To ensure the Dharma Combat Test went smoothly—and to show how seriously he took it—the principal had specially invited two Golden Core sword cultivators to guard the main entrance.
One carried a sword on his back. The other had a sword pill circling around him.
As it happened, they were the same two sword cultivators Xu Xing had seen outside the Miscellaneous Affairs Hall.
They sure had a wide range of gigs. Professional security guards, huh?
Compared to last time, though, they were much more serious now, their sharp gazes sweeping over everyone who entered the school.
Clearly, the principal had paid them well.
Xu Xing walked into the school behind a man in a suit, chewing on a bun. The two sword cultivators scrutinized the man ahead of him but didn't spare Xu Xing even a glance, as if they hadn't noticed another person was there.
And, in fact, they really hadn't.
The main reason he'd come to the school this time was to see the cultivation method created by Saint Emperor Abyss, so it was best to keep a low profile.
If he'd come just to watch the Dharma Combat Test, he could have used Xu Sandao's identity. The principal of this school wouldn't dare refuse him, would he?
When he reached the athletic field, he looked up at the enormous arena floating in the air.
"I thought they might've improved it. Turns out it's still the same old thing."
The arena was called Cease Conflict, and it belonged to the Dragon-Elephant Heaven-Supporting Sect. Whenever cultivators sparred on it, anyone who suffered a mortal injury was teleported off.
The one before him, however, was only the lowest-grade version. At a higher grade, the arena could even create a world of its own.
Besides Cease Conflict, the Dragon-Elephant Heaven-Supporting Sect also had the Blood Battle arena. Once someone stepped inside, it sealed itself off from the outside world until only one person remained.
Both Cease Conflict and Blood Battle also rated the performance of the fighters.
Erm...
Those ratings were usually pretty nasty. There were plenty of people watching today, so quite a few students were likely to be left fuming.
Xu Xing didn't linger. He tossed the paper bag that had held his buns into a trash can and continued upstairs. The crystal card containing the Basic Refining Method was kept in the director of studies' office.
There shouldn't be anyone there now. But even if there was, it wouldn't matter.
At nine o'clock, the teachers led their classes to the athletic field to wait.
The judges' seats floated in midair. The principal and two vice principals were there, along with the director of studies, the mayor's secretary, and Li Fengping, whom the principal had personally invited.
"Begin!"
A voice rang across the field—not loud, not soft.
There were no long speeches or elaborate ceremonies.
This was a contest between cultivators. Even if these students were still at low levels, the principal would show them the respect they deserved.
Today, the stage belonged to them!
Rumble!
Amid a deafening roar, the floating Cease Conflict arena began to separate, like a pile of building blocks being taken apart. Streaks of crimson spiritual light flashed across it, filling the air with a murderous aura.
Under everyone's gaze, the vast Cease Conflict arena split apart on its own into twelve smaller arenas of different sizes.
Thud! Thud! Thud...!
The arenas crashed to the ground one after another, sending up clouds of dust as the earth shuddered.
Spiritual light blocked the dust from reaching the audience and the judges, but the students and teachers weren't so lucky. Dusty waves slammed into them, leaving everyone covered in at least a little grit.
Seeing that the effect was about right, the principal raised a hand and swept it through the air. The dust billowing from the falling arenas instantly settled, as if someone had pressed it down.
The twelve arenas now covered the athletic field. The largest stood in the middle, with the arenas growing smaller toward the edges.
"Challengers! Take the stage!"
The Dharma Combat Test would last only the morning, so they'd chosen this format.
Anyone confident enough could pick an arena and take the stage to defend it. Successfully fending off nine challengers meant they'd held their arena.
Once the top twelve defenders had been decided, each could challenge any of the other eleven and seize their arena. Their final ranking would be determined by the size of the arena they held.
In other words, taking part in the Dharma Combat Test wasn't mandatory. Anyone who didn't think they could handle it could simply sit it out.
Silence...
More than five hundred students stood there, but not a single one stepped forward. The athletic field grew quieter by the moment.
Several minutes passed before a student finally came forward. He looked rather old for his age, and his cultivation was at the eighth level of Qi Refining, putting him among the second tier of students.
He climbed onto the smallest arena at the edge.
"Du Qian, Class Four. I ask my fellow students to offer me their guidance."
He looked a little nervous.
Once someone had taken the lead, another student quickly stepped forward. She was also at the eighth level of Qi Refining. She climbed onto the smallest arena, stood opposite Du Qian, and announced her name and class.
Hoo!
The younger students in the audience gasped. They were about to fight already!
The two wasted no time and started fighting. Zhang Yunlu watched with rapt attention, afraid she might miss even the tiniest detail. But as she watched...
Huh?
Was this really what they called a Dharma combat?
The two traded blows one at a time. He cast a Fireball, she cast a Water Shield. They just kept tossing spells back and forth, stiff as wooden dolls.
Were they playing a turn-based game or something?
Heh.
Fang Lin hugged his black battle saber and couldn't help sneering at the sight.
Soon, the challenger ran out of spiritual energy. Qi Refining cultivators didn't have enough to keep throwing spells around like that, but Du Qian, the arena's defender, wasn't doing much better.
The challenger cupped her fists. "Senior Brother Du's cultivation is higher than mine. I accept my defeat."
"Junior Sister, you're too kind..."
Du Qian was just about to demur.
[Called a Dharma combat, but it's really just a spellcasting drill. Why not head to the busy streets and shout for tips? You might earn two or three silver coins.]
[Both the attacker and the defender are trash.]
The arena's grand, imposing voice rang across the entire athletic field. The two onstage froze for a moment, then their faces flushed bright red.
Holy crap!
This arena had one vicious mouth!
The younger students in the audience and the high school seniors who hadn't gone onstage were stunned.
The challenger covered her face and jumped off the arena. She'd just loudly announced her name, and now the shame was practically bubbling out of her.
Du Qian had successfully defended his arena, but the rating still left him fuming. He gave up defending it and jumped down too.
For a while, no one else dared take the stage.
Especially those who lacked confidence. They'd meant to do their best and show what they could do, but in this situation...
Were they supposed to go up there and make fools of themselves?
"Get onstage." Xu Xing's voice suddenly sounded in Zhang Yunlu's ear.
She froze, then hurriedly looked around, but couldn't see anyone. She did spot her big brother in the audience, though, waving at her.
Did Senior come too?
After steadying herself, Zhang Yunlu left the line and headed toward the arenas. Even without Xu Xing's prompt, she'd been planning to take the stage.
To play it safe, she should pick one of the medium-sized arenas to defend.
"Go to the one in the very middle," Xu Xing's voice said again.
"..."
Xu Xing stood by the window of the director of studies' office, a crystal card pinched between his fingers. From afar, he watched Zhang Yunlu head step by step toward the arena in the very middle.
"The Dragon-Elephant Heaven-Supporting Sect's louts are as sharp-tongued as ever."
Even plenty of people in their own sect had been left fuming by Cease Conflict's ratings.
Still, that had helped reduce the number of conflicts within the sect.
Body refiners were mostly hot-blooded, and they could lose their tempers easily, often getting into fights over the smallest things.
Cease Conflict, Cease Conflict—no matter how big the grievance, once you'd fought it out on that arena, you'd realize it wasn't such a big deal after all.
So many years had passed. He wondered whether the guy who'd created the Cease Conflict arena had been beaten to death yet.
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