So there was not the slightest surprise. Right from the start, Chen Xiaoqing began casting her sword art, intending to face Qian Cai with an all-out assault. The result was self-evident. The One Heaven Dao cultivated by Qian Cai had long since been refined by me countless times. Its casting speed was not affected by its power or the speed of reciting incantations. Instead, it could use the multiple channels of many Dao lineages to forcibly absorb the qi of heaven and earth, increasing the efficiency of spellcasting. Thus, she still cast her spell after starting later but finished first, sending Chen Xiaoqing straight off the arena.
The battle became utterly suspense-free. After that match, Qian Cai became a celebrity of the Earthsea Immortal Sect. Her ability to summon the power of heaven and earth with extreme speed also made her opponents feel terribly troubled. Her successive underdog victories against eighth-stage Immortals sent her confidence soaring, and even when facing opponents in the Spirit Transformation Realm of the eighth stage, she showed no fear.
"Junior Brother, the farther we get, the stronger the opponents become. Qian Cai might get hurt, you know. You let her compete—don't tell me you have some kind of safeguard?" When they reached the quarterfinals, Senior Brother Yan could no longer sit still. They had already earned quite a few points, and even if they withdrew, those points could be exchanged for plenty of good things. Why continue fighting? If they lost, it would be a terrible bargain.
"It's fine. Just watch. She absolutely won't lose." I spoke confidently, while Senior Brother Yan and Ji Lian were both unable to figure out what my safeguard was.
As for Qian Cai, because every time she used moves similar to those of the other sects, she had turned