95: Chapter 95 utterly defeated

Just as Ding Siyi’s defeated figure vanished from the arena, Ji Changkong stepped over ice shards and leapt onto the sixth stage.

He looked at Lu Chen, his body surging with cold air: “Senior Lu, your ‘Water Piercing Rock’ can suppress ordinary ice elements, but you might not be able to handle my ‘Force of the Harsh Winter’.”

Lu Chen’s palms were wreathed in mist: “Why don't you give it a try, Junior Ji?”

Before the words left his lips, Ji Changkong waved his hand, unleashing dozens of Winter Piercing Spikes. The ice cones whistled toward his opponent with a sharp, piercing sound.

Lu Chen remained calm, forming a spiral water shield in front of him. When the ice cones struck the shield, the spinning force of the water deflected them to both sides, where they pierced the arena floor and shattered into ice blossoms.

“The resilience of the water element is not just for defense.”

Lu Chen flicked his finger, and the water shield suddenly transformed into several high-pressure water arrows. Utilizing the cold air from the shattered ice cones, they instantly condensed into ice crystal arrows and shot back toward Ji Changkong.

Ji Changkong’s pupils constricted. He shook his arms and activated his Ice Seal Barrier. A wave of cold air surged outward from him, freezing the ice crystal arrows in mid-air.

But at that moment, the water at Lu Chen’s feet suddenly flowed against the current through the gaps in the barrier, turning into hair-thin threads of water that coiled around Ji Changkong’s ankles—the essence of ‘Water Piercing Rock’ was never about brute force.

Ji Changkong felt a chill at his ankles, and his spiritual energy flow instantly became sluggish, causing the barrier to shatter. Lu Chen had already closed the distance, and the water in his palms erupted, blasting him off the arena.

As he fell, Ji Changkong looked at the faint water mark on his ankle and finally understood: his opponent’s water element was no longer as simple as being “countered by ice.”

Following this, Qin Huang strode toward the fourth arena.

Xiao Zhan stood upon the earth and stone, sensing the heavy tremors from the ground. He said in a deep voice: “Junior Qin, how many strikes of my ‘Earths Pulse’ can your Thousand Jin Stalwart Body withstand?”

“I'll take your strikes until you admit defeat.”

Qin Huang clenched his fists, and his Protective Aura condensed into a pale golden shield on his skin. Xiao Zhan stomped hard, causing the arena floor to crack open as dozens of earth and stone spikes shot up from beneath Qin Huang’s feet.

Qin Huang did not retreat but advanced instead, unleashing the Thousand Jin Impact, slamming his shoulders and back into the cluster of spikes. With a series of loud bangs, the spikes shattered completely, but he remained unmoved.

“Interesting.”

Xiao Zhan pressed his hands to the ground, and a circular earth wall rose from the edge of the arena, trapping both of them inside.

Stone fists continuously surged from the surface of the earth wall, raining down on Qin Huang like a storm. Qin Huang raised his iron wall defense, letting the stone fists pummel him, causing golden light to scatter across his shield.

But just as he prepared to counterattack, the ground beneath his feet suddenly collapsed, revealing a hidden quicksand trap—Earths Pulse could not only predict movements but also reshape the terrain.

Caught off guard, Qin Huang sank into the quicksand. Just as he steadied himself, the earth walls closed into a cage, locking him firmly in the center.

“I admit defeat.”

Qin Huang’s voice came from the cage, tinged with a hint of unwillingness.

Solitary Blade’s Blood-Drinking Bone Blade glowed with a red light on the ninth arena.

Gu Yuan manipulated metal to form several short blades in front of him and sneered: “No matter how sharp Junior Solitary Blade's bone blade is, can it break my ‘Sharp Metal Armor-Piercing’?”

“We'll see.”

Solitary Blade swung his blade, unleashing a horizontal slash that tore through the air, shattering the short blades into pieces.

Gu Yuan’s eyes sharpened. The metal powder around him suddenly condensed into a ten-foot-long golden spear, which pierced toward his opponent with a whistling sound.

Solitary Blade did not retreat but advanced instead. His bone blade glowed with an eerie red light as he activated the Bone Blade Soul Eater. The moment the blade struck the golden spear, most of the spiritual energy on the spear was sucked away by the bone blade, and its tip instantly dimmed.

The two engaged in close-quarters combat, their blade light and golden radiance weaving into a net.

Gu Yuan’s metal weapons were unpredictable, sometimes turning into shields, other times forming chains; Solitary Blade’s bone blade, however, was ruthless in every move, consuming the opponent’s spiritual energy with every collision.

But just as Solitary Blade was about to strike Gu Yuan’s throat, Gu Yuan suddenly injected metal-element spiritual energy into the arena’s metal railings, which instantly transformed into several golden ropes that coiled around the bone blade.

Solitary Blade felt his spiritual energy stall. Gu Yuan had already closed the distance and struck his chest with a palm. The moment the bone blade hit the ground, Solitary Blade realized that the opponent’s Sharp Metal Qi had already invaded his Meridians along the blade.

Wu Xuan stepped onto the fourth arena next.

Xiao Zhan looked at the junior whose body shimmered with a metallic luster and frowned slightly: “Can your Profound Iron Bones withstand the tremors of ‘Earths Pulse’?”

Wu Xuan clashed his fists together, creating a sound like clashing metal and stone: “Senior, please, give it a try.”

Xiao Zhan stomped his foot, triggering ground tremors, and the earth and stone surged toward Wu Xuan like waves.

Wu Xuan activated Rock Standing, his feet rooted to the ground like they were planted in the earth, and remained as steady as Mount Tai despite the onslaught of earth and stone.

Xiao Zhan increased his spiritual energy output, causing the earth and stone to form giant hands around Wu Xuan, attempting to crush him.

However, Wu Xuan suddenly activated Profound Iron Tremor, causing his bones to vibrate at a high frequency. The giant hands shattered the moment they touched his body, sending gravel flying.

But Xiao Zhan had already anticipated this move. Taking advantage of the gap while Wu Xuan was vibrating his bones, he manipulated the clay underground to seep into his joints.

Wu Xuan felt a sense of sluggishness in his joints, and the frequency of his Profound Iron Tremor was instantly disrupted.

Xiao Zhan seized the opportunity, and the giant earth and stone hands closed again, this time binding Wu Xuan’s limbs firmly.

Wu Xuan struggled with all his might, sparks flying as his Profound Iron Bones collided with the earth and stone, but he could not break free—the heaviness of the earth ultimately overcame the hardness of the metal.

The mental duel between Li Menger and Ye Zi unfolded on the eighth arena.

Ye Zi sat in the center of the arena, her eyes slightly closed: “Can Junior Li's ‘Soul Dream Whisper’ break my ‘Heart Demon Illusion’?”

Li Menger’s eyes flickered as she activated Soul Dream Web: “No matter how real Senior’s illusion is, it cannot compare to the true thoughts of the human heart.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Ye Zi’s Heart Demon Illusion enveloped the arena, and countless fierce ghosts suddenly appeared before Li Menger, shrieking as they lunged at her mind.

But she remained calm, concentrating her Mental Energy into her eyes and activating the Illusion-Breaking Eyes, causing the fierce ghosts to gradually become transparent in her vision.

“You have some skill.”

Ye Zi sneered, and the illusion changed abruptly. Li Menger suddenly found herself in a bottomless abyss, the sensation of falling so real that her heart began to race.

Li Menger took a deep breath, transforming her Mental Energy into thin threads, and probed back into Ye Zi’s mind through the gaps in the illusion—if you can create illusions, I can follow the illusionary path to find your Origin.

Ye Zi’s expression changed slightly as she felt her mind being entangled by a gentle yet tenacious force, and cracks instantly appeared in the illusion.

But just as Li Menger was about to tear the illusion apart, Ye Zi suddenly detonated a portion of the illusion’s spiritual energy. The intense mental impact caused Li Menger to groan, forcing her to interrupt the Illusion-Breaking Eyes.

Ye Zi seized the opportunity to strengthen the illusion, and countless chains suddenly extended from the abyss, locking Li Menger’s mind firmly in place.

“I accept your concession, Junior.”

Ye Zi’s voice echoed in the illusion. When Li Menger opened her eyes, she realized she was already standing at the edge of the arena, and one more step back would cause her to fall.

Zhao Ya’s Scarlet Flame clashed with Su Zirui’s Heaven-Burning Flame Wave on the seventh arena.

“Senior Su, no matter how high the temperature of your ‘Heaven-Burning Flame Wave’ is, it cannot burn hotter than my ‘Scarlet Flame Prairie Fire’!”

Zhao Ya waved her hand, unleashing a wave of fire that collided with the opponent’s flame wave in the center of the arena, erupting into a sky full of sparks.

Su Zirui’s flames were searing white, causing the air to distort wherever they passed; Zhao Ya’s Scarlet Flame, however, carried a sticky quality, latching onto the flame wave and burning relentlessly, making it hard to determine a winner for the moment.

“Instead of comparing range, let’s compare precision.”

Su Zirui suddenly reined in the flame wave, and the fire transformed into several fire dragons that circled around Zhao Ya.

Zhao Ya smiled, compressing her Scarlet Flame into tiny fire needles and activating Fire Needle Piercing. The needles pierced through the gaps in the fire dragons’ scales and detonated inside the dragons.

The fire dragons exploded one after another, but Su Zirui used the cover of the explosions to close in. The flame wave in his palm suddenly surged, turning into a giant hand that reached for Zhao Ya.

Zhao Ya hurriedly activated Scarlet Flame Prairie Fire, the wave of fire sweeping across the arena in an attempt to force her opponent back. However, the temperature of Su Zirui’s flame wave far exceeded her expectations; her Scarlet Flame was gradually suppressed, and even her hair was singed and curled by the heat.

When the flame wave was about to touch the hem of her clothes, Zhao Ya decisively admitted defeat. Looking at that expanse of searing white fire, her eyes were filled with unwillingness.