Wang Baole: The Real Contest Had Only Just Begun

"Congratulations, junior brother, on making it to the semifinals!"

"Junior brother, you're already a successful person at such a young age. Not bad, not bad at all."

As soon as Xiao Chen and Cao Youqian returned to the Miscellaneous Dao Institute, they greeted Wang Baole with their congratulations.

For some reason, Wang Baole felt that his two senior brothers were laughing at him. He scratched his head and said, "Senior brothers, I will try my best to make it to the finals."

The two patted Wang Baole on the shoulder together and said in unison, "Keep it up! We'll be watching your match tomorrow."

Since tomorrow is the last day of the Outer Sect Grand Competition, both the Inner Sect Competition and the True Disciple Competition have chosen to be suspended for a day of rest.

To give all disciples the opportunity to watch the Outer Sect Grand Competition, and most importantly, to ensure that the ten chief disciples can attend the finals, thus demonstrating the importance attached to the Outer Sect Grand Competition.

Cao Youqian seemed to have thought of something and asked, "Junior Brother, who is your opponent tomorrow?"

Wang Baole said, "It's Wuming from Heart-Questioning Temple."

"Heart-Questioning Temple."

Cao Youqian's expression turned amused. "So you'll be encountering people from Heart-Questioning Temple tomorrow. Looks like this battle is going to be quite something."

Xiao Chen, standing to the side, nodded slightly. "The guys from Heart-Questioning Temple are indeed quite strange. I remember there was one from Heart-Questioning Temple among the seeded players in the True Inheritance Competition."

Cao Youqian, "After all, they also have Half-Saint lineage, and every hundred years one or two strange individuals will emerge."

The two of them talked back and forth, which strengthened Wang Baole's belief that he must win tomorrow. They said it was as if everyone had Half-Saint inheritance. No, my inheritance, Wang Baole's inheritance, is even more powerful. It was improved by my master on the Half-Saint inheritance.

His subtle change naturally did not escape the notice of Cao Youqian and Xiao Chen. The two exchanged a smile, increasingly looking forward to the duel between Wang Baole and Wuming the next day.

That night, Wang Baole stayed up all night, frantically cultivating.

The next day, before everyone else got up, he ate a hearty meal to make himself energetic before heading to his master's villa.

Chu Feng had been waiting for his disciples to arrive at the villa since early morning. When he saw Wang Baole, he didn't say much, but simply patted his little disciple on the shoulder.

"Go Little Fatty!"

"Um."

Wang Baole clenched his fists, his face filled with intense fighting spirit.

The group then flew towards the plaza on their magical artifacts, where they found it already packed with people.

The first match of the semifinals was between Jian Chen and Liu Li.

Upon hearing the name Jian Chen, Cao Youqian murmured, "I didn't expect that the disciples of the Famous Sword Sect would also arrive at the Dao-Seeking Academy early to cultivate."

Xiao Chen laughed and said, "It can only be said that the Great Void Secret Realm is too tempting, and all forces do not want to miss any spot. Our Dao-Seeking Academy is a holy land, with many more spots than those Half-Saint forces, so naturally they want to get a share from the Dao-Seeking Academy."

Cao Youqian glanced at the various heads of state seated around him out of the corner of his eye, but did not continue the conversation on this topic.

Born into the Cao Clan, he naturally knew the rules and layout of the Dao-Seeking Academy. After all, the Dao-Seeking Academy was different from other holy lands. The Dao-Seeking Academy valued nurturing countless disciples, unlike other sect-type holy lands that only wanted to expand their territory.

Therefore, the Dao-Seeking Academy will recruit any cultivator who is not from a holy land, and will also support some Half-Saint or Nirvana Realm King and Marquis to establish their own forces.

These forces all originated from the Dao-Seeking Academy and are naturally regarded as the lineage of the Dao-Seeking Academy. However, to maintain the relationship between the two sides, there must be sufficient mutual interests.

The Dao-Seeking Academy has always granted special privileges to disciples of these lineages. Any cultivator below the Heavenly Origin can be recommended to the Dao-Seeking Academy for cultivation, which is how these forces can be drawn to the Dao-Seeking Academy.

With the referee's whistle...

The two on the martial arts stage immediately made their move.

In an instant, swords flashed and blades clashed on the arena, and the booming sounds of explosions were deafening.

The outer disciples present stared wide-eyed. Half an hour later, Liu Li from the Dharma Cultivation Institute won by a narrow margin and advanced to the finals.

"What a pity."

Xiao Chen muttered to himself, believing that Jian Chen's defeat was not due to Jian Chen's lack of strength, but rather because his swordsmanship was inferior to Liu Li's saber technique.

If this battle is a fight to the death, Liu Li will most likely be the one to die.

Chu Feng laughed and said, "What are you sighing about? It's almost your junior brother's turn."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Chen immediately turned his gaze to Wang Baole and gave him an encouraging look.

Wang Baole bowed respectfully to Chu Feng and said, "Master, it's my turn to go on stage."

"Go, go."

Chu Feng waved and watched Wang Baole leave with a smile.

Xiao Chen asked, "Master, aren't you worried about Junior Brother?"

Chu Feng said nonchalantly, "Although this kid seems unruly, he's strong enough. Don't worry about him."

Wang Baole descended from the sky with his firewood-wielding knife, and as soon as he landed, a cheer erupted from below the arena.

"Go, Senior Brother Wang!"

"Senior Brother Wang must defeat this little monk!"

"..."

He didn't speak, but instead looked at the Wuming opposite him, bowed, and said, "Brother Wuming, please."

Wuming clasped his hands together in a gesture of respect and said, "Amitabha, please, Junior Brother Wang."

After saying this, he sat cross-legged and floated in mid-air, slowly closed his eyes, and began to chant Buddhist scriptures.

This whole operation completely stunned Wang Baole; this guy actually didn't take me seriously.

He slowly raised the machete in his hand, then suddenly swung it out—slash!

Clang!

With a sharp clang of blades, countless flashes of light appeared.

Each flash of light carried a hint of Saber Intent.

Just as these sword lights landed on Wuming, a faint Jin Guang appeared around him.

Jingle bells!

As the clanging of metal subsided, Wuming emerged unscathed. His eyes remained closed, and he calmly asked, "Junior Brother Wang, are you finished?"

Holy crap!

Wang Baole thought to himself, "How come this guy can act even better than my second senior brother?"

Before he could speak, Wuming spoke again, "Since Junior Brother Wang is silent, that means he agrees. Jin Gang Demon-Subduing Palm!"

As he spoke, Wuming suddenly struck out with his palm. The palm strike seemed ordinary, but the golden palm energy gave people a feeling of unstoppable force.

Upon seeing this, Wang Baole suddenly swung his knife and slashed!

Boom!!!

With a loud bang, Wang Baole staggered back several steps before regaining his balance. He felt a sharp pain in his hand and glanced at it out of the corner of his eye to see blood seeping out.

What a strong guy!

After a moment of reflection, Wang Baole swung his wood-chopping knife once more.

Wuming remained silent and delivered another casual palm strike.

The outcome was exactly the same as before. Wang Baole's hand gripping the hilt of the knife trembled slightly, and the hilt was stained red with blood.

The onlookers below fell silent upon seeing this. They hadn't expected this monk to be so strong, not only possessing a tortoise shell but also able to go toe-to-toe with Senior Brother Wang.

On the stands, Chu Feng leisurely sipped his tea, showing no sign of worry.

Seeing this, the Profound Fire Pill King chuckled and teased, "It seems you trust this little disciple of yours quite a bit, Little Feng?"

Chu Feng slowly put down his teacup. "Little Fatty isn't even giving it his all yet. Let's see how it goes in a bit."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the two on the stage clashed again with their swords and palms.

A loud bang followed.

Wang Baole flicked his wrist, and the woodcutter's knife slipped from his hand and fell onto the arena.

Clang!

A crisp sound rang out, making it particularly clear in the quiet environment.

Many of the onlookers looked disappointed upon seeing this scene. Compared to Wuming, who had already entered the sect with prior skills, they naturally supported Wang Baole more.

But Wang Baole's knife had fallen from his hand, and the outcome of this battle was already decided.

Wuming slowly spoke, "Junior Brother Wang, you've lost."

Hearing this, Wang Baole showed no sign of discouragement. "Senior Brother Wuming, you are very strong, but the real competition has only just begun."

After saying that, he assumed a horse stance, adopting the starting posture of Taiji Fist, and his aura surged forth once more...