Li Dao, drawing his long saber, was about to charge at Gu Yuan when his pupils dilated. He watched Gu Yuan vanish from his sight, only a blur of afterimages rapidly approaching him.
"Wow, Gu Yuan has unleashed such a powerful martial skill!" the host exclaimed, impressed by Gu Yuan's astonishing saber techniques.
[Tsk, who would have thought this refined-looking Gu Yuan was hiding his strength!]
[My husband is so handsome!]
[This martial skill is impressive!]
[That saber strike was magnificent!]
[The saber technique is stunning!]
......
Li Dao felt an extreme sharpness approaching him, his skin prickling with goosebumps. He had a premonition that if he couldn't block this strike, he would lose.
Ah!
His vital energy surged, and immense heat began to evaporate the moisture within him, steam rising from his body.
Li Dao Saber Technique: Tremor Strike!
The world in front of Li Dao suddenly seemed to slow down. Blood vessels in his eyes bulged, making them look like bloodshot orbs from afar. With Li Dao Saber Technique activated, Li Dao could clearly see Gu Yuan's trajectory. Gu Yuan appeared before him, his gilded white saber slicing through the air, descending to strike him.
Li Dao's saber naturally dropped, his hands gripping it steadily as he watched Gu Yuan's saber descend.
Now! Li Dao's gaze sharpened. His arms strained, veins bulging as he rapidly upwardly slashed with his saber from below.
Clang!
Sparks flew! The sound of metal colliding echoed through the venue, followed by the fervent cheers of the audience.
"My goodness, Li Dao managed to block Gu Yuan's astonishing saber strike with a counterattack!"
[???]
[??? What happened? How did Li Dao block such a fast saber strike!]
[Li Dao Saber Technique: The inherited saber technique of the Li family of Shangdu, a formidable existence among saber arts.]
[We thought it would be a one-sided match, but it's evenly matched.]
[Li Dao is so strong, this fight is worth watching!]
...
A flicker of surprise crossed Gu Yuan's eyes. To block such a swift saber strike, it seemed all contestants within the top three hundred had their hidden trump cards.
Li Dao panted slightly. That strike had seemed effortless, but it had consumed immense mental energy to calculate Gu Yuan's attack trajectory and then unleash a speed that surpassed his limits in an instant.
Gu Yuan lightly leaped back, distancing himself from Li Dao, granting him a moment to catch his breath.
With Qiu Shui pointing towards Li Dao, a flash of saber light, Gu Yuan charged at Li Dao again.
Tiger's Menace: King of Beasts!
Black energy began to coil around the Qiu Shui saber, exuding a menacing aura.
"Gu Yuan is charging at Li Dao again! This time, Gu Yuan isn't using his previous saber technique but has employed another one. Judging by its characteristics, it seems to be the Tiger's Menace saber technique. We wonder if our contestant Li Dao can withstand it!"
Li Dao watched Gu Yuan charging at him, the bloodshot veins in his eyes unabated, still granting him the ability to perceive time as slowed.
Li Dao Saber Technique: Tremor Strike!
Li Dao began with Tremor Strike again, his saber clashing repeatedly with Gu Yuan's.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two sabers continuously collided, producing countless sparks and an echoing sound that reverberated through the venue. Each collision was met with a cheer.
"Wow! Li Dao is so resilient! Every saber strike from Gu Yuan has been blocked by Li Dao!"
Li Dao gritted his teeth. The immense recoil from the saber strikes had cracked the tiger's mouth of his palm. The strength was overwhelming, and drops of blood fell onto the stage.
"Hold on!" Li Dao roared.
Gu Yuan looked at Li Dao, a peculiar glint in his eyes. This person's talent in saber techniques was notable. He would investigate after the match.
With a thought, black energy began to swirl around the Qiu Shui saber. His internal qi flowed rapidly, and a black tiger's head appeared in his mind. A tiger's roar erupted from Gu Yuan.
Tiger's Menace: Soul Suppressor!
The tiger's roar, close to Li Dao's ears, made his spirit tremble. The scene before his eyes became slightly blurry. His movements instinctively faltered by a fraction of a second. Although he quickly recovered, for Gu Yuan, it was enough.
A flash of black saber light, Qiu Shui entwined with dark energy, rested at Li Dao's neck. The sharp blade had already made a small cut, and blood slowly trickled down.
"You lost!" Gu Yuan said softly, looking into Li Dao's bloodshot eyes.
Li Dao looked surprised, then could only nod resignedly.
Clang!
The saber sheathed, Gu Yuan turned and walked towards the spectator stands, leaving Li Dao alone on the stage. As he turned, Gu Yuan frowned, sensing information from the Dao Fortune Heavenly Scroll.
[Name]: [Li Dao]
[Destiny]: [Military Force]
[Realm]: [Body Tempering Complete]
[Fortunes]: [Saber Dao Affinity (Purple)], [Exceptional Comprehension (Purple)], [Saber Mastery (Green)], [Eagle Eye (White)], [Internal Strengthening (White)].
Understanding Li Dao's fortunes, Gu Yuan smiled. Li Dao's fortunes contained much that he needed. He just needed his Qi Essence value to increase to imprint them. "Your fortunes are excellent, and they'll be mine!"
Upon reaching the contestant area, Gu Yuan was surprised to find Chu Ling sitting next to his seat, waving at him enthusiastically. He returned to his seat with a slight smile. Chu Ling immediately handed him a bottle of water. Gu Yuan drank it in one gulp and let out a long sigh.
"How was it? Are the top three hundred different?" Shi Ta asked with a smile.
"Not bad!" Gu Yuan nodded.
"Gu Yuan, your saber strike just now was so cool!" Chu Ling's eyes sparkled.
"It was alright," Gu Yuan replied with a gentle smile, instinctively patting Chu Ling's head. Chu Ling quickly lowered her head, utterly embarrassed. Gu Yuan didn't seem to mind the onlookers. Seeing them, Shi Ta curled his lip in disdain, pulled out his phone, and continued watching wrestling videos.
Gu Yuan looked at Chu Ling's blushing face, a smile playing on his lips, and said softly, "Shall we go back?"
"Oh, okay," Chu Ling readily agreed and quickly walked to Gu Yuan's side. They left, chatting and laughing. Shi Ta, who was watching wrestling videos, looked at their retreating figures and then at the video in his hand. For some reason, wrestling suddenly didn't seem as appealing!
Gu Yuan and Chu Ling returned to the dorm. As usual, he walked Chu Ling back to her dorm before returning to his own. After taking a shower, Gu Yuan took out his phone and saw a message from Chu Ling. He opened the message.
[Chu Ling]: [Gu Yuan, you've made it onto the trending list!!]
[Chu Ling]: [Link to the topic.]
Gu Yuan clicked the link and found himself on Tian Xia's largest community forum, Xia.com.
"Zhongzhou Prefecture's contestant Gu Yuan's Coolest Saber Strike!!"
Clicking on the video revealed Gu Yuan's "Lightning Cut Flash" strike. Scrolling down showed some of his information.
[Gu Yuan: Qingli High School, Tianyuan City, Zhongzhou Prefecture.]
[Current ranking: Two hundred ninety-sixth, undefeated!]
...