“Too strong!”
Li Xuefeng frowned slightly, thinking, “This Dao Wuming’s strength is probably less than mine. If I go all out, I could light ninety-five lamps. But his strength is impressive. Can that Moon Flower Sect’s Ling Xiao manage?”
He looked at Ling Xiao, who remained unfazed and calmly approached the bronze pillar.
“Guess how many lamps Moon Flower Sect’s top core disciple Ling Xiao will light?”
“I heard he took first in the preliminaries. I reckon at least eighty lamps.”
“That’s about right, but the problem is, he foolishly bet with Heavenly King Sect’s Dao Wuming. He’s done for.”
Ling Xiao heard the crowd’s chatter, gave a slight smile, and stood before the pillar without gathering energy or drawing a weapon.
With his current cultivation and strength, his physical power alone could surpass Dao Wuming. Pity the fool didn’t realise it.
Slap!
A light tap.
Whether it was an illusion, the pillar seemed to tremble instantly.
Then, golden light surged.
“Look, ninety-three lamps!”
“A tie!”
“No, no! Look, it’s ninety-three and a half! He won by half a lamp, half a metre!”
Ling Xiao did it on purpose.
If he won by too much, the opponent might accept the loss as normal and not feel humiliated.
But winning by half a lamp would likely infuriate them.
“How can this be!”
Dao Wuming was stunned.
He thought beating Ling Xiao would be easy, yet a seemingly casual slap from Ling Xiao won.
Though the margin was small, that half-lamp advantage was what made him fume.
“Terrifying! I heard this kid provoked Dao Wuming publicly. I thought he was reckless, but he’s this strong!”
“Yeah, stronger than both Dao Wuming and Li Xuefeng!”
“Moon Flower Sect is really rising.”
The onlookers were astonished. Lighting ninety lamps marked one as a prodigy among the younger generation.
With such a talent, Moon Flower Sect’s status among the twelve sects would likely rise soon.
“Hmph, I was holding back. You really think I’m inferior to them?” Li Xuefeng, initially composed, grew frustrated seeing Dao Wuming and Ling Xiao surpass him. In a huff, he struck the pillar with full force.
“He wasn’t lying. Ninety-five lamps. He’s still the strongest.”
“Hmph!”
Hearing the crowd’s comments, Li Xuefeng felt somewhat relieved.
But Ling Xiao had no interest in competing with him. He turned to Dao Wuming with a smile. “Heavenly King Sect disciples keep their word, right? Kneel and shout as I said.”
“Kneel? What if I don’t?”
Dao Wuming had no intention of keeping his promise. He only agreed because he thought he’d win.
Now that he lost, he planned to back out.
“Kneel!”
Suddenly, a massive ghost eye appeared behind Ling Xiao, its blood-red gaze fixed on Dao Wuming.
Dao Wuming, powerless to resist, knelt in a daze and shouted as Ling Xiao instructed.
“Heavenly King Sect is shameless, inferior to Moon Flower Sect!”
The crowd was dumbfounded. They expected a fight, not Dao Wuming yielding so easily.
Ling Xiao wielded his soul force expertly, unnoticed by others. Unless he chose to reveal his ghost eye martial soul, no one could see it.
To the onlookers, Dao Wuming seemed simply intimidated by Ling Xiao, which was baffling.
Only Li Xuefeng gritted his teeth, his hand gripping the steel blade at his waist.
“Well played, kid. I underestimated you. You know how to wield soul force, but my unbreakable blade intent renders your soul force useless!” Li Xuefeng took a deep breath and walked toward the Martial Arts Festival arena.
…
Ling Xiao and his group arrived relatively early.
After they left, more hotshot young talents came to test the pillar.
“Did you see that? Xuanhuo Sect lives up to its name. Liu Taiyin’s combat strength hit ninety-eight lamps, far surpassing Li Xuefeng!”
“No surprise. Liu Taiyin is one of last year’s six prodigies of the holy dynasty.”
“Also from Xuanhuo Sect, Hong Sanmei outshone him, hitting ninety-nine lamps!”
“Those two are terrifying. Last time, Xuanhuo Sect took two of the six prodigy spots. This time, they might go further.”
Hearing these comments, Liu Taiyin and Hong Sanmei smiled slightly. Lately, the pressure from emerging young talents had been immense, and their advantage was far less than last year.
…
After they left, more prominent young talents tested the pillar.
“One after another! Blood Blade Sect’s Qin Bixue also hit ninety-nine lamps!”
“No shock there. Last year’s prodigy Jian Wuji also reached ninety-nine.”
“Linyao Manor’s Dai Yaoling, a mere girl, is that strong. Truly admirable.”
“This year’s Martial Arts Festival finals are packed with talent, a gathering of stars. These people will surely be Tianlong Continent’s hope.”
“Generally, above ninety lamps, the strength difference isn’t huge unless someone hits a hundred. That’s a whole new level.”
“What about last year’s top three?”
“Here they come! Divine Sword Sect’s Long Chen scored ninety-eight lamps!”
“Bai Qianjiao hit ninety-nine!”
“My gosh, Bishui Palace’s Hong Li is scarier. A casual strike scored a hundred golden lamps!”
“No way, Hong Li outdid her senior sister Bai Qianjiao?”
“Nothing’s impossible. Mo Wushang just tested, also hitting a hundred golden lamps. They’re the strongest so far!”
“Both at a hundred lamps. Looks like Hong Li might replace her senior sister this time.”
“What about the Holy Son? Hasn’t he tested yet?”
“No word yet. The Holy Son hasn’t even shown up.”
“The match is about to start. I wonder if we’ll see the Holy Son test beforehand.”
…
“He’s here! The Holy Son is here!”
On the main road, a white horse strolled in. Astride it sat the Holy Son, Ji Mingkong.
Beside him was Feng Yaorao.
One woman proud and cold, the other charming and alluring, both breathtaking beauties.
Anyone would steal a few glances.
