Two Rounds of Duels

[The Dragon-Tiger Ranking final ranking battle begins now.]

The next morning, the Dragon-Tiger Ranking drew their consciousness forms into its space right on time. At the same time, the contestants' rooms within the consciousness space were displayed.

From left to right, the ten blank spaces held Dugu Bo, Ma Hongjun, Tang Hao, Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, Lou Gao, Qian Renxue, Yu Xiaogang, Hu Liena, and Oscar.

Atop the Clear Sky Sect's mountain, Tang Xiao was watching the Dragon-Tiger Ranking's final showdown with the elders when he spotted Lou Gao at once.

"Divine General Lou Gao? What's going on with this Dragon-Tiger Ranking? Even a blacksmith can make the ranking?"

No one had expected the Dragon-Tiger Ranking to feature a stage with a hundred Soul Beasts.

Who could defeat a hundred Soul Beasts head-on without Soul Power?

Yet now, the Dragon-Tiger Ranking was telling them that this blacksmith could.

But how was that possible? Those were a hundred Soul Beasts.

What method had Lou Gao used to win?

The third elder still had the keenest eyes. He noticed at once that something seemed off about Lou Gao's clothing and the weapon in his hand. "Look, isn't that the divine soft armor that was auctioned off before?"

"Now that you mention it, it really does look like it. And the weapon in his hand should also be a divine artifact that was auctioned off before."

"The Flamefang Blade! Exactly! I knew that old rascal must have secretly kept something up his sleeve. He didn't auction off all the divine artifacts he made. Once he gets out of the Dragon-Tiger Ranking, we'll settle accounts with him."

"Right, we'll settle accounts with him!"

[The Dragon-Tiger Ranking duels begin now. First round: Ma Hongjun versus Dugu Bo.]

Ma Hongjun and Dugu Bo instantly entered the arena.

Dugu Bo looked fierce and plainly difficult to get along with, while Ma Hongjun was utterly casual. "Hey, old man, you're still competing for the Dragon-Tiger Ranking at your age?"

Dugu Bo chuckled, unbothered.

At the Heaven Dou Imperial Advanced Soul Master Academy, Dugu Yan was cheering excitedly for her grandfather. "Go, Grandpa! Beat that little fatty to a pulp! Beat him until even his mother wouldn't recognize him!"

Yu Tianheng's eyes twitched wildly at her words, and he hurriedly pressed her back into her seat. "Sit down and watch properly. That little fatty was the Karmic Fire Phoenix on the Pride of Heaven Ranking. Who knows what exceptional abilities he has, to have passed that hundred-Soul-Beast stage?"

Ye Lingling also nodded slightly. "Since he passed the hundred-Soul-Beast stage, he definitely isn't ordinary. Teacher Dugu relied on poison. I wonder what he relied on?"

"What exceptional abilities could a fatty like that have? Grandpa will definitely knock him down in a few moves."

Seeing Dugu Yan taking sides so fanatically and unreasonably, the two shook their heads helplessly. They stopped analyzing and quietly watched the Dragon-Tiger Ranking duel instead.

After all, even they were rooting for Dugu Bo from the bottom of their hearts.

Within the Dragon-Tiger Ranking space, Ma Hongjun and Dugu Bo had already begun fighting.

With a sweep of Dugu Bo's hand, countless particles of powder instantly filled the space for dozens of meters around him.

Ma Hongjun immediately retreated frantically, simultaneously drawing on the black flames of the Two-Colored Flames to cover his entire body.

Amid a series of crackles, all the medicinal powder drifting toward him through the air was devoured by the black flames.

"So you play with poison. Unfortunately for you, you've run into me today. I'm your counter."

Covered in black flames, Ma Hongjun charged straight at Dugu Bo.

Dugu Bo had clearly also realized that Ma Hongjun seemed completely unafraid of the poisons he had concocted. With black flames covering his entire body, he looked very difficult to deal with.

But making Dugu Bo concede would not be so easy.

Dugu Bo hurled several piles of miscellaneous objects straight at him. Ma Hongjun swept his hand out casually and knocked them all aside.

In that brief instant, Dugu Bo discovered that the layer of black flames covering Ma Hongjun actually had very little destructive power.

Dugu Bo's eyes shifted, and he immediately closed in, throwing a punch at Ma Hongjun.

Just as he had expected, the black flames only burned a thin layer of Dugu Bo's skin before running out of power.

But beneath the flames was Ma Hongjun's incoming fist. Dugu Bo traded a punch with Ma Hongjun, only to discover that the little fatty's strength was outrageously great. And that was not all. Once they truly exchanged blows, Dugu Bo found that despite blocking left and right with both arms, he could not stop Ma Hongjun's attacks at all. If his own boxing skills had not been more practiced, Ma Hongjun would have defeated him long ago.

Feeling that he could no longer hold out, Dugu Bo instantly turned and swept out a leg, forcing Ma Hongjun back. "All right, let's stop here. I concede."

Ma Hongjun chuckled. "When you're old, stay out of young people's business, Grandpa."

Dugu Bo gave a sinister smile. "Little fatty, I'll remember you."

"What good will remembering me do? If you're not happy, come fight me. I'll be waiting at the Pontiff Palace in Spirit City. Bibi Dong is my slave."

Dugu Bo merely took the little fatty for a reckless fool and said no more.

[Winner: Ma Hongjun.]

Once the Dragon-Tiger Ranking finished its announcement, the Heaven Dou Royal Academy erupted.

"Grandpa actually lost?"

"So that nasty little fatty really does have something exceptional about him. Damn it!"

[Second match: Lou Gao versus Yu Xiaogang.]

Within the battle space, all traces of the previous fight had been cleared away. The next two contestants then entered.

"Hehe, hehehehehehe."

Yu Xiaogang had absolutely no idea what was happening and only kept laughing foolishly, while Lou Gao did not dare let his guard down in the slightest.

After all, someone who could pass the hundred-Soul-Beast stage could not possibly be an idiot.

The two faced off for a long while. Yu Xiaogang did not attack, and Lou Gao did not dare make any rash moves either.

Only Bibi Dong stared at Yu Xiaogang within the Dragon-Tiger Ranking in shock. His hands and feet were actually completely intact.

The Dragon-Tiger Ranking's mental space actually has this effect, though it's limited to the ranking itself. I wonder how Xiaogang managed to pass so many stages back then. But don't worry, Xiaogang. As long as I can become a god, I'll definitely heal you.

Yu Xiaogang remained dull-witted within the battle space, laughing foolishly without pause.

After facing off against Yu Xiaogang for a long while, Lou Gao finally lost patience. He stepped forward and delivered a simple downward slash.

If Yu Xiaogang made any counterattack, that downward slash could immediately shift into a block, minimizing the damage as much as possible.

But to Lou Gao's surprise, his blade simply came straight down, cleaving Yu Xiaogang in two.

[Winner: Lou Gao.]

Inside the Heaven Dou Royal Soul Master Academy, Yu Tianheng, Dugu Yan, and the others burst into an uproar. "What's going on? What happened? He won just like that? Isn't this match-fixing? No matter how you look at it, something's wrong with this match."

Ye Lingling stared for quite some time at Yu Xiaogang, who had returned to his own space, before slowly saying, "Is that Yu Xiaogang an idiot?"

"How is that possible? Anyone who can pass the hundred-Soul-Beast stage is definitely no ordinary person."

Ye Lingling shook her head. "I mean, did someone turn Yu Xiaogang into an idiot before the finals began?"

"Someone turned him into an idiot? Doesn't the Dragon-Tiger Ranking protect contestants from harm?"

Yu Tianheng shook his head. "No. Their bodies are only protected while their consciousness is inside the Dragon-Tiger Ranking space. Outside competition hours, the Dragon-Tiger Ranking doesn't provide contestants with protection."

A chill immediately ran through their hearts. Someone had actually resorted to underhanded attacks to improve their own competition results.

This world really was becoming more and more dangerous.