“He’s Luo Mu? As expected, he’s incredibly strong!”
“That’s right. I heard he could have advanced to the fourth rank long ago, but he deliberately suppressed his breakthrough to improve his chances in the first round of the qualifiers.”
“But wouldn’t that end up hurting him by the third round?”
“The third round is still a long way off. Once the first round is over, he’ll break through to the fourth rank. By the time the third round arrives, with Luo Mu’s talent and that unusual cultivation technique he practices, it’ll be more than enough to earn him a spot in the Civil and Martial Grand Tournament. After all, the first round eliminates half of the fourth-rank cultivators, and after the second round, there won’t be many fourth-rank participants left by the third.”
“Yeah. If I remember correctly, Luo Mu is the strongest among all third-rank cultivators. And the cultivation technique he practices focuses on patiently accumulating strength before unleashing it all at once. Before reaching the sixth rank, every breakthrough skips the early stage entirely and goes straight to the middle stage. That kid is probably done for.”
Listening to the whispers all around him, Chu Feng slowly raised his head, his gaze settling on the young man with the greatsword before him. Cupping his fists, he said, “I’m Chu Feng. Please enlighten me.”
Luo Mu smiled faintly, his tone relaxed. “You’re not even at the peak of the third rank yet. Let me give you a piece of advice… you aren’t my opponent. We’re classmates, after all. If you admit defeat now, you’ll spare yourself some unnecessary pain.”
“Thanks for the advice, but until we’ve fought, no one can say for certain who’ll win and who’ll lose.”
Chu Feng grinned and drew a sword forged from black iron.
He was afraid someone would recognize Little White as his Master’s sword, while the Human Emperor Sword was far too conspicuous, shining brilliantly in gold.
A person should keep a low profile.
So he had prepared more than a dozen black iron swords.
“Good! That’s the spirit!”
Luo Mu nodded in approval of Chu Feng. He removed the massive greatsword from his back, and the frigid aura surrounding him grew even denser.
Boom!
Luo Mu, wielding his massive greatsword, chose to make the first move. Despite using such a heavy weapon, his speed was anything but slow.
Chu Feng tightened his grip on his sword. The blade tore through the air, sending shattered stones on the ground flying.
Clang!
Screech!
Metal collided, erupting into a shower of brilliant sparks.
Neither of them used sword qi. This was a contest of pure physical strength. Luo Mu’s sturdy frame was as imposing as a young bull, veins bulging across his forehead.
By comparison, Chu Feng looked rather lean standing before the burly Luo Mu. Yet beneath that seemingly slender body lay astonishing vitality and power.
For a time, neither of them could gain the upper hand.
“Heh. I underestimated you. Your physique is actually on par with mine!”
As Luo Mu spoke, wisps of pale white frost qi continuously poured from his body, and a layer of white frost gradually formed over his greatsword.
“Likewise. I didn’t expect your physique to be this strong either.”
Feeling the force behind Luo Mu’s attacks, Chu Feng was inwardly astonished.
As expected of the Hundred Races Academy. There really was someone from the Human Race who had tempered his physique to a level comparable to his own.
Of course, if they were to unleash their full strength, Chu Feng still held a slight edge.
Boom!
The two separated, then immediately clashed several more times in rapid succession. They moved so quickly that some of the spectators couldn’t follow their movements at all. All they could perceive were the ringing of colliding steel and bursts of sparks flashing across the arena.
Boom!
After another fierce collision, the two figures were forced apart once more.
The sword in Chu Feng’s hand trembled lightly. He glanced at the blade.
As expected, a sword forged from ordinary black iron simply wasn’t of particularly high quality.
Luo Mu naturally noticed that the sword in Chu Feng’s hand was on the verge of giving out.
Without the slightest hesitation, he tightened his grip.
In an instant, frost spread across the blade of his greatsword. The weapon itself grew even larger, stretching to nearly ten meters in length.
***
“Luo Mu is actually getting serious?!”
The elders in the viewing stands were astonished. They had all believed Luo Mu was certain to be one of the winners of the first round. The gap between him and the other competitors was simply too great. Yet who could have imagined that another third-rank cultivator would force Luo Mu to reveal his true strength?
“If I remember correctly, this young man was personally admitted by the Vice Dean. It seems this boy is far from ordinary.”
“Let’s keep watching. We can draw our conclusions at the very end.”
Hummm!
Sword intent radiated from Luo Mu’s body.
Like the greatsword in his hands, his sword intent possessed the crushing weight of a towering mountain.
Frigid air spread through the arena, and frost began to form across the ground.
Chu Feng showed not the slightest trace of carelessness. His expression turned solemn as the black iron sword in his hand let out a clear, resonant hum.
“Haaah!”
With a furious roar, Luo Mu’s massive sword tore through the air, descending toward Chu Feng with overwhelming force.
At the same time, ice crystals rapidly condensed around the greatsword. A freezing aura surged outward, while countless glittering ice crystals and the colossal ice-clad blade crashed down with unstoppable momentum.
Chu Feng did not dodge.
His eyes remained fixed on Luo Mu’s figure.
Then—
He drew his sword.
There was no dazzling sword qi, nor any overwhelming sword intent.
There was only a single, utterly ordinary sword swing.
It was the most basic beginner’s sword technique—
Draw and Slash.
Plain and unadorned. Simple to learn.
It was the very first move every novice swordsman was taught.
Yet because it was so ordinary, the talented disciples of great clans and major sects rarely bothered learning it. From the very beginning, they trained in high-level techniques instead.
However, creating a sword technique that cultivators of any aptitude could understand and one that spread throughout the entire cultivation world was no simple feat.
Everyone seemed to have overlooked one fact:
Draw and Slash had been created by the Human Emperor.
Chu Feng himself didn’t know that the technique he had used was Draw and Slash.
It was a sword move he had suddenly comprehended while wielding the Human Emperor Sword, as though the Human Emperor Sword itself had taught it to him.
Boom!
The nearly ten-meter ice sword exploded into countless fragments, and the sword intent surrounding Luo Mu rapidly collapsed.
With a single strike, Luo Mu who had seemed invincible just a moment before was sent crashing to the ground.
Not only were the surrounding students dumbfounded, but even the elders in the viewing stands shot to their feet, their eyes filled with shock.
Draw and Slash!
It was actually Draw and Slash!
Ten breaths passed, yet Luo Mu still failed to rise.
The referee declared the result.
“The winner. Chu Feng of Heavenly Class Three!”
The instant the announcement was made, the crowd erupted into an uproar.
A dark horse!
An absolute dark horse!
Yet Chu Feng, now the center of everyone’s attention after winning the match, wore a puzzled expression.
Just now…
The moment Chu Feng came into contact with Luo Mu’s frost qi, he clutched at his chest.
To his shock, an icy aura had surged from within his own body as well!
And he recognized it immediately.
It was the black light that had emerged from the demonic stone and entered his body!
He wanted to ask Luo Mu about it, but before he could speak, Luo Mu had already been carried away from the arena.
His next match was about to begin as well.
As expected, Chu Feng won every one of his remaining matches.
Without much difficulty, he secured his place in the second round of the qualifiers.
Before long, word spread throughout the academy.
A dark horse had emerged from Heavenly Class Three.
Naturally, the victors received rewards. A high-grade medicinal pill capable of healing injuries while also increasing one’s cultivation to a certain extent.
After returning to his residence, Chu Feng looked around, only to find no one there.
Scratching his head, he muttered,
“That’s strange. Where did Sister Tiantian and the others go?”
They hadn’t even left him a message.
Taking out the reward pill, he decided to seize the opportunity to consume it and make a breakthrough in his cultivation as well.
The first round of the qualifiers had already put some pressure on him. If he continued suppressing his cultivation, it was hard to say whether he’d even make the top ten in the Civil and Martial Grand Tournament.
As soon as he swallowed the pill, its medicinal power dissolved in his stomach, and the rich spiritual energy began flowing into his body.
Breaking through was already second nature to Chu Feng.
All he had to do was carefully regulate the fusion of yin and yang qi.
Everything had been progressing smoothly.
But at the very last step—
An unexpected change occurred.
“Th-That’s the black light!?”
Perhaps it was because of his battle with Luo Mu earlier that day, but the black light that had lain dormant deep within his body suddenly erupted!
Even more shocking was that the five-colored light did nothing to stop it!
“This is bad!”
Chu Feng immediately realized something had gone terribly wrong. He tried to halt his breakthrough, but even after stopping the circulation of his true qi, it continued moving on its own under the black light’s influence.
“I’m… screwed…”
At the same time, an overwhelming wave of frigid yin energy spread throughout his entire body.
In an instant, frost formed across his skin.
Gradually, his consciousness began to fade.
His true qi was completely out of control. The Heaven-Mending Stone within his dantian showed no reaction whatsoever, and even his blood qi began to freeze.
After uttering those final words, his body could no longer support itself.
He collapsed forward.
Through his fading consciousness, he vaguely felt himself falling into someone’s embrace.
Struggling to open his eyes and see who it was, he found that his body had become so cold and stiff that he could barely even lift his eyelids.
The last thing he seemed to see…was a few strands of snow-white hair.
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