Fang Yan rolled several times across the arena before collapsing at its edge, directly before the Earth Tier Class camp. Blood kept spraying from his mouth, the bridge of his nose had been utterly smashed, and he lay there before the Earth Tier Class with his face covered in blood.
The excessively bloody sight made the Earth Tier Class students retch. Several female students vomited on the spot, while even some of the male students' faces twitched.
Nangong Qi, standing at the front, wore a gloomy expression. He did not care how badly Fang Yan had been injured, nor even whether he lived or died. What he cared about was that this match, which they absolutely could not lose, seemed about to end in defeat.
Seeing Fang Yan sprawled before him, blood constantly gushing from his mouth, evil rose in Nangong Qi's heart. No matter what, they could not lose this match. This concerned the dignity of the Nangong Family's eldest son. He had already exhausted every harsh word he could say; if he lost today, he would never be able to hold his head up again.
"Fang Yan, take the Blood Demon Pill! Kill Hao Meng."
After his gaze flickered several times, Nangong Qi stared at Fang Yan and spoke viciously.
"Pfft, I..."
Upon hearing Nangong Qi's words, Fang Yan's expression changed drastically. His pupils contracted as though he had heard something utterly terrifying, and his eyes filled with pleading and despair.
"Don't forget, Fang Yan. Your Lineage is completely under the control of my Nangong Family. And your younger sister—don't you want to save her?"
Seeing Fang Yan hesitate without making a move, Nangong Qi stepped forward, leaned close to his ear, and calmly spoke those words.
Hao Meng gasped for breath, his arms hanging limply at his sides. He had clearly exhausted his strength. The fifth form of the Dragon Tiger Fighting Saint Fist was the strongest move one could master before the Core Formation Realm. Even with his current strength, using it required him to go all out. Fortunately, he had won in the end.
Just as Hao Meng steadied his breathing and was about to check Fang Yan's injuries, a sudden change erupted. Fang Yan, who had been lying there unable to move, suddenly began radiating astonishing blood qi. Its intensity could not be mentioned in the same breath as before.
Then, beneath everyone's horrified gazes, Fang Yan, who had already lost his ability to fight, actually rose to his feet. The blood qi around his body had completely solidified, his eyes were entirely flooded with red, and the tremendous pressure made even the spectators in the front rows feel suffocated.
"This feeling—it's the Blood Demon Pill. This pill injures the enemy by a thousand while harming oneself by eight hundred. To take something so dreadful for an academy match... Brother Mu, are you truly not going to stop their fight? If this continues, one of these two will certainly fall."
Elder Qin saw at a glance what had caused Fang Yan's transformation and turned to ask Mu Bai beside him.
"Indeed. Both of them have performed more than well enough. There is no need to ruin both their futures over a single match. I'll enter the arena and stop the competition now. Let the result be a draw."
After pondering for a moment, Mu Bai made his decision. At this point, with the two below having fought to such a degree, victory or defeat was no longer important.
"Wait."
Just as Mu Bai rose to his full height, intending to leap down from the stands and halt the battle, a low voice rang out. Turning back, he saw that it was the Nangong Family's Grand Elder who had spoken.
"Teacher Mu, I believe stopping this competition would be somewhat inappropriate. The rules of the Class vs. Class Competition were laid down by Dean Li, and no one may interfere with the students' battles. What we cultivate are Immortal Realm practitioners, not flowers in a greenhouse. In the future, they will all gallop through the crisis-ridden Immortal Realm. When enemies stand before them then, will they ask those enemies to stop as well? This rule has never been broken in all these years. I believe it would be best to let these two youngsters decide victory and defeat on their own."
The Nangong Family's Grand Elder spoke those words as lightly as drifting clouds and passing winds, but he had in fact invoked the academy rules established by Li Yubai. With the dean himself absent, who would dare violate the academy's rules? Not even an outer elder of the Xuantian Sword Sect could propose it.
Sure enough, Mu Bai's body, which had already risen, stiffened abruptly. Since Qinglan Academy's founding, it had upheld a martial spirit, and the Class vs. Class Competition had always been the stage where academy students displayed their strongest selves. So long as one did not admit defeat, one accepted responsibility for every consequence of battle, and absolutely no one could interfere with the match. If he acted today, he would destroy a tradition built over so many years in a single stroke. Thinking of this, Mu Bai had no choice but to hesitate.
While the stands were still locked in heated debate, the blood-red Fang Yan had already attacked. His crimson longsword slashed through the air, sending an enormous blood-colored blade aura flying straight at Hao Meng. With no time to react, Hao Meng pulled out a handful of Qi Replenishing Pills and stuffed them into his mouth. Without even time to chew, he swallowed them straight down, then rolled sideways and narrowly avoided the strike.
Looking at Fang Yan, who had nearly become a man of blood, Hao Meng's expression turned grave. He did not know what method Fang Yan had used to recover from his injuries and raise his strength by such a tremendous amount. As for himself, the backlash from the fifth form of the Dragon Tiger Fighting Saint Fist remained. His hands could barely exert any force now, much less engage in another desperate fight.
What now? What now? What now?
Was he ultimately still going to lose? Hao Meng dodged one blood-red blade aura after another from Fang Yan. His gaze swept past the Profound Tier Class camp below the stage, and amid all those anxious eyes, a figure in white stood out especially clearly. The youth's gaze held neither panic nor worry, only calmness and an incomparable resolve.
Li Mu watched Hao Meng, who had fallen completely into a disadvantage on the arena, his heart burning with anxiety. Yet he absolutely could not show it. If even he lost confidence, Senior Hao would truly be left isolated and helpless.
There are still more cards to play. There is still a trump card. Hold on, Senior Hao. Now, only by smashing the cauldrons and sinking the boats can you turn the tide.
Li Mu's fists clenched tighter and tighter, but the gaze he sent out grew ever more powerful. Seeing his senior, covered in wounds yet still fighting with all his strength, a surge of hot blood could no longer be suppressed.
"Senior! Keep it up! Profound Tier Class! Victory!"
Li Mu shouted the first cry, then the second, then the third.
Behind him, the Profound Tier Class students began shouting one after another! What they cried out was the unyielding spirit suppressed deep in their hearts for years, the pride worn smooth by contempt and setbacks. Cry after cry resounded through the entire academy.
Gradually, students from the Heaven Tier Class even began shouting along. The waves of sound rolled on endlessly, and everything converged into a tremendous force that was carried to Hao Meng.
After evading yet another deadly blade aura, Hao Meng flashed to the edge of the arena. Hearing the cheering shouts that rang through the heavens, a surge of heroic passion rose within his heart.
I, Hao Meng, began cultivating at five. At ten, I trained the fifth form of my Lineage's ultimate art, the Dragon Tiger Fighting Saint Fist. For ten years, I cultivated every day without pause and never slackened for even a moment. Heaven tempered my will and made me lay a solid foundation before the Core Formation Realm. I, Hao Meng, have no complaints.
But today, I do not represent myself. I represent every student in Qinglan Academy who has been oppressed and ignored, yet continues striving without cease. So I cannot lose. Today, no one can stop me. Even if heaven itself stands in my way, I will pierce a hole through the heavens!
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