Chapter Nine: Divine Sense Micro-Manipulation Determines Victory or Defeat
Time seemed to freeze the instant Li Zheng's sword energy struck down.
The gasps of surprise from the audience caught in their throats. Xiao Tao covered her eyes tightly, while the smile on Su Wanqing's lips was already fixed.
Fang Li fell backward to the edge of the arena, the intense pain and dizziness caused by the depletion of her spiritual energy assaulting her consciousness.
The golden light rapidly magnified in her eyes, and the shadow of death loomed over her.
We can't lose! We absolutely cannot fall here! My spirit stones!
Just then, a powerful surge of spiritual energy, far exceeding what one should have at the Qi Refining stage, suddenly erupted from the depths of her sea of consciousness between her brows!
Like an invisible needle, it precisely pierced Li Zheng's sea of consciousness, which was slightly unguarded due to his full-force activation of sword energy!
Just as Li Zheng was about to unleash his sword with certainty, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his mind, as if he had been stabbed hard by a steel needle!
The condensed sword energy paused slightly, his mind lost focus for a moment, and his movements inevitably became sluggish!
Now!
A fierce glint flashed in Fang Li's eyes as she squeezed out the last trace of spiritual energy from her dantian and swiftly formed a simple "Water Condensation Technique" with her hands.
"go!"
With a flick of her finger, a drop of icy water, carrying her last bit of spiritual power and the aftershocks of her consciousness, shot silently toward Li Zheng's exposed right wrist pulse point!
"Uh!" Li Zheng's wrist suddenly went numb, and his fingers gripping the sword involuntarily loosened.
The already erratic sword energy, which had been disrupted by the disturbance of his mind, suddenly went completely out of control, grazing Fang Li's side and crashing onto the arena floor!
"boom--!"
Shards of stone flew everywhere, and a deep trench was cleaved through the hard obsidian countertop!
Fang Li, clinging to her last shred of consciousness, used the recoil from the sword energy striking the ground to tumble sideways, completely escaping the dangerous edge of the arena.
Li Zheng clutched his numb and tingling wrist, looking at the deep gash on the ground and Fang Li, who had rolled to the side but hadn't fallen off the stage.
His face was ashen, and his eyes were filled with shock, anger, and disbelief.
What happened to him just now? How could he suddenly lose his grip?
The elder referee was also stunned. The sudden and bizarre turn of events was too strange for him to judge for a moment.
The audience fell into a deathly silence.
No one saw clearly what happened.
All they saw was Li Zheng's deadly sword strike inexplicably miss its mark, while Fang Li managed to dodge it.
After several breaths, the elder referee hesitantly announced in a loud voice: "Fang Li has not yet stepped off the stage, Li Zheng's attack missed... Fang Li wins!"
As soon as the words were spoken, the audience erupted in chaos!
"You won? You actually won this?"
"What happened to Senior Brother Li? That last sword strike..."
"Did he go mad from his cultivation? Or was he showing mercy?"
"Show mercy my ass! Look at Senior Brother Li's face!"
"Fang Li's luck is just too incredible!"
This victory was even more unbelievable than the previous two.
Fang Li knelt on the ground, coughing violently, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of her mouth, her face as pale as paper.
Waves of pain, from the injury to my arm and the internal concussion, kept coming.
With great difficulty, she took out a few of the lowest-grade Qi-restoring pills and stuffed them into her mouth, desperately circulating her cultivation technique to absorb the medicinal power and repair her damaged meridians, ignoring all the noise around her.
During the short time she was adjusting her breathing, several divine senses containing immense pressure swept over her, seemingly imperceptibly.
A gaze, filled with scrutiny and a hint of confusion, lingered for a moment on her brow as she forcefully mobilized her divine sense.
It seemed puzzled as to why a disciple at the mid-stage of Qi Refining could unleash such a refined spiritual impact, though weak, its essence was exceptionally high.
A gentle, meticulous senses perceiving the remaining state of her spiritual energy, the extent of her injuries, and even the speed at which the elixir dissolves.
A fierce and direct attack, making no attempt to conceal its intense interest and fighting spirit, touched her briefly and then left, leaving behind a burning sensation as if she were being watched by a ferocious beast.
There was also a lofty and distant one, seemingly coming from the heavens above. Just a casual glance from it made Fang Li's soul tremble slightly, giving her the illusion that she had been completely seen through. Fortunately, it lingered for the shortest time, almost vanishing in an instant.
The pressure from these divine senses was far more unsettling to Fang Li than Li Zheng's sword aura.
She forcefully suppressed the surging blood and qi and the slight stinging sensation from her consciousness, keeping a calm expression on her face, but alarm bells were ringing in her heart.
Was it too reckless? It eventually attracted attention.
On the high platform.
Shen Yunzhou had opened his eyes at some point, his cold gaze falling on the figure struggling to regulate his breathing on Platform E, his handsome brows furrowing almost imperceptibly.
In that last instant, he seemed to have sensed an unusually pure fluctuation of divine consciousness.
From Fang Li?
How is that possible?
It must be an illusion, or a disorder of spiritual energy caused by a malfunction in Li Zheng's own cultivation technique.
He closed his eyes again, but his slightly furrowed brows did not relax.
Xie Chen's jade bone fan had stopped waving at some point. The usual gentle smile on his lips deepened, but his eyes revealed a calm and analytical look: "Mid-stage Qi Refining Level 6, spiritual power purity is about 20% higher than others of the same level, physical strength is average but resilience is excellent, and he may have used some kind of divine sense technique or special item in the end?"
He silently did mental calculations, looking at Fang Li as if she were a puzzle that had suddenly become extremely interesting.
"Hahaha!" Ji Qianqiu grinned and laughed out loud, patting his follower's shoulder with his large, fan-like hand.
He slapped the disciple so hard he stumbled. "See that? Now that's more interesting! A mid-stage Qi Refining cultivator going head-to-head with a peak Qi Refining cultivator and still winning! Even though the victory was inexplicable, it was awesome! I love this kind of indestructible spirit!" His voice was loud and clear, without any hesitation. "Go! Show me when Fang Li's next match is? Who's his opponent? I want to see it for myself!"
The follower grimaced and rubbed his shoulder, then quickly ran off to inquire.
Higher up, above the sea of clouds, is a corner of the eaves of the Forgotten Dust Palace.
Ye Wuyang stood by the railing, his black hair flowing freely, his empty and indifferent eyes seemingly reflecting everything in the martial arts arena below.
Just now, he seemed to sense a strange fluctuation that was different from the laws of this world.
He unconsciously tapped the railing lightly with his fingertip, making a barely audible "hmm".
Immediately, everything fell silent.
Fang Li barely managed to suppress her injuries, stood up, and walked off the stage with slightly unsteady steps.
Xiao Tao rushed over to support her, her eyes red-rimmed: "Senior sister! You scared me to death! Are you alright?"
"It's alright." Fang Li shook her head, her voice a little hoarse.
She needs to find a quiet place to heal immediately.
Just then, the results of the new round of battle draw were announced by the steward disciples.
Countless eyes immediately focused on it.
When they saw Fang Li's name followed by her opponent's name, the discussion that had just calmed down erupted again, more heated than ever before!
"What?!!"
"My God! How could it be him?"
"It's completely over! There's no hope left!"
"This draw was really cruel!"
Xiao Tao's face turned deathly pale as she looked at the name. Her hand, which was supporting Fang Li, trembled, and her voice was choked with sobs: "Senior...Senior Sister..."
Fang Li raised her head, her gaze passing through the noisy crowd, and landed on the newly appeared line of words on the jade disc.
Next round, platform number E.
Fang Li, yes, Chen Feng.
A sword cultivator genius who is well-known among the inner disciples for his fierce attacks and ruthless fighting style, his cultivation level is at the early stage of Foundation Establishment.
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