Upon hearing this, Lin Wan'er refrained from further disparaging Li Yun. She went to sit on the side and began regulating her breath. Her injuries were severe; she needed to recover to a better state.
The others were also regulating their breath. After deciding the top five, they would still need to settle the rankings of the bottom five.
Time passed quickly, and soon a dual-hours had gone by. Dugu Fang appeared on the platform again and said calmly, "The top three, come up to the arena."
Lu Yi, Jiang Fan, and Lin Wan'er stood up and floated up to the arena.
Dugu Fang took out three Jade Tokens, which hovered in the air. He said calmly, "One of you will have a bye, and the other two will compete to decide the second place. After that, the winner will contest the first place with the one who had the bye."
The three of them glanced at each other, and Lin Wan'er said with a playful smile, "Junior Brother Lu Yi, would you like to go first?"
Lu Yi smiled, "I don't mind."
He reached out and took a Jade Token, flipping it over to reveal: 1.
Lu Yi raised his eyebrows, feeling a bit pleased. Another match meant another reward.
Not bad at all.
After seeing Lu Yi take a Jade Token, Jiang Fan and Lin Wan'er reached out as well.
They took their tokens and glanced at them. Lin Wan'er's face fell, while Jiang Fan chuckled lightly and revealed his token, "I have the bye."
Lu Yi glanced at Jiang Fan quizzically, wondering if he was some kind of child of destiny.
Such good luck, getting a bye twice.
Indeed, people with the character "Fan" in their names were extraordinary.
Dugu Fang smiled and said, "Since that's the case, Jiang Fan, step down from the arena. Lu Yi and Lin Wan'er, get ready."
Jiang Fan nodded and stepped down.
Dugu Fang also floated up, leaving only Lu Yi and Lin Wan'er on the stage.
Lin Wan'er looked at Lu Yi with a smile, "Junior Brother Lu Yi, let your senior sister have a chance, okay?"
Lu Yi smiled, "Senior Sister's strength is formidable; I'm afraid I might not be your match."
Lin Wan'er widened her eyes and looked at Lu Yi incredulously, "You tell such a bald-faced lie, doesn't your conscience hurt?"
Lu Yi felt his body was quite healthy, and his conscience wasn't hurting. He said seriously, "Senior Sister misunderstands me; I never lie."
As he spoke, Lu Yi silently muttered to himself, "I will defeat Senior Sister Lin Wan'er."
[TASK]:
Defeat Lin Wan'er (Progress: 0/1)
Reward: Foundation Establishment Realm Arts "Amnesia"
Accept: Yes/No
Lu Yi was stunned, feeling a bit amazed.
Arts? He hadn't expected this kind of reward.
Lu Yi had originally thought that rewards for sparring-type tasks were all kinds of cultivation resources. He hadn't expected even Arts to be a possibility.
He wondered what kind of Art this "Amnesia" was. Since he hadn't completed the task yet, he couldn't know the details of the Art.
Additionally, Lu Yi had a question. Suppose he completed this task and continued to defeat Lin Wan'er. What would be the reward then?
Would it be another "Amnesia" book, or a different Art?
If it were indeed different Arts, that would be great. He could spar with Senior Sister Lin Wan'er multiple times and collect a lot of Arts.
Lu Yi felt a bit excited and thought he might try that after completing this task.
Just then, Dugu Fang's voice rang out, "Begin."
Lu Yi and Lin Wan'er exchanged glances, their bodies surrounded by flowing Spiritual Energy. They drew their swords and disappeared simultaneously from their original positions.
Lin Wan'er's strength was formidable, but she was not as skilled as Bai Yulong and naturally even less of a match for Lu Yi.
As usual, Lu Yi held back a bit, using less strength during the fight.
After hundreds of rounds, Lin Wan'er's Spiritual Energy was nearly depleted. Her forehead was covered in sweat, and she was breathing heavily.
She retreated to the edge of the stage and glared at Lu Yi, who appeared unscathed, saying helplessly, "I give up!"
Lu Yi smiled and said, "Senior Sister, thank you for conceding."
Neither the elders nor the disciples were surprised by Lin Wan'er's surrender.
After all, the strength Lu Yi had demonstrated earlier was beyond what Lin Wan'er could match.
After Lin Wan'er's surrender, Dugu Fang appeared on the stage again and announced, "Lu Yi is the winner!"
He turned to look at Lu Yi and smiled slightly, "Rest for a while, then we will begin the fight for first place."
Lu Yi nodded, "Yes, Grand Elder."
After stepping down from the stage, no one disturbed Lu Yi, knowing that the upcoming fight for first place was crucial and that Lu Yi needed to prepare well.
Jiang Fan leaned against the corner of the stage, hands behind his head, watching Lu Yi feign meditation and recovery, his eyes filled with fighting intent.
Bai Yulong fanned himself with a folding fan, glanced at Jiang Fan, and chuckled, "Jiang Fan, you must still have some hidden cards, right?"
Jiang Fan was taken aback and looked at Bai Yulong, laughing lightly, "Why do you say that?"
"Junior Brother Lu Yi has shown such a formidable strength, yet you haven't shown any intention to withdraw. This means you believe that even such a powerful Junior Brother Lu Yi is not unbeatable." Bai Yulong squinted his eyes and smiled.
"Bai Yulong, you're quite sharp." Jiang Fan laughed.
Bai Yulong, seeing Jiang Fan admit it, became more curious, "We've been fellow disciples for several years. What hidden cards do you have that make you think you can defeat that monster?"
As Bai Yulong spoke, he glanced at Lu Yi. He considered himself quite talented, but to be defeated by Lu Yi, who was only at the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, had been disheartening.
Junior Brother Lu Yi was simply not human.
Jiang Fan squinted his eyes and smiled slightly without answering.
Seeing Jiang Fan's unwillingness to answer, Bai Yulong pursed his lips and asked no more.
After all, when the time came, Jiang Fan would definitely reveal his cards.
From Bai Yulong's understanding, the two of them were evenly matched, with Jiang Fan perhaps slightly stronger. But such strength was still not enough against Lu Yi.
In the end, Jiang Fan would undoubtedly reveal his hidden cards.
The final battle was about to begin. Everyone in the Martial Arena waited in silence, filled with anticipation.
Time passed, and soon Lu Yi slowly opened his eyes.
Dugu Fang, who had been standing on the stage, asked, "Lu Yi, have you recovered?"
Lu Yi smiled, "Yes."
"Very well. In that case… Lu Yi, Jiang Fan, come up to the arena."
After Dugu Fang spoke, Lu Yi and Jiang Fan exchanged a glance and smiled. They both floated up and took positions on opposite sides of the arena.
Dugu Fang said slowly, "The contest for the first place now begins."
Having said that, Dugu Fang floated up, leaving Lu Yi and Jiang Fan on the stage.
The two of them faced each other. Jiang Fan drew his long saber and said with a light smile, "Junior Brother Lu Yi, I didn't expect you to be my final opponent."
Lu Yi also smiled, "I've had good luck."
Jiang Fan was noncommittal, "Luck alone wouldn't get you here… Alright, enough talk, let's begin."
Lu Yi bowed and smiled, "Senior Brother Jiang Fan, please."
Jiang Fan's expression turned serious, his eyes flashing with a sharp gleam. His body was surrounded by blade energy as he activated the Sharp Gold Saber Technique.
With a sharp clang, a blade energy over ten meters long was slashed out, cutting toward Lu Yi.