If Ao Li had not underestimated him and fought with spiritual artifacts from the beginning, this match would not have been so easy.
"What a waste, to be defeated by a trash at the early stage of the Yellow Realm, and still have the audacity to call himself a genius?"
On another arena, Na Lan Wuchang had once again defeated his opponent with a single move, crippling and eliminating him. Seeing Ao Li lose, he cursed disdainfully.
The top eight contenders were thus decided.
They were Na Lan Wuchang, former prince Mo Qian, young prince Liu Yifeng, Li Xuanhong, Bai Ting, Fang Ruo, Feng Qingsheng, and Xin Ci.
Among them, Xin Ci was an unexpected inclusion. His cultivation level was only at the early stage of the Yellow Realm, making him stand out.
Xin Ci's next opponent was revealed to be Li Xuanhong.
Both parties stepped onto the arena and observed each other.
Li Xuanhong had no impression of Xin Ci and couldn't figure out his background.
However, she had heard that he defeated Ao Li, which forced her to take Xin Ci seriously.
Xin Ci first swept his soul force towards Li Xuanhong and discovered that although she possessed soul force, she was only at the one-star Soul Realm.
This would not affect him significantly, so he felt slightly relieved. "Good, even if she has mental martial skills similar to charm, it won't have much impact on me."
Below the stage, Liu Mu Ming noticed Xin Ci's expression seemed off and thought, "Is that guy still agonizing over whether Li Xuanhong has charm-based mental martial skills?"
Even Mu Qingqing in the consciousness space covered her face with one hand and complained, "Although I understand that the plot might change, the male lead's personality has shifted too much. He's become almost like a wooden block solely focused on cultivation and combat."
Seeing that Xin Ci had not made a move for a long time, Li Xuanhong was also confused about what he was thinking.
Unable to wait any longer, she decided to strike first, knowing he had the strength to defeat Ao Li.
Li Xuanhong naturally dared not underestimate him and drew her mid-grade spiritual artifact, the Red Phoenix Sword.
She intended to go all out against Xin Ci.
The Red Phoenix Sword swept forward, its crimson sword energy transforming into exquisite red lotus flowers that surrounded Xin Ci.
The sharp sword energy contained within the red lotuses caused Xin Ci's skin to feel a stinging pain as if being cut, even before they touched him.
"Li Xuanhong has even unleashed the unique sword technique of Spiritual Sword Manor—the Red Lotus Sword Art. It seems she intends to deal with Xin Ci seriously."
"This match has become interesting. I wonder how Xin Ci, who also possesses a spiritual artifact and a spiritual-grade martial art, will respond?"
The spectators below were abuzz with discussion.
The power displayed by the mid-grade spiritual sword combined with a mid-grade spiritual martial art was not something Xin Ci could dodge solely with his Eight Changes of Wandering Body.
Thus, he decisively transformed the bracelet on his wrist into a cross lock.
Five cross locks formed a special chain defense around him in a tornado-like rotation.
Judgment Five Forms, Cage Style.
The red lotus sword flowers collided with the rapidly rotating cross locks, sparks flew, and continuous loud noises erupted.
However, Xin Ci eventually blocked them.
"Your weapon is actually chains!"
Li Xuanhong was somewhat surprised by Xin Ci's weapon.
The area below also erupted in noisy chatter.
"Chain-type weapons! These are difficult to control."
"When he fought Ao Li earlier, I thought that chain was a transformation-type spiritual artifact."
"However, if a chain weapon is controlled properly, it can be a formidable weapon for both offense and defense."
Xin Ci, having just blocked the attack, immediately counterattacked.
The five cross locks lunged at Li Xuanhong like agile silver snakes from five directions.
Li Xuanhong's expression changed, and she quickly swung her Red Phoenix Sword at these chains.
However, Xin Ci's cross locks, like her Red Phoenix Sword, were both mid-grade spiritual artifacts, and neither could destroy the other.
What caught her even more off guard was that there were five cross locks in total.
This was equivalent to five mid-grade spiritual artifacts attacking her from different directions.
Forced into a corner, Li Xuanhong had to use a spiritual-grade movement technique to finally evade the pincer attack of the cross locks.
However, she did not expect that Xin Ci had already anticipated her using a spiritual-grade movement technique and intentionally left an opening for her.
Ten Finger Bone Swords, Ten Absolute Sword Qi.
Xin Ci seized the opportunity as she emerged and unleashed ten sword qi simultaneously.
Li Xuanhong reacted too slowly and, in her haste, used the Red Lotus Sword Art to parry.
But who would have thought that before she could even block all ten sword qi, the five cross locks would emerge from the ground without giving her a moment to breathe?
Judgment Five Forms, Earth Roar Style!
Her Red Phoenix Sword was also struck on the blade by one of the cross locks at that moment, losing control and clattering to the ground.
Li Xuanhong, having lost her weapon, could not possibly withstand the remaining cross locks and sword qi.
Just as everyone thought Li Xuanhong would be severely injured, the cross locks spun rapidly around her, deflecting the sword qi.
After all, this was just a match, and Xin Ci had not aimed for a killing blow.
Li Xuanhong gritted her teeth, stomped her foot angrily, clearly unwilling to accept defeat.
However, she knew very well that she had lost this match and stormed off the arena in a huff.
The area below the arena fell into silence. Everyone stared blankly at Xin Ci on the stage.
"Xin Ci actually won again!"
"It seems we were all blind. Xin Ci is the biggest dark horse."
"Having defeated two prodigies in a row, perhaps only Na Lan Wuchang can suppress him."
The strength Xin Ci displayed astonished everyone.
Even Elder Gong Ci and the two senior disciples from the Azure Dragon Academy had to pay attention to him.
"This Xin Ci is indeed quite surprising," one of the senior disciples remarked.
"This young man's combat ability is outstanding. Crucially, he, at only the early stage of the Yellow Realm, could defeat someone at the peak of the late Yellow Realm. Such an ability to challenge those above his level was only possessed by Na Lan Wuxia in the past," Elder Gong Ci stated.
Xin Ci's emergence added suspense to the final winner of this trial.
The results of the remaining matches were also clear. Na Lan Wuchang had ruthlessly inflicted severe injuries on his opponent.
Former prince Mo Qian also secured an easy victory. Only young prince Liu Yifeng encountered trouble.
His opponent was Bai Ting, and their strength was comparable. After a prolonged stalemate,
the young prince ultimately emerged victorious due to his superior spear techniques.
The top four were decided: Na Lan Wuchang, former prince Mo Qian, young prince Liu Yifeng, and Xin Ci.
Seeing Xin Ci unexpectedly break into the top four, the chubby fellow Luo Fei was filled with dread.
He wished for his boss to win the championship, but he also didn't want him to win first place, as he had placed bets.
If Xin Ci's ten thousand low-grade spirit stones were to win, he would have to repay thirty thousand low-grade spirit stones.
He probably wouldn't even earn enough to pay off Xin Ci's debt.
The remaining two matches were conducted simultaneously.
Na Lan Wuchang would face young prince Liu Yifeng, and former prince Mo Qian would battle Xin Ci.
The match between Na Lan Wuchang and young prince Liu Yifeng's arena attracted more attention.
After all, this was the first time the five prodigies would face each other.