The Grand Elder didn’t pursue, for he was more concerned about Ling Feifan.
After he stepped forward and fiddled with it for a while to no avail, he roared at Ling Xiao in a towering rage, “You wretch, why aren’t you saving him yet!”
“Grand Elder, I’ve said it before, agree to my two conditions, and I’ll save him.”
Ling Xiao wasn’t foolish, the Grand Elder was currently restrained by his concern and wouldn’t dare act against him, but if he saved Ling Feifan, the situation might change.
“Speak!”
The Grand Elder’s expression shifted repeatedly, but in the end, he could only say helplessly.
“First condition, apologise to me, I’m not some wretch, I’m a disciple of the Ling family recruited by Clan Leader Ling Xiaotian himself! And one who defeated Ling Feifan to claim first place in the Hall of Geniuses!”
He deliberately brought up Ling Xiaotian to use him as a shield.
The Grand Elder’s status might be high, but surely he wouldn’t dare disrespect Ling Xiaotian.
After all, the Clan Leader held the highest authority.
“In my anger, I spoke wrongly and shouldn’t have called you a wretch! That should do, right?”
Though the apology lacked sincerity, Ling Xiao didn’t want to push things too far, since the elder had apologised.
For a Grand Elder to apologise to an ordinary disciple, this was likely a first in Ling family history.
“Second condition, swear publicly that you won’t seek revenge against me over personal grudges!”
Ling Xiao raised a second finger as he spoke.
“No problem, can you start saving him now?”
The Grand Elder was seething inside, but for Ling Feifan’s sake, he had to endure.
This oath meant he couldn’t touch Ling Xiao within the Ling family, but Ling Xiao couldn’t stay inside forever, could he?
Sooner or later, he’d settle the score with this little brat!
“Of course!”
Ling Xiao remained at a distance, merely flicking a burst of qi over, and the chill on Ling Feifan swiftly vanished, the solid ice quickly melting into water.
“Referees, it seems you haven’t announced the verdict yet?”
After thawing Ling Feifan, Ling Xiao turned to the referee’s bench.
“Right!, you’re correct!”
The referees on the bench snapped back to their senses.
“Ling Xiao has successfully challenged Ling Feifan, temporarily taking first place in the Hall of Geniuses, Ling Feifan temporarily loses his ranking!”
First place?
This was truly unexpected.
Ling Xiao hadn’t initially planned to challenge Ling Feifan so soon.
But firstly, he wanted to knock Ling Yun down a peg, secondly, he couldn’t stand Ling Feifan’s lofty attitude.
Another reason was that, despite arriving late like Ling Feifan, he’d been treated differently, and on top of that, the referees and watching Ling family elders had mocked and sneered at him.
So he hoped to defeat Ling Feifan quickly and vent his frustration sooner.
Of course, the most important reason was that he felt, among the Ling family disciples, only Ling Feifan could push his potential and force him to use over eighty percent of his strength.
The others simply couldn’t, they didn’t serve the purpose of training.
As the referees announced the result, the scene erupted, everyone let out incredulous shouts and murmurs.
Ling Xiao defeating Ling Feifan was an absolute upset.
People had imagined all sorts of possibilities, but this one never crossed their minds.
This dark horse, Ling Xiao, had gone all the way, from beating Ling Yihang in the elimination rounds to become first in the Hall of Elites, to defeating Ling Feifan in the finals to claim first in the Hall of Geniuses.
He’d truly blackened the field completely.
Though the finals weren’t over, and others could still challenge Ling Xiao.
Honestly, though, someone who could defeat Ling Feifan was essentially unmatched among these disciples.
This youth, just half a month ago, was a mere Martial Vein First Layer martial artist, his rise was like that of a comet.
Ling Xiao cupped his hands towards Ling Er Ye and Ling Xiaotian, these two were people he had to thank, otherwise, he might not have even been able to participate in today’s competition.
Then he cupped his hands towards the referees and the audience.
The referees, well, their judgment was at least fair enough.
And in the audience, though his supporters weren’t as numerous as Ling Feifan’s, they weren’t absent, so a gesture was due.
Then, with a beaming smile, he walked over and sat in the first chair of the first row.
Ling Yun, sitting right beside him, nearly spat blood in anger as he saw Ling Xiao approach.
This thing he’d dismissed as trash, not worth mentioning, was now sitting ahead of him, having defeated Ling Feifan, whom he’d dreamed of beating.
“Ling Feifan, you useless fool, losing to this trash, you don’t deserve to be my rival!”
Ling Yun shouted loudly.
Ling Feifan, now gradually recovering, wasn’t badly injured, just severely drained.
His eyes flicked over, giving Ling Yun a faint glance, “Is that so? Then my next challenge will be you, to show you what it means to talk big!”
Ling Feifan had no intention of challenging Ling Xiao again for now, he had a feeling that Ling Xiao hadn’t even used his full strength in the end.
That fellow’s terror surpassed his imagination, he’d secure a top-three spot first, then work to catch up.
The following matches, though exciting, felt lacklustre to the audience after Ling Xiao and Ling Feifan’s clash.
Ling Yixue challenged the eighth-ranked disciple and achieved a breakthrough mid-fight, turning defeat into victory at the critical moment.
She then challenged the seventh-ranked and won again.
But when she challenged the sixth, the difficulty proved too great, she sustained serious injuries and ultimately lost.
Having used all five of her challenge opportunities, if Ling Yixue could hold her current standing, seventh place was quite impressive.
After all, like Ling Xiao, she was an externally recruited disciple, reaching this level with scarce resources was remarkable.
In terms of talent, she likely wasn’t inferior to Ling Feifan.
With enough resources, breaking into the top three at next year’s competition would be well within reach.
Ling Yihang opted to forfeit, it was clear he’d intended to challenge Ling Xiao, but changed his mind at the last moment, turning his sights on Ling Yun.
He skipped this round to observe Ling Yun’s fight before making his challenge.
In the third round, Ling Feifan indeed challenged Ling Yun.
“Ling Yun, you call me useless? Today I’ll show you who the real useless one is, I’ve recovered less than half my strength, but one move is enough to beat you!”
Against Ling Xiao, saying this would be arrogance.
But against Ling Yun, Ling Feifan had full confidence.
He knew Ling Yun too well, and to say this with such familiarity meant he was certain.
“Careful you don’t bite your tongue in the wind!”
Ling Yun naturally wouldn’t back down.
Ling Feifan said no more, this time drawing his spear directly, locking its tip on Ling Yun as purple flames flared up again.
Though these flames were clearly weaker than those used against Ling Xiao, they were still not to be underestimated.
Sizzle!
In the air, qi was constantly ignited, the purple flames exuding an evil aura, radiating a suffocating sense of terror.
As the spear tip quivered, Ling Yun seemed to see the faces of the dead appearing before his eyes.
He flinched, knowing it was an illusion, born from the overwhelming pressure.
He’d thought this strike would be nothing special, but facing it head-on, he realised just how terrifying it truly was.
