Taking First Place

Jiang Donghua stood on the arena platform, his gaze sweeping over the youth opposite him.

"Crimson Rock City, Chen Yan."

The other party clasped his fists, crimson Battle Qi rising around him. He was clearly a Fire attribute cultivator as well.

Jiang Donghua nodded slightly.

"Black Iron City, Jiang Donghua."

Elder Wang lightly tapped his peachwood staff.

"Begin!"

Before his words had even faded, Chen Yan had already made the first move.

His fists glowed red like heated iron, stirring up waves of scorching air.

"Fire Fist!"

Several cries of surprise immediately rose from below the platform.

This fist technique had clearly grasped thirty percent of its true essence. Even among Yellow-tier Advanced Dou Techniques, it was considered outstanding.

Yet Jiang Donghua did not move an inch.

Just as Chen Yan was about to close in.

"Whoosh!"

Jiang Donghua's figure suddenly blurred.

Everyone merely saw a flash before their eyes. When they focused again, he had already circled behind Chen Yan like a ghost.

"Bang!"

A plain, unadorned Blazing Palm struck Chen Yan squarely in the back.

"Ah!"

Chen Yan was launched into the air and sent straight beyond the edge of the platform, crashing headfirst into the sandpit below with a thud.

The entire venue fell silent.

"This..."

A Red-robed Instructor's eyes widened.

"To reach the beginner stage in a Yellow-tier Advanced Dou Technique, a Dou Zhe needs at least several months of grueling cultivation. There is no other way."

The White-bearded Instructor beside him stroked his beard.

Yan Feng grinned so widely below the platform that his teeth were all but showing.

"I told you I'd found a treasure!"

Jiang Donghua dusted off his sleeves and calmly walked down from the platform.

As he passed the sandpit, he reached out and pulled the disheveled Chen Yan to his feet.

"You let me win."

Chen Yan took his hand blankly. It was only after Jiang Donghua had walked away that he came back to his senses.

"He... didn't even use his full strength?"

Chen Yan climbed to his feet, covered in dust. His lips moved a few times, but in the end, he did not say anything harsh.

He patted the sand from his body, lowered his head, and returned behind his instructor. None of his earlier arrogance remained.

The other instructors exchanged glances, silently understanding one another.

"That step just now... could it have been Cloud-Chasing Steps?"

The Jade Flute Instructor lightly tapped her jade flute with her fingertips, surprise flickering in her beautiful eyes.

Yet she did not dare be completely certain, because this kind of Movement Technique was far harder to learn than a palm technique.

"At least the beginner stage."

"What, Crazy Yan? Is he the son of an old friend?"

"How come you use every good thing on him?"

Old Man Mo's cloudy eyes opened slightly.

Yan Feng was chewing on a chicken leg and nearly choked when he heard that.

"Bullshit! I picked him up halfway through the road. When would I have had the time to teach him?"

Though he cursed aloud, inwardly, he was overjoyed.

The expressions of the instructors became even more colorful upon hearing this.

They all looked toward the One-star Dou Masters they had brought. The youths who had once been brimming with confidence now instinctively avoided Jiang Donghua's direction.

"Next!"

Elder Wang struck the ground with his peachwood staff, breaking the brief silence.

The lottery cylinder rattled once more.

During the next few rounds, Jiang Donghua stood quietly at the edge of the platform and observed.

"Bang!"

A One-star Dou Zhe was blasted off the platform by nothing more than the most basic Yellow-tier low-grade Crushing Stone Fist.

"Ah!"

Another One-star Dou Master retreated in defeat, utterly bedraggled. The Green Wood Palm he used had only the form, and he had failed to bring out even thirty percent of its power.

Jiang Donghua raised a brow, already reaching a conclusion. Most of these so-called geniuses only knew a single Yellow-tier Combat Skill that they had barely begun to grasp. As for the rest, they had not even touched the threshold.

"It really is all thanks to the AFK System..."

He sighed inwardly.

"Next match! Jiang Donghua of Black Iron City versus Liu Tu of Baihe City!"

A chorus of wails immediately rose from beneath the platform.

"Why is it him again?!"

"It's over, it's over. Liu Tu is going to be in trouble..."

Liu Tu's face turned pale as he forced himself onto the platform.

He had only recently broken through to One-star Dou Master. The only Yellow-tier Advanced Dou Technique he could show off, Ice Finger, had only reached a superficial level. He was still far from the beginner stage.

"Begin!"

Jiang Donghua's figure flashed, and Cloud-Chasing Steps left an afterimage behind him.

Liu Tu hastily thrust out several Ice Finger strikes, but all of them missed.

"Too slow."

The voice suddenly sounding beside his ear made Zhou Yan's hair stand on end.

Before he could turn around, a heavy Blazing Palm struck him squarely in the back.

"Thud!"

Zhou Yan flew directly off the platform and rolled several times across the ground before finally coming to a stop.

The viewing area fell silent.

"This..."

One instructor rubbed his eyes.

"Both his Movement Technique and attack technique have reached the beginner stage?"

"And they work together flawlessly."

Another instructor gave a bitter smile.

"This year's Yellow-grade Class Instructor position will probably go to Crazy Yan."

Yan Feng grinned broadly below the platform and deliberately called out loudly.

"Oh my, what luck! Another win!"

The other instructors' faces turned ashen, while the students they had brought all shrank their necks, terrified that they would be drawn next.

Standing on the platform, Jiang Donghua swept his gaze over those evasive eyes and chuckled inwardly.

Looks like I've become a tough opponent everyone fears?

"Next match: Lin Xiuyuan versus Jiang Donghua!"

Lin Xiuyuan slowly stepped onto the platform, his green robes swaying gently in the wind.

He looked at Jiang Donghua and said flatly.

"I heard you're strong?"

Jiang Donghua grinned.

"Why not try and find out?"

Cheers and jeers immediately erupted from below the platform.

"Senior Brother Lin, beat him up!"

"Brother Jiang, show him what you've got!"

Elder Wang struck the ground with his peachwood staff.

"Begin!"

Without another word, green light surged from Lin Xiuyuan's right hand and transformed into three Wood Thorns that shot toward Jiang Donghua.

Jiang Donghua's figure flashed, and Cloud-Chasing Steps left behind an afterimage as he easily dodged them.

"That's it?"

Jiang Donghua raised an eyebrow.

Lin Xiuyuan did not answer. His left hand suddenly formed a seal, and several vines burst from the ground, twisting toward Jiang Donghua's feet.

"Tricks!"

Jiang Donghua unleashed a Blazing Palm, and the vines were instantly burned to ashes.

The two exchanged blows back and forth, clashing more than ten times in the blink of an eye.

The spectators below watched without blinking, their cheers rising continuously.

"Bang!"

After one head-on exchange of palms, both men retreated three steps.

Lin Xiuyuan shook his numbed wrist, and a trace of gravity finally appeared in his eyes.

"You've got some skill."

Jiang Donghua rolled his neck.

"You're not bad either."

"Again!"

Fine sweat appeared on Lin Xiuyuan's forehead. Staring at the calm and composed Jiang Donghua opposite him, his heart had already gone cold.

Attribute suppression is too deadly!

He laughed bitterly to himself.

During those probing attacks just now, his Wood-attribute Battle Qi had melted away like snow meeting boiling oil the moment it touched the other man's flames.

If not for the Movement Technique he had practiced bitterly for months, he would likely have been blasted off the platform by a single palm strike long ago.

Jiang Donghua appeared calm on the surface, but waves had risen in his heart as well.

This guy is clearly suppressed by my Fire attribute, yet he can still hold on for so long?

He examined the green Battle Qi circulating around Lin Xiuyuan.

The situation on the platform had already become clear.

The instructors exchanged glances, silently understanding one another. Though Lin Xiuyuan's moves were exquisite, under attribute suppression, his chances of victory were less than thirty percent.

"Bang!"

Another head-on palm clash.

Lin Xiuyuan was sent stumbling back several steps. His back was already close to the edge of the platform, several parts of his sleeves had been scorched by flames, and his palms were bright red.

Jiang Donghua did not pursue. He stood where he was and said calmly.

"Do you still want to continue?"

Lin Xiuyuan's expression shifted before he finally took a deep breath.

He suddenly thrust both palms forward. Green Battle Qi erupted—not as an attack, but to propel himself backward.

"I concede!"

His figure landed steadily outside the platform. Though his tone was unwilling, his actions were decisive.

Discussion immediately broke out below the platform.

"Senior Brother Lin actually lost..."

"It can't be helped. Attribute suppression is too fatal."

Yan Feng grinned broadly in the viewing area and shouted toward Old Man Mo.

"Old Mo, your disciple is pretty good. His luck's just a little bad!"

Old Man Mo continued resting with his eyes closed, merely nodding slightly as though he had not been surprised by the result.

Elder Wang struck the ground with his peachwood staff.

"Winner, Jiang Donghua!"