Chapter 46

Under the leadership of the Blue Supervisor Hall, the strength of the Longbeard Temple was on par with the Taiheng Gate. Such a result was acceptable.

The rules for the first round of the competition were very simple: four matches to determine the winner, and one of the participants must be a new disciple. The rosters of cultivators had been submitted to the Blue Supervisor Hall by each sect a month ago, and no changes were allowed during this period.

With the strength of the opponents being evenly matched, Ling Sanshi was secretly pleased. The competition was not just about being first to win a prize; any sect that could make it to the top four would receive different rewards.

"Longbeard Temple is a Daoist sect. Their techniques are slow and gentle, containing the essence of using a small force to move a large one. Remember, you must not be too hasty, but you also don't need to be overly cautious. The other side of using gentleness to overcome hardness is that hardness can also break gentleness. That's all." Ling Sanshi reminded them before the competition began.

The participants had already been decided, and Gu Xuyao was among them. Gu Xuyao did not understand why Ling Sanshi had made such an arrangement. In terms of strength, among the new disciples, Zibi, Xiaohu, and even the cultivators from the Physical Academy were stronger than him.

However, since Ling Sanshi had made this arrangement, Gu Xuyao could not object.

Among the cultivators scheduled to compete in the first round with Gu Xuyao was Yu Wang, Yu Lin's brother.

"The first round of the competition, the participants are as follows!" Qiming Zhenren announced again, and four people stepped onto the Blood Arena.

As expected, only after truly stepping onto the Blood Arena did Gu Xuyao understand why it was called so. The hard rock ground was covered with various marks of damage, deep and shallow, leaving terrifying traces of countless battles.

"Position one, Yang Xi from Taiheng Gate versus Guan Zi from Longbeard Temple!"

At this point, several blue lights suddenly lit up in the middle of the Blood Arena. The blue elemental energy divided the area into four square arenas, each fifteen zhang wide and fifteen zhang long. Yang Xi, whose name was called, walked to the first arena.

"Position two, Meng Xiang from Taiheng Gate versus Hu Changqing from Longbeard Temple!"

Meng Xiang was a core disciple of the Physical Academy, not as simple and kind as the new disciples. Like Yang Xi, he had eagle-like eyes and was shorter than Gu Xuyao, but no one doubted his strength.

"Position three, Gu Xuyao from Taiheng Gate versus Hu Changlu from Longbeard Temple!"

When Qiming Zhenren called his name, Gu Xuyao took a deep breath and walked to the third arena.

"Position four, Yu Wang from Taiheng Gate versus Jia Peng from Longbeard Temple!"

When Jia Peng's name was called, there was a noticeable stir among the Taiheng Gate crowd. The new disciples did not know, but the core disciples who had participated in previous competitions knew how formidable Jia Peng was.

"Senior Sister Yixia, is Jia Peng very strong? Why do you all look so worried?" Zibi, seeing this, felt curious and asked.

Yixia looked at the white-robed man standing opposite Yu Wang in the fourth arena and frowned. "He is the top performer in Longbeard Temple's competitions. Unlike other disciples of Longbeard Temple, he is highly skilled and ruthless. In the last competition, one of our fellow disciples from Taiheng Gate was killed by him in the first round."

Zibi was taken aback. Although she had experienced the life-and-death journey in the Great Wild Forest, the killing among cultivators was still very different from that of beasts. The thought of one person being cruelly killed by another made her feel uneasy.

"Master, why did you let Gu Xuyao compete? According to his cultivation, isn't Yu Lin already at the Root Birth stage? Why not let him go?"

She didn't care about the formalities and, in her anxiety, directly pulled Ling Sanshi to complain.

Ling Sanshi glanced at her, stroked his beard, and remained silent.

"Cultivators, enter the arena!"

At this moment, Qiming Zhenren announced again. The cultivators in the Blood Arena all took a step forward and entered the small arenas surrounded by blue elemental energy.

Gu Xuyao's opponent was named Hu Changlu. The order of the four participants was decided by both sides. However, this was not the first time Taiheng Gate and Longbeard Temple had faced each other, and Ling Sanshi had already figured out Longbeard Temple's preferences. According to past experience, the third position was usually a new disciple.

Sure enough, Ling Sanshi's guess was correct. Hu Changlu was the younger brother of Hu Changqing, and his cultivation had reached the first layer of the Root Birth stage.

Hu Changlu had a pale face and a delicate appearance, almost making one think he was not a man. He stood opposite Gu Xuyao and nodded at him in a friendly manner.

"Competition, begin!"

Qiming Zhenren's final announcement!

"Ha!" As soon as the words were spoken, a fierce cry came from the fourth position!

It was Jia Peng's roar! Although Longbeard Temple was known for its defensive tactics, Jia Peng was an exception!

On this side, Yu Wang, a cultivator from the Force Academy, would not let the opponent attack without resistance. He also roared and charged at Jia Peng!

"Brother Hu, I'm going to attack." Seeing Hu Changlu watching the fight between Jia Peng and Yu Wang, Gu Xuyao couldn't help but speak.

These words were like a hand tapping Hu Changlu on the shoulder, bringing him back to his senses.

"Ah..." Hu Changlu looked embarrassed and bowed. "Brother Gu, come on."

Gu Xuyao frowned. He could have taken advantage of the situation and caught Hu Changlu off guard, but because of Hu Changlu's friendly nod, Gu Xuyao would never act dishonorably!

"Ha!"

With a roar, lightning surged, wrapping around Gu Xuyao. Although his cultivation had not yet reached the Root Birth stage, his failed breakthrough had placed him between two stages, making him a formidable opponent for a first-layer Root Birth cultivator!

"Roar, punch!" Lightning intertwined, crackling. Gu Xuyao immediately launched a punch, aiming directly at Hu Changlu's face!

Although they had been friendly at the start, once the battle began, Gu Xuyao would not hold back!

Seeing Gu Xuyao's attack, Hu Changlu was not in a hurry. He slowly moved his steps, initially very slowly, but as he took more steps, his speed increased, and in the blink of an eye, a layer of elemental energy shield formed around him!

"Bang!" Gu Xuyao's punch hit, carrying the power of lightning!

Hu Changlu did not dodge because he had absolute confidence in his technique. Gu Xuyao, not knowing the strength of Hu Changlu's technique, was momentarily stunned after his punch.

"Brother Gu, I'm going to attack." Before Hu Changlu finished speaking, he began to move his hands, and a powerful ball of elemental energy quickly formed!

Hu Changlu gently pushed, and the ball of elemental energy collided with Gu Xuyao's chest!

However, Gu Xuyao was not one to stand still and be hit. Although he could not dodge, he could defend!

"Roar!" With a wild roar, Gu Xuyao gathered his strength for another punch, but this time he did not intend to attack. Instead, he used the punch to form a force that could resist Hu Changlu's attack!

The collision of elemental energy produced frequent explosions!

Due to being at the center of the explosion, Gu Xuyao was thrown back without a doubt, crashing into the blue elemental energy wall behind him before stopping.

Smoke rose from his arm, with a slight burnt smell. Many of his long, disheveled hairs were also singed, but he was not seriously injured. He slowly stood up and narrowed his eyes.

"Brother Gu, good skills." The elemental energy shield shattered, and Hu Changlu looked surprised.

The fact that Gu Xuyao was not knocked down was unexpected for Hu Changlu. Although he had undergone special training and been taught many things to pay attention to during actual combat, the attack that could shatter a large rock had failed to defeat an opponent, which was indeed surprising to Hu Changlu.

Gu Xuyao remained silent. Seeing that Hu Changlu's attention was entirely on him, he had a sudden idea. He slightly tilted his head to the right and looked in that direction.

This small action indeed deceived Hu Changlu. Because of Gu Xuyao's tenacity, he paid more attention to him, and every move Gu Xuyao made affected him. So, when Gu Xuyao made this move, Hu Changlu also looked at the fourth arena!

The battle there was intense, and Jia Peng lived up to his reputation as the top performer of Longbeard Temple, completely overwhelming Yu Wang!

However, this was not what Hu Changlu should be focusing on!

In the next moment, he realized his mistake. But when he turned to look for Gu Xuyao, Gu Xuyao's fist was already in front of Hu Changlu's chest!

"Ha!" This sudden change immediately threw Hu Changlu into disarray. He shouted, his steps becoming chaotic. However, as a Root Birth cultivator, he spat out a mouthful of blood, which instantly transformed into a blood figure half his size but identical to him!

This was one of Longbeard Temple's signature techniques, called Blood Cry Transformation. The blood figure immediately collided with Gu Xuyao's fatal punch.

The punch hit, but there was no sticky feeling. The liquid figure was as hard as a rock. A crisp sound was heard, and the blood figure split at the head, shattering into pieces and falling to the ground.

"Changlu!" Hu Changqing, in the second position, couldn't help but shout, but he made a huge mistake by being distracted.

Meng Xiang took advantage of this opportunity to launch a fierce attack, immediately putting Hu Changqing on the defensive.

"Brother Hu, your skills are also impressive." The blood figure completely shattered, and when all the pieces fell to the Blood Arena, they turned back into blood.