Free Web NovelChapter 16: Chapter 16: First Battle
Not long after, a clear voice rang out from above, heard distinctly by the hundreds of thousands of people in the square.
A middle-aged Cultivator with a square, dignified face, dressed in a black Profound Robe, stepped onto the main stage, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below.
"Welcome, everyone, to the Profound Celestial Sect’s Outer Sect Grand Competition. This competition, like previous years, will be divided into thirty groups. The format is a one-on-one elimination tournament. Winners advance, losers are eliminated. Once each arena has its top ten, those disciples will proceed to the semi-final stage."
"I declare that the Profound Celestial Sect’s Outer Sect Grand Competition begins now!"
His dignified, powerful voice resounded all around, and a wave of sound immediately erupted from the Profound Celestial Sect’s massive Outer Sect plaza, soaring to the heavens.
WHOOSH!
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The middle-aged man in the black Profound Robe nodded in satisfaction, and with a flash of movement, he returned to his seat.
On the massive plaza, the Outer Sect Stewards had already begun to draw the lots.
Lots were drawn simultaneously for all thirty groups, with about a hundred people assigned to each arena.
And with that, the arena battles were set to begin!
"Cao Xukun, Group One, Number 1!"
"Ying Laishun, Group Two, Number 1!"
"Zhuang Yuqiao, Group Three, Number 1..."
"Group One, first match: Number 5 versus Number 17."
"Group Two, first match: Number 10 versus Number 86."
"Group Three, first match: Number 9 versus Number 66."
...
One after another, the Profound Celestial Sect’s Outer Sect Disciples leaped onto the arenas. With a signal from the Deacon Referee, they began to clash with their opponents.
Figures darted left and right across the arenas, a blur of overlapping silhouettes. Clashes of Spiritual Qi erupted as they exchanged blows. The fights were thrilling and well-matched, a spectacular display.
In the viewing stands, the representatives from the various powers affiliated with the Profound Celestial Sect cheered loudly.
This lottery system was the method for selecting Outer Sect Disciples to enter the Inner Sect.
Generally, formidable strength was an indispensable requirement for entering the Inner Sect, though a rare few with less-than-stellar strength but extremely good luck could also advance.
In that case, one could only say that luck was its own form of strength.
This year, the Inner Sect was only accepting three hundred disciples, meaning only those who ranked in the top three hundred.
Out of the three thousand disciples participating in the Outer Sect Grand Competition, this meant a 1-in-10 advancement rate.
"Group Seven, Number 24, Gu Yun, versus Number 9, Ji Tianyang."
Just as Gu Yun was adjusting his condition, the Steward’s voice sounded from the arena.
’It’s my turn!’ Hearing his name, Gu Yun’s eyes snapped open, sharp as lightning. He executed the Wandering Dragon Step, leaving an afterimage behind as he instantly appeared on Arena Seven.
Across from him, a gust of wind swirled as his opponent landed heavily on the arena like a great boulder, the sheer force of his impact making the ground tremble slightly.
Gu Yun’s opponent was a burly disciple with a face full of coarse muscle. He wore a pale yellow robe, and his bulging muscles looked as if they were forged from steel, giving him an extremely powerful and tyrannical appearance.
His opponent’s strength was at the Spiritual Martial Ninth Layer Middle Stage, and the strength Gu Yun revealed using the Breath Concealment Technique was also at the Spiritual Martial Ninth Layer Middle Stage!
"Hey! You’re Gu Yun. I heard about you back at the Seventh Institute—Blade and Thunder Wushuang, Gu Yun. I never thought I’d be lucky enough to fight you today." Ji Tianyang’s voice was filled with excitement.
Gu Yun was not swayed by his words, merely watching him with an indifferent gaze.
"Match three, begin!" came the order from the Outer Sect Deacon Referee.
All at once, Ji Tianyang moved. He shot forward, clenched his right hand into a fist, and unleashed a punch wreathed in scorching yellow flames!
’As expected! No one who can participate in the Profound Celestial Sect’s Outer Sect Grand Competition is a simple pushover.’
’With that coarse, muscular face and enthusiastic tone, he makes people think he’s just a boorish, passionate idiot.’
’But then he strikes so decisively in the next instant. Everything he did before was just a setup for this single explosive moment, all to defeat his opponent in one clean move.’
"Go down! Great Sun Heaven-Piercing Fist!" Ji Tianyang’s Great Sun Heaven-Piercing Fist was tyrannical and incredibly scorching. When he threw the punch, it was like a great sun bearing down, ready to incinerate all things.
Some of the disciples closer to the arena could feel a blazing wave of heat wash over them.
Gu Yun’s expression remained placid. His opponent was fast, and he could have dodged, but he had no intention of doing so. He waited until Ji Tianyang’s fist was within ten feet of him.
Only then did he throw a punch to meet it. Purple light flared from his fist, trailing a brilliant violet afterglow. In that instant, his purple, lightning-wreathed fist held the power to shatter mountains and suppress peaks.
His Perfection Level Mountain-Breaking Fist shot out with overwhelming force!
Fist met fist in a solid collision. The crackling purple lightning and the pale yellow flames intertwined, continuously clashing and exploding.
The impacts sent out shockwaves that burst like fireworks.
PTUI!
The crowd in the viewing stands watched with blood-pumping excitement!
They had assumed Gu Yun would be unable to withstand Ji Tianyang’s incredibly swift Great Sun Heaven-Piercing Fist.
But contrary to their expectations, it was Ji Tianyang who couldn’t hold on. The sleeve of his right arm suddenly burst apart, revealing a limb of knotted muscle. Then, trickles of blood began to seep from his arm.
A sickening CRACKLING sound of splintering bone echoed from within his arm!
Ji Tianyang couldn’t help but spray a mouthful of blood, his expression one of utter shock as he was blasted away.
Gu Yun had no intention of letting him off so easily. He was merciless when he had the upper hand!
With a push of his foot, he vanished without a trace. When he reappeared, he was right next to Ji Tianyang, matching his backward momentum as he raised his fist.
He slammed another punch into Ji Tianyang’s chest!
BANG! The fist sank an inch deep, and the sound of ribs breaking was clearly audible.
"No!" Ji Tianyang cried, spraying blood at the sky. Unable to control his body, he flew backward off the arena.
Ji Tianyang’s body slammed hard into the floor below the arena, sinking deep into it and kicking up a cloud of dust to reveal a human-shaped imprint.
In the viewing stands,
Silence! Absolute silence!
Then, an unprecedented storm of applause erupted.
"He’s so damn strong!" "He looks completely unscathed but ended the fight with overwhelming ease!"
"That Senior Brother in the pale cyan robe is just too powerful."
"I want to be just like him," a disciple said in awe.
"That’s Senior Brother Gu from our Seventh Institute! I heard his strength used to only rank him in the hundreds of the Outer Sect. Now it looks like he could be in the top hundred, or even the top fifty!" a disciple from the Seventh Institute said excitedly.
"Number 24, Gu Yun, is the winner!"
As the Deacon Referee’s voice faded, Gu Yun’s first match in the grand competition ended in victory.
In that battle, Gu Yun had used the Breath Concealment Technique to display the power of the Ninth Layer Middle Stage, hiding his true strength which was two Small Realms higher. He had only used the power of the Ninth Layer Middle Stage to face his opponent.
’I didn’t expect the Perfection Level Mountain-Breaking Fist to be so powerful,’ even Gu Yun himself was surprised.
’This must be related to the ’Purple Lightning’ Trait I obtained after my Celestial Thunder Technique broke through to the 4th Layer. The Martial Techniques I release are accompanied by wisps of purple lightning, which enhances their power.’
’So that’s it. The Perfection Level Mountain-Breaking Fist, combined with the Purple Lightning Trait from the 4th Layer of the Celestial Thunder Technique, is what generated that much power.’
This battle, which ended as fast as a bolt of lightning, had not disappointed the crowd. On the contrary, whether it was Ji Tianyang’s Great Sun Heaven-Piercing Fist,
or Gu Yun’s Mountain-Breaking Fist, had stirred the excitement of everyone around them. A battle where the victor was decided in an instant, a fight that was over in a single killing blow, was equally thrilling to them,
and it made them look forward to the upcoming matches even more.
