bookbashuk Chapter 190 Clash of Geniuses, the Grand Competition Ends
Chapter 190 Clash of Geniuses, the Grand Competition Ends
The exciting chapter "Chapter 190: The Battle of Geniuses, the Competition Ends" is now available online. Click to read it now!
Half a month after the monster hunt ended, the cultivators from all families, after a period of rest, ushered in the final and most exciting competition.
Individual tournament.
Team battles test the overall coordination of a clan. Even the weakest cultivator has his place, but a cultivator can't stay in the clan forever; he always has to go out and gain experience.
This is when individual skills will be tested.
Through face-to-face combat, one can not only accumulate combat experience, but also recognize one's own shortcomings and test one's ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
"Yuanli, keep it up!"
"Keep it up!"
On the arena, a man dressed in cyan robes held a magical weapon and kept entangled with the man in front of him. However, the other man was like a nimble venomous snake, constantly moving around the arena and narrowly dodging his attacks.
Having used spells repeatedly, Zhang Yuanli's magical power was less than half of what it used to be. Large beads of sweat soaked his collar. When he heard the cheers from the stands, he gritted his teeth and focused all his attention on the boy in front of him.
"I absolutely cannot lose this battle!"
He roared inwardly, and the magic power in front of him shone even brighter as he launched a frenzied attack on his opponent.
There was no other reason than that the person opposite him was Xu Haisheng.
Facing the biggest dark horse in this competition, Zhang Yuanli did not relax his vigilance because of his previous victory in the alchemy competition; on the contrary, he paid even more attention.
After the alchemy competition ended, Zhang Yuanshan came to see him and said that Xu Haisheng's pills were only slightly inferior to his. If Xu Haisheng had entered the Pill Cauldron Pavilion to cultivate earlier, he would probably have won first place in alchemy.
The two sides have clashed again today, truly a case of enemies meeting on a narrow road.
Xu Haisheng unleashed his full power as soon as he stepped onto the stage, clearly intending to use Zhang Yuanli as a stepping stone to his reputation. Zhang Yuanli naturally dared not be careless about this, as losing this battle would mean losing more than just his position as a young genius of the Dan Ding Pavilion.
And the honor of the Zhang family.
"Down you go!"
Faced with Zhang Yuanli's overwhelming magic, Xu Haisheng, who was constantly dodging, was in a great deal of trouble. He no longer had the domineering aura he had when he first stepped onto the stage, and could only rely on dodging to seek opportunities to fight.
However, this type of movement technique consumes too much energy, but it cannot be used without it; one must find opportunities to fight while dodging.
"They are indeed direct descendants of a Foundation Establishment family; they cannot be underestimated!"
Xu Haisheng admitted that he had underestimated his opponent. This dark horse understood the gap between them. His opponent's cultivation techniques, spells, and magical artifacts were all superior to his own. If he wanted to defeat his opponent, he could only rely on his past experience in hunting demonic beasts.
Seeing that his opponent had no intention of holding back, he gritted his teeth and spat out a small shield from his mouth, blocking all the overwhelming purple flames and spells. However, his good fortune didn't last long, as the shield was too low-grade and could not withstand the corresponding damage.
According to his estimation, Zhang Yuanli's magic power could only last a little longer. As long as he could hold on, he would surely be victorious, and at that time, his family's prestige would reach its peak, gaining true respect.
"Purple Sun Heavenly Fire!"
"Black Mist Shield!"
As their attacks collided violently, a huge cloud of dust rose from the arena. All the cultivators in the stands craned their necks, eager to see who would emerge victorious.
The clan leaders, however, calmly sipped their tea, showing no signs of urgency.
"Zhang Yuanli won."
Mo Wuyai stood in the stands with his arms crossed. Although his gaze was always fixed on a beautiful figure, he was still aware of the situation on the field.
Simply put, the dust couldn't obstruct their vision at all.
As the dust slowly settled, a disheveled young man in blue robes came into view. He was holding a magical artifact, hunched over, and panting heavily. He only relaxed after confirming that Xu Haisheng opposite him had stopped making any further moves.
Xu Haisheng knew he had lost, but he showed no disappointment or anger. He bowed to the figure on the platform before retreating.
"We won!"
The Zhang family cultivators in the audience immediately erupted in endless cheers. This competition was originally their home ground, but the heat had been stolen by one dark horse after another, which made them feel resentful, especially since it was the most arrogant Xu Haisheng.
Zhang Yuanli's ability to defeat his opponent proves that even a dark horse that suddenly appears out of nowhere cannot defeat a cultivator nurtured by a family with a deep foundation.
"That's too much; you need to keep honing your skills..."
Zhang Lingyu, who had just finished watching the match, frowned slightly. Although the outcome of the match was not in doubt from the beginning, Zhang Yuanli had a hard time winning and only managed to defeat his opponent by virtue of his superior techniques and magical artifacts.
It's obvious to anyone with eyes that if the two were on the same starting line, Xu Haisheng would absolutely crush Zhang Yuanli.
There is only one reason for this: the family has been focusing on developing Zhang Yuanli's talent in alchemy and has rarely allowed him to go out and gain experience, while Xu Haisheng has been doing the exact opposite.
Zhang Lingyu allowed Xu Haisheng to go up the mountain to cultivate in order to hone the cultivators in his clan.
On the stage, Zhang Yuanli understood why he had won and also understood the pressure he would face in the future. Once Xu Haisheng entered the Dan Ding Pavilion to cultivate, he would soon experience a comprehensive improvement, and then he would be in real danger.
Although the family wouldn't use resources to train an outsider, given his performance, they would likely allocate some of them to someone else.
"My competition is over. Now I'm going back to heal my injuries and get back to training!"
Although he had won and could challenge stronger cultivators, the battles that followed were definitely beyond his ability to participate in.
The three-way battle that just took place was between Zhang Yuanli and Xu Haisheng, Huang Wenhua and Mo Wuyai, and a cultivator from the Du family and Zhang Yuanyao. The first two matches have ended, and the winners are all from the Zhang family. Only Huang Wenhua and Mo Wuyai are left.
The outcome of these two contests is already a foregone conclusion.
It's nothing more than going through the motions.
Zhang Yuanyao and Mo Wuyai are both beyond my ability to contend with, so it's better to withdraw early.
......
"Next match: Huang Wenhua of the Huang family versus Mo Wuyai of the Mo family."
As two figures flew into the arena, all eyes were once again drawn to them. Although there was no suspense, they wanted to see how many rounds this genius from the Huang family could last.
"Fellow Daoist Huang, let me see your strength that allows you to defeat me at forty percent."
The calm voice reached Huang Wenhua's ears, causing his pupils to shrink slightly. He cursed inwardly, "Who on earth leaked my words?"
His words at Redwood Ridge half a month ago were meant to pat himself on the back; in reality, his chances of winning were at most 20%.
But now that things have come to this, there's no way to back down. He said in a deep voice, "I dare not say we've won, but let's just consider this a chance for us to exchange ideas."
"Alright, bring it on." Mo Wuyai didn't care and stood quietly, clearly waiting for the other party to make the first move.
"I'm sorry."
Huang Wenhua shouted and pulled out several talismans from his storage bag: a speed talisman, an armor talisman, and a smoke talisman. He had no chance of winning in a head-on confrontation and could only rely on some techniques to hold out for a while.
At the very least, one cannot be defeated in ten or so rounds; that would be far too embarrassing.
As the smoke filled the arena, Huang Wenhua moved. He had pushed his Divine Speed Talisman to its limit in conjunction with his movement technique. While moving around, he threw out various talismans and cast spells by making hand seals.
During the spellcasting process, several tiny needle-shaped magical artifacts were hidden within.
He didn't think Mo Wuyai was unable to discover it; he just hoped to use it to distract the other party.
"Boom!"
Since the start of the duel, the entire arena was filled with the sounds of metal clashing and explosions. With the presence of the smoke talisman, those cultivators with lower cultivation levels couldn't see anything at all, and could only stare blankly at those fleeting flashes of spiritual light.
"This Huang Wenhua is quite capable."
Zhang Lingyu looked at the somewhat disheveled figure in the smoke and nodded slightly. His initial impression of Huang Wenhua was that he was neither arrogant nor impatient, and that he was developing steadily.
Although he knew he couldn't defeat his opponent, he didn't choose to give up, which was certainly not in line with his character. However, he still chose to step forward for the sake of his family, which shows that he was still very loyal.
As for this style of play... it is also very applicable.
If a monk wants to defeat someone stronger than himself, he must do everything he can to create conditions that are favorable to him, and he must make use of the environment, words, and everything else possible.
Unfortunately, neither of these two methods can be used here. The only option is to use smoke to temporarily obscure the opponent's vision. During the exchange between the two, although Mo Wuyai was able to block the attacks this time, he exposed many weaknesses due to the dense attacks.
However, Huang Wenhua was cautious by nature and feared that the other party had left it there on purpose, so he did not dare to go forward.
In Zhang Lingyu's view, as long as these weaknesses are exploited and the opponent is successfully injured, a 40% chance of winning is not an empty promise.
"A great opportunity!"
After more than thirty rounds of entanglement in the smoke, Huang Wenhua finally seized another weakness in his opponent's defenses and decided to go all out this time!
At the very least, Mo Wuyai must be injured!
"Wooden Vine Technique, activate!"
With a soft shout from Huang Wenhua, several thick, barbed vines suddenly sprouted from under the feet of the black-clad youth. Mo Wuyai raised an eyebrow, intending to turn away, but he was too late.
The vines had already started climbing up from my ankles.
Protected by the robe, he was not injured, so he simply slashed upwards with the flying sword in his hand!
"Bang!"
The sword seemed to have struck something metallic, producing a crisp metallic sound. Mo Wuyai looked down and saw that the vine was almost severed, yet it remained connected by a thin thread.
In addition, the vines are slowly healing their wounds and trying to continue climbing upwards.
He raised his hand and struck again with his sword.
The vine snapped, and the boy finally broke free, only to be met with a powerful blow from Huang Wenhua.
"Boom!"
To most outsiders, it seemed to be just another ordinary fireball exploding, but after that one sound, there was no further movement on the battlefield.
"It seems the battle has been decided."
As the thick smoke gradually dissipated, a battered young man could be seen standing at the edge of the arena. Although he was in a sorry state, a smile was on his lips. Meanwhile, Mo Wuyai, who was standing in the center, had a rather unpleasant expression.
Only the hem of his clothes was slightly torn, and although his aura remained relatively calm, there was a small bloodstain on his face.
Mo Wuyai is injured!
Everyone was extremely surprised. They thought that the opponent would only suffer some injuries in the battle with Zhang Yuanyao, but they did not expect that he would be defeated here. However, it seemed that the injury was not serious and he would be able to cope with the next competition after resting for a while.
Mo Wuyai dusted off his clothes and recalled the scene just now. He realized that he had indeed underestimated his opponent and been careless. Otherwise, he would not have left such a big flaw. If Huang Wenhua had been stronger, he might have been able to defeat him.
"Fellow Daoist Huang, I take back what I said before. You do indeed have a 40% chance of winning."
With a serious expression, he looked at the figure in the stands and said, "Yuan Yao, it's time for us to fight."
Before they even started fighting, Zhang Yuanli had already given up on the match and voluntarily admitted defeat.
"It's finally here."
Seeing the two figures on the field, the cultivators in the stands became even more excited. The entire competition had lasted for nearly two months, and the most intense and exciting show was finally about to begin.
They wanted to see who was superior, the Zhang family's prodigy or the most powerful prodigy among all the families.
As Zhang Yuanyao stepped onto the stage, she glanced at the man in front of her. Although she felt it was somewhat unfair that she had won because he was injured, she accepted the offer since Mo Wuyai hadn't mentioned needing to heal before continuing the fight.
In fact, the outcome is the same whether you treat it or not.
"How about we settle this with a single sword strike?"
Mo Wuyai looked at the woman in front of him and suddenly said, "We both practice swordsmanship, so there's no need for all this fancy stuff."
"That suits me perfectly."
Zhang Yuanyao nodded slightly. In fact, the Zhang family had almost never practiced swordsmanship in the past, but in recent years, due to the influence of Zhang Lingyu, the family had begun to pay attention to it. Since she entered the Dao, she had been practicing the "Gengjin Sword Technique" as a supplementary skill.
Later, her family acquired the "Azure Lotus Sword Manual," which further improved her swordsmanship.
However, the Sword Manual requires at least six flying swords to execute. Her cultivation level is relatively low, and she doesn't have a complete set of flying swords at home. Controlling different flying swords at once would only increase her burden.
As all his magical power was poured into the longsword in his hand, countless flame patterns began to emerge from the blade, covering it with a thin film of flame.
Although it lacks vibrant colors, it evokes a sense of extreme danger.
"It's not the 'Gengjin Sword Technique'..."
Mo Wuyai frowned slightly. He knew about the Zhang family's sword techniques and had read some of them. The most famous one was the "Gengjin Sword Technique". It was said that Zhang Lingyu had repeatedly achieved great feats with this technique in his early years.
He had also seen Zhang Yuanyao use the sword many times, and he used the same sword technique.
But seeing it today, it's completely different!
Indeed, Zhang Yuanyao did not use the "Gengjin Sword Technique," but rather a sword technique attached to the "Fenyuan Lihuo Scripture." After all, she cultivated fire-attribute techniques, and using the "Gengjin Sword Technique" against an enemy before she had fully mastered swordsmanship would have reduced its power.
Mo Wuyai is a formidable opponent; she must give it her all.
"Such powerful sword energy..."
Although the longsword had not yet been swung, the powerful sword energy emanating from it already made Mo Wuyai's heart pound with fear. He knew he was bound to lose, but he still chose to pour all his magical power into the longsword in his hand.
He proposed a one-on-one sword fight; he wouldn't back down in the face of battle.
The Mo family has been practicing swordsmanship for over a hundred years. Although what they have inherited is only a third-grade sword technique, their ancestors have used it to kill many powerful enemies.
As a family genius and a swordsman, he had to deal with this sword strike no matter what.
After another dozen or so breaths, perhaps because both sides had sensed that the other's sword energy had reached its limit, they tacitly swung their longswords, and two huge sword energies, one red and one white, suddenly shot out!
"Boom!"
A violent explosion resounded through the sky, and sharp sword marks were everywhere on the arena. If it weren't for the very sturdy spiritual materials used to build the arena, it probably wouldn't have lasted long before collapsing.
The cultivators in the stands were also still in shock. Just as the sword energies of the two sides clashed, the large array spirit shield that Zhang Lingyu had set up on the arena was activated in time, which saved the cultivators in the stands from the indiscriminate attack of the sword energy.
"Who's winning?"
While many were still reeling from the two sword strikes, some cultivators had already snapped out of their daze and started looking toward the arena.
However, the next moment, with Zhang Lingyu gently waving his sleeve, the spiritual shield quickly dissipated, and the thick smoke that filled the sky also disappeared.
On the arena, a beautiful figure stood proudly alone, her longsword already sheathed. As for her opponent...
In everyone's eyes, Mo Wuyai's clothes were tattered and his body was covered with sword energy and bloodstains. Now he was kneeling on one knee with his sword in hand, spitting out mouthfuls of blood.
Clearly, the results of the competition have been announced.
Zhang Yuanyao won.
......
......