Xu Qingtong had drawn arena five in the sixth round of matches. When he heard the elder announce the start of the sixth round, he stepped onto arena five.
A man in his thirties climbed onto the arena at the same time. He had a round face, thick eyebrows, a scar on his face, and dense, short whiskers around his mouth. Slightly plump, he wore a blue cloth robe with a belt cinched tightly around his waist, making him look like a gourd that had sprouted legs.
The sight of the man set Xu Qingtong's heart drumming uneasily. This opponent would probably be difficult to handle.
The man cupped his fist toward Xu Qingtong and said, "My surname is Zhang. I've come today to experience your fine skills, young brother." Xu Qingtong hurriedly returned the salute. "I'm Xu Qingtong. Please go easy on me, brother."
With the pleasantries over, the two took their stances. The man surnamed Zhang wielded a large axe as his magical artifact. It was about three feet long, with a black handle and a blade that gleamed with an icy light.
Xu Qingtong dared not be careless. He quickly summoned his Goumang Seal and suspended it above his head, then activated a Shield Talisman to protect his body.
The man surnamed Zhang channeled his magic power, and the axe flew toward Xu Qingtong. Knowing his magic power was inferior to his opponent's, Xu Qingtong dared not meet it head-on and hurriedly dodged aside.
Unexpectedly, the axe suddenly changed direction and continued cleaving toward him, forcing Xu Qingtong to keep dodging. The match thus became a chase, with one man fleeing and the other pursuing.
Xu Qingtong felt utterly frustrated. He could only defend, with no chance to strike back, darting around the arena like a rabbit as his opponent chased and attacked him. Fortunately, since he was only dodging, he was not consuming much magic power.
After being chased for a while, Xu Qingtong gradually adjusted to the rhythm. Just as he was about to counterattack, something unexpected happened. While controlling his axe, the man surnamed Zhang managed to divide his attention and cast the Earth Wall Technique, blocking Xu Qingtong's retreat.
Faced with the wall of earth that had suddenly appeared, Xu Qingtong had nowhere left to retreat. He could only steel himself and send the Goumang Seal against the axe. With a clang, the Goumang Seal was knocked flying.
Xu Qingtong felt his blood surge and his concentration waver. He quickly steadied his mind and, taking advantage of the brief moment when the man surnamed Zhang was adjusting his axe, threw out a Fireball Talisman.
The man surnamed Zhang thought little of Xu Qingtong's Fireball Talisman and swung his axe to block it. He had no idea how powerful Xu Qingtong's Upper-Mid-Grade Fireball Talisman was. The instant the axe struck the fireball, he nearly lost control of it, and it almost flew out of his grasp.
Having gained the upper hand, Xu Qingtong pressed his advantage. How could he let such a fleeting opportunity slip away? He hurled Fireball Talismans and Water Arrow Talismans one after another.
Now it was the man surnamed Zhang's turn to feel frustrated. He had never expected Xu Qingtong's talismans to be so powerful. After desperately fending off attacks from all sides, he was finally struck by a fireball. He stumbled and retreated.
Without magic power sustaining it, the man surnamed Zhang's Earth Wall Technique crumbled in an instant. Xu Qingtong charged out and unleashed two more Fireball Talismans.
After blocking the first fireball, the man surnamed Zhang could hold out no longer. The second fireball that followed blasted him off the arena.
Having won his first-round match, Xu Qingtong stepped down from the arena and found a deserted spot to sit in meditation and rest. The matches continued, but he had no interest in watching.
By noon, all eighty matches of the first round had ended. Eighty contestants advanced to the second round, while the other eighty were eliminated.
The second round would not begin until the afternoon, so Xu Qingtong returned to the Jade Spring Commerce Association. When he entered the shop, the sight before him startled him.
The shop was packed with people. Even Shopkeeper Gu, who rarely appeared, was downstairs attending to customers, while Wu Zheng was so busy he could barely keep up.
These people had all come for the Mid-Grade Talismans. Seeing Xu Qingtong enter, Wu Zheng quickly shouted, "Qingtong, come help!"
Xu Qingtong had no choice but to go over. Some of the customers recognized him and exclaimed, "Isn't that the kid who was fighting just now? So he's with the Jade Spring Commerce Association! No wonder he has so many Mid-Grade Talismans!"
"If I'd known there were talismans like these, I might have won a place in the trial too."
"The Jade Spring Commerce Association really isn't playing fair. They had such good talismans, yet they didn't even hold a promotional event to let people know."
In less than an hour, every talisman in the shop had been snapped up. Shopkeeper Gu was delighted, his eyes narrowing into slits.
But then a thought struck him. If these people who had bought talismans faced Xu Qingtong in the competition, wouldn't he have harmed the boy?
Xu Qingtong was unconcerned. He had not sold a single talisman made with high-grade talisman paper. If these people hoped to beat him with talismans, he would make them regret it until their guts turned green.
After chatting briefly with Shopkeeper Gu and recounting his morning match, Xu Qingtong returned to his room. He meditated and rested for a while, then, seeing that it was nearly time, got up and headed to the Combat Arena.
Upon arriving at the Combat Arena, Xu Qingtong looked around and found even more people than there had been that morning. Most had come to watch the excitement. Lots would have to be drawn again to determine the order of the second-round matches. He was in no hurry and waited patiently.
About a quarter of an hour passed before the three presiding elders emerged from the great hall and entered the grounds.
"Eighty contestants will participate in the second round. We will now draw lots." After speaking, Elder Yuan took out the box for drawing lots. Curious about the box, Xu Qingtong scanned it with his divine sense. The moment his divine sense touched it, however, it was bounced back.
Elder Yuan turned and glanced at Xu Qingtong, frightening him into hastily withdrawing his divine sense. He stood there with his head lowered, not daring to move.
Only after seeing people approach one after another to draw lots did Xu Qingtong cautiously follow them. This time, he drew arena two in the first round of matches. Once every contestant had drawn a lot, Elder Yuan announced the start of the second round.
Xu Qingtong stepped onto arena two. His opponent was a young married woman of twenty-seven or twenty-eight. After taking the stage, she acted coy and cast flirtatious glances at him, hoping to tease him a little.
Unfortunately, Xu Qingtong was still young and inexperienced in the ways of the world, knowing nothing of romance, so her performance was entirely wasted. He had no notion of cherishing a fragrant flower or treasuring a beautiful jade. As soon as the fight began, he played his strongest hand to the fullest, throwing talismans one after another without giving his opponent a chance to breathe.
On the other arenas, some contestants were still exchanging pleasantries, while others had only just taken their stances, yet Xu Qingtong had already ended his fight with a Water Arrow Talisman.
He had only used the Water Arrow Talisman because he feared a Fireball Talisman would burn his opponent's clothes. Otherwise, the beautiful young woman might already have had her charms laid bare.
Xu Qingtong's swift, decisive victory stirred a buzz of discussion below the arena. "That kid really has no sense of cherishing flowers or treasuring jade. How could he bring himself to strike such a pretty young woman?"
"If he didn't have so many talismans, could he have won so easily?"
"What's that kid's background? Where did he get so many talismans? There's something unusual about them. How are they so powerful?"
Ignoring them, Xu Qingtong walked out of the crowd, found an open spot, and sat down to rest. He sensed several strands of divine sense probing him, but paid them no mind and pretended not to know anyone was spying on him.
After roughly two hours, all four rounds of matches had ended. Lin Qian, Tian Zongfei, and the wooden-faced man, whom Xu Qingtong had been keeping an eye on, had also won their matches and advanced.
The competition entered its third round, with only forty contestants remaining. Xu Qingtong once again won his match without a ripple of trouble, securing his place in the fourth round.
To his surprise, the wooden-faced man failed to advance, eliminated by a youth dressed in splendid brocade robes. Xu Qingtong had even been pondering how to deal with the wooden-faced man if they met, only for someone else to eliminate him.
In the fourth round, however, he encountered another old acquaintance.
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