The Final Eight

Looking at Cheung Chan Tin’s martial arts attack, it was impossible for Gao Yan not to feel a rush of adrenaline. Their friendship was obvious to the onlookers, and neither expressed an intent of seriously harming the other, but it would be impossible for them to get through the fight unscathed.

The Qi Thorns on top of Cheung Chan Tin’s knuckles looked exactly like knuckle dusters made from energy, and they were moving towards Gao Yan at a frightening speed, aiming for his head, ready to pummel into his jaw with the force of a thousand suns.

Gao Yan moved back slightly to increase the time before the impact. In his hand, a swirl of qi was spinning around turning itself into a great ball of qi. As the ball reached palm-size, it suddenly started to flatten itself and transformed into a shield, which Gao Yan hoisted forth as he rushed towards Cheung Chan Tin.

A loud bang resounded, reverberating through the air as the Qi Knuckle Dusters hit against Gao Yan’s protective shield. Both young men stumbled back while contending hard to keep their balance.

Cracks appeared all over Gao Yan’s Qi Shield. He hid it beneath a sleeve, as his arm was stuck in a strange shape. Cheung Chan Tin did not look to be in any better condition. A small line of blood was dripping down the corner of his mouth.

Although both of the young men were battered, neither seemed ready to forfeit and slowly got back into position. This time Cheung Chan Tin took a defensive stance, while Gao Yan was getting ready to attack.

Gao Yan and Cheung Chan Tin had grown up in a part of town where only the strong survived. These children grew up with nothing but their fists and kicks as their style of fighting. Naturally, a lack of rules and a formless style followed this growth.

The skills these two youngsters had learned attested to exactly that type of fighting. Gao Yan mustered forth the same knuckle dusters on his fists. Like Cheung Chan Tin, the formed qi possessed the same slightly gray shine of low purity.

Everyone observing the scene held their breath, as Cheung Chan Tin released a shield similar to what Gao Yan had used earlier, and the two readied for yet another clash.

Silence filled the air as no one said a word. The seated audience was on the edge of their chairs observing the two young boys in the arena with bated breath.

Usually, the fights would be decisive and ruthless, yet today two young men had a no-holds-barred sparring match. A match where it did not matter who won as both would benefit from the outcome.

Even the entirety of the martial arts-involved audience had gained a profound understanding of the two martial arts skills the two combatants were using during this match. They would most likely be copied later on.

Both the Qi Shield and the Qi Thorns were considered low-ranked martial arts skills; nevertheless, both of them caused considerable damage to the opponent.

A bang much larger than the first thundered through the air. The impact was so hard that a shockwave filled up and went beyond the stage. Both youngsters were sent flying backward from the ricochet.

This time, it was Gao Yan who was wiping away blood from the corner of his mouth while Cheung Chan Tin was unable to move his right arm.

“I forfeit,” rang through the silence, as Cheung Chan Tin managed to climb back up. For the audience, it was obvious to see that during both encounters Gao Yan had inflicted more damage to his friend than what he, himself, had taken.

When Cheung Chan Tin had called out his forfeit, the entire audience stood up and applauded the youngsters. Although these high-ranked experts and their families admired the students capable of winning desperate battles, they also enjoyed watching a good old sparring match where two friends were willing to put their all on the line; this was the way real cultivators showed respect.

Both Gao Yan and Cheung Chan Tin were smiling widely and leaning on each other as they got ready to walk towards the infirmary. Both seemed exhausted but satisfied with the way that the fight ended.

As Gao Yan was together with Cheung Chan Tin, Hui Yue and the others stayed behind, showing him a thumbs up before they quickly returned to watch the following match. This match was between Wang Ju Long and Rong Ming.

Where the previous fight had been one of mutual friendship and respect, this one about to unfold was one that, according to theory, should be a walk in the park for Rong Ming.

Nevertheless, Rong Ming’s face did not sprout a smile as he entered the arena, nor was he showing any arrogance or superiority as he looked at his opponent. This caution alone was proof to others just how much of a genius Wang Ju Long was.

Wang Ju Long and Rong Ming faced each other on the stage. Neither were preoccupied with the audience nor the judge who was there to ensure that everything went according to the rules. Their entire focus was on the other.

A slight nod was all the two showed each other as respect. After a second, both took a defensive stance. As soon as the announcer’s voice rang through the air urging the fighters to begin, a strong wind blew into the air, allowing it to gather around a whirlwind of qi within Wang Ju Long’s hand. The whirlwind grew in size, and within less than a second, Wang Ju Long was once again covered by his evolved Qi Lightning skill.

Hui Yue could not help but sigh in praise as this skill had evolved into a skill which provided both defense and offense. Lan Feng shared with him that it was indeed a skill worthy of being considered a treasure for a family such as the Wang family. It was a skill he, himself, did not yet possess.

Rong Xing and Rong Ming were from the Rong family. Although this family’s leader was currently the City Lord, they had not always been such a prominent family. In fact, it was Lord Rong Liang who had managed to bring his declining Rong family from being relatively poor to substantially increased assets before suddenly becoming the City Lord. He took over the position from the Wang family who had allowed their assets to decline in recent times.

Today the match was not only about two students who were facing off against each other, nor was it about two geniuses from the younger generation. This match was a match between the previous City Lord’s family and the current one.

The audience was certain that the tension, which could be felt between these two youngsters, was due to their eagerness to win and to prove which family had the best foundation for the position of City Lord.

What the audience could not understand was the actual reason behind this sudden hostility. Every time Wang Ju Long looked at Rong Ming, he did not think about how his family once had been the City Lord’s family. For him, this did not matter.

Wang Ju Long had grown up within the Wang family while it was a high-ranked noble family within the city. He had never experienced living in the City Lord’s mansion. Due to this, he had no hostility towards the current City Lord.

What he did mind was that every time he saw Rong Ming, he was reminded of the fight against Hui Yue; reminded of how his pride had been tarnished. To Wang Ju Long, Rong Ming was nothing more than a stepping stone on the way to fight Hui Yue once again.

Wang Ju Long had no intention of making the first move. He was being protected by his whirling Qi Lightning, causing Rong Ming to swear slightly. Quick as an arrow Rong Ming moved towards his opponent, both silent and swift as the wind.

Seeing Rong Ming approaching, a focused expression etched onto Wang Ju Long’s face and a bolt of Qi Lightning shot out from the hurricane, aimed towards the rushing Rong Ming.

As he sensed the danger coming, Rong Ming relied on his instincts as he dipped down, rolled on the floor and used the speed to jump back up. In doing so, Rong Ming managed to avoid the first of the Qi Lightning Bolts, while the distance between the two had significantly narrowed down.

While Rong Xing used small daggers, Rong Ming used a martial arts attack skill known as Qi Sword. Much like the name suggested, it provided Rong Ming with a pearl-white sword.

This sword was created by white qi. Although this qi had no hints of gray, it did not light up with the same kind of shine and luster which could be seen on Wang Ju Long and Hui Yue.

Lightning bolt after lightning bolt shot out from the defensive qi barrier only to be met by Rong Ming’s Qi Sword. Upon impact, both the sword and the lightning bolt would explode with force, but this force was easily dodged by Rong Ming as he sidestepped, and dived around the stage.

As they watched the fight from the outside, the audience's shocked expressions were evident. Although Rong Ming was known as a peerless genius who had broken into the Practitioner rank at the age of fifteen, he was currently struggling against a ten year old child.

A ten year old child who had broken through the barrier into the Disciple rank at this age was also considered an incredible achievement.

Rong Ming gritted his teeth as he realized his current plan was making no progress and instead sidestepped all the Qi Lightning Bolts sent his way. He rushed straight for Wang Ju Long who was currently protected by the whirlwind surrounding him.

Thick threads of qi were gushing out of Rong Ming. They merged with the sword in his hand, transforming it into a bigger and heavier sword which he swung with all his might.

As the sword landed, the whirlwind sparks of Qi Lightning were sent everywhere, causing a fluctuation to appear within. Eventually both whirlwind and sword collapsed. The whirlwind became unsteady before the wind slowly died down, and only seven Qi Lightning Bolts appeared next to Wang Ju Long.

Watching this caused Hui Yue’s eyes to narrow; just as he expected Wang Ju Long had lost, he noticed that the sword within Rong Ming’s hand had cracked into small pieces.

As a student practicing with qi weapons, Hui Yue knew exactly what this meant. Having a broken qi weapon meant that it could not be recalled before the student had re-absorbed the qi which had been spent.

Wang Ju Long, on the other hand, had also lost his whirlwind. Unlike what Hui Yue had expected, a smile rose on Wang Ju Long’s face. His arms spread out beside him revealing twenty sparkling Qi Lightning Balls, all of them bustling with energy and ready to be unleashed at any time.

Looking at these Qi Lightning Balls, a wry smile appeared on Rong Ming’s lips as he knew that he had lost. Even though Rong Ming was much stronger when it came to raw strength he had given Wang Ju Long far too much time to create one Qi Lightning bolt after another. No matter how strong he was, as long as he relied on his lower dantian, an attack from twenty Qi Lightning Bolts would be enough to damage him severely.

“I forfeit,” Rong Ming sighed as he shrugged his shoulders. In a way, he was not sad that he had lost as he looked at Hui Yue. Currently, the smaller youth was watching Wang Ju Long with sparkling eyes and a bloodthirsty smile sprawled across his mouth. It was obvious that Hui Yue wanted to fight Wang Ju Long more than anything else.

Hearing that the son of the City Lord was the one to forfeit stunned everyone present. They discussed what kind of influence this would have on the future. Some nobles considered changing factions to join the Wang family. Others said that Rong Ming had not used his full potential as he did not wish to injure a weaker opponent.

After this fight, only one remained. However, what Hui Yue cared about was the fact that he was now within the top eight. So was Wang Ju Long.

Blue eyes locked onto black eyes, as the two youth faced each other tacitly. Neither willing to give in and look away, but at the same time ordering the other to do so.

“You better not lose the next matches,” Wang Ju Long mouthed before turning around and walking the opposite way towards his brother and family.