182: gambling

"Ning Xing, tell Xiao Weiqing to give it his all!"

"Understood."

After Tang Tianxun and the other two left.

Ning Xing sent a voice transmission to Xiao Weiqing.

"Weiqing."

On the arena, Ning Xing's voice seemed to be right beside his ear, startling Xiao Weiqing.

"Teacher?"

"It is I."

"Teacher, is something the matter?"

"You must win this battle. Can you do it?"

Hearing the seriousness in Ning Xing's voice, Xiao Weiqing did not ask further questions and simply replied, "I promise."

"Good."

On the other side.

Tang Tianxun faced the Divine Envoy and said, "Thirty thousand Star Fruits are not enough. Make it one hundred thousand."

The Divine Envoy shook his head. "There are not that many. Fifty thousand."

Tang Tianxun added, "If Azure Dragon Academy wins both matches, the azure dragon stele can be returned to the temple a year early."

The Divine Envoy replied, "Agreed."

...

Inside the stadium, the audience was growing impatient because the match had been delayed for so long.

Those watching the live stream were the same. They only saw Xiao Weiqing and Luo Ziyuan staring at each other from a hundred meters away, neither making a move. Anyone unaware might have thought the two had some sort of relationship.

On the arena.

Xiao Weiqing and Luo Ziyuan had also been waiting for a long time.

Upon hearing Ning Xing's voice just now, Xiao Weiqing knew something must have happened, but regardless, he had to win this battle.

Finally.

The broadcast announcement sounded.

"The match begins!"

"It's starting, it's starting."

"They're finally going to fight."

"Both are at the Second Realm, Three Elixir stage, and possess a companion weapon. It's a clash of titans!"

The two people on the arena attracted millions of gazes.

Boom!

Without any warning.

Xiao Weiqing rushed out.

As he ran, golden flames surged over his entire body, distorting the vision of the onlookers and making it impossible to see his appearance. He had entered the Flame True Body state directly.

Facing Xiao Weiqing in this form.

Luo Ziyuan's expression changed. He did not underestimate his opponent in the slightest; instead of retreating, he advanced. As he stepped forward, a roaring sound accompanied his movements, and his body was rapidly covered in a suit of silvery-white armor.

Both sides attacked simultaneously, clearly intending to clash head-on.

Two figures darted across the arena, rapidly closing the distance.

Relying on the advantage of his weapon, Luo Ziyuan charged up a strike from several meters away and brought his staff down fiercely.

Xiao Weiqing immediately stopped with his left foot and gripped the thousand flame blade with both hands.

He swung the blade upward, meeting the attack head-on.

"Boom!"

The staff collided with the blade, the powerful shockwave forcing both of them to take several steps back.

A terrifying amount of energy erupted between the two, and a ripple of air instantly swept across the arena, flying toward the spectator stands a hundred meters away.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Four figures landed in the stadium.

"Rise!"

A transparent, square protective barrier suddenly rose, isolating the aftermath of their battle.

On the arena.

The two were evenly matched in that opening exchange, but neither was calm inside.

"This Xiao Weiqing is certainly no pushover. He is clearly a Technique Cultivator, yet his close-combat strength is far greater than that of an average Level 6 Martial Cultivator."

Xiao Weiqing was also frowning. "This Luo Ziyuan, being able to take a hit from me while I am in the Flame True Body state head-on, is definitely not an ordinary Martial Cultivator."

Without hesitation.

Taking a step forward, Xiao Weiqing pushed a palm of flame directly toward Luo Ziyuan.

Luo Ziyuan's pupils constricted.

"Bang!"

He kicked off the arena floor and retreated repeatedly, while simultaneously spinning his staff with both hands to resist the oncoming flames.

The rapidly whirling staff whipped up the flames.

"Hah!"

With a violent shout.

Luo Ziyuan leaped high into the air.

"Long Rainbow Pierces the Void!"

The staff was bent by Luo Ziyuan, and silver Protective Aura streaked across mid-air. Three divine runes appeared on the staff as he slashed down fiercely, smashing toward Xiao Weiqing.

Xiao Weiqing, who had been preparing to attack again, had no choice but to dodge, jumping sideways.

"Bang!"

The ten-meter-long staff shadow smashed down, causing the entire arena to shake.

The tremendous noise made Xiao Weiqing's eardrums ache, and the terrifying air pressure swept across the arena, forcing him to retreat continuously.

"Damn!"

"Strong, too strong."

"This Luo Ziyuan really was hiding his strength."

"Xiao Weiqing has fallen into a disadvantage."

The onlookers began to worry for Xiao Weiqing.

In the exchange of defense and attack.

Xiao Weiqing lost his offensive rhythm and was forced to retreat, setting his stance to observe Luo Ziyuan's next move.

In the blink of an eye, the roles of attacker and defender had reversed.

Dongfang Xuan, in the contestant area, was watching intently.

He had experienced Xiao Weiqing's Flame True Body form, which was in no way inferior to his own Thunder Armor form, yet this Luo Ziyuan had actually managed to suppress Xiao Weiqing by force.

The other Level 6 Extraordinary Talent geniuses from Great Xia were all shocked, and a thought arose in their minds.

"Terrifying!"

Luo Ziyuan's strike had been effective, but he did not pursue, instead exclaiming, "As a Technique Cultivator, such close-combat strength is truly rare."

"It is a pity that your companion weapon is not original and has no divine runes."

Xiao Weiqing remained expressionless and pressed his palm downward.

"Flame Dome!"

Luo Ziyuan did not seem to notice the attack descending from the sky. He put away his staff with one hand and, under the gaze of the crowd, shifted sideways by one step, appearing several meters away and easily dodging the pillar of flame falling from mid-air.

"Huh?"

Xiao Weiqing was startled. "So easily?"

"Fire Owl!"

"Boom! Boom!"

From dozens of meters away, Xiao Weiqing swung his palms several times in succession.

However.

An unexpected scene occurred.

Luo Ziyuan strolled leisurely across the arena, dodging each one. With every dodge, there was no wasted movement; he brushed past the pillars of flame as if he had deliberately calculated them.

"What is going on?"

Xiao Weiqing's brows were tightly knit. It was as if this Luo Ziyuan had predicted his attacks in advance, giving him the feeling that he could see the landing point of his attacks beforehand.

"Anything else?"

"As a True Art, your Innate Skill is very powerful, and your casting speed far exceeds that of a Level 6 Extraordinary Talent, but it is a pity that you met me."

Ignoring Luo Ziyuan's chatter.

Xiao Weiqing took a step forward and rushed forward violently.

He fired several more Fire Owls.

Luo Ziyuan dodged left and right again, evading the blasts. Seeing Xiao Weiqing closing in from the corner of his eye, he was not afraid in the slightest. Facing the thousand flame blade that was right in front of him, he swung his staff.

Xiao Weiqing had anticipated this; he quickly lowered his body, using his right foot as a pivot, and slashed with his blade.

"Seamless Slash!"

The two crossed paths.

In Luo Ziyuan's stunned eyes, the thousand flame blade grazed his arm, and a streak of blood sprayed out.

"Hmph."

Luo Ziyuan felt the pain, and his staff instantly snapped out, sweeping backward to strike at the back of Xiao Weiqing's head.

Xiao Weiqing immediately turned and blocked with his blade held horizontally.

"Clang!"

A tremendous force forced Xiao Weiqing back, sliding him several meters across the arena.

But Xiao Weiqing did not give up on his attack.

He raised his left hand, aiming at Luo Ziyuan's back, and flames suddenly appeared, ready to be blasted out.

At this moment.

Luo Ziyuan, having stanched his wound, was facing away from Xiao Weiqing and shifted sideways one step, dodging in advance.

However.

Xiao Weiqing put his hand away, a look of realization appearing on his face.

"What kind of ability is this? A field of view with no blind spots? Or sensing air currents?"

Luo Ziyuan turned around, his expression changing slightly. "Why can't it be Mental Energy?"

Xiao Weiqing shook his head. "I did not sense your Mental Energy being projected outward."

"Is that so? You are quite confident. It seems your Mental Energy Rank is very high."

Xiao Weiqing did not reply.

Luo Ziyuan reached out and stroked the air in front of him.

"In my world, the surrounding air is like my sensor. I can capture the flow speed of the surrounding air, the movement caused by temperature, the changes produced by pressure, and other minute air variations."

"This is utilizing the most basic physical rules, allowing me to dodge long-range technique attacks in advance."

"So your Innate Skill is useless against me, or rather, it cannot cause me any damage, unless your casting speed is fast enough that I cannot react in time."

"But unfortunately, no Technique Cultivator of the same Rank can do that."

Xiao Weiqing nodded slightly.

"Thank you for your honesty."

"Flame Dome!"

Luo Ziyuan shook his head. "It's useless."

However, the next moment, Luo Ziyuan was stunned. He discovered that he had nowhere to dodge.