For her first opportunity, Ling Yixue chose to challenge the tenth-ranked disciple, winning quite easily.
Although both were mid-stage Martial Vein Fourth Layer warriors, Ling Yixue’s combat skills were clearly superior.
For her second challenge, she steadily chose the ninth-ranked disciple and won again.
But this time, the victory was much closer and took a greater toll, so she decided to preserve her remaining three challenge opportunities for the next round.
Next, she needed to recover.
Per the rules, after a challenge ended, there would be a quarter-hour rest period during which no one could challenge her.
This was a way to protect talented disciples.
Otherwise, a barrage of consecutive challenges would be troublesome and unfair.
Ling Yixue popped a few pills into her mouth, they were common Qi Gathering Pills, far less effective than Gang Qi Pills, but they still helped restore some internal energy.
After Ling Yixue, ranked nineteenth, completed her challenge, three more disciples took their turns, but Ling Xiao was never chosen as a target.
It was likely because no one could figure out his true strength, so they didn’t dare challenge him lightly, it was clear that the Genius Hall disciples tended to pick opponents they were familiar with.
After those three finished their challenges, it was Ling Xiao’s turn.
“Ling Xiao, please select your first challenge target!”
The referee prompted.
Ling Xiao nodded and looked toward the ten people seated in the front row.
His goal was first place, but there was no need to claim it so soon, otherwise, many would be unconvinced and challenge him one after another.
So his plan was to first secure a top-ten spot, with five opportunities, as long as he kept one to challenge Ling Feifan, that would be enough.
“The tenth rank, then.”
Ling Yixue was ninth, so he chose to challenge the tenth, a nicely balanced position.
He knew many wanted to gauge his abilities, but the tenth-ranked disciple wasn’t qualified to force him to reveal his true strength.
It took only a moment on the stage, once again just a single punch.
This time, though, he used the Barbaric Bull Strength technique, the opponent fared better than Ling Ji because Ling Xiao held back.
“How strong is this Ling Xiao, really? He beat the tenth rank so easily, he might actually threaten Ling Feifan’s position!”
“Idiot, the real powerhouses in the Genius Hall are the top five, he only beat the tenth, I bet Ling Zhan could take him down easily, no need for Senior Brother Feifan to step in!”
“Who knows until the end?”
While they argued, Ling Xiao had already sat down next to Ling Yixue.
“Ling Xiao, your combat power, it doesn’t seem limited to the peak of Martial Vein Fourth Layer, does it?”
Ling Yixue asked in a hushed voice.
“Sort of.”
Ling Xiao smiled, not denying it.
There was no harm in admitting it, so far, he hadn’t revealed a single one of his real trump cards.
“I’m not challenging again for now.”
Ling Xiao only challenged once, he felt it was enough, the remaining opportunities he’d save for targeting the top three.
Of course, he might also need to fight Ling Yihang.
Last time hadn’t been satisfying, though he’d beaten Ling Yihang, it was largely because Ling Yihang underestimated him, not because he was overwhelmingly strong.
This time, he wanted to defeat Ling Yihang fair and square, to resolve a personal knot.
Four opportunities left, just right.
For now, he’d watch the ones ahead make their moves, the top three weren’t pushovers, though he was confident he could win, he didn’t dare underestimate them.
If he made the same mistake Ling Yihang did in the elimination rounds, that would be utterly foolish.
“Ling Yun, looks like you won’t get a chance to avenge your brother Ling Feng.”
Suddenly, Ling Feifan glanced at Ling Yun with a smile.
“Why do you say that?”
“Because it’s obvious he can’t beat me, and you can’t challenge downward unless you deliberately lose to a lower-ranked disciple.”
Ling Feifan said lightly.
“You don’t need to provoke me, so what if I lose once on purpose? With five challenge opportunities, climbing back up is easy.”
Ling Yun glanced at Ling Feifan and said, “It’s you who should prepare for my challenge.”
“You’re not my match.”
Ling Feifan smiled confidently.
“That’s not certain!”
“Is it?”
While the top two Genius Hall disciples chatted, the challenges didn’t stop.
From fourteenth upward, the fights grew more thrilling and intense.
The higher the rank, the stronger the warriors.
Yet from start to finish, no one challenged the top six, nor did anyone challenge Ling Xiao.
Ling Yixue, however, was challenged twice.
But both opponents lost, and lost decisively.
After being challenged, she too got a quarter-hour to rest and recover, to bounce back so well in such a short time, it seemed Ling Yixue had also cultivated a recovery secret technique.
The flames of battle soon spread to the top six.
Ling Feifan, Ling Yun, Ling Shuang, Ling Zhan, Ling Xiaopeng, Ling Yihang!
“I challenge the fourth-ranked Ling Zhan!”
Ling Yihang looked at Ling Zhan, his gaze firm and brimming with confidence.
Ling Xiao had some impression of Ling Zhan, he’d appeared in the elimination rounds.
Back then, Ling Zhan was already a peak Martial Vein Fourth Layer warrior.
Though he hadn’t broken through since, he wasn’t someone easily dealt with.
“Hahaha, alright, Ling Yihang, you dare challenge me? Do you think I’m the easiest among the top four?”
“No, none of the top four are easy.”
Ling Yihang replied with a serious expression.
He didn’t dare underestimate Ling Zhan, he chose him because, among the top five, Ling Zhan had the weakest qinggong.
Ling Yihang’s own movement skills weren’t great, but they were better than Ling Zhan’s, so picking him was a tactical choice.
“Good, my fists have been itching anyway, in that case, I’ll play with you.”
Ling Zhan leapt onto the combat platform, his aura shifting instantly.
This guy also specialised in defensive martial arts, a terrifying presence radiating out, making Ling Yihang’s brows furrow repeatedly.
This fight was the longest since the competition began.
It lasted a full half hour, with the referee panel ultimately declaring Ling Yihang the winner by a slim margin.
“Hmph, fine, you win, but I’m not convinced, I’ll challenge you again later.”
Ling Zhan’s fighting spirit was still high, he wasn’t satisfied with the referees’ call, but he didn’t dare defy it.
He’d have a chance to challenge Ling Yihang later anyway, no big deal.
But someone beat him to it.
The fifth-ranked Ling Xiaopeng was the younger brother of Ling Dapeng, whom Ling Yihang had defeated earlier, with his brother beaten, the younger sibling naturally wasn’t happy.
So after waiting a quarter-hour, he directly announced his challenge against Ling Yihang.
Unexpectedly, Ling Xiaopeng’s challenge forced Ling Yihang to reveal his biggest trump card.
This guy was a blade master!
He’d never used a blade in previous fights, but when that blade was unsheathed, Ling Xiaopeng immediately conceded.
That single strike was too terrifying, too dazzling!
So the fifth-ranked Ling Xiaopeng’s challenge failed.
Next came the third-ranked Ling Shuang’s challenge.
As for the fourth-ranked Ling Zhan, having been defeated by Ling Yihang, he was currently unranked and would need to wait for the next round to reclaim a position.
“No choice, Ling Yun, I can only challenge you.”
Ling Shuang didn’t forfeit.
Though she knew her odds against either Ling Yun or Ling Feifan were less than twenty percent.
She still wanted to try, since losing a challenge wouldn’t drop her rank anyway.
With Ling Yun, she at least knew his cultivation level.
But against Ling Feifan, she couldn’t muster the slightest will to fight.
“Oh? So you’re saying I’m not as good as Ling Feifan?”
Ling Yun sneered, “Since that’s how you see it, I’ll show you that challenging me carelessly is asking for humiliation.”
Originally, Ling Yun had planned to lose a fight on purpose to challenge Ling Xiao.
But his strong sense of pride flared up at that moment.
His brother meant nothing!
His brother’s grudge meant nothing!
Being looked down upon—that was the real irritation!
So he’d defeat Ling Shuang, and do it cleanly, to show her she’d picked the wrong target!
