Beneath the Great Reputation

The martial arts tournament's main event was the elite disciples' competition, with the ordinary disciples' assessment being secondary.

Two individuals were highly favored in this elite disciple competition. One was named Lin Hao, whose strength was only a hair's breadth away from the previous senior disciple. Unfortunately, he was a step behind during their past duel, losing the match and thus the coveted position.

He had been preparing for this chance to contend for the senior disciple seat for a long time and was determined to win.

The second highly favored individual was Li Yuan. Ever since his last trip to Changgan, his reputation in Jiujiang Commandery had spread like wildfire.

All the martial artists who participated in that mission spoke highly of Li Yuan. Li Yuan's fame originated from outside the martial arts school, and many disciples knew that Li Yuan had shone brightly during an external mission.

Yan Nian and Qi Zhengyang, both True Qi Realm martial artists who participated in the Changgan expedition, were good friends. Once, while drinking, Yan Nian mentioned to Qi Zhengyang that he should cultivate Li Yuan more, stating that the young man's future achievements were limitless.

Qi Zhengyang was greatly surprised. He knew Yan Nian well, and this True Qi Realm expert wasn't easily impressed. Few people could garner such praise from this veteran True Qi Realm cultivator.

At the same time, Qi Zhengyang was also curious about what exactly happened during the Changgan expedition, so he asked Yan Nian about it.

Because the matter involved some hidden secrets related to Corpse Demons, Yan Nian couldn't elaborate much. He only said that the escort convoy failed to enter the city in time and was surrounded by Evil Creatures. Li Yuan alone killed dozens of Zombies and Evil Ghosts, plus a Half-step Blood Robe.

When Qi Zhengyang heard Li Yuan's combat record, he was stunned. Such strength far surpassed what was achievable within the Inner Force Realm, and Li Yuan had only broken through to the Inner Force Realm for how long?

At most, a month!

How did he achieve this?

Could it be that there truly was such monstrous martial arts talent in the world?!

Qi Zhengyang was filled with questions. He was very curious about Li Yuan's current true strength, and the selection for the senior disciple position organized this time was an excellent opportunity.

A total of seven Inner Force Realm elite disciples from the martial arts school would compete. The strongest would be determined by a draw. One spot would be reserved as a bye, making a total of eight participants.

First, it would be an eight-into-four elimination, then four-into-two, and finally, a one-on-one final.

Some might argue that getting a bye was an advantage and unfair. However, anyone could potentially draw the bye, so it was still fair.

If one insisted on calling it something, then luck was also a part of strength.

The seven martial artists stepped forward to draw lots. Li Yuan drew the number four. The number eight was the bye. Surprisingly, Wu Si'an drew the number seven, meaning he got a bye in the first round. One had to admit, this fellow had excellent luck.

The competition began quickly. The number one draw was a woman named Dong Yuezhen, the only female among the Inner Force Realm disciples. Her opponent was Lin Hao, who drew the number two.

The first match started soon. Both were skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Dong Yuezhen surprisingly used the same martial art as Li Yuan, the Cinnabar Palm. She unleashed two consecutive palm strikes, continuously attacking Lin Hao.

Lin Hao used the Thousand Leaf Palm, a complex palm technique that was extremely difficult to defend against.

As soon as these two began their exchange, Li Yuan's spirits lifted. Dong Yuezhen used the Cinnabar Palm, which he also knew, and she was a woman. This made Li Yuan pay extra attention to this match.

After just a couple of glances, Li Yuan judged Dong Yuezhen's Cinnabar Palm to be at the Minor Accomplishment stage. The Shocking Force she cultivated wasn't very robust, nowhere near comparable to his.

Lin Hao, as expected of someone who came closest to being the previous senior disciple, was much stronger with his Thousand Leaf Palm than Dong Yuezhen. His palm techniques were skillful, and in every exchange, he managed to gain the upper hand.

The palm shadows of the Thousand Leaf Palm were dense, with illusions and reality intertwined, making it difficult to discern. Several palm strikes deceived Dong Yuezhen's defense and struck her.

Although Dong Yuezhen was a woman, she lacked the frailty of ordinary young ladies. The ferocity in her punches and palms was no less than that of men. Even though she was struck several times by Lin Hao, leaving bruises on her body, she showed no signs of retreat. Instead, she fought more bravely.

With a dull thud, Dong Yuezhen's left shoulder was hit by Lin Hao. The palm force penetrated her body, worsening her injuries. Simultaneously, she struck Lin Hao's lower ribs with a palm, releasing Shocking Force. Lin Hao's face paled, and he took a step back.

Bloodshot veins appeared in Dong Yuezhen's eyes. She knew she was weaker than Lin Hao, so she resorted to trading blows, seeing who could endure more and who would fall first.

Seeing Dong Yuezhen charge forward fearlessly, Lin Hao felt a headache coming on. "This crazy woman, she's that ruthless?"

He was competing in this disciple tournament to contend for the senior disciple position and needed to maintain his best condition to face the subsequent opponents, especially Li Yuan.

In the past few days, Lin Hao had encountered several people outside the martial arts school praising Li Yuan's prowess and predicting his extraordinary future. The widespread reputation suggested he was no mere pretender, which put significant pressure on Lin Hao. He had a premonition that Li Yuan might be his biggest competitor this time.

Lin Hao wasn't afraid of injuries or pain; he was only afraid of sustaining too many unnecessary injuries from Dong Yuezhen that would affect his subsequent matches.

"I must end this match quickly."

The two clashed again. Lin Hao fully unleashed the Thousand Leaf Palm, his internal energy constantly erupting, making his palm techniques increasingly ferocious. Dong Yuezhen quickly faltered, forced to retreat by Lin Hao's attacks.

There was a clear gap in strength between her and Lin Hao, a gap that even trading blows couldn't bridge. Dong Yuezhen's face grew paler, and her internal energy dwindled. She was already showing signs of exhaustion.

Lin Hao seized an opportunity and unleashed a palm strike. The palm technique was fierce. Dong Yuezhen was at the end of her strength and had no possibility of resisting. However, Lin Hao's palm didn't land. The palm blade stopped steadily about an inch from Dong Yuezhen's temple.

The winner was decided.

Dong Yuezhen steadied herself, nodded at Lin Hao, and stepped off the stage.

Having won the round, Lin Hao breathed a slight sigh of relief and quickly exited the stage, yielding the arena.

The second match was between number three and number four. It was Li Yuan's turn to enter the stage.

His opponent was named Ji Hongchun, who practiced a swordplay called Returning Wind Swordplay. As he walked onto the stage, he looked at Li Yuan with a solemn expression. Li Yuan's recent fame had put immense pressure on him.

Logically, Li Yuan had only broken through to the Inner Force Realm a month ago. How strong could such a person be?

Ji Hongchun had broken through to the Inner Force Realm many years ago, and his internal energy was incredibly robust. Would he really lose to a newcomer who had just reached the Inner Force Realm?

In Ji Hongchun's mind, he had always harbored some doubt: was Li Yuan really that strong?

Could he be someone who deceived the world with his reputation?

Today, he would test Li Yuan's mettle!

Li Yuan slowly walked onto the arena and stood before Ji Hongchun. Having participated in numerous missions and killed a horde of evil spirits, he had accumulated a considerable aura of malevolence. This made Ji Hongchun's heart clench, and he became even more wary of Li Yuan.

Holding a wooden sword, Ji Hongchun spoke to Li Yuan, "I practice a swordplay called Returning Wind Swordplay. Wielding a weapon gives me a slight advantage. I hope you don't mind, brother."

Li Yuan looked at Ji Hongchun, who held a wooden sword, and smiled faintly, "No matter. Let's begin."

To Li Yuan, it made no difference whether these martial arts disciples carried weapons or not; if he wished, he could end the fight in an instant.

As the spar began, Ji Hongchun was the first to attack, thrusting his wooden sword towards Li Yuan!

Li Yuan watched the incoming wooden sword with a smile. The sound of stone bricks cracking echoed from beneath his feet. Ji Hongchun's sword missed, striking only air, as Li Yuan's figure had already vanished from his original position.

Shocking Step!

Qi Zhengyang, who had been sitting calmly at the front desk, was suddenly startled and shot to his feet, "This is?!"