Zhongzhou Prefecture, Zhaoshi City.
Inside the arena.
The crowd roared.
Gu Yuan focused on circulating his blood and qi, not paying attention to the other matches, as he had a rough idea of his ranking after the previous rounds.
Remaining three matches:
Yang Tiankui versus Shu Fei.
Ren Tiandu versus Yun Yuqin.
Tuoba Jun versus Xiao Yixian.
Yang Tiankui displayed unparalleled dominance, defeating Shu Fei in less than a hundred rounds.
Ren Tiandu narrowly won against Yun Yuqin by a few moves.
Tuoba Jun also achieved a narrow victory over Xiao Yixian.
After these three matches, Gu Yuan and Monk Miaozhen's injuries had also recovered to a similar state.
According to the match format, the losing party would compete first.
One person would receive a bye and directly advance to compete against the winner.
Fortunately, Yun Yuqin drew the bye. The remaining four participants then engaged in two more matches.
Xiao Yixian versus Long Ren, Xiao Yixian won.
Monk Miaozhen versus Shu Fei, Monk Miaozhen won.
Then, losers competed against losers, and winners against winners.
Shu Fei versus Long Ren, Long Ren won, as his Dragon Head Spear was no trivial matter.
Monk Miaozhen versus Xiao Yixian, a battle between Buddhism and Taoism that had persisted since ancient times.
Finally, Xiao Yixian's Heavenly Gang Fist's penetrating force shattered Monk Miaozhen's Great Sun Tathagata Golden Body. It wasn't that the Golden Body was weak, but rather that the Heavenly Gang Fist's penetrating force was currently effective against such rigid body-refining techniques.
The ranks of the bottom four were tentatively determined:
Tenth place: Shu Fei.
Ninth place: Long Ren.
Eighth place: Monk Miaozhen.
Seventh place: Xiao Yixian.
Once the top six ranks were decided, they would have another opportunity to challenge others.
At this stage of the competition, all contestants, except for Yang Tiankui in first place, had exerted their full strength and were extremely fatigued. The current test was endurance. This was important because the number of martial artists was ultimately fewer than that of fierce beasts; being surrounded would make endurance a matter of life and death.
The system began selecting match opponents.
Gu Yuan paid no attention to the matches among the other five contestants, as he had already grasped their approximate strength.
He wasn't unwilling to win the championship, but his cultivation time was still too short compared to these prodigies; there was nothing he could do about it.
The path of martial arts required not only talent but also accumulation. The longer one cultivated, the deeper their blood and qi would become.
First match:
Yun Yuqin versus Tuoba Jun.
Tuoba Jun's Blood Battle Eight Directions forced Yun Yuqin into a corner, leaving her no choice but to concede.
Second match:
Yang Tiankui versus Xiao Yixian.
Yang Tiankui still seemed to be holding back, appearing entirely relaxed and at ease. After a period of combat, he defeated Xiao Yixian.
Gu Yuan estimated that he had no chance of winning against Yang Tiankui.
The third match was between Gu Yuan and Ren Tiandu.
Gu Yuan took a deep breath and slowly stood up. During the previous matches, his body had recovered to its peak state, and two of his three blood sacs had been replenished.
Ren Tiandu also stood up, and they both proceeded to the arena.
Standing opposite each other, at the referee's command, they attacked.
Gu Yuan wasted no words, activating the Giant Whale Body and a series of power-enhancing techniques to reach his strongest peak state.
Ren Tiandu, on the other hand, was enveloped by a dense aura of blood and qi, so potent that it emanated from his body, exuding a powerful masculine energy that made him appear exceptionally heroic.
They clashed repeatedly, with no fancy moves, just an exchange of extreme punches and kicks.
They poured out their internal blood and qi, again and again, unleashing everything.
Gu Yuan's fists were wreathed in flames as he continuously used a combination of Burst Fist and Blazing Sun Fist.
Since absorbing the "Martial Arts Mastery" fate, he could combine almost all his fully mastered martial arts, unleashing different levels of power when used together.
Ren Tiandu was in a similar situation, but without as many flashy techniques. All he possessed was an extremely profound blood and qi, constantly engaging in close-quarters combat with power that was almost equal to Gu Yuan's.
The many teachers and high-ranking officials in the stands could tell that Gu Yuan and Ren Tiandu were evenly matched. Therefore, their match would depend on who had superior combat awareness and experience.
Gu Yuan's punches landed relentlessly, his body shrouded in a flurry of fists, emitting fierce roars.
Ren Tiandu did not yield, his body enveloped in a deep crimson aura of blood and qi, unleashing a power no less impressive than Gu Yuan's. His fists were equally sharp, clashing with Gu Yuan's repeatedly.
After over five hundred exchanges, their fists met, and they both tacitly drew back, cautiously eyeing each other.
Both were panting heavily, thin wisps of white smoke rising from their heads, a phenomenon caused by the rapid evaporation of bodily fluids due to their bodies operating at full capacity.
"I didn't expect this result again," Gu Yuan said with a wry smile.
Ren Tiandu understood his meaning, referring to Monk Miaozhen's previous draw.
He directly stated, "Let's decide it with one move, just like last time."
"That suits me," Gu Yuan replied.
Ren Tiandu began to gather his strength. The blood-colored aura surrounding his body churned and expanded, finally condensing into a ferocious tiger's head on his surface. The tiger head roared skyward, unleashing a powerful aura.
Gu Yuan did the same, unleashing all his internal power. A vision of a colossal whale submerging the sea materialized vaguely behind him, and the sound of rivers rushing emanated from within his body.
"Incredible, truly incredible. At their age, they've already cultivated physical visions in the Body Tempering realm!" exclaimed a recruitment teacher, believing them to be top-tier geniuses.
The situation for others was not much better. The current cohort's skill level was unexpectedly high; normally, someone like Long Ren would have been considered first place.
This year, so many monstrous talents had appeared. If Zhongzhou Prefecture was like this, other prefectures were likely similar, possibly marking the beginning of a legendary era of great contention.
Yan Hongyi quietly recalled the impending era of great contention mentioned at the last meeting of the high-level officials of Tianxia.
This era seemed to have arrived prematurely, with many possessing martial bones, even high-grade martial bones, extraordinary physiques, and innate geniuses appearing and revealing themselves.
He wondered if it was good or bad. Small matters aside, documents detailing the riots of the Demonic God Cult and the continuous minor actions of external evil gods, demons, and fierce beasts, were appearing on his desk.
He sighed inwardly, hoping for the safety of Tianxia and humanity.
With a hint of hope in his eyes, he looked at the two contestants on the stage, knowing that the future of humanity would depend on this generation of geniuses.
The two on the stage collided directly.
The visions behind them seemed to possess intelligence, clashing with each other. The powerful attacks generated large currents of air, rumbling thunderously.
With a crash, the two visions exploded, the immense power sending both Gu Yuan and Ren Tiandu flying backward.
Gu Yuan adjusted his posture and landed safely, but his internal organs were still impacted by the explosion, and a trickle of blood ran down his lip.
Ren Tiandu, having unleashed all his blood and qi, was momentarily weakened and failed to adjust his posture immediately, resulting in a clumsy landing.
This decisive moment clearly separated them.
Ren Tiandu slowly stood up and smiled at Gu Yuan, saying, "I lost. You are very strong."
He then promptly surrendered to the referee, who announced Gu Yuan as the winner.
Upon hearing the referee's voice, Gu Yuan's tensed body suddenly relaxed, and he felt a sense of exhaustion.
He steadied himself and slowly exhaled a mouthful of bloody, turbid qi.
This battle had truly pushed Gu Yuan to his limits, barely securing a slight victory over Ren Tiandu.
Therefore, against Yang Tiankui, he would have no chance of winning; he couldn't fathom Yang Tiankui's strength.
This meant his rank would likely be between second and third place. He was not dissatisfied; coming from an ordinary high school student in a remote small city to this point was already remarkable. If not for his shorter cultivation time compared to these geniuses, he might have taken first place in the martial arts exam and first place in the entire prefecture.
Returning to his seat, Gu Yuan seized the opportunity to recover his stamina.
Next, he would likely face Tuoba Jun to determine the second and third place.
Tuoba Jun was not weak, and Gu Yuan had to seize every moment to recover his strength to prevent an upset and secure second place.
After a period of recovery and accelerated consumption of pills rich in blood and qi, Gu Yuan's strength had returned to its peak.
Gu Yuan versus Tuoba Jun!
They exchanged glances and descended from the spectator stands to the arena.
As per custom, after bowing to each other, they spaced themselves out, awaiting the referee's command.
At the command, the match began. Both remained motionless, as if by mutual understanding.
Huh?
The audience looked on in confusion. Why weren't they moving?
Tuoba Jun held a blood-red long saber, emanating a powerful battle intent.
Looking at Gu Yuan, who was standing ready, he announced loudly, "My strength is indeed inferior to yours, I admit that. However, as a soldier, I have never known the word 'retreat.' Even knowing I will lose, I will not retreat. After all, one can only know who is stronger after the battle."
"From now on, I will unleash my full strength. I hope you will too." As Tuoba Jun finished speaking, his entire body ignited with a dark red malevolent aura.
This was the aura he had cultivated since childhood on the battlefield, slaying lone fierce beasts.
It possessed the ability to erode one's mind. If he could continuously enhance this aura, eventually, just its mere presence would cause his opponent to lose their will to fight.
This aura was unlike the malevolent aura Gu Yuan cultivated through the Tiger Fiend Saber technique; it was genuinely forged in actual life-or-death combat.
"Let me see your strength!" Tuoba Jun roared. His figure transformed into a dark red stream of light, charging directly at Gu Yuan.
"Good timing!" Gu Yuan, inspired by Tuoba Jun's intense battle intent, raised his Autumn Water, his body enveloped in lightning, and unleashed 120% of his original strength.
The two streams of light instantly collided.