Meteor stood up and announced loudly, "The second draw will now begin. Please come to the stage!"
Jiang Liu, He Wentian, Blade Fiend, Wang Yisheng, Zheng Hanwei, Xiahou Yi, Duo Yi, Han Kesong, Ji Feng all stepped onto the stage, while Li Wenyuan directly gave up the draw and ranked tenth.
The draw results were then announced: Jiang Liu received a bye, Zheng Hanwei faced Blade Fiend, He Wentian faced Wang Yisheng, Xiahou Yi faced Han Kesong, Duo Yi faced Ji Feng.
Jiang Liu turned and went back to the stands. Murong Yin looked at Jiang Liu with a smile on his face, while Cuier came forward and said, "Young master, you're so lucky! You even got a bye, you're sure to get first place!"
Jiang Liu didn't reply, but directly reached out and ruffled Cuier's hair. Cuier immediately protested, pouting, "Young Master, I don't like you anymore!"
At this moment, only Xiahou Yi and Han Kesong remained on the arena.
The two stared at each other coldly, both poised to deliver a fatal blow.
Currently, the Sun Moon Sect and the Moonfall Sect in Yunzhou are in a state of life-or-death enmity. Although the main sect has ordered a ceasefire, the followers of the two sects will cause trouble whenever they meet.
Moreover, Xiahou Yi, as the main victim of the incident, has always harbored hatred for the Moonfall Sect. He was previously busy training to increase his strength and didn't have time to cause trouble for the Moonfall Sect, but now that he has the opportunity to encounter someone from the Moonfall Sect, he certainly won't let it go.
Han Kesong was given a death order by their leader: if he encountered Xiahou Yi in the arena, he should kill him with all his might, and he would take the blame if anything happened.
Han Kesong suddenly stepped forward and made a grabbing motion with one hand, aiming for Xiahou Yi's chest.
A gasp rippled through the audience. "Han Kesong is too shameless! He actually used such an embarrassing move on a woman. Does he have any martial arts spirit at all? I should have done it!" the audience thought to themselves.
Han Kesong, however, showed no reaction whatsoever. Instead, a lewd expression appeared on his face. What did it matter as long as he could win? Just thinking about the reward from their leader if he defeated Xiahou Yi made him even more excited.
Xiahou Yi ignored him and continued forward. Just as Han Kesong's palm was about to strike Xiahou Yi's chest, Xiahou Yi suddenly turned to the side and dodged.
With a swift movement of her left hand, the poisoned needle, which she had prepared beforehand, pierced straight into Han Kesong's abdomen.
Han Kesong's lewd expression remained, but sweat had begun to bead on his forehead, and he soon cried out in pain.
Then he shouted "Ah!" and collapsed onto the ring.
The audience erupted in uproar, surprised by the dramatic turn of events. They had expected a spectacular fight based on the two actors' performances.
Meteor stepped forward, flicked his hand, and pulled out the fine needle that Xiahou Yi had injected into Han Kesong's body. He then injected a stream of vital energy into Han Kesong's body, and finally took out a pill and stuffed it into his mouth before ignoring him.
Afterwards, Meteor retreated to the stands, and immediately someone went up to the ring and carried Han Kesong off.
When Xiahou Yi saw Liuxing step onto the arena, she immediately returned to the Sun Moon Sect's stands, watching Han Kesong with an expression of anticipation. She was very confident in her poison needles and was determined to make things difficult for Han Kesong.
Duo Yi and Ji Feng jumped onto the arena one after the other. After exchanging a greeting, they launched their attack.
Moreover, they attacked with all their might from the very beginning. Ji Feng and Liu Tianxing had always been on good terms, and Duo Yi was well aware of this, so the two of them didn't waste any words and attacked with all their might as soon as they arrived.
The two fought back and forth with their swords for about two quarters of an hour when Ji Feng suddenly thrust forward, his long sword aimed straight at Duo Yi's throat. Duo Yi blocked it with his strange long sword.
Ji Feng produced a short sword in his left hand and swung it horizontally. Duo Yi could only use his left hand to channel his energy to block it. "Bang!" "Bang!" Two sounds rang out at the same time.
Suddenly, the blade of Ji Feng's left-hand short sword shot out, heading straight for Duo Yi's chest. Duo Yi dodged to the side, letting out a cry of "Ah!" as his left hand had been struck.
With a "whoosh!" sound, Duo Yi's left arm was severed in two.
Meteor flashed onto the arena and waved his hand, stopping Ji Feng from making his next move. Ji Feng angrily turned around and left the arena.
Meteor made a grasping motion with his right hand, pulling Duo Yi close. With a pat of his palm, he stopped the bleeding from Duo Yi's wound. Then he froze Duo Yi's severed hand and called for someone to help Duo Yi down.
Although the severed arm could be reattached, it wouldn't be of much use. It could be said that Duo Yi's left hand was completely useless. Duo Yi then gave up on further combat, placing himself ninth.
He Wentian and Wang Yisheng jumped onto the stage one after the other.
The two fought a spectacular battle, their energy radiating as they exchanged blows, drawing cheers from the audience. The fight lasted for almost an hour, but Wang Yisheng ultimately prevailed, winning the match.
Zheng Hanwei against Blade Fiend. The two of them seemed extremely strange as soon as they stepped onto the stage. One had a cold face the whole time, while the other kept silent and was just gathering his strength.
Not long after, the two of them took a step forward at the same time, shot into the air, picked up their broadswords, and began to slash at each other.
Neither of them used any other martial arts techniques; it was a direct clash of blows, a contest of the depth of their inner energy and their proficiency in using it.
Both of them channeled their vital energy into their broadswords, which emitted enormous blade light. The blade light was almost tangible, and their battle was filled with resounding clangs. However, it was also extremely dangerous, and it was normal for a person to be cleaved in two if they were not careful.
The two fought for half an hour before finally stopping. Zheng Hanwei and left the arena, leaving the audience bewildered. However, Jiang Liu could clearly see that Zheng Hanwei's arm was injured, and continuing the fight would have inevitably resulted in his defeat.
It would be better to save face now and choose to admit defeat.
Next, there was no need for a draw; Meteor directly called out the names: "Jiang Liu will face Wang Yisheng."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Liu leaped onto the stage, while Wang Yisheng gracefully flew onto the stage as well.
Jiang Liu bowed and said, "Brother Wang, please enlighten me!"
Wang Yisheng returned the greeting, "Brother Jiang, you're too kind, please!"
The two stepped forward simultaneously, and Jiang Liu unleashed his Exploding Fist, the roar of a tiger transforming into a burst of energy that rushed straight towards Wang Yisheng.
Wang Yisheng, unfazed, threw a punch to meet Jiang Liu. Their fists and palms collided, each forcing the other back a few steps. Neither gained the upper hand in this probing attack.
Seeing that Wang Sheng was unaffected by the tiger's roar, Jiang Liu knew that Wang Sheng's mental strength was not low, so he was careful to deal with him, lest he be knocked off the stage by accident.
Jiang Liu focused his mind and circulated his energy, causing the temperature of the air around him to gradually decrease. He then unleashed a powerful Frost Nether Palm strike directly at Wang Yisheng.
Wang Yisheng's expression turned serious. He took out a short gun from behind him, flicked it, and a gust of energy shot straight towards Jiang Liu.
With a "crack!", Wang Yisheng's short gun shattered the ice shards formed by Jiang Liu's Frost Nether Palm.
Without further hesitation, Jiang Liu condensed several pieces of ice and shot them directly at Wang Yisheng.
Wang Yisheng fired his short gun in rapid succession, shattering the ice blocks aimed at him one by one, while continuing to strike forward towards the Jiang Liu.
Jiang Liu kept moving forward, and when he got close, Jiang Liu drew his broadsword with his right hand, leaped forward, and used the Demon Suppression Blade Technique to slash at Wang Yisheng.
Wang Yisheng quickly channeled all his energy and raised his spear to parry. With a clang, the spear and sword clashed, Jiang Liu flew backward, and Wang Yisheng also staggered back.
The two were evenly matched in this move.
On the side of the stands, Murong Yin looked at Jiang Liu with a worried expression, while Cuier clung tightly to Murong Yin's clothes, saying nothing.
The audience below watched the two fighters with great excitement, eager to cheer them on.
PS: There will be another chapter of the Martial Arts Tournament tomorrow. The protagonist will soon leave Yunzhou to travel to other states.