"We won! Lin Yi won!"
"And he beat Wan Yong in just two breaths. That strength is incredible."
"Right! Wan Yong's brute strength is famous at Dongshan Martial Academy. Even the freakishly talented top five couldn't beat him this easily."
"I think Lin Yi has what it takes to break into the top three—maybe even take second place!"
"This talent is terrifying! Absolutely terrifying!"
At the sight of this, the disciples and spectators cried out in amazement.
Lin Yi, however, remained calm.
Wan Yong was nothing to him; Lin Yi had never taken him seriously. After winning, the only thing that surprised him was the five thousand taels of silver. Beyond that, nothing stirred the slightest ripple in his heart.
His real goal in this tournament—and the opponents he truly cared about—were the three geniuses who had placed in the top three at Dongshan Martial Academy's last tournament.
In fact, only one of them mattered: Lin Tianqing, who had placed first!
"Teacher!"
With that thought, Lin Yi immediately called to the burly man below the arena.
"I want to keep challenging."
"Good!"
The burly man nodded.
"According to Dongshan Martial Academy's rules, each disciple gets three challenges in the second round. You've already used one, so you have two left. Who do you want to challenge this time?"
"Wang Yue, who placed second at Dongshan Martial Academy's last tournament!"
Lin Yi answered without hesitation.
Wang Yue, the academy's second-ranked disciple, cultivated the Fourth-Rank Martial Art Cold Moon Sword Art and had reached Great Accomplishment.
Her cultivation and power exertion were at the Late Sixth Rank and Minor Accomplishment in Extreme Strength, respectively. By Dongshan Martial Academy's standards, she was a solid member of the top five.
And among those top-five fighters, Wang Yue had built up deep foundations in every area: Martial Skill, power exertion, and Martial Cultivation.
That was why she had placed in the top three in seven or eight out of every ten Dongshan Martial Academy tournaments, and even claimed second place three or four times. Among the top five, only Lin Tianqing could rival her.
If Lin Yi could defeat her, the other disciples wouldn't dare challenge him lightly. That would make things easier for him later.
After all, in the second round of Dongshan Martial Academy's tournament, each disciple had only three chances to challenge—but the term "disciple" did not include those ranked in the top three.
The top-three disciples did indeed have only three chances to issue challenges, but they could be challenged without limit. In other words, whenever someone challenged them, they had to accept!
If they were knocked out of the top three during a fight, they would have only three chances left to challenge their way back into the top three and win a spot in the Red Dragon Pool.
If those three chances ran out and they still hadn't made it back into the top three, they would be out of the running for the Red Dragon Pool that month. That was the brutal reality of competing for a place in its waters!
The Red Dragon Pool, a fabled treasure left behind by a Martial Emperor, had effects so astonishing that its entry spots were naturally hard to come by. Only the strongest disciples at Dongshan Martial Academy were qualified to benefit from it!
"Fine! I accept your challenge!"
Setting aside Lin Yi's thoughts, a girl with an ordinary-looking face but an icy bearing answered coolly from below the arena. She drew a three-foot-long sword from the nearby weapon rack, then lightly pushed off with her toes and soared onto the arena like a graceful butterfly.
"Whoosh!"
As soon as the cold and proud girl stepped onto the arena, she said nothing. She thrust her sword, and its tip streaked through the air like a cold star, stabbing straight at Lin Yi.
"Not bad power, but not fast enough!"
A cold gleam flashed in Lin Yi's eyes. He moved his saber.
KRAK!
The dense air split apart like cloth beneath his blade. In that instant, a brilliant shooting star seemed to streak across the sky, its unmatched speed and power crashing down on the sword.
Fourth-Rank Martial Art, Full Moon Star Saber, Third Form—Moon Falls Stars!
"Clang!"
The saber's edge met the sword's tip, and dazzling sparks burst through the air. The surrounding air twisted into visible waves beneath the force of the impact.
Then...
Boom! Boom! Boom!
On the arena, even the striking Wang Yue couldn't withstand Lin Yi's slash. The blow sent her stumbling back three steps.
"What? Your Martial Skill is this strong? Your fight with Wan Yong wasn't even close to your true strength?"
Shock appeared on Wang Yue's usually haughty face.
In that brief exchange, she had clearly felt that Lin Yi's explosive force was actually weaker than hers.
But at the instant their weapons collided, his saber's edge had struck the weak point of her sword with pinpoint precision, dispersing at least two-tenths of her strength.
They were both at the Late Sixth Rank. Her cultivation was slightly stronger, but having lost two-tenths of her strength, she was naturally driven back at once.
"Heh. The Full Moon Star Saber has never been about raw strength. And I beat Wan Yong by meeting his brute force head-on just now because I wanted to teach him a lesson. Do you really think that was my true strength?"
Lin Yi smiled calmly.
With the Full Moon Star Saber at 92% Great Accomplishment, his Martial Skill was enough to let him look down on every disciple at Dongshan Martial Academy.
Wang Yue didn't stand a chance, and even Lin Tianqing was far behind him.
So while defeating Wang Yue wasn't an absolute certainty, it was as good as a sure thing.
"Hmph!"
Wang Yue gave a cold snort.
"So what if your Martial Skill is better? A fight isn't decided by Martial Skill alone. Extreme Strength, cultivation, your state of mind in battle, your condition—all of them can affect the outcome! I refuse to believe you can beat me today!"
With a sharp cry, Wang Yue thrust out her sword.
In an instant, dozens of icy sword images appeared in every direction, above and below, each like a cold moon, and rushed at Lin Yi together.
Fourth-Rank Martial Art, Cold Moon Sword Art—Heavy Cold Moon!
"Break!"
Facing the attack, Lin Yi barked a single word and swept his saber horizontally. The move was so simple that even an ordinary child could have swung it, yet it held fearsome power.
Full Moon Star Saber, Fifth Form—Stars Fall!
BOOM!
The saber swept through the air, and the terrifying slash shattered the sword images one after another.
Stars Fall was the Full Moon Star Saber's most powerful frontal attack—and its simplest move.
Since Wang Yue had chosen Heavy Cold Moon, the most intricate and changeable move in the Cold Moon Sword Art, Lin Yi simply cut through the complexity with simplicity, defeating her head-on with the plainest, most straightforward attack.
That was the level of Lin Yi's Martial Skill now: a realm approaching Fourth-Rank perfection!
His every move flowed seamlessly, and he wielded every saber technique with effortless mastery, reaching the very height of refinement.
In Guangling Prefecture City, such skill would earn him the title of a master of the saber. Even among the grown young warriors in the prefectural capital, he would be exceptionally impressive.
"Clang!"
Their weapons met, and Wang Yue was beaten back once more.
Lin Yi didn't waste a moment. He pressed his advantage, thrusting out his saber like a falling star and moon, straight at Wang Yue.
Wang Yue gritted her teeth and hurriedly raised her sword to defend.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
On the arena, the two moved like lightning, sword light gleaming like the moon and saber light flashing like stars as they clashed furiously.
But for most of the fight, Lin Yi was on the attack and Wang Yue was on the defensive. He had her so thoroughly suppressed that she could do nothing but guard, without the slightest chance to counterattack.
"He's too strong! Lin Yi is absolutely ferocious! He's even dominating Wang Yue! Now that leaves Lin Tianqing—who else at Dongshan Martial Academy could be his match?"
"No one! No one! Even Wang Yue's getting beaten like this. The other top-five disciples aren't even as good as she is. How could they possibly match Lin Yi?"
"It's just that Lin Yi came from Commandery City and didn't receive good training before. With his talent, if he'd been born in the prefectural capital, I bet even Lin Tianqing wouldn't compare!"
Below the arena, the disciples and spectators cried out in astonishment.
Amid their shouts, Lin Yi and Wang Yue fought for five hundred moves.
Finally, on the five hundred and ninth move, a glint flashed in Lin Yi's eyes. He spotted an opening in Wang Yue's swordplay and struck.
BOOM!
His saber split the air, sending a terrifying wave of force surging to either side.
With unmatched speed and power, the slash struck the icy sword-moon Wang Yue had formed from countless streaks of sword light.
In an instant, the seemingly indestructible cold moon shattered. The countless streaks of sword light vanished, leaving only a lone sword in the air.
Then the saber came crashing down on it.
"CLANG!"
The saber struck the sword mercilessly. Under its terrifying force, the sword snapped in two and clattered to the ground.
"I lost!"
Seeing that her weapon had been broken, Wang Yue held the shattered sword and spoke in defeat.
"Lin Yi wins!"
The burly teacher called out.
At last, a smile appeared on Lin Yi's face.
"My spot in the Red Dragon Pool is mine!"
Before you continue