The student felt the sharpness of the spear at his throat and did not resist to the bitter end. He obediently admitted defeat.
Although his neck was still covered by a layer of Dou Qi Armor, he was not fighting a cultivator of a lower realm, but one at the same level.
In particular, he had just experienced how powerful his opponent's spear was.
If he tried to rely on that layer of Dou Qi Armor to resist to the bitter end, his opponent could easily break through it and pierce his neck.
The referee raised his right hand and announced, "Xiao Yao of Yellow Class Two wins!"
Xiao Yao thanked the student for yielding, then walked off the square amid earth-shaking cheers and went to wait in the rest area.
Xiao Yao took out the Magic Core again and infused it with Dou Qi.
The twenty-five matches took quite some time. Once the first round ended, the twenty-five remaining qualifiers returned to the stage to draw lots.
They would still face each other in pairs, with the loser eliminated. This round was a little different, however: someone would get a bye. Whoever drew the white ball would advance directly.
When the student drawing just before Xiao Yao pulled his hand from the wooden box, a flash of white appeared.
A smile immediately spread across the student's face. Advancing directly to the third round was certainly something to be happy about.
After all, the qualifying rounds were completed in a single day, meaning the further one advanced, the more battles one had to fight.
Not everyone possessed Xiao Yao's terrifying ability to recover Dou Qi.
Fighting one less battle would also allow him to conserve his strength for the next match.
Of course, more importantly, every round one advanced meant a sharp rise in ranking and better cultivation conditions in the Inner Academy afterward.
Xiao Yao was not particularly envious. If he encountered someone at a lower realm, he would deal with them quickly.
If they were at the same level, he would fight a little longer. He lost nothing by it.
He reached into the wooden box and pulled out a small black ball. Seeing the number one on it, he nodded in satisfaction.
"Now I won't have to wait."
Xiao Yao stood to one side with the ball. Before long, everyone had finished drawing. Xiao Yao showed his number to the referee, who called out loudly.
"First pair of students, please take the stage."
As soon as the words fell, another wave of gasps rose.
For the figure walking up from below the stage was as imposing as a mountain.
He carried a heavy shield covered in bloodstains, clearly having followed its master through many battles.
His appearance alone was not enough to draw gasps from the audience. More importantly, this student was also a Da Dou Shi.
The further the competition progressed, the more likely it was that Da Dou Shi would encounter each other.
But students like Xiao Yao, who faced a Da Dou Shi in two consecutive rounds, were still quite rare.
The mountain-like student also raised his eyebrows and said in a muffled voice:
"My name is Kui Shan. Everyone calls me Dun Shan. I used to be in the enforcement team, and now I want to enter the Inner Academy for further training. Please advise me."
Clearly, Kui Shan had seen Xiao Yao's performance earlier. Even though he came from the enforcement team, he had to admit that Xiao Yao was very strong.
Xiao Yao smiled and nodded. "My name is Xiao Yao. Please advise me."
As the referee announced the start, the spear in Xiao Yao's hand shot out, aimed straight at Kui Shan.
Kui Shan did not stand his ground and defend. Instead, he charged at Xiao Yao with heavy strides.
Kui Shan swung his heavy shield into action, ramming it sideways at Xiao Yao like a massive mountain.
Clang!
The spear struck the heavy shield, sending dazzling sparks flying. The force of the impact even caused the fiery red spear in Xiao Yao's hand to bend slightly.
Xiao Yao's gaze sharpened. With Dou Qi enhancing them, weapons could not be judged by ordinary standards; it was not impossible for his spear to pierce the heavy shield.
The problem was that his opponent was also a Da Dou Shi, powerful in his own right, with Dou Qi of the abundant and weighty Earth Attribute.
It would be extremely difficult for Xiao Yao to pierce the heavy shield directly with his spear.
Xiao Yao immediately pushed off the ground and retreated with the force of the shield's impact.
Before the heavy shield could crash into him with crushing force, he tapped his toes against the ground several times and nimbly dodged aside.
Xiao Yao had thought Kui Shan's momentum would be hard to stop. To his surprise, after charging little more than ten feet, Kui Shan stomped down, spun around, and swung his heavy shield sideways, smashing its edge directly at Xiao Yao.
Xiao Yao could have used a movement Dou Technique to dodge completely, but he still wanted to hone his skills. He thrust his spear out with the motion, trying to take the heavy blow by redirecting its force.
Clang!
The heavy shield smashed into the spear shaft, making it shudder violently. Xiao Yao tightened his grip on the spear and thought:
He really did fight his way out of the enforcement team. Even with a shield, he's not to be underestimated.
But Xiao Yao did not back down. Instead, he tried to break through with his spear.
The cheers of the audience below gradually subsided, and all eyes fell on the pair's spectacular battle.
In the previous round, Xiao Yao's performance had also been brilliant, but he had been too fast. The vast majority of the audience could only see pale cyan and golden-red streaks of light crossing each other.
This round, however, they could see clearly. The enormous difference in weight between the heavy shield and the spear made the battle even more thrilling.
As time passed, Kui Shan suddenly ducked his head, avoiding a spear thrust through a gap in his shield's defense, and could not help gasping for breath.
Even the stamina he had built up through persistent training with his heavy shield was starting to reach its limit.
He looked at Xiao Yao over the top of his shield. Seeing that Xiao Yao was still neither flushed nor out of breath, Kui Shan sighed inwardly.
When he had watched Xiao Yao fight before, he had thought Xiao Yao's physique was like a monster's.
Now that he was actually facing Xiao Yao, he realized this was a damn monster's physique!
He had fallen into the same predicament as the student who had fought Xiao Yao in the previous round. If he did not end the battle quickly, he would surely be the one worn down in the end.
Kui Shan took a deep breath. The Dou Qi in his body surged wildly into his heavy shield, making the earthy yellow light on it grow more intense.
Then Kui Shan took a throwing stance and let out a roar, hurling the shield straight at Xiao Yao like a cannonball.
"Mountain-Shattering Flying Shield!"
As soon as Xiao Yao noticed Kui Shan's movement, he gathered Dou Qi around his fist, and a dazzling golden mass of energy slowly formed.
The moment the heavy shield flew out, Xiao Yao likewise blasted the mass of energy from his hand.
Xiao Yao's soul perception predicted the shield's trajectory in advance, and the mass of energy intercepted it precisely. The two collided in a violent explosion!
Boom!
Wild energy swept outward, but Xiao Yao used the opening to close in on Kui Shan.
Although Kui Shan had lost his shield, the fighting spirit in his eyes had not diminished in the slightest. He went to meet Xiao Yao.
Seeing this, Xiao Yao held nothing back and swung his spear down fiercely from above.
Kui Shan raised both arms to block. He also had a layer of metal bracers on his arms, which barely stopped the blow.
But Xiao Yao abruptly changed direction, whipping the spear shaft hard against Kui Shan's neck. The blow sent him flying, and he crashed to the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Although Kui Shan struggled, he no longer had the strength to support himself. He lay on the ground, unable to get up.
The referee immediately announced Xiao Yao's victory, setting the entire crowd cheering.
From twenty-five to thirteen: victory!
But to Xiao Yao's surprise, he drew yet another Da Dou Shi in the third round. After a fierce battle, he won that match as well.
From thirteen to seven: another victory! Truly victory after victory!