The first match right off the bat is Li Xing against Hong Ming of the Celestial Sword Sect, a sect that specializes in speedy and precise sword techniques.
Li Xing sighs as she jumps off the auditorium into the arena.
Hong Ming clenches the grip of his sword tightly.
"Surrender, I do not like to bully women." Hong Ming says.
"Did I ask?" Li Xing replies as she draws her sword.
Hong Ming sighs.
"Begin!" The man beside the Jade Emperor shouts. In all four tiles of arenas, participants clash with one another.
Hong Ming attempts to instantly end the match by striking Li Xing's nape with the pommel.
However, Li Xing ducks to the side and follows up with a thrust at Hong Ming.
Hong Ming raises his sword to guard against the strike.
Yet, Li Xing changed the trajectory instantly and strikes his stomach.
!!
*BOOM!!*
Hong Ming was pushed back and crashed against the barrier.
"Y-You..."
Hong Ming grips his sword tightly and dashes toward Li Xing with his sword high, bits of blue sword Qi chip off from the edge of the blade. Li Xing's sword glows in orange in response and both swords clash.
Li Xing shifts her weight to the left and throws Hong Ming off, Hong Ming recovers his momentum due to his quick footwork and jumps back to avoid a slash.
...
Among the four tiles, Li Xing's battle with Hong Ming received the highest attention.
It was straight out of a miracle story, the weakest sect's disciple is standing on equal footing with one of the strongest sects.
Not to mention the disparity in Cultivation base yet Hong Ming was the one being pushed back.
"Tch."
Hong Ming unleashes several sword Qi behind him and engulfs his sword with thick blue Qi. Li Xing gulps.
The second phase commences as Li Xing decides to take the lead.
Hong Ming, however, stays unfazed at his spot and pulls back his sword. With one thrust at Li Xing, all of the sword Qi instantly gathers at the tip of the blade and shoots a thin laser of energy at Li Xing.
It was fast, it might even be travelling at the speed of light. One laser of deadly energy that rips through anything it touches.
Nonetheless...
Li Xing barely avoided it with the attack grazing her left arm.
!!!!!!!
Shocked by her reaction and speed, Hong Ming failed to judge her next move when Li Xing raises her sword, a dragon materializes behind Li Xing and moves accordingly to her actions.
One vertical slash down, the drastic power directly hit Hong Ming's body and plunge him to the ground. His skin was too strong and refined for Li Xing to cut through but Hong Ming loses consciousness.
If it wasn't for Hong Ming's cultivation, Li Xing would have left a deep cut.
"WOAHHH!!!"
"A-Amazing!!"
"It was worth coming here!!"
Even though the other three battles ended before Li Xing's, the crowd only cheered at Li Xing's performance.
They are witnessing history.
How did she avoid that attack? It is the effect of "Against Heaven". "Against Heaven" was dubbed an S Rank not only because of the cultivation speed but also the additional advantages of using "Against Heaven".
Cultivating using "Against Heaven" trains the entire body. From reaction senses to simply the strength of muscles, everything is improved as the Qi circulates.
But, it is slower than directly focusing on individual cultivation, which is why I don't practise it.
And if I am being honest, Li Xing doesn't need to cultivate "Against Heaven" to avoid that attack. Anyone could see it coming when he retracted his sword and point the tip at Li Xing.
Doctors enter the arena and feed Hong Ming a pill before carrying him out. Li Xing returns to the top row.
"Nice one!" Dei Lo says.
Li Xing ignored Dei Lo and throws a glance at me.
I smile.
"Good job," I say.
Li Xing smiles at my remark. "Thank you."
...
Dei Lo sighs and shakes his head.
"You act as if you don't want recognition from the Patriarch." Says Xiang Hou.
"W-What are you talking about?" Dei Lo retaliates.
Now then...
Checking the lineup once more, I notice that every weak cultivator is matched against strong ones in my disciple's division. It feels like the weak cultivators are mere "stepping stones" for the strong ones to meet my disciples.
Haha... I should return dirty play with dirty play right?
The next round shortly starts.
Now then, one cultivator here is a stepping stone for an opponent that will be fighting Dei Lo.
She steps onto the arena and pretends to be calm but her legs are trembling, she can't even hold her sword properly. Her opponent is an arrogant lady wielding a halberd from the Eight Trigrams sect.
"What's wrong?" The lady from the Eight Trigrams sect says.
"..."
The "stepping stone" woman is named An Qing from the Eight Shield sect.
"Begin!"
The arrogant woman smirks at An Qing and walks slowly to her.
"This will be over quickly." She says before leaping at An Qing with her halberd up high.
An Qing gulps and places her sword above her, hoping for the best.
Both weapons collide and surprisingly, the halberd breaks into two.
!!!?????
"WHAT?!" The Patriarch of Eight Trigrams sect accidentally exclaims. He settles down when everyone glimpses him.
"H-Huh?" The woman retreats and stares at the shattered metal on the ground. She throws a glance at a surprised and confused An Qing and narrows her brow in rage.
"W-What did you do?!" She shouts.
"I-I don't know!" An Qing replies.
"Bitch! Courting death!" The woman cries as she charges at An Qing with Qi gathering around her fist.
"W-Wait!" An Qing says.
But...
The woman spits out blood before she can reach An Qing and falls limp on the floor.
"Y-You...what..."
An Qing trembles as she drops to her knee. "W-What is going on?" An Qing mumbles.
Her opponent grasps her stomach in pain.
"Uh..." An Qing nudges her opponent. "A-Are you okay?" She asks.
Despite her seemingly fear and unreasonable consideration for her opponent, An Qing is subconsciously smiling at the fabulous sight.
The match was over before it even began. Instead of cheers, An Qing was met with whispers and gossip among the audience.
"Was she hiding her strength?"
"That psychopath, smiling while asking if someone you beaten is okay?"
I try to hold back a laugh.
Those bastards are displaying such a satisfying reaction as everything goes astray from the plan.
The Patriarch of Eight Trigrams sect is glaring at the Patriarch of Eight Shields sect, who is sweating and have widened eyes. The Patriarch of Eight Shields sect shakes his head and probably transmitted a message of his alibi to the rest via sound transmission.
It was simple, I simply have to materialize small particles of void in the Halberd to break it when it touches An Qing's sword.
Afterwards, I materialize a small void in An Qing's opponent lower Dantian.
Just like that, most opponents that were meant to meet my disciples were eliminated.
Finally, it was Dei Lo's turn to fight. I can control the lineup for him to fight An Qing in the next round but not for the first round. Regardless, I will still provide help whenever necessary. For starters, I want to see how much Dei Lo improved.
Dei Lo is ordinary. He doesn't have a specific talent like Li Xing nor does he fight with a brave demeanour like Xiang Hou.
Dei Lo gulps as he steps into the arena. His opponent is a Peak Foundation Establishment from the Chaos sect while Dei Lo is in the first stage.
The Chaos sect's martial arts are true to the sect's name. It is pure barbaric and chaotic.
With no sense of danger, Chaos sect disciples rush in with everything they have and attack in a haphazard and powerful technique. When not perfected, those techniques can even cause a backlash to the user.
Dei Lo's opponent, named Quan Shang, has a pressuring bulky physique similar to a lion. He smirks at Dei Lo who is three times smaller than him.
"Fuck..." Dei Lo curse as he attempts to compose himself.
"Dei Lo!" Xiang Hou shouts.
...
Dei Lo takes a deep breath. Despite being ordinary, he has been working very hard. If he backs off now, he is not a man.
"Come!" Dei Lo shouts.
"I like your attitude, it makes the experience of crushing a puny ant more enjoyable." Says Quan Shang.
...
"Begin!"
Quan Shang rubs his fist against his palm and slams the ground.
?!
It created a giant cloud of dust that covers Dei Lo's vision.
...
Dei Lo stays unfazed and listens for signs of movement.
"Behind!"
Dei Lo ducks to dodge a jab that rips through the air, creating a surge of shockwave.
However, Quan Shang continues with a punch from above that forces Dei Lo to jump back.
*BOOOM!*
Even if not a direct hit, Dei Lo was instantly ejected to the side of the arena.