Invincible Soul Emperor

Chapter 496 Zi Xing Lost

Because there was no clear reference for who each contestant would fight next, the atmosphere suddenly grew extremely tense. However, to prevent contestants from overexerting themselves, they were forced to rest for one hour after each battle. This meant that even if it was a contestant’s turn, their match would be postponed if they hadn’t rested for the full hour. Instead, the next person in line would fight. With ten arenas operating simultaneously, this only added to the competition’s unpredictability. The less-skilled contestants, in particular, lost their confidence, not even knowing which opponent to focus on studying. After all, two consecutive defeats meant direct elimination. If they were lucky, however, even one win and one loss would ensure their ranking wouldn’t be too low.

As for the exceptionally strong contestants, they sat with their eyes closed, conserving energy, as if the forthcoming events had nothing to do with them.

Fifty contestants were gathered in the center of the ten arenas. When the host called a name, the chosen fighter would step onto their respective platform. Ye Qingchen didn’t know if it was good luck or bad, but his name was the first to be called, and he walked onto the first arena. His opponent was a Ninth Layer Martial King Realm contestant from a Seven Stars Sect. This contestant had previously been in Group A and had been lucky enough to avoid any particularly strong opponents on his way to the finals.

But upon seeing his opponent was Ye Qingchen, the contestant felt a surge of despair. After all, he had witnessed Ye Qingchen’s last match with his own eyes. He was well aware that his own strength couldn’t possibly match that of Chi Jianbai from the Eight Stars Sect. More importantly, Chi Jianbai possessed the Nine-Star Phoenix Martial Spirit, which naturally countered Ye Qingchen’s Willow Wood Martial Soul in terms of attributes. In contrast, the contestant’s own Martial Soul was an Eight-Star Earth Attribute Martial Soul, which was naturally countered by Wood Attribute Martial Souls. This made his prospects for victory even slimmer.

Ye Qingchen looked at his opponent, not underestimating him just because he came from a Seven Stars Sect. The moment the referee announced the start of the match, Ye Qingchen decisively attacked, unleashing the Wind Blade Sword Technique directly at his opponent.

Although Ye Qingchen had already revealed his Shadow-extinction Sword Technique, the exposure had been so brief that many had not seen it clearly. So, while Ye Qingchen fought, the other contestants paid close attention. They wanted to get a good grasp of his elusive Swordsmanship to come up with strategies for any potential future encounters.

Ye Qingchen was well aware of this. Now that the finals were based on a point system, he might have to face every single opponent. Therefore, he needed to be even more careful about conserving his strength to have a better chance against stronger foes.

To his opponent, however, Ye Qingchen’s move seemed like blatant mockery. You may be strong, Ye Qingchen, but you only defeated Chi Jianbai because of that peculiar Swordsmanship of yours. And now you think you can defeat a Ninth Layer Martial King Realm cultivator with a mere Earth Rank Martial Technique?

In the eyes of these high-level sects, Earth Rank Martial Techniques were valuable but not that rare; it was no exaggeration to say that almost every member possessed one. Therefore, upon seeing Ye Qingchen use the Wind Blade Sword Technique, the contestant chose to meet it head-on.

But this may have been the worst decision he had ever made.

Although Ye Qingchen was only at the Third Layer of the Martial King Realm, his physical strength and power were comparable to those at the Ninth Layer. When he used the Wind Blade Sword Technique, its destructive power was astounding. The contestant had just begun to defend when the force of the impact sent a numbing vibration up his arms.

Before the opponent could react, Ye Qingchen’s figure shifted again, moving behind him and striking with another Wind Blade Sword Technique. The contestant could never have imagined that not only was Ye Qingchen incredibly fast, but the time he took to channel Spiritual Energy for a Martial Technique was also practically zero. Only now did the contestant understand why Ye Qingchen had been able to overpower Chi Jianbai at the start of their match. Originally, he had assumed Chi Jianbai was just going easy on Ye Qingchen, but after experiencing it firsthand, the contestant finally understood how terrifying Ye Qingchen truly was.

Even so, Ye Qingchen hadn’t used the afterimages of the Fire Spirit Charm Shadow to confuse his opponent. He simply relied on his own speed and the unrelenting barrage of the Wind Blade Sword Technique to overwhelm the other contestant until he could barely breathe.

Finally, after about eight minutes and twenty uses of the Wind Blade Sword Technique, Ye Qingchen found a flaw in his opponent’s defense and blasted him off the arena with a single strike.

After his victory, Ye Qingchen returned to the contestants’ rest area to await the next round. Although he had just fought, he didn’t need to deliberately recover. With his Willow Wood Martial Soul, his recovery rate just from standing there was far beyond that of an ordinary person.

However, Ye Qingchen found it strange that Zi Xing, who was sitting near him, seemed to be in low spirits, just sitting there silently. Xiao Xiao and Xue Zhao were not with her, as they had already gone to their own matches. As Zi Xing’s junior brother, and having accidentally seen more of her than he should have, Ye Qingchen felt it was only right for him to ask what had happened. With that thought, he walked over to her side and asked with concern, "Senior Sister Zi Xing, did something happen? Or are you just nervous about your match?"

Zi Xing dejectedly shook her head. Without looking at Ye Qingchen, she spoke in a voice as faint as a mosquito’s buzz, "My first match is already over. I lost."

"What?"

Ye Qingchen was shocked. Zi Xing had lost! It wasn’t that he thought Zi Xing was invincible; what shocked him was the timing. He had been the first to fight, and his battle had ended in less than fifteen minutes. But Zi Xing had been sitting in the same spot before he left and after he returned. This meant her battle had lasted just a few short minutes before ending in her defeat.

Ye Qingchen knew that when Zi Xing was at the Eighth Layer of the Martial King Realm, she had been able to single-handedly fight a Willow Soul Tree Demon. Now that she had broken through to the Ninth Layer, she should have had few rivals within the Martial King Realm. Even if she were to lose, her opponent should have had to endure a bitter fight just to barely claim victory. Moreover, given Zi Xing’s beauty, what opponent wouldn’t want to exchange a few more moves with her? Yet despite all that, she had still lost, and so quickly!

How terrifying must the combat strength of the person who fought Zi Xing be?

It was simply unimaginable.