Chapter 147: Continuous Victories, Advancing to the Battle Against Li Feng

Before flying into the Cloud Gate, figures had been visible around them, but once inside, they instantly vanished.

Ahead, the clouds swirled, revealing a floating circular stone platform with a ten-meter radius, enveloped in a pale yellow barrier.

"Preparation platform," Zhao Xing murmured as he landed within the barrier, then pulled out his geomirror.

The Nine-Section Dao Arena could filter opponents and environments, but these functions were currently locked.

"I'm currently unranked, so I can only be randomly matched with other unranked opponents. I can't select environments or accept challenge invitations either."

"Then I'll just have to raise my rank first."

Zhao Xing tapped the geomirror to match with an opponent.

A notification quickly buzzed on the geomirror.

"Divine Might Army's Zhao Xing, you have been randomly matched with opponent 'Zhang Hao' (Town Sea Army). The random environment is 'Spring Grassland'. The battle will begin in sixty breaths; please prepare."

A golden light buzzed within the pale yellow barrier, illuminating Zhao Xing and giving him a faint golden glow, though this light quickly faded.

Protective Dao Barrier (Micro). Effect: Protects the trainee from fatal injuries and quickly heals minor wounds.

"A personal protective Dao barrier."

Zhao Xing moved his body, finding nothing unusual.

"Even observing my Five Elements, I didn't detect any difference from usual. In reality, my body is protected by a barrier. If I sustain a fatal attack, the battle will end immediately, and I won't suffer any real harm. Ordinary attacks won't be blocked by the protective barrier, but if cumulative damage reaches a critical threshold, the battle will also end instantly, and both parties will be moved out of the combat arena."

After a battle, the preparation platform can quickly restore the trainee's vital energy and heal minor injuries.

While it stated it healed minor injuries, in practice, anything short of instant death could be recovered from. This was because the Dao Origin Pearl was a supreme-grade treasure, and even its basic functions far surpassed those of ordinary treasures. For anyone below the fifth rank, even severe injuries were considered trivial.

When matching an opponent, the geomirror also provided brief information about them, such as their army affiliation, training sessions, and Dao Arena points.

"Zhang Hao of the Town Sea Army? Never heard of him." Zhao Xing glanced casually and saw that Zhang Hao had 0 points and 4 sessions. He was clearly a fresh account, having just started. So Zhao Xing put away his geomirror and waited quietly.

On another preparation platform, a young man with a baby face also received the battle notification.

However, as soon as Zhang Hao saw the name, his face contorted into a bitter expression.

"Divine Might Army's Zhao Xing? How did I get matched with him? Has this genius only just started training at the Dao Arena today?"

Zhao Xing was quite famous in the Ministry of Agriculture. Although Zhang Hao had never met Zhao Xing in person, he knew that Zhao Xing was a top-tier genius from the Earth Advantage Academy. During the last mandatory training, Zhao Xing had even surpassed Zhuang Ziqing.

"Great, I'm going to get beaten again this match."

Zhang Hao sighed, put away his geomirror, and waited for the battle to begin.

Sixty breaths later.

The barrier on the preparation platform opened, and the surrounding clouds dissipated.

Zhao Xing looked up at the sky; it was clear blue, and three meters below was a grassland.

"The combat area is 40 mu, roughly the size of four football fields. As time passes, the outer barrier of the arena will shrink until it reaches 5 mu, then it will stop changing. Earth Vein Stealth can only go about a hundred meters deep at most."

Zhao Xing leaped from the preparation platform, landing on the grassland.

Activating the Bright Sight spell, a figure appeared in the distance; it was Zhang Hao.

The two were a thousand meters apart. The opponent also saw Zhao Xing and immediately began to conjure clouds, vying for air superiority.

"Soldier Cloud spell? It looks like it's only at the seventh refinement level."

Zhao Xing merely glanced and estimated Zhang Hao's approximate strength. He didn't even bother to contend for the clouds, directly riding his Minor Nine Heavens Gale Wind towards Zhang Hao.

"Huh? He's not even casting a cloud spell? Is he looking down on me that much?" Zhang Hao felt a surge of annoyance as he watched Zhao Xing brazenly charge toward him.

"Damn, he's really underestimating me! Even if you're a genius, at least respect the basic rules of internal Ministry of Agriculture combat. You're not even bothering with a cloud in a spell duel?"

"Looks like you're asking for it!" Zhang Hao, seeing Zhao Xing enter his cloud's coverage area, immediately called down lightning, striking at Zhao Xing.

*Boom-crack!* The lightning struck Zhao Xing, but his speed remained undiminished; he continued flying forward as if nothing had happened.

"What? My mid-tier, sixth-refinement lightning spell didn't even faze him?" Zhang Hao refused to believe it and frantically summoned more lightning.

*Boom, boom, boom!* Lightning almost swallowed Zhao Xing. The sky around them flickered between bright and dark, and amidst this unsteady light, Zhao Xing, like a phantom, appeared before Zhang Hao.

"You... how is this possible..." Zhang Hao stared blankly at the scene.

A blast of verdant wind swept through. The gale force wind was almost tangible, like a green dragon descending, and it slammed violently into Zhang Hao. Before Zhang Hao could even react, he was sent flying.

*Thud* Zhang Hao had no time to cast a defensive spell. He flew backward, and as he drifted, a golden light flashed on his body. The protective Dao barrier had reached its limit, and he was instantly transported back to the preparation platform.

Battle ended.

The next moment, Zhao Xing also returned to the preparation platform, and the surroundings became hazy again, obscuring the outside world.

"You gained 1 Dao Arena point for winning the match. Your net wins also became 1. As for your star rating, it remained unchanged, as three net wins are required to accumulate 1 star."

"No pressure at all," Zhao Xing thought, looking at his geomirror before immediately tapping to match again.

Before the branch academy examination, in early March, his Minor Nine Heavens Gale Wind was at the third refinement level, and Rolling Ground Thunder at the fourth. It was now July 16th. After the branch academy examination, due to his inability to train and the supply training, these two spells he had learned from the genius cave had reached the eighth and ninth refinement levels, respectively.

The period of greatest progress was during the supply training.

During supply training, how much time was actually spent farming? Three *shichen* a day was the absolute maximum.

Zhao Xing had nothing else to practice then, so he could only focus on honing his spells. As a result, his spell progression during the supply training was quite significant.

"Third refinement: ride the gale, body follows the wind, sound follows the body. Sixth refinement: gale winds surround, Green Dragon protects the body, invulnerable to all spells. Ninth refinement: Green Dragon emerges, wreaking havoc across the land."

"I can now control eight gale winds, and the power of each gale wind has reached the standard of a late-stage eighth-rank Spirit Bridge practitioner. For an ordinary military agronomist, if their defensive spells are slightly weaker, one gust of gale wind would lead the protective Dao barrier to register a fatal injury, ending the battle."

Zhao Xing waited for a match, estimating that the initial first-tier ratings would be relatively easy. The opponents matched by the Dao Arena were generally weaker, but it would become more difficult later on, as matches would be against stronger opponents with long winning streaks or many net wins.

"Divine Might Army's Zhao Xing, you have been randomly matched with opponent 'Zheng Zongsheng' (Blazing Sun Army). The random environment is 'Autumn Maple Forest'. The battle will begin in sixty breaths; please prepare."

The surrounding scenery changed; the preparation platform now stood within a maple forest. The autumn wind whistled, and maple leaves drifted down.

Visibility was obstructed, but this wasn't an issue. His opponent was conjuring clouds. Based on the cloud's formation, Zhao Xing quickly pinpointed his opponent's approximate location.

Zhao Xing instantly appeared directly above Zheng Zongsheng. Then, to his opponent's astonished gaze, the Green Dragon gale wind shattered Zheng Zongsheng's protective clear wind, ending the battle.

Second match: victory!

Moments later, "What?" His opponent was defeated again before he could even react. Third match: victory! Fourth match: victory! Fifth match: victory! Sixth match: victory!

Zhao Xing quickly accumulated twenty-one consecutive victories, and his star rating finally reached seven stars.

"Two more wins and I'll advance to the first tier, then I'll finally see the rankings." Below the first tier, everyone was considered a novice, and no specific rankings were displayed.

"I hope I get some stronger opponents," Zhao Xing mused. In the previous twenty-one consecutive wins, he hadn't even bothered to conjure clouds; he had won purely with his Gale Wind spell from start to finish. Just charge, knock them down, win. It was too simple, offering no training benefit at all. To truly test his knowledge, his opponents were too weak to pique his interest. For those twenty-one matches, Zhao Xing, a top-tier genius, was completely dominating weaker opponents.

"Divine Might Army's Zhao Xing, you have been randomly matched with opponent 'Li Feng' (Tiger Flood Dragon Army). The random environment is 'Summer Flower Sea'. The battle will begin in sixty breaths; please prepare."

"Hmm? Li Feng?" Seeing the familiar name, Zhao Xing couldn't help but smile. What a small world. His first promotion match, and he ran into Li Feng. "I hope you've made some progress, kid," Zhao Xing muttered, putting away his geomirror and quietly waiting for the battle to begin.

On the other side, Li Feng, who had just achieved twenty-one consecutive victories, also received the battle notification.

"Divine Might Army's Zhao Xing?" "My promotion battle, and I've run into him?!" Li Feng's eyes immediately lit up.

Previously, in the branch academy competition, he had been eliminated early because of Zhao Xing, missing out on entry to the Four Great Academies and ultimately receiving only a C-plus ranking.

Motivated by shame, Li Feng had ranked sixth in the internal selection of the Tiger Flood Dragon Army, yet failed to enter even one of the Four Great Academies. Since then, Li Feng had trained desperately, throwing himself into cultivation with all his might. That was why he had only now come to the Nine-Section Dao Arena.

"Good, today I will definitely avenge my past humiliation!" Li Feng had achieved twenty-one consecutive victories, and in the last supply training, he had secured an impressive tenth place, with his resources also upgraded to top-tier. His confidence was now bursting, and his momentum was at its peak.

Encountering Zhao Xing, he wasn't flustered at all; instead, his heart was filled with anticipation. "Today's battle is when I, Li Feng, return to my peak!"

Sixty breaths later, the preparation platform's barrier opened, and the surrounding scenery became clear. White clouds dotted the sky, a gentle breeze blew, the flower sea below rippled, and waves of fragrance wafted through the air.

A figure appeared in the distance. Li Feng looked ahead and immediately saw a stream of verdant wind, like a swimming dragon, charging towards him.

"He's not even conjuring a cloud? Hmph, how arrogant!" Li Feng didn't conjure a cloud either; instead, he cast a spell on the spot. Though confident, the scene of Zhao Xing's Cloud Swallowing spell defeating him was still vivid in his mind. He was reluctant to admit it, but Zhao Xing's cloud magic was indeed powerful. The Cloud Swallowing spell was known as the strongest of all cloud spells. Now that Zhao Xing was abandoning his advantage, Li Feng certainly wouldn't be foolish enough to conjure a cloud and clash head-on.

"Gale Wind to Earth, rise!" Li Feng low-roared. Then, the surrounding winds swirled around him, sweeping up patches of flowers, grass, and soil from the ground.

Soil, grass roots, and flower petals converged with the wind, astonishingly forming solid bodies. Four of these bodies were humanoid, entirely verdant, and resembled Li Feng. Two of them held dark yellow war blades, and two wielded gray long spears. The other five bodies resembled fierce, exotic tigers, vibrant and incredibly mystical.

"Gale Wind spell combined with Profound Earth spell? Wind overcomes Earth in the Five Elements, yet his Gale Wind spell can utilize Earth? Oh? He's also using the flower sea below? Attempting to combine three spells?" "He's got something. His Gale Wind spell is the strongest, at least at the eighth refinement, followed by his Earth spell, and his Wood spell is the weakest. Combining three spells yields quite impressive power." Zhao Xing watched Li Feng cast his spell, a glimmer of excitement flashing in his eyes.

No top-tier genius was simple. Back before the Ten Thousand Li Thunder Pool, although Li Feng had been ambushed by him, at that time, Li Feng had fought against more than a dozen opponents, and it was Yu Chunwu, He Yu, Peng Ran, and others who eventually fell. He had been defeated by Zhao Xing in the Cloud Spell Gate test, but Li Feng's inherent strength fully merited top-tier resources.

"His Wood spell is similar to 'Every Blade of Grass a Soldier,' though it's only beginner level. But to attempt to combine three spells and even grasp some superficial understanding is already enough to completely dominate other geniuses."

"Green Dragon Emerges!" Zhao Xing stepped onto a surging cloud, releasing all eight gale winds that had been circling him.

The verdant gale winds took on dragon-like forms, howling as they charged towards Li Feng, coiling around the blade-wielding figures, spear-wielding figures, and tiger-beasts. However, one tiger-beast was allowed to pass.

"I could use the Kui Niu Thunder Roar to shatter this tiger-beast, but there's no point." Zhao Xing pointed a finger. "Mist Shadow!" A thick fog suddenly rose around them, encircling the flower sea in layers, with only the inner circle remaining transparent and unaffected.

Zhao Xing took a step back and disappeared into the fog; the pursuing tiger-beast immediately lost its target.

"Hmm? Vanished?" Li Feng looked at the rising fog around him, a flicker of alertness passing through his eyes. He tried to locate Zhao Xing using Five Elements Observation and Bright Sight, but completely lost all trace of him.

Li Feng attempted to rise higher, but then a voice called out, "Li Feng, if you run out of my fog circle, I'll have to conjure clouds."

"You..." Li Feng froze for a moment, then burst into anger. "Bastard, are you using me for practice?!"

"I won't use cloud spells, and you shouldn't run out of my fog circle. I also won't expand the area. We'll duel right here within this space. If you can break my spell, I'll count it as your win."

"Hmph, what do you mean 'count it as my win'? Even if you use cloud spells, I'll still win!" "But since you want a quick defeat, then I'll grant your wish!" Li Feng spoke defiantly, but ultimately didn't continue ascending. He also didn't want this battle to drag on forever.

Otherwise, with both sides contending for clouds and the flower sea map not being small, how long would the duel last?

The moment he landed, Li Feng felt the ground slip beneath him, nearly losing his balance. "Huh?" Li Feng looked down. When had the ground become covered in frost? "Damn, I've been completely tricked by this guy!"

This was yesterday's third update. The author will now go write today's. This month, counting the Alliance Master and...