Fight Li Hong

The arena was filled with the roar of voices.

Today's competition has few matches, but each one features very strong participants. In addition to the main event, the duel between Yi Yun and Li Hong, there is also the battle between Chu Xiaoran and a veteran trial participant ranked two thousandth on the Earth Ranking.

"Hmm? Yi Yun and Li Hong haven't arrived yet?"

As soon as they arrived, they looked for Yi Yun and Li Hong, but after looking around, they couldn't find them.

"The match between these two is scheduled for before noon, so there's no need for them to fight right away. They're probably still cultivating or meditating at this time..."

Someone said something that made everyone secretly gasp in astonishment.

Every second counts, especially for Li Hong, a formidable figure ranked just over a thousandth, who takes the challenge from a newcomer with such seriousness.

Today's matches have begun. Initially, it was a battle between several newcomers ranked around five or six thousand on the local leaderboard, including Gu Mu ranked fourth among the newcomers. However, people showed little interest in these battles.

It wasn't until Chu Xiaoran came on stage that people perked up a bit.

Chu Xiaoran's opponent was a seasoned trial participant who had been in Tai'a Divine City for more than four years. Chu Xiaoran did not underestimate him. As soon as the battle started, she summoned her Dharma Aspect Totem and used the Frost Intent.

The two fought fiercely, with snow and ice swirling around them; the scene was incredibly intense!

In the end, Chu Xiaoran defeated her opponent with her move, "Azure Ice Sea, Fleeting Beauty".

However, Chu Xiaoran was also extremely exhausted after defeating her opponent, so it was a hard-fought victory.

Chu Xiaoran has entered the top 2,000 on the Earth Ranking!

However, everyone could see that Chu Xiaoran's victory in this match was extremely difficult.

She still has one more match to play, but she can only go as far as 1,900 points at most; it's impossible for her to advance any further.

Chu Xiaoran, who felt similarly to Yi Yun, stopped at 1900. But Yi Yun wanted to challenge Li Hong, who was ranked 1000th, which was truly insane!

"Huh? Yi Yun! Yi Yun is here!"

From the crowd, someone shouted something, and everyone looked over. At the entrance to the arena, a Linen-clothed Youth strolled over, walked straight to his seat, sat down, and began to meditate with his eyes closed!

Despite facing such a high-stakes gamble today, Yi Yun remains remarkably calm and composed, which is truly admirable.

"Yi Yun..."

Seeing Yi Yun's calm demeanor, Chu Xiaoran's eyebrows twitched. "Could it be... that he held back in his battle with me?"

Chu Xiaoran was also paying close attention to this battle. She wanted to see just how strong Yi Yun, the number one newcomer, really was.

Time passed. Li Hong did not appear until noon, just before the start of the competition, when Li Hong finally appeared at the entrance of the arena carrying a long staff.

He strode into the arena, each step measured as if measured by a ruler. With each step, his aura seemed to gradually rise.

Seeing Li Hong at this moment, people felt that Li Hong was somewhat different.

Although most of the people present did not have their Heavenly Eye, they could still feel Li Hong's aura, which was like a towering mountain, not only heavy but also imposing!

Li Hong didn't say a word. He walked directly onto the Divine Desolation Stage without even waiting for the referee to call his name.

"Yi Yun! Come up here!!"

Li Hong roared, and the echo of his short sentence reverberated throughout the entire arena, like a thunderclap!

The contestants in the arena held their breath for a moment; this aura was simply too powerful! Just facing someone like this on the arena required immense courage.

People speculated that Li Hong's late appearance meant he might have made another breakthrough in some area.

This really made many people worry for Yi Yun. Li Hong was already very strong, and if he underestimated his opponent, Yi Yun might have a slight chance of winning.

However, Li Hong was diligently practicing all night, clearly determined to give it his all.

If he really makes another breakthrough, that would be terrible. This battle involves a huge gamble. If they were in Yi Yun's position, they would be extremely nervous.

All eyes were on Yi Yun. At this moment, the referee didn't even need to make an announcement; Yi Yun and Li Hong were about to start fighting!

Yi Yun stepped onto the Divine Desolation Stage, drew his Thousand Army Saber, and pointed the tip of the blade diagonally at the ground.

The two people stood ten feet apart.

Li Hong laid a long staff horizontally out. The six-foot-long staff was parallel to the ground. At both ends of the staff were golden hoops made of Great Cang Iron Essence, and on the golden hoops were half-inch-long spikes!

Don't assume that the iron rod is weaker than other weapons. The effectiveness of this iron rod depends on who wields it. When Li Hong uses it, he can injure a person just by shaking the iron rod and using that trembling force to hit them. If he were to strike them with the rod, he could shatter all the bones in a person's body!

"Yi Yun, I know you are very strong, and you may even be hiding your strength! But today, no matter what trump cards you have up your sleeve, they are useless against me!"

As Li Hong spoke, his fighting spirit surged forth, and a yellowish-brown light enveloped Li Hong entire body!

"I have been fighting on the Divine Wilderness for a whole year, and I don't know how many wild beasts have died at my hands! You are just a menial disciple who has only gathered a few herbs and hasn't participated in many battles. Do you think you can be my opponent? Today, I will show you why I stand at the top of the Earth Ranking!"

Li Hong roared, and the earthy yellow light around his body formed tiny scales that covered Li Hong entire body.

"<The Heaven-Expanding Merit>!"

Someone in the audience shouted out.

In Tai'a Divine City, besides the undisputed top-tier cultivation technique, the <Tai'a Sacred Law>, there are also some high-grade cultivation techniques that, while not as powerful as the <Tai'a Sacred Law>, are still extremely potent.

This "Heaven-Expanding Merit" is among the top three techniques in the Tai'a Divine City. To cultivate the "Heaven-Expanding Merit," one must cultivate "Heaven-Expanding True Qi."

Many geniuses, unable to afford the <Tai'a Sacred Law>, tried to cultivate the <Heaven-Expanding Merit>, but even they failed to condense the "Heaven-Expanding True Qi".

This set of techniques is also extremely difficult to master.

With the "Heaven-Expanding True Qi" protecting his body, Li Hong's "Heaven-Expanding Merit" has reached the second level.

The tiny scales on Li Hong's body were formed from condensed "Heaven-Expanding True Qi". This was similar to the armor of Qiu Niu, but without weight, allowing Li Hong to move freely.

Li Hong, holding a long staff, suddenly had his pupils contract and sprang up!

"Call--"

Li Hong transformed into a whirlwind, instantly appearing in front of Yi Yun, and swung his long staff down heavily!

Because of the extreme speed, when Li Hong pulled out his staff, the long staff had already turned into an arc, like a whip, and lashed towards Yi Yun!

Subtle Movement Technique!

Yi Yun's body flew backward, his figure blurring and leaving more than a dozen afterimages. Li Hong's staff lashed out at Yi Yun's chest.

"Clang!"

Yi Yun's afterimage shattered, and his long staff slammed heavily onto the arena. The Purple Tungsten Steel floor tiles were dented by Li Hong's staff. At this moment, Yi Yun had already flashed behind Li Hong, and the Thousand Army Saber roared out and slashed down!

Li Hong's expression shifted, but he did not dodge. The earthen-yellow scales on his back suddenly expanded, transforming into a huge shield!

"Snap!"

Yi Yun's slash struck Li Hong's shield, the blade cutting into the shield but quickly getting stuck, unable to go any further!

"Huh? What's this!?"

Yi Yun was startled. Originally, there was nothing behind Li Hong, but in the blink of an eye, such a large shield appeared out of thin air and blocked his sword.

Not only that, the shield was incredibly dense and had a compressive force, which actually jammed the Thousand Army Saber, making Yi Yun feel like he couldn't pull it out, just like when Qiu Niu had gripped the blade!

"Die!"

Li Hong suddenly turned around, sweeping his long staff horizontally towards Yi Yun's waist, while at this moment, the Thousand Army Saber was still stuck on the large shield!

If this blow had landed squarely, an ordinary Purple Blood Warrior would have been cleaved in two!

"Blade intent—unstoppable!"

Yi Yun's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he poured his vital energy into the Thousand Army Saber. With a whoosh, the Thousand Army Saber forcefully pulled away from the large shield. Yi Yun retreated rapidly, arching his back and bending his spine into a bow shape. Li Hong's staff grazed past the tip of Yi Yun's nose!

Yi Yun could even feel the stinging pain as the long staff pierced through his Protective Vital Energy.

"Whoosh!"

Yi Yun leaped into the air and flew back ten feet, creating distance between himself and Li Hong.

At this moment, the large shield on Li Hong's back slowly retracted, transforming back into tiny scales that covered Li Hong's entire body.

Li Hong grinned maliciously at Yi Yun, "You dodged pretty fast!"

"This technique..." Yi Yun was truly astonished. It actually possessed such controllable Yuan Qi, capable of transforming into a shield anywhere on one's body to block enemy attacks.

Is this the "Heaven-Expanding True Qi"?

As expected, none of the top-ranked techniques in Tai'a Divine City were weak. The <Supporting Heaven Technique> had its own mysteries. The top-tier techniques of Tai'a Divine City were far more powerful than family secrets like the Liu Family's "Star Picking Hand"!

"Yi Yun... your attack just now didn't even break through one-fifth of my defense! Your blade cut through Qiu Niu's armor, but my Qiu Niu is on a completely different level. You want to break through my defense? That's just wishful thinking! I know you have even more powerful blade techniques. Use them, or you won't have another chance."

Li Hong's presence was overwhelming.

The earth-yellow True Qi emanating from his body surged even more powerfully.

"This defense is insane."

In the audience, the newcomers held their breath. Qiu Niu's fighting style was already amazing in their eyes, but it paled in comparison to Li Hong's.

Qiu Niu relied on armor for defense, while Li Hong relied on top-notch martial arts techniques; these defensive methods already distinguished their levels.

Moreover, Li Hong was only a hair's breadth away from breaking through to the Origin Foundation Realm, and his total amount of Yuan Qi was far beyond what Qiu Niu could match.

Without a doubt, if Qiu Niu were to clash head-on with Li Hong, he would be defeated instantly! (To be continued~^~)