186: Chapter 186 Confident of Defeat Again

Following immediately after, the pale-faced youth stepped onto the stage.

His opponent was a Disciple from the Qingyang Sect, at the Initial Stage of Void Refinement, who had won five consecutive matches in the previous rounds and was currently at the peak of his confidence.

But when he stood opposite the youth, the youth merely glanced up at him. An icy, chilling Qi permeated from around his body, and a fine layer of frost visibly condensed in the air, spreading outwards along the ground in all directions.

The Qingyang Sect Disciple's expression changed drastically. He hurriedly activated his Sword Intent, attempting to resist the encroachment of that chilling cold, but before his sword light could fully ignite, it was frozen solid, leaving him standing stiffly in place, sword and all.

The youth did not continue his attack; he simply stood there, watching him quietly.

A moment later, the longsword in the Qingyang Sect Disciple's hand fell to the ground with a crisp clatter. His body swayed, his face pale as paper, his lips turning purple; he had been frozen by that chilling Qi to the point where he could barely stand.

The youth withdrew his gaze, turned, and walked off the battle stage, not saying a single extra word.

The entire venue was silent for a moment, followed immediately by a wave of discussion.

No one knew these two young men, nor had anyone seen their style of attack before, but that clean and decisive crushing victory was enough for everyone to remember them.

"That gray-robed one... he was too fast. I couldn't even see the trajectory of his strike," a Loose Cultivator whispered to his companion beside him.

"The black-robed one is the same. Where did that cold Qi come from? That Qingyang Sect Disciple couldn't even draw his sword."

"What on earth is the background of these two people? The Southern Wilderness has never heard of such figures."

Amidst the discussions, the gazes of the Prodigies from the major forces grew a few degrees more solemn.

Chu Xuan's gaze lingered on the two youths for a moment. He did not speak, but his fingers gripping the sword hilt tightened imperceptibly.

The longsword in Duan Xinghe's embrace hummed again, clearer this time than before, as if responding to some aura it had perceived but could not articulate.

Lu Jinghan sat in the Kunlun seating area, his gaze fixed on Xu Mo.

He could feel that Xu Mo was more restrained than when they had last fought. The fluctuations of his Law of Devouring were suppressed to an extremely low level; if he hadn't been sufficiently sensitive to the power of Law, he would have barely noticed it.

As for the pale-faced youth beside him, Lu Jinghan had never seen that method of manipulating chilling Qi in his previous life.

The matches on the battle stage continued, but it was clear that in the following few bouts, the audience's attention was not as focused as it had been before.

The low murmurs continued, almost all discussing the two youths who had suddenly appeared and their black-robed Revered Master.

The black-robed man sat in a corner seat, his expression calm, turning a blind eye to the inquisitive gazes around him, as if the two Disciples he had brought were merely here to see the world and had no interest in the grand ceremony itself.

Ancestor Zhou Huaixu withdrew his gaze from the battle stage, his expression solemn.

Danchenzi, Daoist Yunlan, Lord Yangtian, and several other Tribulation Transcenders exchanged glances at the same time. Although no one spoke, they all saw the same solemnity in each other's eyes.

Ordinary Cultivators might only be able to see that the two young men acted cleanly and decisively, with strength far exceeding those of the same rank, but the Tribulation Transcenders saw much more clearly.

When the gray-robed youth had attacked just now, the gray light that swept across his fingertips was not a condensation of ordinary spiritual power, but the prototype of the Law of Devouring.

Although it was still far from a Major Achievement, being able to touch the power of the Law of Devouring at the Void Refinement Stage was enough to show how extraordinary this person's talent and Legacy were.

As for the pale-faced youth, the chilling Qi permeating around him was not ordinary cold, but an extremely pure Frost Sword Intent.

That Sword Intent was completely different from the icy Sword Qi cultivated by ordinary Sword Cultivators; it seemed to be an Origin power inherited from some ancient Legacy.

"One at the Middle Stage of Void Refinement, one at the Initial Stage of Void Refinement; one Cultivates the Law of Devouring, the other Cultivates extreme Frost Sword Intent."

Danchenzi spoke in a low voice, keeping his tone extremely hushed.

"In any force within the Southern Wilderness, these two would be enough to become Core Disciples, key figures to be nurtured, yet they have appeared here together."

Daoist Yunlan was silent for a moment, then said slowly, "That black-robed man's background is definitely not simple. With his cultivation and methods, to train two such Disciples, he cannot be a nobody."

Ancestor Zhou Huaixu's gaze fell upon the black-robed man. He sat in the corner seat, his expression calm, as if the inquisitive gazes around him had nothing to do with him.

Ancestor Zhou Huaixu watched for a moment, then withdrew his gaze, his eyes carrying a hint of complexity. "When did such a force emerge in the Southern Wilderness? Could it be, like Kunlun, an ancient Sect that has lived in seclusion?"

No one could answer this question; they could only suppress that doubt in their hearts and wait for further observation.

Meanwhile, at the Kunlun seating area, Jiang Changge's gaze also lingered on Xu Mo for a moment.

He could see several faint threads of Karma lingering around Xu Mo, extending outward and connecting to Lu Jinghan, who was sitting not far away, intertwined and tangled.

Jiang Changge could tell at a glance that the Karmic entanglement between these two was not a one-time thing and that there would be more intersections in the future, but he did not delve into what kind of intersections they would be.

He withdrew his gaze and turned his head to look at the Disciples beside him, his tone casual. "Any of you confident in defeating them?"

Ao Qin and Mu Qingxue exchanged a glance and did not speak.

A moment later, Ao Qin spoke first, his tone more serious than before. "That gray-robed one's attack was too fast. I didn't fully see his trajectory just now. If that Power of Devouring of his can really erode spiritual power circulation, I only have a fifty percent chance of winning in a direct confrontation."

Mu Qingxue nodded in agreement, a rare hint of solemnity appearing on her cold, aloof face. "That extreme Frost Sword Intent suppresses my Ice Heart Spiritual Body Art. My cold Qi cannot gain any advantage against his cold Qi. Fifty percent confidence, no more than that."

Jiang Changge nodded slightly and turned his gaze to the other side.

Lu Jinghan sat beside him, his expression calm, his gaze fixed on the direction Xu Mo had just left on the battle stage. He was silent for a moment before speaking. "Revered Master, I have fought that gray-robed one before."

"He Cultivates the Law of Devouring and can devour his opponent's spiritual power and Divine Soul power; he is extremely troublesome."

"If anyone else encounters him, their spiritual power will be devoured the more they fight, while he only gets stronger. Indeed, few among the same rank can restrain him."

"However, I have fought him once. The Law of Time and Space happens to be able to restrain the Power of Devouring, creating gaps in his devouring rhythm, and the Law of Space can seal the range of his devouring."

Lu Jinghan's tone was calm, yet carried a sense of certainty. "I have full confidence that I can defeat him again."

Upon hearing this, a hint of approval appeared in Jiang Changge's eyes.

He did not ask further about the experience of Lu Jinghan's previous fight with the gray-robed youth, merely nodding slightly. "Good, I look forward to your performance tomorrow."

Soon, the spots for the second stage were settled. The Disciples who had stood out in the first stage returned to their respective places, and no one else stepped onto the stage.

Dusk was approaching, and the first day of the grand ceremony came to a temporary close in a complex atmosphere.