders on the judging panel were moved. Among all elemental cultivators, light was one of the rarest elements. The Wall of Lamentation was a highly renowned defensive technique of the light element, nearly impossible to break through at the same level, causing countless attackers to sigh in defeat and retreat, hence its name.

They couldn’t help but gaze enviously at Elder Peng of Kongming Island. They had never imagined that the usually weakest Kongming Island would acquire such a genius.

At this moment, Yun Jianyue’s eyebrows subtly raised. She was so excited that she almost jumped up to tell them the truth; the expressions on the faces of those righteous leaders would surely be priceless.

Zu An, meanwhile, was in a daze, unable to stop thinking of Qiu Honglei. She was also light-element, and he wondered how she was doing recently. “Hmph, it’s all Sister Yun, that great villain, who insisted on separating us and making her go into seclusion.”

At this point, several sect leaders also began discussing Peng Wuyan, but they quickly reached a consensus: while the light element was rare, it wasn’t known for its offensive capabilities. Facing the fire element, renowned for its attack power, was not an advantage. Although the Wall of Lamentation was incredibly strong defensively, it couldn’t be maintained indefinitely. In a match where both sides were evenly matched, even a moment of slackness could allow the opponent to seize an opportunity and deliver a decisive blow.

Yun Jianyue secretly sneered, “You know nothing.”

Only Master Jianhuang was quite excited, muttering to himself, “This person is very suitable to inherit the mantle of my Wuyou Temple! If she cultivates the Buddha’s Illumination, wouldn’t she attract countless believers?” The chubby young novice monk Jie Se couldn’t help but grumble, “Master, our Buddhist temple is a pure land; how can we allow women to enter?” “Why not? So many infertile women come to the temple to pray for children, and don’t they all get their wishes granted in the end?” Master Jianhuang snorted. “Besides, there are nunneries within Buddhism, too.” The young monk Jie Se pouted, thinking, “Master wants to convert everyone he sees to Buddhism. This Benefactress Peng should pray for good fortune.”

At this point, Liang Ling in the arena clearly reacted, retracting his long spear and instead moving around, fighting from all directions. The spiritual energy required for his opponent to maintain the Wall of Lamentation was immense, and he would have an advantage if he prolonged the fight. As expected, the Wall of Lamentation quickly disappeared. Qiu Honglei shot out a light projectile, which was so fast it instantly reached Liang Ling.

Liang Ling was greatly alarmed and hastily swung his spear to block, his body trembling immediately. Then several more light orbs shot toward him. After frantically dodging, he suddenly had an epiphany: while the opponent’s light projectiles were fast, their power seemed somewhat lacking. So he channeled his fire power into his long spear, wielding it like a dragon, shattering the incoming light orbs one by one.

At this moment, out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught sight of a light orb several times larger than the previous ones, hurtling towards him. The terrifying pressure emanating from it made the hairs on his body stand on end. However, he immediately realized that although this light orb was powerful, it was too slow to possibly hit him. So, as the light orb approached, he pretended to strike at it with his spear, but in reality, he leaped into the air to dodge it, seizing the opportunity to thrust his spear towards his opponent. If he could get close, the woman would be finished; she wouldn’t have time to cast the Wall of Lamentation again.

Yun Jianyue, watching from the high platform, sneered disdainfully, “Idiot!”

No sooner had she spoken than Liang Ling was horrified to discover his opponent, wielding twin blades, had already closed in on him. The blades moved with phantom-like speed, each strike aimed at his vital points.

Liang Ling finally realized: his move was a feint, but wasn’t the opponent’s massive light orb also a feint? Knowing he would dodge from above, she attacked the instant he jumped and before he could land. In such close quarters, a long spear was difficult to wield, and what’s more, his old strength was expended, and new strength had not yet emerged. The timing his opponent chose was truly vicious.

The short blades in Qiu Honglei’s hands seemed to transform into two streaks of light, weaving all over his body, quickly drawing forth plumes of blood mist. In just a few breaths, she had left one hundred and eight wounds on his body, and Liang Ling collapsed to the ground like a torn rag doll.

The entire Golden Summit fell silent. A match that was thought to be evenly matched had been decided so quickly? And this woman’s attacks were simply too ruthless, weren’t they?

Elder Xuandu of Kunlun Void immediately flew into a rage: “To act so viciously at such a young age, are you from a demonic sect?!”