A Joint Arrival
At this point in the rookie ranking competition, the entire arena seemed to belong to Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran, with everyone else becoming mere supporting characters.
When people watch these players compete, they all have only one thought in mind:
You guys finish quickly so Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran can go on stage.
The newcomers who can still perform at this time are all the best among the newcomers. They all grew up surrounded by various halos, but now they are just supporting roles on the stage. This makes them feel helpless, but they have to admit that Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran are indeed not on the same level as them.
The referee intentionally scheduled the match between Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran at the end of today's competition, so that Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran could recover to their peak physical condition and have a top-level rookie showdown.
As the sun slowly sank and dusk fell, everyone eagerly awaited the start of this great battle. By this time, the matches for the other newcomers had all been scheduled, and everyone was waiting for Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran to take the stage.
At that moment, a commotion suddenly broke out in the crowd near the main entrance of the arena, and the previously crowded people dispersed.
Those who stepped aside either looked bewildered or shocked.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
People turned to look at the sound and saw several people in black cloaks at the entrance. Among them, two old men strolled in leisurely.
They are...
People were taken aback, especially the newcomers, most of whom had never seen the two old men before and naturally did not recognize them.
However, the newcomers vaguely knew that those people in black cloaks in the Tai'a Divine Kingdom were the Enforcement Envoy.
Enforcement Envoy? So many Enforcement Envoy?
The newcomers were a bit confused, but then, several highly skilled veteran trainees, after a long pause, recognized the two old men.
"Elder Jian Ge! Elder Cang Yan! What are they doing at the arena?!"
When these words were spoken, all the other newcomers were stunned.
Elders... these two old men are elders!?
To the participants in the trials, the Elder of the Divine City was a mythical figure, a being that might only appear once every five hundred years in the entire Tai'a Divine Kingdom.
What are they doing at the arena?
The rookie ranking competition... it's not even worth the elders' attention. In fact, let alone the rookie ranking competition, even if Qin Haotian, who is ranked first in the arena, is challenged by someone ranked second or third, the elders wouldn't come to watch. At most, they would just glance at the Imprint Array Disk.
The number one spot in the Divine City changes every year. Which year's number one on the Earth Ranking, during their one or two years, or even just one or two months, isn't challenged thirty, forty, or even a hundred or eighty times? Do the elders have the leisure to come and watch every single time?
Normally, the elders never appear in the arena; in fact, the trainees have virtually no chance to see them.
Elder Cang Yan, who occasionally takes on the role of a gatekeeper, is someone the new trainees might see, but they have no idea he's an elder.
As Cang Yan and Jian Ge took their seats in the honored seats, people were still somewhat stunned. "Could it be... that they came to watch Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran's duel?"
Realizing this possibility, people found it unbelievable, but upon reflection, it seemed that only the duel between Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran was an event worth paying attention to!
"This is incredible! An elder is in charge of watching a rookie ranking match?"
People looked at each other, somewhat bewildered. Even if Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran were exceptionally strong, they were at most at Qin Haotian's level. How could two elders come together when they were still newcomers? This was truly unbelievable.
At this moment, Cang Yan and Jian Ge sat calmly in their seats. It was indeed something that hadn't happened in a long time.
They came this time to see for themselves Yi Yun's understanding of the Thirty-two Sword Dao Characters.
The Imprint Array Disk used in the Tai'a Divine City can record images, but it is still somewhat lacking in recording laws.
Those less-than-clear images, after all, could hardly capture the Mysterious Charm of the way of the sword.
"Yi Yun! Chu Xiaoran! Divine Desolation Stage!"
The referee spoke, and with both elders present, the referee felt the pressure.
Yi Yun, carrying the Thousand Army Saber, walked onto the Divine Desolation Stage, while his opponent Chu Xiaoran, held a Soft Sword, her aura restrained, showing no signs of being a master.
As Chu Xiaoran walked around, she looked at the two elderly men seated in the VIP seats. "Are they the elders of the Divine City... the true pillars of the Tai'a Divine Kingdom, even more powerful than my grandfather, father, and master..."
The Chu Family, to which Chu Xiaoran belongs, is Lineage with a profound heritage, but it has never produced a sage.
The current head of the Chu Family is only at the peak of the Hegemon level.
Chu Xiaoran her own ambitions. She was determined to become the first sage of the Chu Family and create a glorious future for the Chu Family. However, this ambition was always buried deep in Chu Xiaoran's heart, and she never mentioned it to anyone.
Seeing two saintly figures at once stirred something deep within Chu Xiaoran.
In the future, she will also reach this point!
A sage appears only once every five hundred years, and she must become the strongest in those five hundred years! She cannot fail here!
Chu Xiaoran drew her sword. She was very silent, and her aura was completely contained within her body, not a trace of it was leaked out. Only in her beautiful eyes was there an undisguised fighting spirit!
Yi Yun slowly drew his Thousand Army Saber. "Chu Xiaoran, I know you've been hiding your strength... The power you've shown so far isn't enough to defeat me. If you don't use your trump card soon, you might never have the chance to use it again."
"Thank you for the advice, let's make our move." Chu Xiaoran very calm. She was more serious than ever before in this battle, perhaps because the appearance of the two sages had aroused her fighting spirit!
She has to win!
Just then, Yi Yun made a move.
His body shot out like a whirlwind, and the terrifying blade light condensed into a sharp edge that could shatter everything, slashing straight down at Chu Xiaoran!
This strike filled everyone's vision. Even from such a distance, people felt as if a long sword was hanging over their necks, exuding murderous intent!
A terrifying slash!
Chu Xiaoran's pupils contracted, and she flew backward, wielding Soft Sword, and thrust it out.
Her entire being exuded energy along with this sword strike, and this energy, carrying an indescribable gentle power, met the blade's light!
However, Yi Yun's knife was far sharper than Chu Xiaoran's sword!
With a series of hissing sounds, Chu Xiaoran's Sword Qi was continuously sliced, and it looked as if the blade was about to strike Chu Xiaoran's beautiful face.
People couldn't help but gasp in surprise!
Chu Xiaoran is a beautiful young woman. It would be one thing if Qiu Niu was cut up, but when Chu Xiaoran was cut up, people couldn't bear to watch!
At the critical moment, just as Chu Xiaoran was about to be struck by the blade, Yi Yun's blade light inexplicably shifted slightly.
Snap!
The blade ultimately grazed Chu Xiaoran's cheek, striking the Purple Tungsten Steel ground heavily.
The hard, Purple Tungsten Steel arena trembled violently, and a four-foot-long knife mark was deeply imprinted on it!
Chu Xiaoran's body floated down ten feet, landing lightly, yet... a strand of hair still drifted down from her cheek...
"What... what just happened?"
People in the surrounding stands stared wide-eyed.
They were completely focused, afraid of missing any exciting moment, but even so, they still didn't get a clear look at the fight between Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran.
It was too fast, a flash of lightning, and the two were already separated. Then the arena was sliced apart by the light of blades, leaving everyone breathless.
"I clearly saw Yi Yun's blade already reaching Chu Xiaoran, so why didn't he strike? Did Yi Yun show her mercy and hold back?"
Someone asked.
"Don't be silly." A veteran trial participant shook his head. "Do you think Chu Xiaoran is a frail little woman? This is the Hard-Soft Intent. Chu Xiaoran ultimately used the 'Strength Hard-Soft Intent to dissipate Yi Yun's power, but... she still couldn't completely dissipate it..."
Some of the seasoned trial participants present, who were ranked around two thousandth on the Earth Ranking, had a clear view of the battle between Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran.
The Hard-Soft Intent can neutralize many attacks, but if the power difference is too great, it still cannot reverse the course of the battle.
Many people noticed the stray strands of hair that had fallen from Chu Xiaoran's temples. In this first encounter, Yi Yun still had the upper hand.
Yi Yun looked at his sword, recalling the power he had just felt. He also found it amazing; his sword had involuntarily changed direction.
Yi Yun said, "The interplay of strength and gentleness... using minimal force to overcome great strength, is indeed miraculous! But relying on it alone is not enough to win. My first strike was merely a test. From now on, I will go all out!"
Testing!?
Hearing Yi Yun's words, everyone was speechless. Such a powerful strike was just Yi Yun testing the waters.
The vast majority of them were completely unable to withstand this attack, and didn't even know how to defend themselves!
They knew Yi Yun was strong before, but they didn't know exactly how big the gap was. This time, however, they got a direct feel for it!
No wonder Qiu Niu was defeated. They weren't Qiu Niu and didn't know the pressure Qiu Niu faced against Yi Yun in that battle. If they were standing on the arena now, they might understand that feeling.
...(To be continued~^~)