“I admit defeat!”
Nie Dao’s voice echoed throughout the arena, stunning the crowd below. For a powerful figure—especially someone like Nie Dao—conceding defeat was almost harder than death itself.
“Are you certain?”
The elder from the Great Sealing Sect asked seriously after recovering from his shock. Nie Dao nodded lightly in confirmation.
The two elders exchanged a glance. Then, the elder from the Great Sealing Sect stood up and announced, “In this match, Tian Fan of the Great Sealing Sect is the victor!”
Cheers erupted from the crowd, mingled with groans of disappointment. Some female disciples gazed at Tian Fan standing in the center of the arena with adoration, their eyes sparkling as if they wished to take a bite out of him.
“You are a true warrior—a genuine strong man!”
Nie Dao looked at Tian Fan with utmost seriousness before turning around and leaving the stage.
“I knew you’d win!”
Li Yunyang walked over and threw an arm around Tian Fan.
“Hehe, just luck, pure luck!” Tian Fan said humbly. Just then, he noticed Li Yunhua and a few others approaching.
“Junior Brother, how did it go? Did you win?”
Li Yunhua asked with his usual gentle smile, while Zi Ying pouted beside him, displeased at missing Tian Fan’s match.
“Hehe, my opponent was Nie Dao from the Flying Sword Sect. I was fortunate to win,” Tian Fan replied modestly.
“What? You really beat Nie Dao from the Flying Sword Sect?”
Sun Yueying exclaimed in disbelief. “He’s the third strongest in their sect, only one step away from reaching the Cloud Heaven stage!” Even the usually expressionless Di Fu turned to look at Tian Fan in surprise.
“Uh… it was just luck, really,” Tian Fan said awkwardly, feeling the discomfort that had lingered since the incident with Zi Ying. Ever since that day, Sun Yueying had taken every chance to call him a scoundrel.
“By the way, Senior Brother Li must have won too, right?” Tian Fan asked, looking at Li Yunhua with a smile.
“Uh…”
Li Yunhua seemed unsure whether to feel happy or helpless. He spread his hands and said, “I don’t know what happened, but Chu Yunxuan seemed off today, like he wasn’t in the right state of mind. Even his prized sword was missing, and I threw him off the stage in just three moves.”
Recalling the scene, Li Yunhua chuckled. The members of the Yin-Yang Sect had glared at them with venomous resentment, as though they bore a deep grudge.
Tian Fan and Li Yunyang burst into laughter but gave no explanation. Instead, they cheerfully congratulated Li Yunhua and proposed throwing a feast to celebrate. Though Li Yunhua was a bit confused, he happily agreed. Among the disciples of the Great Sealing Sect, there was no sense of hierarchy—everyone treated each other like family.
That evening, the group gathered in Li Yunhua’s room, chatting about mundane matters while enjoying small dishes.
Soon, Li Yunyang and Di Fu brought in two large jars of wine.
Tian Fan swore that he didn’t drink. Even though Di Fu teased him, saying, “If you don’t drink, you’re not a man,” Tian Fan stubbornly held on to the belief that not drinking didn’t make him any less of a man. Refusing to give in, he vowed not to drink.
But Li Yunyang and Li Yunhua exchanged mischievous glances. Before Tian Fan could react, they pinned him down, and Sun Yueying came over with a smirk, tilting a jar of wine toward Tian Fan’s mouth.
“You two b*stards! Mmph… mmph…!”
In the end, even the normally quiet Zi Ying drank a bit. Her cheeks turned rosy, making her look incredibly adorable. She stumbled over to Tian Fan, extending a soft, pale hand.
“Little… Little Tian Tian, teach me that invisible attack of yours… hiccup…”
She hiccupped mid-sentence. Earlier, she had sneaked into Tian Fan’s room, hoping to learn his invisible attack technique. But when she looked up, she had accidentally seen him naked, leading to some awkward situations that followed.
At that moment, poor little Tian Tian sat slumped in a chair, his eyes spinning as if in a daze.
“Hmph! Are you pretending to sleep? Get up this instant!”
Zi Ying’s pinkish face was tinged with frustration. When Tian Fan ignored her, she pouted, waving her little fists at him.
“How dare you ignore me? Get up!”
With her face flushed, Zi Ying grabbed Tian Fan by the collar and shook him. Poor Tian Fan’s tongue lolled out from all the shaking.
Sun Yueying, with a forehead full of black lines, yanked Zi Ying away and dragged her out of the room.
With that, Li Yunyang and the others resumed their drinking battle with great enthusiasm.
*****
The next day, the weather was clear and bright. Inside Li Yunhua’s room, four bodies lay sprawled across the floor in chaotic positions.
Dong!
A loud bell sounded, causing Li Yunyang—who had been drooling in his sleep—to sit up with a start, shouting, “Fire!”
He looked around at the others still lying on the floor, patted his head in confusion, and lay back down. But moments later, as if struck by lightning, he shot up again.
“Oh no! The competition! You lazy pigs, wake up! It’s time for the match!”
With that, he bolted toward the arena. The other three jolted awake, shivered, and scrambled to their feet, dashing out the door in unison.
When Li Yunyang arrived at the arena, a man in gray robes was already standing on the stage. The crowd below was buzzing with chatter, clearly having waited for quite some time.
“Sorry, sorry! I drank too much last night!”
Li Yunyang jumped onto the arena and apologized to the two referees. The two referees remained expressionless, and one of the elders softly said,
“Let the match begin.”
“Li Yunyang from the Great Sealing Sect, please offer your guidance.”
Li Yunyang saluted the man in gray and said politely.
“Xu Buwei from the Fist Emperor Sect. Get ready, I’m coming!”
The man in gray dashed toward Li Yunyang, throwing a fist straight at him.
Li Yunyang pulled out the Azure Light Sword from behind him. With a slight movement of his right hand, the sword let out a soft whistle, emitting a green glow, and shot into the air, slashing toward Xu Buwei.
“Break it for me!”
Xu Buwei shouted, punching toward the airborne Azure Light Sword with his fist, which was now surrounded by a layer of golden light.
Clang!
Xu Buwei’s fist clashed against the Azure Light Sword. However, the impact left him unharmed and instead knocked the sword away.
Tian Fan and the others had already gathered below the arena. He furrowed his brows slightly as he stared at Xu Buwei’s fist, sensing a familiar aura.
“The ‘Five Elements Technique’ of the Fist Emperor Sect is indeed powerful—it’s truly an unparalleled method for body cultivation,” said an elder from the Flying Sword Sect softly. The elder beside him nodded in agreement.
“Five Elements Technique?”
Tian Fan whispered the name of the technique. It bore a resemblance to his own Five Elements Method but was clearly inferior.
“Indeed, the Five Elements Technique is impressive. Then face my Flowing Cloud Sword!”
In the center of the arena, Li Yunyang shouted, forming a sword seal with his hands. Instantly, the Azure Light Sword released a towering beam of sword light. A green barrier enveloped Li Yunyang, with countless small swords flying within, exuding an aura akin to “Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Source.”
Facing this, Xu Buwei dared not act carelessly. His entire body radiated golden light, and a pair of gauntlets, covered in intricate patterns, appeared on his hands. Unfazed, he charged toward Li Yunyang. His overwhelming fist energy seemed poised to tear him apart, but as it neared Li Yunyang, the golden fist Qi was gradually dissolved by the barrier surrounding him.
At the same time, the sword light above Li Yunyang’s head reached its peak, emitting a dazzling green glow, launching a devastating attack on Xu Buwei.
Boom!
The overwhelming strike shattered Xu Buwei’s defensive Qi, leaving him severely injured and unable to stand.
“…”
The audience fell into stunned silence.
“Does the Fist Emperor Sect have a screw loose?”
That was everyone’s unspoken thought. Why send such a weak disciple to compete? Xu Buwei was only in the early stage of the Condensed Spirit realm, barely on the verge of advancing to the mid-stage. It made no sense for him to participate in the competition.
“Li Yunyang from the Great Sealing Sect wins!”
The referee announced the result, looking at Xu Buwei, who lay motionless on the ground.
“Well done!”
“Not bad!”
Those were the praises from Tian Fan and Li Yunhua.
“Ah, just lucky, hehe…”
Even with Li Yunyang’s thick skin, he felt a bit embarrassed.
Xu Buwei had clearly lost due to the disparity in their realms, leaving everyone puzzled about the Fist Emperor Sect’s decision.
“By the way, how did Junior Sister’s match go?” Li Yunyang asked.
“She lost. Zi Ying is comforting her in the room,” Tian Fan replied. Sun Yueying had always been strong-willed, so losing her first match must have been tough for her.
“Was she hurt?” Li Yunyang asked anxiously.
“Don’t worry, she’s fine. Her opponent was Duan Tianya, the top expert of the Flying Sword Sect. For some reason, he went easy on her. Instead of using force, he skillfully countered all her attacks,” Li Yunhua explained, puzzled.
Only Li Yunyang and Tian Fan knew the reason—Nie Dao, the second-best expert of the Flying Sword Sect, had been defeated by Tian Fan, who later saved his life. The Flying Sword Sect was likely grateful toward the Great Sealing Sect, which explained why Duan Tianya spared Sun Yueying.
*****
Inside Tian Fan’s room, several members of the Great Sealing Sect had gathered, including Sun Yueying. A challenging match was about to begin.
“Junior Brother Tian Fan, your match is this afternoon. Your opponent is Jian Hongming, the top expert of the Yin-Yang Sect and a master of the Cloud Heaven realm. If things get too difficult, don’t push yourself—just surrender. Your life is the most important!” Li Yunhua advised softly.
After all, Tian Fan was only at the peak of the Spirit Condensation realm, far weaker than someone in the Cloud Heaven realm.
“What’s there to be afraid of? I’ll just swing my sword!” Li Yunyang said carelessly, leaving Li Yunhua speechless.
“Don’t worry, Senior Brother. I won’t lose!”
Tian Fan’s gaze was resolute as he stared at the scorching sun outside. His long hair fluttered despite the absence of wind, and a powerful fighting spirit radiated from him.
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The Shop section on Patreon can be used as a way to make a one-time-payment. I will be creating products in the Shop section with the title of the webnovels. It will only have an image as the product, but it will count as the payment for the Sponsored Chapters.
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