Top Ten Matchups!

Yang Shan encountered female players twice during the Strong Ranking Tournament, one of whom was his fan, and the other even claimed to be his true fan!

The Soul Hall’s First Player that he doesn't need to pursue women; beautiful girls will come to him on their own.

Of course, there were also some stubborn players who mocked Yang Shan in the live chat, saying he was now weak.

In the past, during the Jia Nan Academy recruitment competition, Yang Shan never used a second strike. Even in the finals, he would always defeat Xiao Aotian, who was also Top Player, with a single strike.

That's how he got the nickname "Yang One-Blade"!

Now, Yang Shan is Five-Star Dou Wang Battle King), and he can't even kill two female players who haven't even reached Dou Wang with a single strike! The trolls' mockery has also inspired a group of people who enjoy watching the spectacle to follow suit.

Immediately, the barrage of comments was filled with "Yang One-Blade is weak".

But the real "Technical Party" had already been frantically analyzing Yang Shan's performance in these two battles on the forum.

The conclusion reached was extremely absurd.

That means Yang Shan a normal attack! (In a sense, sword strikes can also be considered a normal attack.) In the first round, Yang Shan used two sword strikes.

In the second round, he blocked one attack and then launched one.

It should be noted that Yang Shan relied on his extremely strong Dou Technique and movement techniques to achieve a one-hit kill in the recruitment competition.

Now, even top-tier players appear so weak in front of Yang Shan, who only uses basic attacks.

With so many Top Player, who can do what Yang Shan did? Especially his match against Yu Feifei, that "Drawing Sword Flash" move was too amazing.

The strategy guide expert, Bai Xiaosheng, who is best at riding the wave of trending topics, simply posted a thread about it.

There is only one GIF in the post.

That is a slow-motion image of Yang Shan drawing his sword and beheading someone.

The post quickly garnered over 10,000 replies.

The two most frequent replies were "Holy crap" and "So handsome!" You know, if a girl says a guy is handsome, then the guy might just be slightly good-looking.

But if one man says another man is handsome, then he really is handsome to the point of being convinced! Yang Shan's face isn't quite that handsome, but "Drawing Sword Flash" made Yang Shan's looks ten times better! During the break, Su Yitang stuck to Yang Shan's side. "Boss, you sold your body to a fan, so am I, a lowly employee, supposed to feel wronged?"

Yang Shan was both amused and exasperated.

"How did I sell my body?"

"Your 'Drawing Sword Flash gave the victim's perspective to that Yu Feifei!"

"Mmm, a junior employee can't compare to a devoted fan."

Su Yitang's face was adorned with a pitiful expression.

Even though she knew it was an act, Yang Shan still fell for it!

Yang Shan: "You! Who can resist your coquettishness?" (Keep being coquettish, I like it.) After saying that, Yang Shan handed Su Yitang a pill. "Here, take it."

One second Su Yitang was pretending to cry, the next second her eyes were full of astonishment:

"Dou Ling Pill?"

The rule he originally set was that anyone who obtained Purple Word Seal or higher Earth-rank Cultivation Methods and Combat Skills, or a spirit-grade equipment, within half a month in real time could purchase it at half price.

Although for Su Yitang now, even at half price, a Dou Ling Pill that costs 50,000 yuan is not considered expensive.

But the key point is Yang Shan's next sentence. "Eat quickly, I've been running this company for so long, and I've only made an exception for you!"

Yang Shan's explanation to Su Yitang that "there's nothing between me and Yu Feifei" was completely useless! Su Yitang was putting on this act, but deep down she hoped Yang Shan would respond.

Yang Shan clearly sensed that Su Yitang had developed a "habitual dependence" on him.

Yu Feifei's appearance made Su Yitang feel a little jealous during the ambiguous period of their relationship.

Actually, Yang Shan could respond in any way he wanted, as long as it wasn't a dodgement, even just a comforting remark would be fine!

Su Yitang wasn't foolish enough to let petty jealousy cloud her judgment and make her decide who was more important: a newly emerged fangirl or her own diligent and obedient employee who had always followed Yang Shan around.

But Yang Shan gave Su Yitang a powerful dose of medicine! The 50,000 yuan worth of Dou Ling Pill was not important.

The key line is, "But I made an exception just for you!" For girls, "special treatment" is a surefire way to trigger emotional fluctuations and wild thoughts!

Even Xiao Xun'er was defeated by this move, and she stopped calling anyone else "junior brother" a long time ago.

This breaks the rules! Yang Shan used to always follow the rules when dealing with his contracted players, and Su Yitang could only receive kickbacks up to the decimal point.

Su Yitang knew perfectly well whether Yang Shan had broken the rules or not. This was truly the first time! Because of her! Instead of swallowing the Dou Ling Pill- Boosting Su Yitang blurted out, almost as if possessed, "Boss, are you suddenly being so generous because you want me to be your secretary?"

Yang Shan said seriously, "I am a respectable person!"

Su Yitang leaned close to Yang Shan's ear and blew on it, saying, "I'm wearing black stockings under my skirt!"

"What? Come on, find a secluded spot and show me!"

Su Yitang was both ashamed and indignant. "Look at you, look at you! You still call yourself a decent person! You're clearly lusting after me!"

Yang Shan replied confidently, "Nonsense! If I didn't crave your body, I'd be a monk in a temple, and even the abbot would have to make way for me!"

Su Yitang: "So that means I'm still very pretty!"

Yang Shan: "Hmm, even prettier than Yu Feifei." (When praising a girl, you must have a reference point she knows! Otherwise, it's a waste of praise.) "Wow! You really only added Yu Feifei to your friends list because she's pretty!"

Su Yitang suddenly became arrogant, but the expression on her face when she turned her back was...

Several male players nearby happened to see this.

She was so captivated that her mouth was watering! Su Yitang noticed this and immediately reverted to her aloof demeanor. Then, her social anxiety kicked in, and she turned around and grabbed Yang Shan's clothes, using Yang Shan's broad shoulders to cover her face.

In just five seconds, he portrayed the character's arrogant, aloof, and socially awkward personality perfectly.

As expected of the ever-changing Su Yitang!

Yang Shan urged, "You can continue to lean on my shoulder, but can you take the Dou Ling Pill first?"

Su Yitang has been quite diligent in leveling up lately, but she didn't have the same opportunity to grind experience like Yang Shan when she participated in the Fire Energy Hunting Competition.

Therefore, his level is still One Star Dou Wang.

Based on Su Yitang's understanding of Yang Shan, under normal circumstances, he wouldn't urge her to take the pills.

"Boss, are you worried I won't make it into the top ten, so you're helping me improve my skills in advance?"

Yang Shan didn't reply, but instead sent a message to Su Yitang through the chat box. "No, my Extraterrestrial Ghoul Lightning is trembling uncontrollably. I suspect that the Fallen Heart Flame is about to break its seal again!"

Upon seeing this message, Su Yitang immediately popped the Dou Ling Pill into her mouth.

Xiao Aotian happened to witness this scene.

He's so greedy.

I'm so craving that Dou Ling Pill! Right now, only Little Yao Xi in the entire server can refine Dou Ling Pill, and Yang Shan has promised to sell some to Xiao Aotian for 100,000 each once he has some.

But so far, Little Yao Xi has not successfully refined a second batch.

As the competition continued, the top ten players on the Strong Ranking were finally determined.

As expected, the ten Dou Wang, with their absolute advantage in combat power, firmly occupied the top ten of the Strong Ranking.

Great Elder Su Qian personally went to the main arena in the center to draw lots for the top ten students.

Match 1: Li Batian vs. Blood Rampage!

One is the number two figure in the Heaven Flame Alliance, and the other is Top Player has just emerged from the Outer Courtyard and is cultivating a special Blood Attribute Dou Qi.

Li Batian cultivates the Earth Attribute and primarily uses fist and palm Dou Technique.

Blood Rampage's Blood Attribute Dou Qi is cold and eerie.

From the very beginning of the match, Blood Rampage seized the initiative on the surface.

Before the start of the Strong Ranking Tournament, Blood Rampage mastered the "Blood Devouring Scripture," resulting in a significant increase in both the Dou Qi Intensity and quantity of his Dou Qi.

Furthermore, when activating Blood Attribute Dou Qi, Blood Rampage can also gain a certain boost in combat power.

If the secret techniques inherent in the Blood Devouring Scripture were activated, this combat power could be raised even further! However, Blood Rampage's biggest problem right now is that his level is rising too fast, and he is being held back by the Blood Devouring Scripture.

This resulted in Blood Rampage not having a truly powerful offensive Dou Technique.

Only those who possess a Mystic Rank Advanced Dou Skills with Golden Word Seal as their killing move can be considered true top-tier masters!

There was no Blood Rampage.

Li Batian didn't have that either! But Li Batian had a unique "defense Dou Technique"! Dou Qi Armor was a defensive method that became popular after reaching the level of Da Dou Shi.

Dou Qi Armor is the core foundation of "defense Dou Technique".

However, defensive Dou Technique are even rarer than movement Dou Technique. Generally speaking, the lowest level is the advanced Xuan rank.

Li Batian's defensive Dou Technique is Golden Word Seal! This means that although Li Batian is not as fast as Blood Rampage, he can completely ignore Blood Rampage's attacks thanks to his powerful Protective Gang Qi.

Moreover, Li Batian clearly possessed extremely high combat skills. He remained as still as a rock, using stillness to control movement, without even moving an inch. If Blood Rampage dared to approach, he would inevitably face a powerful counterattack from Li Batian.

This forced Blood Rampage to resort to ranged Dou Technique to deal with the situation.

However, while ranged Dou Technique is fast, its drawbacks cannot be ignored.

Most ranged Dou Technique cannot "turn corners".

Furthermore, with the time it takes to fly, Li Batian can respond more calmly.

The battle between the two was extremely intense.

Su Yitang asked Yang Shan:

"Boss, if I encounter this kind of tortoise shell, what's the best way to deal with it?"

Yang Shan: "You? If he doesn't move, you don't move either."

Su Yitang looked bewildered. "Huh?"

Yang Shan: "You specialize in Wind Attribute, so you're already fast. Maintaining your Dou Qi Armor requires a continuous consumption of Dou Qi qi, let alone this kind of tortoise shell-like defensive Dou Technique. So the initiative is in your hands. Just be careful to guard against his restrictive Dou Technique."

Yang Shan added:

"If it's a life-or-death battle, you'd better put something tracking on him and then just run away. If he's not stupid, he won't choose to chase you. Wait until he removes his defensive Dou Technique, then come back while his Dou Technique are on cooldown. Wouldn't that make him easy to handle?"

Su Yitang: "Good heavens! I really mean it! Boss, you're so shameless!"

Yang Shan: "What do you call that cheating? That's called tactics!"

In fact, Top Player who primarily cultivated the Earth Attribute in their previous lives would inevitably learn one or two restrictive Dou Technique in addition to defensive Dou Technique, in order to deal with the hit-and-run tactics that their opponents might use.

Earth Attribute players aren't afraid of being directly confronted by their opponents; they're afraid of opponents running away when they can't win.

In fact, every attribute in Battle Through the Heavens the Heavens has its advantages and disadvantages.

Every Top Player thinks about how to overcome their weaknesses.

Just like Yang Shan, although he is the number one player in Battle Through the Heavens, his defensive ability is really not impressive.

If a powerful opponent of the same level were to unleash a high-level Xuan-rank explosive Dou Technique on him, his Dou Qi Armor would inevitably be broken.

If Yang Shan were hit by Xiao Aotian's "Flame Splitting Tsunami Ruler", he would be instantly killed!

However, lightning-type attacks are not good at defense.

That's why Yang Shan chose to focus a lot of attribute points on speed.

Since we can't withstand it, the only option is to hide.

Speed also greatly influences the initiative.

Yang Shan still envied Li Batian's defensive Dou Technique.

If he could acquire a lightning-attribute defensive Dou Technique, he could become a true all-rounder!

In fact, defensive Dou Technique are rare, with Earth Attribute being the most common, followed by Water Attribute, and then wood attribute.

In his previous life, Yang Shan had never seen any information about high-level defensive Dou Technique based on the elements of lightning, fire, and wind on the forums!

It's not something to expect in the short term.

I wonder if that Mystic Wrath Thunder Lord has any defensive Dou Technique with lightning attributes.

He's a Dou Zun after all, and he's been around for so many years without dying. He should have some good stuff to keep things in check.

Although lightning-attribute defensive Dou Technique are definitely not as effective as Earth Attribute of the same level.

But something is better than nothing.

Yang Shan was worried that the intensity of future battles would be too high, and he might be killed instantly if he wasn't careful.

Having defensive Dou Technique at least provides some room for error.

On the arena, Blood Rampage seemed a bit greedy, wanting to get close from behind and deplete Li Batian's Vitality Shield.

Little did they know that this was the very opportunity that Li Batian had been waiting for!

He anticipated Blood Rampage's attack route, turned around, and slammed his fist, which had already accumulated a large amount of Dou Qi, towards him.

Blood Rampage was too late to dodge!

Just as Li Batian's fist was about to strike Blood Rampage's Dou Qi Armor...

The Heavenly Flame Training Tower at the foot of the mountain not far away suddenly trembled violently.

A ring of semi-transparent flames spread out, even affecting the trajectory of Li Batian's punch.

Blood Rampage and Li Batian's fists missed each other.

But it was clear that neither of them was focused on the game anymore.

The elders who were originally watching the game from the high platform all looked increasingly grim.

"The competition is suspended! All trainees, stay away from the Heavenly Flame Training Tower!"

After giving the order, Su Qian Sky Tread and flew away, arriving in front of the Heavenly Flame Training Tower in just a few breaths.

Dozens of elders also rushed over from behind.

The Fire Elder of the Alchemy Department was somewhat shocked and angry. "My Tier 7 Beast Flame was almost extinguished by the suppression! This Fallen Heart Flame really went all out this time!"

Su Qian decisively gave the order:

"The seal on all the elders was reinforced just ten days ago. Formation!"

But no sooner had he finished speaking than the top of the Heavenly Flame Training Tower was blown off.

Flames soared into the sky!

Faint hissing sounds could also be heard.

Su Qian was shocked:

"Oh no!"

Unexpectedly, in the most crucial top ten competition of the Strong Ranking Tournament, the Fallen Heart Flame broke through its seal!

This fluctuation is absolutely impossible to hide! Maple City, Medicine Emperor Han Feng, who was refining medicine, looked at the burnt medicinal herbs in the furnace and smiled somewhat sickly, "Jia Nan Academy, very good! You've made me lose two batches of medicinal herbs in succession, but I should thank you."

Han Feng stood up, flicked his sleeve, and blew away the black charcoal in the Cauldron:

"Pill Slave!"

A ghostly figure flashed in, knelt on one knee, and spoke in a hoarse voice:

"What are your orders, Master?"

"Take these tokens and notify Thousand Speck City, Earth Flame Sect, Blood Sect, and Eight Gates, and have their sect leaders bring experts of Dou Wang or above to Maple City as quickly as possible!"

Then, Han Feng tossed out two more tokens, one gold and one silver. "Then please come over here as well!"

April's daily check-in is complete.

Thank you to all the Battle Emperor Lord have supported me along the way!

Happy Labor Day!