Chapter 286: Crushing Dry Weeds And Smashing Rotten Wood
Lu Yun indeed did not dare to defend blindly any longer, making his first active move! He protected his chest with his right hand, his left arm like a whip, fingers like lightning, swiftly pointing toward Mei Ruohua’s Shangqiu Acupoint on her calf!
If Mei Ruohua kicked Lu Yun forcefully, she would be struck in the acupoint by him, likely resulting in an exchange of one arm for one leg! With her current overwhelming advantage, how could she accept such a trade? She immediately withdrew her right leg, turning it into a supporting foot. Her left leg swept out horizontally when her right foot was still three inches from the ground, surprisingly even faster than before, with much greater power!
Lu Yun also hurriedly changed moves, performing an iron bridge stance, lying back to dodge the horizontal sweep. With both hands raised, he swiftly pointed at the Fengshi and Dijiao Acupoints on Mei Ruohua’s left leg.
Mei Ruohua, seeing no way to evade, twisted her slender waist mid-air, her entire body soaring upward. Then, borrowing the force of her descent, both feet stomped down toward Lu Yun with even fiercer momentum.
Lu Yun could not help but realize that the characteristic of Mei Clan techniques was their elusive lightness, never using a move to exhaustion, able to change at any time, with each move more powerful than the last!
He instinctively wanted to use Raising Fire to Burn the Sky to clash head-on with her move. But by this point, he had realized Mei Ruohua’s strength was only Black Rank mid-stage, and changing moves to this extent was likely her limit. Fearing he would injure her legs with one strike, he instead used the Lu Clan movement technique ‘One Step’, powering from his waist for a rapid backflip, dodging away…
Mei Ruohua’s move indeed could not change further, her feet landing heavily on the ground, cracking the sturdy tiles in a circle…
“Sister Mei is so amazing!” The girls shouted excitedly upon seeing this. “If that hit, that kid would surely be crippled…”
“Too bad she missed…”
Mei Ruohua’s face was frosty, her gaze toward Lu Yun growing even colder.
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While Lu Yun and Mei Ruohua were fiercely battling, several competitions had already decided victory or defeat…
On Stage Six, Xiahou Rongguang defeated his opponent Huangfu Ke almost effortlessly. Facing this top favorite, Huangfu Ke was extremely cautious, adopting a defensive stance right away. But Xiahou Rongguang’s single heavy Great Vajra Wheel Seal strike sent him flying off the fighting stage, landing amid a crowd of clan members.
“Ouch…” The clan members, caught off guard, were knocked down by Huangfu Ke.
“So terr…” Huangfu Ke’s face was ashen as gold paper. Helped up clumsily by the clan members, he managed two words before spitting blood and fainting.
The area around the stage fell instantly silent. Even the Xiahou Clan members had not expected Xiahou Rongguang to win so quickly, his strength reaching such a terrifying level!
Before they could react, on Stage Nine, Xiahou Rongyao also punched Wei Yu of the Wei Clan off the stage…
Immediately after, on Stage Two, Xiahou Rongsheng directly knocked out Wei Lun, also of the Wei Clan. No matter how the Investigative Bureau Officials shouted, Wei Lun showed no reaction…
The fourth victor, Xiahou Rongda, was also from the Xiahou Clan! His slight delay was because his opponent was somewhat special—Mei Fangfei of the Mei Clan! Unlike his brothers’ roughness, Xiahou Rongda seemed to show pity for the fairer sex. Patiently taking three moves from Mei Fangfei, he found an opening, used Inner Binding Seal to seal her acupoints, then gently pushed her off the stage with a palm…
Mei Fangfei thought she would fall awkwardly to the ground, but Xiahou Rongda controlled his power skillfully, letting her feet land steadily. She at least preserved some final dignity.
“Sister Fangfei, my offense.” A faint apology hung on Xiahou Rongda’s handsome face as he flashed to her side and helped unseal her acupoints.
Mei Fangfei gave Xiahou Rongda a complex look, bit her lip tightly, and turned to leave without a word.
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On the high platform, the Initial Emperor and the various Clan Leaders were all intently watching the field. Seeing the four from the Xiahou Clan win overwhelmingly, completely dominating their opponents, the Initial Emperor and the Clan Leaders felt chills down their backs. The Xiahou Clan was truly too terrifying—the Xiahou Three Heroes were at their peak, and now these four young heroes had risen. Such a generation of talents was utterly despairing.
Sensing everyone’s fear, Xiahou Ba smiled faintly. This was exactly the effect he wanted…
The Initial Emperor glanced at Du Hui standing by his side and could not help whispering, “Eunuch Zuo’s idea might backfire…”
“Your Majesty, don’t worry, this is only the first round…” Du Hui softly advised the Emperor.
“Sigh…” The Initial Emperor’s gaze shifted to the fighting stage in the farthest corner, where Lu Yun and Mei Ruohua were battling intensely, victory or defeat unclear for the moment…
“Eunuch Zuo won’t misjudge…” Du Hui seemed unconcerned at all.
At this moment, the remaining matches also decided victory or defeat one after another,
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In the time it took to speak, several more competitions decided victory or defeat.
First, on Stage Eleven, Lu Lin finally spotted a flaw in his opponent Huangfu Ji’s moves, using ‘Not Yielding to Others’ with a collapsing fist to strike Huangfu Ji to the ground. The Investigative Bureau Official counted to ten breaths, and Huangfu Ji still could not stand, directly ruling Lu Lin the victor.
Seeing their clan finally claim the first win, the Lu Clan members cheered loudly. In past Grand Competitions, the Lu Clan often had only one or two advance to the next round. With this victory, everyone could save face. Lu Lin stood on the stage grinning, greatly pleased.
But his smile had not fully bloomed before it froze on his face, as he saw on nearby Stage Four, Lu Song retreating repeatedly under Cui Zhongheng’s onslaught.
Lu Song’s cultivation was clearly far below Cui Zhongheng’s. He was purely gritting his teeth on one breath of determination, using great willpower to block Cui Zhongheng’s attacks. After blocking over a dozen moves and retreating over a dozen steps, Lu Song finally found a slight opening.
‘It’s time!’ Lu Song had endured bitterly for this moment. He pulled his right leg back, about to use the ‘Maiden Worships the Moon’ taught by Lu Xian!
“Watch out!” The Lu Clan members below the stage suddenly screamed.
At the same moment Lu Song heard the warning, he felt his right foot step into empty air—he only then realized he had retreated to the edge of the stage. How could he retreat further?
He hurriedly pulled back his foot to change moves, but it was too late. Seeing him lean back and expose a flaw, Cui Zhongheng, who had attacked without success for so long, seized this heaven-sent opportunity. He flew up with a kick, concentrating all his strength toward Lu Song’s chest!
Lu Song helplessly blocked with both hands, but with no footing, he fell butt-first off the stage…
Lu Lin’s gaping mouth could fit a goose egg. He had thought of Lu Song losing, but never imagined it would be so comically…
The clan members were dumbfounded. Lu Song’s face burned red, wishing he could burrow into a crack in the ground…
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Seeing his clan’s disciple win one match, Cui Yan breathed a sigh of relief. But he had no time to celebrate, as his most valued Cui Baiyu was facing stubborn resistance from Pei Yuan yan of the Pei Clan!
On Stage Seven, Cui Baiyu had already clashed with Pei Yuan yan for thirty exchanges. Pei Yuan yan’s 《Qi Swallows Mountains and Rivers Art》 had reached the sixth layer, approaching Black Rank Peak. At this moment, he had pushed the ‘Mountains and Rivers Art’ to its limit, the entire fighting stage seeming to thunder with galloping horses, enveloped by his tangible killing intent!
No matter how agile Cui Baiyu’s movement technique, he could not escape the inescapable net laid by Pei Yuan yan’s thousand troops and ten thousand horses!
“Heh heh, looks like the Cui Clan’s once-in-a-century genius,” on the high platform, Pei Qiu gleefully stroked his beard, glancing at the grim-faced Cui Yan. “This time you’re off to a bad start.”
Cui Yan coldly glanced at Pei Qiu, suddenly standing up and bellowing toward the stage below: “Baiyu, have you played enough!”
Below the stage, Cui Baiyu, who had been forced left and right by Pei Yuan yan’s attacks, heard the Clan Leader’s roar and could not help a bitter smile at the corner of his mouth. He said to Pei Yuan yan, “Brother Zhi, I can’t play with you anymore.”
