On the arena, the confrontation between Zifeng and Manxiong seemed to freeze the air.
Although the Wild Bear was at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, he relied on his innate divine strength to hold his own against Zi Feng. His arms were bulging with muscles, and every punch he threw carried the power to shatter mountains and split rocks. The wind from his punches swept across the arena, stirring up clouds of dust, forcing Zi Feng to dodge and weave, looking for an opportunity to counterattack.
"Why are you dodging! If you've got the guts, fight me head-on!" the savage bear roared, punching out with both fists. Two deep craters were smashed into the ground, sending rubble flying. The runes along the edge of the arena lit up with warning lights.
Zi Feng's expression turned serious. His Purple Lightning Sword Technique excelled in speed and skill, but was not adept at direct confrontation. The Savage Bear's power was too domineering; a direct attack would only result in losses. He took a deep breath, and his longsword suddenly changed its stance. The purple lightning no longer concentrated at the tip of the sword, but transformed into countless strands of electricity, like a spider web covering the entire arena, restricting the Savage Bear's movements.
"Useless!" the bear roared, circulating his spiritual power throughout his body. His skin glowed with a bronze-colored aura, indicating that he had practiced some kind of external martial arts technique. He endured the numbness from the electric wires and approached Zifeng step by step. With each step, the arena shook violently.
"Now!" A glint flashed in Zi Feng's eyes. Taking advantage of the moment when the bear was slightly hindered by the electric wire, he shot out like an arrow, his longsword transforming into a bolt of purple lightning, piercing straight for the bear's heart—that was the weak point of the body-strengthening supernatural power!
The bear reacted extremely quickly, blocking with its left arm while simultaneously slamming its right fist into Zi Feng's face, intending to trade injury for injury!
"clang!"
The longsword pierced the bear's left arm, but was deflected by the bronze aura, leaving only a shallow bloodstain. The bear's right fist grazed Zifeng's shoulder, spraying blood and forcing Zifeng to stagger back several steps.
The two stood on opposite sides of the arena, both panting heavily and bearing injuries.
The bear's left arm was bleeding, and he looked at Zifeng with more fear in his eyes; Zifeng's shoulder was swollen and red, and his face was pale, obviously he had also been shaken.
"Shall we continue?" Zi Feng gripped his longsword tightly, his voice slightly hoarse.
The bear grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth, his expression fierce: "Fight! Of course I'll fight! But... you're a bit interesting, worth my full strength!"
He took a deep breath, and the bronze aura around him grew even stronger, even his hair stood on end. His aura rose steadily, and he even showed faint signs of breaking through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm!
Zi Feng's eyes narrowed, and he prepared to burn his spiritual power for a final gamble.
"stop!"
Just then, the presiding elder suddenly spoke up, "You two are evenly matched. Continuing to fight will only result in mutual destruction. Let's call this round a draw, shall we?"
The bear paused, glanced at Zifeng, then touched his bleeding left arm, and snorted, "A draw is a draw! We'll settle this next time!"
Zi Feng sheathed his sword and nodded slightly to the old cultivator, signifying his agreement. He knew that if the fight continued, he might not be able to win; a draw was the best possible outcome.
The two stepped down, and the dust on the arena gradually dissipated, leaving only a trail of devastation, a testament to the ferocity of the battle that had just taken place.
"A draw? This Purple Wind is something else, he actually managed to tie with Savage Bear!"
"What's going on in the Southern Region this time? First, Xiao Chen got the most points, and then Zi Feng forced a draw against the Barbarian Bear. Is it really going to rise to prominence?"
"Don't be too happy yet, the Western Regions still have a trump card to play..."
Discussions arose again, this time with less skepticism and more inquisitiveness. The cultivators from the Southern Region breathed a sigh of relief; at least they hadn't lost.
The old cultivator glanced at both teams and announced loudly, "This round is a draw. In the next round, the Southern Region and the Western Region will send representatives to the stage!"
In the Southern Region team, everyone's eyes were on Xiao Chen—of the five who advanced, Shi Yan had exhausted his spiritual power, Zi Lei was seriously injured, Zi Feng had greatly lost his spiritual power after the draw, and the remaining person was of average strength. The only one who could go on stage was Xiao Chen.
From the Western Regions group, a cultivator dressed in a gray robe stepped forward. He was of medium build and had an ordinary face, but he exuded a restrained ferocity. His aura was stable at the late Nascent Soul stage. He was none other than Gray Fiend, the second-best expert in the Western Regions after Barbarian Bear.
Hui Sha stepped onto the arena, his gaze no longer filled with mockery like the previous Western Region cultivators. Instead, he stared intently at Xiao Chen with a solemn expression—Xiao Chen was no ordinary person, capable of killing a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator and surpassing Ling Chen in points. He dared not be the slightest bit careless.
"Xiao Chen of the Qingyun Sect from the Southern Region, please enlighten me." Xiao Chen, carrying a rusty iron spear, slowly walked onto the arena. His movements were calm, yet they carried a calmness that made people's hearts tremble.
Gray Fiend gripped the curved sword at his waist and said in a deep voice, "Western Regions, Gray Fiend. Your score is high, but... in the arena, true skill matters." He didn't utter any harsh words, but every word was filled with caution.
The crowd fell silent instantly, their eyes fixed on the arena—this was the most anticipated match of the round: the dark horse from the Southern Region, who was in first place, versus the expert from the Western Region, Gray Fiend!
"start!"
As soon as the old cultivator finished speaking, the gray demons moved.
His figure was like a ghost, his curved blade transforming into a gray shadow, silently stabbing towards Xiao Chen's back. The blade was wrapped in a faint aura of death, clearly indicating that he had practiced some kind of sinister technique that targeted vital points.
Xiao Chen, however, seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. Without turning around, he simply flipped his wrist, and the rusty iron spear struck first, accurately hitting the side of the curved blade.
"clang!"
Sparks flew, and Gray Fiend felt a subtle force strike him, deflecting his curved blade and sending it hurtling towards empty air. He was startled—such a fast reaction!
He didn't linger in battle. With a swift movement, he created three afterimages, attacking Xiao Chen from the upper, middle, and lower parts of his body respectively. The death aura on his curved blade grew increasingly intense, causing injury upon contact.
Xiao Chen's eyes remained calm, unaffected by the afterimage. He closed his eyes and activated his "Mind's Eye" once more, sensing the flow of aura from the Gray Fiend's true form.
"Right here!"
He suddenly opened his eyes, and the rusty iron spear, like a dragon emerging from the sea, with its tip carrying a sharp spear intent, ignored the afterimages and pierced straight at the gray shadow on the left.
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