Lin Keyang stood beneath the stage and clearly saw the look of astonishment on Zhang Lingrui's face. The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. He had already warned the man not to be so careless. Yet the guy still capsized his own boat.
Everything on the arena happened in a flash. By the time Yun Ting and the others got a clear look, Zhang Lingrui had already been knocked to the ground. Yun Xi's long staff was pressed to his dantian, and his sword rested against Yun Xi's throat.
But Zhang Lingrui was lying down, and Yun Xi was standing. Just by their positions, Yun Xi clearly had the upper hand. When Zong Hao and the others saw Zhang Zhēnrén's face, they all drew in a sharp breath.
One side of Zhang Lingrui's face had turned black from the burn. A mouthful of blood lay beside him, and mixed in with it were two teeth, clearly knocked out by Yun Xi's punch.
Zhang Lingrui felt half of his face go completely numb. He looked toward Yun Xi, who wore a frosty expression, and couldn't help feeling a bit surprised.
Yun Xi spoke coldly.
"Zhang Zhēnrén, you don't hit someone in the face. Don't you know a female cultivator's face is off limits? Still want to keep fighting?"
She hadn't held back just now. The moment she struck, she had converted her ice spiritual power into thunder, using the full strength of her physical body along with half her thunder spiritual power. That punch was meant to return the favor for the cut he left on her face.
Zhang Lingrui's lips twitched. He hadn't expected that leaving a mark on the girl's face would provoke her this much. That punch had even pierced through his body-protection qi. Though on the surface it looked like a draw, in truth, he had lost. His opponent was only at the early peak of the Golden Core stage.
Zhang Lingrui withdrew his spiritual sword, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and got to his feet. He turned to Yun Xi and said,
"Why's this little girl so fiery? I admit defeat."
Then, without any fuss, he jumped off the stage.
Yun Xi blinked in surprise. She'd thought he would want to fight again. Honestly, if the battle had continued, she would have lost.
Since Zhang Lingrui had already stepped down, the referee immediately announced Yun Xi as the winner of this round.
Yun Xi retracted her Seven Stars Soul-Shattering Staff and also leapt off the stage. However, her body wobbled slightly as she landed and was quickly supported by the sharp-eyed Zong Hao, who helpfully said,
"Wei Zhēnrén, you've exhausted too much energy. Go find a place to recover your spiritual power."
Yun Xi nodded and went to the spectator's seat to sit down and meditate.
As she lowered herself into position, she swallowed the blood in her mouth. She had come this far. Even if she had to fake it, she needed to look like a victor. Zhang Lingrui's three sword beams had shattered three of her shadow clones and left her seriously injured.
Fortunately, her feint had worked. It let her use her physical combat advantage to knock him down. If she had been even half a second slower, his sword would have struck her vital point. She had truly won by a hair's breadth.
From this, it was obvious how powerful late-stage Golden Core sword cultivators were. If it had been a real fight to the death, she would have most likely run.
Offstage, Zhang Lingrui was now being mercilessly teased by Lin Keyang.
"Zhang Zhēnrén, how did you lose too?"
Zhang Lingrui rubbed his numb cheek and replied,
"A slip-up! That girl really dares to go all in."
"Tsk tsk, now why aren't you saying you were being gentle with a beauty?"
Zhang Lingrui rolled his eyes.
"Alright, alright. I admit I was the one who failed to show mercy. Touched her reverse scale, didn't I? So young, and she already cares about her looks."
Lin Keyang smirked and kept pressing.
"Hmph, you're the careless one. Who aims for someone's face in a sparring match? You know how sharp your sword is. Frankly, I think you got off light. She should've punched you two more times."
Zhang Lingrui immediately shot back,
"Hey, now that's going too far. Aren't we still brothers? Can you not mock me like this? I just lost a match. At least try to comfort me a little."
"The way you comforted me earlier is exactly how I'm comforting you now."
Lin Keyang had always thought that befriending someone as shameless as Zhang Lingrui was probably the biggest mistake of his life. One friend like this was more than enough. Any more and he'd probably start greeting them with his fists.
Ignoring Zhang Lingrui's chatter, Lin Keyang cut him off bluntly.
"You lost this round. Are you going to participate in the challenge matches?"
Zhang Lingrui straightened his expression and replied,
"I'll decide based on how things go. The top three won't be easy to grab. Those few are all suppressing their cultivation and haven't formed a Nascent Soul yet, all for the sake of the prizes. My chances aren't great. What about you?"
"I know myself. Getting into the top ten is already the best I can hope for."
Lin Keyang was calm. Fellow disciples participating in the sect competition were either there to make a name for themselves, take a master, or aim for the prizes. His only goal was to test his strength. With that done, there was no need to push further and risk injury.
Once Yun Xi had suppressed her churning blood, it was time for the third-round draw.
This time, Yun Xi drew a Golden Core stage formation cultivator as her opponent. The man had a black jade badge at his waist, symbolizing his rank as a fourth-grade formation master.
The moment Yun Xi saw him, she knew she had no chance. So when she got on stage, she cupped her fists and said politely,
"Senior Brother Cao, I admit defeat."
Then she stepped down decisively, leaving the referee stunned for a beat before he announced Cao Yi as the winner.
At that moment, Long Daoyu and Qin Tongshuang finally squeezed their way to the edge of the arena and rushed over.
"Yun Xi, why did you give up? Is it because you're still injured from the last match?"
Seeing familiar faces, Yun Xi immediately smiled and nodded, openly admitting,
"The Art of Formations is vast and profound. I've barely studied it. It's obvious I wouldn't be a match for Senior Brother Cao, so no point going up there and embarrassing myself. How did your matches go?"
Both Long Daoyu and Qin Tongshuang had already build their foundations, each at the peak of the early stage. Clearly, the four years apart had been spent improving themselves.
Qin Tongshuang smiled and said,
"I placed fifteenth in the Foundation Establishment competition. Long Daoyou was twenty-second."
Long Daoyu added with a grin,
"I did my best, but my strength just wasn't enough. Still, this competition helped me sense the bottleneck for my next breakthrough. So it was worthwhile."
"That's good. Cultivation is a process of accumulation. No need to rush."
Qin Tongshuang then asked teasingly,
"Wei Zhēnrén, how did you already form your core? If I didn't know you'd taken a master, I wouldn't have believed it."
Yun Xi spread her hands helplessly.
"Don't even ask. It's a long story. I was forced into it."
Qin Tongshuang probed with a smile,
"Then once the competition ends, will you tell us that long story? If it's convenient?"
"Sure. We can meet up in Haoran City and chat."
Yun Xi didn't refuse.
After a few more words, the two said their goodbyes with perfect timing. Having gone through hardship together, their bonds were still close.
Not long after they left, another round of matches ended. The winners of that group would compete for first and second place. Yun Xi would face another Golden Core female cultivator who had lost, to contest for third place.
But that cultivator seemed heavily injured. When the incense stick burned out and the match began, she was unable to go on stage. In the end, she could only concede. Clearly, there was no way she could compete with Yun Xi in that condition.
Just like that, Yun Xi became the third-place winner in the Golden Core group, living up to her title as the dark horse.
"Wei Zhēnrén really has unbeatable luck. She fought in four matches, but only truly battled in two. In the other two, she just stood on stage and won third place."