The fifth round started as the fights became more and more intense, to the delight of the spectators.
The battles occurring before were actually quite boring. Besides a few highlights, there was either a huge gap between both contestants, and the matches would end extremely fast. Or the weaker participants would trade blows for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before one would take the upper hand and defeat his adversary.
But now only the most skilled youths of the batch remained, and being at the doors of the top 20, they fought like mad dogs, ready to win at all costs.
It quickly was Ye Mo's turn again.
On the stage, a short youth in black clothing and with a sword at his waist came up and faced him. It was Li Cheng, the Li clan's second young master.
"Now that you're paired against me, you're done for. A prick like you, who uses nasty tricks to defeat his opponents, isn't worthy of the Tiger Martial Institute." Li Cheng stated with malice from the start.
Many spectators hated Ye Mo because of his ruthlessness and the despicable methods he used. Humiliating and beating him up would assuredly greatly raise Li Cheng's popularity among the onlookers.
"Says the trash who depended on his brother to pass the trial." Ye Mo scoffed at Li Cheng.
"You!" Li Cheng was infuriated; his face reddened and his lips trembled. Yet he wasn't able to say a single word in rebuttal.
Because what Ye Mo said was the truth!
Although he didn't do it on purpose and was pretty confident he could pass the first phase by himself, he did enjoy the Jade Forest's scenery as his big brother slaughtered everything in their way, handing tokens and blood cores to him and his cousin.
In his mind, Ye Mo was still a beggar that came out of nowhere and tried to be their equal, so he wouldn't dare talk to him this way.
After all, the four clans have been ruling over Azure Water City for a long time. Their dominance was spread to every resident since they were born. This mental barrier wouldn't break just because someone took part in the Tiger Martial Institute's recruitment competition.
Moreover, as a great clan young master, Li Cheng was very prideful and felt repulsed by Ye Mo's conduct during his matches.
In the end, as he tried to take the psychological advantage, he was the one to be ridiculed instead.
"We will see if you can keep saying that after the fight." Nonetheless, Li Cheng still held complete confidence in his abilities.
The bells rang as the match began.
Thump!
Li Cheng gripped his five fingers around the handle of his sword as he narrowed his eyes. In a single step, he forcefully charged at Ye Mo and directly attacked his chest with a diagonal slash.
Ye Mo took a step back and avoided the blade, which streamed right past him.
Immediately, a vertical slash followed, threatening to slice Ye Mo in half.
Ye Mo sidestepped, evading the strike once again, then countered with a straight right.
Li Cheng cocked his head to the side, easily avoiding the punch, but when the fist was beside his face, it shifted to a palm that changed direction in a cutting motion, aiming at his face.
Stunned, Li Cheng hurriedly distanced himself, but it was too late.
He retreated more than five steps before stopping. He looked at Ye Mo with wide eyes while breathing raggedly as a deep cut was clearly visible on his eyebrow. Blood ran down his face, and droplets fell on the stage.
"Huff, huff, huff....."
"This guy… He actually tried to take my eye… A fraction of a second later, and his fingers would have punctured my eyeball. He's crazy!"
After his shock, fury soon erupted as Li Cheng's mind was overcome with the destructive disposition to harm his opponent.
"I will kill you!" Li Cheng raised his sword, which began to shine brightly.
"Cleaving White Crescent!" Li Cheng shouted as he hacked down.
The light of his sword transformed into a white crescent-shaped blade launched at great speed towards Ye Mo.
"He already mastered the Cleaving White Crescent at twelve?" On the platform, the elder of the Yan clan exclaimed in surprise.
"Li Yun, you old fox, you hid it from us." The Gao clan elder added in a chiding tone.
"It's just a small trick, nothing worth celebrating." The Li clan elder, Li Yun, said in a light tone, but the joyful smile he harbored easily revealed how gratified he truly felt.
"Brother Yun, how can you say that? Although it's only a mid-tier Yellow Class battle skill, it is very powerful and the foundation of your Li clan's sword arts. It's not so easy to learn." The Shen clan elder spoke solemnly while dark intentions brewed in his and the other two clan elders' minds.
Li Qiang was enough trouble already, they didn't need another talented young master to appear in the Li clan.
On the battle stage, the white crescent traveled the distance between Li Cheng and Ye Mo in an instant, leaving a straight line on the stone platform, but the latter, who stood ready all this time, was already rolling before it reached him.
The crescent blade brushed past him, then left the stage and continued flying for eight meters before it dissipated halfway between the arena and the bleachers.
A deep trail was left on the stone tiles, and pieces of rock were sent flying in the midst of the attack.
"The power of this battle skill is impressive, and the speed is great as well, but it's not unavoidable." Ye Mo was impressed by the strength of this sword art. He felt his life would be in danger if a hit landed, even with the resilience of his body.
"It seems he needs to do this cutting motion with his sword to release this attack. If I try to evade when he has already launched it, it will slice me before I can leave the range of the white crescent, but if I move during the wave of his sword, I can avoid the attack before he releases it.
It seemed easy like that, but the arms of a man moved faster than the whole body. Putting this plan into action required great reflexes and nerves of steel. If Ye Mo didn't grasp the right timing, he wouldn't have the time to shout before being lacerated by the crescent blade.
Li Cheng saw that Ye Mo dodged his Cleaving White Crescent battle skill, and quickly launched another one.
Ye Mo, who never took his eyes off Li Cheng, quickly darted to his left at the same time. The White Crescent streaked right past him before dissipating further once again.
Li Cheng attacked furiously, getting more worked up as it continued to miss.
Ye Mo kept moving and evading nonstop. His movements were erratic and unpredictable, leaving Li Cheng, under anger and frustration, unable to land a hit.
Ye Mo, between two dodging maneuvers, suddenly kicked a rock that was sent flying under Li Cheng's onslaught.
Swoosh.
Li Cheng heard a light brushing sound as the rock was hurled in his direction. He parried the rock with his sword, losing his stance in the process.
At the same time, he saw Ye Mo drawing dangerously closer and knew he wouldn't have the time to release another white crescent anymore.
It was a sword art used for mid or long range battle and would render him defenseless at this distance. Moreover, his qi decreased a lot under the repetitive use of the skill.
"Sunlight Feather battle skill."
Ye Mo arrived in front of Li Cheng and punched hard. His fist got right through his chest and protruded from the back.
But suddenly, Li Cheng's figure became fuzzy. It waned rapidly, turning into a translucent, distorted mass before disappearing under Ye Mo's strike.
Ye Mo realized the trick and, through his peripheral vision, saw a shadow moving threateningly beside him.
"Soft Breeze Sword Art" Li Cheng, unwilling to waste this opportunity, used the fastest sword battle skill he learned.
The Soft Breeze sword art was a low-tier Yellow Class battle skill, but if a clean hit landed, it was more than enough to cut a man to pieces.
Ye Mo swiftly turned around when the blade penetrated his flesh, spurting blood on both contestants.
Li Cheng made an ugly expression. Ye Mo had raised his hand, the blade pierced through his left palm but stopped right before his neck.
Ye Mo, rather than retreating, pushed his palm along the blade and grabbed the hilt of the sword with his fingers, then followed with a roundhouse kick towards Li Cheng's waist.
Watching the muscular leg coming his way, a chill went down Li Cheng's spine as he decisively let go of his sword and used the Sunlight Feather movement battle skill to retreat.
"He's not as fast as Liu Huan, I can pursue him." Ye Mo noted calmly in his mind.
Li Cheng was slower than Liu Huan since he was a 5th layer Qi Gathering Realm cultivator, one less than the Liu clan heir. But more importantly, it was because the low-tier Sunlight Feather battle skill left afterimages of the user on its way which could be used to confuse the opponent and escape or deal the killing blow, contrary to the Wind Flow battle skill which was solely focused on speed.
"Jumping like a rabbit, where is the ardor you showed before?" Ye Mo chased after Li Cheng as he taunted.
They had around the same speed, and the afterimages made it harder to pinpoint Li Cheng's position, but without a sword and his qi running out, the issue of the match was already decided.
"You shouldn't offend me, you don't know the strength of my Li Clan. If you surrender right now, I can let you go, but if you push the matter I will definitely kill you, your family, your friends, and everyone close to you!" Li Cheng threw all appearances to the bin as he viciously threatened Ye Mo.
He trembled just thinking of his father's reaction if this one learned that he wasn't able to get into the Tiger Martial Institute this year, losing against a nobody at that.
The cultivators watching couldn't help but shake their heads. Everyone knew that upon entering an institute, you became untouchable. Even the four great clans wouldn't try anything just because their young master lost a fight.
As for killing his family and friends? Ye Mo could only laugh inside as he kept chasing after Li Cheng.