“This… this… this…”
Not to mention the people from Flame Province, even the onlookers from Sacred Province were so shocked that they could barely speak.
Li Haoqing’s talents were clearly terrifying. His momentum was even more powerful, far beyond their imagination.
Yet he had still been defeated by Jiang Tao in a single move?
Just how strong was Jiang Tao?
At this moment, they all began to lose their composure.
For a genius like this to suddenly emerge in Flame Province at this age was already hard for them to fathom.
Yet Jiang Tao from Mysterious Province was even more terrifying, even harder to comprehend!
Had the geniuses from the eight major provinces already reached such a frightening level?
Not only the people from Flame Province and the onlookers from Sacred Province, but even those from Mysterious Province itself wore expressions of utter astonishment.
In this battle, they had all given up, convinced that Jiang Tao would lose.
Yet the result had greatly exceeded their expectations.
Jiang Tao was far more powerful than they had anticipated.
“Tower Master, your Mountain Sea Tower has hidden your strength well!” At that moment, a sect master from another third-tier force in Mysterious Province exclaimed in admiration.
“We all thought Jiang Tao would lose. Who knew he would be this strong? Jiang Tao’s power is truly astonishing!” Another sect master also marvelled.
“Heh heh, Jiang Tao’s strength is merely acceptable.” The Tower Master of Mountain Sea Tower replied with smug false modesty.
The people from the Ying family in Mysterious Province also glanced at the Tower Master a few more times. Jiang Tao’s strength was indeed dazzling. It greatly enhanced the prestige of Mysterious Province.
They could also see how wonderful the expressions on the faces of the Flame Province crowd were.
“This… how is this possible?”
The Penetrating Clarity Sect Master, known for his “aloofness”, could no longer remain calm. His eyes widened hugely. He seemed unable to react.
Li Haoqing’s strength had given him full confidence to defeat the opponent and show off in front of the equivalent forces.
Yet Li Haoqing, with his exceptional talents and overwhelming momentum, had been defeated in one strike by the opponent. He could not accept it at once.
His aloofness was only possible if Li Haoqing could win. Only then could he pretend to be aloof.
With Li Haoqing defeated, how could he maintain any aloofness?
The Penetrating Clarity Sect Master immediately could not accept the reality before his eyes, even though the other sect masters would not mock him on the spot.
“Flame Province, anyone else?” At that moment, Jiang Tao’s voice rang out again. His tone was still relatively polite.
However, to everyone’s ears, it sounded extremely arrogant and overbearing.
Yet the opponent did indeed have the qualifications to be arrogant and overbearing.
Strong. Truly too strong.
At this point, the people from the third-tier forces in Flame Province looked at each other.
They considered themselves inferior to Li Haoqing. Defeating Jiang Tao was simply impossible.
However, as geniuses from top forces in each province, standing at the pinnacle of their respective sides, being provoked like this without stepping forward did make them feel uncomfortable.
“Imperial Void Sect, Fan Mingcheng, please grant me instruction, Brother Jiang!”
At that moment, someone still charged forward, rushing straight towards Jiang Tao. His speed was extremely fast, far surpassing Li Haoqing and the two who had gone before.
It was clear that his advantage lay in speed. Even when Jiang Tao unleashed attacks, he dodged them.
Then he launched assaults on Jiang Tao.
However, Jiang Tao’s strength was too great. Even the assaults could not succeed. After a few strikes, Fan Mingcheng was blasted away by Jiang Tao.
Yet even in defeat, two more youths from Flame Province’s third tier charged forward one after another. One excelled in physical body strength. Another surprisingly knew defensive martial techniques. However, both were defeated by Jiang Tao in one or two moves.
Six of the seven major third-tier forces in Flame Province had now had their geniuses defeated by the opponent.
Nevertheless, they had displayed their courage and unique talents, earning praise from all the onlookers. Even in defeat, it could be considered an honourable loss.
After all, Jiang Tao was so strong. An ordinary person, knowing they were no match, would simply not dare to step forward.
“Your third tier still has one more force. Do you want to come up and try as well?” After defeating the genius from the sixth force, Jiang Tao looked towards the one remaining third-tier force from Flame Province that had not yet participated and spoke.
Since it was Flame Province that was losing face, if the opponent was unwilling to accept it, they could come up one by one. He was in no hurry.
In the end, it would only add to his achievements, allowing him to sweep through them all and build his reputation.
At this point, the only third-tier force from Flame Province that had not participated was the Yin Yang Sect.
Being called out like this, the Yin Yang Sect Master’s face turned unsightly.
In their Yin Yang Sect, at this age group, the strength gap was too large. They simply could not field a genius capable of fighting.
Although the other sects had all lost, they at least had their strengths. Against Jiang Tao’s overwhelming power, their defeats were not too humiliating. In the end, they had still taken the field.
Yet now, out of seven forces, only their Yin Yang Sect remained. Being mocked like this, they lost even more face.
In the future, among disciples from other forces, even if it was the pot calling the kettle black, they would mock Yin Yang Sect disciples for not even daring to take the field.
The strongest in their Yin Yang Sect under twenty years old was the eighteen-year-old Zhou Qian.
Zhou Qian was only at the Fifth Level Martial Emperor realm. In that region, his combat strength was considered top-tier.
However, here, he was simply not enough to watch.
Not enough aside, the main issue was that Zhou Qian was timid by nature. Let alone being unable to field him, even if he could be fielded, Zhou Qian would not dare to go up.
The Yin Yang Sect Master glanced reproachfully at Zhou Qian. At that moment, he saw that among their group of Yin Yang Sect disciples, Zhou Qian was already standing in the void, trembling with fear. His face had even turned somewhat pale.
Upon seeing the sect master’s gaze sweep over, Zhou Qian’s legs actually began shaking violently. His entire body trembled along with them.
“This coward!” The Yin Yang Sect Master was furious. He could not help muttering a low curse.
Zhou Qian’s legs shook even more violently.
The other sect masters could not help glancing at the Yin Yang Sect Master. Zhou Qian’s timid nature had been noticed by them along the way. He had been despised quite a bit by many disciples and had become something of a joke during the journey.
However, now they naturally did not dare to mock him.
After all, Jiang Tao was too strong. The geniuses from their own forces had all been defeated by Jiang Tao.
Mocking others when one’s own situation was only marginally better was something young people might do, but they as elders could not bring themselves to do it.
“I… I…” Zhou Qian was so scared he was almost crying. His legs shook so much he could barely stand.
“Senior Brother Zhou Qian, it’s alright. It’s alright. You don’t have to go up. It’s fine. The other forces have all lost too. The sect master won’t blame you if we don’t participate!” Nearby, a younger female disciple gently stroked Zhou Qian’s arm, constantly comforting him in a low voice.
“I…” Zhou Qian’s body shuddered violently. He clenched his fists, slowly tightening them with effort.
As he clenched his fists, his palms were drenched in sweat. His entire body continued to tremble.
At this moment, Lin Xiao also noticed the unusual situation nearby. He could not help shaking his head inwardly with a sigh.
To be so frightened that his legs were shaking violently before even going up. This was truly bizarre.
With geniuses from all provinces gathered, there really were all types of people.
Of course, deep down, Lin Xiao naturally felt no contempt. He merely marvelled at the myriad ways of the world.
Yet what was somewhat unexpected was that Zhou Qian ultimately gritted his teeth and shouted loudly, “I want to give it a try!”
