Chapter 33

*Puff*

Originally, Gao Bufan had already been injured by Ling Dao's kick. Hearing the surrounding voices and the looks on those people's faces, he was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. To think that he, the mighty Ninth Senior Brother, had been defeated by an unknown nobody in the outer sect disciples' competition, it was truly the most embarrassing thing.

Even the elders had expressions as if they had seen a ghost. They thought their judgment was good, but they never expected to be so completely wrong this time. They originally thought Ling Dao would be eliminated in the first round of the qualifying matches, but they never expected him to defeat Gao Bufan, who ranked ninth.

"Good! Excellent! I didn't expect him to have quietly reached this level. It seems he has a good chance of making the top ten. If he can become one of the top ten, he can find a powerful elder to be his master!"

The happiest for Ling Dao was Jiang Ren. Jiang Zhong had asked her to take good care of Ling Dao, but unfortunately, she didn't have that ability. Don't look at him as an elder of the Sky-Cleaving Sword Sect; compared to other elders, his status was far inferior.

"Hmph, that boy must have been brought in by Jiang Ren, right? I didn't expect him to be so lucky this time and find such an outstanding young man!"

Ling Dao had already shown the strength of the top ten outer sect disciples, so these elders naturally had to take him seriously. If Ling Dao were just an ordinary disciple, they would be happy to see a powerful physical realm martial artist emerge within the Sky-Cleaving Sword Sect.

Unfortunately, Ling Dao was brought in by Jiang Ren, and it seemed he had a good relationship with her. These elders, who were always trying to suppress and bully Jiang Ren, naturally wouldn't allow her to have a powerful disciple. They wanted Jiang Ren to never have a chance to turn things around!

"The next match, let that boy face Lu Hong!"

An elder said with a cold smile. Ling Dao's displayed strength indeed surprised them greatly, but it was only at the level of seventh or eighth place. If Lu Hong were to fight, Ling Dao would definitely lose, as Lu Hong was the Fifth Senior Brother.

Upon hearing this news, Jiang Ren was extremely angry. Having Lu Hong fight Ling Dao was clearly arranged by the elders who were against her. The meaning of these elders was very clear: they wanted to kick Ling Dao out of the top ten.

"Huh, I didn't expect my opponent to be a newly admitted disciple. Arranging me to fight Li Shengxiong or Xie Ling'er would be more appropriate. That boy is simply not qualified!"

Lu Hong was also a sixteen-year-old youth, and among the top five outer sect disciples, he was the most low-key. But no one dared to underestimate him, because the younger one was, the greater the potential. From the time he became the Fifth Senior Brother until now, he had been around for some time, and his current strength was clearly much stronger than before.

"I've watched your battles, and your strength is quite good. Unfortunately, you met me too early. Otherwise, you might have become one of the top ten!"

The only six people Ling Dao could impress were Xia Xinzhao, Teng Shaofeng, Wei Jingshan, Zhong Zhenhai, Li Shengxiong, and Xie Ling'er. Ling Dao was not among them. Lu Hong didn't care why Ling Dao was his opponent; his task was to defeat Ling Dao.

"Top ten? Ha... My goal is not the top ten! Draw your sword!"

The series of battles before had already perfected Ling Dao's current sword technique. In other words, he no longer needed to slowly fight each opponent to improve; this method couldn't always enhance his skills. Now was the time for him to show his true strength!

Deputy Sect Leader Zhuang Xin had already said that the sect would invest as much as the disciples showed potential. Ling Dao naturally didn't plan to be mediocre for the rest of his life. He had his own matters to attend to and needed incomparably powerful strength.

"Good, arrogant enough! I hope you have the qualifications to be arrogant!"

Lu Hong's eyebrows raised, somewhat displeased with Ling Dao's attitude. However, after Ling Dao spoke, he seemed to transform. Previously, he was like a rusty sword, but now the rust was gone, revealing astonishing sharpness! Standing before Lu Hong was not a youth but a sharp divine sword!

"Scarlet Fire Sword!"

Since he had decided to act, Lu Hong naturally wouldn't waste any time. He drew his long sword, which was different from others, as it was a fiery red, clearly made from special materials.

As Lu Hong drew his sword, the temperature in the arena seemed to rise. As his opponent, Ling Dao's perception was the clearest. Lu Hong's movements were not like a sword but like fire, with scorching heat waves that seemed to want to burn Ling Dao to a crisp.

*Clang*

Seeing the sword thrusting towards him, Ling Dao instantly drew his sword and countered. The sword in his hand was like a venomous snake, heading towards Lu Hong's sword. The two swords collided in the air, sparking a lot of sparks.

"Scarlet Bull Sword!"

Lu Hong retreated three steps and then used a different sword technique. His sword continuously attacked, and in front of him, it seemed like a fierce bull was charging at Ling Dao.

*Moo*

A faint sound echoed in the arena, and Lu Hong continued to close in on Ling Dao. His movements became faster, and the bull became even more ferocious. If it were an opponent like Gao Bufan, they would definitely be knocked back and possibly severely injured.

"That boy is finished. No wonder he's the Fifth Senior Brother; his sword technique is far superior to ours. If we faced the Fifth Senior Brother, we would probably be defeated in one move!"

"To be defeated by the Fifth Senior Brother's sword, he can be proud. After all, we don't even have the qualifications to face the Fifth Senior Brother, and he can still fight him for so long!"

While these outer sect disciples were loudly discussing, Ling Dao was about to draw his sword. This time, it was different from before. Ling Dao slowly raised his long sword over his head and then suddenly slashed down with one powerful strike. He only intended to use one sword!

"Slash!"

Ling Dao shouted, and the sword slashed down, as if the wings of a vermilion bird were cutting through mountains and rivers. The sword in his hand was just an ordinary sword, but at this moment, it seemed like an unparalleled divine sword, radiating boundless sharpness!

With just one sword, the air in the arena exploded, sand and stones flew, and dust danced. The fiery red bull was instantly split into two halves. No matter how many swords Lu Hong swung, they were all shattered by Ling Dao's single strike.

"You have lost!"

Ling Dao's sword slashed down, and when the blade was less than three feet from Lu Hong's face, it finally stopped. If Ling Dao hadn't stopped, Lu Hong would have been killed for sure. This battle was beyond everyone's expectations, and Ling Dao won!

If defeating Gao Bufan earlier only made people think Ling Dao was quite strong, then now, defeating Lu Hong made people think he was incredibly strong. Lu Hong was the Fifth Senior Brother, how could he be so easily defeated?

(PS: 3,000 flowers for an extra chapter! I'm currently aiming for the new book popularity chart. I need flowers, and I will accept as many as I can. I'm prepared for long-term extra chapters!)