301: Take it down in one move

The drawing of lots continued. When the referee elder announced the next pair of opponents, the atmosphere in the stands ignited once more.

"The fifth match: first on the strong ranking, Jiang Donghua, versus, nineteenth on the strong ranking list, Lin Yue!"

"Jiang Donghua! He's finally going to fight!"

"His opponent is Lin Yue?"

"The Lin Yue famous for his formidable defense? This is going to be a good show!"

"I wonder how much strength Senior Jiang will display this time?"

The student named Lin Yue was a tall, burly youth with bronze-colored skin. His strength had reached the Peak Dou Ling of Eight-Star Dou Ling, and he was known in the Inner Academy for cultivating earth-attribute Dou Qi and possessing astonishing defensive power.

However, when he heard that his opponent was Jiang Donghua, a smile even more bitter than Han Li's earlier instantly appeared on his face.

He leaped onto the stage, looking at the calm, restrained Jiang Donghua opposite him, his heart filled with misery.

He had heard the rumors that Jiang Donghua was capable of defeating Dou Wang Qin Xiao half a year ago.

Half a year had passed since then. Heaven knew what terrifying level this legendary figure had reached now?

Lin Yue took a deep breath, cupped his hands in greeting, his tone filled with helplessness and entreaty.

"Senior Jiang, please go easy on me!"

He only hoped he wouldn't lose too badly.

Jiang Donghua smiled faintly, nodded in response, and spoke calmly.

"Junior Lin, please."

"The match begins!"

As soon as the referee elder finished speaking, Lin Yue roared and unleashed his lifelong Dou Qi without reservation!

Dense, earthy yellow Dou Qi instantly covered his entire body, forming an incredibly thick defensive layer on his surface, like a rock armor!

"Profound Rank High-Grade Dou Technique—Immovable Rock Body!"

This was his strongest defensive state; he was confident that even facing an attack from a Dou Wang Expert, he could barely withstand it!

However, facing Lin Yue's readiness and posture as if confronting a great enemy, Jiang Donghua merely casually raised his right hand, pointed his fingers like a sword, and lightly sliced toward Lin Yue.

There was no dazzling Dou Qi light, nor any earth-shattering momentum.

There was only a pale blue energy streak, condensed to the extreme and almost imperceptible, silently shooting toward Lin Yue like a ripple tearing through the air.

The energy streak's speed seemed slow, yet it appeared to ignore spatial distance, arriving in front of Lin Yue the instant he completed his defensive posture!

Bang!

A muffled, heavy sound!

Lin Yue's confident Immovable Rock Body shattered instantly upon contact with the pale blue energy streak, like paper mache!

He himself was sent flying uncontrollably off the ground, as if struck violently by an invisible giant hammer. His chest tightened, a mouthful of fresh blood spurted out, and his sturdy body traced a parabola before crashing heavily outside the ring!

One move!

Just one move!

Lin Yue, nineteenth on the strong ranking list, an Eight-Star Dou Ling Peak Dou Ling known for his defense, was defeated!

The entire arena instantly fell into a deathly silence!

Everyone widened their eyes and dropped their jaws, staring in disbelief at Jiang Donghua, who stood with his hands behind his back on the stage, having only performed a trivial action, and at Lin Yue below the stage, who was struggling to get up, his face full of shock and confusion.

The silence lasted for several seconds before being broken by a torrent of gasps and discussions, like a mountain tsunami!

"My god! One move?! Just one move?!"

"Lin Yue's Immovable Rock Body can withstand a Dou Wang's attack! It just shattered like that?"

"Senior Jiang, what is his cultivation level now?!"

"Isn't this Peak Dou Wang?! That's terrifying!"

"It must be Peak Dou Wang! Otherwise, how could he do it so easily?!"

The vast majority of the students in the stands tended to believe that Jiang Donghua had already reached the realm of Peak Dou Wang.

After all, the Dou Huang level was too distant and incredible for them; that was the level of the elders!

However, on the high platform viewing area reserved for the academy elders beside the ring, the atmosphere was completely different.

The eyes of several white-haired, profound-aura elders suddenly sharpened the moment Jiang Donghua made his move.

They exchanged glances, their faces showing solemnity and disbelief.

"The level of refinement in that energy streak is absolutely beyond a Dou Wang!"

An elder transmitted his voice softly, his tone carrying a slight tremor.

"Exactly! Effortless mastery; this is clearly the level of control only a Dou Huang expert can achieve!"

Another elder added with certainty.

"But how old is he? He left the academy for half a year and jumped from Dou Wang to Dou Huang? How is that possible?!"

"But the facts are right before us! This child is monstrously talented!"

The whispers of the elders eventually converged on the Great Elder, who sat in the center with a seemingly calm expression.

Sensing the questioning and shocked gazes of the surrounding elders, the Great Elder smiled bitterly internally but remained outwardly impassive, merely nodding slightly, tacitly confirming their suspicions.

Upon receiving confirmation from the Great Elder, the hearts of these few old fellows, who had seen countless storms and whose inner minds were usually calm, were now surging with tumultuous waves!

The gazes they directed toward Jiang Donghua on the stage were filled with extreme shock and complexity!

Dou Huang! He really is a Dou Huang!

Such a young Dou Huang!

This had completely exceeded the scope of their understanding!

They finally understood why the Great Elder had specifically reminded Jiang Donghua to hold back previously.

That wasn't a reminder; it was clearly a fear that he might accidentally obliterate his opponent!

On the stage, Jiang Donghua defeated Lin Yue with a single move, standing calmly with his hands behind his back.

Below the stage, Lin Yue struggled to get up, his face full of bitterness and awe, bowing remotely toward Jiang Donghua and conceding defeat wholeheartedly.

This scene, falling into the eyes of Qin Xiao who was watching nearby, caused his heart to drop heavily.

Qin Xiao's brows furrowed tightly, and his expression became exceptionally solemn.

"That fellow Lin Yue's Immovable Rock Body has decent defense. If I wanted to break it, I would need to use Thunder Fire Dou Qi and unleash a Xuan-rank Combat Skill at minimum to crush him in one move."

Qin Xiao rapidly assessed the situation in his mind.

He stared intently at the figure on the stage, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"He didn't even use a Dou Technique?! Just a casually flung energy streak broke Lin Yue's strongest defense and directly blasted him off the stage?!"

This kind of effortless, supreme control over Dou Qi had completely surpassed Qin Xiao's scope of understanding!

He asked himself, even though he was now a Six-Star Dou Wang, he absolutely could not achieve this!

A thought that made his scalp tingle, one he almost dared not entertain, uncontrollably surfaced.

"Could this guy have already surpassed the Dou Wang level in half a year?!"

Just thinking of the word Dou Huang made Qin Xiao's heart pound violently, and a chill shot straight from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head!

If Jiang Donghua had truly stepped into the Dou Huang realm, the gap between them would no longer be a difference in stars, but a chasm between major realms!

All his confidence and fighting spirit would become a huge joke!

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Qin Xiao shook his head vigorously, trying to dispel this terrifying thought.

"Who could possibly break through from Dou Wang to Dou Huang in half a year? Even those prodigies in the Central Plains couldn't! He must have cultivated some special secret technique or mastered some profound Dou Qi utilization skill!"

He forcibly suppressed the unease in his heart, and his gaze became resolute once more.

"Right! That must be it! I must personally verify this in the afternoon match!"

The subsequent matches continued.

Among the duels involving the top fifty of the strong ranking, aside from the closely ranked battles which were hard-fought and quite exciting, the rest of the matches with significant ranking disparities were generally one-sided.

The experts in the top ten of the strong ranking list mostly resolved their battles against lower-ranked challengers within ten moves, demonstrating absolute suppression of strength.

Consequently, the entire morning's schedule proceeded unexpectedly quickly.

In less than two hours, all the first-round matches were concluded, and twenty-five winners emerged.

The Great Elder stood up again, his voice echoing throughout the venue.

"The first round of matches is over! We have twenty-five winners!"

"Given the rapid progress of the competition, the Elder Council has decided that the second round of drawing lots and matches will take place here in the afternoon (Wei hour)."

He paused, his gaze intentionally or unintentionally sweeping toward Jiang Donghua's location, and added a sentence.

"Furthermore, Student Jiang Donghua will directly advance to the next round and does not need to participate in the second round of drawing lots."

As soon as these words were spoken, the stands went silent for a moment, then erupted in understanding laughter and discussion.

"Hahaha! The Great Elder is wise!"

"They just gave Senior Jiang a guaranteed spot! That's so real!"

"Who would dare draw him as an opponent? Wouldn't that be asking for trouble?"

"Exactly! This is practically gospel! The remaining twenty-four people can finally breathe a sigh of relief!"

The students who successfully advanced, especially those ranked outside the top ten, involuntarily let out long breaths, as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted.

The gazes they directed toward Jiang Donghua were filled with awe and relief.

No one wanted to encounter this unfathomable monster prematurely on the path to contending for the top ten!

Jiang Donghua himself was indifferent to this arrangement; he had come solely for the body tempering provided by the Origin Heart Flame, and the simpler the process, the better.

He nodded slightly toward the Great Elder's direction, then turned and left the arena.

The morning matches concluded, but everyone knew that the competition in the afternoon would be even fiercer!