The individual battles officially began on the second day, and as usual, they were divided into three groups: Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, and Golden Core.
Unlike the previous four categories of pills, talismans, weapons, and formations, the battleground has always been a fiercely contested area among the three sects: the Lianfeng Sword Sect, which is dominated by sword cultivators; the Yuxing Sect, which focuses on beast taming; and the Fuyuan Sect, which is a sect of magic cultivators.
This is the usual practice. Because each of the previous categories has its own sect specializing in them, but there are no separate competitions for swordsmanship, magic, or beast taming.
But this year the situation has changed drastically. The Lianfeng Sword Sect has produced an all-around genius! Shi Xuan single-handedly defeated all the other sects!
The sect leaders of Fuyuan Sect and Yuxing Sect privately complained to Shi Mingxiu, saying, "Your Lianfeng Sword Sect has already exceeded its target in this competition. You don't need to win any more individual matches."
Shi Mingxiu was quite agreeable, stroking his long beard and replying with a smile, "I really can't say for sure. Why don't you go talk to the disciples from our sect who participated in the competition? Tell them not to take first place again."
...
Sending the sect leader to do such a thing? How could he even think of that? If the two of them actually went, they'd be laughed at to death.
The two men rolled their eyes at him and turned to leave.
In fact, the morale of the Lianfeng Sword Sect, whose members have become rich overnight, is soaring. The disciples are like they've been injected with chicken blood, and they are even more courageous than before. In addition, their sword cultivators are the strongest among their peers, and the Lianfeng Sword Sect has won first place in both the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment groups.
The Yuxing Sect and Fuyuan Sect, having gained nothing, felt utterly exhausted. While other sects at least had one or two who won the championship, they had all been runners-up.
However, after thinking about the other three sects that had lost first place in their specialized fields, he felt a little better. After all, they had experienced similar situations before, but the collective annihilation of the other three sects was something he had never seen before.
Each group of contests takes at least three days, and by the time they reached the Golden Core group, it was already the seventh day.
When they saw Shi Xuan stand on the competition stage again, the disciples of the six sects were numb. Anyway, she'd participate in any competition she could... and she'd win every competition she participated in... and the disciples of the Lianfeng Sword Sect would bet on any competition in which she won...
However, this singles tournament is different from other events, as it features top players from various disciplines and offers the highest rewards.
To win first place here is much more competitive and difficult than in previous competitions.
The first match was between Mi Sui of the Yuxing Sect and Fan Mingzhu of the Shending Sect.
The outcome of this matchup was truly a foregone conclusion. Mi Sui was one of the most talented disciples of the Yuxing Sect, and he had won the top spot in the Foundation Establishment group during the last Six Sects Grand Competition.
Among the early bets this year, Mi Sui is also a favorite to win the Golden Elixir Group championship.
As for Fan Mingzhu, she was just a pill cultivator from the Divine Cauldron Sect. How could she possibly defeat Mi Sui, a genius disciple of the Yuxing Sect?
Everyone thought the same thing; they weren't even paying close attention to what was happening on stage. They were sure that Mi Sui would knock Fan Mingzhu off the stage in no time.
Mi Sui's spirit pet was an enormous silver wolf, so tall that it could stand as tall as two people and looked extremely fierce. Just by standing on the platform, it seemed capable of frightening timid cultivators into surrendering.
On the stage right now, the petite Fan Mingzhu is facing a huge, ferocious wolf. The contrast is stark, and it's clear who is stronger and who is weaker.
Despite the obvious disparity in strength, Mi Sui and his silver wolf fought Fan Mingzhu for half an hour without a clear victor.
"Fan Mingzhu is quite capable."
"So, she switched from alchemy to magic cultivation? Her alchemy skills seem to have completely deteriorated, but her martial arts have improved significantly."
"The daughter of the Divine Cauldron Sect Master can actually abandon alchemy and cultivate martial arts. I admire her greatly."
"You can only admire one of Fan Mingzhu and Shi Xuan. Don't forget the deep-seated hatred between them."
"But... sigh, who can say for sure about these things..."
...
The battle on the stage was still fierce. Fan Mingzhu was agile and mainly dodged in the early stages. She seemed to be particularly sharp and always managed to avoid Mi Sui's attacks.
The battle lasted for nearly an hour when Mi Sui's silver wolf suddenly froze for a moment, then its reaction became slower and slower. Before long, it even became unsteady on its feet, until it finally collapsed to the ground with a thud.
The judges and sect leaders on the main stage were all puzzled by this scene. They couldn't see anything wrong. They didn't see what method Fan Mingzhu used to make Mi Sui's silver wolf fall to the ground, or perhaps Mi Sui's silver wolf had a problem on its own? Fan Mingzhu's luck was too good.
Even at the end, Mi Sui didn't understand what had happened, why the perfectly healthy Silver Wolf had suddenly collapsed. But he knew it definitely wasn't Silver Wolf that had a problem with itself; Fan Mingzhu must have done something to it.
This silver wolf had been with him for many years, and the two were of one mind. He had never felt any physical discomfort from the silver wolf. It was only later, when the silver wolf began to show unusual behavior, that he noticed it.
In any case, the fall of the silver wolf signifies the end of the battle. The Yuxing Sect relies on spirit pets as its primary means of combat. If they couldn't defeat their opponents when their spirit pets were present, then it's even less likely they can now do so without them.
Fan Mingzhu wins this round!
The audience erupted in uproar. No one had expected that the seeded player in this one-on-one battle would be eliminated by a mere alchemist!
"This is impossible! How could Mi Sui have been defeated by Fan Mingzhu?"
"Ah, I bet on Mi Sui to win the singles championship! How could he not even make it past the first round!"
"Am I in a hallucination? This result seems too much like a hallucination. Someone please wake me up!"
...
Even after the results of the battle were announced, they still couldn't believe what they were seeing.
The disciples of Yuxing Sect were also dumbfounded. They knew Mi Sui's strength best. Even the elders in the sect often said that Mi Sui was a rare talent that was hard to come by in decades. It would be one thing if he had lost to a powerful opponent, but he had lost to a pill cultivator.
Who is Fan Mingzhu? How come they've never heard of her before and she seems to have any influence?!
But the matter is already settled.
Fan Mingzhu smiled slightly and walked off the stage in a good mood. After so many days, she finally felt relieved.
After defeating one of the seeded players, and seeing the astonished looks on the faces of those idiots in the audience, she felt refreshed and invigorated.
Before stepping off the stage, she glanced in Shi Xuan's direction, thinking to herself that Shi Xuan had better be eliminated early in this competition. If she met her on the stage, she would definitely make her pay!
Shi Xuan noticed that Fan Mingzhu was looking at her, but she didn't even glance at her, completely ignoring Fan Mingzhu.
When Shi Xuan took the stage, her opponent was not strong and she easily won.
However, compared to Fan Mingzhu's victory over Mi Sui, Shi Xuan's victory did not cause any stir.
That's perfectly normal. Anyone could easily defeat an opponent like that. What's so special about Shi Xuan winning against him?
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