353: Magic Contest

Although the crowd felt a bit awkward hearing Wang Cao's chuunibyou-like declaration, they couldn't help but be stirred by the passion in his words.

Lan Kun: "......"

Lan Kun rolled his eyes helplessly, muttering to himself, "Such familiar chuunibyou words, truly original and unchanged, the familiar taste, the familiar recipe."

However, putting aside these chuunibyou ramblings, Wang Cao's comprehension of the Dao of the Sword was indeed quite profound.

After all, both of them were Cultivators at the Refining Essence and Transforming Qi - Late Stage, and if they were to truly spar, it would certainly be more interesting than a match between those with supernatural abilities.

Thinking of this, Lan Kun casually took a wooden sword from a supernatural ability user and handed it to Wang Cao, provocatively saying, "Here, how about we try to see who loses?"

The onlookers, seeing this, began to cheer and shout loudly, anticipating the result of this match.

Old Qin, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow, a look of excitement on his face, thinking to himself that there was a good show to watch now.

Wang Cao looked at the wooden sword handed to him, the corner of his mouth slightly upturned, revealing a hint of disdain.

He confidently replied, "How can a mere wooden sword determine our victory or defeat? Wouldn't it be better to use our respective signature weapons?"

Lan Kun was stunned upon hearing this; he had indeed miscalculated.

Wang Cao's cultivation was as high as his, so there was no need to hold back like before.

Thinking of this, Lan Kun burst out laughing.

"Alright, we'll use our respective weapons, and stop before anyone gets seriously hurt!"

Wang Cao looked confident: "This Heavenly Venerate will surely make you lose convincingly."

Upon hearing this, the surrounding crowd began to retreat several tens of meters, allowing Lan Kun and Wang Cao to spar freely.

At this moment, as the crowd retreated, only Old Qin remained, standing in place with a smile.

"Since you're sparring, how about adding some stakes?"

Lan Kun and Wang Cao were both startled, then looked at Old Qin.

Lan Kun asked in confusion, "What kind of stakes?"

Wang Cao looked puzzled: "???"

Old Qin smiled and explained, "During this time, I believe everyone has slain quite a few high-level Yao Beasts. The Yao Beast Cores produced by high-level Yao Beasts are naturally harder to obtain than ordinary Yao Beast Cores, and their effects are also better in all aspects. How about we use the highest-level Yao Beast Core you've each obtained as the stakes?"

Lan Kun exclaimed in surprise, "Yao Beast Cores?"

Wang Cao also said in shock, "High-level Yao Beast Cores?"

The surrounding crowd, upon hearing that high-level Yao Beast Cores would be used as a wager, immediately became excited, their eyes wide, staring intently at Lan Kun and Wang Cao in the arena.

They occasionally whispered about the Yao Beast Cores with those beside them.

Someone exclaimed, "A Yao Beast Core, and a high-level one at that!"

Another person echoed, "Indeed, although Yao Beast Cores are rare, it's embarrassing to say that most of the time I've only obtained low-level ones, and sometimes not even those.

Not to mention, these high-level Yao Beast Cores are practically as rare as a Phoenix feather!"

Someone else said, "Old Qin is too cool! Whether Lan Kun or that young man wins in the end, we'll all be fortunate enough to witness a high-level Yao Beast Core today."

"Yes, I wonder what a high-level Yao Beast Core looks like?"

"Haha ~"

Everyone expressed their anticipation, eager to know what a high-level Yao Beast Core truly looked like.

For a moment, the crowd burst into laughter.

At the same time, the two parties involved looked at each other.

Old Qin, meanwhile, stood leisurely to the side, smiling as he watched Lan Kun and Wang Cao, as if he had already determined that they would agree to these stakes.

After a while, Lan Kun and Wang Cao successively nodded, indicating their agreement to Old Qin's proposal.

Lan Kun first took out a Yao Beast Core. The core was entirely covered in a layer of white Spiritual Qi, with faint patterns subtly appearing within it.

Lan Kun softly said, "This is a Yao Beast Core from a Late Stage rat Yao Beast."

After speaking, he handed the Yao Beast Core to Old Qin.

Old Qin took the Yao Beast Core from Lan Kun, a hint of imperceptible surprise on his face.

He knew in his heart that this Yao Beast Core was a treasure Lan Kun had obtained by risking his life, yet he was so generous to take it out now.

Then Old Qin's gaze turned to Wang Cao, wondering what kind of Yao Beast Core Wang Cao would take out.

At this moment, everyone's gaze turned to Wang Cao.

They wanted to see what kind of Yao Beast Core this powerful young man would take out?

Wang Cao's expression changed slightly when he saw Lan Kun take out a Late Stage Yao Beast Core.

He sighed lightly, then took out two Middle Stage Yao Beast Cores.

He explained, "This Heavenly Venerate has three Middle Stage Yao Beast Cores here. How about using them to compensate for one Late Stage Yao Beast Core?"

Old Qin smiled and nodded: "Naturally, that's fine."

Wang Cao handed the three Middle Stage Yao Beast Cores to Old Qin while explaining their origin.

"The three Yao Beast Cores are from a spider, a snake Yao Beast, and a wolf Yao Beast, respectively. This Heavenly Venerate will hand them over to you first, and then this Heavenly Venerate will win all these high-level Yao Beast Cores back."

As Wang Cao spoke, the atmosphere on the scene became tense.

Everyone was anticipating the outcome of this wager, and Old Qin smiled even more brightly.

Old Qin collected the three Yao Beast Cores, smiling and nodding: "No problem, I'm waiting!"

The supernatural ability users watching from a distance, seeing the exchange of Yao Beast Cores on the stage, couldn't help but discuss excitedly.

"Damn it! This is a Late Stage Yao Beast Core! It's really different from the Yao Beast Cores of Early Stage Yao Beasts!" one person said excitedly.

Another person echoed, "Yeah! Just looking at that layer of Spiritual Qi floating on the surface of the Late Stage Yao Beast Core tells us how extraordinary it is."

"If this Yao Beast Core were to be absorbed, then..."

Someone said with anticipation, but before he could finish, he was interrupted by the person next to him.

"Haha ~ You'd better stop dreaming! Hurry up and slay a high-level Yao Beast! Maybe you'll get a high-level Yao Beast Core right away!"

Hearing this, everyone burst into laughter.

Another person then added, "Isn't that right? If you even think of that at night, it's disrespectful to the Yao Beast Core."

Old Qin listened to everyone's discussions, then immediately left the sparring area, leaving Lan Kun and Wang Cao to continue their standoff.

........

At this moment, Lan Kun held a long sword, his posture agile, his sword moves sharp. Each swing of his sword brought forth streaks of lightning, directly pressing towards Wang Cao.

Wang Cao, on the other hand, held a bamboo stick, his movements nimble. The bamboo stick danced like a spirit snake in his hand, constantly launching attacks.

The two went back and forth, refusing to give an inch.

For a moment, the atmosphere on the field was extremely tense.

In this sparring match, the sword in Lan Kun's hand was as fierce as a mighty thunderbolt, each attack carrying powerful electricity, making his sword momentum even more formidable.

Wang Cao, relying on his agile movements and flexible techniques, always skillfully dodged Lan Kun's attacks and found opportune moments to approach Lan Kun.

However, whenever this happened, Lan Kun would immediately release his lightning power, pulling Wang Cao back to a distance again.

At the same time, the bamboo stick in Wang Cao's hand was not to be outdone. Its various normal attacks were like a fierce storm, launching a dense barrage of offense towards Lan Kun.

These attacks were relentless, seemingly never-ending.

Lan Kun, however, relying on his swordsmanship, successfully parried Wang Cao's attacks time and again.

Thus, the two went back and forth, refusing to give an inch. The clash of sword and bamboo stick produced crisp sounds.

Their figures intertwined in the air, sometimes flashing, sometimes disappearing, dazzling the eyes.

As time passed, both of their physical strengths were somewhat depleted, but their fighting spirit grew even stronger.

They both understood that this was not just a test of strength, but also a duel of wills.

Finally, after an intense contest, both of their strengths and Spiritual Qi gradually ran out, and they could no longer continue fighting.

Ultimately, they fought to a draw, with neither able to claim victory.