60: I want to give myself full marks for this acting

A moment of silence fell over the audience, followed by low exclamations of surprise.

Some people rubbed their eyes, unable to believe what they saw.

"Wasn't he being suppressed just now? How did he suddenly win?"

Others breathed a sigh of relief. "It's a narrow victory, thankfully. If he had crushed him so easily again, he really wouldn't be leaving anyone a way to live."

As Xiao Ruobai walked off the stage, he was secretly pleased with his superb acting, but the corner of his eye caught Shen Jinghong already stepping off the adjacent stage—she had actually conceded in the second round.

His heart sank instantly: He had been careless!

Senior Sister Shen actually retreated so early. It seemed his skill in feigning weakness was still lacking; he had truly gotten overconfident.

He secretly glanced at Gu Changge on the high platform, and seeing his Master slowly sipping tea with no expression on his face, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

On the other side, Fang Hanyu had also finished his battle.

The second round of matches ended even more swiftly than the first—as soon as his opponent raised his heavy sword, he stepped forward with quick, broken steps. In the first sword strike, he parried the attack, the flat of his sword precisely knocking against his opponent's pulse point.

The second sword, not yet fully unsheathed, with only half an inch of its blade exposed, grazed his opponent's throat, forcing the Foundation Establishment Late Stage Disciple to freeze instantly.

"I admit defeat."

His opponent's voice trembled as he threw down his sword and conceded, still rubbing his numb wrist as he walked off the stage.

The silence in the spectator stands was longer than in the first round, followed by exclamations of surprise that almost tore the roof off.

"He... he won again? That was only two moves! Faster than last time!"

"That was 'Iron Sword Maniac' from Qingyue Peak! They say he can withstand a blow from a Core Formation Realm expert. How did he seem like he was made of paper?"

In the crowd, the Disciple who had previously shouted "it's the weapon!" flushed red, craning his neck to retort.

"It must be the weapon! Look at his scabbard; it touched the opponent's wrist and numbed it. It's definitely tempered with something!"

However, not many people agreed with him, as everyone had seen that Fang Hanyu hadn't even fully drawn his sword this time.

Amidst the discussions, what drew more attention were the female Disciples in the stands.

Several inner female Disciples from Qingyun Peak huddled together, their gazes seemingly glued to Fang Hanyu, speaking in low voices but unable to hide their excitement.

"Wow, he looks so cool when he sheathes his sword!"

"He's only fifteen, but how can he have such an Aura?"

With wide eyes fixed on the stage, someone whispered with a blush, "He's so handsome... even more captivating than Senior Brother Li."

Many other female Disciples simply stood up, their eyes burning as if they wanted to bore a hole through him, their whispered words carried by the wind.

"His name is Fang Hanyu, right? When I go to Zizhu Peak to deliver medicine later, maybe I can run into him?"

"I want to have his children."

"I heard he just joined the sect recently. Should I ask someone to send him a love letter?"

These gazes felt like countless needles, making Fang Hanyu uncomfortable all over.

He was already unaccustomed to being watched, especially with such direct and fervent gazes. A faint blush crept up his ears.

Seeing Xiao Ruobai approach, he instinctively hid behind his Senior Brother, his fingers tightening on the sword hilt, as if the cold touch could suppress the heat in his heart.

Xiao Ruobai couldn't help but chuckle at his appearance. "Junior Brother, your charm is quite something. In just two rounds, you've captured the hearts of so many Senior Sisters."

Fang Hanyu frowned. "They're so noisy."

"That's called being popular."

Xiao Ruobai patted his shoulder, then lowered his voice.

"Junior Brother, your acting still needs work. How could you end it so quickly?"

Fang Hanyu replied with a hint of helplessness, "I wanted to have a back-and-forth fight too, but he was just too weak. I already hid ninety percent of my strength, and he still lost in one go."

Xiao Ruobai was so startled that he quickly covered his mouth, glancing around rapidly.

If other Disciples heard that, their Dao Heart would probably shatter on the spot.

What kind of words were those? They were simply murderous!

Fang Hanyu pulled away his hand and added, "Next time, I'll try using only half a percent of my strength."

Xiao Ruobai: ...

On the high platform, Ye Guying tapped his fingertips on the armrest and said to Gu Changge, "This child's Sword Intent is so astonishing. He's truly a good seedling."

Gu Changge raised an eyebrow. "Is Senior Brother Ye trying to poach someone?"

"I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare." Ye Guying laughed, "How could I dare to poach Junior Brother Gu's people?"

"After the grand competition, how about letting my unaccomplished Disciple, Chenyu, stay at Zizhu Peak for a few days to exchange sword techniques with Hanyu?"

Gu Changge gave Ye Guying a half-smile.

Good heavens, his calculations are practically bouncing off my face.

I know you too well. I think you purely want your Disciple to go to Zizhu Peak to take advantage.

The second round quickly concluded.

Xiao Ruobai and Fang Hanyu, despite having recently joined the sect, successively won and advanced to the top sixteen, leaving many people secretly astonished.

At this point in the promotion list, the distribution among the various peaks was becoming clear.

Qingyun Peak had Li Xuanfeng and two other Core Disciples, a total of three.

Shi Jingxian and Lin Mochen of Qingyue Peak were in strong form.

Except for Dan Ding Peak, which primarily focused on Alchemy and lacked strong combat power, with only Lin Xiaowan entering the top sixteen, all other main peaks had two individuals advancing to the third round.

At this time, the lowest Realm of those who advanced to the top sixteen was Core Formation Realm.

After a half-hour break, the third round of matches began again.

As Xiao Ruobai walked onto the stage gripping his long halberd, a low murmur of discussion already rose from the audience.

His opponent was Lu Chenyu, the chief Disciple of Zhenyue Peak, wielding two heavy steel hammers. He stood there as solid as an iron tower, and the mere Aura of him swinging his hammers left many spectating Disciples gasping.

"This is the Personal Disciple of the Zhenyue Peak Lord, a Core Formation Middle Stage expert with formidable combat power. This kid from Zizhu Peak is probably in trouble."

Xiao Ruobai's ears twitched slightly, taking in all the discussions.

He watched the powerful wind from his opponent's hammer swing, but his mind was churning—with his Purple Mansion Realm cultivation, this Core Formation Middle Stage was simply not enough to contend with.

Not to mention a direct confrontation, even if he stood still and let him strike, his opponent wouldn't be able to break through his War God Body defense.

However, he decided not to discourage these Geniuses. If he won again, they would probably start questioning life itself.

Thinking this, he intentionally slowed his Shadow Step by half a beat. When his halberd collided with the heavy hammer, he stumbled back two steps with effort.

His brows were furrowed like a knot, and two drops of cold sweat even squeezed out from his temples.

Seeing this, Lu Chenyu swung his heavy hammers with even more ferocity.

Xiao Ruobai dodged left and right, occasionally deliberately exposing a weakness, drawing continuous gasps from the audience.

After five rounds, Xiao Ruobai was suddenly struck in the chest by a hammer, spitting out fresh blood and falling to the ground, unable to get up.

"I... I admit defeat."

"Junior Brother Xiao, I'm sorry, I didn't hold back."

Lu Chenyu, seeing Xiao Ruobai severely injured and collapsed, explained with some nervousness.

"Senior Brother Lu, swords and blades have no eyes, it's not your fault. I can endure it..."

With that, Xiao Ruobai propped himself up with his halberd, forcefully stood up, and another mouthful of fresh blood flowed out as he slowly walked off the stage.

This scene made everyone feel incredibly pained.

Xiao Ruobai, however, mumbled to himself as he walked, "This acting is superb. I give myself full marks."

Meanwhile, Fang Hanyu was facing Li Wuling, a Core Disciple from Qingyun Peak...