As the focal battle between Shen Yi and Li Yue came to an end, the fifth round of Ninghai Immortal Academy's Sect Grand Competition finally concluded. Everyone looked forward even more eagerly to how the following matches would unfold and who would rise above the rest.
After Shen Yi finished regulating his breathing, he indeed saw Wang Teng's name among those who had won and advanced once more. Toward this fellow disciple who had mysteriously risen to prominence, he felt several degrees more wary.
A flash of splendor streaked across the sky, and golden light descended once again.
"It's here, the list for the sixth round!"
Everyone's expressions tightened as they looked up.
"Shen Yi is facing Li Muzi. I heard he is quite accomplished in the path of beast taming and already owns three Second-Order War Beasts."
Upon seeing the matchup list, Chen Chong suddenly felt a bad premonition. As if recalling something, he unconsciously cried out, "Oh no!"
"At your age, you're still this rash." Feng Yang shook his head, somewhat disappointed by his junior brother's conduct.
On the arena, Li Muzi looked at Shen Yi and sneered. "Shen Yi, you may be formidable, but running into me, Li Muzi, means you're unlucky. Today, I'll seek justice for the Beast Taming Academy!"
Shen Yi looked utterly bewildered by Li Muzi's words. "I've never done anything outrageous in the Beast Taming Academy. Could Chen Chong have instructed him to do this?"
Thinking of this, Shen Yi felt relieved. Inwardly, he cursed Chen Chong for being petty. He had even returned ten war beasts to him as compensation, yet Chen Chong still wanted his disciple to teach him a lesson.
"Come out, my war beasts!"
At Li Muzi's call, three war beasts appeared behind him. Every one of them looked savage and ferocious, brimming with wildness.
"Well? These three are all Second-Order War Beasts. If you know what's good for you, surrender now."
"Eh? Big Black, Xiao Ming, Little Red!"
Shen Yi cried out in surprise. The war beasts across from him were actually the three demon beasts he had captured that day: the Azure Stone Boar, the Gold Devouring Beast, and the Crimson Shadow Sparrow.
Hearing Shen Ming's familiar voice, the three war beasts excitedly dashed toward him.
"Yes, just like that, charge over!"
Li Muzi had no idea what was happening. Seeing the three war beasts running toward Shen Yi, he assumed they bore an old grudge against him and shouted excitedly.
Then, a scene that stunned him unfolded. The three war beasts reached Shen Yi, then all stopped together and continuously cried out at him. What made Li Muzi's jaw nearly hit the ground was the Azure Stone Boar, which rubbed its enormous pig head against Shen Yi's trouser leg with such shameless fawning that it could not have been more obsequious.
"I forgot to tell you—those three were captured by me!"
Li Muzi froze at once, his face flushing red. Only after a long while did he weakly utter the words, "I surrender."
"H-he said that's true?"
Feng Yang was so shocked that he questioned Chen Chong beside him. None of his previous composure remained.
Chen Chong nodded helplessly. What he feared had truly come to pass. This Shen Yi was simply a calamity for the Beast Taming Academy.
"Senior Shen truly is a godlike man!"
At some point, Shen Yi's reputation among the crowd had suddenly taken a sharp turn for the better. Some even began addressing him as senior brother.
The other battles had also ended. Jiang Miaoyi and Yuwen Yue had yet to encounter any resistance and won with ease all the way through. Wu Liujian and Meng Qing relied on their strength to cut through every obstacle, both advancing. As for Wang Teng, he forcefully entered everyone's field of vision as a dark horse. These five were also considered the strongest contenders for the Grotto-Heaven Qualification.
After a brief rest, the seventh round of elimination matches began.
Apart from Meng Qing receiving a bye, the others all won easily. Shen Yi once again defeated a Qi Refining stage opponent with one hand, becoming the focus of everyone's discussion.
"Among these final ten, aside from Senior Shen, the lowest cultivation is at the Qi Refining third level. It's a pity Senior Shen will have to stop here."
The crowd sighed repeatedly, feeling regret for Shen Yi. If he were also at the Qi Refining stage now, he might have been able to contend for it.
The Eighth Round began.
Jiang Miaoyi faced Liu Wushuang, Yuwen Yue faced Zhang Sheng, Wu Liujian faced Chu Tian, Wang Teng faced Lei Heng, and Shen Yi faced Meng Qing.
"Your luck has been good, but it ends here!"
Meng Qing crossed his arms over his chest, supremely confident in his own strength.
"Sorry, but I can't stop here yet."
Shen Yi answered, then sprang forward and launched the first attack at Meng Qing.
"Arrogant!"
Meng Qing shouted and stomped fiercely on the ground. A scorching aura spread outward. Shen Yi did not dare be careless and leaped up to evade it, only for Meng Qing to anticipate his movement. With a punch, he sent a fire serpent forth to seal Shen Yi's path.
"Paltry tricks!"
Shen Yi gathered his strength and threw a punch. The force of it instantly scattered the fire serpent before surging straight at Meng Qing.
"Hmph!"
Meng Qing snorted. In his eyes, that level of punching force was nothing more than ordinary. He sidestepped it, then rapidly formed a sequence of hand seals.
"Sword of Blazing Sun!"
A blaze slowly appeared before Meng Qing, then in an instant transformed into a longsword. Flames flickered along its edge, radiating a terrifying aura.
Shen Yi's expression turned grave. The flaming sword in Meng Qing's hand made him wary of acting rashly. Without the slightest hesitation, Shen Yi shouted, and a long halberd appeared in his hand as well.
"A Low-grade Magic Tool? Interesting."
Meng Qing was not surprised in the least. Since Shen Yi had reached this point with Body Forging Peak cultivation, he must have concealed some means. "But one Low-grade Magic Tool is still not enough for you to contend with me!"
"Blazing Sword Rain!"
Meng Qing formed hand seals and raised the flaming sword high. Specks of fire appeared in midair, gradually growing larger until they became flames that filled the sky and came raining down at high speed.
Shen Yi's gaze turned sharp. His long halberd moved rapidly in his hand, carrying the momentum of ten thousand galloping horses, as though it wished to trample the heavens apart. Under the dance of Shen Yi's halberd, the flames filling the sky were dissolved bit by bit.
"Impossible! He hasn't infused spiritual power into the magic tool. How can he accomplish this?"
Meng Qing was inwardly horrified. Shen Yi's method of breaking the technique greatly shocked him. At Body Forging Peak, Shen Yi should not have been able to project spiritual power outward, yet he had actually broken his Blazing Sword Rain. It was truly terrifying.
"Then try this move! Big Dipper Burning Heaven!"
The sword in Meng Qing's hand split into seven, each blade radiating scorching flames. They flew into the air in unison and arranged themselves in the shape of the Big Dipper. The flames flared brilliantly, carrying the force to burn all the heavens as they enveloped Shen Yi.
"If you can't endure the torment of the blazing fire, you may as well surrender. You'll suffer less that way."
Meng Qing's hand seals changed continuously, and the flames on the seven swords became even hotter.
Trapped within the flames, Shen Yi immediately felt scorching heat rush toward his face. Even with his Undying Skin at major accomplishment, he could not completely dispel that bone-piercing burning pain.
"I can only use that move!"
Shen Yi remained clear-headed. Facing the increasingly fierce prison of fire, he decided to hold nothing back and use his strongest technique.
"Sun Piercer!"
Shen Yi gathered all the strength in his body onto the long halberd in his hand. This strike swept upward from below, piercing through the restraints of the fire prison before shooting into the sky and shattering the seven longswords.
Under the tremendous impact, even the air across the entire arena rippled in waves. The sword formation broke, and Meng Qing spat out a mouthful of blood, his expression instantly becoming listless.
Shen Yi leaped high into the air, seized the long halberd, and pressed it against Meng Qing's throat.
"You lost!"
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