Ye Lingyun faced the many demonic beasts Chu Kuang had summoned without retreating in the slightest. He knew that if he exposed an opening now, Chu Kuang would seize it and drive him into a desperate corner. He swiftly steadied himself and pushed the Nine-Turn Spirit Illusion Art to its limit. Spiritual power raced through his body, supplying an unending stream of strength for the battle ahead.
Under Chu Kuang's command, the demonic beasts surged toward Ye Lingyun like a tide. There were agile Gale Leopards, their speed as swift as lightning; Thorn Armor Bears covered in sharp spikes, their defenses astonishing; and Poison-Winged Birds skilled at ranged attacks, constantly spraying poisonous mist from the air. Surrounded by the beasts, Ye Lingyun remained composed. He unleashed Breeze Phantom Steps, his figure flickering unpredictably as he deftly evaded one beast's attack after another. Meanwhile, the longsword in his hand never stopped moving, sending crisscrossing streams of sword energy through the beasts and steadily wounding them.
Though the Gale Leopard was fast, Ye Lingyun always slipped sideways just before its attack reached him, letting it pounce on empty air before following through with a slash that left a wound on its body. Against the Thorn Armor Bear's formidable defenses, he targeted vulnerable spots such as its eyes and abdomen. The Poison-Winged Bird's toxic mist was dangerous, but his keen perception allowed him to anticipate where it would spray and evade it time after time.
Yet there were so many beasts that Ye Lingyun gradually began to struggle. His stamina and spiritual power were draining rapidly, and several attacks had grazed him, leaving wounds on his body. Still, he gritted his teeth, holding to a single conviction: I must defeat Chu Kuang.
Chu Kuang stood to one side, watching Ye Lingyun struggle to hold out amid the beasts, a smug smile spreading across his face. "Ye Lingyun, struggle all you like. Today, you're destined to fall at my hands."
Ye Lingyun ignored Chu Kuang's taunts and kept searching for weaknesses in the beasts' formation as he fought. At last, he realized that although each beast was powerful in its own right, their coordination was flawed. If he could seize that opportunity and concentrate his strength on breaking through a single point, he could shatter the deadlock.
Ye Lingyun spotted a gap in the coordination between a Gale Leopard and a Thorn Armor Bear and unleashed Starry Illusion Spirit Slash. This time, he condensed all his spiritual power into his sword energy. Like a dazzling meteor, it shot toward the point where the two beasts' attacks converged, carrying tremendous force. The sword energy struck its target and erupted with a powerful impact, driving both the Gale Leopard and the Thorn Armor Bear back step after step and briefly throwing the beasts' formation into disarray.
Seizing the opportunity, Ye Lingyun charged straight at Chu Kuang. Chu Kuang had never expected him to break through the beasts' encirclement and attack him, and alarm jolted through his heart. But he quickly regained his composure, his hands rapidly forming seals as he prepared to summon another powerful beast.
Ye Lingyun had no intention of giving him that chance. He accelerated and, just as Chu Kuang was about to complete his summoning, unleashed Starry Thunder Radiance Slash. It was his strongest strike, merging the power of the stars with the power of lightning. Brilliant light blazed from his blade, and sword energy shot toward Chu Kuang with devastating force.
Feeling the tremendous power within the sword energy, Chu Kuang's expression changed drastically. He hastily condensed a thick shield of spiritual power before him, trying to block Ye Lingyun's attack. The sword energy struck the shield with an earth-shaking crash. The shield shattered instantly, and the lingering force struck Chu Kuang, sending him flying several yards before he slammed heavily into the ground.
Chu Kuang struggled to stand, but his injuries were too severe, leaving him unable to fight any longer. Seeing this, the referee immediately announced, "Ye Lingyun wins this match!"
Thunderous applause and cheers rose around the Martial Arts Arena. Through tenacious will and outstanding combat skills, Ye Lingyun had defeated Chu Kuang, a favorite to win the championship, in this grueling battle, leaving everyone astonished.
Ye Lingyun slowly stepped down from the platform, and his teammates gathered around to congratulate him.
"Ye Lingyun, you were incredible! You actually defeated Chu Kuang!" Li Hao said excitedly.
Ye Lingyun smiled faintly and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Everyone knows how difficult this match was. I just didn't want to let you down. But this was only the first round of the main tournament. Even stronger opponents are still waiting for us."
Just as Ye Lingyun had said, the competition in the main tournament of the Lingxi Star contest was exceptionally fierce. In the next few rounds, he and his teammates all managed to advance, but every match was an arduous battle. They encountered disciples of the Spirit Ice Palace who excelled at controlling ice spiritual power, their unpredictable ice spells nearly trapping them in a prison of ice. They also faced successors of the Divine Mechanism Pavilion who were masters of mechanical arts, whose assorted mechanisms and traps were all but impossible to guard against.
Nevertheless, through their seamless coordination and individual strengths, Ye Lingyun and his teammates turned danger into safety time and again, successfully advancing to the quarterfinals. As the tournament progressed, those who remained were all elite fighters of extraordinary strength, and the challenges facing Ye Lingyun and the others grew ever greater. In the quarterfinals, the opponent they drew was none other than Xingchen Yu, the young pavilion master of the Star Pavilion. Hailed as a cultivation genius seen only once in a century, Xingchen Yu possessed unfathomable strength. Ye Lingyun and the others knew this would be a battle more difficult than any they had faced before, but they felt no fear. They had prepared thoroughly to meet Xingchen Yu's challenge...
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