The Bloodthirsty Technique had already reached the Proficient Level. Once activated, all attributes increased by fifty percent. Originally, with Zhuge Xiang's ability, activating the Bloodthirsty Technique to cut down Zhao Feiyun would have been effortless. He just hadn't forgotten that the Bloodthirsty Technique carried a debility aftermath, and Zhao Feiyun was a practitioner of the Ghost Step. Under the threat of flight, wasting time was inevitable if he wanted to cut him down.
Therefore, Zhuge Xiang feigned weakness in the early stage precisely to secure a fatal strike in one blow, sparing the time needed to keep the Bloodthirsty Technique active. During the Grand Tournament, although there was spare time to recover during the lull, it would still outweigh the gains if the Bloodthirsty Technique caused his combat power to plummet during the debility period.
Ding, killed a Qi Nourishment Second Layer cultivator, acquired 55 experience, acquired Frost Headband
As Zhao Feiyun was cut down, the system's prompt arrived right on schedule. Zhuge Xiang did not feel disappointed by the fifty-five experience points. After all, there was no bonus for killing monsters above his level, but a piece of equipment actually dropped. This overjoyed Zhuge Xiang, as obtaining a piece of equipment would be a tremendous help to his strength.
However, Zhuge Xiang did not rush to examine the stats of the Frost Headband. Seeing the host and staff stepping up to clear away Zhao Feiyun's corpse, Zhuge Xiang hurriedly went over, fished the Blood Spirit Fruit out of Zhao Feiyun's bosom, and said to the host of the Duel Platform, "This Blood Spirit Fruit is the wager from our duel. I can take it, right?"
For fellow disciples in a duel, the belongings of the deceased party were supposed to be reclaimed by the sect according to the rules. However, before stepping onto the Duel Platform, Zhuge Xiang and Zhao Feiyun had already stated that this Blood Spirit Fruit was the wager. Therefore, according to the rules, the sect would not confiscate wagers from such duels.
The host had no intention of making things difficult for Zhuge Xiang, nodding to indicate that he could take it. As for the artifact boots and short saber, they had to be turned over to the sect and could not be considered Zhuge Xiang's spoils of war.
Holding the Blood Spirit Fruit, Zhuge Xiang stepped down from the Duel Platform and handed it to Niu Geng amidst the envious gazes of many disciples. Out of nearly two hundred thousand disciples, the vast majority had not comprehended Qi Energy. They naturally understood the value of a Blood Spirit Fruit, and precisely because of this, they were filled with even more envy toward Niu Geng.
Alright, we are friends; being overly polite just makes us seem distant. Hurry up and eat it; comprehending Qi Energy is what matters. Watching Niu Geng excitedly stammering out his thanks, Zhuge Xiang spoke up first to cut him off.
Since Zhuge Xiang put it that way, Niu Geng stopped saying anything further. He nodded and sat down in a secluded open space near the Martial Arts Arena, then popped the blood-red Blood Spirit Fruit into his mouth. Zhuge Xiang shouldered the Blood Refinement Saber, standing guard beside Niu Geng while gazing into the distance at the battles on the thirty Duel Platforms.
Over five thousand disciples had comprehended Qi Energy, but the vast majority were only at the Qi Cultivation Realm First Layer. Only a small minority of five or six hundred had reached the Qi Cultivation Realm Second Layer—one in ten. As for the Qi Cultivation Realm Third Layer? Aside from Lu Yuling, at least for now, Zhuge Xiang had yet to see any. Still, those few geniuses counted on one hand should logically have reached it, even if none of them had been seen stepping onto the stage yet.
The five thousand-plus disciples who had comprehended Qi Energy were evenly distributed across thirty-two Duel Platforms, meaning each platform had to accommodate nearly one hundred seventy or eighty disciples. To advance from the group stage and win first place, it seemed they would have to fight continuously for seven or eight matches.
There were no genius figures worthy of attention, so after a single glance, Zhuge Xiang withdrew his gaze. Over on Niu Geng's side, his face was flushed red—the sign of vital essence steaming forth—clearly having reached the critical moment for comprehending Qi Energy. Zhuge Xiang could not help, so he lowered his gaze and inspected the sky-blue headband winding through his hands. The sky-blue headband seemed woven from fine silk, marked with arcane ice and snow patterns that looked very ornate. As Zhuge Xiang gazed at it, the details of the Frost Headband floated before his eyes.
Frost Headband (One-Star Magic Tool): Defense 8-10, Unique Active: Can reduce the movement speed of enemy targets within a ten-meter radius by 20%, duration 10 seconds, cooldown 600 seconds.
Good stuff! Seeing the stats for this Frost Headband, Zhuge Xiang could hardly conceal his joy.
For Zhuge Xiang, what kind of opponent did he fear meeting the most? It was an opponent who practiced the Ghost Step; that ghostly figure and speed made him feel thorny. If Zhao Feiyun hadn't practiced the Ghost Step but some other martial art instead, how could Zhuge Xiang have needed to feign weakness to the enemy? A single Blood Thunder Slash would have ended the battle long ago.
Lasting only ten seconds was indeed a bit short, but in battle, changes happened in the blink of an eye, and ten seconds was already quite good. With the opponent's speed reduced by twenty percent and a pair of Artifact Boots boosting his own speed by thirty percent, the discrepancy would allow him to catch up even to the Ghost Step.
For the current Zhuge Xiang, this Frost Headband was precisely the item he needed. Its value even surpassed two-star or even three-star artifacts.
Tying the Frost Headband around his forehead, the Frost Headband emanated a series of cooling auras that made Zhuge Xiang feel as though his mind had grown much clearer. A faint, ethereal wind circled and spun around his body, imperceptible to others.
Zhuge Xiang knew this was the defense effect of the headband; all attacks passing through this invisible layer of defense would be somewhat weakened. This defensive effect was identical to the blood-colored Qi Energy that emerged from the Bloodthirsty Technique, both enhancing defensive power.
Just as Zhuge Xiang tied the Frost Headband around his forehead, a weak surge of Qi Energy appeared out of nowhere. Turning his head sideways to look at Niu Geng, who was opening his eyes at the same time, Zhuge Xiang revealed a trace of a sincere smile. "Congratulations, Niu Geng. You've finally broken through to Qi Energy."
"Yeah, I have to thank your Blood Spirit Fruit for this," Niu Geng said sincerely, looking at Zhuge Xiang with gratitude.
What was the purpose of coming to the Asura Sect? It was to gain powerful strength, hoping that one day he could return home in glory to the Tang Sect. It was Zhuge Xiang's Blood Spirit Fruit that gave him the qualification to stay in the Asura Sect and become an official disciple. Given Niu Geng's honest and simple personality, he couldn't put such gratitude into words, but he firmly locked it away in his heart.
Niu Geng had comprehended Qi Energy and went to find the relevant staff for testing and registration. As for the Grand Tournament? Niu Geng had no intention of participating. Someone who had just comprehended Qi Energy, while much better off than an ordinary person, had never practiced any combat martial arts; going up there would simply be courting abuse.
Very quickly, on the Duel Platform where Zhuge Xiang was located, all the disciples had fought a match, eliminating over half of them. It was finally Zhuge Xiang's turn to appear for the second time. Why did he say half were eliminated? Because in the Asura Sect's battles, there were only victors; once a draw occurred, the result was utter failure for both sides.
Because his previous activation of the Bloodthirsty Technique was instantaneous, the impact on Zhuge Xiang hadn't been very great. Coupled with the fact that his opponent in this round was merely a Qi Cultivation Realm First Layer disciple who only practiced a single sword technique, Zhuge Xiang relied on level suppression, along with the Artifact Boots and the Blood Refinement Saber—without even needing to use martial arts—to easily win the victory. He even forged ahead with unstoppable momentum to secure his subsequent third and fourth victories. His luck was quite good; the ones he encountered were all Qi Cultivation Realm First Layer disciples, posing no pressure to him whatsoever.
Although the vast majority were Qi Cultivation Realm First Layer disciples, after battling through four consecutive rounds, only around three hundred disciples remained across the thirty-two Duel Platforms. Running into Qi Cultivation Realm First Layer disciples for three straight rounds made many people feel that Zhuge Xiang's luck was indeed very good. However, regarding such a situation, Zhuge Xiang was not happy at all.
Level suppression: defeating a Qi Cultivation Realm First Layer disciple with his current strength yielded a paltry ten experience points. Sure enough, facing lower-level targets resulted in severe experience point suppression. For three consecutive rounds, he had only gained thirty experience points. At this rate, the hope of breaking through to the Qi Cultivation Realm Third Layer during the Grand Tournament grew even slimmer.
However, the further the duels progressed, the stronger the remaining disciples became. Finally, in the fifth round, Zhuge Xiang encountered a formidable enemy.
Ji Wuxue, a hot-trictly sought-after genius among the one hundred thousand disciples, was a strong contender for first place on this Duel Platform. He was a genius disciple who had comprehended Qi Energy five months ago, lagging little behind Lu Yuling. Carrying a black longsword on his back, the man stood upon the Duel Platform looking just like an unsheathed treasured sword.
"Your strength is quite good. Unfortunately, you won't be my opponent." With a cold and aloof expression, Ji Wuxue was completely a qualified swordsman. Not a shred of contempt could be seen on his face; neither sorrowful nor joyful, his words sounded as though he were simply stating a plain fact.
Before Zhuge Xiang could reply, Ji Wuxue's black longsword leaped into his palm. Immediately, blood-red Qi Energy surfaced on his body, his eyes carrying a terrifying and eerie crimson hue as though possessed by a blood Asura. The aura of his entire body grew even more bizarre and powerful—a phenomenon that was precisely the Bloodthirsty Technique.
"Your Bloodthirsty Technique has already reached the Proficient Level; I am inferior to you. However, my cultivation broke through to the Qi Cultivation Realm Third Layer a month ago. In terms of cultivation, you are inferior to me..." Having activated the Bloodthirsty Technique, Ji Wuxue stared fixedly at Zhuge Xiang. His black longsword transformed into a streak of black lightning, thrusting straight toward him at a tricky angle that gave one the feeling of being impossible to dodge—unmistakably yet another sword technique, but one that did not belong to that set of sword arts in the Martial Arts Pavilion.
Although the Asura Sect stipulated that one could not practice a second martial art before breaking through to the Qi Cultivation Realm Fifth Layer, the Asura Sect would not interfere if one obtained martial arts realms through external tempering. Evidently, after mastering the Bloodthirsty Technique, Ji Wuxue had acquired another sharp sword technique elsewhere.
With Qi Cultivation Realm Third Layer cultivation, sharp sword techniques, and the Bloodthirsty Technique, Zhuge Xiang's expression grew solemn as he faced Ji Wuxue. This was an opponent far surpassing Zhao Feiyun. Of course, Zhuge Xiang's heart was even more stirred; fighting monsters above one's level meant that the stronger the opponent's strength, the more experience he would gain from defeating them, and item drop rates would likewise be greater. Risk and reward were directly proportional...
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