The task triggered by receiving the letter from the Old Celestial Master was also completed at this moment. Lin Jiu, not wanting to meet the Old Celestial Master, couldn't help but sigh with gratitude at the many rewards the Old Celestial Master had provided him.
At this point, only a few contestants remained, so there was no need to wait until the next day for the semifinals. They were held that very afternoon.
"Feng Baobao versus Zhang Chulan! Let the match begin!"
Zhang Chulan swung his fist fiercely at Feng Baobao, shouting, "Feng Baobao, prepare to die!"
"Zhang Chulan! I'm gonna… kill you…"
Feng Baobao raised her fist in slow motion, just as Zhang Chulan's punch "viciously" landed on her face.
"…"
Feng Baobao scratched her cheek with her finger.
Zhang Chulan's eyes frantically hinted at her to fall, and Feng Baobao suddenly seemed to understand, collapsing to the ground. She didn't forget to add, "Ugh… Ah… Zhang Chulan, you're so strong! I'm no match for you!"
Xu San: "…"
The audience: "…"
The referee: "…"
Even the Taoist priests of Dragon Tiger Mountain couldn't bear to watch any longer.
"No one is allowed to interfere with the matches, but after the match is over, whatever happens on this field is none of our Celestial Master's business!"
"Ah, I'm going to fight you to the death!"
"If you're going to act, at least be professional about it. This is infuriating!"
"You shameless scoundrel!"
After the Taoist's words, the audience could no longer hold back and stormed the field to chase after Zhang Chulan.
"These people are so fierce! Wow, my incredibly realistic acting got exposed!"
Feng Baobao said while running.
"Realistic, my foot! I've never seen such over-the-top acting!"
Zhang Chulan shouted as he ran as well.
While the two fled, the semifinals in the adjacent arena had also begun.
"Damn, we've made it this far and still can't figure out what this Red is all about!"
"That snake spirit with such an imposing aura took two hits and fled. Can someone explain what's going on?"
"Who do you think will win, Red or Zhang Lingyu?"
"Is that even a question? Of course, my dear husband, Taoist Zhang Lingyu!"
"Yeah, yeah, then I'll take Red. He's too handsome… I love him!"
"You can't do that! I want both!"
"Get lost!"
...
On the stage, Zhang Lingyu flicked his wide sleeves, and a thick, black, tar-like substance known as Yin Five Thunder – Water Thunder – slowly flowed from his sleeves onto the ground, spreading around the arena.
"I've watched your matches, and none of your opponents have made you struggle, so I'm going all out from the start!"
Zhang Lingyu said while flicking his sleeves.
Lin Jiu watched as the Water Thunder slowly spread toward his feet. Wrapping his feet in soul energy, he lightly stepped onto the substance. He could feel the Water Thunder seeping through the gaps in the soul energy.
Thus, the soul energy could only slow down the invasion of the Water Thunder, but not completely block it. [Dark Scout] had also detected Zhang Lingyu's information.
[Dragon Tiger Mountain: Zhang Lingyu]
Health: 100%
Strength: 12
Agility: 14
Stamina: 12
Intelligence: 15
Charisma: 12
Skills
Skill 1: Qi Refiner Lv.20 (Active): Operates internal Qi in a specific pattern to strengthen oneself. Strength +2, Agility +2. (Duration: until Qi is depleted)
Skill 2: Golden Light Mantra Lv.20 (Active): Forms Qi to maximize the use of one's power. Expands attack range and enhances normal attacks.
Skill 3: Yin Five Thunder – Dirty Water Thunder Lv.25 (Active): The Qi takes the form of a black, viscous liquid floating in the air, sticky and greasy, slippery and elusive, damp and cold. Unrestrained and free-flowing, it invades like mercury, thick and turbid, yet strangely transformative, draining one's bones and sapping their will.
Skill 4: Taoist Mastery Lv.Max (Passive): As a genius disciple of the Taoist sect, learning and cultivating Taoist techniques is 30% faster.
???
???
"Scientifically speaking, this doesn't make sense. We have similar looks, so why does he have 12 points in Charisma?"
Lin Jiu couldn't understand why Zhang Lingyu's charisma was 12 points from the start.
"Let's finish this quickly!"
Lin Jiu stopped thinking about anything else. He stomped the ground hard, splashing black water droplets as he swiftly closed the distance to Zhang Lingyu, precisely controlling the angle and force as he slashed toward him with his sword.
Zhang Lingyu crossed his sleeves and flicked them, forming a black, flowing wall in front of him. Lin Jiu's sword cut through the wall, but it instantly reformed.
This was precisely what Lin Jiu disliked about the Raten Taishou's rules. If he didn't have to control his force and angle, he wouldn't need to waste so much effort defeating his opponent.
"What kind of power is this? It blocked the invasion of my Water Thunder!" Zhang Lingyu was surprised to find that his Water Thunder hadn't immediately invaded Lin Jiu's body. This was a first for him.
Lin Jiu quickly gave up trying to use his sword to break through the Water Thunder. Instead, he infused soul energy into his leg and delivered a powerful kick to the wall of Water Thunder.
Boom!
The wall of Water Thunder instantly shattered, clearing the entire area of Yin Thunder.
"…"
Zhang Lingyu felt powerless for the first time, just like when he faced the older generation of Outcast. But this time, he was experiencing it against someone of his generation.
The power of that kick exceeded Zhang Lingyu's expectations, leaving him no time to gather more Yin Thunder, exposing him directly to Lin Jiu.
In the brief moment that Zhang Lingyu was distracted, Lin Jiu lunged at him, executing a sharp grappling technique, restraining him. Out of habit, Lin Jiu even elbowed Zhang Lingyu a few times, nearly making him cough up blood.
"Still as good as ever at exploiting weaknesses…"
Lu Ci, who had managed to recover somewhat, touched his left shoulder and sighed. Thinking about how he had planned to get close to Lin Jiu and use his combat experience to defeat him, he couldn't help but twitch his lips.
Although Zhang Lingyu was strong among the younger generation of Outcast, in Lin Jiu's eyes, he wasn't much different from Wang—just another flower raised in a greenhouse. Perhaps because of frequent sparring with his senior brothers and the lack of pressure of actual life-or-death situations, Zhang Lingyu always left openings in his combat.
Zhang Lingyu tapped Lin Jiu's arm to signal his surrender, and Lin Jiu released his grip.
Cough, cough…
Zhang Lingyu coughed several times in a row.
Lin Jiu understood. He had experienced this kind of near-death feeling many times in the trial arena, thanks to Nemoce. If your strength was weaker or on par with your opponent, once they found an opportunity to use such a grappling technique, it was hard to escape.
Nemoce's particularly nasty habit was that once she locked Lin Jiu down, she wouldn't let go until he was choked to death and reappeared.
That feeling was indeed painful, but Lin Jiu knew that if he didn't experience this kind of death now, it would be too late if he ever faced a real enemy and had no chance to resurrect.
In the audience, the Old Celestial Master, his face bruised and swollen, stroked his beard as he watched the match end. Squinting his eyes, he couldn't help but feel grateful for his foresight.
"My goodness! Thank goodness Chulan didn't have to face this kid!"
After seeing Zhang Lingyu's fate, Lu Jin suddenly felt that being struck by Zhang Lingyu's Yin Thunder wasn't so bad.