21: Chapter 21 A Worse Substitute?

Looking across the world, a Martial Arts Grade 8 expert is already a top-tier powerhouse standing at a high position.

Starting from the entry level of martial arts, the First to Third Grade are known as the Lower Three Realms.

The Fourth to Sixth Grade are known as the Middle Three Realms.

From the Seventh Grade and above, it is the Upper Three Realms.

Stepping into the Upper Three Realms, one can actually earn the title of Grandmaster.

In Li Yuan's heart, he faintly looked down upon the Eighth-Grade Realm.

Even when he stepped into the Eighth Grade himself, he did not feel much excitement.

This situation occurred because within his own Sea of Consciousness, he possessed the martial arts experience of two Ninth-Grade powerhouses.

Having seen even more profound Realms, he was crystal clear about where the limits of the Eighth-Grade Realm lay.

Under these circumstances, it was normal not to have such reverence for the Eighth Grade.

Yet in reality, the status of an Eighth-Grade Martial Artist was indeed very high.

On the road to Lingshan Kingdom, Li Yuan could also feel this by observing the treatment of Elder Xue Song.

The group went directly to the capital of Lingshan Kingdom, Lingshan City.

Lingshan City was in a rare, flat terrain, which made it slightly more convenient to build a city.

The Lingshan Kingdom royal family had already arranged accommodation palaces for the people from Shun Kingdom and the Jin Kingdom.

For the Autumn Grand Competition, the people arriving from both sides were representing their countries.

Lingshan Kingdom needed to show respect to the two great powers, so this treatment naturally could not be too poor.

The specific time for the Autumn Grand Competition was set for the tenth day of the ninth month, which was the day after tomorrow.

The group from Qianqiu Mountain still had one day to rest.

Especially for the Disciples who were going to participate in the Grand Competition, they needed to restore their condition to the best.

Li Yuan had nothing to do, so following Liu Weihe to look around and listen to interesting anecdotes was fine.

On the evening of the second day of rest, Zhu Yan found Liu Weihe and spoke in a low voice.

"He really came. It is very likely that because he knew Qianqiu Mountain was in charge this year, the Jin Kingdom deliberately sent him here. I don't know if Senior Sister will be affected..."

During their conversation, Li Yuan also heard a lot.

It seemed to be that person who was somewhat similar to him, Meng Guidu.

He had once been deeply involved with Ruan Xingqiao, yet he was a spy for the Jin Kingdom.

It looked like Ruan Xingqiao was greatly affected by him.

Li Yuan listened to this, treating it as just some interesting gossip, which had little to do with him.

What he was thinking about in his mind was finding some excuse to be able to leave after this Autumn Grand Competition.

He needed time to act alone to search for the Tai Xuan Divine Art.

The days of rest passed in a flash, and today was the tenth day of the ninth month.

In the northern part of Lingshan City, there was a spacious competition venue.

The Autumn Grand Competition was held here.

It was just the Mao hour, and the perimeter of the competition venue was already crowded with spectators.

These were all people from Lingshan Kingdom.

Some were there to watch the excitement, but more were Martial Artists from Lingshan Kingdom who wanted to gain some inspiration.

The martial arts of Lingshan Kingdom had no depth; the top powerhouses of the entire country were only Eighth-Grade.

How could those who practiced martial arts miss the martial arts competition between Shun Kingdom and the Jin Kingdom?

At the Chen hour, Li Yuan followed the Qianqiu Mountain group towards the right side of the competition venue.

On the left side were the Martial Artists from the Jin Kingdom participating in the Autumn Grand Competition.

Among those Martial Artists from the Jin Kingdom, the person standing at the very front was Meng Guidu.

Li Yuan looked at him; his physique and appearance were indeed somewhat similar to his own.

But it was not to the extent that it was difficult to distinguish them.

After looking a little longer, one could easily tell them apart.

Meng Guidu's gaze had been fixed on Ruan Xingqiao from the very beginning.

And this Senior Sister of Qianqiu Mountain, after taking one look at Meng Guidu, immediately withdrew her gaze.

She turned her head to look in another direction.

Yet her behavior only proved even more that she had not let go.

Many people from the Jin Kingdom side were pointing at Ruan Xingqiao and whispering.

Meng Guidu had lurked in Qianqiu Mountain for many years; not only was his strength impressive, but he also understood Qianqiu Mountain well.

With such a traitor present, there was a high probability that Da Shun Dynasty would head towards defeat in this year's Autumn Grand Competition.

The relationship between the two countries was somewhat stiff, and even the most basic pleasantries were skipped.

In public, the Lingshan Kingdom royal family, as the host, arranged for a prince to preside over today's Autumn Grand Competition.

He spoke some pleasantries in front of everyone, making this Grand Competition sound as if it were a grand event to forge friendships.

But in fact, the teams from both countries only wanted to win all of the other side's cultivation resources.

With two countries fighting to this extent, forging friendships sounded like a joke.

After the pleasantries were finished, the Lingshan Kingdom prince read out the competition rules once more.

Both countries would each send ten young Martial Artists to participate in the Grand Competition.

The competition would be in a wheel battle format.

That is to say, the winner could continue to stand on the ring and accept the challenge of the next person.

They would only be eliminated once defeated.

This wheel battle competition rule would not lead to an overly one-sided situation.

It wouldn't be the case that one side would lose ten matches in a row and have all their cultivation resources won away.

Furthermore, this competition rule was also interesting.

If a certain Disciple won two matches in a row, the opposing force would become very anxious.

For those watching the excitement, they could more easily see the Martial Artists from both sides giving their all.

At the fourth quarter of the Chen hour, the Autumn Grand Competition officially began.

Both sides guessed numbers to decide who would go first; the Jin Kingdom's guess was closer.

Qianqiu Mountain would send a Disciple to the ring first, and after the Jin Kingdom saw the opponent, they would then select the person to challenge them.

The Elders from Qianqiu Mountain, after deliberation, arranged for Ruan Xingqiao to be in the first position.

She was the one with the most stable strength among the ten Disciples arranged by Qianqiu Mountain.

Furthermore, there was a certain variable influence upon her.

Arranging for Ruan Xingqiao to fight first was the wisest choice.

On the ring, Ruan Xingqiao had already walked up with her sword, her expression entirely indifferent, as if nothing could catch her eye and she cared about nothing.

Yet the more it was like this, the easier it was for people to see through her.

A moment later, the young Martial Artist arranged by the Jin Kingdom also walked onto the ring step by step.

Meng Guidu, that former Senior Brother of Qianqiu Mountain.

Seeing him come up, Ruan Xingqiao's hand gripping the sword trembled involuntarily.

These small actions all fell into the eyes of those people from the Jin Kingdom.

The two stood facing each other; Meng Guidu held a saber, but his saber was still in its scabbard.

"Junior Sister Ruan, after I left, are you well..." Meng Guidu looked at Ruan Xingqiao, and there seemed to be a trace of affection in his eyes.

"I am very well. There is no need to consider yourself too important; whether you left or not was just an insignificant matter."

Under the ring, a Jin Kingdom Disciple teased and replied.

"Senior Brother Meng, others have already found someone to replace you. Look among that group of people from Shun Kingdom; there is one who is very similar to you~"

As he spoke, the onlookers all followed the direction of his finger and saw Li Yuan.

Li Yuan was somewhat surprised; these people from the Jin Kingdom were even using such tactics to affect one's state of mind.

Meng Guidu also glanced over and looked at Li Yuan: "Junior Sister Ruan, if you want to see me, I am willing to meet you at any time. There is no need to go find an inferior substitute..."

It seemed as if a trace of anger had increased in Ruan Xingqiao's heart: "I do not want to see you. I said, this person was not brought by me! If I kill him now, can that prove what I said!"