The Grandmaster level martial arts competitions naturally required higher-level referees.
Ke Wudi, Hu Sanqiang, and Zheng Wanqing happened to be responsible for the low, middle, and high tiers.
The three were currently standing in the center of their respective competition venues, explaining the rules.
Although most people here were already well-acquainted with the rules, everyone stood at attention, facing the center, listening with utmost respect.
Only after the martial arts competition rules were explained did they express their excitement and applaud enthusiastically.
At that moment, they no longer seemed like revered martial arts Grandmasters, but like children who had just met their idols.
With the Supreme Master retiring, the martial arts competition began.
The Grandmasters stepped forward one by one in the order they were called.
On Qin Xuan's side, two Grandmasters of hard qigong boxing stood facing each other.
This was his first time witnessing a one-on-one duel between Grandmasters of equal rank.
It was also his first time understanding what true evenly matched competition meant.
The two Grandmasters were clearly old friends.
After bowing on the stage, they exchanged a few pleasantries.
Then, they assumed their stances and began to exchange punches.
Apart from their hand techniques changing according to the opponent's tactics, their lower stances seemed firmly rooted to the ground.
They exchanged dozens of punches consecutively, yet remained stationary, unmoving.
After another few dozen punches, they seemed to feel they had exchanged enough.
Taking a deep breath each, their palms met, and they began to test each other's strength.
Sweat poured down like rain, and veins bulged.
Even though Qin Xuan was not present, he could feel the immense force they were exerting.
Finally, after maintaining the same posture for over ten minutes, the Grandmaster on the left could no longer hold on.
The two laughed heartily and released their strength simultaneously.
After separating, the Grandmaster on the left actively bowed to Hu Sanqiang and conceded defeat.
"First match, Sun Yingxiong wins!"
"Second match contestants, please take the stage."
As Hu Sanqiang's booming voice echoed across the competition grounds, the second group of Grandmasters also took to the stage.
This group was different from the previous one.
The first to appear was a spellcasting master, similar to Zheng Wanqing.
As soon as he stepped onto the stage, he immediately took out a string of talismans from his embrace.
He used a lightness talisman and a strength talisman.
He also held the most basic Five Elements talismans in his palm, ready to activate them at any moment.
Once all preparations were made, his opponent also moved towards the center of the competition stage.
This was an old woman dressed in simple attire.
Judging solely by her appearance, it was impossible to imagine she was an intermediate Grandmaster.
However, if one looked closely at her small feet, they would realize she was not walking with her feet at all, but gliding forward, close to the ground!
"Wind-attribute ability user?!"
Qin Xuan was startled, and a look of intense curiosity appeared on his face.
Since becoming a disciple of Ke Wudi and the other two, he had only heard of the existence of ability users from his masters.
He had never seen an ability user who truly possessed abilities and could put them into practical combat.
According to his eldest master, the strength of natural ability users was generally quite low.
Unless they possessed abundant resources to aid their cultivation and improvement, it was almost impossible for them to reach the Grandmaster level on their own.
From this, it could be inferred that this old woman likely had a significant superpower behind her.
"Not bad, you know about ability users."
"It seems your master must also be a well-informed and powerful individual."
Seeing Qin Xuan's eyes fixed on the old woman below the stage, Shi Chuanggong chuckled and began to introduce information about her to Qin Xuan.
"This is Su Qingtan of the Su family in the capital, nicknamed Granny Feng."
"Her wind-attribute abilities are used with divine skill."
"Although she is old now, her abilities have not regressed in the slightest."
"Facing the spellcasting Grandmaster from Lingfu Mountain in this match, with her abilities, she should be able to win with ease."
"Win with ease?"
"Aren't they both intermediate Grandmasters?"
"Can the gap be this large?"
Hearing Shi Chuanggong's prediction, Qin Xuan asked curiously.
Unexpectedly, Shi Chuanggong stopped midway through his explanation and merely pointed at the two on the stage, letting Qin Xuan see for himself.
Qin Xuan nodded slightly upon seeing this.
He then refocused his attention on the two individuals on the competition stage.
The duel began.
The spellcasting Grandmaster remained stationary, watching Su Qingtan with great vigilance, clearly aware of her strength.
Seeing this, Su Qingtan also stopped moving. Instead, she deactivated her ability and stood lightly on the ground.
What was going on?
Just as Qin Xuan was wondering why neither of them dared to attack first, he keenly noticed Su Qingtan's lips moving slightly.
And every time she stopped, a talisman would instantly ignite beside the spellcasting master.
"Is this a wind-attribute attack?"
"Granny Feng is standing still and has already launched an attack on her opponent?!"
Seeing this, Qin Xuan knew what was happening.
However, he was very puzzled as to why Granny Feng could break through the spellcasting master's defensive talismans when there was no visible movement on the stage.
It was only when a gentle breeze blew past that he suddenly realized he might have been too preconceived.
Influenced by the various films and comics he had watched since childhood, Qin Xuan always thought that wind-attribute ability attacks should be a pale green color.
But he had forgotten that in the real world, wind is invisible.
Whether it's a gentle breeze on the face or a gale that strips flesh, it's all the same.
Therefore, although it appeared that both sides were inactive on the stage, in reality, the spellcasting Grandmaster was already in a precarious situation.
"To break this situation now, one must take the initiative."
"Otherwise, once Granny Feng completes all her preparations, this spellcasting Grandmaster will be even more passive."
After analyzing the situation on the stage, Qin Xuan directly put himself in the position of the spellcasting Grandmaster.
He muttered a few words, searching for the key to defeating the enemy.
"This young man's insight is so sharp, and his reactions are frighteningly fast."
"Although he is not on the stage himself, he can analyze the strategy for dealing with the enemy based on the current situation."
"He is indeed a peerless genius rarely seen in a century."
"It's a pity he already has a master and is unwilling to switch allegiance. Otherwise, I would definitely take him as my last disciple and teach him diligently..."
Looking at Qin Xuan, who was earnestly analyzing the situation, Shi Chuanggong felt a great sense of regret.
Based on his performance so far, Qin Xuan was the perfect candidate for inheritance.
However, Shi Chuanggong was not Zeng Shou; he could not resort to coercion or temptation, nor could he snatch what others possessed.
Therefore, no matter how fond he was of Qin Xuan, he could only bury it deep in his heart and sigh with regret.
Ten minutes later, the match ended.
The final result was indeed as Shi Chuanggong had predicted, a completely one-sided affair.
After several defensive talismans were consumed by the hidden wind blades set by Su Qingtan, the spellcasting master was forced to attack.
But it was ultimately too late.
Su Qingtan had set up too many hidden attacks invisibly.
Therefore, until his defensive talismans were depleted, the spellcasting master could not even get within five meters of Su Qingtan.
"Zhao Lingfeng concedes, Su Qingtan wins."
"Third match, Chen Zheng versus Qin Xuan!"