The Man in Black That Night

The martial arts tournament has entered its third round. The remaining disciples are basically all strong contenders; even those with lower cultivation levels have shown exceptional talent in other areas.

After drawing his lot, Han Fei glanced at the bamboo slip. It was number twenty-two. If nothing unexpected happened, he would be the last to appear.

The first match was the main event: Xu Mozi, the top expert from Zichen Peak, against Zhang Chao, the top expert from Qiankun Peak.

Both were at the Tenth Level of the Innate Realm, and the relationship between the two main peaks was strained. It could be said that both carried a heavy burden.

In the end, Zhang Chao proved to be the better fighter and defeated Xu Mozi.

Daoist Sanyuan whispered, "As expected of Qiankun Peak, which ranks higher. Zhang Chao must have carried more weight on his shoulders."

The matches proceeded one by one. The only expert at the Seventh Level of the Innate Realm was eliminated, as expected. She specialized in formations and had used them to reach this point, but unfortunately, the gap in cultivation was too significant. Her opponent was an expert at the Ninth Level of the Innate Realm.

The twenty-first match: Fu Jiahao from Tongtian Peak versus Wang Mian from Digui Peak.

Silence. Absolute silence in the arena.

Digui Peak was ranked second among the thirty-three peaks, just below Tongtian Peak. Wang Mian was the only expert in the Spirit Gathering Realm.

After a few breaths, murmurs spread through the crowd.

"It's Wang Mian? Isn't he over the age limit?"

"Not yet. Rumor has it Wang Mian is nineteen this year, meeting the tournament's eligibility criteria."

"Both are in the Spirit Gathering Realm. This will be a good fight."

Han Fei watched the two enter the arena, feeling a slight sense of anticipation. In the previous few matches, Fu Jiahao's opponents had all conceded directly, leaving Han Fei with no knowledge of his abilities. Now, he could finally gauge Fu Jiahao's combat strength, as he knew nothing about him.

Wang Mian clasped his hands together. "Wang Mian from Digui Peak. I humbly request guidance from my senior brother."

Fu Jiahao smiled faintly. "Guidance is too much to ask. Let us both do our best."

Wang Mian summoned a silver spear, and as his spiritual energy circulated, a faint silver halo appeared around it. Judging by its grade, it was a High-grade Treasure Spear.

In Fu Jiahao's hand, however, appeared a Mid-grade Treasure Sword.

He extended his left hand, gesturing for Wang Mian to make the first move.

Wang Mian's lips curled into a fierce grin. His spiritual energy erupted, and a circle of force spread out from the ground beneath his feet. He then charged straight at Fu Jiahao, holding the spear overhead and spinning it. Wang Mian leaped high into the air and brought the spear down in a powerful slash towards Fu Jiahao.

Fu Jiahao calmly responded, sweeping his sword upwards at a forty-five-degree angle, deflecting Wang Mian's descending spear strike to the side.

Then, Fu Jiahao extended his left hand. Wang Mian, not to be outdone, also extended his left hand. Both channeled their spiritual energy and clashed palm against palm.

Bang! A sound of spiritual energy exploding rippled outwards, and a fierce wind whipped up around them, scattering residual energy everywhere. Fu Jiahao and Wang Mian both retreated several steps before stabilizing themselves.

However, this exchange ended in a draw, indirectly indicating that their spiritual energy levels were almost identical.

Qi Mengyu exclaimed, "Both are so powerful! If that palm strike hit me, my bones would probably shatter!"

Han Fei, however, shook his head. "You can't look at it that way. Although their spiritual energy levels, cultivation, and even combat power are similar, don't forget that Wang Mian is already nineteen years old, while Fu Jiahao is only sixteen. That's a difference of three whole years."

"If Fu Jiahao were also nineteen, would you still think their strengths were equal? Fu Jiahao took only six years to reach the strength Wang Mian took nine years to achieve. That's the crucial point."

Daoist Sanyuan nodded. "Although disciples are only openly recruited when the sect gates are opened, the peak masters also privately seek out promising talents to nurture. Han Fei is an example of this; he didn't join the Tianyuan Divine Sect during the grand opening."

Han Fei said, "But it wasn't that long ago. I remember Fu Jiahao had just failed his physical assessment back then."

While everyone was talking, the two combatants in the arena had already entered a stalemate. This match was proving to be the most exciting duel of the tournament.

They fought, ascending into the air, reaching heights of twenty to thirty meters above the ground.

The sparks from their clashing weapons and the light of their spiritual energy illuminated the night sky.

At this moment, in the Tongtian Peak spectator area, Qi Xuanxuan frowned. "Why does Fu Jiahao seem a bit off today?"

Qi Xiaotian said, "I'm also puzzled. Is Jiahao going easy on his opponent? Why isn't he using his full strength? Although it seems like they're evenly matched, Jiahao has been on the defensive the whole time. If this continues, Jiahao will surely lose."

They fought their way down from the sky to the ground. The bluestone slabs on the ground could no longer withstand the spiritual energy unleashed by the two, emitting cracking sounds.

The distance between them widened. Wang Mian swung his spear, gathering spiritual energy frantically. The entire spear body was filled with a dazzling light.

Han Fei narrowed his eyes. "It looks like he's getting serious. This Wang Mian is truly strong, but Fu Jiahao's movements... why do they feel so familiar?"

Wang Mian declared, "Phoenix Dances in Nine Heavens, Never Nirvana; Peerless Five Spears Break Heavenly Pass!"

Hummm! The spiritual energy within the spear reached its apex, and the entire spear body vibrated violently. The light gradually expanded.

Whoosh! A phantom spear shadow, formed from spiritual energy and colored a fiery red, shot straight towards Fu Jiahao.

Fu Jiahao's eyes narrowed. He seemed to be very familiar with this move. His spiritual energy sank, and the sword in his hand also lit up with a dazzling glow.

"Wind God Sword Art!"

Fu Jiahao swung the sword in his hand so rapidly that only its shadow was visible. The sword shadow formed a pointed conical shield in front of Fu Jiahao, with a powerful sword qi zone serving as an outer defense.

Bang! The spear shadow collided with the sword qi shield, immediately creating a burst of spiritual energy that dissipated in mid-air.

Although this strike missed, Fu Jiahao was still pushed back by the impact.

As soon as the first strike landed, Wang Mian's spear once again launched a red spear shadow. Moreover, this spear shadow was even more solidified than the previous one.

The second spear shadow once again collided with Fu Jiahao's sword qi shield and, like the first, gradually disappeared.

Then came the third. It was at this point that Han Fei understood. The so-called Peerless Five Spears required the continuous launch of five spear shadows, and each subsequent spear shadow would be stronger than the last.

By now, the third spear shadow was almost tangible. It struck Fu Jiahao's sword qi shield. This time, not only the spear shadow disappeared, but Fu Jiahao's sword qi zone vanished as well.

And due to the overwhelming pressure, the mid-grade treasure sword in Fu Jiahao's hand directly snapped into two pieces.

Blood trickled from the corner of Fu Jiahao's mouth as his body retreated several steps.

Qi Xiaotian frowned deeply. He couldn't understand what Fu Jiahao was trying to conceal, why he wasn't fighting with all his might.

If Fu Jiahao continued to conceal his strength now, he would lose. So, at this moment, he glanced in Han Fei's direction.

Simultaneously, Wang Mian unleashed his fourth spear shadow. The materialized, crimson spear flew straight towards Fu Jiahao.

After launching the fourth spear, Wang Mian spat out a mouthful of blood. Activating this move required a powerful spiritual energy as backing. Clearly, his cultivation was only enough to activate the third spear shadow, and activating the fourth was already extremely strenuous.

Facing the fourth blood-colored spear shadow, Fu Jiahao dared not be careless any longer. He placed his right hand on his waist, and a beam of light appeared.

After the light paused, it turned out to be a soft sword, not much thicker than a piece of paper.

At this moment, Han Fei's expression turned grim. He had too deep an impression of this sword, and the way it was held was exactly the same as that night.

After drawing his life-bound weapon, Fu Jiahao directly flung the soft sword out.

The soft sword split, forming over a hundred strands of soft sword energy.

Fu Jiahao roared, "Sword Shadow Heaven and Earth!"

The hundred strands of sword energy collectively collided with the incoming spear shadow.

Bang, bang, bang! A series of explosive sounds echoed throughout the arena. The blood-colored spear shadow completely disintegrated under the assault of the sword energy.

With his move forcefully broken, Wang Mian could no longer endure it and spat out another mouthful of blood mist.

Clang! As the spiritual energy dissipated, Fu Jiahao's soft sword slowly descended from the sky, piercing into the ground. The sword body was still swaying back and forth.

Just as the entire crowd fell silent, Han Fei trembled all over, pointing his right finger at Fu Jiahao and saying, "It was you! You killed Dong Jie! You..."

In the arena, Wang Mian knelt on one knee, holding up his left hand to signal his defeat.

However, Fu Jiahao drew his soft sword and looked at Han Fei with disdain, saying, "Han Fei, some things are best left unsaid. I know my identity can't be hidden forever, but it doesn't matter. If you want revenge, I'll accompany you anytime."