Seven Straight Victories

Seven straight victories.

Though it was only a sparring competition between Qi Condensation Realm disciples, it was still stirring enough to set the blood surging.

This was the first time in more than a decade that a previous champion had accomplished the feat of winning all seven arena matches.

The last time anyone had managed such a feat was said to have been around eighteen years ago.

But in the course of completing that clean sweep at the Outer Court Grand Competition, that previous champion had also sustained a hidden injury.

In the final match against that year's champion, he had lost after running out of strength.

The disciple who had come within half a step of becoming the Outer Court's champion was none other than Xue Xiu, now an arena steward at the Outer Court's martial arts grounds.

Xue Xiu was only in his forties and was highly valued by the sect. It was only a matter of time before he entered the Inner Court.

Yet Xue Xiu's story ended when he perished in the calamity that struck the Outer Court more than two years later.

Now, Xue Xiu sat on the viewing platform, gazing at Xu Aotian's retreating figure as he left the arena.

No one knew what was going through his mind at that moment.

"Dong!"

The bell rang out across the Outer Court, signaling the official start of the Outer Court Grand Competition.

The first matches were between Body Tempering Realm disciples.

The competition began simultaneously across eight arenas: A, B, C, D, Heaven, Earth, Profound, and Yellow.

Only after four rounds of duels had concluded would the top sixteen compete on a single arena, battling beneath the gaze of the entire crowd.

Chen Yan was in the fourth match of the Profound Group. His opponent was an unremarkable late-stage Body Tempering Realm disciple.

But whoever his opponent was made no difference to Chen Yan.

With his actual cultivation at the Martial Spring Realm, even if Chen Yan suppressed himself to the Body Tempering Realm, he could crush Qi Condensation Realm disciples through sheer disparity.

Their physical strength and control over true qi simply existed on entirely different levels.

In terms of spectacle alone, sparring matches between Body Tempering Realm cultivators were a little more entertaining than those between Qi Condensation Realm cultivators.

After all, the Body Tempering Realm disciples' hard-hitting, flesh-and-blood combat was more enjoyable to watch than the Qi Condensation Realm disciples' half-baked spells.

The first match offered little to see. It wasn't until the third match in the Profound Group began that nearly everyone in the martial arts grounds turned their attention to it.

A burly man stood on the arena, nine feet tall and clad in a fitted outfit, a massive axe in his hands. The muscles in his exposed arms bulged like knots, gleaming in the sunlight with an unusual sheen. Just looking at him was enough to inspire dread.

Facing him, the disciple holding a fine-steel sword looked as if he were wielding an embroidery needle by comparison.

"Well, would you look at that."

Elder Lan Wei of Qingchan Peak shook his head repeatedly on the viewing platform, letting out a rueful sigh.

This was an utterly lopsided matchup.

After all, battles between Body Tempering Realm cultivators still relied primarily on physical strength, with true qi playing a supporting role.

The match hadn't even begun, yet the outcome was all but decided.

"Clang!"

The copper gong rang, announcing the start of the match.

"Heh, if I were that little guy facing the big one, I'd surrender the moment the gong sounded."

"Right? What's the point of even fighting?"

Spectators below the arena made mocking remarks.

"If you were up against that disciple with the massive axe, how sure would you be of beating him?" Lin Qifeng asked Chen Yan.

Chen Yan said nothing. He simply held up three fingers.

"Thirty percent?"

Lin Qifeng frowned, seemingly quite displeased with Chen Yan's answer.

"I'd take him down within three moves," Chen Yan said calmly.

Lin Qifeng stared blankly for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"You little brat. You're even better at bragging than your master was back in the day!"

Maybe it was just Chen Yan's imagination, but he felt Lin Qifeng admired him a little more than before.

His gaze returned to the arena.

Compared to the burly man, the sword-wielding disciple facing him was clearly much more restrained and cautious.

And his hesitation played right into the burly man's hands.

The burly man spun, swinging his massive axe as he swiftly closed in on the sword-wielding disciple. The gust of wind from the blade even sent fallen leaves swirling three zhang away.

Mountain Splitting Style!

The axe blade came crashing down with tremendous force, straight toward the sword-wielding disciple. There was no time to dodge; he could only raise his sword to block.

Sparks flew. A clear clang rang out, and the steel sword in the disciple's hands was cleaved in two by the axe.

The axe blade's momentum did not falter. It continued downward toward the sword-wielding disciple.

Before the blade even struck, the Daoist robe on his body had already been torn apart by the cutting wind.

The next instant, the axe blade struck the sword-wielding disciple.

"Clang!"

Sparks flew as the axe blade hit his chest, then bounced upward.

It left nothing but a white mark on the skin of his chest.

No one was surprised.

The physical strength of a late-stage Body Tempering Realm cultivator far surpassed that of ordinary steel weapons.

That was why, as mentioned earlier, even an ordinary late-stage Body Tempering Realm cultivator was far beyond the reach of any mundane martial artist.

After the axe blade bounced away, the burly man smoothly turned it around and swung the axe handle like a baseball bat.

"Thud!"

The sword-wielding disciple flew sideways, crashing toward the crowd watching below the arena.

The winner was clear.

"He took two moves." Lin Qifeng spoke, glancing back at Chen Yan with a hint of amusement. "And you said three?"

"Give me one move," Chen Yan said coolly.

"In one move, I'll defeat the opponent in my match. Otherwise, I'd be letting you down after you went to the Pill Hall on Kongyuan Mountain to get Body Tempering Fluid for me."

"You brat. So you do know that getting Body Tempering Fluid and Qi Guiding Pills from my senior brother meant I had to call in a favor, huh?" Lin Qifeng said, looking as if he were laughing in exasperation.

"Your turn. Get down there and fight. Don't embarrass me."

Chen Yan clasped his hands in salute, then left the viewing platform and headed for the Profound arena.

"The next match: Chen Yan, Personal Disciple of Elder Lin Qifeng of the Outer Court's Wenyuan Hall, versus Zhao Wei, Outer Court Disciple!"

The Consular Disciple responsible for announcing the competitors' names sent a thousand ripples through the martial arts grounds with those words.

"So that young man is Elder Lin's Personal Disciple?"

"He certainly is a handsome one."

"Hmph, and what good does being handsome do? He's still only at the Body Tempering Realm."

"Exactly. I really don't know why Elder Lin would take a seventeen-year-old Body Tempering Realm kid as his Personal Disciple. Aren't there plenty of people in the Outer Court with better talent? Let alone the Inner Court."

To Chen Yan, the crowd's chatter grated on his ears, like the buzzing of flies.

But it didn't matter.

Chen Yan walked slowly onto the arena. Standing at the other end was his opponent for this match, Zhao Wei.

He was an Outer Court Disciple about the same age as Chen Yan, with very fair skin.

"Please go easy on me," Zhao Wei said, clasping his hands toward Chen Yan.

"..."

Chen Yan made no sound. He simply clasped his hands in return.

"Clang!"

The copper gong rang.

Zhao Wei planted his left foot hard against the ground and launched himself toward Chen Yan.

Chen Yan stood motionless, seemingly leaving openings all over his body.

Zhao Wei grew no suspicion. He simply drew back his arm and threw a heavy right hook toward Chen Yan's temple.

"Thump!"

But before Zhao Wei's fist could reach Chen Yan, Chen Yan suddenly raised his own fist and struck him squarely in the face. Zhao Wei flew backward through the air.

"Thank you for the match," Chen Yan said coolly.

The entire arena fell silent.