Mu Zibai and the other two were beaten?
And by a mysterious young man who kicked them so hard they were spitting blood from their mouths and noses?
Was that even possible?
No one knew.
No one was sure if it was true or false. Although Li Zheng and the others spoke as if it were a real event, most disciples didn't believe it. All three were Chiefs of the Twelve Courts, with formidable cultivation and strength. Mu Zibai, in particular, had established a Color Foundation and possessed a Color Spirit Guardian. How could he possibly be kicked until he was spitting blood from his mouth and nose? Even the Nine Halls' direct disciples of Yunxia Sect probably didn't have that capability, right?
Mu Zibai and Li Zheng's sides argued fiercely, the atmosphere tense as if swords were drawn and bows bent. Fortunately, as the various Elders entered, this commotion finally subsided.
With the arrival of the Elders, it signaled that the competition for the Twelve Chiefs was about to begin.
The competition for the Chief position was a major event.
The sect's Elders paid close attention. Over forty Elders and stewards from both the inner and outer gates had come. Besides Elder Ren De, who was presiding over the competition, even Elder Mu De had arrived. Of course, there were also True Person Feixue, True Person Guangyuan, and several other heavyweight chief stewards of Yunxia Sect.
The rules for competing for the Chief position were simple: when registering, one would draw lots to decide which Chief to challenge. Winning meant replacing them.
The rules were direct and cruel, but also fair. Not only could they motivate disciples, but they also made the twelve Chiefs aware that if they didn't advance, they would fall behind. If they didn't work hard, their Chief positions could be replaced at any time.
Every year, many disciples participated in the competition for the Chief position, and this year was no exception. There were over thirty, without exception almost all were disciples who had ranked high in the previous year's inner gate competition.
Speaking of these disciples who signed up to compete for the Chief position, whether in terms of cultivation or immortal arts, they were considered quite good, with strong overall abilities. Unfortunately, they still fell quite short of the level of the Twelve Courts' Chiefs.
The competition had been going on for an hour. More than half of the over thirty registered disciples had already been defeated. Among them, several disciples, after drawing lots and getting Mu Zibai or Li Zheng, simply surrendered directly after taking the stage.
This greatly disappointed Elder Ren De.
"Mu Zibai and Li Zheng's cultivation and strength are indeed formidable, but these disciples don't even have the courage to fight. They surrender directly upon drawing those two. If they drew other Chiefs, would they even dare to fight?
Participating in the Chief competition—how can it rely on luck?
Disappointing. Truly too disappointing."
Elder Ren De shook his head and sighed, unable to conceal his anger. "Disciples like these will no longer be allowed to register in the future. If they lack even the courage to fight, what use are they?"
The competition continued. Soon, several more participating disciples were defeated.
Elder Ren De shook his head and sighed again. "Again, they're just trying their luck to compete for the Chief position. How many times have we told them? The Foundation Establishment realm is different from the Innate realm. The gaps between the nine levels of the Innate realm aren't large, but in the Foundation Establishment realm, the gap between each level is like a chasm. Between the fourth and sixth levels of Foundation Establishment, it may seem like only a two-level difference, but in reality, the gap is like two mountains."
As Elder Ren De was expressing his disappointment again, not far away, Tan Siru, standing beside True Person Feixue, said with a smile,
"Junior Sister, did you hear Elder Ren De's words?
In the Foundation Establishment realm, the gap between each of the nine levels is like a chasm. Between the fourth and sixth levels of Foundation Establishment, it may seem like only a two-level difference, but in reality, the gap is like two mountains."
"What do you mean?"
Ouyang Ye, standing beside her, asked somewhat puzzled.
"Hehe, nothing much. I just want to say that your sweetheart really has no self-awareness, overestimating himself too much. Does he think that just because he can beat Li Can, he's qualified to challenge the Twelve Courts' Chiefs?
Li Can's cultivation is at the fourth level of Foundation Establishment, while Huang Yao is at the sixth level. Does he think the difference between four and six is small..." Ouyang Ye ignored her, just staring at the fight in the trial grounds.
And the fight in the trial grounds was precisely between Huang Yao and a disciple at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment.
Huang Yao's cultivation was at the sixth level of Foundation Establishment. Although there was only a one-level difference in their cultivation, the strength of the spiritual power within their bodies differed greatly. Just as Elder Ren De had said, in the Foundation Establishment realm, the gap between each level was like a mountain.
That disciple at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment was no match for Huang Yao at all. He was beaten by Huang Yao without any ability to fight back, completely dominated.
Moreover, Huang Yao's martial arts attainments were themselves very formidable. He had cultivated three martial arts to the peak of the Six-Nine realm, and all three martial arts focused on ferocity and power—either the Benlei Palm or the Heisha Palm. With one palm strike, it was either fifty-four Benlei mysteries or fifty-four Heisha mysteries. It was truly vicious.
Watching this, Ouyang Ye couldn't help but worry. She really couldn't understand why that guy Gu Qingfeng, for no good reason, had to come participate in the Chief competition.
Yes.
You have a Mutated Constitution, with a powerful physical body.
Yes, you've also cultivated the Flame Thunder Technique to Great Perfection.
But...
What use is that?
Everyone knows that spells aren't suitable for combat. If you cultivated a few different spells, that would be one thing—at least you could maneuver around. What's the use of cultivating only one spell?
If you can't defeat your opponent with the first spell you cast at the start, what awaits you is certain death.
Spells don't have the versatility of martial arts, nor the agility and sharpness of sword techniques, let alone the unpredictability of formations.
Inside the grounds!
The disciple at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment who had challenged Huang Yao was already spitting blood from his mouth and nose, but Huang Yao didn't stop. With a furious roar, he swung his arms. Brilliant light flashed—his left arm crackled with thunder, containing fifty-four Benlei forces, while his right arm was wreathed in black mist, containing fifty-four Heisha forces.
With a double palm strike—*bang!*—that disciple at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment grunted, spat blood from his mouth and nose, his clothes torn, and was sent flying sideways out of the ring, landing off the stage. His body was covered in wounds, over twenty of them.
Too vicious!
Ouyang Ye could hardly bear to look at the injured disciple, and her heart was filled with immense worry for Gu Qingfeng.
"Daring to challenge me, Huang Yao? Truly ignorant of life and death!"
In the trial grounds, Huang Yao stood with his hands behind his back, his face full of arrogance. Previously, because Li Zheng had exposed the matter of the cave dwelling, causing him to lose face, Huang Yao seemed to be deliberately trying to regain his dignity as he glared fiercely at Li Zheng and the others, shouting sharply, "I, Huang Yao, can strike with Benlei with my left hand and Heisha with my right! Under the heavens, who could injure me even slightly with a single kick!"
These words were a bit exaggerated, a bit arrogant.
But having just witnessed him use his left-hand Benlei and right-hand Heisha to beat a disciple at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment until his skin split and flesh tore, everyone knew he had the qualification to be arrogant.
"Who's the next one to challenge me?
Get up here and roll!"
On the high platform, Elder Ren De stroked the beard on his chin, nodding in praise. "I never expected this disciple Huang Yao to be able to simultaneously execute the Benlei Palm and the Heisha Palm. Quite impressive, quite impressive...
Left-hand Benlei, right-hand Heisha, both at the peak of the Six-Nine realm. With a double palm strike, its power is truly extraordinary. Our Yunxia Sect's disciples should be as creative as Huang Yao."
The surrounding Elders also nodded in approval, feeling that Huang Yao was indeed a talent worth cultivating.
Elder Ren De asked, "Who's next?"
"Gu Qingfeng!"
A steward responded.
Hearing Gu Qingfeng's name, Ouyang Ye's heart immediately skipped a beat, while Tan Siru beside her seemed to be laughing with delight.
"Oh my, oh my, Junior Sister, it's almost your sweetheart's turn to challenge Huang Yao...
It really makes one look forward to it...
I really want to see whether he'll dominate Huang Yao, or Huang Yao will dominate him..."