"This is bad. Senior Brother Kong is injured. The fight will only get harder for him now."
"They need to stop the match quickly so he can get treatment!"
"Don't push yourself, Senior Brother Kong!"
Seeing the wound in Kong Chongshan's chest, which looked quite deep, everyone grew deeply worried for him.
The outcome of this fight is already decided. Human Rank Spirit Tamers are still mortal, after all. Even if they've cultivated spirit essence, they can't ignore injuries like these.
If the bleeding doesn't stop, he'll grow weaker and weaker. His life could even be in danger!
Fang Qianyuan thought to himself.
At the same time, he considered how he should respond if he were in Kong Chongshan's position.
Yet his conclusion was that he would not need to respond at all!
My physique is different from an ordinary person's. A wound like that would stop bleeding on its own almost immediately. After half a day, it might even scab over and heal by itself!
Although he had yet to enter the arena, through observation and comparison, Fang Qianyuan had gradually confirmed his own traits and advantages, gaining more combat experience in his heart.
In the arena, Kong Chongshan had indeed begun panting heavily. His control was hampered at every turn, and he could no longer deal with Ye Tianming with the reason and composure he had shown at the start.
His injury had already put him on the back foot.
But at that moment, a major distinction between Manifestation Dao and Transformation Dao cultivators also became apparent: only his own body was injured. His spirit creature had not been destroyed.
He still had the strength to fight!
While blocking the Silver-Armored Blade Mantis's attacks, Ye Tianming took opportunities to reposition himself and look for openings to attack, but Kong Chongshan nimbly evaded them all.
Undeterred, Ye Tianming turned his attacks on Kong Chongshan's gray wolves.
These spirit creatures were somewhat weaker, after all, and soon collapsed one after another beneath the silver radiance.
Once again, only the Silver-Armored Blade Mantis remained in the arena.
"Time to end this!"
Ye Tianming suddenly spoke.
He still has strength to spare? Seeing how relaxed he looked, as though he were strolling through a quiet courtyard, Kong Chongshan could not help being briefly stunned.
A broad expanse of spirit runes suddenly surfaced on Ye Tianming's body, revealing silvery-white lines like tattoos.
Powerful waves of spirit essence surged through them, accompanied by a visible glow.
His aura suddenly soared, and his strength and speed rose yet again.
"Oh no, he's bringing out his true strength!"
Below the arena, those who saw this cried out in alarm.
Ye Tianming suddenly vanished from his spot, moving no slower than an ordinary disciple using Shadow Step. Yet no one saw him employ any technique or footwork; he maneuvered entirely through his formidable strength.
He circled around the Silver-Armored Blade Mantis and appeared beside Kong Chongshan in an instant. Kong Chongshan barely managed to parry a few blows before a palm struck his chest and sent him flying.
"Crescent Slash!"
A sharp gleam flashed in Ye Tianming's eyes, but rather than attack Kong Chongshan, he turned and unleashed a Crescent Slash at the Silver-Armored Blade Mantis.
Clang!
A sound like clashing metal rang out from the Silver-Armored Blade Mantis's body, but the blow still carved a huge wound roughly an inch deep and a foot long into him. Green spirit essence poured out rapidly.
Then Ye Tianming sprang up and delivered a beautiful spinning kick, sending him flying.
Thud, thud.
With two successive impacts, the man and the spirit creature hit the ground one after the other.
"I... I surrender!"
With urgency and helplessness in his voice, Kong Chongshan called out with a bitter smile.
"Ye Tianming wins!"
Hearing this, the officiating disciple hurriedly announced the result.
The healers who had been waiting beside the arena rushed up and began stopping Kong Chongshan's bleeding.
Ye Tianming won, just as expected.
Watching this scene, Fang Qianyuan fell into thought.
He had learned a great deal from this fight, but what left the deepest impression was not some astonishing ultimate technique Ye Tianming had used. It was the strength of his foundation.
His profound cultivation and solid fundamentals outweighed everything else.
One or two ultimate techniques or exceptional qualities could not replace that.
Strength that left no opening in any respect was true strength.
I want to possess strength like that too, rather than defeat my opponents through just one or two gifts and advantages!
But wouldn't I be a fool if I had an advantage and didn't use it?
Using it without relying on it is the best choice!
The clouds gradually parted in Fang Qianyuan's mind, revealing the sun. He settled on the right attitude toward his own advantages and future development.
He intended to make full use of his advantages without becoming dependent on them.
The best approach was to apply them to his everyday cultivation and improvement, making his foundation more solid and his strength greater.
As he pondered these things, his own match soon began. His opponent was Wu Longjie, another senior brother from the Training Institute.
Wu Longjie wore a somewhat sinister expression as he watched Fang Qianyuan step into the arena.
"Junior Brother Fang, I won't hold back in this match. You'd better be careful."
His warning seemed well-intentioned, but in truth, it concealed sinister motives.
He knew Fang Qianyuan was quite strong but lacked experience, and intended to use his words to cast a shadow of violence over Fang Qianyuan's heart.
If Fang Qianyuan feared getting injured, he would inevitably fight with his hands and feet tied, needlessly weakening himself.
Wu Longjie did not know that ordinary injuries were the very thing Fang Qianyuan feared least. Thus, Fang Qianyuan merely smiled faintly at his words.
"Fists and feet have no eyes. If I get hurt, I won't blame you, Senior Brother. Don't worry."
"Uh..." Wu Longjie's expression froze.
"Are you both ready?" the officiating disciple asked from beside the arena.
"Ready," Fang Qianyuan and Wu Longjie both replied.
"Good. Three, two, one... begin!"
The officiating disciple struck the bronze gong in his hand with force. With a resounding clang, another match began.
Almost simultaneously, the two channeled their spirit essence and attacked each other.
"Wolf Spirit Claw Strike!"
"Snake Shadow Secret Hand, Hunting Style!"
The spirit creature Wu Longjie primarily cultivated was actually a snake known as the Golden Star Spirit Snake.
Unlike the enhancement methods of ordinary wolf spirits, tiger spirits, and bear spirits, this spirit creature was refined into the body. It did not greatly increase the user's strength or speed, but it offered wondrous applications in the transformation of spirit essence.
An incarnation of a spirit snake about an inch thick appeared on his arm. Like a creature summoned through the Manifestation Dao, it raised its head proudly and snapped viciously at the wolf claw Fang Qianyuan sent toward him.
Snake Shadow Secret Hand?
Fang Qianyuan's heart tightened.
This was a secret art that combined the characteristics of the Transformation Dao and the Manifestation Dao, allowing the user to condense a spirit snake incarnation on their arm to attack an enemy.
It resembled martial arts techniques such as Snake Fist, but Spirit Tamers were cultivators. Unlike mundane Snake Fist, this was an attack by an actual spirit snake, making it even more lifelike than ordinary martial arts techniques!
By incorporating Manifestation Dao methods to summon a spirit snake incarnation, it also brought the snake's nimbleness and agility into full play. After all, a human arm could never be as flexible as a snake's body.
In ancient times, the art of spirit taming had not been divided into the Transformation Dao and the Manifestation Dao. Those distinctions had gradually emerged among later cultivators and were imposed by people.
As the saying went, the wonder of application lay within the heart. There were plenty of people who cultivated both Daos.
And this Snake Shadow Secret Hand could practically be called one of their classic techniques.
Because it fully utilized the user's own strength and the spirit creature's traits, it could unleash greater power than merely enhancing the body or summoning an incarnation to fight. It was a true spirit-taming method that united human and spirit as one.