“Lu Mohanh probably will not take the field. This is not yet the finals. Clashing now is clearly too early, and it would give Dantai Wenjun an opening.”
“Exactly. Lu Mohanh has two wins, and he defeated Murong Dian who has two wins and one loss. Even if he forfeits one match, his ranking would still be above Murong Dian, and the pending spot would remain his.”
“Logically, Lu Mohanh should not accept Duanmu Gaoming’s challenge now. This is the continental spiritual controller grand competition, and ranking matters greatly. But as one of the absolute top spiritual controllers, each of them has confidence in taking the championship. Asking him to forfeit would probably be unacceptable.”
“Even if the two fought, the loser could still challenge Mu Haoran from group one and win easily, as long as they are not beaten to the point of being unable to fight again. Lu Mohanh might accept Duanmu Gaoming’s challenge after all.”
“Both are extremely strong. If they fight, it is very possible they will exhaust themselves completely and be unable to continue.”
…
The crowd buzzed with discussion, everyone guessing whether Lu Mohanh would accept the battle.
No matter what they guessed, deep down they all eagerly anticipated a clash between the two.
A fight between them would undoubtedly be spectacular.
Lin Xiao was also full of expectation, though he felt the likelihood of them fighting was low.
Dantai Wenjun’s eyes also gleamed with anticipation. If the two fought, victory would be within his grasp once he defeated them both.
Lu Mohanh frowned slightly and pondered for a long while before finally speaking. “We shall battle in the finals.”
These words meant that Lu Mohanh was forfeiting.
Yet he still did not utter the words “I forfeit.” For a powerhouse like him, saying those two words was truly too difficult, even though the meaning was the same.
“Duanmu Gaoming has two wins. Lu Mohanh has two wins and one loss. Murong Dian has two wins and one loss. Duanmu Gaoming defeated Lu Mohanh, so his ranking is above Lu Mohanh. Lu Mohanh defeated Murong Dian, so his ranking is above Murong Dian. Duanmu Gaoming and Lu Mohanh advance to pending finalist spots. Murong Dian ranks third and gains one opportunity to challenge either contestant from group one.”
After the announcement, the referee looked at Murong Dian and asked, “Murong Dian, do you have any objections?”
“None,” Murong Dian shook his head and replied.
If he did object, it would be simple. He could challenge Duanmu Gaoming, and Duanmu Gaoming certainly would not refuse. A victory would let him advance together.
However, challenging Duanmu Gaoming was far worse than challenging Mu Haoran from group one.
Thus, he had no objections at all.
Against an expert like Duanmu Gaoming, a challenge would only leave him injured.
“Now we proceed to the second wave of the sixth round. Yan Huashu from group one, you have one opportunity to challenge either Duanmu Gaoming or Lu Mohanh,” the referee said, turning to Yan Huashu.
Everyone present was pessimistic about Yan Huashu’s chances.
They all knew he had been near the bottom of group one. He only gained this challenge opportunity because Su Dongfeng and Zhu Dingshan had died.
Sending him against either of the championship contenders, Duanmu Gaoming or Lu Mohanh, gave him no chance whatsoever.
“This is so tough for me…” Yan Huashu glanced at the two men, sighed helplessly in his heart, then said aloud, “I forfeit.”
Yan Huashu’s declaration was exactly what everyone expected.
“Group two: Duanmu Gaoming and Lu Mohanh advance to the finals,” the referee declared at once. “Now, Murong Dian, issue your challenge.”
“Mu Haoran,” Murong Dian said without hesitation.
Between Dantai Wenjun and Mu Haoran in group one, the choice required no thought.
Lin Xiao frowned slightly. In the end, he would face Murong Dian after all.
Murong Dian’s strength, however, was considerably greater than his own.
It seemed all his powerful trump cards would be spent on Murong Dian.
Whoosh. Lin Xiao flew out from the No. 1 battle platform. Murong Dian was in no rush and waited until Lin Xiao had taken position before flying out himself.
Standing in the void, Murong Dian did not attack immediately. Instead he said to Lin Xiao, “To reach this level in your early twenties, I cannot help but admire you immensely.”
“Brother Murong is too modest. You are only in your thirties, yet you have reached seventh-grade advanced spiritual controller realm. Across the entire continent, you truly rank among the foremost spiritual controller geniuses,” Lin Xiao replied politely.
Originally, Lin Xiao had considered addressing Murong Dian as senior.
Since the other had mentioned age, however, he naturally could not make him sound old.
From the bottom of his heart, Lin Xiao genuinely admired Murong Dian for reaching seventh-grade advanced spiritual power in his thirties.
Among seventh-grade advanced spiritual controllers, his strength was also of the highest tier.
Aside from Duanmu Gaoming, Lu Mohanh, Dantai Wenjun, and a few others, probably no one could match him. It was truly extraordinary.
As for himself, he had only reached this point because he encountered the Devouring Heaven Spiritual Emperor and obtained the immense fortune of spiritual energy. For someone without such fortune to achieve this, it was far from ordinary.
“In truth, I do not wish to challenge you, but now we have no choice but to fight,” Murong Dian said.
“If it were all luck, I could not have reached this round,” Lin Xiao said with a faint smile. “Brother Murong, use your full strength. In this match, you may not be able to defeat me.”
Murong Dian was slightly surprised. Surely Mu Haoran did not still have explosive pills?
Logically, the previous explosion had been so devastating that, given his grade, he must have used dozens and should now be out.
Could Mu Haoran still have some remaining?
If so, then he could not give Mu Haoran any chance to deploy them.
His tactics would need adjustment. He could not charge in foolishly like Su Dongfeng and get himself bombed.
“How could it be? Mu Haoran’s combat power absolutely cannot overcome Murong Dian. Does he still have explosive pills?”
“That previous explosion was so powerful. Logically, Mu Haoran must have staked everything on it. Even if he can refine explosive pills, finding that many materials should be impossible, right?”
“Even if he has explosive pills, if Murong Dian gives him no opportunity, he cannot win. Murong Dian is prepared. No matter what, this match will still go to Murong Dian.”
“Even if Mu Haoran loses, he defeated Yan Huashu and can rank fifth. Fifth place in the continental spiritual controller grand competition, the foremost vitality genius of Jiuzhou, that is enough to shake the entire continent.”
…
The crowd discussed heatedly. Some felt admiration, while others were filled with cold malice, wishing Lin Xiao would be killed and this genius would bloom only briefly.
“Then you had better be careful,” Murong Dian said in a low shout. A book-like spiritual form surged forth and shot towards Lin Xiao.
This was not his main spirit, merely an ordinary spiritual form attack, yet its power was still immense.
