Chapter 353: I Admit Defeat

Frankly, Lu Yang was utterly astonished when the Invincible Pill provided such detailed strategies. Previously, the Invincible Pill had only offered two options: escape or fight casually. This had led Lu Yang to always regard it simply as a cultivation detector. Unexpectedly, when facing a formidable enemy, it truly provided a very reliable strategy. It truly lived up to its reputation as the Golden Core acknowledged by Immortal Fairy!

"Hehe, now you know how powerful my Invincible Pill is, don't you?" Immortal Fairy, for once, puffed herself up proudly. She got out of bed, conjured a chair, and sat on it, crossing her legs and swinging her feet. "From now on, you should show me more respect," she said. "I know more than just this! My shoulders are sore; massage them for me." Immortal Fairy gestured for Lu Yang to give her a massage.

Lu Yang felt that as Yun Zhi's junior disciple, the top cultivator among his peers, the foremost swordmaster in the Golden Core stage, and also a disciple of the Wen Dao Sect Master, it was perfectly acceptable for him to massage an immortal senior.

"Is this pressure alright?" Lu Yang asked.

"A little more pressure. Hmm, that's about right," she said. Immortal Fairy was very satisfied with Lu Yang's attitude.

The moment Bai Ming admitted defeat, the audience erupted in an uproar. They hadn't expected him to lose so quickly. As fellow disciples of immortal sects and both in the early Golden Core stage, the difference between them shouldn't have been significant.

"It's said Bai Ming is proficient in Five-Element spells," someone remarked. "He only used two spells, Metal and Earth, and then he conceded?"

"What else could he do if he didn't concede?" another asked. "Just stay underground the whole time?"

"Bai Ming lost unfairly," someone lamented. "He was restricted without even getting to display his full abilities."

A cultivator with battle experience from Zhenyao Pass was displeased by these remarks. He reprimanded them: "Lost unfairly? Who talks about fairness on the battlefield? Do you think the enemy will foolishly wait for you to display all your moves?" The person being reprimanded stammered, unable to respond.

In front of the arena, a group of Golden Core cultivators were still waiting for Elder Kang to provide an explanation. "Elder Kang, have you figured out what kind of Golden Core Lu Yang possesses?" they asked. Although with their talent, it was impossible for them to form a first-grade Golden Core in this lifetime, it was still good to broaden their horizons. They would have something to boast about when they returned.

Elder Kang nearly pulled out his white beard, yet he still couldn't discern what kind of Golden Core Lu Yang possessed. "Regarding Bai Ming and Yan Tianzhi, this old man couldn't precisely identify their Golden Cores, but at least there were traces, allowing for some clues," Elder Kang explained. "Bai Ming's Golden Core was related to the Five Elements, and Yan Tianzhi's Golden Core was related to suppression. But Lu Yang's... I must apologize. This old man's eyes are dim; I truly cannot discern anything."

Elder Kang shook his head. The Golden Cores of the Wen Dao Sect were so diverse and eye-opening that even though he had witnessed countless Golden Cores and was qualified to evaluate those of all cultivators in Qingzhou, he couldn't fully recognize all of them. There was a consensus in the Imperial City Academy: if one could identify three or four out of ten Wen Dao Sect Golden Cores, they could be considered a scholar of profound knowledge. At the Golden Core Appreciation Assembly, they could only roughly identify Lan Ting's Primordial Chaos Golden Core and Meng Jingzhou's Pure Yang Golden Core. Elder Kang, out of respect for Meng Jingzhou, had changed the name of his "Single Golden Core" to "Pure Yang Golden Core," making it sound more appealing.

On the arena, Lan Ting was still struggling in battle against Lu Yang's Lotus Clone, her mind constantly uneasy. A moment ago, she had caught a glimpse of Lu Yang's fight with Bai Ming, where one Arhat Fist move had made all of Bai Ming's hair fall out. She was afraid that Lu Yang's clone might throw away the Azurefront Sword and give her a set of Arhat Fists as well.

"It's safest not to get close to the clone," she thought. Lan Ting kept her distance from Lu Yang's clone. She took out a palm-sized small box from her identity jade token.

"What is this?" Lu Yang's clone probed with his divine sense. Inside the small box was a thick stack of talismans. At the bottom of the box was a formation, and he felt that this formation looked very familiar.

Lan Ting didn't keep him in suspense. "After I returned to the Immortal Palace, I spent my days and nights researching an automatic skewer-threading formation," she explained. "However, my talent in formations is limited, and I could never figure it out; the bamboo skewers would always fly out at an astonishing speed. So I changed my approach. If bamboo skewers could fly out through the formation, what about talismans? Based on this idea, I made slight modifications to the original design. I miniaturized the formation and replaced the bamboo skewers with talismans, like this."

Lan Ting aimed the wooden box formation at Lu Yang's clone and activated it. Paper talismans flew out with a whooshing sound, transforming into lightning, flames, wind blades, and other forms in mid-air. These were all meticulously drawn by Lan Ting, and each one could severely injure a Golden Core stage cultivator, making Lu Yang's eyelids twitch at the sight.

Boom—Crackle—Pop—

Each talisman launched a different attack, with no interval between them. One after another, they struck Lu Yang's clone, making different sounds. The Azurefront Sword was held horizontally in front of him, his wrist constantly trembling as he blocked the incessant attacks. The talismans exploded, raising dust on the arena. As one box of talismans was depleted, the dust dispersed, revealing Lu Yang, who was still relatively unharmed.

"Senior Brother Lu Yang is indeed capable," she said. "But what about double the attacks?" As Lan Ting spoke, she took out two wooden boxes filled with talismans and aimed their openings at Lu Yang's clone.

Just as Lan Ting was about to launch another round of attacks, Lu Yang's main body walked over with a smile. "Bai Ming has already conceded," he said. "Now, it's just you left."

"Lost?" Lan Ting was stunned. She had been so engrossed in launching talismans that she hadn't noticed Bai Ming's situation. It had only been a short while, but when she turned her head, she saw Bai Ming sitting in the judges' area, looking displeased. She turned her head back. Seeing Lu Yang and his clone, she felt that her chances of winning were slim. "Forget it," she said, "I concede too."

Meng Jingzhou and Yan Tianzhi were fighting fiercely. Yan Tianzhi seemed like a true gluttonous beast, devouring everything and incredibly fierce. Meng Jingzhou was even fiercer. He opened his mouth and used the divine ability "Heaven Devourer," which he had just learned from Lu Yang. The spiritual energy on the arena was instantly drained by him and held within his mouth.

"Ptooey!"

The spiritual energy in his mouth was compressed to its limit, forming a perfectly spherical shape, which he hurled towards Yan Tianzhi. Yan Tianzhi didn't dare to touch the spiritual energy ball and somersaulted to dodge it. Meng Jingzhou sneered, "Let's see how many times you can dodge, ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!"

Three spiritual energy balls sealed off Yan Tianzhi's escape routes. Yan Tianzhi's eyes narrowed, and another tattoo on him flashed.

"Shield Ghost!"

A ghost king, wielding a shield and baring its fangs and claws, appeared behind Yan Tianzhi. The ghost king's shield blocked in front of Yan Tianzhi, and the spiritual energy ball exploded upon contact with it. This was a battle tattoo Yan Tianzhi had gotten during his Foundation Establishment stage: the Shield Ghost. It had no offensive capabilities; its only outstanding feature was its defensive power.

"I don't believe it! Ptooey!"

An endless stream of spiritual energy balls continuously shot from Meng Jingzhou's mouth. The duration of the attack depended on how long it took Meng Jingzhou to run out of "spit." Meng Jingzhou spat until his mouth was dry and his tongue parched. He took out a gourd from his identity jade token and began to drink water. After finishing, he advised, "Brother, listen to my advice. If you concede early, it'll save trouble for everyone. Don't make me beat you until you can't even crawl. What kind of reputation would that be?"

Yan Tianzhi was furious. He enunciated each word slowly: "I... con... cede."

Meng Jingzhou was overjoyed. Thinking Yan Tianzhi was so agreeable, he jumped off the arena and waited for Lu Yang. Then he heard Yan Tianzhi say the latter half of his sentence.

"You... old... bastard!"

Meng Jingzhou: "......"