177: Divine Mark

January 18, 2123, cloudy.

Today, there will be 8 matches at the Great Xia Academy stadium.

Four in the morning, four in the afternoon.

Xiao Weiqing and the others from Luo River Prefecture entered the Great Xia Academy through the contestant channel, while other channels remained crowded.

However, unlike before, it was unusually quiet today, with everyone queuing up orderly. This was because the security personnel, originally Prefecture Soldiers, had been replaced by the Demon Suppressing Army, who exuded a murderous Aura.

"Have you heard?"

"Tickets for today's matches are selling like crazy."

Xue Cheng squinted and said, "Indeed, a single ticket costs 100,000 Great Xia Coins."

"That expensive?"

"Expensive? That's for the back rows. Front-row tickets are rumored to have been scalped for millions, and they're extremely hard to get."

"People from Jingdu Prefecture are still rich, huh."

Amidst their banter.

The group arrived at the stadium, which was packed with people.

A square arena, 300 meters on each side, was set up in the center.

Half an hour later.

Everyone had arrived.

"Hello everyone, the Exchange Competition is about to begin. Now, please welcome the 16 contestants to the stage for the draw."

A sweet voice spread throughout the stadium via the broadcast.

"The winner of District 1, Meng Yun from Great Xia Academy."

"Meng Yun!"

"Meng Yun!"

As soon as Meng Yun stepped onto the stage, countless people began to cheer. After all, he was a Genius from Jingdu Prefecture, so this was a home game.

"The winner of District 2..."

"…"

"The winner of District 7, Dongfang Xuan from Great Xia Academy!!!"

"Dongfang Xuan!"

The entire stadium erupted in thunderous cheers, as if to overturn the stadium.

"Dongfang Xuan, I love you!"

"Dongfang Xuan!"

..."The winner of District 12, Xiao Weiqing from Luo Jiang Academy."

...The host finished the introductions.

Everyone walked to the center of the arena and stood before an opaque box.

"Please, contestants, draw your numbers."

Xiao Weiqing drew number 6, placing him in the lower bracket. He would be the sixth to appear, and his opponent was Meng Yun from District 1.

Meng Yun saw the number 6 in his hand and sighed slightly, "No way, such bad luck."

"Please, the two contestants who drew number 1, remain. The rest of the contestants may leave."

On the arena.

Only Xia Mo and a Genius from Azure Dragon Academy, also a female named Yin Lingyao, remained.

"Please, audience members, refrain from loud noise and disturbing the order."

"Match start!"

At the command.

The stadium suddenly fell silent.

Xia Mo and Yin Lingyao also made their moves.

Whoosh~~

Water currents swirled around Xia Mo, protecting her. Immediately after, several streams of water appeared out of thin air, falling like waterfalls.

Yin Lingyao, on the other hand, transformed into a streak of light, rushing towards Xia Mo at high speed.

The distance between them was over a hundred meters, but in the blink of an eye, before the water in the sky could fall, Yin Lingyao had already closed in on Xia Mo.

"Too slow!"

Yin Lingyao drew a silver-white whip from her waist.

"Snap!"

She instantly bound Xia Mo.

"Got her."

Yin Lingyao felt relieved, and then the Spiritual Qi in her hand overflowed, causing the whip to tighten.

However.

Xia Mo extended a finger and lightly tapped the long whip. The water currents swirling around her instantly enveloped the whip in return.

"Hmm?"

Yin Lingyao immediately felt as if the long whip was pressed down by a mountain, and no matter how hard she pulled, she couldn't withdraw it.

Not only that.

The water currents began to travel along the whip towards her.

"Hmph~~"

With a delicate shout, Yin Lingyao unleashed her Second Realm Second Dan Spiritual Qi. Her entire body glowed brightly, and she struck Xia Mo with her other palm.

Whoosh~

The water currents transformed into a round shield, blocking the attack.

Yin Lingyao seized this opportunity to withdraw her whip and retreat.

Seeing this, Xia Mo lightly parted her red lips, "Fall!"

"What?"

Silently.

The waterfall in the air descended, forming a water curtain. Within a few seconds, it transformed into a hemispherical water barrier inverted over the arena, trapping Yin Lingyao within it.

"Yin Lingyao lost."

Teng Hai shook his head.

Ji Zhiming nodded, "This Yin Lingyao was a bit careless."

"Even if she wasn't careless, she wouldn't have won. Xia Mo's strength is greater than a month ago, both in the intensity of her Heavy Water and the speed of her spellcasting."

"In short, Yin Lingyao is no match for Xia Mo."

Ji Zhiming nodded slightly. It was clear that Yin Lingyao's Extraordinary Talent was speed and skill-based. Without powerful attacks, she couldn't break through Xia Mo's water shield, and defeat was inevitable.

As expected.

The circular water barrier continuously contracted.

Yin Lingyao, like a headless fly, was unable to break through the water barrier.

The Heavy Water currents bound Yin Lingyao, causing her consciousness to blur.

"Xia Mo wins!"

The referee announced the result at the opportune moment.

"Amazing!"

"Xia Mo is not only beautiful but also strong."

"And she has a lot of water."

"If only she could be my girlfriend."

"Get lost, go look in a mirror. How dare you try to snatch Xia Mo from me?"

The first battle thus concluded.

The entire battle lasted less than two minutes.

Xia Mo easily won... Half an hour later.

The second match began.

"It finally started."

"Started? I almost fell asleep waiting."

"Five minutes of fighting, half an hour of waiting. I say they should fight continuously."

Amidst the audience's complaints, the two contestants for the second match finally stepped onto the arena.

"Do you think these two have a destined rivalry?"

Fei Xiaobao chuckled.

"Indeed, their ladder rankings are close, one follows a nimble path, the other an open and aggressive one, and both have companion weapons."

In the contestant area, the Luo Jiang Academy group was discussing.

The two on the arena were Luo Dechang and Lü Heguang.

"Match start!"

"Hah!~~"

Luo Dechang stomped on the arena, charging out like a raging lion.

Almost simultaneously.

Lü Heguang moved, unleashing his Spirit Energy Cloak, lightly tapping the arena, and drifting backward.

Unbeknownst to anyone, a square great hammer appeared in Luo Dechang's hand, which he forcefully smashed onto the spot where Lü Heguang had stood.

"Boom!"

Terrifying sound waves spread in all directions.

"No divine rune, Luo Dechang, you're no match for me."

Lü Heguang saw that no divine rune appeared on Luo Dechang's great hammer and felt greatly reassured.

divine rune.

The quantitative manifestation of a companion weapon's power. By absorbing divine charm and nurturing the companion weapon, its power continuously increases, and a divine rune condenses with each stage of improvement.

"Fight!"

Lü Heguang's eyes were cold, and a chilling Aura erupted from his body.

A ghostly figure appeared beside Luo Dechang, sweeping a sword as if to cleave Luo Dechang in half.

"Clang!"

A sound of metal clashing.

Golden Qi currents spread from the center of the two.

Both were impacted and retreated repeatedly. Lü Heguang stopped after less than 10 steps.

Luo Dechang, on the other hand, retreated a full 20 steps, each step thundering on the arena.

"Is this reasonable?"

"In a strength contest, Luo Dechang actually lost?"

Xue Cheng said, "Reasonable."

"Lü Heguang's companion weapon has already formed a divine rune; his attack strength can theoretically double."

"That exaggerated?"

"Double? Then what's the point of Luo Dechang fighting? In that case, Xiao Weiqing might not even be his match either," Fei Xiaobao exclaimed.

"Attack strength is not personal strength," Jiang Peng, who was behind them, explained.

As someone who also possessed a companion weapon, Jiang Peng had more authority on the matter.

Everyone understood Jiang Peng's meaning: a person's strength is a comprehensive performance of various aspects. The current Lü Heguang could only be said to have taken a big step up in attack.

As for other aspects, the improvement was not significant, but even so, it was still very impressive.

Lü Heguang's own strength was not bad, and his Movement Technique was top-notch. Now that his companion weapon had condensed a divine rune, it was like adding wings to a tiger for him.