True Martial World - Chapter 241: Coming Together

At this point in the rookie ranking competition, the entire arena seemed to belong to Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran. Everyone else was playing second fiddle.

When people looked at other battles, they only had one thought in their mind, and that was: “Hurry up and finish your battle. Let Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran go on stage.”

All the rookies that could still go on stage were the best amongst the rookies. All of them grew up with a halo around their heads, but now they were just supporting characters on the stage. This made them feel helpless, but they had to admit that Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran were on a completely different level from them.

The referee intentionally scheduled Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran's battle at the end of the day. This was to ensure that Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran would be able to recover to their optimal states, so their battle could be a showdown at the highest levels.

The Sun slowly set in the west and dusk set in. People were all waiting for the beginning of this big battle. All the other rookies had finished their battles, so all they were waiting for was for Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran to go on stage.

Suddenly, near the arena's main entrance, a commotion in the crowd happened. The tightly-packed crowd suddenly began to disperse.

The people who dispersed had faces of confusion or shock.

"Oh? What's wrong?"

People began to look over and all they saw was a number of men in black cloaks at the entrance. And in between these black-cloaked men, there were two elderly men who strolled in leisurely.

They are...

Everyone was shocked, especially the rookies. They had never seen these two old men before, so it was natural they did not recognize them.

But the rookies vaguely knew about these black-cloaked men. The only people who wore black cloaks in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom were law-enforcers.

Law-enforcers? Why are there so many law-enforcers here?

The rookies were dumbfounded, and at that moment, some of the stronger veteran cultivators recognized the two old men after a momentary pause.

"Elder Jian Ge! Elder Cang Yan! Why did they come to the arena!?"

All of the rookies were dumbstruck when they heard this.

Elder...These two old men are Elders!?

To all the cultivators present, the Divine City's Elders were legendary figures. In the entire Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, there might not even be one in 500 years.

What were they doing here in the arena?

The rookie ranking competition...was not something worth the attention of the Elders. Ignoring the rookie ranking competition, even Qin Haotian, who was ranked number one in the arena, would not receive such treatment by the Elders when he was challenged by those ranked second or third. At most, the Elders would just watch a video disk array.

There were firsts every year in the Divine City. Every year, the person ranked first on the Earth roll of honor would be challenged numerous times in a short period of time. The Elders were not so free to watch it every time.

Typically, the Elders never appeared in the arena. Instead, it should be said that cultivators typically did not have the chance to meet the Elders.

Rookie cultivators might have a chance of meeting Elder Cang Yan when he did his occasional guest appearance as the door-manning old man; however, they did not know he was an Elder.

Seeing Cang Yan and Jian Ge sit in the seats of honor, everyone was still in a daze, "Could they be...here to watch Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran's match?"

Upon thinking of this possibility, people were in disbelief. But thinking further, Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran's match was indeed a notable event!

"Amazing! This rookie ranking competition is getting the attention of the Elders?"

People looked at each other with puzzled faces. No matter how impressive Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran were, they were not at Qin Haotian's level. They managed to get two Elders to watch them as rookies? This was really unbelievable.

At that moment, Cang Yan and Jian Ge calmly sat in the seats. It was indeed something that had never happened before, for some Elders to come in person to the arena.

They came here to see Yi Yun's understanding of the Saber Truth's 32 Words in person.

Although the Tai Ah Divine City's video disk array could be used to record video, it was not enough to record laws that cultivators had insights into.

The unclear video images were unable to reflect the charm of the saber truths.

"Yi Yun! Chu Xiaoran! Divine Wilderness Stage!" The referee announced. With the two Elders here, the referee also felt pressure.

With his Thousand Army Saber in his hand, Yi Yun walked up onto the Divine Wilderness Stage. And his opponent, Chu Xiaoran held a soft sword in her hand. She had a quiet demeanor and she seemed to lack the sharpness of an expert.

As she walked, Chu Xiaoran glanced at the two elderly men in the seats of honor, "They are the Divine City's Elders...The real pillars of support for the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom. They are stronger than my grandfather, my father and master..."

Chu Xiaoran came from the Chu family, which was a family clan with a deep heritage, but there was never a human Sage in the family.

Even the current head of the Chu family was only a peak-Human Lord.

Chu Xiaoran had her own ambitions. She was determined to be the first sage in the Chu family. She wanted to start a new glorious chapter in the Chu family's annals. However, this ambition had always been buried deep in Chu Xiaoran's heart. She had never mentioned this to anyone.

Now, having seen two sages at once, it struck a nerve.

In the future, she also wanted to reach that level!

A sage appeared once in 500 years. She wanted to be the strongest expert in the past 500 years! She could not fail here!

Chu Xiaoran drew out her sword. She was silent and her breaths were well tempered; however, her beautiful eyes could not hide her fighting spirit!

Yi Yun slowly drew out his Thousand Army Saber, "Chu Xiaoran, I know you are hiding your strength…And from the strength you have shown up to now, it is not enough to defeat me. If you do not use your trump card early on, you might not have the opportunity to use it."

"Thank you for your advice! Make your move." Chu Xiaoran was very calm. She was never more serious for this battle than before. It might be because of the appearance of the two sages that had ignited the fighting spirit in Chu Xiaoran!

She wanted to win!

At that moment, Yi Yun started to move.

His body moved like a gust of wind and the terrifying saber beam, which condensed into one that could shatter all kinds of blade beams, slashed down at Chu Xiaoran!

This move flooded the vision of everyone. Even at a distance, people felt that a long saber was hanging by their neck with a murderous intent!

A terrifying saber!

Chu Xiaoran contracted her pupils and she flew backward to dodge the beam. Then, she stabbed her soft sword towards the beam.

All her body's Yuan Qi also surged into the sword. This Yuan Qi was accompanied with an indescribable softness in it to meet the saber beam!

However, Yi Yun's saber was much sharper than Chu Xiaoran's sword!

With a "Chi Chi Chi" sound, the beam sliced through Chu Xiaoran's sword Qi. All people could see was that the beam was travelling towards her face.

People could not help but exclaim!

Chu Xiaoran was a beautiful, young girl. If Qiuniu was slashed by the saber, it was alright. But no one could bear seeing Chu Xiaoran being slashed!

In a split second, just as Chu Xiaoran was about to be slashed by the saber, Yi Yun's saber beam mysteriously shifted to the side.

Cha!

This slash eventually went parallel to Chu Xiaoran's face, and it hit the purple tungsten ground heavily.

The solid purple tungsten stage quaked and a deep four feet long saber mark appeared on it!

Chu Xiaoran's body fluttered a hundred feet in the air before she landed softly on the ground, but...there were a few strands of hair that dropped down onto her cheeks...

What...happened just now?

The audience stared with their eyes wide open.

They were completely focused on the beam and they were afraid that they would miss an exciting moment. But even so, they could not clearly see what had happened during Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran's clash.

It was too fast and in a split second, the two were separated apart. Following that, the stage was slashed open by the saber beam. It made people breathless.

"I clearly saw Yi Yun's saber beam in front of Chu Xiaoran. Why did he not fully slash downwards. Did Yi Yun feel tenderness towards women at the last moment and held back?" Someone asked.

"Don't be silly" A veteran cultivator shook his head. "You think she is a frail maiden? This is the Hard-Soft concept. Chu Xiaoran used the Hard-Soft concept at the last moment to dissipate Yi Yun's force, but...she did not manage to dissipate all of it..."

Some of the veteran cultivators, who were ranked around 2000 on the Earth ranking, could clearly see Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran's battle.

The Hard-Soft concept could dissipate many attacks, but if the difference in strength was too great, it still could not reverse the tide.

Many people noticed that a few strands of Chu Xiaoran's hair had fallen off. It was Yi Yun who held the upper hand in their first engagement.

Yi Yun looked at his own saber and thought about the power from before. He was amazed that his saber could change directions against his will.

Yi Yun said, "Hard-Soft...It's indeed amazing to use a weaker force to overcome a stronger force! But it is not enough to obtain victory with that. My first slash was just a probe. Following up, I will use all my strength!"

Probe!?

Hearing this, people turned speechless. Such a strong saber attack was just Yi Yun's probe.

Many amongst them knew that they could not even resist this saber attack, nor did they know how to do so!

Previously, they knew Yi Yun was very strong. But they did not know how big the difference was. Now, they had an intuitive feel of the difference!

Now, it was no surprise that Qiuniu was defeated. They were not Qiuniu and did not know the pressure Qiuniu experienced when fighting Yi Yun. They would probably know the feeling if they were the one standing on stage.

True Martial World - Chapter 240: The Weak overcoming the Strong

After Yi Yun beat Qiuniu, he quickly submitted the name of the person he wanted to challenge next. Some people began to peek at the challenge form when the referee received it.

There were a few people standing near the referee’s table and they began to probe into the name that Yi Yun wrote and the person he chose was Chu Xiaoran!

Yi Yun versus Chu Xiaoran!

No one was surprised that this was going to happen. The rookie ranking competition needed someone to stand on top. Yi Yun and Chu Xiaoran were destined to have a final showdown.

In fact, it was an experience a person like Yi Yun needed to have by battling against the experts amongst the rookies. He had to accumulate combat experience to train his martial arts!

"Yi Yun wants to battle Chu Xiaoran!" Someone spread the news.

"He wants to battle Chu Xiaoran? Chu Xiaoran is going to feel the pressure now!"

In the past, Chu Xiaoran's performance had always subtly exceeded Qiuniu’s, but not by much. Everyone knew that Chu Xiaoran had held back a trick or two. But even so, it didn't seem like she could do much when she faced Yi Yun!

"Yi Yun is a freak, even when Qiuniu gave it his all at the end, he could also break it in one shot. With his extraordinary movement techniques, his attack and speed leaves others in the dust. Can Chu Xiaoran defeat him? It is going to be difficult!"

"It may seem like that now, but who knows how much hidden strength Chu Xiaoran has not used. When Qiuniu and Yi Yun fought, he too had his trump card. So wouldn’t Chu Xiaoran have one either? Don't forget that Chu Xiaoran is a person who had gained insight into nomological truths..."

People debated on this topic but in the end, most people believed Yi Yun had a higher chance of winning.

At that moment, the referee announced, "Divine Wilderness Stage, 2600, Long Li. Challenger, Chu Xiaoran!"

Before battling Yi Yun, Chu Xiaoran had already set up a match, she was challenging the 2600th person on the Earth roll of honor.

This was Chu Xiaoran's third to last battle. Tomorrow, she still had two opportunities to challenge someone. No one knew how high Chu Xiaoran could rise up.

Chu Xiaoran held a sword that was soft as water and she walked up onto the Divine Wilderness Stage.

No matter who she faced in this battle or if Yi Yun was going to face her in her next battle, they were all strong rivals. But even so, Chu Xiaoran was still very calm.

Many people admired her for having such bearing.

"She's indeed worthy to be an expert by not panicking. She did not react at all, even when she saw Qiuniu being defeated..."

People were secretly horrified. They did not know the limit to Chu Xiaoran's strength.

Chu Xiaoran's opponent Long Li held a spear in his hand. With the spear in his hand, he gave an impressive pose.

He took his opponent very seriously and he did not dare to treat her lightly.

"Chu Xiaoran..." On the participant benches, Yi Yun, who was meditating, opened his eyes. He too wanted to see the impressive style of the current number one rookie.

The battle had begun .

Many people focused their eyes on the stage. They were waiting to see Chu Xiaoran's hidden strength. Qiuniu had plenty of hidden strength, so Chu Xiaoran definitely had hidden strength too.

Everyone imagined that in this battle, Long Li would slowly suppress Chu Xiaoran until she had to use her hidden strength to turn the tables.

But, this battle was different from what they imagined.

Long Li was indeed very fierce in his opening attacks. His spear shot out spear beams!

The spear was known as the best weapon among soldiers. Long Li was more than 1.8 meters tall; hence, he had an impressive aggressiveness while attacking with the spear.

But Chu Xiaoran was using a soft sword.

When a sword exchanged blows with a spear, it was usually at a disadvantage. Chu Xiaoran was quickly suppressed by Long Li!

Long Li's spear was fast and he also injected his surging Yuan Qi into it.

Long Li attacked with one move after another like billowing waves that would not stop. As for Chu Xiaoran, she was like a small boat in the ocean. She was moving around like she was being rocked around by the waves and wind.

It seemed like Chu Xiaoran was in a dangerous situation, but...no matter how forceful Long Li's attacks were, Chu Xiaoran remained undefeated.

After being unable to take her down for a long while, Long Li began feeling anxious. It seemed like he was just a tiny step away from defeating Chu Xiaoran.

If Long Li was a rock, then Chu Xiaoran was like a blade of grass. No matter how hard the rock pressed on it, the blade of grass would just bend and it would not snap!

This made many rookies frown. They wished for Chu Xiaoran to win her matches beautifully, but in reality, Chu Xiaoran was being suppressed.

The rookies did not feel good about this.

Did Chu Xiaoran not have any hidden strength? If she was being suppressed by Long Li like this, how was she going to fight Yi Yun?

People knew that Long Li was very strong. Being ranked at 2600 in the Earth rankings and even amongst the third years, he was considered one of the top experts. In past years, whichever rookie could battle a cultivator ranked 2600 to such state would be a freak. It was practically guaranteed for them to get first place in the rookie competition.

But this year, it was different. There was the incredibly powerful Yi Yun here. By fighting like that, she was not enough to pose a threat to Yi Yun!

Although the audience was anxious, Chu Xiaoran was not anxious at all. Chu Xiaoran carried on following a prescribed order and she parried every attack from Long Li. It looked dangerous, but she was doing it with such ease.

In the arena, Long Li's heart sank. He knew that if this carried on, his energy would be depleted faster than Chu Xiaoran’s. In the end, he would end up losing.

He had to accumulate his strength to win in one hit!

He could only use his trump card now. Long Li had just recently learned this move and he was not skillful using it. But now, he only had this move to clinch victory.

As Long Li attacked Chu Xiaoran, he began preparing his best move. After he finished preparing it, he forced Chu Xiaoran to retreat and with his whole body's Yuan Qi exploding, a surge of energy appeared in front of him!

Just as Long Li was prepared to use his trump card, something unexpected occurred.

Chu Xiaoran, who was sent retreating by him, suddenly seemed to borrow the energy from his attack and flew back at him, sending out an attack!

This attack looked unexciting and it did not seem like it was going to threaten Long Li's energy wave.

But this attack shot out a sword beam, which destroyed a portion of Long Li's energy wave!

This was because it had hit a weak spot in Long Li's attack!

"Peng!"

Long Li's Yuan Qi was broken, so, even though Long Li was able to react at that moment and try to protect his body while he retreated, it...was too late!

Chu Xiaoran was too fast and her sword was too precise!

Her body charged into Long Li's spear beams like a ghost and she broke through Long Li's protective barrier with her sword!

This attack was like a venomous snake coming out of a cave and it seemed to twist around Long Li's neck.

The cold blade beam sank Long Li's heart and all his Yuan Qi stopped circulating.

Wh...What?

Long Li was dumbfounded. He stood motionless as if he had been petrified.

"You have lost." Chu Xiaoran withdrew her soft sword and quietly took a step back.

Long Li dazed as he saw Chu Xiaoran retreat. He could not believe what had just happened.

From the beginning, he constantly had the upper hand. It was because he could not take her down after prolonged attacks that he had to use the killing blow he had just learned. But before he could use it, Chu Xiaoran suddenly turned the tables and beat him. An ordinary looking move was able to break his defenses to secure victory in one move.

This huge reversal from defeat to victory happened almost in an instant!

Long Li felt that he was stronger than Chu Xiaoran, but in the end, he still lost!

This feeling was like in chess. When one was suppressing their opponent by removing a large portion of their opponent’s pieces, they had victory in hand. But suddenly, the opponent made a move that ended up checkmating their King...

The whole match was lost!

Long Li felt aggrieved at his loss. He could not imagine how Chu Xiaoran managed to break through his move.

The audience was also confused at this battle outcome. It seemed like Chu Xiaoran had won easily and not easily at the same time. Some people even thought that Chu Xiaoran had won by a fluke.

How did this happen? They were waiting for Chu Xiaoran to reveal her hidden strength, but from the beginning to the end, all Chu Xiaoran did was that one move. And just the strength of that one move allowed her to defeat Long Li in an unknown way.

"Does Chu Xiaoran not have any hidden strength? Is that all she has? Then, how is she going to fight Yi Yun? Isn't she sure to lose?"

People inevitably had such thoughts. By struggling to beat Long Li, it was difficult for her to beat Yi Yun.

At that moment, someone said, "On the contrary...I think Chu Xiaoran's performance in this battle is terrifying. The strength she used was weaker than Long Li’s, but the final result was unexpected! By defeating Long Li with a weaker strength, that is skill. How would you know that the strength Chu Xiaoran used was her limit?"

When this person returned with a question, it stunned the audience.

"If she can win with 60% strength, why didn't she use 100%? Instead, by beating a 70% opponent with 60% strength, that shows skill. Maybe, Chu Xiaoran was training and honing her skills!" The person who said this was a veteran cultivator.

Now, many veteran cultivators had to admit that Chu Xiaoran was terrifying, even though it was embarrassing to admit that a rookie was stronger than them.

Upon hearing this, no one said anything. To hone oneself using the rookie ranking competition?

Recalling this battle, Chu Xiaoran was very calm from beginning to end. She never panicked, it was as if everything was under her control.

If she really could not beat Long Li, it was unlikely she could be that calm.

And in the final attack, it looked simple, but was it really that simple?

A simple attack had broken through Long Li's forceful killing blow?

Upon realizing this, people found Chu Xiaoran unfathomable.

In this rookie ranking competition, Qiuniu was always ranked behind Chu Xiaoran. When one thought about it, it was probably Qiuniu's intention to challenge Chu Xiaoran on the final day!

Although it was likely that, deep down, Qiuniu did not believe that he would lose to Chu Xiaoran, but this indicated that Qiuniu was previously weaker than Chu Xiaoran. If not, he would not have positioned himself as a challenger.

Unfortunately, now it was no longer Qiuniu challenging Chu Xiaoran, but Yi Yun...

True Martial World - Chapter 239: Disk Array Video

Yi Yun walked back to his seat with everyone in the arena looking at him.

At that moment, a weak voice came from the stage, "Yi...Yi Yun..."

Yi Yun paused and turned around. It was Qiuniu. He could no longer speak loudly as Yi Yun's saber had cut open his chest, causing him to have trouble breathing.

"That move...Where did you learn it...?" Qiuniu said every word with difficulty. Even though the doctors advised Qiuniu not to speak, it fell on deaf ears.

"A few days ago, an elderly person took me somewhere to learn it." Yi Yun did not hide the fact. However, he did not mention the ancient tomb as it was a secret that there was an ancient tomb under the Tai Ah Divine City and many people did not know this secret.

"A few days..." Qiuniu suddenly recalled Yi Yun's disappearance for the past few days and gave a wry smile, "I see...You disappeared for a few days...to gain understandings about the saber..."

It only took him a few days to learn such a horrifying saber technique?

It was unimaginable...

"What is the saber move's name…?" Qiuniu asked again. When Yi Yun had used the move, he did not shout out the move's name like Qiuniu.

Yi Yun faltered slightly before replying, "Reigning Supreme!"

This was Yi Yun's naming of the saber move. This was because this move was created from understanding the Saber Truth's 32 Words' "Reigning Supreme".

Be it Qiuniu or the many cultivators in the divine city audience, no one recognized the move. All they knew was Yi Yun's saber move was terrifying. noveltranslationweb.blogspot.com

"Reigning Supreme...Good move!"

Qiuniu did not say anything else as he was carried out of the arena by the doctors on a stretcher.

Qiuniu's defeat and his serious injury meant he could no longer battle the veteran cultivator who was ranked 2800. As for Qiuniu's ranking, it had dropped to 10,003 due to his defeat against Yi Yun.

But this did not affect Qiuniu's rookie ranking as the rookie ranking competition ranked every rookie according to the highest ranking they achieved throughout all their matches.

So, Qiuniu would end up being ranked third and now, Yi Yun was ranked second amongst the rookies!

And he still had three more challenges remaining!

Who was he going to challenge next? Would he be challenging a high-ranking veteran cultivator or Chu Xiaoran?

After thinking about this, many people's hearts started to race. No matter who Yi Yun challenged, it would no doubt be an interesting match!

...

At that moment, in the central divine tower...

Cang Yan and Elder Jian Ge were playing chess once again. These two old men had brewed a pot of tea. They played chess and at the same time, they enjoyed the tea. It was not easy for the two of them to progress any further, so they began leading an idle life. The two of them would end up playing chess for many days at a time.

As for the rookie ranking competition, they would only occasionally pay attention to it, while they played chess. The rookie ranking competition was not a big deal to people of their level.

Jian Ge and Cang Yan were considered the Divine City's Elders who were the most concerned about the rookies. As for people like the Tai Ah Divine City’s City Lord, they would usually enter reclusive training for decades. If someone were to ask them who Qin Haotian was, they would say that they had never heard of the name before.

"I say, old man Jian, you recently went to the Southern Island and got two pounds of Jing Luo Chun, right? Why aren't you brewing it? It is such a waste of a heavenly treasure to not drink it!"

Cang Yan was taking a sip of the tea. He was currently drinking a top-grade tea which could nourish the meridians and the dantian. A pot of this tea was priceless. But, he still yearned for Elder Jian Ge's Jin Luo Chun.

Jian Ge rolled his eyes and could not be bothered to answer him. He said, "Didn't you take Yi Yun out of the saber tomb today? How is he?"

Cang Yan stroked his chin when he heard Jian Ge ask this. It seemed like he did not know what to say.

"This...it is hard to say! When I asked the kid to come out, he looked very confident, it was as if he had actually learned something. But thinking about it, he only went in for a short amount of time, so it is quite unlikely that he had actually learned anything. So I am thinking of letting him go into the saber tomb again, so that he can try to gain more insights over a few days. Then, I'll prepare an opponent of passable caliber to fight with him to see the results of his training!"

Elder Jian Ge was speechless when he heard this. He smacked the chess piece in his hand on the table and snapped, "You want to take him in there again? Do you think the saber tomb is the Tai Ah Divine City's cook house!?"

"For a cultivator of the Purple Blood realm to enter the saber tomb for the first time, and after a few days, gain some confidence from it like he has learned something, what he learned is most likely wrong. Don't tell me you didn't realize this would happen. Are you planning to take Qiuniu and Chu Xiaoran to the sword and saber tombs in the next few days to see if they can gain some insight!?"

Upon being questioned by Elder Jian Ge, Cang Yan did not say a word. He also thought that Yi Yun must have gone astray in his learning.

He said softly, "Forget Qiuniu, but I think Chu Xiaoran has potential, so it is worth a try. She managed to gain some insights on truths at a young age and she has great perceptivity. Besides, she also uses a sword."

Hearing Cang Yan's words, Jian Ge hesitated. Cang Yan had a point about Chu Xiaoran, it was indeed worth a try.

Elder Jian Ge said, "Old man Cang, we need to be careful. Although these geniuses have a very low probability of becoming sages, we should not ruin their futures. In the past year, there have been a series of phenomena in the Tai Ah Divine Kingdom, such as the Purple Clouds' Birth in the Cloud Wilderness and the beast horde migration in the Divine Wilderness last year. Who knows if something big has happened...To be able to nurture the younger generation, it is always good..."

As Jian Ge said this, he heard a Yuan Qi transmission from outside the door, "Subordinate Gui Bai seeks an audience with Elder Jian Ge"

"Gui Bai?" Jian Ge thought for a while. Gui Bai, as a law-enforcer, was in charge of this year's rookie ranking competition. He should still be at the arena now.

"Come in. What's the matter?" Jian Ge said lightly.

Gui Bai, who wore a black cloak, pushed the door open and entered the room. He unveiled his cowl and cupped his hands in a salute, "This subordinate was presiding over this year's rookie ranking competition and something special happened in one of the battles. This subordinate could not be sure of what it was and I brought a video disk array for the two Elders to confirm it!"

With that said, Gui Bai handed over the disk array.

Jian Ge looked at Gui Bai with some uncertainty. What sort of rookie battle needed him and Cang Yan to confirm?

At that moment, Gui Bai had placed the disk array on the table and by circulating his body's Yuan Qi into the disk array, a light flashed from the disk array and video began emerging from it.

This was Qiuniu and Yi Yun's battle!

"Oh? This little rascal immediately challenged Qiuniu? He sure is confident!"

After all, Yi Yun was of a normal background. To reach the point of challenging a reclusive family's genius, Qiuniu, in three months after coming to the Tai Ah Divine City, it was not easy.

Gui Bai did not say anything and stood nearby with his hands by his side. Just the disk array's video was enough to show Jian Ge and Cang Yan what was special about this battle without him saying another word.

Qiuniu and Yi Yun's fierce battle appeared in the disk array's footage. Seeing Yi Yun break through Qiuniu's armor defenses, Jian Ge nodded his head.

Following that, Qiuniu took off his armor to battle Yi Yun again. Jian Ge gave a rare appreciative smile.

"This little rascal is not bad!"

"I know! He is not bad. Look at his battle with Qiuniu, he was never in a disadvantageous position in the first place. I had reason to take him into the saber tomb. Maybe with a few more days, he might really learn something!"

Cang Yan began boasting; but at that moment, Yi Yun was trapped by Qiuniu's Trapped Ox Lock. Cang Yan's happy expression froze. How could this kid be so unworthy of praise, I just praised him and now, he got trapped by his opponent. Yi Yun could only face the battle head on and he was bound to suffer as a result.

At that moment, Qiuniu launched his killing blow and Yi Yun took it head on with his saber.

It seemed as if time came to a stop. When they saw Yi Yun's blade beam slice through the Sky Ox phantom image and then slash through Qiuniu's strong body, both Cang Yan and Jian Ge expression’s froze!

Just now...

How could that be!?

The two elders looked at each other and saw an incredulous look within the other's eyes.

"Replay!" Cang Yan said in a hurry.

Gui Bai did not say a word and injected some more Yuan Qi into the disk array to show Yi Yun's slash again.

This slash had hit Qiuniu's body and it was reflected in their eyes. That blade beam lingered in their irises for a long time.

"The realm of the Saber Truth's 32 Words!" Elder Jian Ge said in a deep voice.

"This kid!" Cang Yan was completely at a loss for words. At that moment, according to his temperament, he would have jumped up to boast and say how good his foresight was.

But Yi Yun was a freak. For Yi Yun to manage to gain insight from the Saber Truth's 32 Words in just a few days, even he could not say anything.

He had originally taken Yi Yun to the saber tomb on a whim. He wanted to test Yi Yun. He felt that he could take Yi Yun to the tomb a few times for him to gain a tiny insight and it would benefit him for life.

Under normal circumstances, if Yi Yun could gain some insight in a few months, it would be an extraordinary feat. But now, in just 4-5 days, he had gained such insight? This was too great of an exaggeration!

Even Qin Haotian, who was a natural swordsman, could not be compared to Yi Yun in terms of his understanding of the sword!

"Impressive! Could this kid be a natural saber user?"

Some people were naturally compatible with a certain type of weapon. It was as if they were born for the weapon. When they used the weapon, their powers would greatly increase and they could not use any other weapon at all.

These people could easily reach the pinnacle in one aspect. It was also easier for them to gain insights on the weapon of their choice.

Jian Ge shook his head and said, "No, he isn't...He also has a bow. His bow skills are not bad either. I heard that he managed to capture the primordial herb using that bow from the herb-picking administrator."

"To not be a natural saber user, but to have such perceptivity that exceeds a natural saber user...It's incredible!"

True Martial World - Chapter 238: Clinching Victory

"'Trapped Ox Lock'? What's that?"

Hearing Qiuniu's words, everyone focused their gazes on him. They could not see anything happening on the stage, but when they concentrated, they could feel the odd Yuan Qi fluctuations in the middle of the Divine Wilderness Stage!

The Yuan Qi was converging together without dissipating!

"Trapped Ox Lock? He is using compacted Yuan Qi to trap Yi Yun?"

A few veteran cultivators had a keen perception of Yuan Qi. They could also understand Qiuniu's plan. Yi Yun's movement techniques were too good, so Qiuniu had to use his 'Trapped Ox Lock' to hold Yi Yun in one place.

Even if the lock only lasted for a few seconds, it was still enough for Qiuniu!

As Qiuniu's frontal assault was too terrifying, no one would be able to take it head on! As long as Qiuniu managed to force Yi Yun to take his blow head on, then Qiuniu would win the match!

"This battle strategy is very effective. As expected, Qiuniu does not plan on letting Yi Yun deplete his stamina. Yi Yun is in trouble now!"

People held their breath. Qiuniu's attack could easily kill someone!

Below the stage, there were some doctors on standby. Many of these doctors were past cultivator graduates of the Tai Ah Divine City. They could be considered the seniors of the rookies present here. Their jobs were to treat the seriously injured participants and they were responsible for their lives.

However, as weapons were hard to control, there would be a few accidental deaths in the arena every year.

They had to pay special attention to dangerous characters like Qiuniu. There was a high probability of his opponents dying!

Qiuniu slowly circulated his Yuan Qi. He was like a hungry tiger that was stalking it’s prey. He was staring at Yi Yun ferociously.

"My 'Trapped Ox Lock' isn't strong. You just need a short amount of time to break it, but… I will not allow that to happen! I will do my best by using my strongest attack to defeat you!"

"This attack is one of the last three moves of the 'Divine Strength Ox King Skill'. I can barely use it as its strength is too great. Even I cannot control it well. Just using it might kill. There is still time for you to admit defeat!"

As Qiuniu said this, he lowered his body into a squat, before half-kneeling on the ground. In this weird pose, both his hands held the large battle polearm's shaft. His body's Yuan Qi was like a simmering volcano!

Yi Yun was silent as he faced Qiuniu. He gently flipped the Thousand Army Saber and he pointed the tip of his blade at Qiuniu.

This was Yi Yun's answer.

Qiuniu laughed, "As expected, you will not admit defeat. Yes! If you admitted defeat, you would not be a respectful opponent that I can look in the eye. Now, try to handle this attack!"

"Boom!"

Qiuniu's Yuan Qi exploded. The surge of Yuan Qi was condensing behind Qiuniu as it slowly formed a single horned Sky Ox’s phantom image!

Qiuniu's body seemed to slowly rise up, which made it look like he was holding up the sky.

"Sky Ox Tyrannous Blood!" Qiuniu roared as his aura reached an extreme point. He charged forward with this indomitable aura leaking out of him. Each step Qiuniu took left a crater on the purple tungsten stage!

With the Sky Ox's phantom image boosting his surging strength, Qiuniu swiped his large battle polearm downwards at Yi Yun!

There was no doubt that this strike would be able to slash open the stage!

Facing this strike, that resembled a ravaging storm, Yi Yun was amazingly calm. He held his saber with both hands, the Thousand Army Saber's tip forming an angle with the ground. At that moment, Yi Yun's mind was exceedingly tranquil, because his mind was completely at one with the Thousand Army Saber.

The various insights he had gained from the saber tomb now rushed into Yi Yun's mind.

Yi Yun had spent many days in the saber tomb, trying to understand its teachings. Yi Yun had imprinted the energy trajectories of those words deeply in his mind.

The energy and the word's strokes all contained a saber truth within them!

Now, it was time to validate his understandings!

As Qiuniu's attack moved downwards with an unshakable pressure, Yi Yun's eyes lit up. The Thousand Army Saber slashed directly upwards with a green flash that flew straight into the sky!

At that instant, it was as if Heaven and Earth had turned silent. Time had stopped, leaving behind that blade slash. With an indomitable presence, it had sliced through everything!

The Saber Truth's 32 Words – Reigning Supreme!

"Cha!"

The blade beam and the polearm's beam collided. Yi Yun was like a god and he moved past Qiuniu with his Thousand Army Saber! As he held onto the saber, he charged into the roaring Sky Ox phantom image!

This Sky Ox image was formed from Yuan Qi using Qiuniu's "Sky Ox Tyrannous Blood'! But Yi Yun's saber slashed upwards with unstoppable onslaught.

The sky ox phantom image was split in half by the Thousand Army Saber!

"Boom!"

With the Yuan Qi exploding and the Trapped Ox Lock Yuan Qi wall shattering, a chaotic force erupted, causing the weapons surrounding the Divine Wilderness Stage to rattle. Even the purple tungsten protective wall experienced severe tremors!

However, Yi Yun's Thousand Army Saber had pierced the force field. His body opened up a distance of thirty meters from Qiuniu before he landed steadily on the ground.

With the Thousand Army Saber's tip placed on the ground, Yi Yun turned around.

On stage, Qiuniu’s back was facing Yi Yun. His body had completely frozen.

With his hand holding onto the battle polearm, he stood there, petrified in this position, without dropping the polearm.

His gaze had stagnated and his face muscles twitched. He lowered his head with great difficulty to look at his chest with disbelief in his eyes.

A bloody line had appeared, which went from the middle of Qiuniu's eyebrows, following down the bridge of his nose to his chin, all the way to his chest.

Under Qiuniu's muscular pressure, it took a few seconds before blood started spilling out from this wound, issuing a "Si Si" sound.

Yi Yun’s saber had sliced Qiuniu from the middle of his eyebrows to his left rib. The wound was about two feet long and even his ribs were broken!

This saber had not only sliced through the Sky Ox phantom image, it had also broken through Qiuniu's protective Yuan Qi and at the same time, cut Qiuniu's iron-like muscles open and broke the ribs on the left side of his chest!

Blood flowed out more rapidly, covering Qiuniu's face, neck and chest. It made Qiuniu look extremely savage.

He could clearly feel that Yi Yun's saber had sliced open his ribs and cut the muscles around his heart!

If Yi Yun had gone an inch further, his heart would have been cut open and he would have died!

But Yi Yun's control of his energy in that slash was excellent. There was not a millimeter of inaccuracy!

That slash was too terrifying!

Qiuniu felt his palms begin sweating. He did not expect such an opponent amongst the Tai Ah Divine City's rookies. Just one slash was enough to completely defeat him!

And Yi Yun had taken his 'Sky Ox Tyrannous Blood' head on!

This was Qiuniu's strongest attack, one that he could not completely control. To be defeated while using this move, he admitted defeat from the bottom of his heart!

"In the battle of Yi Yun versus Qiuniu, Yi Yun wins!" The referee gave Yi Yun a deep glance and announced the results of the match.

Qiuniu had broken nine ribs, and his chest had been split open by the Thousand Army Saber. His left lung and heart were no longer protected by his Yuan Qi. It was difficult for him to even breathe, so it was natural that he had lost his ability to fight.

At that moment, four doctors who were on standby below the stage rushed onto the stage. They took out some medicine that they had prepared to treat Qiuniu's wounds.

The doctors included three females and one male. They thought that they were going to treat Yi Yun at the end of this and that he might even be mortally wounded.

But unexpectedly, it was the complete opposite. The person who was injured was actually Qiuniu.

And Qiuniu's wound was shocking. This slash was extremely precise, it was similar to a surgeon using a surgery knife.

It was a terrifying slash!

A few doctors looked at Yi Yun and they felt that this junior of theirs was unfathomable. In the future, he was likely to skyrocket!

"Thank you!" Yi Yun held his Thousand Army Saber and cupped his fists before turning to get down the Divine Wilderness Stage!

He knew that Qiuniu would be alright. He had deliberately avoided Qiuniu's vital organs in this final slash.

He had learned this slash in the saber tomb. Yi Yun had only managed to understand two slash moves throughout his time spent in the saber tomb.

This 'Reigning Supreme' was the first saber move. In fact, this move did not completely display the essence of the the Saber Truth's 32 Words. If one had to say how much it contained, it was just a thousandth of the essence of the Saber Truth's 32 Words' and it only had a ten thousandth of the charm.

Even so, by combining it with Yi Yun's pure Yang Yuan Qi, it was still extremely powerful!

At that moment, everyone in the audience looked at Yi Yun with a completely different look.

Thinking back to the last slash, they felt like they were in a dream and they had not woken up from it yet.

Qiuniu's 'Sky Ox Tyrannous Blood' attack was earth-shattering, but Yi Yun actually used his long and thin Thousand Army Saber to block it and then, he sliced through Qiuniu's protective Yuan Qi to secure victory!

It was a shocking reversal!

Everyone thought that Yi Yun had no way of taking Qiuniu's attack head on. But Yi Yun not only took it head on, he even defeated Qiuniu!

Think about it. A primordial ox charges at a person with a domineering aura, while that person stood still, but the primordial ox was defeated with one punch!

It was simply insane!

Even when Yi Yun returned to his seat, many people still had their mouths open from the shock.

"Amazing… Amazing… Is Yi Yun planning to get first place amongst the rookies!?"

Yi Yun's amazing defeat of Qiuniu was beyond all forms of imagination.

Who could still compete with him?

Previously, Yi Yun had used one brick to smack his opponents unconscious one after another. It was quite impressive to do that, but not many people feared it.

Yi Yun had never used his saber, so no one knew how good his saber techniques were. But now, they had seen it.

It was chilling to the bone!

"The gap between us is too great… I really… can't believe it..." In the crowd, Gu Mu, whose fame was not inferior to Yi Yun's, turned pale after seeing this battle.

He had no way of comprehending Yi Yun’s strength!

He had been wanting to battle Yi Yun, but now that notion was a complete joke.

At that moment, in the Elder seat of honor on the side of the stage, a law-enforcer revealed an odd look after seeing the match under his black hood, .

"This saber technique… Did I see it incorrectly? At such a young age and having only been in the Tai Ah Divine City for only three months, it's impossible..." He frowned.

And then he asked an arena administrator, "Do you have a video recording disk array of this battle?"

"Of course..." The administrator replied respectfully. They would use a disk array to record all the important matches and then archive them for future reference.

"Give me a copy!" The law-enforcer exclaimed. He was not sure and so, he planned on passing on the disk array footage to a divine city Elder to confirm his guess...

He felt that it was impossible, but still, he needed an Elder to confirm it.

True Martial World - Chapter 237: Divine Strength Ox King Skill

"Taking off his armor to battle?"

Hearing Qiuniu's words, the audience were stunned. Most people thought that one's battle power would be stronger when covered in full body armor.

If he took his armor off, wouldn't Qiuniu's defense strength drop down a notch?

Qiuniu could not withstand Yi Yun's saber even while he was wearing armor!

"This is so terrifying. How is Yi Yun's saber so sharp? Qiuniu has never been hurt while fighting!"

No one could understand it. Previously when Qiuniu entered the top 3000, he had fought a veteran cultivator who used a long battle axe. That battle axe was extremely heavy, but when it struck Qiuniu's armor, Qiuniu was still able to withstand it using his armor that was protected by his Yuan Qi!

Yi Yun's saber did not look as powerful as the long battle axe, so how did he break through Qiuniu's defenses?

People looked with wonder and awe at Yi Yun's saber.

That sharp long saber was still dripping blood.

"Pa Da! Pa Da!"

Drop after drop of blood bloomed upon landing onto the purple tungsten ground, like plum blossoms.

This saber was too terrifying!

By now, Qiuniu had taken off his helmet and removed his chest plate and back plate.

Every part of this armor set resounded loudly when it was thrown onto the stage. It was hard to imagine how heavy it was when every part was added up.

"The armor is used to provide defense. This set of white metal armor has outstanding defense capabilities! But..." As Qiuniu said this, he threw the large glove from his right hand.

"The white metal armor is too heavy. I wear it not for protection, but to limit myself and to train my strength! I am constantly using my family's secret technique, 'Divine Strength Ox King Skill' to counteract the white metal armor's weight. As such, I am constantly cultivating!"

"And only by taking off the white metal armor can I push my power to an extreme!"

While saying this, Qiuniu had completely removed all of his armor. He was wearing black, tight-fitting clothes. His muscles stretching out the fabric of his clothes.

Qiuniu roared.

"Ha!"

A surge of Yuan Qi exploded from Qiuniu's body as his muscles began expanding!

Vein after vein bulged and twisted. Even Qiuniu's height grew taller as a result.

He was originally 1.9 meters tall. Now, he was more than 2 meters tall. His arms were as thick as an adult's thigh. The long hair, on his nearly bald head, also grew longer under his power, all the way to his back.

After revealing his 'Divine Strength Ox King Skill', Qiuniu's aura was completely different.

He took out a large polearm from his interspatial ring!

This polearm was as long as Qiuniu's height. The polearm's shaft was as thick as a child's wrist. And the polearm's head was about three feet wide!

This peerless weapon gave people chills when they saw it!

"Hahahaha! This feels great! It really feels great!"

Qiuniu laughed heartily, "It's been a while since I completely removed all of my armor to use the 'Divine Strength Ox King Skill'!"

Qiuniu stretched his body comfortable as his joints crackled. The wounds that were previously opened by Yi Yun's Thousand Army Saber had also stopped bleeding from the expansion of Qiuniu's muscles.

"Let me warn you. My body is an impenetrable body! This is a form of blood lineage! Although I have taken off my white metal armor, it has also released my 'Divine Strength Ox King Skill'. With the support of the 'Divine Strength Ox King Skill' protective Yuan Qi, my defense ability only strengthens and doesn't weaken!"

Hearing Qiuniu's words, the surrounding audience were secretly horrified. Qiuniu was too terrifying!

An impenetrable body of a blood lineage! This was a rare physical state. It was no wonder Qiuniu had such odd strength.

By taking off his armor, Qiuniu's defense actually strengthened! With increased defense, with his enormous strength, just being hit by that polearm was an obvious result!

Qiuniu seemed to not possess any weakness at this point!

"Are you ready?"

Just after saying this, with his large polearm, his figure moved like a gust of wind!

His figure also formed many afterimages. He was too fast!

People thought that Qiuniu was not proficient in his speed. In fact, in the previous battles, Qiuniu's speed was indeed slow. He even seldom took more than a few steps. Most of the time, he stood in the middle of the arena like a fortress.

But Qiuniu, who had now taken off his armor, was completely different!

Only now did people realize that Qiuniu's speed was as terrifying as his strength!

Qiuniu's power that exuded from his body was extremely overwhelming. Although he was heavy, but with his terrifying strength, the weight from his body was nothing!

Although Qiuniu's movements lacked style, just from the burst of speed he could muster, he was definitely amongst the best compared to warriors of the same level!

His defense was strong, his attack power was strong and his speed was also fast. How was one to win against such an opponent?

People began to worry for Yi Yun.

Qiuniu, whose position could not be determined by the audience, suddenly appeared in front of Yi Yun!

In an instant, the chaotic afterimages formed as one. With the large polearm in hand, all of Qiuniu's strength exploded!

"Quaking Heaven Strike!"

Huge amounts of energy was imbued into the large polearm. Qiuniu's polearm strike could easily flatten a mountain!

"Boom!"

The Yuan Qi within the large polearm exploded. A crater appeared in the purple tungsten arena. With a leap, Yi Yun floated away like a swan!

He dodged it!

Qiuniu sneered and swiped the polearm at Yi Yun!

Yi Yun's body was in midair as it twisted in an incredulous manner. He dodged it again as if he was blown away!

"Sha! Sha! Sha!"

The large polearm moved in a dazzling manner!

But Yi Yun's body seemed to be weightless. Every swipe of Qiuniu's large polearm was avoided, it was as if he was blown away by the Yuan Qi. Even the overwhelming Yuan Qi blast was easily avoided by Yi Yun.

Qiuniu was fast, but Yi Yun was faster!

By reaching the large success stage of Minute Subtlety, and with the pure Yang power's impetus, Yi Yun's speed had reached an incredible level.

People's eyes were fully occupied by the scenes on stage. One violent explosion after another appeared while Qiuniu and Yi Yun's afterimages weaved together!

It was hard to imagine that this was a battle between two thirteen year old kids!

"What's happening on stage!?"

The weaker warriors could not see what was going on. They only knew that the battle was extremely intense. As for who had the upper hand, they did not know!

"Qiuniu has been continuously attacking while Yi Yun has been dodging them all!" A better-ranked rookie explained, "Now it seems like Qiuniu has the upper hand. Yi Yun has not exchanged blows with Qiuniu at all!"

"Of course he doesn't dare to exchange blows. Who would dare to parry that large polearm's force. Yi Yun's saber is so thin. If their weapons were to clash, Yi Yun's arms might go numb and his saber might even break! But Qiuniu might not have the upper hand! Indeed, Yi Yun might not have the ability to clash with Qiuniu, but Qiuniu can't hit Yi Yun. If this drags on, Qiuniu's stamina will rapidly deplete. No matter how strong he is, his stamina will gradually run out. Once that happens, Yi Yun can turn the tables and win!"

Someone held an opposing view.

With the large success stage of Minute Subtlety, Yi Yun indeed held the upper hand. By using his movements to deplete Qiuniu's stamina and finally counterattack when Qiuniu was exhausted, that would be the smartest approach and was Yi Yun's only chance of winning.

Yet again everyone became stumped, not knowing what the outcome of this match would be. People held their breaths and opened their eyes wide. They were afraid to miss even a single exhilarating move.

But… At that moment, Qiuniu's speed began to slow down till he eventually stopped.

He held his polearm in one hand and looked at Yi Yun with a burning fighting spirit.

Oh?

Yi Yun looked all around.

"Ah! You noticed it?" Qiuniu again twisted his thick neck out of habit. "My previous attacks had all been dodged by you, but I actually set up a Yuan Qi cage."

"This is also a move of the 'Divine Strength Ox King Skill', named 'Trapped Ox Lock'. It can create a blockade in empty air from the Yuan Qi released in each attack. It is especially used to deal with fast opponents like you!"

"With my powers, I can only maintain the Yuan Qi blockade for less than a minute, and I can only use it once. After that I will be too tired to use it a second time..."

Qiuniu did not mind exposing the weakness of his attack, "But… This is already sufficient. As long as I can obtain a chance to strike with the 'Trapped Ox Lock', that would be enough!" Qiuniu confidently said!

He was extremely confident. He was planning to win the battle with one strike!

True Martial World - Chapter 236: Fighting Qiuniu

Although Qiuniu was lower in the rankings than Chu Xiaoran , if someone was forced to make a decision on who to fight between the two, they would still face Chu Xiaoran rather than Qiuniu.

This was because Qiuniu gave people a sense of immense pressure!

Many people were unable to muster up their courage while standing in front of Qiuniu.

On the other side of the stage, Yi Yun held his Thousand Army Saber and walked onto the stage.

He stood a hundred feet away from Qiuniu and faced him directly.

Yi Yun was finally going to use his weapon for a battle. This was reasonable; after all, his opponent was Qiuniu!

"This Yi Yun is finally going to use his saber. I wonder if his saber technique is any good." People discussed. Previously, Yi Yun only used a brick to stomp his opponents. This was indeed very formidable, but this did not mean that by not using the brick and switching to the Thousand Army Saber, his strength would become even more perverse.

Of course, the Thousand Army Saber was stronger than the brick, but no matter how much stronger it was, it all depended on Yi Yun's saber technique.

"Yi Yun's saber is too long. Against any typical opponent, a long weapon is advantageous. But against Qiuniu, once he grabs it, Yi Yun will not be able to use it anymore! Even if it is not caught, just trying to slash Qiuniu's body might not be enough to break through his defense."

Qiuniu had an ability, which was that once a weapon was caught, there was no way of getting it back.

This was the reason why many people did not have the confidence when facing Qiuniu. It would be too embarrassing to lose their weapon to him.

And Qiuniu was very fast. Trying to keep the weapon away from Qiuniu’s clutches?

It would be very difficult!

Everyone acknowledged that a light weapon was useless against Qiuniu. Yi Yun's saber was long and light. It could stir up a whirlwind by slicing and dicing and it looked cool, but against Qiuniu's heavy armor, it was absolutely useless.

"Can we begin?" Qiuniu looked at Yi Yun with a grin. It was as if he could not wait any longer.

"Sure..." Yi Yun also laughed. He casually placed the Thousand Army Saber vertically beside his body. The extremely long Thousand Army Saber seemed to stand vertically on the ground without falling. It was a strange scene.

Many cultivators were stumped. According to normal circumstances, a saber had no chance of standing vertical on the ground, as it would lose its balance, but Yi Yun's saber seemed to have a spirit within it!

Qiuniu was shocked too, but instantaneously, he licked his lips, "Interesting! I'll see if you can keep your saber away from me!"

Saying this, Qiuniu leaped up towards him!

"Boom!"

Like a pounce from a primordial beast, every jump caused the stage to tremor!

Even while wearing his heavy armor, Qiuniu's speed was not any slower.

"Ka-cha!"

Qiuniu landed heavily on the ground with a foot, while Yi Yun disappeared.

"Whew!"

Yi Yun had unsheathed the Thousand Army Saber. The scabbard still remained standing vertically on the ground while the sharp blade began to send out beautiful blade beams!

Yi Yun had finally started to use his saber. Like a dragon traversing the ocean, the Thousand Army Saber made a screeching sound!

In that moment, the blade beams formed a web as they enclosed Qiuniu. Yi Yun's attack speed was so fast that it dazzled everyone!

Qiuniu's eyes lit up.

"Nice one!" He shouted and contracted his body. He charged forwards with his shield leading the charge.

"Crackle!"

Numerous blade beams exploded on Qiuniu's shield. The thick shield was like an impregnable fortress wall. Every blade beam that came in contact with it was destroyed from his charge!

Pa!

Yi Yun and Qiuniu passed each other. After Qiuniu stopped, he turned to face Yi Yun, "Your saber technique is not bad! Too bad, it cannot break through my defenses!"

As he said that, Qiuniu cracked his neck. His joints issued a crackling sound.

People were left in wonder. Just from this defense alone, it allowed Qiuniu to stand unbeatable!

"Your armor is also not bad." Yi Yun gave his review.

Qiuniu laughed, "You are still in the mood to review my armor?"

As he said this, Qiuniu began walking towards Yi Yun. He was walking slowly and he was compressing the space Yi Yun could use to dodge bit by bit.

"Ka-cha! Ka-cha!"

As Qiuniu walked, the metal armor clanked around. The sound that approached people gave them an immense pressure.

Shield bash!

Suddenly, Qiuniu charged forward at Yi Yun with his huge shield.

Yi Yun dodged and avoided Qiuniu's shield bash. With Yi Yun's speed, it was very difficult for Qiuniu to hit Yi Yun with his shield attack!

Qiuniu took a step forward and swiped with his claw, but Yi Yun's body was like a willow that was blown up by the wind, easily dodging the attack once again.

At that moment, Qiuniu sneered. With a slight turn of his body, the huge glove on his right hand followed.

"Cha! Cha! Cha!"

The three sharp claws suddenly protruded and shot towards Yi Yun!

The metal claws contained within them an array method. When Qiuniu injected them with Yuan Qi, he could cause the claws to shoot out. This attack would catch people off guard at a close distance!

Oh!?

Yi Yun’s eye focused on the three flying claws and he twisted his body in the air to avoid them. At the same time, Yi Yun's Thousand Army Saber reversed and slashed at Qiuniu's throat!

Without taking another glance, Qiuniu stretched his hand towards the Thousand Army Saber to grab it!

He wanted to grab Yi Yun's saber!

This scene made every warrior hold their breath. In the previous battles during the competition, no matter who it was, whenever Qiuniu attempted to grab their weapon, they would all pull it back. If Qiuniu grabbed their weapon, there was no point fighting on.

Yi Yun's saber was narrow and long, so it was obvious what would happen once it was grabbed.

Everyone thought that Yi Yun would pull his saber back. But he did not. With an expressionless face, the saber continued slashing downwards!

The way of the saber, has no end in sight!

The saber truth's first line had already explained the saber's nature. How could Yi Yun pull his saber back just because he was afraid his opponent would steal his weapon?

Oh? Not retreating?

Qiuniu was surprised and with a grin, he grabbed the saber.

"Clang!"

A metallic clang ensued. Qiuniu had grabbed onto the Thousand Army Saber without any concern!

This scene quaked the hearts of everyone. The saber has been grabbed!

This...

No one knew what to say. With Yi Yun's speed, they felt that he could use his speed to embroil Qiuniu in a long battle. If he did not face him head on, this fight would drag out, without him losing his saber and with it, his reputation. But no one expected Yi Yun to carry on slashing down with his saber, which allowed Qiuniu to grab his blade easily.

What was there left to fight!?

Was he just going to lose just like that?

"Hehe..." Qiuniu laughed, "Your saber is mine! You should get another weapon."

Saying this, Qiuniu tightly grabbed the saber with his right hand as he planned to pull it away from Yi Yun.

Yi Yun remained expressionless. With a slight rotation of his wrist, his body's Yuan Qi circulated and the Thousand Army Saber seemed to be covered in flames.

Oh?

Qiuniu was stunned. The saber in his hand suddenly became hot. It was scalding!

What… is this Yuan Qi?

Before Qiuniu could react, Yi Yun's eyes flashed!

The emperor amongst weapons, reigning supreme

"Cha!"

The Thousand Army Saber whistled through the air like a long dragon cry. A sharp blade beam rushed up to the heavens!

Blood appeared!

The Thousand Army Saber easily returned into Yi Yun’s hands, while Qiuniu's hand was left frozen in midair as it trembled.

"Pa Da!"

"Pa Da!"

More and more blood began dripping, like pearls dropping from a cut necklace.

The entire arena fell silent. Only the clear sound of dripping blood could be heard.

This...

Everyone was stunned.

Qiuniu… was injured!

His hand, which was encased in metal armor had grabbed Yi Yun's Thousand Army Saber, but… Yi Yun still managed to reclaim his saber and at the same time, sliced Qiuniu's palm open!

After so many battles, this was the first time Qiuniu was injured!

How could that happen? Did Qiuniu's glove armor rip open?

"You actually..."

Qiuniu looked at his palm in disbelief. The armor on his hand had cracked open and not only that, the armor even had traces of having melted.

Melted?

Thinking back to the burning sensation, could it be… fire?

"Are you a fire elemental warrior?" Qiuniu was shocked. Even a fire elemental warrior was not supposed to be this strong. His armor was made out of white metal, obtained from the deep sea. It was extremely hard and it was almost impossible to break through. It would be almost impossible to melt it with the capabilities of the Purple Blood realm!

Yi Yun shook his head.

Fire?

The Yuan Qi in his body did resemble fire, but there was an essential difference!

After learning the 'Tai Ah Sacred Technique', Yi Yun's Yuan Qi had transformed. If one had to describe its elemental property, then it should be Pure Yang!

"If this is the limit of your power, then this battle is over." Saying this, Yi Yun slashed his Thousand Army Saber downwards again!

"Whew!"

The splendid blade beam slashed towards Qiuniu!

Qiuniu contracted his pupils. He felt that this blade beam was much stronger than the ones before. This was because Yi Yun had injected pure Yang into it!

Qiuniu retreated and placed his large shield before his chest. However, Yi Yun's blade beam was everywhere!

The pure Yang saber Qi completely melted through Qiuniu’s protective Yuan Qi! Deep marks were left on Qiuniu's white armor. The saber Qi had also entered his body, now raging through him.

This saber Qi had a terrifying burning power in it. It burned Qiuniu, causing his blood to go turbulent.

Yi Yun's saber attack was too strong! A weapon's strength was determined not by its weight, but by how much Yuan Qi could be injected into it.

The blade beam sent out by Yi Yun was matchless in terms of sharpness!

"Cha!"

Another beam flashed!

Qiuniu's body tremored as another bloody line appeared on his chest.

Deng! Deng! Deng!

Qiuniu retreated several steps with a look of shock!

At that moment, even his face had a saber scar. Blood was dripping from all of his wounds.

The surrounding audience’s mouths were agape. This scene had gone beyond their comprehension. They could not understand how this had happened. Qiuniu's armor was imbued with his Yuan Qi, and his defense was extremely strong. People thought that Qiuniu was invincible.

But… His defense had been broken by Yi Yun?

Yi Yun's attack did not look special in any way!

Qiuniu wiped the blood off his mouth and said, "Powerful!"

With that said, he took the shield off his left hand. "It looks like I cannot defeat you while wearing this armor…It seems like I have to take my armor off to do battle with a person like you...”

True Martial World - Chapter 235: The first match’s opponent

With the sun high up in the sky, there was finally a trace of warmth flowing through the snow-covered Tai Ah Divine City.

It was midday on the ninth day of the rookie ranking competition!

There was a short lunch break at midday during the competition, but many spectators did not leave the venue. After all, as long as a warrior had a sufficient amount of Yuan Qi stored within his body, he would be fine without eating for a few days.

However, the most important reason why most of the spectators stayed was because there were two important matches in the afternoon.

The first match was Qiuniu challenging a veteran cultivator ranked at 2800 on the Earth ranking.

The next match was even more ridiculous. Chu Xiaoran was challenging someone ranked at 2600 on the Earth ranking!

Both of them had just entered the top 3000 and many of those veterans who were around this ranking had spent four years training in the Tai Ah Divine City!

These people were basically peak-Purple Blood experts and were outstanding compared to other warriors at the same level!

Going beyond 3000, it was not easy to proceed forward. The competition they faced became increasingly intense!

Of course, people wanted to see such a battle.

Compared to Qiuniu and Chu Xiaoran, the other rookies were only there to accentuate their prominence.

Actually in the last two days, there were not many rookie battles. Now, if one did not challenge someone ranked in the top 7000, one would feel embarrassed to go up on stage!

People were fighting against the top 3000, yet you are fighting someone ranked over 10,000. Would you have the face going up?

"I think Qiuniu can still win challenging the 2800 ranking. As for Chu Xiaoran, she is really bold to challenge the 2600 ranking. The chances of losing are high..." Someone expressed his view. Many had been discussing for a long time about the results of the two matches Qiuniu and Chu Xiaoran were taking part in. Everyone had their own view, which created a fiery atmosphere.

At that moment, someone suddenly said, "Eh...Isn't that Yi Yun over there?"

Everyone was shocked and they looked towards the direction of the voice. All they saw, nearby in the participant benches, was a youth in linen clothes walk to his seat before sitting down.

This youth was indeed Yi Yun!

"It's really Yi Yun! He finally came!"

The rookie ranking competition was almost over. It was already the second to last day, yet Yi Yun was still ranked at 10,003.

People were speechless when they saw Yi Yun. He had no sense of urgency and he was sitting at his seat in a carefree manner!

It was alright if he did not have the capability, but he clearly had the chance at entering the top three.

"Yi Yun still has four matches. It can actually be in time...If I were him, my first match will be to battle someone in the top 8000. By securing the lowest ranking, he can next challenge the top 6000 and win it. The first battle on the last day can be used to directly challenge Gu Mu! If he were to win, then everything will be settled. If not, he still has one more match to secure his fourth place." Someone said. Many people found this reasonable.

They were all weaker people. They had to go through more than ten matches to find their ranking.

But Yi Yun was strong, so he could be more wilful. He could use Gu Mu as his measuring stick. He could secure his ranking in three matches.

At that moment, people saw Yi Yun take out his Thousand Army Saber from his interspatial ring. He unsheathed it and began polishing the shiny blade.

Seeing this made people speechless.

It sure was an unordinarily calm scene.

Yi Yun slowly polished his saber. Actually, only the blades of mortals had to be polished with a tarp to maintain its sharpness. But a treasure saber like the Thousand Army Saber did not need polishing.

But Yi Yun still polished it bit by bit in a careful manner. This was not a useless act. Yi Yun was actually reaffirming the knowledge gained from the saber tomb as he tidied up the thoughts in his mind.

Through polishing the saber, he could feel more compatible with the saber. At the same time, he could empty his mind and optimizing his understandings.

Yi Yun silently polished his saber for an hour. The afternoon competition was about to begin.

Yi Yun stood up and picked up a form. After filling it, he raised his head–

"Referee!" Yi Yun shouted out. Immediately, the surrounding people's gaze was focused on Yi Yun.

They knew Yi Yun had most likely chosen his opponent!

In the first few days of the rookie ranking competition, Yi Yun was so popular that many people challenged him. So his matches had to be arranged in advance by handing out challenge tokens, so as to ensure that everyone did not fight more than twelve matches a day.

But in the last few days of the rookie ranking competition, this system was not needed. Those that wanted to fight were mostly done fighting.

As such, the timing for battles were freely chosen. It was not a problem to decide on fighting an opponent right at that moment. Once the opponent was up on stage, the battle could immediately begin.

"Guess who Yi Yun will be challenging in his first match?" Someone asked.

"The first person should be a veteran cultivator ranked in the top 7000-8000. This would be the more certain choice.”

"Heh, I think it is impossible. Yi Yun actually dared to use a brick to handle Liu Yuxing, this shows that he's extremely confident. There's no way his opponent’s ranking is at 7000-8000. He might be able to challenge the top 5000 straight away. He might even challenge Gu Mu!"

"Challenge Gu Mu? To set it in stone? This is impossible...Yi Yun has disappeared for the past few days. His first battle after appearing should logically be someone who he's confident in beating. By securing his first match, he can build up his morale. After holding back for so long, if he were to lose his first match, it will be extremely embarrassing!"

Many felt that it was most appropriate to fight someone that guaranteed them victory in the first match.

But the previous speaker remained obstinate. He said, "Wait and see. Think about the glorious history of Yi Yun taking down Liu Yuxing with a brick. It is not impossible for Yi Yun to challenge Gu Mu in his first match..."

...

The referee looked at Yi Yun and asked, "You want to challenge someone?"

"Yes." Yi Yun said as he handed the challenge form he had just completed.

The referee took it and with a sweeping glance, he gave an odd look, "Are you sure?"

"Yes!" Yi Yun nodded and returned to his seat.

The referee did not say anything else. It was the freedom of the participants to challenge whomever they wanted. He could not interfere in it.

The referee began to arrange the order of the battles.

Many were curious who Yi Yun's first opponent would be,

Very soon, the referee gave the answer because the first battle in the afternoon was Yi Yun’s!

Having been absent from the rookie ranking competition for so many days, Yi Yun was first on stage the moment he came back! It seemed that even the referee wanted to see Yi Yun's performance.

People raised their spirits. Besides Qiuniu and Chu Xiaoran's match, they anticipated Yi Yun's first battle after his reappearance.

But when the referee announced Yi Yun's opponent, everyone was shocked!

"Divine Wilderness Stage, 10,003, Yi Yun! Challenging 2980, Qiuniu!"

What!?

Challenging Qiuniu!

People were shocked. His first match was neither to secure a ranking, nor to challenge Gu Mu, but to challenge the second-placed rookie, Qiuniu!

Challenging Gu Mu was already quite an exaggeration, but he actually challenged Qiuniu. What was he thinking?

People were not able to react in time. Gu Mu who was ranked third amongst the rookies frowned.

In this rookie ranking competition, he had always treated Yi Yun as his greatest rival. When Yi Yun appeared, he had been mentally prepared to fight a bloody battle with Yi Yun. In the past few days, he had accumulated a lot of combat experience in his battles. He was confident he could beat Yi Yun.

But he did not expect Yi Yun to ignore him. Yi Yun had directly skipped over him to challenge Qiuniu.

This made Gu Mu peeved. He had been disregarded!

"This Yi Yun actually dares to disregard me. Does he think I am not qualified to be his opponent?" Gu Mu clenched his fists. Yi Yun was too disdainful!

Having made all the preparations to compete with Yi Yun, yet Yi Yun completely did not put him in his sights.

"He sure has guts...I'll wait till you lose to Qiuniu. I'll then battle you to show you the consequences of disregarding me!" With this thought in mind, Gu Mu looked at Yi Yun with strong fighting spirit.

...

"Challenging me...?" Qiuniu was also surprised. He glanced at Yi Yun and immediately smiled, "Interesting! It's true the young are rash. I thought you would battle me only after you beat Gu Mu!"

Qiuniu stood up. He was always very interested in Yi Yun.

But he never expected that Yi Yun had the guts to challenge him in his first match.

"Since you are so confident, I'll use the white metal armor to take you on. It is me giving you sufficient respect!" Saying this, Qiuniu took out a giant glove from his ring and wore it on his right hand.

"Ka-cha!"

Three steel claws shot out from the claw with a cold shimmer!

At the same time, Qiuniu's left hand was equipped with a large shield.

Following that, with a thought, two circular metal pieces on Qiuniu's chest and back began to shine. A set of white metal battle armor appeared, covering Qiuniu's body!

In a few seconds, Qiuniu was covered in his white metal armor and he was fully armed!

"Ha!"

With a shout, Qiuniu leaped onto the stage!

He was wearing tens of thousands of pounds of white metal armor. He had leaped from more than thirty meters away from the stage and he was like a pouncing tiger!

"Boom!"

Qiuniu's two legs squatted to cushion his landing as he put a hand on the ground. He was like a meteorite that landed on the stage!

The loud bang caused the entire arena to quiver! It made people exclaim!

Under Qiuniu's feet, the thick purple tungsten tiles had clearly sunken in. It was obvious how strong Qiuniu's leap was.

Ignoring Qiuniu's attacks, just this leap was enough to break a person into pieces!

"Terrifying. He's basically a humanoid primordial desolate beast!" Someone sighed. Seeing Qiuniu's stance, one would lose 30% of their willpower. A typical person would not dare fight him.

Even the dark horse amongst the rookies, Gu Mu, did not have the guts to challenge Qiuniu. This was because Gu Mu knew that the gap between them was large. He was no match for Qiuniu at all!

Qiuniu stood up. After his 1.9 meter tall and burly figure was covered in heavy armor, all his muscles bulged out with worm-like veins. It was as if he was about to explode!