Chapter 48

In the midst of cherry blossoms dancing in the wind, a beautiful girl in a silver fur coat stood there. Her bright eyes sparkled like crystal, her shoulders were soft, and her long hair flowed gracefully, exuding a refined and elegant beauty.

A crowd of about seven or eight people surrounded her, but her aura was relatively low, only at the initial stage of the third level of the Qi Dao, making it impossible for her to be the top-ranked "Jade Sword" Ning Qingjun of the Inner Court.

It seemed she must be the tenth-ranked "Blue Fox" Yi Yuer.

A moment later, Tang Gu spotted another familiar face in the crowd. This person stood alone, much like Tang Gu, with a lofty and cold demeanor, dressed in black, pale-faced, and carrying a sword on his back.

It was "Gold Sword" Yuan Suichen, the eighth-ranked disciple of the Inner Court and the personal bodyguard of the Water Family's daughter, Water Xue.

Tang Gu had the fortune to meet him once at the Floating Barrier Corner in the Earth Market.

Apart from these, Tang Gu had no other acquaintances in the entire Inner Court square. After a brief glance, he quickly withdrew his gaze and stopped looking closely.

However, though he did not look at others, a few pairs of eyes scanned over him.

They belonged to "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei and "Silver Sword" Du Zhongjing.

"Iron Sword" Du Pengfei's eyes were filled with resentment and fear, while "Silver Sword" Du Zhongjing's eyes were dark and heavy, as if about to drip with water.

One of them had lost his status as the Du Family's heir because of Tang Gu, while the other had been completely stripped of his martial arts, becoming a cripple. Although he was still an Inner Court disciple, it was believed that he would soon lose all his former glory.

It would be strange if they did not hate Tang Gu.

The Du Family had guarded Tang Gu on Moon Blade Peak for three whole months, but he had vanished without a trace. Despite searching the entire Stone Rock Town, they could not find him and had to give up in frustration.

Unexpectedly, he dared to reappear at this Inner Court Grand Competition. While the Du Family did not dare to do anything to him within the Martial Academy, they would not hesitate to give him a life-changing ambush if he dared to step out of the academy gates.

In addition to "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei and "Silver Sword" Du Zhongjing, "Blazing Sun Fist" Yan Shan, "Ice Maiden" Li Yuxue, and "Paper Scholar" Xiao Qingbi also noticed Tang Gu's arrival.

"Blazing Sun Fist" Yan Shan smiled and nodded at Tang Gu, offering encouragement, while "Ice Maiden" Li Yuxue deliberately raised her eyebrows, indicating that the previous match was not over and that they would have another chance this time.

"Paper Scholar" Xiao Qingbi, as usual, remained silent, only glancing over briefly before turning away, standing alone with a calm expression.

"Clang, clang, clang..."

The bell rang three times, and the time for the Inner Court Grand Competition drew near. "Jade Sword" Ning Qingjun still had not arrived, causing a stir in the crowd.

At this moment, an Inner Court elder hurriedly walked up to the platform and announced loudly, "The competition begins."

As soon as the words were spoken, the ground on the left side of the square suddenly cracked open, and sixteen green-colored platforms rose slowly from the ground, finally settling in place.

Tang Gu, Li Yuxue, and others looked at each other in surprise. They had been wondering where the competition would take place, but they never expected the platforms to be hidden underground.

However, the Inner Court disciples seemed to have known all along, showing no surprise, with calm expressions.

Everyone was already familiar with the competition rules: random number drawing, successive battles, the winners advancing, and the losers being eliminated, ultimately determining the top ten.

As for whether there would be any dark horses in this competition and whether any of the original top ten disciples would be knocked out, no one knew before the competition began.

"First platform, number seventeen, Fang Qingwu, versus number thirty-four, Ying Tielun!"

"Second platform, number nine, Chai Qixing, versus number forty-six, Zong Hanchuan!"

...

"Sixteenth platform, number sixty, 'Iron Sword' Du Pengfei, versus number ten, 'Blue Fox' Yi Yuer."

"Begin!"

With the command, the thirty-two people whose names were called jumped onto their respective platforms and began their battles.

On some platforms, the opponents were of vastly different strengths, and the matches were over in just a few moves, without much excitement.

However, on a few platforms, the opponents were evenly matched, and the battles were intense and heated, making it difficult to determine the winner.

Tang Gu and Yan Shan were not in the first batch of challengers, so they gathered to watch the matches.

They exchanged a glance and, as if sharing a telepathic connection, both smiled and walked towards the sixteenth platform.

On the sixteenth platform.

The beautiful girl in the silver fox fur coat smiled, and it was as if a hundred flowers had just bloomed, nearly causing "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei to lose his composure.

However, he was the former top-ranked disciple of the Outer Court. Although he almost lost himself, he quickly regained his senses, gritted his teeth, and, despite knowing he was no match for her, charged forward with his sword.

Moreover, he used a low-grade second-rank sword technique, the Solitary Snow Cold Light Sword, which he had obtained from the Inner Court armory!

On the opposite side, "Blue Fox" Yi Yuer watched the sword light fly towards her, seemingly frightened, and let out a "Oh!" as she retreated hastily. However, as she retreated, she suddenly waved her left sleeve.

A blue light shot out from her sleeve and instantly struck "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei's Silver Spirit Mystic Sword.

With a "Clang," "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei felt a severe shock in his wrist, and the Silver Spirit Mystic Sword slipped from his grasp, flying out of his hand.

"Blue Fox" Yi Yuer giggled, then, using a mysterious footwork, she turned and somehow appeared beside "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei.

She extended her hand, and with a gentle wave, she sent "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei flying off the platform. Her move was executed with no trace of force, yet its power left many Inner Court disciples watching from below in shock.

Tang Gu and Yan Shan exchanged a glance, both seeing the astonishment in each other's eyes.

Although "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei had just entered the Inner Court and was at the late stage of the second level of the Qi Dao, he was no match for "Blue Fox" Yi Yuer in a single move. Was this the gap between Outer Court and Inner Court disciples?

After getting up, "Iron Sword" Du Pengfei, with a face full of shame, picked up his Silver Spirit Mystic Sword from the ground and retreated to the side. He had expected to lose, but he never imagined he would lose so quickly and so easily, unable to even withstand a single move from her.

The elder on the platform announced "Blue Fox" Yi Yuer's victory. Tang Gu and Yan Shan shook their heads and left the sixteenth platform, heading to the seventh platform.

On the seventh platform, "Gold Sword" Yuan Suichen, dressed in black, faced an Inner Court disciple whom Tang Gu had never seen before.

This Inner Court disciple was not weak, also at the initial stage of the third level of the Qi Dao, but not among the top ten. The two fought at a fast pace, but in the end, "Gold Sword" Yuan Suichen was superior. He trapped his opponent with the Mirror Technique and then struck his eyes with a strange golden light from the Nine Dawn Gold Sword.

"Gold Sword" Yuan Suichen won.

In the blink of an eye, an hour passed, and all the matches concluded. Sixteen people advanced, and sixteen people were temporarily eliminated.

The entire round of matches was not particularly exciting. Those who should have won did, and those who should have lost did not turn the tide. There were no dark horses, and no major battles.

Finally, the second round of matches began.

Tang Gu and Yan Shan were both in this round.

Tang Gu was on the eleventh platform, and Yan Shan was on the fourteenth platform, with only about seven or eight zhang between them.

They clenched their fists, wished each other luck, and then each walked to their respective platforms.

On the eleventh platform, a tall young man in his twenties was already standing there. He wore a dark purple brocade robe, had a face as white as jade, and was clean and simple, carrying no weapons.

However, his fingers were long and white, with a slight green tinge on his left middle finger, indicating that he had practiced a certain finger technique for a long time.

The two exchanged a bow.

"Number fifty-nine, Tang Gu!"

"Number twenty-seven, Fang Tongsu."

"Please—"

"Please—"

Fang Tongsu did not underestimate Tang Gu just because he was a new Inner Court disciple. He moved, and in an instant, his entire body turned into a blur and disappeared.

In the next moment, he spread his left hand, and his middle finger suddenly flicked out.

A pale green finger force shot out with his flick, cold and piercing, causing a faint ripple in the surrounding space.

Then, a small white jade mountain, about the size of a thumb, shot out with a "Whoosh," like a bolt of lightning, aiming for Tang Gu's chest.

"Low-grade second-rank finger technique: Thousand Cold Peaks Finger!"

PS: Second update, please give 1 recommendation.

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