Wang Yichui

At the same time Sun Xiaoyan stunned the entire crowd with his victory, Lin Zhengli woke from his unconsciousness and began grumbling quietly behind his older brother.

"Why did you help me forfeit? If you'd woken me up then, I might still have been able to fight!"

"And then?" Lin Zhengren asked without turning around.

"If I hadn't let my guard down, that barbarian wouldn't have stood a chance! And that guy from Maple Forest City didn't even reach Foundation Establishment! I'm not satisfied with him taking the crown!"

"Even if you beat him, by points he'd still be the first-year champion. It'd be meaningless. Besides..." The corner of Lin Zhengren's mouth twitched. "What if you lost again?"

"How could that happen?" Lin Zhengli glanced around, then lowered his voice and said bitterly, "You don't believe in me? You think I'd lose to him?"

"Who knows?" Lin Zhengren replied with an airy smile.

Lin Zhengli felt the fury of being looked down on, especially since he really had been pinned down and beaten in front of all those people.

He was about to say something when Lin Zhengren suddenly turned around and grabbed him by the collar.

"Remember! You've made an enemy through your own stupidity."

He lowered his voice. "Unless you're absolutely certain, don't give your enemy a chance to come out on top. He hasn't beaten any of you. His championship is far from complete."

He released his brother and turned back to watch the match, not a trace of gloom on his refined face.

"Don't let him have it."

In the round-robin stage, Maple Forest City drew well; no one from the city had to face a teammate in the first round.

Li Jianqiu had a bye, while Wang Changxiang and Sun Xiaoyan fought the first match.

Neither of them had any intention of changing their approach.

Sun Xiaoyan still charged forward recklessly, while Wang Changxiang still opened with a veil of mist.

"What's the big idea? Fog again!"

"Yeah! We can't see a thing!"

Unable to see the match, the common folk in the crowd stopped giving the Wang Family any face.

But the audience's opinion clearly wasn't something Wang Changxiang considered.

Sun Xiaoyan blundered around in the fog, rushing at empty air every time. Once the Dao Art was complete, the wind rose and the fog dispersed.

That gentle breath passed through the hand seal and turned violent in an instant, becoming a tornado. Roaring, it blasted through the dense fog and slammed straight into Sun Xiaoyan!

"Ah!" the chubby boy roared, though it sounded about as threatening as a piglet squealing.

But there was no question about his strength. Even in the roaring tornado, he still tried to charge forward!

The wind tore his clothes to shreds, and his face flushed red.

His feet clung firmly to the ground, but the paving stones cracked one after another, and he was forced back step by step.

Cross the boundary line, and you lose.

Sun Xiaoyan began forming hand seals. It was extremely difficult in that tornado, but he managed it all the same.

A stone wall appeared in front of him, only to be blown apart in the space of a breath.

The shattered stones struck Sun Xiaoyan, and then everything went out of control. He was swept into the air and flung out of the ring.

The Earth Skin Drum Dao Art really did offer formidable defense. Even after facing such a powerful tornado, Sun Xiaoyan had no visible wounds. The stones had struck him without leaving so much as a bruise.

But he had still lost.

At this stage, Sun Xiaoyan's defense was practically unbreakable. In a real fight, Wang Changxiang might not have had any way to deal with him. But this was a competition. Blow him out of the ring, and you won.

Jiang Wang let out a quiet sigh. He'd suddenly realized that he didn't seem to have a good way to deal with either Wang Changxiang or Sun Xiaoyan. Four Spirits Body Refining clearly couldn't match the defense of the Earth Skin Drum, and although the Purple Qi Comes from the East Sword Technique was fierce, it probably couldn't break through that defense. With a good weapon, he might have had a chance. As things stood, he couldn't beat this chubby kid.

As for Wang Changxiang, once the Breath-Blowing Tornado appeared, Jiang Wang would have no choice but to run.

That was a Grade A Daoist Art! In the entire Maple Forest City Daoist Academy, including all the instructors, how many people could use it?

A monster!

"Wind Sparrow." The hunched old man spoke up again. "His Dao Vein True Spirit should be the Wind Sparrow, naturally attuned to wind elemental energy. That's why he can use a Grade A Daoist Art beyond his level."

This was the first time Jiang Wang had heard of a Dao Vein True Spirit called the Wind Sparrow. In the Dao Academy's lessons on Dao Veins, the instructors had only ever described the Earthworm True Spirit. For a while, Jiang Wang had thought all Dao Vein True Spirits were Earthworms.

Knowledge often spoke to one's strength.

Jiang Wang and the others exchanged glances, their attitude toward the lecherous-looking old man growing much more respectful.

"We haven't had the chance to ask your surname, sir." Huang Azhan cleared his throat, polite and deferential.

The old man seemed to resent Huang Azhan's earlier smart mouth. He gave a cold snort and ignored him.

"That's right, Grandpa, what's your surname?" Jiang An'an suddenly turned around, curiosity filling her big eyes. "I always see you, but I don't know what to call you."

"Gui!" The little girl beside them, Qingzhi, had just opened her mouth when the hunched old man cheerfully cut in. "Grandpa's surname is Gui. Just call me Grandpa Gui."

"What a refined surname," Huang Azhan said, nodding as he savored the sound of it.

His flattery was about to go on and on.

Even Jiang An'an and Qingzhi quickly turned back to watch the match.

The second round had already begun.

Wang Changxiang faced off against Li Jianqiu.

Judging by their rankings on the Dao Merit Board, as well as the fighting strength they'd shown so far, Wang Changxiang had an overwhelming advantage. But for some reason, Jiang Wang couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to Li Jianqiu.

"Senior Brother Wang, could we maybe not use that shameless Breath-Blowing Tornado?" Li Jianqiu tried to negotiate before the match began.

Wang Changxiang had already replenished his Dao Essence and recovered his energy. He merely smiled at the request. "You're joking, Junior Brother."

His usual gentle manner.

His hand seals complete, he spread the mist.

At that very moment, Li Jianqiu spread both arms, and a fierce wind sprang up.

A Grade C, low-grade Daoist Art: Call Wind!

This wasn't the Nether Mist from Small Forest Town. Ordinary wind was enough to blow it away.

After all, the mist wasn't some Daoist Art with no answer. The truly unstoppable one was the Breath-Blowing Tornado. In the previous two matches, the opponents had ways to dispel the mist, but they had chosen to defend themselves first, never expecting to be shattered by a single strike.

As the mist cleared from the arena, Wang Changxiang kept forming hand seals, his voice calm and mild. "Junior Brother Li, you weren't interested in wind Daoist Arts before."

The world of Daoist Arts was vast and boundless. Better to master one field than dabble in many; better to be an expert than a generalist.

Li Jianqiu finished his hand seals and flicked out two swords of flame. With a tap of his toes, he shot upward like an eagle striking the sky.

"I learned them for you, Senior Brother!"

At that moment, he was in the air, his momentum like a rainbow.

Wang Changxiang's expression didn't change. He brought his hands together in front of his lips, touching his index and middle fingers together, with his thumb, ring finger, and little finger pressed together as well. In the triangular space between his middle and ring fingers, he opened his mouth and breathed out.

Breath-Blowing Tornado!

That wisp of breath became a tornado in an instant. Li Jianqiu was already close, but with nothing to push off from, he suddenly flipped backward several times in midair.

"Good!" Huang Azhan clapped his hands and cheered!

With very few exceptions, humans could hardly fly under their own power before opening the Heaven Gate. Li Jianqiu's ability to stay aloft was already astonishing.

But everyone around them looked at Huang Azhan as if he were an idiot. After a few claps, he sheepishly ducked his head.

Li Jianqiu's midair flips were dazzling, but they'd taken him outside the ring, which was practically the same as forfeiting.

Li Jianqiu landed and dispersed the twin swords of flame in his hands, surprise on his face. "You can complete your Breath-Blowing Tornado this quickly now?"

He had every reason to be surprised. Any cultivator with a discerning eye could see it. The only chance to beat Wang Changxiang lay in catching him before he completed the Breath-Blowing Tornado. But no one had known that he didn't just know a Grade A Daoist Art; he'd mastered it so thoroughly and so quickly that he could even shorten the time needed to form the hand seals!

That also meant he hadn't needed such a long preparation time in his earlier matches. The mist had been nothing more than a trivial smokescreen, there to blind opponents like Li Jianqiu.

"If I go any slower, I feel like something's going to happen," Wang Changxiang said with a gentle smile.

Li Jianqiu fell silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled in acceptance.

"I lost."

The three-year division champion of the Three Cities Dao Discussion was decided. Wang Changxiang had won both his matches and returned in triumph.

After this battle, Wang Changxiang earned himself a new nickname: Wang Yichui...

It meant that no matter who he faced, he could settle things with one blow. Of course, it also implied that he only had one blow in him.

As Huang Azhan put it, "Short, but fierce."

The match between Li Jianqiu and Sun Xiaoyan couldn't change the outcome, and they fought halfheartedly.

Though the common folk watching still thought the match was intense, Li Jianqiu showed off the ferocity of Fire Element Dao Arts almost perfectly, forming hand seals at lightning speed. Sun Xiaoyan once again relied on the Earth Skin Drum and charged straight at him. Before they could close into melee range, Li Jianqiu drifted out of bounds and forfeited again.

But Jiang Wang could tell that Li Jianqiu hadn't given it his all. From beginning to end, the plain-looking long sword at his waist had remained sheathed.

Everyone left the arena to make room for the battle between the Dao Academy's five-year students.

As someone familiar with him, Jiang Wang naturally went over to offer Li Jianqiu a few words of comfort.

But Li Jianqiu spoke first. "I'd prepared a surprise. Too bad I didn't get a chance to show it."

Jiang Wang knew he meant Wang Changxiang's astonishing speed in completing the Breath-Blowing Tornado.

"Why didn't you try it against Three Mountains City earlier, Senior Brother?"

The match earlier had been a dazzling clash, but anyone with a discerning eye could see Li Jianqiu had no intention of winning.

Li Jianqiu gave a bitter smile. "First, I might not be able to break through his defensive Daoist Art. Second, there's no point in coming second or third."

He turned and walked away.

"The match is about to start!" Jiang Wang reminded him.

Li Jianqiu had already gone far off, his hand resting on his sword. "I'm not watching."

Thank you to reader Snow Mountain Beside for the tip!