Battle for the Top Five

With the referee announcing the result, Lin Ming won the match.

Because Lin Ming's opponent knew he couldn't defeat Lin Ming, he negotiated with Lin Ming and decided to settle the matter with a single move.

This meant that Lin Ming's match had already ended, while the other two matches had only been going on for a short time.

The other two opponents were both at the Dou Master Stage.

Because their cultivation levels are similar, their battle is destined to be all-out. They both want to win and enter the top ten, thus gaining the qualification to compete for the top five.

Half an hour later, the last remaining match on the arena came to an end. After this round of competition, Lin Ming and the other two who won officially entered the top ten of the Ranking Tournament.

The three who lose in this round will have a chance to challenge again. If they win their challenge, they will advance to the top ten. If the challenged person loses, they will be eliminated.

The only people they can challenge now are the seven who drew blank Number Plate and received a bye in this round. Among these seven, three are Da Dou Shi, and the other four are at a similar level, all at the high-level Dou Master stage.

Shortly after this round of matches ended, the three who lost and the seven who received a bye because they drew blank Number Plate returned to the ring.

Now is the time for the three who just lost the match to choose their opponents.

Before long, the three groups of six people who needed to fight were once again distributed on the three arenas, ready to engage in their respective battles.

Lin Ming looked at the six people about to compete on the three arenas. All of them were High-Level Dou Master, none of them were Da Dou Shi. He thought to himself, "It seems that no one has chosen to bite the hard nut to crack against these three Da Dou Shi!"

Lin Ming's thoughts did not contain any disdain for their choice to fight against opponents of similar cultivation level.

As mere spectators, everyone naturally hopes for a scenario where the weak defeat the strong. Lin Ming was certain that there were quite a few people in the audience who shared Lin Ming thoughts.

Before long, the battle had begun.

Based on his assessment of the competition, Lin Ming was certain that the only opponent he could successfully challenge was Xie Lei, whom he had lost to in his previous match.

Because of his clever fighting style of deciding the outcome of the match with Lin Ming in one move, his Dou Qi was not consumed much to begin with. In addition, because the match with Lin Ming ended early, he had already recovered the fighting Dou Qi he had consumed in the other two matches.

Xie Lei is currently in top form and fighting his opponent at full strength. Given that Xie Lei's strength is among the top in the Dou Master, he has a very high chance of winning this round of the challenge.

On the other hand, the two who lost in the previous competition had already exhausted a lot of their Dou Qi in the battle for a spot in the top ten, and their Trump Card had also been exposed.

Now, if you were to fight someone of similar strength who was at full power, it would be impossible unless they were provoked into a short duel to decide the winner.

Otherwise, if others simply delay you and exhaust your already depleted Dou Qi, they can easily win the match.

As Lin Ming had predicted, the final result of the match was that Xie Lei won after nearly half an hour of fierce fighting.

The other two challengers lost their matches shortly after they began because they ran out of Dou Qi.

At this point in the competition, the top ten have been determined. The next step is for these ten to draw their Number Plate again to determine their opponents in the round of 10 to 5.

Before long, Lin Ming and the other ten top-ranked individuals returned to the arena to draw their opponents for this round.

Lin Ming drew Number Plate with the number "two" written on it from the draw box.

Lin Ming handed his Number Plate to the registration staff to complete the registration process between the person and the corresponding Number Plate.

Before long, everyone had finished drawing their Number Plate and registering.

After the staff completed the registration, Lin Ming learned who the other person who drew the Number Plate "two" was and who would be his opponent in this round of the competition.

It was at the end of last year that Zuo Rulong was beaten by Lin Ming and spent the entire year in bed.

Zuo Rulong learned about his opponent almost simultaneously with Lin Ming. When Zuo Rulong learned that his opponent was Lin Ming, his face turned ashen.

The results of the draw are already determined, and will not be changed by the joy or displeasure of some participants.

This round of official matches will then begin.

Two more arenas rose up in the square, bringing the total number of arenas to five.

Then, at the referee's call, the participants from each group came to their respective arenas to compete in this round.

Lin Ming arrived at the arena corresponding to his number "two".

After Lin Ming arrived at the ring, Zuo Rulong, Lin Ming's opponent in this match, also came onto the ring.

Lin Ming looked at Zuo Rulong's gloomy face, and a slight, enigmatic smile appeared on his lips.

Seeing that both competitors had entered the arena at an even pace, the referee asked them if they were both ready.

Lin Ming replied that he was ready. Zuo Rulong didn't speak, but simply nodded in acknowledgment.

After receiving a response, the referee announced three breaths later that the battle between Lin Ming and Zuo Rulong had officially begun.

Facing Lin Ming, who was at the same cultivation level as him, Zuo Rulong was not confident that he could defeat Lin Ming.

After all, the last time he fought Lin Ming, there was a difference of Tier One in cultivation. Lin Ming, with the cultivation of Dou Master, defeated him, who had already advanced to the level of Da Dou Shi.

Although he had only recently advanced to the Da Dou Shi level and didn't have a complete grasp of his own strength, he was still Tier One below that.

Lin Ming is currently at the same level as him, Da Dou Shi, but he is only one star higher, at the level of Two Star Dou Grandmaster.

Zuo Rulong himself didn't have much hope of defeating Lin Ming, who was a one-star Two-Star Dou Master Dou Master.

In their final duel, Lin Ming 'Lin Ming fist Dou Technique were definitely at the Profound Tier High-grade.

Especially the final blows of his fists slamming into his chest—even High-grade Profound Tier Dou Technique couldn't achieve such power.

Such power, even if it's still High-grade Profound Tier Dou Technique, would absolutely be among the very best of the High-grade Profound Tier Dou Technique.

Therefore, with his current cultivation level not much different from Lin Ming's, he was able to defeat Lin Ming, who possessed the most outstanding Dou Technique among the Profound Tier High-grade techniques.

What will I use to win? My highest-level Dou Technique — Dragon Grasping Claw.

Although after so many years of practice, he has mastered the art to an extraordinary degree.

Dragon Grasping Claw, after all, only Profound Tier Mid-grade Dou Technique, even though, thanks to his years of practice, it has become comparable in power to High-grade Profound Tier Dou Technique.

However, that was only vaguely comparable; it was still somewhat inferior to a true High-grade Profound Tier Dou Technique. Not to mention, it was compared to Lin Ming's fist combat technique, which was considered absolutely top-tier among High-grade Profound Tier Dou Technique Dou Technique.

After stepping onto the stage Zuo Rulong began to think about his strengths and weaknesses against Lin Ming, wondering if he could find a way to defeat Lin Ming and avenge the time he was bedridden for over a month after being beaten by Lin Ming.

But no matter how he analyzed it, when facing Lin Ming, this formidable figure, Zuo Rulong had almost no chance of winning.

Therefore, after the referee announced the start of the match, Zuo Rulong said to Lin Ming with an even more gloomy expression, "Lin Ming, I didn't expect you to be able to advance from Six-star Dou Shi to Da Dou Shi in just half a year."

"Even if you've already reached the Da Dou Shi level, don't expect to win easily against me."

"Let's let strength speak for itself!" Lin Ming didn't know whether Zuo Rulong's words, which sounded like a defeat before the battle even started, were genuine or just a way to lull him into a false sense of security.

Regardless of what it is, Lin Ming doesn't intend to speculate too much.

The universal Law in this world is just like what Lin Ming said: ultimately, everything depends on strength.

Faced with Lin Ming's blunt truth, Zuo Rulong had nothing to say. He then stopped wasting words, summoned his Dou Qi Armor, and attacked Lin Ming.

Zuo Rulong was able to become one of only four Da Dou Shi in this Inner Academy Selection Tournament, which means his strength and talent are top-notch.

Seeing Zuo Rulong summon his Dou Qi Armor and attack him, Lin Ming dared not be careless and immediately summoned his own Dou Qi Armor and took out the Star Dragon Saber.

"Jingle bells..."

In Lin Ming's hands, the Star Dragon Saber was like a real dragon, sometimes raising its head and thrusting forward, sometimes striking horizontally with its belly, and sometimes sweeping its tail and slashing horizontally. The Star Dragon Saber slashed, thrust, and parried again and again, attacking the dragon-like Dou Qi Armor on the Zuo Rulong, producing a series of impact sounds.

Although Lin Ming easily blocked Zuo Rulong's attacks, even such ordinary attacks could not cause Zuo Rulong any significant damage.

After another unsuccessful attack and being driven back, Zuo Rulong finally wanted to explode.

Zuo Rulong himself knew that if he continued to attack like this, he probably wouldn't be able to cause much damage to Lin Ming in the end.

Seeing that Zuo Rulong was about to unleash his Dou Technique, this was exactly what Lin Ming wanted. Lin Ming didn't want to continue this small-scale skirmish any longer; otherwise, after fighting for a long time, both sides would only have their Dou Qi depleted without making any substantial progress.

Seeing Zuo Rulong attacking again, Lin Ming swung his Star Dragon Saber and, Zuo Rulong was about to reach him, unleashed Startling Swan Slash at him.

Zuo Rulong approached, he saw a blade of energy attacking him. He immediately grabbed at the blade of energy from the Startling Swan Slash with his hands, which were already clenched into claws.

The blade energy of the Startling Swan Slash was firmly grasped by Zuo Rulong's claws, which resembled dragon claws, preventing it from advancing any further.

After confronting Zuo Rulong's Dragon Grasping Claw, the sword energy of the Startling Swan Slash was ultimately defeated and crushed by Zuo Rulong's dragon-claw-like claws.

Zuo Rulong was not entirely at ease after forcefully crushing Lin Ming's Blade Skill, as evidenced by the involuntary trembling of his hands.

However, he had managed to block Lin Ming's Blade Skill, and his Dragon Claw still had the strength to fight back, so Zuo Rulong wanted to attack Lin Ming again.

Just Zuo Rulong had this thought, a piercing buzzing sound rang out.

In that instant, Zuo Rulong seemed to have lost his mind, standing there dumbfounded and motionless.

In less than a breath, Zuo Rulong was freed from the intimidation. But this was a battle, and that short time was enough for Lin Ming to launch an attack.

Lin Ming's Explosive Thunder Fist Explosion Fist landed squarely on Zuo Rulong's lower abdomen.

After taking the full force of Lin Ming's Explosive Thunder Fist, Zuo Rulong not only spat out a mouthful of blood, but was also sent flying backward and fell to the ground.

As Zuo Rulong tried to get up after falling to the ground, a knife was pressed against his neck, making him afraid to move.

"Can we announce the results now?" Lin Ming said to the referee after pressing the Star Dragon Saber against Zuo Rulong's neck.

Seeing this, the referee quickly declared Lin Ming the winner of the match.

Upon hearing the results, Lin Ming smiled. Lin Ming had now officially secured a place in the top five and was eligible to enter the academy's Scripture Pavilion to choose an item.

Lin Ming had already decided on the items he would choose from the Scripture Pavilion long ago.

Now that I've secured a spot, it's no wonder I'm so happy.