Nine Dragons Saint Ancestor

Chapter 154: 154 Ling Wan Enters the Field

Swoosh!

At this moment, a sound of rushing wind suddenly erupted, followed by a figure that swept past; then a cold light flashed, a hand along with the blood-red flames fell and quickly turned into a pile of ashes.

”Ah!”

Gao Zheng’s mouth let out another shrill scream, echoing throughout the vast Arena Hall, filled with pain and resentment.

However, this person was after all ranked ninth among the Outer Sect on the Mortal List, a recognized talent. Just now, he didn’t have the courage to cut his own wrist with a knife, but at this point, he quickly calmed down after screaming.

When Gao Zheng turned his head to his side, he saw a familiar figure; he knew he owed this person a favor this time. Otherwise, if he had delayed any longer, he might have not even been able to save his own life.

”Guan Tong, senior brother, thank you!”

Despite the severe injuries within his body, Gao Zheng grimly raised his intact right arm and deeply bowed to the figure beside him, speaking his gratitude to Guan Tong, who astonishingly ranked third on the Mortal List.

”No need to be polite, Brother Gao Zheng,” Guan Tong said. ”Yun Xiao is always known for his ruthlessness and deceit. It’s understandable that you were caught off guard. But rest assured, I will certainly avenge this grievance for you.”

Guan Tong waved his hand slightly, his words hitting right at Gao Zheng’s core; he didn’t know that Guan Tong had already borne a grudge against Yun Xiao, and thought he really had helped out of seeing injustice.

Such a shameless person as Gao Zheng never looked for faults within himself; he had clearly lost unwillingly just now, insisting on a second battle with Yun Xiao, thus this outcome was truly self-inflicted.

For Guan Tong, due to Xuan Zhi, his eagerness to eliminate Yun Xiao was extreme; he now only wanted to unite all the forces he could, especially those harboring hatred toward Yun Xiao.

Although Gao Zheng lost a hand and suffered serious injuries, to Guan Tong, adding such a sworn enemy to Yun Xiao was merely a small effort, especially if it could cause Yun Xiao some trouble—he paid great attention to this.

Yun Xiao, standing on the arena, watching Guan Tong and Gao Zheng whispering to each other, paid no heed to the latter’s resentful gaze. Life and death were not accounted for on this stage. Just now, he had actually shown mercy, but if that guy didn’t appreciate it, there was nothing he could do.

Since he had knocked Gao Zheng off the arena, this battle was considered Yun Xiao’s victory, and even if Gao Zheng wanted to cheat, there was no chance left. Thus, Yun Xiao nodded slightly towards the several Great Elders in the seats to the north and then stepped down from the arena.

With this arena match over, Yun Xiao’s fighting for today was also completed. He now understood that the Outer Sect competition of Jade Pot Sect only held one round per day, giving the victorious Outer Disciples ample time to rest.

For example, if two equally matched geniuses fought hundreds of rounds bitterly, and one side barely won, it would be somewhat unfair to have the next match on the same day.

Certainly, even if resting for one night, some geniuses with internal injuries might not be able to recover, but this was at least a demonstration of consideration, and no one would have any objections.

As he walked down from the arena, Yun Xiao sensed a gaze fixed on him. Turning his head, a smile appeared on his face as the owner of that gaze was none other than Third Prince Xuan Zhi.

This Empire’s Third Prince was Yun Xiao’s opponent for the second round tomorrow. With his current late-stage Meridian Gathering Realm cultivation, how could he possibly fear another individual of the same late-stage Meridian Gathering Realm?

As for this Third Prince of the Empire, Yun Xiao had never had any good feelings. This guy had always been trying to kill him, and both parties had already reached the point of irreconcilable differences.

However, Yun Xiao, withdrawing his gaze, didn’t notice the fleeting cold smile in Xuan Zhi’s eyes, as he briefly exchanged a look with Guan Tong beside him, seemingly forming some sort of unspoken agreement.

Yun Xiao’s battle on the arena was spectacular, but it was just one of the sixty battles today, and the Outer Sect competition continued in an orderly manner.

It’s worth mentioning that Zhao Family’s talented Zhao Ningshu also fortuitously defeated his opponent and advanced to the next round. Seeing the smug smile on his face, Yun Xiao suddenly had a thought, and then he sensed some movement beside him.

”Big brother Yun Xiao, it’s my turn now!”

Yun Xiao turned his head and remembered that Ling Wan’s drawn number was right after Zhao Ningshu. Moreover, if Ling Wan also won, then his next match would definitely be against his ”dear big brother” Zhao Ningshu.

For this little fatty from Zhao Family of Ningfeng City, Yun Xiao had already regarded him as a good brother, and he also knew how the Zhao Family treated Ling Wan, so at this moment, he suddenly became extremely anticipative.

Breaking through to the Late Stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm, Ling Wan undoubtedly became extremely confident, no longer the meek plump boy he once was. After greeting Yun Xiao, he directly headed towards the stage.

In fact, aside from Yun Xiao and a few Great Elders from that side, no one knew that Ling Wan had advanced to the Late Stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm. Even Zhao Family’s eldest, Zhao Ningshu, believed Ling Wan was still at the Meridian Gathering Realm Middle Stage as on that day at the Task Hall.

In Zhao Ningshu’s view, since both he and Ling Wan were at the Middle Stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm, his chances of victory were undoubtedly greater, especially since his Cultivation Technique and Meridian Techniques were far superior to Ling Wan’s.

Moreover, Zhao Ningshu thought that he might have good luck getting through the first round, while Ling Wan might not be as lucky. Perhaps Ling Wan could be eliminated by his opponent right in the first round.

Particularly when Zhao Ningshu saw Ling Wan’s opponent stroll onto the stage, his heart settled even more since this figure was not too unfamiliar to him.

”Mortal List Rank Ten: Zhao Xin!”

Ling Wan’s first-round opponent also had the surname Zhao and was quite famous in the Outer Sect of the Jade Pot Sect. His strength, compared to Gao Zheng who was just defeated by Yun Xiao, might also not be inferior.

For those top ten talents of the Outer Sect on the Mortal List, no one in the Outer Sect would be too unfamiliar with them, especially since this Zhao Xin had only one character difference in his name with Zhao Xingwu, Zhao Ningshu’s brother who died at the hands of Ling Wan. This provoked even more attention from him.

Rank ten on the Mortal List almost always represented those who reached the Peak of the Meridian Gathering Realm, super-genius cultivators who were far more powerful than ordinary cultivators in the same realm.

Previously, no one expected Gao Zheng to be defeated so quickly by Yun Xiao. And now Zhao Xin, ranked ten, surely couldn’t be defeated by a novice disciple who had just joined three months ago like Gao Zheng, could he?

The chances of the same occurrence happening a second time were incredibly slim, so when everyone saw the figure standing opposite Ling Wan, they completely lost interest in the outcome of this arena battle.

Zhao Xin, on the stage, seemed to think the same. He hadn’t sensed Ling Wan’s true cultivation level at that moment, but how strong could a new disciple be?

Like Yun Xiao and Xuan Zhi on the side, they were already considered outstanding among this batch of new Outer Disciples, but they only possessed the cultivation of the Late Stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm.

Moreover, Zhao Xin had never heard of Ling Wan or seen him fight before, so he had no concerns at all, wearing a smug expression with an arrogant demeanor.

”Little chubby boy, if you don’t want to get hurt, I advise you to concede early!”

As Zhao Xin spoke, his gaze swept unintentionally over Gao Zheng below the arena, the implication being clear: if Ling Wan didn’t concede, his fate wouldn’t be any better than Gao Zheng’s.

Zhao Xin, ranked tenth on the Mortal List, and Gao Zheng, ranked ninth, had always been at odds, competing for a position on the Mortal List for several years. Truthfully, seeing Gao Zheng end up so miserably excited Zhao Xin quite a bit.

It was evident that Gao Zheng, having had his wrist shattered, would no longer be a contender against him on the Mortal List. Zhao Xin was fully confident that he would soon replace Gao Zheng and reach the coveted ninth spot he had long desired.

However, his current target was still this little chubby boy. Zhao Xin was confident that once the boy knew his reputation, he would definitely retreat without a fight, thus saving him the effort.

”Elder Brother Zhao Xin, please enlighten me!”

Unexpectedly, just as Zhao Xin looked forward to Ling Wan voluntarily conceding, the plump boy instead greeted him with a fist and spoke a polite phrase that instantly darkened Zhao Xin’s face.

For some reason, seeing Zhao Xin reminded Ling Wan of his unintentionally killed elder brother, Zhao Xingwu. Maybe it was because their names were somewhat similar, or perhaps it was their similarly haughty and annoying demeanor.

Thus, no matter what, Ling Wan couldn’t retreat without a fight. Moreover, with his cultivation having reached the Late Stage of the Meridian Gathering Realm and possessing the rare Mixed Element Qi Body seen only in the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, he had the courage to battle this peak genius of the Meridian Gathering Realm.

”Brave lad, since you’re courting death, then don’t blame your elder brother here!”

Being a top ten genius on the Mortal List, Zhao Xin was naturally full of arrogance. In his view, Ling Wan’s refusal to concede was a sign of disrespect towards him, the rank ten on the Mortal List, and an affront to his pride.

In the next moment, Zhao Xin burst forth ferociously with the speed of thunder. The speed of his attack and the swirling Meridian Qi around his body showed that he was indeed no less than Gao Zheng, who had just been defeated by Yun Xiao, truly worthy of the name of the tenth rank Mortal List.

Swoosh!

Watching Zhao Xin pounce, as Ling Wan’s cultivation technique circulated, a special and powerful energy quietly moved within him. Then, his plump body surprisingly demonstrated extraordinary agility, easily dodging Zhao Xin’s first strike.