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Chapter 103 Arena Battles
Chen Xuan used the Heavenly Cloud Technique to sense that this person's spiritual energy level was at the same level as Lingdang's, so he should also be a disciple who had not been in the sect for long.

"Okay, let's go."

After he finished speaking, he reached into his robes with one hand and activated the Wind-Riding Talisman he had prepared in advance. In an instant, an invisible wind surged from beneath his feet, lifting him up from the spot, and he landed gracefully on the rooftop balcony of the manor's main building in full view of everyone.

To master this skill, he used up five Wind Riding Talismans last night.

The reason is simple: if the sect leader had to turn around and walk back to the manor after announcing the start of the competition, climbing from the first floor to the third floor, it would be too awkward.

It takes so many repetitions to fly even a distance of ten meters. Heaven knows how Liu Shuyue manages to ride the wind like a roc.

Standing on the balcony were not only Liu Shuyue, but also Ajiu and Ahua, Fu Jiaolu, Du Niu, Xue Xiaojin and other members of the hunting team, as well as Marlena... All the candidates who decided to participate in the sect competition had been called over by Chen Xuan.

This is their chance to witness the battle between the Immortal Alliance.

The rules of the contest are simple: no external objects are allowed, including elixirs and magical artifacts; no one may kill another, and weapons must not have blades; if one party surrenders, becomes unconscious, or leaves the arena, they lose.

These rules were also established by him with reference to the conventions of the Immortal Alliance.

It's clear that the Immortal Alliance encourages friendly sparring, but discourages cultivators from engaging in life-or-death battles. It prefers cultivators to fight using their own spiritual energy rather than relying on magical artifacts or treasures.

Zhou Xubai leaped into the arena.

A round of applause immediately erupted from all around.

Chen Xuan felt a little regretful that he should have invited Old Gu as well, otherwise he would have no impression of the sects in Chang'an City and would not know what level the disciples of the Jinglan Sect were at.

Zhou Xubai clasped his hands together and said coldly to Lingdang, "If you're afraid of pain, it's not too late to admit defeat now."

In his view, the girl in front of him was only a little over ten years old, and the normal age for activating Qi sensing ability is around ten. There are many sects in Chang'an, and quite a few families with cultivation foundations, but even if she knows a few spells, the total amount of spiritual energy will severely limit her performance.

He's 21 years old this year, and his age is an advantage!

Lingdang clasped her hands in return, saying, "Please give me your guidance."

Once the two men have clasped their fists together, the battle has officially begun.

"You've learned quite well!" Zhou Xubai stopped wasting words and began setting up the formation. "Heavenly Spirits and Earthly Souls, heed my command!"

Lingdang's response was simple: she drew her sword and charged at her opponent, covering the ten-step distance in an instant. However, her peach wood sword strike was blocked by a talisman.

Zhou Xubai used both hands, his left hand scattering array symbols and quickly drawing seals, while his right hand manipulated weapon symbols to block the bell's attack.

This technique of holding the weapon in both hands is a feast for the eyes.

It should be noted that Lingdang's sword strikes came one after another, and the angles were quite tricky, sometimes upward and sometimes diagonal, making it difficult to keep up. However, this continuous attack could not break through Zhou Xubai's defense. Every time it was about to touch his opponent, it would be deflected by the blue-glowing talisman.

"This person is not bad. He should be one of the top-ranked disciples in the Jinglan Sect."

“I’ve seen spells that use talismans as shields before. Most cultivators are already good at using them well on their own, but he can block attacks while also setting up an array. He must have practiced hard.”

"This young lady is quite something. She has mastered swordsmanship to such a high level. It must have taken her at least three to five years to achieve this."

The spectators were all talking about it.

From his vantage point on the top floor, Chen Xuan found the two fighting quite exciting, one attacking quickly and the other defending swiftly, but essentially it was still hand-to-hand combat with cold weapons. He looked at Liu Shuyue, "What formation is Zhou Xubai using? Do you recognize it?"

The latter murmured, "I've never seen it before, but judging from the distribution of spiritual energy and talismans, it should be the type that strengthens itself and weakens the opponent. Once it takes shape, it can control the flow of spiritual energy in the field, rendering the opponent powerless."

In other words, this formation perfectly counters Lingdang's current playstyle.

Just then, the bell suddenly changed its tactics.

Or rather, she added a step before launching her attack—

"Left!" the girl shouted, swinging her sword to slash at Zhou Xubai's left shoulder.

The latter immediately used a talisman to protect the left side!

"Right!" After slashing with her sword, she immediately thrust to the right, but it was blocked by her opponent as well.

Not only that, her sword speed increased, and a rhythmic shout rang out on the stage: "Left, up, up, right!"

Just as Zhou Xubai was fully focused on defense, Lingdang's sword suddenly grazed the edge of the talisman and almost hit his right arm.

Everyone could see clearly that Zhou Xubai was a step too slow!

Because the bell clearly said "top left" just now!
His rhythm was instantly disrupted. He almost failed to defend against the next two sword strikes—even though the direction of the opponent's sword swings was exactly the same as the direction of the shout.

"Amazing..." Ajiu murmured as she watched the battle. "That guy was forced to be distracted. Now he not only has to keep an eye on the position of the sword, but also has to figure out whether the other party's shout is true or false."

"But he could keep up with the bell before," Ahua said, puzzled. "Couldn't he just ignore it?"

“The problem is, he absolutely has to listen now,” Xue Xiaojin said with deep feeling. “Sound can not only sense the direction of the opponent’s attack, but also be used to determine distance. Any hunter who is fully focused will definitely use his eyes, ears, and nose at the same time. Precisely because hearing is so important, his brain will never miss any ‘information’ he hears, and it is impossible for him to pretend that he did not hear it!”

Previously, Zhou Xubai only needed to observe the movements and listen to the wind, but now, not only was the sound of his sword cutting through the air disturbed by the shouts, but he also had to consider the right and wrong of the situation. This difference between the two situations became apparent.

If he had only focused on defense, he might have been able to keep up with the pace. But he chose to set up a defensive formation at the same time, which required him to handle two things at once. The busier he was, the more likely he was to make a mistake.

“…Right right!” Bell suddenly shouted.

The two consecutive right-side void whites paused. The left-upper-right-lower type is easy to understand, but what direction is right-right?
Driven by his body's instincts, he reacted by treating the shout as a feint and sending the artifact flying directly to the left.

As Lingdang shouted, she also swung her wooden sword, aiming the blade at Zhou Xubai's lower right ribs.

The blow actually cut into the opponent's waist, even deeply denting the outer layer of clothing.

The intense pain turned Zhou Xubai's face deathly pale instantly!
The completely chaotic rhythm could never be restored.

The bell swung upwards, striking his left wrist as he set up the array, then followed up with a downward slash, hitting his right shoulder. These three consecutive blows caused Zhou Xubai to scream in agony and collapse to the ground. The array runes he had only partially set up also lost all their spiritual energy.

Lingdang won this battle without a doubt!

The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause.

Although most people come here hoping to see the Sovereign Sect lose face, the exciting sparring between cultivators still makes them cheer from the bottom of their hearts.

Even if they don't play, they can benefit greatly from such battles.

“But you need to multitask to separate the attack from the shout, right?” Ahua suddenly thought of something. “I tried it in my head just now and found that I couldn’t get used to it… the direction of the strike is always the same as what I thought.”

“That’s right,” Liu Shuyue affirmed. “Most people would either shout faster or act faster to do this; it’s not that easy to do it simultaneously.”

In other words, Lingdang defeated Zhou Xubai using Zhou Xubai's fighting style.

After the Jinglan Sect disciple, who was in so much pain he couldn't get up, was carried away, another cultivator walked to the sidelines. "Yan Mingye, a disciple of the Burning Heaven Palace, wants to give it a try!"

Burning Heaven Palace? This name isn't much more modest than the Supreme Sect of Heaven and Earth.

“Alright,” Chen Xuan said, standing with his hands behind his back, “you may go on stage.”

After jumping into the circle, Yan Mingye, as is customary, clasped his hands in a fist salute and said, "Please give me your guidance."

The bell sheathed the wooden sword. "Nice to meet you."

"Watch closely! I suggest you leave the arena immediately!" Seeing that she had finished returning the greeting, Yan Mingye immediately took out a handful of powder from his pouch and sprinkled it into the air. "Fire Technique: Blazing Clouds!"

The shimmering powder instantly transformed into clusters of blazing flames, which slowly drifted toward the location of the bell.

This move was far superior to Zhou Xubai's in both its magical power and actual effect. The scorching heat wave caused the audience sitting on the benches to retreat, while Lingdang, who was also on the field, felt as if she were in a sea of ​​fire!

The key is that these flames are like clouds; they can not only burn continuously, but also float and move three feet off the ground, burning everything in their path.

Even the wooden beams surrounding the arena began to char and catch fire.

In a real battle, Lingdang could indeed bypass these flames to fight, but the rules of the competition limited the range, and she had nowhere left to retreat.

The three-foot space below the Burning Clouds may seem passable, but it is actually a dangerous trap. It can burn the audience even from dozens of meters away, so how could one possibly pass through within a meter?
"Stop struggling! The longer you retreat, the worse your injuries will be!" Yan Mingye shouted triumphantly. "Being burned all over is no joke!"

A dark shadow suddenly emerged from the fiery clouds and shot towards Yan Mingye with lightning speed!

The latter didn't even have time to react.

The dark shadow struck him squarely on the forehead! Only then did everyone realize that the flying object was none other than Lingdang's peach wood sword!
Just as the fiery cloud was about to cover half of the arena, Lingdang made the most decisive choice—after pinpointing her opponent's location through the gaps beneath the fiery cloud, she threw her weapon with all her might.

Yan Mingye clearly hadn't expected this move.

Or rather, even if he had anticipated it, he was far inferior to Zhou Xubai in physical combat. This flaming wooden sword knocked him unconscious, and his fire magic dissipated as a result.

Bell rings, two wins!
(End of this chapter)