020. Yan Tu Challenges in the Performance Field

020. Yan Tu Challenges in the Performance Field

"Have you heard? Lord Yan Tu has proactively challenged Qitian."

"Yeah! Wonder who will win?"

"Although Qitian has been prominent this past year, he's ultimately Rank 3. If he broke through to Rank 4, he might have a chance to win, but now, it's clear Yan Tu wants to nip him in the bud before he fully matures."

Not long ago, Yan Tu issued a mandatory challenge to Qitian.

As soon as the news spread, it immediately caused a sensation in the performance field, attracting countless attention, along with confusion or curiosity.

Yan Tu was a Rank 4 initial stage Gu Master, known as "Half the Sky of the Performance Field". Alongside Ju Kai Bei, they were called the Twin Kings of the performance field, standing proudly at the peak.

Over the years, countless demonic path Gu Masters wanting to rise up and become external clan elders of Shang Clan City had been blocked by these two, their hopes of promotion crushed.

And Qitian was currently the biggest rising star in the performance field, dazzlingly bright. He had achieved consecutive victories all along, without a single loss. Such dominance was quite rare in the history of the performance field.

Instantly, some said Qitian's prominence was too great, making the senior expert Yan Tu uneasy and wanting to eliminate him early. Others said Qitian and Yan Tu had formed some grudge.

Almost no one believed Qitian had any chance of defeating Yan Tu.

After all, Yan Tu's strength was deeply ingrained in people's minds. More crucially, one was a Rank 4 Gu Master, the other only Rank 3; there was a huge gap in cultivation level.

In Gu Master cultivation, the higher the rank, the greater the disparity between ranks, and the lower the possibility of challenging across ranks.

"Hehe, Yan Tu is mandatory challenging me? Shang Yan Fei's intention is likely behind this!" Qitian understood Shang Yan Fei was suppressing him.

Speaking of which, it was related to the batch of Gu worms Qitian sold in large quantities when he first arrived in Shang Clan City.

At that time, the one managing the shops was Shang Zi Zhu, one of the Shang Clan young masters. This young master later discovered Qitian, a newcomer carrying huge funds, while reviewing the accounts.

Therefore, before Qitian established his foothold, Shang Zi Zhu secretly suppressed him, deliberately raising prices when Qitian later made purchases in the shops.

Qitian didn't bother arguing with him at the time. Later, after Qitian gained fame in the performance field, Shang Zi Zhu restrained himself considerably. However, not long ago, during the Shang Clan young master assessment, Qitian plotted against Shang Zi Zhu, leading to his demotion.

Qitian scheming against a Shang Clan young master not only made the other young masters more wary of him but also inevitably invited suppression from Shang Yan Fei.

Of course, this was both suppression and a test. Shang Yan Fei wouldn't abandon a genius with huge potential for an unworthy son.

Based on Qitian's performance, dominating the performance field in the future was only a matter of time; after all, Qitian was so young yet already showed such prowess.

And Qitian's background was naturally investigated thoroughly by Shang Yan Fei: adopted son of a hunter, became a Gu Master through an inheritance, reached his current stage through his own efforts. This made Shang Yan Fei appreciate his talent.

Sending Yan Tu to challenge him was precisely to test the true extent of Qitian's potential.

As for Qitian, he was naturally confident in handling this situation; otherwise, he wouldn't have schemed against a Shang Clan young master in Shang Clan City.

That Shang Zi Zhu, in Qitian's previous life, also lost his young master position around this year, though Qitian didn't know the specific reason.

Qitian guessed it was related to the newly promoted young master, Shang Ya Zi. Both were narrow-minded and petty individuals, rumored to be at odds. In that sense, Qitian had inadvertently helped Shang Ya Zi by scheming against Shang Zi Zhu.

Speaking of this Shang Ya Zi, he was also quite tragic. In the original story, just a year after taking the position, he encountered Fang Yuan and was scammed out of a huge sum of primeval stones. Later, when Fang Yuan wanted to prop up Shang Xin Ci, he was schemed against by Fang Yuan again and lost his young master position.

As for why Yan Tu was arranged and not Ju Kai Bei, it was because Qitian's ranged combat ability was strong, and he had the advantage of flight, completely countering Ju Kai Bei who was a melee Gu Master.

Time passed quietly, and soon, the moment for Qitian and Yan Tu's battle arrived.

In this super-large performance arena, a carpet of green grass was laid out.

This was grassland terrain, very common in the Northern Plains.

Around the arena, the spectating Gu Masters formed a sea of people in a circle, all focusing their gazes on the two protagonists in the center.

On the field, Qitian and Yan Tu stood facing each other.

Yan Tu was an old man with a head of messy, dry, long hair.

He was skinny as firewood, barefooted. Both his fingernails and toenails were long uncut, curved and long.

The clothes on his body were tattered, and his back was hunched, resembling an old beggar by the roadside.

"Hehehe, the little brat is quite good-looking," Yan Tu sized up Qitian, his voice hoarse.

Qitian retorted, "Old disrespectful fellow."

"Little brat, so impolite," Yan Tu chuckled dryly, rubbing his ten fingers together. "Looks like I need to let you know how important it is to respect your seniors."

"Verbose," Qitian said, his expression turning serious, but his eyes were fixed tightly on Yan Tu, ready for battle.

Clang.

A soft chime announced the start of the battle.

Blade Qi Gu!

Dan Fire Gu!

Almost simultaneously, Qitian and Yan Tu attacked each other instantly.

Three streaks of blade qi and three clusters of orange-red dan fire shot towards each other simultaneously.

Bang.

One streak of blade qi and one cluster of dan fire collided mid-air, dissipating simultaneously, ending in a draw.

Whether it was Qitian's Blade Qi Gu or Yan Tu's Dan Fire Gu, both were Rank 3 level, making them hard to distinguish in power.

'Unless I use other auxiliary Gu worms. But doing so increases my primeval essence consumption. This battle has only just begun...'

To conserve primeval essence, only close combat would do. Mind made up, Qitian activated his movement Gu and charged forward.

Nimbly dodging the incoming dan fire, he occasionally blocked unavoidable fireballs with his blade.

"Want to fight close range?" Yan Tu instantly understood Qitian's intention. He wasn't skilled in close combat; if Qitian got close, he'd be in trouble. With a cold laugh, he stepped rapidly, dodged the attack, and simultaneously started running.

Although Rank 4 and an ostentatious Fire Path Gu Master, Yan Tu's fighting style was crafty and seasoned. Activating his movement Gu, he continuously retreated.

His index finger tapped repeatedly, sending clusters of dan fire in a dense barrage towards Qitian.

Qitian, unwilling to show weakness, stepped continuously while simultaneously wielding his jade blade.

For a time, the two were seen running across the vast grassland, chasing each other. Both dodged while attacking continuously.

The spectators around the performance field gradually became moved.

"Unexpectedly, Qitian is actually so strong, able to fight Lord Yan Tu so intensely."

"Whether in close combat or ranged, movement or defense, Qitian displays solid fundamentals and perfect coordination."

In the crowd, Wei Yang hid himself, watching the match seriously.

Simultaneously analyzing: "Rank 3 and Rank 4, there's definitely a gap in primeval essence. Although Yan Tu is Rank 4, he only has B grade aptitude. Qitian has the advantage of A grade aptitude's essence recovery, plus Qitian reducing essence consumption through close combat attempt, allowing him to contend with Yan Tu's Rank 4 cultivation. He's probably conserving essence now, saving it for a killer move."