14: Take first place

Jiang Donghua stood on the arena, his gaze sweeping over the young man opposite him.

"Red Rock City, Chen Yan."

The opponent cupped his fists, and crimson Dou Qi surged around him, clearly indicating he was also a Fire Attribute practitioner.

Jiang Donghua nodded slightly.

"Black Iron City, Jiang Donghua."

Elder Wang lightly tapped his peach wood staff.

"Begin!"

Before his words faded, Chen Yan had already made his move.

His fists were as red as branding irons, bringing with them scorching heatwaves.

"Fire Fist!"

Several gasps of surprise immediately rose from below the stage.

This fist technique had clearly achieved three-tenths of its true essence, making it a superior Yellow Rank High-Tier Dou Technique.

Jiang Donghua, however, remained motionless.

Just as Chen Yan was about to close in, at that very moment.

"Shua!"

Jiang Donghua's figure suddenly blurred.

Everyone only felt a blur before their eyes, and when they refocused, he had already ghost-like circled behind Chen Yan.

"Bang!"

A simple and unadorned Blazing Flame Palm landed squarely on Chen Yan's back.

"Ah!"

Chen Yan was sent flying into the air, directly out of the arena's boundary, and with a "plop," he plunged into the sand pit below.

The entire venue fell silent.

"This..."

A red-robed instructor's eyes widened.

"At least several months of arduous training; for a Dou Practitioner, achieving mastery in a Yellow Rank High-Tier Dou Technique is the only way."

The white-bearded instructor beside him stroked his beard.

Yan Feng was grinning from ear to ear below the stage.

"I told you I found a treasure!"

Jiang Donghua dusted off his sleeves and calmly walked off the arena.

As he passed the sand pit, he reached out and pulled up the dusty Chen Yan.

"Thank you for the match."

Chen Yan dumbly held his hand, only coming back to his senses after Jiang Donghua had walked far away.

"He just... wasn't using his full strength?"

Chen Yan stood up, covered in dust, his lips moving a few times, but in the end, he didn't utter any harsh words.

He patted the sand off his body, lowered his head, and walked back behind his own instructor, his previous arrogance completely gone.

The other instructors exchanged glances, understanding each other implicitly.

"That step just now, could it be Roaming Cloud Steps?"

Instructor Yuxiao lightly tapped her jade flute with her fingertip, a hint of surprise flashing in her beautiful eyes.

However, she wasn't 100% certain in her mind, because this type of movement Dou Technique was much harder to learn than palm techniques.

"At least at the basic level."

"What, Madman Yan, is this the son of an old acquaintance of yours?"

"Why is he using all the good stuff?"

Old Mo's cloudy eyes slightly opened.

Yan Feng was gnawing on a chicken leg and almost choked when he heard this.

"Nonsense! I picked him up halfway; where would I have the time to teach him?"

He cursed under his breath, but inwardly, he was overjoyed.

Upon hearing this, the other instructors' expressions became even more intriguing.

They all simultaneously looked at the Two-Star Dou Practitioners they had brought; those originally confident youths now instinctively avoided Jiang Donghua's direction.

"Next!"

Elder Wang's peach wood staff struck the ground, breaking the brief silence.

The lot-drawing cylinder rattled again.

In the subsequent rounds of competition, Jiang Donghua stood at the edge of the arena, quietly observing.

"Bang!"

A One-Star Dou Zhe was knocked off the arena, using even the most basic Yellow-rank Combat Skill Shattering Stone Fist.

"Ah!"

Another Two-Star Dou Practitioner was defeated in disarray, his Azure Wood Palm only having its form, not even unleashing 30% of its power.

Jiang Donghua raised an eyebrow, already having made a judgment in his heart: these so-called geniuses mostly only knew one Yellow-rank Combat Skill that was barely at the introductory level, while for the rest, they hadn't even touched the threshold.

"It's all thanks to the afk..."

He sighed to himself.

"Next match! Black Iron City's Jiang Donghua versus White River City's Liu Tu!"

A wail immediately rose from below the arena.

"Why is it him again!"

"It's over, it's over, Liu Tu is going to be unlucky..."

Liu Tu's face turned pale, and he bravely walked onto the arena.

He had only recently broken through to Two-Star Dou Practitioner, and his only Yellow Rank High-Tier Dou Technique, Ice Finger, was only at the rudimentary stage, a long way from mastery.

"Begin!"

Jiang Donghua's figure flickered, Roaming Cloud Steps leaving a afterimage.

Liu Tu hastily pointed out his Ice Finger strike, but all of them missed.

"Too slow."

The voice that suddenly sounded in Zhou Yan's ear made his hair stand on end.

Before he could even turn around, his back was hit by a powerful Blazing Flame Palm.

"Plop!"

Zhou Yan was sent flying directly out of the arena, rolling several times on the ground before stopping.

The viewing stands were silent.

"This..."

An instructor rubbed his eyes.

"Both movement Dou Technique and attack Dou Technique have reached mastery?"

"And they complement each other perfectly."

Another instructor gave a wry smile.

"This year's Yellow Rank Class instructor will likely be Madman Yan."

Yan Feng was grinning from ear to ear below the stage, deliberately shouting loudly.

"Oh, my luck is so good, another win!"

The other instructors' faces were ashen, and the students they brought all shrank their necks, afraid that they would be the next one chosen.

Jiang Donghua stood on the arena, his gaze sweeping over those dodging eyes, a secret smile playing on his lips.

"It seems I've become a tough opponent that everyone fears?"

"Next match, Lin Xiuyuan versus Jiang Donghua!"

Lin Xiuyuan slowly ascended the stage, his green robe swaying gently in the wind.

He looked at Jiang Donghua and said faintly.

"I heard you're very strong?"

Jiang Donghua grinned.

"You'll know if you try."

Immediately, a chorus of cheers erupted from below the stage.

"Senior Brother Lin, beat him up!"

"Brother Jiang, show him what you've got!"

Elder Wang's peach wood staff struck the ground.

"Begin!"

Lin Xiu Yuan said nothing, his right hand glowing with a burst of green light, transforming into three wood thorns that shot directly towards Jiang Donghua.

Jiang Donghua's figure flickered, Roaming Cloud Steps leaving an afterimage, easily dodging them.

"Is that all?"

Jiang Donghua raised an eyebrow.

Lin Xiuyuan did not reply, his left hand suddenly forming a seal, and several vines suddenly shot out from the ground, coiling around Jiang Donghua's feet.

"Petty tricks!"

Jiang Donghua unleashed a Blazing Flame Palm, and the vines instantly burned to ashes.

The two exchanged blows, fighting more than ten moves in a flash.

The audience below the stage watched intently, cheering continuously.

"Bang!"

After a head-on clash of palms, both retreated three steps.

Lin Xiuyuan shook his numb wrist, a hint of seriousness finally flashing in his eyes.

"You have some skill."

Jiang Donghua stretched his neck.

"You're not bad either."

"Again!"

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Lin Xiuyuan's forehead as he stared at the composed Jiang Donghua opposite him, his heart already half-cold.

"Attribute counter is too deadly!"

He smiled bitterly to himself.

During the previous few probing attacks, as soon as his Wood Attribute Dou Qi made contact with the opponent's flames, it melted away like snow meeting boiling oil.

If not for the movement technique he had painstakingly trained for several months, he would have probably been knocked off the arena with one palm long ago.

Jiang Donghua appeared calm on the surface, but inwardly, waves were also stirring.

"This guy is clearly countered by my Fire Attribute, yet he can still last this long?"

He observed the circulating green Dou Qi around Lin Xiuyuan.

The situation on the arena was already clear.

The instructors exchanged glances, understanding each other implicitly: although Lin Xiuyuan's moves were exquisite, under the attribute counter, his chances of winning were less than thirty percent.

"Bang!"

Another head-on clash of palms.

Lin Xiuyuan was sent back several steps, his back already pressed against the edge of the arena, his sleeves scorched in several places by the flames, and his palms were bright red.

Jiang Donghua did not pursue, standing in place and saying faintly.

"Do you want to continue?"

Lin Xiuyuan's expression changed, and finally, he took a deep breath.

He suddenly pushed his palms forward, and green Dou Qi erupted, but it wasn't an attack; instead, he used the force to leap backward.

"I concede!"

His figure landed steadily outside the arena; though his tone was unwilling, his actions were swift and decisive.

The audience immediately began to discuss amongst themselves.

"Senior Brother Lin actually lost..."

"No choice, attribute counter is too fatal."

Yan Feng was grinning from ear to ear in the viewing stands, shouting loudly in Old Mo's direction.

"Old Mo, your Disciple is good, just a bit unlucky!"

Old Mo remained with his eyes closed, resting, only nodding slightly, seemingly unsurprised by this result.

Elder Wang's peach wood staff struck the ground.

"Victor, Jiang Donghua!"