Chapter 729: Seven Hundred Twenty-Nine Two-headed Flame Killing Wolf
The third day came in the blink of an eye.
After the first three rounds of elimination, in both the Spirit Vein Realm and Qi Seeking Realm divisions, only five to six hundred people remained. Furthermore, according to the rules Yun Xiao heard, today should conclude with the top fifty being decided.
Yun Xiao didn’t pay too much attention to these rules; he was only concerned about his opponents today—those fellows from the Spirit Fighting Commerce. Would they play any tricks on him again?
Indeed, Yun Xiao’s concerns were not unnecessary. When it was his turn to step onto the arena, there was already an elder with a majestic aura standing there, and his Meridian Qi Cultivation seemed even stronger than Jiang Nanchao and Ji Fu whom he had encountered before.
"Peak of Qi Seeking Realm!"
With Yun Xiao’s keen sensing, he recognized the elder’s Meridian Qi Cultivation at a glance—it was indeed a Cultivator who had reached the peak of the Qi Seeking Realm, almost as formidable as Lin Family’s chief Meridian Refining Master, Qiao Guinong, from the past.
"Eh? Isn’t that Ruan Shiming from the Spirit Fighting Commerce of Yuyang City?"
Yun Xiao’s platform in the Spirit Fighting Arena, after the astonishments of the past two days, was definitely the most watched. Therefore, some immediately recognized the true identity of the elder.
Sure enough, it was another powerful figure from the Spirit Fighting Commerce, named Ruan Shiming. Seeing the shock in everyone’s eyes, they must have been filled with doubts too.
Yun Xiao, after all, was just a young man in the early stages of the Qi Seeking Realm, yet in these three days, he faced several opponents—except for the slightly weaker opponent in the third round, every one of them was at least in the late stages of the Qi Seeking Realm.
Now even a strong figure from the peak of the Qi Seeking Realm had appeared. Watching Ruan Shiming from the Spirit Fighting Commerce of Yuyang City on the arena, many thoughtful people speculated,
"Did that kid Yun Xiao offend the Spirit Fighting Commerce?"
This thought crossed their minds because the figures continuously appearing were all renowned members of the Spirit Fighting Commerce from Yuyang City, and their skill in utilizing Meridian Spirits was undoubtedly more proficient than that of ordinary practitioners.
It’s noteworthy that even when Xu Huan, the young lord of the commerce, saw the strong figure from the Spirit Fighting Commerce on the arena, his face inadvertently flashed with astonishment.
Because the strong figure named Ruan Shiming was not arranged by Xu Huan. At this moment, even he thought Yun Xiao was unlucky to face this peak Qi Seeking Realm powerful figure. Perhaps Yun Xiao’s journey in this Spirit Fighting Conference was about to come to an end.
On the northern high platform, Xu Huang, the branch chairman of the Spirit Fighting Commerce from Yuyang City, had a hint of a peculiar look in his eyes, covertly glancing at the headquarters’ special envoy Xia Yong.
When Xu Huan glimpsed the fleeting gloom on Xia Yong’s face, he knew he had done the right thing this time. That Ruan Shiming was indeed personally arranged by him.
Last night’s visit to Lin Family’s attic, although Xia Yong hadn’t revealed his intentions, the old and cunning Xu Huang had already vaguely guessed something.
Thus today, he directly dispatched Ruan Shiming, a peak Qi Seeking Realm figure whom he had carefully chosen. He believed that, within the Qi Seeking Realm, likely no one in Yuyang City could surpass this figure in controlling Meridian Spirits.
It turned out to be true—a cultivator at the peak of the Qi Seeking Realm, manipulating the Meridian Spirit, would definitely be more adept than a low-level practitioner. This was already the pinnacle tactic for this realm.
Moreover, since Ruan Shiming came from the Spirit Fighting Commerce, the Meridian Spirits he possessed might be far beyond what those ordinary practitioners could match. This time, Xu Huang was determined to win.
With Xia Yong present, Xu Huang’s order to Ruan Shiming was that he could look for an opportunity to thoroughly kill Yun Xiao, but on no account should he deal a fierce blow to those two Meridian Spirits.
On the arena!
When Yun Xiao faintly heard the surrounding audience’s discussions, he immediately knew the origin of this old fellow before him—it seemed to be yet another strong figure from the Spirit Fighting Commerce of Yuyang City.
Given Yun Xiao’s intent, he was now somewhat unsure whether this was orchestrated by Xu Huan, the young lord, or the command of branch chairman Xu Huang. In any case, he knew that a tough battle was coming.
A cultivator at the peak of the Qi Seeking Realm, whose techniques of manipulating Meridian Spirits would surely surpass those shown by Jiang Nanchao and Ji Fu in the previous days, Yun Xiao felt somewhat torn at this moment—whether to use the Three-legged Ice Crystal Toad or the more formidable Golden Snake Worm.
Frankly, remembering that he possessed the Three-legged Ice Crystal Toad Meridian Spirit, Yun Xiao did not wish to rely too much on the Golden Snake Worm. For one, Xiao Wu’s identity was quite special—if someone discovered certain truths, it would be troublesome.
Secondly, the Golden Snake Worm, Xiao Wu, strictly speaking, could not be considered Yun Xiao’s own Meridian Spirit; it had its own consciousness, and sometimes even refused to act according to Yun Xiao’s thoughts.
Yun Xiao’s worries were admittedly a bit too late; over the past two days at the Spirit Fighting Conference, both the Golden Snake Worm and the Three-legged Ice Crystal Toad had become the object of others’ covetous desires. It was only due to the crowded and watchful environment at the conference that no one had dared to blatantly seize them.
"Boy, you can never imagine the consequences of offending the Spirit Fighting Commerce!"
Watching the boy before him, Ruan Shiming suddenly let out a cold laugh, his tone thick with threat. It seemed Xu Huang had already subtly conveyed some of his intentions when giving orders.
Thus Ruan Shiming knew that the Meridian Spirit Battle he was about to undertake wasn’t just for Xu Huang, the branch chairman, to see; if he was lucky, he might even catch the eye of the headquarters’ special envoy, Xia Yong, potentially reaping greater benefits in the future.
With these thoughts, Ruan Shiming had absolutely no intention of holding back. He was determined to perform well in this Spirit Fighting battle and successfully complete the task handed down by the chairman.
Generally speaking, fatalities were rare at the Spirit Fighting Conference because once a Meridian Spirit was defeated, the battle was considered over. The victor would not relentlessly attack their opponent’s physical body, as that would breach the rules.
Unless, like yesterday’s battle between Yun Xiao and Ji Fu, one party couldn’t restrain themselves and struck first, ultimately succumbing to the severe toxin of the Meridian Spirit—such an outcome would surely go unquestioned.
However, Xu Huang had deployed Ruan Shiming today, and naturally, he had his reasons. He liked to take initiative rather than passively wait for Yun Xiao to approach, for how could that young boy seem like a fool?
"Spirit Fighting Commerce? Haha, didn’t you see what happened to Ji Fu yesterday?"
For some reason, perhaps because of Xu Huan’s scheming and an unpleasant interaction with the headquarters’ special envoy Xia Yong the previous day, Yun Xiao felt an instinctive disgust towards this behemoth of the Tenglong Continent and immediately began mocking in response.
Yun Xiao’s taunt was undisguised, causing the nearby spectators to gasp in shock, thinking to themselves that perhaps only this mysterious young boy would dare to say such things.
One must understand that the Spirit Fighting Commerce was one of the top four powers on the Tenglong Continent. Although it was a commercial entity, its wide connections made anyone reluctant to disrespect it.
Because reaching the Spirit Vein Realm necessitates the refining of a Meridian Spirit, and on the Tenglong Continent, the best way to acquire a Meridian Spirit was through the Spirit Fighting Commerce.
It stood on equal footing with the Meridian Refining Master Guild, Xuanyin Hall, and Wuyan Palace—three other superpowers—and ordinarily, even low-level practitioners wouldn’t dare to disrespect it in secret. Yet there, on the arena, the boy named Yun Xiao boldly ridiculed them under the gaze of many, an act of incredible audacity.
"Hah, ignorance truly is bliss!"
On the northern high platform, the originally stern-faced Xia Yong, upon hearing Yun Xiao’s mocking words, surprisingly responded not with anger but with laughter, emitting a light chuckling sound that left Xu Huang by his side confused about his true intentions.
Perhaps only those friends familiar with Xia Yong and the Spirit Fighting Commerce headquarters knew that when he showed such an expression, he was actually harboring deep, unchangeable murderous intents.
"Seeking death!"
On the arena, Ruan Shiming, unable to maintain his composure like Xia Yong, burst into rage upon hearing Yun Xiao’s unabashed mockery.
With a loud shout, he suddenly stretched out his right hand, and a surge of intense heat erupted from the arena, causing some nearby practitioners to involuntarily step back.
"Is that... a Two-headed Flame Killing Wolf?"
Among the crowd, those with broad knowledge immediately understood when that searing heat swept forth. In front of Ruan Shiming, a fiery-red Meridian Spirit appeared, seeming to be a wolf-shaped Vein Demon with two heads.
The so-called Two-headed Flame Killing Wolf was a fire-attribute wolf-shaped Vein Demon that mutated due to certain reasons. What’s worth mentioning is that in addition to its fire attribute, the aura carried a strong fire poison, which was extremely hard to guard against.
With Yun Xiao’s knowledge, he recognized the specifics of the Two-headed Flame Killing Wolf at first glance. Thus, at that moment, any indecision about which Meridian Spirit to use dissipated, and with the extension of his left hand, a well-known Ice Cold Power swept across the arena.
"It’s Yun Xiao’s Meridian Spirit of the Three-legged Ice Toad!"
Although most practitioners in the area did not know the name of the Three-legged Ice Crystal Toad, this naming was quite accurate. Those practitioners, holding no grudge against Yun Xiao, all developed a keen interest at that moment.
Which would prove stronger, Ruan Shiming’s fire-attribute Two-headed Flame Killing Wolf, or Yun Xiao’s Ice Cold Attribute Three-legged Ice Toad? Perhaps the upcoming battle would reveal the answer.
Even though Ruan Shiming seemed to have a higher Meridian Qi Cultivation and the grade of his Two-headed Flame Killing Wolf surpassed that of Yun Xiao on the surface, everyone who had witnessed the battles over the past two days knew this battle could be extraordinarily spectacular unlike any before.