Su Fan killed the Underworld King again. After two days of effort, Su Fan had acquired two more pieces of equipment he was satisfied with.
Ethereal Robe of Two Energies
Level: 30
Defense: 80
Constitution +40
Strength +40
Defense Increase 40%
Ice Attribute Damage +35%
Cloud-Treading Boots
Level: 30
Defense: 80
Speed +40
Strength +40
Attribute Damage +30%
Running speed increases with movement time, up to 200%
Su Fan's equipment was now largely complete. Apart from an accessory still at level twenty, all other pieces were level thirty. Su Fan immediately began to enchant and reinforce this new equipment.
The Eight Treasures Ethereal Helmet gained a pink stat of Defense +35%.
The Ethereal Robe of Two Energies gained a stat of Intelligence +10%.
The Cloud-Treading Boots gained an Intelligence attribute.
While these weren't the attributes Su Fan needed most, they were still decent and not entirely useless.
After reinforcing these items to +8, Su Fan's stats reached a new peak.
Su Fan
Level: 32
Health: 2214/2214
Mana: 378/378
Strength: 1054
Speed: 519
Constitution: 369
Intelligence: 830
Defense: 1143
The total attribute damage bonus from all of Su Fan's equipment was now close to 300%. A single strike dealt at least five to six thousand ice attribute damage, easily exceeding ten thousand with skills.
He was a bit fragile, with somewhat low health, but his defense was not low. Combined with the Golden Bell Shield skill, he was unlikely to be instantly killed.
Today was the semi-finals. Su Fan had done all this to better participate in the semi-finals and increase his chances.
Today was different from the previous two days; there would be two matches to determine the top five.
Everyone was present today, not a single person missing. At this stage, those who remained were basically aiming for the championship. Even if influential figures invited them, their goal wouldn't waver. They were just one step away, and everyone wanted to give it a shot.
"Excellent, I do enjoy seeing you all fight tooth and nail for these petty gains," the eunuch said with a light smile as everyone assembled.
It was quite amusing to see these commoners fighting amongst themselves to escape their status.
"The rules are the same as yesterday. Those with adjacent numbers will be opponents. The winner remains to proceed to the next match. Ultimately, five individuals will remain to participate in the finals," the eunuch quietly informed the assembled crowd.
"Let's start quickly, I can't wait," said a spectator. The stands were unusually crowded today, filled with individuals in opulent attire, their skin fair and delicate, clearly the sons of wealthy families.
"Yes, Young Master Xu."
The one expressing impatience was Xu Fengnian. Ever since his previous encounter with Su Fan and his companions, he had become very interested in them. He didn't know the whereabouts of the other two, but he knew Su Fan's location, which was why he returned to watch the martial arts tournament.
"Everyone to your positions, prepare to begin the competition!" the eunuch signaled his subordinate to announce the start of the matches.
"Young Master Xu, this old servant will hold the umbrella for you," the eunuch said, taking the umbrella from the maid behind Xu Fengnian in a fawning manner.
Xu Fengnian paid him no mind, his gaze fixed with interest on Su Fan in the arena.
"Send me this person's information," Xu Fengnian instructed the eunuch.
The eunuch glanced in the direction Xu Fengnian was pointing and immediately berated his subordinate.
"Young Master Xu has spoken, hurry up and do it!"
"Yes!"
The eunuch's subordinate bowed and retreated, heading off to retrieve Su Fan's details.
Soon, Su Fan's registration information was in Xu Fengnian's hands.
"Su Fan, is this all the information? What are your people doing?" Xu Fengnian asked the eunuch with a look of anger, staring at the slip of paper containing only irrelevant details like age and gender.
"Young Master Xu, spare me!" the eunuch cried, quickly kneeling.
"This is not my fault. In previous martial arts tournaments, only commoners participated, so we didn't pay much attention to their information. Basic details like a name were usually sufficient. What do you wish to know, Young Master Xu? I will have someone investigate immediately."
The eunuch dared not offend Xu Fengnian, who was the son of the Grand Commandant. Although he worked in the palace, he was merely a minor eunuch, not even a supervisor. He could only act arrogantly towards these commoners; compared to true nobles, he was insignificant.
"No need, it's troublesome," Xu Fengnian said, casually tossing Su Fan's information aside.
"Su Fan, heh, I'll see if you can win the championship," Xu Fengnian murmured, repeating Su Fan's name to himself.
Su Fan, in the arena, was unaware that Xu Fengnian had taken an interest in him. He was currently facing an opponent dressed as a Daoist priest. Daoist priests in this game world were no ordinary individuals; they could be compared to mages in other online games. Here, Daoists primarily focused on ghost-catching. While their melee combat was weak, their various sorceries dealt considerable damage, and their unpredictable methods were often surprising.
This was Su Fan's first encounter with a Daoist priest, so he was cautious. He didn't yet know how powerful Daoist priests were in this world.
"This humble Daoist is Qian Zhongjun, please enlighten me," Qian Zhongjun said, performing a Daoist salute to Su Fan and introducing himself.
"I am Su Fan," Su Fan replied, returning the salute.
"Forgive me!" Qian Zhongjun warned Su Fan, then drew a line across his wooden sword with his fingers, attaching a yellow talisman to it.
"Wind, Fire, Thunder, Lightning! Swift Wind Sword!" Qian Zhongjun's wooden sword shot out of his hand, hurtling towards Su Fan at high speed.
Su Fan quickly leaned back, dodging the oncoming wooden sword. Su Fan knew better than to believe a wooden sword lacked lethality; in the hands of a master, even a wooden stick could easily kill someone.
Su Fan straightened up again, standing ready. Qian Zhongjun pointed his fingers like a sword and pulled back, and the wooden sword behind Su Fan immediately curved back. Seeing Qian Zhongjun's gesture, Su Fan immediately sensed danger.
Golden Bell Shield!
Su Fan immediately activated his Golden Bell Shield for defense, and an invisible protective barrier instantly enveloped him.
*Bang!*
Su Fan was struck heavily from behind, stumbling forward a step. The shield on his body shattered upon impact.
"Hmm?"
The wooden sword returned to Qian Zhongjun's hand. He was stunned to see Su Fan unharmed. He had clearly hit him, so why was there no damage?
Thunderous Might!
Su Fan didn't give Qian Zhongjun time to think and immediately unleashed a sword energy attack towards him. The sword energy, infused with thunder and frost, struck towards Qian Zhongjun with terrifying force. Qian Zhongjun treated it with utmost seriousness, daring not to block it directly.
"Illusion!"
Qian Zhongjun changed his hand seals, his body flashing as he moved more than a meter to the right. The sword energy missed its target. Su Fan's eyebrows rose. He was indeed somewhat troublesome, possessing a displacement skill. He wondered if this skill could be used continuously. If the opponent could use such a displacement skill indefinitely, then there would be no point in continuing the match; it would be impossible to win.