"Sorry, brother Qi. I went easy, and you should just lie there for six hours, and you'll be fine." Wen Tao walked on, speaking words of comfort to Qi Changlong, as if to show sympathy for the loser.
But the look he got from Qi Changlong was that of refusal and indignation.
[This is naked humiliation!]
Wen Tao wasn't one to be outrageous, maybe not even aiming to humiliate him. Still, having his all-out attack flicked away by a finger, this was the second time this top genius of Demon Scheming Sect had received guidance, baring Zhuo Fan.
This was the gap in strength.
This was the gap between the top of the middle three sects and the lower three sects.
Yes, they were challenging the superior three sects, but all knew full well who the instigator was. Other than a freak like Zhuo Fan, who could even take on superior three sects disciples, the rest were still lower three sects material.
No matter what tricks Zhuo Fan used to grow them to a middle three sect level, a mere clash with a true genius of a middle three sect showed just how far they still were.
Even Heaven Trailing Sect and their cowardly disciples, did they not have the Cong twins?
Those two beat all six of them like nothing. Only when Zhuo Fan stepped in were they dealt with.
In Demon Soul Sect's match, Han Yunfeng was clearly weaker than them by a layer, but he pushed on one fight after the next. Ignoring the last three, the first three fights were done at full power. He fought three people and still won.
This time, they were up against Wen Tao, the strongest in the middle three sects. Only now, it dawned on them just how lacking they were.
Qi Changlong looked up at Bai Lian to see her use all she had but ended up defeated in the same brief manner as he was.
Wen Tao went through them with practiced ease, like they weren't even worth the attention.
Wen Tao was called the Gentle Sword, his mind was sharp and he paid close attention to courtesy. He held no contempt for any of them. But even so, it was because of their profound weakness that it made this upstanding peer brush them off.
It gave Qi Changlong a deep feeling of powerlessness.
Middle three sects and lower three sects were different breeds. They might earn a middle three sect spot, but catching up to a real middle three sect would take years and years of hard work.
Steward Zhuo had taken them here, but it was up to them to do the rest.
Qi Changlong sighed within, having come to a decision…
Wen Tao walked forward freely and unfettered. Gui Hu, Kui Lang, and Yue Ling weren't startled, choosing to attack him together, "Wen Tao, don't think that you'll have it any easier just because you took down senior brother Qi and Bai…"
However, Gui Hu's words were met with three muffled sounds.
Wen Tao popped behind them the next second. Then their neck stiffened and froze on the spot, only to collapse soon after.
"Sorry, you're not enough to block my path." Wen Tao smiled as he turned to Yue'er, Tie Ying, and Kui Gang, the three in the Radiant Stage. The trio's faces fell, unnerved and unsettled.
Wen Tao gave a warm smile, saying, "We'll take care of your freakish steward in a moment. So please stay down and don't disturb us."
Wen Tao swiped two fingers in front of the trio, and they fell powerlessly.
The Demon Scheming Sect's disciples, except Zhuo Fan, were on the ground. Sword God Sect had yet to suffer a single defeat!
Moreover, all was quickly done by Wen Tao himself. It made all the onlookers speechless from shock.
A single man had almost defeated the biggest underdog of the competition. Such power was unheard of.
Even the superior three sects' disciples were stirring.
"I never thought Wen Tao would be so strong. Sword God Sect's disciples truly are worthy to be in the superior three sects. As long as…" Wu Qingqiu looked intently at the fighting in the valley, especially at the lone Zhuo Fan. "This final roadblock is removed. Then we'll be meeting Sword God Sect in a challenge!"
Yan Mo squinted but mocked, "That's just it, the biggest roadblock and Sword God Sect's biggest headache. Wen Tao only got rid of the small fries, leaving this dragon of the deeps alone. Even if all ten gang up, they might not defeat him."
"Oh, now that you mention it, we've never seen all ten of Sword God Sect's team fight together. Yet you're saying they can't measure up to Zhuo Fan?" Wu Qingqiu looked astounded at Yan Mo, "I admit Zhuo Fan is tough, but Sword God Sect is no pushover either. If there will be ten against one, I do believe the odds are even."
Yan Mo gave him a long look, then shook his head, "That's because you never took on the punk's fist."
"I'll have to agree with Yan Mo on this. The final winner in this fight is Zhuo Fan, without a doubt." Ye Lin nodded.
Wu Qingqiu gave him an odd look and chuckled, "Junior brother, are you that certain? You didn't fight him either."
"Do you have to ask? Since he's my arch-enemy, I am more than sure. If he can't even deal with this little scuffle, how is he worthy of being my fated rival?"
Ye Lin smiled, but then he turned serious. "And I can sense that the berserk power within him is no less than mine. If I could cope with mine, then he had to have subdued it as well."
Eying him, Wu Qingqiu nodded his head and resumed watching the fight.
On the other side, at Mystical Heaven Sect, the girls were restless in their worry for Zhuo Fan.
Dan'er even pointed at the solitary figure, "Sister Qingcheng, he's now alone against ten. Will he be fine?"
Shui Ruohua furrowed her brows and turned to Chu Qingcheng, eager for her reply.
"Humph, facing the strongest in the middle three sects, the punk's done for, he-he-he…" Xuan Shaoyu got ahead of Chu Qingcheng, enjoying his predicament.
This earned a roll of the eye from the girls. They just could not understand where their refined young master had gone to. Ever since the matter with Yan Mo, their young master was becoming more and more sinister, incurring their dislike.
Chu Qingcheng did not mind his rude interjection. She looked at Zhuo Fan in complete confidence, "No need to worry. He has always been alone. Having a few people around cheering for him won't matter since whenever he faces someone, it's always by himself…"
[Alone? But this is a team battle. He never once thought about relying on others?]
The girls frowned as they saw Zhuo Fan's tranquil gaze.
It was as if having all his teammates taken out by Wen Tao meant nothing.
Wen Tao noticed it as well, and he became even more solemn. Everyone knew that man, by nature, was a social animal. Even a loner would, more often than not, become dependent on the people around him. They would always feel something when these people come to harm.
Even if these people proved useless, the time spent alongside them proved this would happen.
However, Zhuo Fan didn't so much as twitch. He was like a sword stuck in a huge rock, proud and unmarred by anyone that approached it.
Like he wasn't part of the Demon Scheming Sect, and its disciples had nothing to do with him.
[To this guy, beating Demon Scheming Sect doesn't equal defeating him!]
Suddenly, Wen Tao chuckled, and his face grew hard, "Ha-ha-ha, looks like we're just going to start fighting again!"
Wen Tao's hand flashed and was now holding a greenish sword that oozed sharpness, a 9th-grade spiritual weapon no doubt, and charged at Zhuo Fan.
Dealing with the earlier small fries, he treated it like a game. However, he was facing Zhuo Fan now, and taking out his spiritual weapon showed how deadly serious he was in this fight, investing in it with all his being.
Empty Grace Sword Wind!
Whoosh~
Just like a shooting start, Wen Tao stabbed at Zhuo Fan with his sword, the sharp energy around it was so acute it could almost cut space itself. He was on him in an instant.
Zhuo Fan's heart jumped, even as his face remained still. He smirked as his right eye shone in four golden halos.
Divine Eye of the Void's 4th stage, Space Crusher!
Boom!
As if the space itself exploded, all plants a hundred meters around Zhuo Fan started to shake and drift away into nothingness.
Wen Tao started and shot back in haste, but his sword was in the range of Space Crusher, constantly moving and dissipating the spacial disturbance.
At the same time, that dissipated spatial power turned into a rumbling power flowing unabated in Space Crusher's range.
This is… sword energy that can wander inside Space Crusher?" Zhuo Fan cried out, "Damn it!"
Too little, too late.
The sword energy roaming in Space Crusher focused on the sword, and Wen Tao made a sign. The sword energy gathered on the sword released a powerful force that tore an opening in Space Crusher.
And the sword made a beeline for Zhuo Fan using this gap!
Pff!
Scarlet blood flowed. Zhuo Fan raised his right to block in a panic, but the sword ran his hand through.
However, neither the audience nor the fighters noticed Zhuo's sly smile.
[A great hit! This… will do well…]