Hearing Steward Xue's voice, Yang Jing hesitated no longer and strode toward the arena.
At the foot of the arena, he lightly pushed off with his toes, soared into the air like a nimble swallow, and landed steadily in the center.
"Go, Senior Brother Yang!"
"Watch out for Ma Guoliang's spear!"
Among the Lingxi Peak disciples behind him, Lin Ziheng, Fang He, Yan Chenglong, Ma Qiang, and the others waved their arms and cheered Yang Jing on.
Lin Ziheng's voice was especially booming, drawing sideways glances from quite a few nearby disciples.
On the other side.
Ma Guoliang slowly emerged from the Blazing Sun Peak crowd as well.
Tall and straight, with a great dark spear strapped to his back, he stepped steadily onto the arena and faced Yang Jing from a distance.
Below the arena, in a corner of the Blazing Sun Peak disciples' section, Chang Xiaoyu watched Ma Guoliang's retreating figure. Her delicate hands clenched involuntarily, her heart filled with anxiety.
She could not help recalling her conversation with Ma Guoliang the night before.
Originally, she had thought Yang Jing was merely a disciple who had just broken through to the qi-devouring realm. Even if he ranked highly, he would be no match for Senior Brother Ma and should not be too difficult to handle.
Yet from Senior Brother Ma's tone, he was actually quite wary of Yang Jing, saying that his strength was nowhere near as simple as it appeared.
That had left Chang Xiaoyu's heart hanging in suspense, secretly worried for Ma Guoliang.
On the arena.
Yang Jing and Ma Guoliang met each other's eyes, their gazes colliding in midair, both wearing solemn expressions.
The day before, Yang Jing had learned much about Ma Guoliang's past and background from Senior Sister Si Jiawen.
Senior