Having escaped this crisis, Yu Zhuo didn’t stop for even a moment. With a flick of her wrist, the soft whip in her hand shot out like a snake towards the black-robed man’s back.
The black-clothed man’s blade slashed through the air, and after losing his target, the black-clothed man suddenly turned around and slashed out without even looking back.
Bang…
A loud bang rang out and the black-clothed man’s body swayed for a moment before he recovered.
On the other hand, Yu Zhuo’s body was sent flying by a powerful backlash and she spat out a mouthful of blood as she staggered to the ground.
Yang Kai couldn’t help thinking that it was a pity. If Yu Zhuo had the same cultivation as her opponent, that strike would have been enough to secure her victory. However, because of the difference in their cultivation and Yu Zhuo’s hasty attack, she was unable to seize this opportunity and instead suffered some minor injuries.
In the blink of an eye, the two of them had already completed a round of the stages they had lost. It was truly a dazzling sight.
Yang Kai couldn’t help raising his spirits. He hadn’t expected to meet these two in the first match of the day. He could tell that both Yu Zhuo and the black-clothed man had extraordinary strength at the Principle Source Stage, and even among the three top forces, they were people who had to be carefully nurtured. He really didn’t know how they had cultivated to such a level.
He suddenly realized that he had underestimated all the Sects in the world. For a Sect to be able to survive for less than ten million years, there had to be a reason for its existence. It wasn’t just the top Sects that could produce outstanding talents.
He suddenly thought of the Eight Directions Sect’s Luo Yuan. During the Four Seasons Land Trial, two people’s reputations had been fulfilled. One of them was himself, someone who had used his Principle Source Stage cultivation to refine such a heaven-defying pill, making it difficult for him to avoid attention, while the other was the Eight Directions Sect’s Luo Yuan.
The Eight Directions Sect was considered a small Sect in the Southern Domain and was even inferior to the Blue Feather Sect in its heyday, but Luo Yuan, who came from the Eight Directions Sect, was not even afraid of Wu Chang. He had fought a great battle with him and was not at a disadvantage, showing just how powerful he was.
Thinking back to Luo Yuan, he had seen a fellow who looked somewhat similar to Luo Yuan yesterday, but he was too far away and didn’t pay attention to him, so he didn’t know if it was him.
Perhaps it really was that guy. After all, the Eight Directions Sect was also from the Southern Region, so there was no reason for them not to participate in the Martial Meeting.
Just as he was lost in his thoughts, Yu Zhuo and the black-robed man began exchanging blows again. On the stage, the two figures continued to exchange blows, one saber and one whip clashing, creating a series of clanging sounds.
One of them had a fierce momentum while the other was nimble, actually fighting back and forth. This was not a one-sided battle, and the situation here had attracted the attention of many cultivators. Not long after, the Eighth Ring was filled with people, all of them staring towards the stage with solemn expressions, secretly wondering how they would win if they encountered these two opponents.
Yang Kai also watched with great interest. If it weren’t for the fact that High Heaven Palace didn’t need to open the mountain gate to accept disciples, he would probably have asked Hua Qingsi to hold such an interesting competition. Although this kind of competition was a bit tedious, it was indeed the best way to select outstanding talents, but one’s temperament and character couldn’t be guaranteed.
After the time it took for an incense stick to burn, the black-clothed man’s expression became more ruthless. After all, in his opinion, if his opponent’s cultivation was a bit lower, he should be able to easily deal with her, but the truth was that the woman who had jumped up and down was actually the strongest opponent he had encountered so far. This caused him to feel somewhat embarrassed and his attacks became more violent.
On the other hand, although Yu Zhuo was able to use her swift reaction and nimble movement techniques to continuously contend with him, the gap between their cultivations was still the greatest. It had been quite difficult for her to win so far, so it was almost impossible for her to win. Her two ponytails were somewhat messy, and many of them had been cut in half by her opponent’s blade, making her look quite miserable. As she gasped for breath, her chest heaved up and down, and her face was covered in sweat, but she still gritted her teeth and refused to admit defeat.
However, Yang Kai could clearly see her hand trembling as she held the long whip, constantly exchanging blows with her opponent’s broadsword. The violent force from the whip was not something she could endure for long.
The black-clothed man obviously knew that her strength was falling short, so he didn’t give Yu Zhuo any time to breathe, forcing her to fight him head-on.
Finally, when the big blade and the soft whip made contact, a light cracking sound rang out as the soft whip was cut into two and sent flying.
Seeing this, the black-clothed man was overjoyed. He had had enough of his opponent’s whip, and now that he had broken this artifact, how could his opponent have any strength to fight back? Looking up, his eyes flashed with a cold light, and a trace of panic flashed across Yu Zhuo’s face as she hurriedly retreated.
But how could she retreat?
“Die!” The man in black shouted as he swung his blade, a look of victory appearing on his face.
Winning was not easy!
However, before he could finish this thought, the panic on Yu Zhuo’s face suddenly disappeared and a cunning light flashed across her eyes. With a single hand, she formed a series of hand seals and the sound of something breaking through the air rang out behind him.
Not good! The black-clothed man’s expression changed. Although he didn’t know what kind of trick Yu Zhuo had played, it was obvious he had accidentally fallen into a trap. It was too late for him to withdraw his hand now, and a ruthless light flashed across his eyes as he slashed down at an even faster speed.
Yu Zhuo hurriedly used the remaining half of her whip to block, but the other party’s full-powered attack was too fierce to block.
The large blade slashed down from her shoulder all the way to her abdomen and nearly split her into two. The overwhelming force of the blow sent her flying like a ragdoll.
In mid-air, she changed her hand seal again.
The black-clothed man felt his body tighten as he finally understood what Yu Zhuo was up to.
The remaining half of the soft whip that had been sent flying by him had taken the opportunity to wrap itself around him, catching him off guard. An inexplicable force emerged from the soft whip and suppressed his cultivation, causing the Origin Energy in his body to become somewhat sluggish. When he raised his head again, a look of despair appeared on his face. [TL: should i use source strength or origin energy?]
As he was flying backwards, Yu Zhuo shook the half of the soft whip in her hand and sent it flying towards his forehead.
If this point hit, with his current state, he would definitely die.
“Admit defeat!” He hurriedly shouted.
The long whip suddenly came to a stop an inch away from his forehead, just short of piercing through his head. The Qi from the whip’s tip was like an awl, piercing his forehead and causing him to break out in cold sweat.
This half of the long whip had already been thrown out of Yu Zhuo's hand, so the reason it stopped in front of him was naturally not because of Yu Zhuo's control, but because of Yang Kai.
The moment he shouted the word ‘surrender’, Yang Kai stretched out his hand and grabbed the whip, protecting his life.
At the same time, he raised his other hand and sent Yu Zhuo flying into the air.
The black-clothed man looked over in shock, his expression suddenly becoming extremely ugly, because Yu Zhuo’s body was hovering at the edge of the ring, just a little bit away from leaving it.
All his efforts had been for naught! If he had been just a bit slower at surrendering, Yu Zhuo would have definitely lost.
But in this life or death crisis, how could he dare hesitate? Cursing himself now was useless.
When Yang Kai released his grip, the soft whip that had stopped in front of the black-clothed man’s forehead fell to the ground, while his other hand was slightly withdrawn. Yu Zhuo that had been lifted by an invisible force slowly floated in front of him.
Looking down at the woman, Yang Kai frowned.
This first battle could be said to be extremely brutal. Although the black-clothed man wasn’t seriously injured, he had just taken a trip to the gates of hell. After suffering such a great loss, he probably wouldn’t dare to underestimate anyone weaker than himself. Yu Zhuo was even more miserable. She was already at a disadvantage in a direct confrontation, and at this moment, her two arms were trembling uncontrollably, and there was a bloody wound on her shoulder to her waist, causing blood to gush out. It was a tragic sight.
This could already be considered a serious injury. Although her life wasn’t in danger, if she didn’t treat it well, she wouldn’t be able to face the upcoming battle.
Sighing lightly, Yang Kai squatted down and placed one hand on Yu Zhuo’s shoulder, using his Emperor Qi to stabilize her injuries while his other hand secretly popped out a healing pill and stuffed it into Yu Zhuo’s mouth.
Yu Zhuo’s eyes were somewhat blank, obviously having been beaten quite badly just now and still not fully recovered. When she saw that Yang Kai was treating him, she couldn’t help feeling a bit embarrassed and asked in a trembling voice, “Did I… win?”
Yang Kai looked at her expressionlessly and declared, “3018 wins!”
Hearing this, Yu Zhuo’s eyes lit up with joy as she smiled happily.
When the black-clothed man called out his surrender, she had yet to fall off the stage, so naturally she won.
However, Yu Zhuo was soon unable to smile because of the intense pain from the wound on her waist. She forced herself to look up and immediately blushed.
The spot where she had been struck by the black-robed man was covered in tattered clothes and her exquisite undergarments were exposed. Others might not have been able to see it because of the angle, but the referee was squatting in front of her, so how could he not see it?
In an instant, Yu Zhuo had an urge to faint.
Yang Kai really didn’t pay attention to this, only thinking that this woman was too hardworking. When he noticed that her complexion was a bit off, he turned his gaze towards her and his expression twitched. Taking out a piece of clothing from his Space Ring, he covered her wound and shouted, “Who is her fellow disciple?”
Immediately, two beautiful women rushed up and cupped their fists, “Senior.”
“Take her away to heal,” Yang Kai waved his hand.
The two women thanked him before helping her down.
Below the stage, there was complete silence. When Yu Zhuo walked down, everyone couldn’t help lining up to form a path, their faces filled with respect.
On the stage, the black-robed man who had been defeated stood there for a moment before shaking his head sadly. He cupped his hands towards Yang Kai and flew down as well. Although he had lost the first battle, it wasn’t a complete loss for him. There was still a chance for him to come back later, so he wasn’t too worried.
Yang Kai stood on the stage and acted like a judge, his expression meticulous as he held the jade slip and shouted, “Number 6051 versus Number 8036.”
TO BE CONTINUED...
Martial Peak