As the years turned, the end of the year arrived once more, and the Longsheng Point was still added to his magical power. Chen Xun led the big black ox, carrying spiritual herbs to the sect's main hall, where he received a steady 200 contribution points. "Old cow, save it, don't spend it. We're going to participate in the sect's grand competition!" Chen Xun carefully placed the bagua talisman into his storage pouch. "Moo!" The big black ox was overjoyed. Chen Xun registered for the competition, and in his hand, he held another talisman, which would reveal the arena he was to fight in.
A few days later, the bell rang, and the competition peak was packed with people, bustling as ever, just like in previous years. However, this year, Ge Shuang and Bai Shi did not participate; it was said they had been taken under the wing of some elder as inner disciples. "The sect's grand competition officially begins!" A vast voice echoed everywhere. Chen Xun's talisman rang, and he immediately looked towards a certain arena, leading the big black ox as he walked, his eyes filled with eagerness.
On the arena stood a disciple at the eighth level of Qi Refinement, named Zhang Song. He was taken aback; his opponent was also at the eighth level of Qi Refinement and brought along a spirit beast. It seemed this would be a fierce battle. "Senior brother, please show mercy; I just broke through to the eighth level of Qi Refinement," Chen Xun chuckled, his eyes filled with vigilance. These disciples had strange methods and numerous spells; he could not afford to be careless. After a year of observation, he found that being in the top five hundred at the eighth level of Qi Refinement was relatively stable and wouldn't attract too much attention.
"Of course, the sect's grand competition is just for show; I won't harm your life, junior brother." Zhang Song's expression was somewhat perplexed; this person and his ox, wearing a straw hat, looked rather comical and strange. "Shall we begin, senior brother?" "Hmm..." Zhang Song was slightly speechless. This person was strapped with three mountain-opening axes, clearly forged from common iron, not even a magical tool. However, he could not afford to underestimate him. His gaze sharpened, and his fingers began to flick rapidly. Streams of water vapor suddenly took shape, transforming into ice crystals, flowing like clouds and water, leaving countless afterimages.
Ice spikes shot towards Chen Xun. The big black ox was only at the third level of Qi Refinement; its target was its master, capturing the king before the thief. "So strong!" Chen Xun shouted, dodging continuously, chased to the point of desperation. "As expected of a senior brother!" The ice spikes nearly struck Chen Xun each time, but he moved just in time to evade them, with the spirit beast following suit in its frantic escape. "Junior brother, perhaps it's time to stop dodging," Zhang Song said, remaining still, his finger movements growing faster, the angles of the ice spikes becoming increasingly tricky.
Chen Xun took out a mountain-opening axe, cleaved through an ice spike, and began to evade again, drenched in sweat, his eyes filled with terror. "Junior brother, how long do you intend to keep dodging?!" Zhang Song's expression grew impatient; why couldn't he land a hit? His internal magical power was already depleting. "I won't hold back any longer!" As soon as he finished speaking, several veins bulged on Zhang Song's forehead. He clapped his hands together, a glint of brilliance flashing in his eyes. At that moment, several ice blades appeared out of thin air, slicing towards Chen Xun without warning. Zhang Song stepped forward, following the ice blades, cutting off all of Chen Xun's escape routes.
"Too terrifying." Chen Xun and the big black ox shrank back, vanishing from their spot. Zhang Song's pupils constricted; his spell and he both missed their target. "Fireball technique!" Chen Xun shouted, several small fireballs shooting forth. Zhang Song's gaze sharpened; he waved his hand back, and ice spikes appeared. The center of the arena melted into a large puddle of water. Zhang Song realized this opponent was troublesome and likely difficult to defeat with spells.
The two quickly became entangled in battle on the arena, fighting fiercely, neither able to gain the upper hand. Zhang Song was growing increasingly anxious; why couldn't he land a hit?! The big black ox watched from the side, mooing continuously, seemingly cheering on its master, while others on the arena had already won two matches. After half an hour of entanglement, Zhang Song was drenched in sweat, and Chen Xun sat on the ground, gasping for breath, as if he might collapse at any moment.
"I can only use my trump card now; I didn't expect to encounter such a troublesome opponent in the first match of the competition." Zhang Song hesitated but didn't want to waste more time. He slapped his storage pouch, and several formation flags settled in the four corners. Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through, and before Zhang Song could react, two of his formation flags were... pulled away?! Ah, a sneak attack! A shadow rushed in; the big black ox charged fiercely, and Zhang Song, caught off guard, flew into the air, a bewildered expression on his face, crashing heavily outside the arena.
"Who am I? Where am I?! What just happened?!" Zhang Song cried out in pain, his eyes still dazed as he looked at Chen Xun, a giant question mark on his face. "Senior brother, thank you for your kindness," Chen Xun stumbled down from the arena, returning the formation flags to him, a sheepish smile on his face. "Junior brother, you truly have remarkable speed." Zhang Song took a step back, accepting the flags, a look of fear flashing in his eyes. This speed could even interrupt spellcasting?! "You took advantage of the situation; if it weren't for the restrictions of this arena, junior brother, you wouldn't stand a chance against senior brother."
"Hehe, junior brother is being modest." Zhang Song shook his head, finding it absurd that he encountered such a bizarre situation. Chen Xun laboriously approached a referee at the arena, respectfully saying, "Uncle Master, I wish to continue." "Hmm." The uncle master replied indifferently, sending a stream of magical power towards Chen Xun's yellow talisman, to battle the first round's victor again.
In the second round, he faced a cold-faced disciple named Liu Tao, who was at the ninth level of Qi Refinement. "Junior brother, if you want to concede, now is still a good time, to avoid suffering physical pain." Liu Tao looked expressionlessly at Chen Xun and the big black ox, whose condition was evidently poor. "I still ask senior brother... for guidance." Chen Xun forced a smile, even sitting down as if to recover his magical power. "Hmph, ungrateful." Liu Tao waved his hand, and a massive black ring appeared, growing larger as it spun in mid-air, a gust of black wind howling, seemingly locking onto Chen Xun.
The black ring suddenly lunged forward, heading straight for Chen Xun—an upper-grade yellow-tier killing magical tool! A cold glint flashed in Chen Xun's eyes as he left an afterimage in place, but the ring seemed to have a mind of its own, relentlessly pursuing him. "Junior brother, if you can't hold on, it's still not too late to concede now." Liu Tao sneered, watching Chen Xun flee in a panic, his movements not slowing down at all. He raised his right hand and waved; the ring glimmered with golden light, growing even larger, descending from above Chen Xun.
"As expected of a senior brother at the ninth level of Qi Refinement," Chen Xun couldn't help but praise, suddenly throwing a punch that struck the ring fiercely! At that moment, a sudden change occurred! Bang!! A violent collision echoed, and the ring dimmed significantly from the impact. Seizing the moment of hesitation, Chen Xun ran again. Liu Tao's expression changed drastically, his eyes filled with intense shock. Although to outsiders, the magical tool seemed unharmed, he could clearly hear the internal vibrations. His expression gradually grew serious; this junior brother, though in poor condition, as if he had just endured a fierce battle and hadn't recovered, could not be underestimated.
"Fireball technique!" Chen Xun formed a spell gesture, sending several small fireballs towards Liu Tao. Liu Tao looked on with disdain; how dare this low-level spell come to challenge him? He opened his mouth wide: "Flame technique!" A burst of fire erupted on the arena, instantly swallowing the fireballs. Chen Xun suddenly charged out from the sea of flames, wielding a mountain-opening axe, striking at Liu Tao! Liu Tao snorted coldly, drawing a long sword, and the arena was once again engulfed in battle, with Liu Tao pressing forward, forcing Chen Xun to retreat step by step.
Half an hour later, Liu Tao was drenched in sweat, his magical power waning significantly. He was furious, "Junior brother, can you still hold on?!" "I... I'm okay," Chen Xun weakly replied, as if he might collapse at any moment. Liu Tao's magical power was depleted, his eyes wide open. Why was it that he always seemed to be a step faster? His spirit was exhausted.