Junior Brother, Can You Really Keep Going?

As Time turned, year's end arrived again in the blink of an eye, and the Longevity Points were still added to his mana.

Chen Xun led the Black Bull and brought spirit herbs to the Sect Main Hall, steadily collecting 200 contribution points.

"Old Bull, save them. No spending—we're entering the Sect Tournament!" Chen Xun carefully placed the Eight-Trigrams Token into his storage pouch.

"Moo!" The Black Bull was overjoyed.

Chen Xun registered himself and the Black Bull as well. A talisman appeared in his hand; when the time came, it would tell him which fighting arena to go to.

A few days later, the bell rang. The tournament peak was packed with people, as lively as ever.

But Ge Shuang and Bai Shi did not participate this year. It was said that some elder had taken them in as disciples, making them inner sect disciples.

"The Sect Tournament officially begins!" A vast voice rang through every corner.

The talisman in Chen Xun's hand lit up. He immediately looked toward one arena, then led the Black Bull over, his eyes brimming with eagerness.

On the arena stood a Qi Refining Eighth Level disciple named Zhang Song. His eyes widened in surprise. His opponent was also at the Qi Refining Eighth Level and even had a spirit beast with him. This was bound to be a fierce battle.

"Senior Brother, please go easy on me. I've only just broken through to the Qi Refining Eighth Level."

Chen Xun chuckled, his eyes full of vigilance. These disciples had strange methods and numerous spells; he could not afford to be careless.

After observing for the past year, he had discovered that the Qi Refining Eighth Level was enough to reliably place within the top five hundred, without drawing attention.

"Of course. The Sect Tournament ends at the first strike; I will not endanger Junior Brother's life."

Zhang Song's expression turned somewhat strange. This man and bull both wore straw hats. They truly looked rather comical and odd.

"Senior Brother, shall we begin?"

"Mm..."

Zhang Song was slightly speechless. Three Mountain-Splitting Axes hung at this man's waist, clearly forged from ordinary iron—not even magical artifacts. Still, he could not underestimate him.

His gaze gradually sharpened. His two fingers suddenly flicked again and again, and streams of water vapor instantly condensed into ice crystals. They flowed like drifting clouds and running water, trailing countless afterimages.

Ice spikes shot toward Chen Xun. The Black Bull was only at Qi Refining, Third Layer; Zhang Song's target was its master. To capture bandits, first capture their chief.

"So strong!" Chen Xun shouted as he continuously dodged, fleeing in a sorry state under pursuit. "As expected of Senior Brother!"

Each ice spike nearly struck Chen Xun, but every time he moved his feet, he narrowly evaded it. The spirit beast kept fleeing alongside him.

"Junior Brother, why not stop dodging?" Zhang Song stood unmoving, while the hand seals he formed grew faster and faster, and the angles of the ice spikes became increasingly tricky.

Chen Xun took out a Mountain-Splitting Axe and shattered one ice spike with a swing, then resumed dodging. Sweat drenched his entire body, and his eyes were filled with terror.

"Junior Brother, how long do you intend to keep running?!"

Zhang Song's expression grew impatient. Why could he never hit him? His mana had already been greatly depleted. "I won't hold back anymore!"

As soon as he spoke, veins bulged on Zhang Song's forehead. His palms and fingers struck together, and a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.

Several ice blades suddenly appeared out of thin air and slashed at Chen Xun without warning. Zhang Song stepped forward with his sword in hand, following behind the ice blades and sealing off every route of retreat.

"Terrifying." Chen Xun and the Black Bull shrank back, vanishing from where they stood.

Zhang Song's pupils contracted. Both his spells and he himself struck empty air.

"Fireball Technique!" Chen Xun shouted, and several small fireballs shot toward him. Zhang Song's gaze sharpened as he swept a hand behind him, summoning ice spikes.

A large puddle of water had melted across the center of the arena. Zhang Song already knew this opponent was difficult to deal with; defeating him with spells alone would likely be hard.

The two quickly became entangled in battle atop the arena, fighting to a standstill. Zhang Song was inwardly frantic. Why could he not hit him at all?!

The Black Bull watched from the side, mooing without pause as though cheering him on. On other arenas, some people had already won two rounds.

After fighting for more than half an hour, Zhang Song was drenched in sweat. Chen Xun also sat on the ground, gasping for breath, as if he would be unable to hold on another moment.

"I can only use my trump card. I never expected to encounter such a troublesome opponent in the first match of the tournament."

Zhang Song hesitated, but he did not want to waste any more time. He patted his storage pouch, and several formation flags landed in the four directions.

A fierce gust suddenly swept through. Before Zhang Song could react, two of his formation flags had been pulled... pulled away?!

Hey, a sneak attack!

A black shadow charged in. The Black Bull rammed forward fiercely. Zhang Song flew through the air with a dazed expression before crashing heavily outside the arena.

"Who am I? Where am I?! What just happened?!"

Zhang Song cried out in pain, his eyes still dazed as he looked at Chen Xun, a huge question mark written across his face.

"Senior Brother, you let me win. You let me win." Chen Xun staggered down from the arena and returned the formation flags to him, an embarrassed smile still on his lips.

"Junior Brother, that truly was incredible speed."

Zhang Song took a step back as he accepted the formation flags, fear flashing through his eyes. It was fast enough to interrupt spellcasting?!

"I merely won by a trick. Without the arena restrictions, how could Junior Brother possibly be a match for Senior Brother?"

"Heh, Junior Brother is too modest." Zhang Song shook his head. He had actually encountered something so absurd.

Chen Xun walked with difficulty to an arena steward and respectfully said, "Martial Uncle, this disciple wishes to continue."

"Mm." Martial Uncle answered indifferently, sending a stream of mana into Chen Xun's yellow talisman and matching him against another first-round winner.

In the second round, he faced a cold-faced disciple named Liu Tao, who was actually at the Ninth Layer of Qi Refining.

"Junior Brother, if you surrender now, it is not too late. You can spare yourself some physical pain as well."

Liu Tao looked expressionlessly at Chen Xun and the Black Bull. The latter clearly did not seem to be in good condition.

"Senior Brother, please... instruct me." Chen Xun forced a smile and even sat cross-legged, seemingly recovering his mana.

"Hmph. You fail to appreciate kindness."

With a wave of Liu Tao's hand, a massive black ring appeared. It expanded from small to large, circling endlessly through the air as a black wind howled, seemingly locking onto Chen Xun.

The massive black ring suddenly shook and shot straight at Chen Xun—a mid-grade Yellow-tier killing artifact!

A cold glint flashed through Chen Xun's eyes. He left an afterimage where he stood, but the giant ring seemed to have locked onto him and pursued him relentlessly.

"Junior Brother, if you cannot hold on, it is still not too late to surrender." Liu Tao sneered as he watched Chen Xun flee in disarray, his hands moving without the slightest delay.

He raised his right hand and waved. Golden light flared from the giant ring as it enlarged another full circle, descending from above Chen Xun.

"As expected of a Ninth Layer of Qi Refining Senior Brother." Chen Xun did not forget to praise him. Then he suddenly threw a punch, smashing it fiercely into the giant ring!

At that moment, a sudden change occurred!

Clang! A violent collision rang out. The punch dimmed the ring's golden light considerably, and Chen Xun seized the instant of pause to flee again.

Liu Tao's expression changed drastically, intense shock filling his eyes. Though the artifact appeared unharmed to outsiders, he had clearly heard the reverberations within it.

His expression gradually became solemn. Although this junior brother was clearly in poor condition, as if he had just gone through a fierce battle and had yet to recover, Liu Tao could no longer underestimate him.

"Fireball Technique!" Chen Xun formed a hand seal, sending several small fireballs hurtling toward Liu Tao.

Disdain filled Liu Tao's eyes. A low-level spell like the Fireball Technique dared to flaunt itself before an expert? He opened his mouth wide. "Blazing Flame Technique!"

Firelight blazed across the arena, and the small fireballs were instantly swallowed up. Chen Xun suddenly burst from the sea of flames, a Mountain-Splitting Axe in hand as he chopped at Liu Tao!

Liu Tao snorted coldly, drawing a longsword. A fierce battle erupted on the arena once more. Liu Tao pressed forward step by step, driving Chen Xun back again and again.

Half an hour later, Liu Tao's head was covered in sweat, and even his control of mana had weakened considerably. His face twisted with fury.

"Junior Brother, can you really keep going?!"

"I... I'm fine." Chen Xun replied weakly, seeming as though he would collapse at any moment.

Liu Tao's mana was nearly exhausted. His eyes bulged wide. Why was Chen Xun always just one step faster than him? His mental energy was now severely drained.