The Sand Disc Shattered, Stone Soldiers Rose; Wood Gave Way to Water, and Dragons Swam

What?

The very first match of the second round is mine???

If the examiner's cultivation hadn't been so high that he had no reason to favor the Wu Household or get entangled with Mo Chen, Mo Chen would have suspected that the man drawing lots was deliberately trying to disgust him.

Mo Chen was a little dazed by the announcement, but he hurriedly rose and headed toward the arena.

The watching cultivators wore all sorts of expressions as he passed.

"Look, it's him again."

"What sins did he commit in his last life? This is his second time facing the Wu Household."

"He'll finally get dealt with this time, right?"

"Wu Xing doesn't practice body techniques, but his mastery of spells is remarkable."

"Shh, keep your voice down."

Although the examiner's earlier warning had made everyone much more restrained, those remarks still reached Mo Chen's ears without the slightest attempt at concealment.

Another one surnamed Wu?

I really suspect something's going on behind the scenes.

Mo Chen remained expressionless and kept walking.

Let them talk. Martial contests weren't literary competitions: essays were hard to rank, but spell battles had clear winners and losers.

Mo Chen's gaze happened to sweep across the spectators, and a figure in white entered his sight.

The white-robed cultivator was looking toward the arena, openly scanning him with his Divine Sense.

The first two times might have been coincidences, but now that Mo Chen stood in the arena and the man was still watching him alone, coincidence was out of the question.

Strange. Every time our Divine Senses sweep across each other, something in my dantian resonates faintly with him.

Twice, three times.

There's no mistaking it.

Before he could think further, the match began.

After the examiner verified their Contest Tokens, the contest officially started, and the glow of an Array Formation rose around the arena's edge to neutralize the aftershocks of their spells.

Mo Chen withdrew his gaze and offered a cupped-hand bow first. "I am Mo Chen, seventeen years of age."

Facing members of the Wu Household twice in a row really was something of a coincidence. He might as well start by being polite.

"I am Wu Xing, courtesy name Ben, twenty-seven years of age."

Wu Xing returned the bow with impeccable form, his tone unexpectedly mild. "If I should happen to win, I hope you won't accuse me of bullying someone younger, fellow Daoist."

So courteous?

Mo Chen froze slightly. Such polished manners left him rather bewildered.

He's not nearly as vindictive as everyone said!

More false information.

Don't believe rumors, don't spread rumors!

Wu Xing's voice suddenly deepened. "Take this!"

Mo Chen snapped back to his senses, only to discover that his opponent had vanished completely from view. A sweep of his Divine Sense likewise caught no trace of him.

Where did he go?

Looks like he's using the Aura-Concealing Technique and Form-Concealing Art together, and he's quite accomplished at both.

A grinding rattle of sand and stone came from overhead.

Mo Chen looked up and saw a massive disc of earth, gravel, and sand rapidly taking shape. It swiftly expanded until it covered the entire arena, hovering directly above it.

While Mo Chen was still forming hand seals, the stone disc thundered downward.

A murmur of alarm rose from the spectators.

"Something that big, if it hits him head-on..."

"If he doesn't surrender, he'll be crushed alive."

Saber and sword principles were connected, and the Vast Sea Blade Intent happened to contain a move called Jade Marrow Shattering, specifically meant to cleave through thick earth and massive rocks.

Mo Chen did not summon his Mystic Pearl to surrender. He turned his right wrist, and a longsword fell into his palm. Dharma Power poured steadily into its blade.

Once white light shimmered along the blade, Mo Chen sent the sword soaring skyward, its light carving a sharp cross through the air.

Where the two crimson marks, one horizontal and one vertical, intersected, the stone disc shattered with a roar, breaking into four huge pieces that plummeted downward.

One strike broke the deadlock.

But Mo Chen did not withdraw his sword. The instant he shattered the disc, his Divine Sense detected a faint fluctuation of Dharma Power.

He flicked his hand and cast a Fireball Technique, sending a scarlet fireball straight toward its source.

Hiss.

A hand reached out of thin air and casually swept the fireball apart, scattering it into a few sparks that faded away.

Wu Xing appeared in midair and looked down at him. "Not bad. You really do have some skill, but... I'm not finished yet."

Wu Xing pointed downward, and the shattered rocks and gravel strewn across the arena instantly softened into mud and rapidly gathered together again.

In barely two breaths, three stone figures, each nine feet tall, rose from the ground.

Their features were finely sculpted and their expressions lifelike. Had the spectators not seen them formed from mud with their own eyes, they might have believed real people were hidden inside.

Each of the three stone soldiers held a massive stone axe, their imposing might terrifying.

So Wu Xing had concealed himself earlier to prepare this spell.

Mo Chen dared not hesitate. He immediately flung out three Vine Prison Technique Talismans, which turned into three streaks of green light and shot toward the stone soldiers.

Wood overcame earth, and the vines grew with astonishing speed. The spectators outside saw only three clouds of green mist burst across the arena, swiftly turning into green vines that wrapped the stone soldiers from head to toe in several layers.

Yet within just two breaths, every vine around the stone soldiers was shaken apart, falling in showers of fine dust.

"Has the donkey of Guizhou run out of tricks?"

Wu Xing hovered in midair, his tone mocking. "My senior brother told me long ago that your cultivation wasn't high, but you had plenty of Talismans. Still, do you think a few wooden vines tossed out so casually can handle a spell I spent so long preparing?"

Mo Chen did not reply. He threw out another six copied Talismans.

Green vines grew madly, soon binding the three stone soldiers tight once more.

Mo Chen also channeled Dharma Power into the vines, directing them to climb the Array Formation's light barrier. Before long, layer upon layer of vines had wrapped the arena so tightly that not even wind could pass through.

The spectators could no longer see what was happening inside. All they heard was the creaking of vines tightening around the stone soldiers, mingled with the dull thuds of stone axes hacking through them.

Mo Chen swiftly analyzed the details of the battle. These stone soldiers were formidable; simply trying to crush them with wooden vines would achieve little.

There's no point getting tangled up fighting them. I have to interrupt Wu Xing's spellcasting.

But the stone soldiers move fast...

I have to get around them and go straight for Wu Xing overhead!

With a plan in mind, Mo Chen immediately grasped at the air with one hand, and the two Water Dragon Talismans left over from the previous match appeared in his palm.

The vines suddenly tightened, letting out piercing creaks.

"Hmph, trying to crush my stone soldiers?"

Wu Xing scoffed and commanded all three stone soldiers to settle into horse stances. The green vines around them burst apart in unison.

Then the stone soldiers hefted their massive axes and charged at Mo Chen.

Mo Chen stamped hard against the ground and used the momentum to launch his Wind-Riding Technique, hurtling straight toward Wu Xing in midair.

At the same time, he flung the Water Dragon Talismans toward the stone soldiers below.

A mass of water spiritual energy abruptly gathered in the arena, then transformed into two water dragons that roared forth.

The water dragons did not attack the stone soldiers directly. Instead, they raced around the Array Formation's edge, continuously drawing the water into a whirlpool.

The three stone soldiers were trapped at its center, dragged off balance by the powerful suction. Their massive axes were caught by the current midway through each swing, and they could not advance even half a step.

Wu Xing's pupils contracted as he discovered that Mo Chen had already rushed right up to him, both fists blazing with flames as they drove straight toward his chest.

Wu Xing hastily summoned a black shield to block Mo Chen's fists, but he was too late. By the time the shield emerged from his Storage Bag, Mo Chen had already flown inside its guard and collided with him.

At that hairbreadth moment, the stone soldier nearest Mo Chen actually broke free of the whirlpool's pull and viciously hurled its massive axe.

The stone axe cleaved toward them with a dull roar through the air.

The next instant, Mo Chen ignored the massive axe behind him and slammed both fists into Wu Xing's chest.

I hear you don't practice body tempering and only excel at spells.

I really have that talkative cultivator before the match to thank for this.

I'll just beat you, the spellcaster, black and blue. Let's see you spare any Divine Sense to control your stone soldiers then!

That was the difference between spells and Talismans. Spells required hand seals and a supply of Dharma Power, along with constant control of their trajectory and form with Divine Sense throughout the process.

Talismans were different. During their creation, the spell was already sealed within the runes as the hand seals were formed. They needed only a trace of Dharma Power to activate, followed by a little guidance with Divine Sense.

Wu Xing gave a muffled grunt. The Dharma Power remaining in his body circulated rapidly, barely dispersing the lingering force of the punches while suppressing the flames that had climbed onto him one by one.

Mo Chen could not be bothered with the stone axe behind him. He focused on pinning Wu Xing down and giving him a thorough beating.

Without Wu Xing's attention to control it, the stone axe softened into a mass of sludge, hurtling onward solely on its initial momentum.

Yet the black shield Wu Xing had just summoned rendered another great service, blocking it for Mo Chen.

But the momentum was still too great. After striking the black shield, the sludge slammed into Mo Chen behind it.

Mo Chen and Wu Xing were both sent flying by the mass of sludge, crashing heavily against the arena's light barrier.

The light barrier shuddered violently, dissipating that terrifying impact layer by layer as a ring of ripples spread across it.

Muddy water splashed everywhere.

The arena was a complete mess.

After collapsing, the stone soldiers dissolved into the water, turning into sludge that covered the arena floor. In the end, Mo Chen and Wu Xing were buried beneath it as well, with the black shield covering them.

In the mud, one lay faceup and the other facedown, neither moving, their fates unknown.