The clang of metal on metal echoed on the arena stage, spitting out countless sparks.
The two intended to settle the outcome directly with their blade techniques.
Gu Yuan circulated the Tiger Fiend Blade Technique at full power, continuously stimulating the fiend energy he had cultivated to resist Tuoba Jun's fiend energy attacks.
Although the quality of Gu Yuan's cultivated fiend energy was not as high as Tuoba Jun's, it seemed to possess sentience. Stimulated by Tuoba Jun's fiend energy, its circulation speed instantly increased, and its power surpassed its previous levels.
Gu Yuan was somewhat confused. Perhaps this was a characteristic of the technique.
Tuoba Jun knew it was a Tiger Fiend Blade Technique, and he hadn't expected Gu Yuan's cultivated fiend energy to be able to contend with his own hard-earned fiend energy.
From the stands.
"If I'm not mistaken, Gu Yuan obtained his fiend energy by cultivating the Tiger Fiend Blade Technique, while Tuoba Jun personally killed demonic beasts and accumulated fiend energy bit by bit to nurture this powerful fiend energy. Then why can Gu Yuan's fiend energy, cultivated through techniques and martial arts, contend with Tuoba Jun's fiend energy?" someone asked, puzzled.
Yan Hongyi smiled and said softly, "It's because Gu Yuan has reached a state of 'Hua Jing' in cultivating the Tiger Fiend Blade Technique, which is why he can contend with Tuoba Jun's fiend energy."
'Hua Jing' martial arts, meaning the highest level of cultivation for a martial art, capable of producing a different kind of attack power from the original martial art.
"Hiss!" Someone gasped, never expecting this young Gu Yuan's talent to be so terrifying.
He had already cultivated a 'Hua Jing' weapon, and his future achievements were limitless.
This also made the eyes of many recruitment teachers look at Gu Yuan even more eagerly. Many had already secretly messaged the principal, urging him to increase the enrollment rewards, wanting to win over this commoner prodigy.
'Hua Jing' martial arts, huh?
A flicker of understanding flashed in Tuoba Jun's eyes. He was born into a family of military merit, and his martial arts experience, honed since childhood, was far superior to that of commoners like Gu Yuan.
When it comes to blade techniques, I have never lost.
This was the confidence Tuoba Jun had gained through countless battles.
Blood Battle Eight Directions.
He began to wield his Blood Drinker long saber, enveloping all eight directions. He appeared like a seasoned warrior who had fought on the battlefield for decades, his Blood Battle saber technique used with utmost skill, carrying the aura of charging forward without fear, a fight to the death.
For a moment, Gu Yuan's Tiger Fiend Blade Technique was suppressed.
His eyes sharpened, and a ferocious black tiger head appeared in his mind, letting out a long roar.
Gu Yuan suddenly inhaled, his chest swelling, and then he opened his mouth directly.
Roar!
A tiger's roar echoed across the arena. Even though Tuoba Jun had sensed the ominous premonition in time, he hadn't managed to distance himself much and was still engulfed by this sonic wave.
Then, a thunderous tiger roar sounded in his mind, his vision went black, and his ears buzzed incessantly. For a moment, his blade technique faltered, creating an opening. Gu Yuan immediately switched to the Lightning Cutter Blade Technique.
Lightning Cutter - One Flash!
A flash of lightning-like speed, a saber light like a swimming dragon, shot straight towards Tuoba Jun's neck.
*Slash!*
Drip, drip, drip!
Blood dripped from the saber and fell to the ground, making a crisp sound.
"You lost!" Gu Yuan said, looking at Tuoba Jun, who was held at his throat by his Autumn Water saber. The sharp tip of Autumn Water had pierced his skin.
Tuoba Jun sighed helplessly. It seemed he needed to learn a divine soul defense technique when he returned, otherwise, encountering a player like Gu Yuan again would be unpleasant.
He then signaled the referee to surrender.
The referee ruled Gu Yuan victorious.
"Ooh, ooh, ooh!"
A thunderous cheer erupted in the arena, astonishing some onlookers. Was this Gu Yuan's charisma? Truly terrifying popularity.
Retracting Autumn Water, Gu Yuan nodded at Tuoba Jun, his internal blood circulation gradually stabilizing. He returned to the contestant's bench, quietly waiting for the competition to conclude.
The winners and losers of the top six had now been decided.
The losers from the previous matches were:
Xiao Yixian, Ren Tiandu, Yun Yuqin, Tuoba Jun. These four had mixed wins and losses, so they would compete for ranks third to sixth.
Meanwhile, Gu Yuan and Yang Tiankui still maintained perfect winning records.
The losers would compete first.
Xiao Yixian fought Tuoba Jun, and Xiao Yixian won.
Yun Yuqin fought Ren Tiandu, and Ren Tiandu emerged victorious.
Tuoba Jun, having already defeated Yun Yuqin, was exempt from further matches, securing fifth place, while Yun Yuqin took sixth.
Xiao Yixian and Ren Tiandu fought, and Ren Tiandu won.
Relying on his robust qi and blood, Xiao Yixian was rendered helpless and had to concede.
Xiao Yixian secured fourth place, and Ren Tiandu took third.
Then came the battle for first and second place.
Gu Yuan and Yang Tiankui entered the arena simultaneously.
Separated by dozens of meters, they faced each other from afar.
At the referee's command, the match began.
Neither of them made any move.
In fact, unseen by the audience, Gu Yuan and Yang Tiankui were engaged in a clash of auras.
Their auras materialized into visions in the void. Gu Yuan was still the giant whale that covered the seas, while Yang Tiankui's vision was peculiar: a deity with a ferocious face, standing on the head of a giant turtle with one foot raised. He held a brush in one hand and a ladle in the other, emanating a mysterious aura.
What is this!?
Gu Yuan was uncertain and looked again.
He activated his Dao Destiny Heavenly Chart to examine Yang Tiankui.
The dense crimson and purple light almost blinded Gu Yuan.
"Holy hell, what kind of destiny is this? So bright."
Gu Yuan knew he couldn't win and immediately dispelled his vision, conceding to his coach.
This left the audience in the venue bewildered. What was going on? They had reached the final stage, and he just threw in the towel.
"I want my money back!!"
Even Yang Tiankui was confused.
"Bro, didn't you defeat everyone else before? I thought we'd have an exhilarating battle and I'd successfully defeat you to claim the title of the top contender in the entire prefecture."
"Could it be you believe in karma, and it's my turn to win by default?"
After Gu Yuan conceded, he directly returned to his seat.
From the stands.
"What's going on? Why did this kid surrender? I was looking forward to an intense duel," a recruitment teacher said, baffled. He didn't understand why Gu Yuan, after a moment of confrontation, would suddenly give up.
"Do we big shots also have to shout: 'I want my money back!'?"
Yan Hongyi, seated at the head, frowned slightly, pondering Gu Yuan's intention for conceding. Was it due to an insurmountable gap?
After so many matches, Yan Hongyi had come to understand Gu Yuan's character. He was incredibly tenacious and wouldn't give up easily until the last moment, unless Gu Yuan had absolutely no hope of winning and fighting would only be a waste of energy. It was better to conserve strength to deal with other challenges. His current second-place position was not yet secure and couldn't be easily yielded.
The competition proceeded as scheduled.
The challenge phase began.
Monk Miaozhen was the first to initiate a challenge, facing Tuoba Jun.
Relying on the invincible defense of the Great Sun Tathagata Golden Body, he defeated Tuoba Jun.
Tuoba Jun dropped to eighth place.
Long Ren challenged Yun Yuqin. Yun Yuqin was slightly outmatched and lost the match, dropping to ninth place.
The rule for challenges was that each person could only challenge once and be challenged once.
Tuoba Jun challenged Long Ren again. This time, Long Ren's reach advantage was not fully utilized, and he was directly defeated by Blood Battle Eight Directions.
Long Ren dropped to eighth place, and Tuoba Jun rose to sixth. The rest of the participants did not issue challenges, as their strengths aligned with their current positions.
Finally, this ranking concluded amidst a degree of bewilderment.
Final Ranking:
Tenth Place: Shu Fei, from Zhongzhou City Experimental Middle School.
Ninth Place: Yun Yuqin, from Luocheng City First Middle School.
Eighth Place: Long Ren, from Zhongzhou City Second Middle School.
Seventh Place: Ke Zi'an, from Bianjing City Experimental Middle School.
Sixth Place: Tuoba Jun, from the Star Picking Legion.
Fifth Place: Monk Miaozhen, from Vajra Temple.
Fourth Place: Xiao Yixian, from Laojun Temple.
Third Place: Ren Tiandu, from Zhongzhou City First High School.
Second Place: Gu Yuan, from Tianyuan City Qingli High School.
First Place: Yang Tiankui, from Zhongzhou City Experimental Middle School.
Rankings were projected in the air.
"Thank you to all contestants for your hard work and effort. Some contestants may not have achieved their desired results, but I want to say that the outcome is not yet decided, and any of you could be dark horses!"
"Let us give a warm round of applause to welcome the top ten contestants to the stage to receive their awards." The host's enthusiastic voice ignited the entire venue.
At the center of the original arena, a podium slowly rose.
The ten individuals lined up according to their rankings and proceeded to the podium one by one.
Gu Yuan stood on the second elevated podium. Looking at the cheering audience from the third-tier podium, his heart surged with emotion. This was all the result of his hard work and effort.
"Let us invite Yan Hongyi, the Director of the Zhongzhou Prefecture Education Bureau, to present the awards to the contestants."
Yan Hongyi, with a smile, came from backstage and emerged with a禮儀小姐 (ceremonial attendant).
He first approached Shu Fei, who was in tenth place, and presented her with the reward for tenth place, which was contained in a storage ring, along with a trophy representing tenth place, and a qualification certificate for the World Martial Arts League.
There was also an opportunity to choose a cultivation technique or martial art from the prefectural treasury for free, a chance to select a weapon below the fifth tier, an opportunity for a superior inheritance, and a chance to cultivate in a low-grade mystic realm.
Shu Fei bowed her thanks.
She then left the arena with the ceremonial attendant.
Next, he approached Yun Yuqin, in ninth place. The process was the same as with Shu Fei. After presenting her with everything, he took a commemorative photo with her, and the ceremonial attendant escorted Yun Yuqin away.
This continued sequentially until Monk Miaozhen, in fifth place, where the procedure changed slightly.
An opportunity to cultivate in a medium-grade mystic realm, a special award from the Education Bureau, and the ability to choose a reward worth one hundred million yuan from the Education Bureau.
The rewards for fourth and fifth place were largely similar.
Things changed from third place onwards.
The reward of one hundred million yuan increased to five hundred million yuan.
An opportunity for a top-tier inheritance, a chance to cultivate in a high-grade mystic realm, in addition to the same rewards as the lower-ranked participants.
The rewards for the top three were incomparable to those of the lower-ranked participants.
For second place, the reward increased to two selections, a staggering one billion yuan, while other aspects remained the same.
The first place reward was even more astonishing: apart from special items, they could choose any item from the prefectural treasury as a reward.
Considering that Zhongzhou Prefecture was home to hundreds of millions of people, one could imagine the immense wealth of treasures within its treasury. Some items were even unobtainable with money, being official supplies not sold to the public, and could only be acquired through merit.
Gu Yuan's heart trembled upon hearing Yang Tiankui's reward. He really wanted it. If there was an item containing high-grade qi essence, wouldn't that be a massive gain?
*Wuwuwu, why didn't I transmigrate earlier? If I had more time to cultivate, maybe I could have taken first place.*
He shook hands with Yan Hongyi and took a photo, then stored the rewards in his storage ring and left with the ceremonial attendant. Before departing, Gu Yuan glanced back.
He activated his Dao Destiny Heavenly Chart!
He probed Yang Tiankui!