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Chapter 287: Internal Strife

After hearing Yang Qing’s reply, Xiao Budian was taken aback. After a split second, he gave Yang Qing’s back a hard smack, “there’s no such thing as admitting defeat before the start of a match!”

“He isn’t my opponent” came the reply

“Since we’re all from the same sect, there’s no point in carrying on with the match if we’d all known that I’d lose”

Lin Feng’s gaze turned to Yang Qing, “Without really competing, who’d know the outcome? Even if you know that you are weaker, the least I expect is the courage to fight”.

“Besides, there’re always lessons to learn from defeat”

“Sorry master, I was ignorant” said Yang Qing as he turned to face Yue Hongyan. “Senior, it’s my honour”.

“Please” replied Yue Hongyan.

The duo walked into the ring abreast.

From behind, Xiao Budian suddenly shouted, “Fifth senior! Fight well! You can admit defeat if you really cannot handle her!”

“As*hole!” rebuked Yang Qing as he turned around and stabbed his finger towards Xiao Budian’s direction. Cheeky Xiao Budian pretended not to hear anything.

Zhu Yi and the rest shook their heads in silence. Even so, Xiao Budian was not exactly wrong. The duo were from the same sect, had trained together and had no animosity between them. There simply was nothing wrong with surrendering.

Inside the ring, Yue Hongyan grinned at Yang Qing, “Fift junior, take up your position. I’m ready”.

In a flash, she charged towards Yang Qing. The Black Ember Pole-Ax left a trail like a meteor as it struck atYang Qing.

Despite sharing the same roots, there was clearly no mercy in Yue Hongyan’s intent.

Yang Qing knew Yue Hongyan’s tactics. She was a straightforward warrior who put pressure on her opponents from the very start, not suppressing her strength right from the beginning. Given her blunt character, she was not one to let Yang Qing dictate the fight and utilize his strengths. Letting the opponent run out of tactics to use was not something Yue Hongyan would do.

Yang Qing therefore readied his defence from the outset, it was after all his strength.

The Grand Moon Primordial Water emerged in a flash of brilliance to counter Yue Hongyan’s attack. The Imperius Grand Moon Curse was not solely to counter magic, it was adept at blocking Divine Martial Ways too. Upon contact with the weapon, the Primordial Water began to emulate Yue Hongyan’s magical powers.

In an instant, Yue Hongyan felt her control of her weapon falter. Her own powers were fluctuating and she knew that was the work of Yang Qing’s magic. Yet she could not differentiate which powers belonged to her and which came from Yang Qing.

All the magical powers felt alike to her, no matter how much she chose to release, Yang Qing would interfere.

Her once powerful and aggressive attacks became light and weak. Yang Qing’s magic had worked. Under Lin Feng’s tutelage, Yue Hongyan had mastery over the intricacies of power manipulation, but after the counter from Yang Qing, she was awed beyond measure, “He might be quiet usually, but he sure has some wicked hidden power”.

Yue Hongyan’s eyebrows peaked and within her eyes flashed a bright flame.

She tightened her grip on the pole-ax. A bright red aura emanated from her body as she activated her Avici Infernal Gale.

The Gale enveloped the pole-ax as Yue Hongyan maneuvered it like an extension of her arm, culminating in a powerful swing towards Yang Qing.

Yang Qing displayed the same magic once again, and was able to imitate Yue Hongyan’s power, but was unable to mimic the magic from the Avici Infernal Gale.

Yang Qing was momentarily flustered. “Am I unable to mimic the power of a legendary wind?”

“By the looks of it, I won’t be able to mimic the seven primordial flames and the six primordial waters as well..”

“After I surpass the foundation establishment stage, will I have a breakthrough in my improvement?” Yang Qing was momentarily lost in thought. He glided backwards, narrowly avoiding the attack. As the Imperius Grand Moon Curse lost its use, so did Yang Qing lose his confidence to stage a counter attack.

Yang Qing’s lapse created a window of opportunity for Yue Hongyan to step up her offense, which she did ferociously. Wave after wave of relentless attacks left Yang Qing completely on his toes.

Among all of Lin Feng’s disciples, Yue Hongyan was the most battle-worn while Yang Qing was the least experienced. Thus when Yue Hongyan took on the active offense, it left Yang Qing bereaved of any chance of victory.

“Master was right, there are indeed lessons in defeat” thought Yang Qing.

Perhaps it was the fact that the duo was from the same sect that made Yang Qing at peace with himself. He calmly collected his thoughts, “I’m no match in terms of variations and adaptations. She definitely wouldn’t let me drag this fight until I see a turning point”

“I guess the only option is to fight fire with fire. I’ll go head to head with her and stop avoiding her attacks. It’s a rather futile option, but the best option nonetheless.”

Yang Qing mustered a gust of courage and roared up every ounce of magical power in his body, throwing out a gargantuan surge of Grand Moon Primordial Water with the Grand Moon Flash Flood Mantra. His attack was clear – straight towards Yue Hongyan.

Yue Hongyan smiled, “At least he’s a man of courage”. She stopped in her tracks and gathered every single inch of Avici Infernal Gale behind her pole-ax, swinging down with every muscle in her body. The combined attacks culminated in a blast that sent both parties flying out of the ring. It seemed like a draw.

“Senior, you’re truly formidable. I admit defeat” said Yang Qing with a sheepish smile. Despite giving it his all, Yang Qing was only able to come to a tie with Yue Hongyan. On the other hand, Yue Hongyan had still not displayed her true powers. Asking to continue the battle to decide the victor would be a brazen act of arrogance on Yang Qing’s part.

Truth to be told, despite her blunt and directed attacks, Yue Hongyan still fought with a sense of mercy. Without it, she would have entered the ring and used the Space-destroying Spear Technique from the outset to destroy Yang Qing.

Yang Qing had given his best for this fight, and had no regrets.

Outside the ring, the Immortal Soul stage elders watching the fight all nodded in agreement. Every member of the Celestial Sect of Wonders was truly a wonder. If Yang Qing had not met his senior in this round, he was likely to advance to the next.

Zhu Yi sighed, “What a pity for Fifth junior, if only he had mastered the foundation establishment stage, he would have forced out fourth junior’s Space-destroying Spear Technique and have had more of a fight”.

Xiao Budian added grumpily, “What a lousy draw, if he were to meet anyone else, he’d stroll into the semi-finals”.

Wang Lin shook his head, “Not necessarily, that Shi Shaogan is no push-over”.

The quarter finalists’ gaze were all upon Yang Qing. Dao Yuting, Zhamu Zeluo and the rest all looked at him with uncertainty. Apart from Shi Shaogan who might have no big problem, the rest of the quarter finalists all questioned what would happen if it were them competing instead of Yue Hongyan. Would they be able to take on Yang Qing?

No one dared to think any further.

They all secretly rejoiced that the draw was as such. For if the disciples of the Celestial Sect of Wonders were to be split up, it was highly possible for all three of them to enter the semi-finals.

Such a terrifying scenario would make the competition seem like a training session for the Celestial Sect of Wonders and would definitely put everyone else to shame.

The Aurous Core and Nascent Soul stage elders from the various sects all eyed Lin Feng in a different light. The man in purple-blue robes standing in front of them had single-handedly created such a powerful sect!

Next up for the match was the fight between Shi Shaogan and the man from the Purple Clouds Sect.

The crowd of Purple Clouds Sect disciples were hoping for a breakthrough. Alas, the match ended in a one-sided victory for Shi Shaogan.

Even so, this fight had forced him to reveal his true prowess. It was the pinnacle technique of the Great Qin Empire – the Secret Manual of the Five Imperial True Dragons. When fully mastered, this technique would summon five beams of light that would transform into five dragons, enveloping the skies.

Throughout the tournament, he had been displaying the techniques of the Imperial Crimson Dragon, but this fight made him showcase his Imperial Yellow Dragon technique. He revealed another two moves, showing his competency and talent.

Lin Feng seemed pleased to see this man, “What a true talent the Great Qin Empire has”.

From the corner of his eye, Lin Feng could see Prince Anliang smiling intently, clearly satisfied by Shi Shaogan’s performance. “So Shi Shaogan is related to the prince” thought Lin Feng.

For the final quarter-final match, Huo Chen of the Huo Family strode nonchalantly towards the ring, stared straight at Wang Lin, and continued into the ring.

Wang Lin returned the cold stare and made his way into the ring.

Lin Feng could see that Huo Xiu seemed nonchalant towards the fight, his attention given to the Sea of the Northern Wind.

Inside the ring, Huo Chen glared at Wang Lin and commented, “I have to admit that your juniors are indeed very strong. Your sect has truly produced a few strong warriors”

“But the question here is a matter of age. They have attained such a level of mastery despite being in their early twenties. How old are you? Thirty? Forty?”

“After so many years of practice and you can’t even compare yourself to two young kids?” mocked Huo Chen as he drew his sword from his sheath. “Let me see if you’ve been living all this while for nothing.”