41: Chapter 41, First Match

The order of the martial matches was hastily decided by the small white-armored leader; Martial Artists with consecutive numbers would compete in pairs.

The yellow Spiritual Qi light barrier opened four gaps, letting the four people in; once the barrier closed, the match would begin.

Ye Yisong had just sat down and taken a sip of water, but before he could even swallow it, he heard a weak voice call out: "I concede."

Damn, that fast!

Ye Yisong looked toward the arena, wanting to know which unlucky fellow had been eliminated so quickly.

On Arena No. 1, a small person wearing a patchwork of colorful rags was vomiting blood; it looked like he had been sent flying by a punch from Zhao Wentao, his body slamming into the yellow light barrier, causing serious injury.

After injuring his opponent with a single punch, Zhao Wentao stood in place watching him; the small person was sensible and, knowing Zhao Wentao had held back, immediately conceded.

During the Martial Examination matches, deaths rarely occurred unless the two sides were mortal enemies and the losing party refused to concede.

The small white-armored leader took another stamp from a box and stamped Zhao Wentao's admission ticket.

"First Round Advanced"

Five small characters appeared on Zhao Wentao's admission ticket, indicating that he had successfully advanced in the first round of the Martial Examination.

The small white-armored leader took back the small person's admission ticket and, with a light rub of his fingers, destroyed it.

Watching his admission ticket being destroyed, the small person was on the verge of tears; his path in the Martial Examination had ended right there.

As a poor Loose Cultivator, he had not mastered any craft techniques and could not participate in the craft assessment three days later; now that he had lost the martial match, it was even more impossible.

After doing all this, the small white-armored leader opened the Restriction and waved his hand, signaling that the two could leave; he was busy, so they shouldn't waste his time!

Indeed, the match in Arena No. 2 had also ended.

This job was originally done by two people, but the other small leader had been ambushed by a third-rank Fish Pig Yao Beast during a sweep of the Weishui River last month, dying on the spot due to the beast's final desperate counterattack.

Now, he had to do the work of two people all by himself.

The Loose Cultivators of Shuinan County all envied them for serving under Magistrate Sun Nanyu, living in luxury, but who knew that these soldiers could lose their lives at any moment?

Being a soldier under Magistrate Sun Nanyu was a high-risk profession; to gain battle achievements and secure a promotion, the Magistrate was frantically cracking down on the Yao Beasts in the Weishui River.

Of the original one hundred people in his squad, only seven had died in twenty years under the previous Magistrate, but after twenty years under Sun Nanyu, only seven were still alive.

"Arena No. 1, No. 3 versus No. 512"

...

The first round of matches proceeded in an orderly manner, and in less than half an hour, it was Ye Yisong's turn.

"Arena No. 2, No. 34 versus No. 481"

Hearing his number, Ye Yisong exchanged a glance with Ye Jiesheng, who said: "Go on, don't be nervous."

Ye Yisong nodded, stood up, and tapped lightly on the ground a few times, arriving at Arena No. 2; he handed his admission ticket to the small white-armored leader and waited quietly for his opponent to arrive.

Ye Yisong himself was not nervous at all; after training in the clan for so many years, it was time to show his true abilities.

A dark-faced man in black clothes, carrying a giant sword, respectfully handed his admission ticket to the small white-armored leader.

The small white-armored leader checked both admission tickets, and after confirming they were correct, he closed the yellow barrier.

The two people in the arena stood in place, not in a hurry to make a move.

The dark-faced man cupped his hands and said: "Zhao Sanjian, please offer your guidance."

"Ye Yisong, please offer your guidance." Ye Yisong also replied politely.

After stating his name, the dark-faced man stopped speaking; he stood motionless with his giant sword facing Ye Yisong, as if waiting for him to make the first move.

Ye Yisong did not dare to attack him rashly; according to intelligence, this dark-faced man was a rare expert among the Loose Cultivators and also a bit of an oddball.

He had the strength of a one-star Martial Master, and his famous signature skill was the giant sword in his hand; the sword was true to its name, as he only knew three strikes in total, each stronger than the last, but after those three strikes, his combat power would drop to that of a weakling.

Ye Yisong observed carefully for a while and discovered that this dark-faced man was not being honest at all; he had originally thought he was waiting for Ye Yisong to strike first so he could find a flaw.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Sanjian was holding the giant sword to build up momentum; in a short while, a thin layer of Spiritual Qi had already accumulated on the giant sword.

Ye Yisong had no choice but to draw his sword and strike first; otherwise, if he waited until Zhao Sanjian's sword momentum reached Major Achievement, he would definitely suffer a huge loss.

With his sword in hand, Ye Yisong did not clash head-on with Zhao Sanjian; he just needed to interrupt his momentum from the side. Relying on his movement technique, Zhao Sanjian's clumsy giant sword would never be able to harm him in the slightest.

Seeing that Ye Yisong was not engaging him head-on but kept circling around him, Zhao Sanjian knew his little trick had been seen through, but he didn't get angry.

Zhao Sanjian stopped waiting; the strand of Great River sword momentum he had struggled to build up would dissipate if he didn't strike now.

"Great River Sword Technique"

Zhao Sanjian kicked his heels back and charged fiercely toward Ye Yisong, hacking down with his giant sword; the Spiritual Qi attached to the sword exploded outward, sealing off Ye Yisong's retreat.

Holding a short sword, Ye Yisong found it difficult to withstand the power of the giant sword, and there was no need for him to take Zhao Sanjian's violent, charged strike head-on; stepping on a light breeze, he retreated through a gap in the Spiritual Qi, dodging Zhao Sanjian's first strike.

Zhao Sanjian checked the descending giant sword, twisted his body, and swung the giant sword out, aiming straight for the opening in Ye Yisong's defense.

Ye Yisong, unhurried, used his sword to deflect the hilt of the giant sword; his right hand, infused with Spiritual Qi, flashed with a blue light, and he quickly grabbed the hilt as it flew back, plunging the giant sword into the arena floor.

Zhao Sanjian wore a look of astonishment; his giant sword had not flown back but had instead landed in Ye Yisong's hand.

What exactly was that blue light? How could it cut off the Spiritual Qi he had attached to the sword?

Ye Yisong raised an eyebrow and asked: "Brother Zhao, shall we continue?"

With his giant sword taken away by his opponent, Zhao Sanjian had less than one-tenth of his strength left; unable to continue fighting, he could only raise his hand to concede.

Ye Yisong did not make things difficult for him; with a light flick of his hand, he returned the giant sword to him.

Zhao Sanjian cupped his fists and said: "Many thanks, Young Master Ye."

Zhao Sanjian clearly knew Ye Yisong and was aware of his background; if Loose Cultivators were willing to spend Spirit Stones, they naturally had their channels to obtain the information they wanted to know.

Holding his admission ticket stamped with the advancement mark, Ye Yisong returned to the resting area with a smile, waiting for the next round of matches.

"Truly, a tiger father has no dog sons," Patriarch Ye Tuanzhang exclaimed sincerely after watching Ye Yisong's match.

"Not at all, not at all, Uncle, you are joking; he still has a long way to go!" Ye Jiesheng said modestly.

For Magistrate Sun Nanyu, the matches below were like children playing house, failing to arouse any interest.

He rarely raised his head, but he took two extra looks at Ye Yisong and thought to himself: "Is it that Cultivation Technique? He actually managed to Cultivate it successfully. What an impressive young man."

Ye Yisong did not care about the gazes of others; hiding his right hand in his sleeve, he slowly withdrew the remaining blue light back into his body. It had taken him over a decade to condense this blue light, so he certainly couldn't afford to waste it.