Xiao Di refused to believe it, his almost full-force strike being so easily blocked by Li Jianxing.
For a moment, his pride was wounded, and he couldn't help but continue his assault.
The Nine Dragons Golden Pattern transformed into a sky-shattering barrage of staff shadows, raining down densely around Li Jianxing.
But with every strike that fell, Li Jianxing effortlessly parried it with his sword.
Xiao Di's veins bulged with anger.
"This is impossible!"
With his mental state unbalanced, he unleashed Shenxiao Palace's advanced true meaning, the Pingtian Staff Technique.
One strike, and nine dragons roared.
The sky instantly darkened as the entire Xianwu Platform was enveloped by the staff shadows.
A single strike possessed the terrifying might to level heavens and shatter mountains and rivers!
Judging by the spectacle, this was undoubtedly the most powerful attack since the beginning of the Holy Land Martial Arts Competition.
Yet, facing this strike, not a ripple of change crossed Li Jianxing's face.
Just as the countless staff shadows were about to crush him, Li Jianxing finally moved.
A flash of brilliant light streaked past.
The myriad staff shadows were obliterated by this astounding sword light, and the Xianwu Platform instantly returned to its quiet state, all might dissipating without a trace.
In the spectator stands, a hushed silence fell, everyone staring dumbfoundedly at the changes on the Xianwu Platform.
When they finally snapped back to reality, they discovered that Li Jianxing had, at some unknown point, appeared behind Xiao Di, calmly sheathing his sword.
Except for the lords of the five great holy lands and Xin Ci, no one had seen when Li Jianxing drew his sword.
Hiss!
As Li Jianxing's long sword returned to its scabbard, Xiao Di's upper body clothing instantly turned to dust, revealing his sturdy chest.
Xiao Di felt a chill run through him and couldn't help but gasp.
He knew that Li Jianxing had shown him mercy just now, otherwise, his fate would have been far worse than just his upper garments being shredded.
In this battle, he had fully grasped Li Jianxing's strength.
In his opinion, in this Holy Land Martial Arts Competition, perhaps only Senior Brother Changyang could contend with Li Jianxing.
Therefore, Xiao Di, convinced and defeated, conceded.
"Li Jianxing of the Burial Sword Pavilion wins!"
Li Jianxing's initial display of prowess forced all the disciples of the holy lands to take notice of him.
Even the leading prodigies of the various holy lands regarded him as a formidable opponent.
Li Jianxing's demonstrated strength also surprised Xin Ci below the Xianwu Platform.
In the consciousness space, Mu Qingqing's beautiful eyes also showed a hint of brilliance, and she transmitted a message to Xin Ci: "Senior Brother Li is as formidable as ever. Based on my estimation, his current strength might even be beyond Changyang Valley Shuo's ability to defeat him."
"Senior Brother Li's strength is indeed astonishing, but now that I've disguised myself, Senior Brother Li likely won't recognize me. I only fear that if we were to meet, it would be a tough battle," Xin Ci said with a faint smile.
Concurrently, the lords of several holy lands were also discussing Li Jianxing.
Ling Qinghan said with a smile, "Holy Lord Ji, your disciple is truly astonishing. His combat power has likely reached the level of a Saint Emperor."
"Half a year ago, Li Jianxing defeated an elder of the Hidden Sword Pavilion who possessed a one-star Saint Emperor cultivation," Ji Juekong stated calmly.
Upon hearing this, the other four holy lords showed looks of surprise.
It seemed this Li Jianxing was no ordinary prodigy.
Wan Guimang immediately felt a sense of unease.
With the strength Li Jianxing had displayed, he was already a match for Changyang Valley Shuo of their holy land.
The disciples of Burial Sword Pavilion had all improved by a tier compared to the previous session.
Now, if their Shenxiao Palace wanted to obtain first place, they could only rely on Changyang Valley Shuo.
However, Wan Guimang still felt a bit resentful as he thought to himself, "Ji Juekong is too lucky. He managed to find such a genius disciple as Li Jianxing in that barren land of Dongzhou."
"Next match, Xin Yanyu of the Northern Cold Holy Land versus Mu Ci of the Killing Heart Sacred Court!"
Oh?
Upon hearing the name he was using for his disguise, Xin Ci smiled faintly.
It was finally his turn to compete.
As he stepped onto the Xianwu Platform, he found his opponent to be a beautiful young woman in green attire.
The audience below the Xianwu Platform, seeing another two rarely seen beauties take the stage, became excited and started to murmur.
"Xin Yanyu is competing this time. I heard she's a top prodigy from the Xin family, one of the ancient clans."
"The Xin family, as one of the ancient clans, has profound heritage. Xin Yanyu's cultivation talent is only slightly inferior to the Xin family's most favored daughter, Xin Huanyan."
"In comparison, the woman from the Killing Heart Sacred Court named Mu Ci is unheard of. I wonder about her strength?"
On the main platform, the lords of several holy lands were also discussing the two disciples who had taken the stage.
Ji Honghao's gaze swept towards Ling Qinghan and he said, "Holy Lord Ling, I recall that Xin Huanyan, the favored daughter of the Xin family, is also a disciple of your Northern Cold Holy Land. Why wasn't she seen at this Holy Land Martial Arts Competition?"
"Holy Lord Ji, it's not that our Northern Cold Holy Land has been holding back this disciple. It's that the Xin family is unwilling to let Xin Huanyan participate in this competition," Ling Qinghan explained.
"I've long heard that the Xin family exerts control over this favored daughter, but I didn't expect it to be this severe," Ji Honghao raised an eyebrow and said.
"Ever since Xin Li became the head of the Xin family, the reputation of this ancient clan has deteriorated significantly."
Ling Qinghan shook his head and continued, "I don't know what's going on with that girl Huanyan. Ever since the failed marriage alliance between the Xin family and the Changyang family a few years ago, Huanyan has been relentlessly pursuing someone named Xin Ci."
"Xin Ci? I've heard that name before. In recent years, the Killing Heart Sacred Court has often received assassination requests for Xin Ci."
"And the rewards for these missions have been increasing, yet no one has succeeded in assassinating Xin Ci."
"To be precise, Xin Ci has been like a ghost for the past few years, yet the Xin family still refuses to give up, continuously sending people to track him down."
Little did these two holy lords know, the Xin Ci they were discussing was on the Xianwu Platform before them, competing against Xin Yanyu.
When Xin Ci saw Xin Yanyu, a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes.
He hadn't expected someone from the Xin family to participate in this Holy Land Martial Arts Competition. His appearance was already known to everyone in the Xin family.
However, thankfully, he was currently disguised as a woman, so Xin Yanyu shouldn't be able to discover his identity.
Mu Qingqing observed the emerald green flute hanging from Xin Yanyu's waist and surmised that Xin Ci's opponent was skilled in sound attacks, using them to disrupt the opponent's mind during combat.
But she wasn't worried about such an attack affecting Xin Ci.
After all, her soul power had reached the level of an eight-star soul realm.
As long as she didn't encounter a divine soul powerhouse at the Great Emperor level, any attack that affected the soul would be ineffective against Xin Ci.
As expected, as soon as the match began.
Xin Yanyu intentionally created distance between herself and Xin Ci.
The top-grade true artifact, the Green Bamboo Flute, was brought to her lips, and she began to play an elegant and melodious tune.
Under the control of her six-star soul realm soul power, this beautiful flute music was infused with illusionary attacks, capable of drawing the consciousness of those immersed into an inescapable illusion.