Gong Ying did not waste words either. Bright true qi surged from both his palms, accompanied by a faint dragon's roar, as he darted toward Chi Xuan.
He chose close-quarters combat.
Bang, bang, bang!
One palm followed another, each carrying tremendous force. The air itself was torn apart with a succession of shrill noises.
Chi Xuan shifted slightly, each step narrowly dodging a palm. This made Gong Ying increasingly solemn. Finally, after yet another palm, he parted his lips and let out a lion's roar.
The sound, brimming with true qi, was deep yet piercing, making everyone's scalp prickle.
"Human-grade, peak-stage martial skill—[Lion's Roar Art]. Who would have thought Gong Ying had been hiding this trump card!"
Someone recognized it.
"Senior Brother Chi Xuan was caught off guard by that roar. I'm afraid things don't look good."
Yet Chi Xuan seemed to have anticipated it. His figure suddenly drifted away, dodging the roar head-on, and he arrived behind Gong Ying, pointing one finger.
Gong Ying immediately let out a muffled groan and lost.
"You're indeed very strong. I lost." Gong Ying had not suffered much injury; his opponent had stopped after landing the point.
With that, he cupped his hands and leaped off the platform.
"Senior Brother Chi Xuan is truly too strong. He actually defeated the fifteenth-ranked Gong Ying so easily, without even seeming to get serious."
"Exactly. I heard Senior Brother Chi Xuan uses a sword, and his swordsmanship is uncanny. Has anyone here ever seen him draw it?"
"No."
Everyone was utterly shocked.
Just then, a zither note rang out from Platform Two. It turned out that He Jianjun, ranked second, had taken down the ancient zither from her back. With a light pluck of one string, she shot out an incomparably condensed Sword Qi.
Her opponent