Chapter 19

The second morning, golden sunlight bathed the square from the previous day, turning it into a golden hue.

The competition would decide the victor today, and who would become a core disciple would also be revealed.

Early in the morning, many people gathered here, including a large number of outer disciples and quite a few inner disciples who came to see who would be today's lucky one.

At the same time, some inner disciples were betting with contribution points.

Yesterday's green robes were replaced by today's white ones, and twenty white-robed inner disciples appeared one after another.

The first to arrive was Wang Meng. Dressed in white, Wang Meng looked very spirited, and his appearance caused a lot of cheers.

Of course, most of them were from female disciples.

Next was Wu Sheng, the unknown young man who gained a lot of popularity from yesterday's battle, and some people cheered for him as well.

Following him was Miaokong, with small eyes and an ordinary appearance, who was ignored by everyone.

After Miaokong, it was Zichen. Dressed in white, Zichen looked handsome and graceful, but his popularity was not high, and there were no cheers for him.

As soon as he appeared, the square was filled with deafening boos.

"It's him, Zichen, the guy who got lucky."

"It's him."

The boos came like waves, one after another, without any sign of stopping.

"It seems you're in a worse situation than me." Miaokong turned his head and joked.

Zichen helplessly shrugged, not caring about the boos. Today, he would show his strongest ability and compete for the first place.

This was Zichen's ultimate goal.

A single battle would decide the outcome today, so there was no need for Zichen to hide anymore. The reason he hid yesterday was to avoid anyone feeling threatened and attacking him at night.

After the boos, there was a burst of cheers, which were as loud as the boos and sounded better. Lin Xue, who followed Zichen, was welcomed.

Then came the other dozen or so people, including Ke Xue, a robust young man who used a set of iron fists to make it into the top twenty, which was quite impressive.

"Very good." The Grand Elder, dressed in a large red robe, stood on the platform and spoke again, "Seeing you, I see the future of the Lingwu Sect. The Lingwu Sect is made more vibrant because of you. Fight and unleash your potential, let us old folks see your true abilities."

The crowd was沸腾, and the twenty young men and boys were all excited, their eyes filled with fervor and fighting spirit, including Zichen. Today, he would show his prowess and enter the core, becoming a core disciple.

Today's battle would shock and awe everyone.

"Alright, I see you're all ready. Let the battle begin." The Grand Elder said.

The battle list had already been arranged yesterday. Zichen's opponent was Lu Ben, an eighteen-year-old youth who used a third-rate battle technique, the Wind-Cleaving Saber.

Just like Lin Ying from before.

However, Lu Ben's understanding of the battle technique was stronger, almost touching the essence.

The twenty people were divided into ten battle areas, and the battles began instantly.

Outside the arena, Su Mengyao appeared again today, but for the first battle, she did not watch Lin Xue but focused on Zichen.

"I wonder how much potential he has. He hid his abilities yesterday, and today he will surely reveal them completely. He is quite cautious." Su Mengyao thought, her beautiful eyes showing a hint of curiosity.

Beside her, Chen Feng noticed every change in Su Mengyao's expression and looked at Zichen, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

At the same time, those who noticed Zichen hiding his abilities yesterday also stared at him, including the inner disciples like Wang Xiong who planned to deal with Zichen.

"Zichen, you've run out of luck meeting me, Lu Ben." Lu Ben drew his long saber, which emitted a chilling light, and sneered at Zichen.

"Your abilities are good, and you have a chance to enter the top ten, but unfortunately, you've met me." Zichen said calmly.

"Arrogant, Zichen, it's not too late for you to admit defeat now. Otherwise, don't blame me for injuring you with my saber." Lu Ben was furious, and his long saber began to dance.

"Lu Ben, teach Zichen a lesson."

"Exactly, make this lucky guy see your strength."

"Tell him, luck is just luck and can't compare to strength."

The inner disciples who were defeated by Zichen yesterday were shouting outside today.

"Fight, you have one chance to attack." Zichen remained calm, looking at Lu Ben and said indifferently.

"Hmph, let me see if you can block my attack." Lu Ben sneered, and the saber light flashed, swinging towards Zichen. In the flicker of the saber light, Lu Ben had already slashed out a dozen times, forming a dense web of saber strikes that enveloped Zichen.

"Without grasping the essence, your saber light is full of flaws to me." Zichen shook his head, his eyes full of disdain. He moved his feet slightly, narrowly avoiding the densest part of the saber web. At the same time, he clenched his fists, and a roar of a tiger appeared.

Tiger Descending the Mountain.

A fierce punch penetrated the dense saber web and struck Lu Ben's chest directly.

"Thud."

With a dull sound, Lu Ben's body flew backward, and his long saber flew out of his hand in an instant.

One strike, and Lu Ben was defeated.

Around the arena, there were still some jeers, but after Zichen's clean and decisive victory, all the jeers stopped.

"This is the essence of a battle technique."

"This young man has grasped the essence of a battle technique."

"He can even deliver an essence attack with the Three Tiger Strikes. His talent is truly remarkable."

On the platform, the expressions of the elders were filled with surprise.

"Essence." Su Mengyao's beautiful eyes flickered. In previous years, only a few people at the fifth level of true qi could grasp the essence, but each of them achieved a good ranking.

"Grasping the essence, he has the strength to enter the top ten, but was hiding his abilities yesterday just for this one essence attack?" Su Mengyao wondered.

"Just one essence attack." Chen Feng sneered. In his time, he grasped the essence of a set of battle techniques at the fifth level of true qi.

"Grasping the essence, you underestimated me." A cold light flashed in Wang Xiong's eyes.

"So what if it's one essence attack? You're still trash and still going to die." An inner disciple beside him said.

The battles for the top ten were very exciting.

Zichen's unexpected one-strike victory naturally drew everyone's attention, and in an instant, the others no longer hid their abilities.

"Mountain Splitting Palm."

Wang Meng roared, and a sharp aura emanated from his body. His palm, raised high like a sharp blade, slashed forward fiercely.

"Thud."

The battle was decided in one strike.

A second-rate battle technique, grasping the essence, and the opponent not dying was considered lucky.

"Star Exploding Fist."

A fierce aura suddenly surged from Wu Sheng's body, making him look like a ball of fire ready to explode. His fist glowed white and collided with his opponent's.

"Crack."

The sound of bones breaking echoed, and Wu Sheng's opponent flew backward, his arms hanging limply.

Another second-rate battle technique with the essence grasped.

"Thousand Illusion Palm."

Layer upon layer of palm shadows appeared in the sky, some real and some illusory, with hundreds of palm prints raining down. Lin Xue's attack also carried the essence.

"What's going on?"

The crowd was already stunned, and the surprise in the elders' eyes on the platform grew. The continuous appearance of the essence was beyond their expectations.

Compared to Zichen's third-rate battle technique with the essence grasped, the essence grasped by the others in second-rate battle techniques was even more shocking.

It was well known that second-rate battle techniques were much stronger and harder to cultivate than third-rate ones, but once the essence was grasped, their combat power could rival first-rate battle techniques.

Zichen, who had previously stunned everyone, seemed very ordinary in comparison to these second-rate battle techniques with the essence grasped.

He was once again overlooked.

Miaokong's Flowing Cloud Steps had reached the level of moving with the mind, which was quite eye-catching. With the Flowing Cloud Steps, he was almost invincible, always dodging the opponent's attacks by a hair and then counterattacking.

He ultimately won.

Everyone defeated their opponents.

The top ten were decided.

But the fact that all ten had grasped the essence caused a stir among the crowd.

"Who would have thought that this year's outer disciples' assessment would be so full of hidden dragons and tigers." Chen Feng said indifferently, not sure if it was praise or sarcasm.

"Remarkable, everyone has grasped the essence. Their talent is truly outstanding." Others exclaimed in amazement.

On the platform, the Grand Elder remained calm, and the other elders were somewhat surprised but not overly so.

The list of the top ten appeared.

Wang Meng, Wu Sheng, Miaokong, Lin Xue, Ke Xue, Luo Fei, Lin Mingchuan, Liu Lusheng, Pang Lujia, Zichen.

All ten had grasped the essence of their battle techniques, but Zichen was ranked last.

Another ranking quickly appeared.

Wang Meng vs. Luo Fei, Wu Sheng vs. Lin Mingchuan, Miaokong vs. Liu Lusheng, Lin Xue vs. Pang Lujia, Ke Xue vs. Zichen.

The opponents were five ranks apart.

The second round of battles began again.

This time, the battles were clearly more intense.

"Hehe, Zichen, didn't expect it, did you? You've finally fallen into my hands." Ke Xue looked at Zichen and laughed, clenching his fists, the joints cracking.

"Didn't expect it?" Zichen said indifferently. "But since we've met, I won't forget my promise."

"Promise? What promise?" Ke Xue was puzzled.

"To beat you so badly that even your mother won't recognize you." Zichen said.

"Good kid." Ke Xue laughed in anger. "I'll keep my promise too, and beat your head into a pig's head."

Third-rate battle technique, Iron Fist.

As he spoke, Ke Xue swung his iron fists, the wind whistling as they struck Zichen fiercely.

"Roar."

A roar of a tiger, Zichen clenched his fists and delivered the Tiger Punch.

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