I Pick up a Lost Godhood

Chapter 211 - 209: Rogue Tactics

As Suo Ming fell, Pang Dong’s Great Sword CLANGED to the ground. He desperately held himself up, his legs trembling. Just then, Suo Ming twitched on the ground, giving Pang Dong a fright. ’Does he still have some strength left?’

Suo Ming lay on the ground, his body numb. Not only was his Elemental Power depleted, but his physical stamina was also completely exhausted. He had met his match. Defensive Body Cultivators had their own weakness: insufficient attack power. They couldn’t launch a desperate, life-risking attack—they weren’t even given the opportunity—which was why the fight had devolved into a stalemate.

He had wanted to drag the fight into a draw, but no matter how strong his will, even if he wasn’t afraid to die, he couldn’t change the outcome. Toward the end of the fight, Pang Dong had realized this. Although he was a Power Cultivator, he couldn’t land a fatal blow on Suo Ming. His only option was to rely on his superior Elemental Power to win a war of attrition.

In the end, Pang Dong’s strategy was a resounding success. However, winning in such a manner did nothing to display the might expected from one of the Upper Three Halls.

Instead, it was Suo Ming who received the loudest cheers. Suo Ming had to be carried off the stage, while Pang Dong had to be supported by others.

Toward the end, their fight was devoid of any technique, boiling down to pure attrition. Fortunately, Pang Dong remained calm and never gave Suo Ming an opening to risk it all. Suo Ming had sought an opportunity for mutual destruction more than once. The moment he stepped offstage, Pang Dong was struck by a wave of lingering fear. ’The guys from Thunderlight Hall are all lunatics, complete psychos! It’s just a grand competition, yet all they can think about is taking their opponents down with them. If that’s not crazy, what is?’

’If I had gotten the slightest bit anxious and fallen into his trap, I would have been done for.’

Suo Ming, for his part, was furious with himself. If he had just one attack that aimed for mutual destruction, he wouldn’t have been worn down like that.

But Suo Ming was not the type of person who would use words to anger and provoke an opponent.

One to one.

Immortal Origin Hall had evened the score. Although it was an ugly win, the Immortal Origin Hall disciples were still thrilled. Unconsciously, they no longer saw Thunderlight Hall as a vastly inferior opponent.

Suo Ming’s Combat Technique was clearly inferior to Pang Long’s, but a Body Cultivator’s strength lay in defense. Defense relied primarily on willpower and patience, two things Suo Ming had demonstrated to the absolute extreme.

From Pang Dong’s weakened state, you could tell just how difficult that fight had been.

This was also a wake-up call for the other Sub-Halls that had lost. It was a huge mistake to try and fight recklessly against Thunderlight Hall; that was falling right into their trap. If you looked at the matches that had been won against them, they were all victories achieved by playing it safe and steady, leveraging one’s own advantages to secure the win.

If you rushed to finish your opponent and exposed an opening, the people from Thunderlight Hall were like leeches—they would latch on and deliver a fatal blow.

Liangyuan had noticed this keenly and immediately gave a reminder to Mozhi, who was up third.

Mozhi, a Bow Cultivator. His opponent was Zhou Qian.

Zhou Qian knew this match was crucial. If he couldn’t fight to a victory, Hu Jing would have to take his place. And Hu Jing’s injuries were recovering even more slowly than Zhang Xiaojiang’s.

Mozhi knew just as well how crucial this match was. Liangyuan had just pulled him aside and made it perfectly clear: as long as he secured the win, nothing else mattered.

Thunderlight Hall was not as weak as they had imagined. In fact, they were even stronger than the highest estimates.

Having already suffered one loss, and seeing what happened to Hann Li and Pang Dong, if Immortal Origin Hall still acted carelessly, they would likely repeat the mistakes of the five Sub-Halls before them.

It would be utterly foolish to cling to worthless pride at a time like this.

They had Li Tianyi to thank for that. His one sword strike had shattered all of Liangyuan’s arrogance.

Mozhi understood Liangyuan’s intentions perfectly and was prepared to carry them out to the letter. Immortal Origin Hall could not afford another loss.

Zhou Qian stepped onto the stage intending to fight to the death, hoping to take down at least one opponent. However, for the first time, he discovered that it wasn’t always so easy to go all out. He ran into the same problem as Suo Ming: when a stronger opponent refuses to face you head-on, instead adopting a strategy of attrition and delay—even sacrificing attack opportunities to avoid showing any openings—it truly left Zhou Qian feeling like he had all the strength in the world but no way to use it.

Mozhi’s strategy was simple. As a Bow Cultivator, his attack range was greater than that of a Technique Cultivator, and he used this advantage to constantly maintain his distance. This was a tactic usually employed against a stronger opponent, and of course, it was also a bit shameless.

If Thunderlight Hall had used such a tactic, it would have been understandable. But coming from Immortal Origin Hall, one of the Upper Three Halls, it immediately drew a wave of mockery from the crowd.

The jeers from those weaker than them were one thing; they could be ignored like the buzzing of mosquitoes. But some of the taunts were coming from Dao Guang Hall and Lingyin Hall. That was much harder to stomach.

People are people, after all. They always care about the opinions of those more powerful than themselves.

"Look, Immortal Origin Hall is already scared. They’re resorting to shameless tactics."

"Winning like this is just pathetic."

"And they think they can beat Lingyin Hall like this? They must be dreaming."

"I think Li Tianyi completely broke Immortal Origin Hall. They used to have some dignity, but now even that’s gone."

All kinds of sarcastic remarks reached the ears of the Immortal Origin Hall disciples, each one feeling like the prick of a needle.

Having come this far, Thunderlight Hall had completely turned public opinion around. At the start, they had undoubtedly been the target of the most criticism. But today, at this stage, it was their opponents’ turn to "enjoy" it all.

Especially since Immortal Origin Hall was being so disappointing, so... unmanly.

Mozhi was about to explode with rage. ’Normally, who would dare make such brazen remarks about Immortal Origin Hall?’ They weren’t just insulting him, but also his Senior, and by extension, Immortal Origin Hall itself. In any other situation, he would have fought them to the death. ’It’s not like only Thunderlight Hall is fearless. It’s just one life—who’s afraid of who!’

But he had to remain calm. To put it bluntly, Thunderlight Hall had made it this far as a pack of desperate fighters who put their lives on the line. And you had to hand it to them, they were damn good at it. In terms of strength, most of their past opponents had been stronger than them, but when it came to life-and-death gambles, no one could beat them.

Liangyuan had told him to endure.

’Even Senior can endure it, so what can’t I?’

The fact that Immortal Origin Hall had to avoid Lingyin Hall at all costs had become one of the biggest jokes in the Holy Hall. Only they themselves knew the pain of that humiliation, so what was a little more mockery?

Once he came to this realization, Mozhi became even more composed. The more desperately Zhou Qian tried to close the distance, the more Mozhi evaded. A Bow Cultivator’s range was greater than a Technique Cultivator’s, and his own power was superior to Zhou Qian’s. He had absolutely no intention of giving Zhou Qian the chance to use his life-risking trump card; a Bow Cultivator was the perfect counter to such tactics.

From Thunderlight Hall’s corner, sighs of disappointment could be heard from time to time. Zhou Qian was pressing his attack against Mozhi, looking powerful and dominant, but he just couldn’t achieve any concrete results. Worse, his ferocious assault was consuming a massive amount of his Elemental Power. And one had to remember, today was Immortal Origin Hall’s lucky day.

It had to be said, today taught everyone in Thunderlight Hall a harsh lesson. What were they supposed to do when opponents stronger than them got serious, especially when those opponents were willing to cast aside their pride?

"Thunderlight Hall is in trouble," Yang Ying said, a touch of anxiety in her voice.

’It seems Immortal Origin Hall is smarter than all of us.’

"Senior Sister, Immortal Origin Hall’s tactics are so shameless! There’s no glory in winning like this."

"Yeah! For one of the Upper Three Halls to fight like that... I look down on them!"

Unconsciously, Flying Phoenix Hall had also started siding with Wang Meng and his group. When Gao Dandan saw Suo Ming fall, she was as anxious as if she had been the one hurt. Her sisters didn’t tease her, though. After all, who didn’t want to find a compatible cultivation partner to make the long road ahead less lonely?

Words couldn’t kill. Mozhi steadily suppressed Zhou Qian, stubbornly refusing to give him a single opening. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)