185: Level 40

The two matches in the afternoon ended.

Everyone left the venue.

"Xiao Weiqing, wait."

"Senior."

Jiang Peng said to the others, "You guys go back first, I have something to discuss with Xiao Weiqing."

Qin Tian and the others nodded and left first.

"This way."

Jiang Peng and Xiao Weiqing took a path with fewer people.

"Senior, what is it?"

"Are you confident about tomorrow?"

Xiao Weiqing shook his head. "I don't know. I can't see through Zang Yu's strength."

Jiang Peng nodded. Not just Xiao Weiqing, but even he couldn't see through him; the methods of a Spirit Cultivator had always been unpredictable.

"There's too little information on Zang Yu. That grandson Lin Tao entered a relic; otherwise, I could have asked him."

"However, I can tell you that Zang Yu's Mental Energy level is at least Level 40."

"Level 40?"

Xiao Weiqing was greatly shocked.

"You're not joking?"

Jiang Peng said, "You forgot, I also have a companion weapon. The nurturing of a companion weapon's divine runes has strict Mental Energy requirements."

"I only nurtured the fourth divine rune when my Mental Energy reached Level 42."

"Zang Yu's companion weapon isn't original, so nurturing it will only be more difficult. Without Level 40 Mental Energy, it's impossible to nurture the fourth divine rune."

Xiao Weiqing fell silent, recalling Lin Yuhan's words. Zang Yu's Soul-Devouring Blade wasn't for amplification, but for suppressing the Mental Energy he couldn't control.

"Senior, if someone's Mental Energy is so strong they can't even control it, how strong would that Mental Energy be?"

Jiang Peng thought for a few seconds and said:

"Xiao Weiqing, you must understand that on the path of the extraordinary, mental power and physical power complement each other."

"As the saying goes, 'Yin alone cannot exist, and Yang alone cannot grow'."

"If someone's Mental Energy is strong enough to exceed their Physical Body by two Realms, it becomes difficult to control. They might even experience hallucinations, mild personality splits, and headaches."

Jiang Peng suddenly looked up. "Are you talking about Zang Yu?"

Xiao Weiqing nodded. "Lin Yuhan told me that the blade in Zang Yu's hand was bestowed by the Azure Dragon Academy, but it's used to suppress his Mental Energy because it's so strong he can't control it himself."

"Are you sure?" Jiang Peng was shocked.

"Yes."

Jiang Peng took a deep breath. "Then that's terrifying. Zang Yu's Physical Body has only just entered the Mortal Shedding Realm. In that case, wouldn't his Mental Energy level be close to Level 50?"

One must know that Jiang Peng's own Mental Energy was only Level 47.

"Senior, what you said is very likely."

"Xiao Weiqing, be careful tomorrow. If it's impossible, just give up. A Spirit Cultivator's methods are unpredictable. If your Divine Soul gets injured, the loss would outweigh the gain, and it would affect your future Second Awakening."

Xiao Weiqing smiled. "Senior, we haven't fought yet, so who knows?"

"Maybe I'm stronger than you think?"

Jiang Peng glanced at Xiao Weiqing. "How strong can someone in the Second Realm be? Without Spiritual Qi liquefying and entering the Fourth Realm, you're all just rookies who have just stepped onto the path of cultivation."

"Anyway, you must be careful tomorrow."

"I know, Senior."

The two parted ways.

On the way back.

Details of the battle between Dongfang Xuan and Zang Yu flashed through Xiao Weiqing's mind, along with Jiang Peng's words.

The material of the Exchange Competition arena was special; it couldn't be destroyed by attacks below the Fifth Realm.

Today's two battles.

His Triple Fire energy could leave marks on the arena, while Zang Yu's Innate Skill could actually damage it. This meant that in terms of pure attack power, Zang Yu was even above the Triple Fire.

Of course, it certainly couldn't compare to his Samadhi True Fire.

One must know that even if it wasn't fully formed Samadhi True Fire, it could still easily damage the academy's Energy Tester. In Civilization Relic No. 1, Xiao Weiqing was able to defeat the young Jiu Tian and win the final assessment treasure all thanks to the Samadhi True Fire.

"The arena is only 300 meters long; it shouldn't be a big problem."

With the Samadhi True Fire, Xiao Weiqing believed he would be the final winner, unless Zang Yu could instant-kill him across the arena... Dongfang Xuan's defeat in the semifinals was a pity.

At night, countless geniuses repeatedly watched the two battles from this afternoon.

They wanted to analyze these two battles to figure out who, between Xiao Weiqing and Zang Yu, would take first place tomorrow.

A heated argument erupted in the Ladder Forum.

"What do you all think about tomorrow's final?"

"I'll watch it with the Xiaowei Holographic Projector. The Xiaowei Holographic Projector lets you immerse yourself in the scene."

"Get lost!"

"I, Dong Fei, officially support Xiao Weiqing to take first place."

"Who the hell are you? Is your support even useful? Can Xiao Weiqing beat Zang Yu?"

"What? Are you so sure Xiao Weiqing is no match for Zang Yu?"

"Nonsense, isn't it obvious? Xiao Weiqing is strong, I don't deny that, but at most, he's only a bit stronger than Dongfang Xuan.

As for Zang Yu, I've watched his battle with Dongfang Xuan over a dozen times, and I've discovered a terrifying fact: Dongfang Xuan didn't land a single blow on Zang Yu from beginning to end."

"I've also studied the recording and agree with the person above. Xiao Weiqing's strength is the kind of strength we can see. Zang Yu is different; we still don't know his true strength."

"Agreed. Starting from the top 16, Zang Yu has shown more strength in every battle. No matter who the opponent was, he defeated them with ease."

This seemed to be the case; most people felt this way. It wasn't that Xiao Weiqing wasn't strong, but rather that Zang Yu seemed even stronger.

"Also, you don't forget that Zang Yu's companion weapon has four divine runes."

"Xiao Weiqing's companion weapon was supposedly obtained in Civilization Relic No. 1. It's only been over a month; at most, he's nurtured one divine rune, or maybe even none at all."

Someone countered, "I don't agree with you. What's so special about four divine runes?

divine runes only increase the attack power of a companion weapon, but a person's strength isn't just about offense. The True Fire is nothing to scoff at. Besides, since Xiao Weiqing's rise, when have you ever seen him lose?"

"That's true. We also can't predict Xiao Weiqing's strength. Every time he appears in the public eye, he leaves everyone's jaws dropping."

"Be rational. I still think Zang Yu will win."

"I support Xiao Weiqing; he's the one everyone's rooting for."

"Agreed, I also support Xiao Weiqing."

"..."

While the discussion on the forum was heating up.

Xiao Weiqing was in his room video-chatting with a woman—it was Wei Lan, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Brother Qing, I missed you so much."

Wei Lan was wearing a low-cut camisole, her curvaceous figure fully on display, making Xiao Weiqing's eyes light up.

Ever since Wei Lan entered her Family's relic, they had rarely video-chatted like this.

"Where are you? Did your grandfather let you out?"

"I snuck out. I'm at my old place now." Wei Lan stuck out her tongue.

Xiao Weiqing gave Wei Lan a doting glare. "Don't do that again."

"But I'm worried about you."

"Worried about what?"

"I watched the recordings of your matches. Brother Qing, are you confident about beating that Zang Yu tomorrow?"

"I'm not very confident."

Wei Lan's expression changed as she prepared to comfort Xiao Weiqing.

"I'd say I have about an eighty or ninety percent chance of winning."

"?"

"Brother Qing, did I hear that right?"

"You didn't. Just wait for the news." Xiao Weiqing's tone was resolute.

Xiao Weiqing didn't continue the topic. Today, everyone had been asking him how confident he was about tomorrow, and he was tired of hearing it.

"By the way, Wei Lan, after the Exchange Competition is over, I'll come find you."

"Really?"

Xiao Weiqing nodded. "Yes, and I'll give you something while I'm at it."

"You can't lie to me oh."

"Of course..."

The two flirted for a while longer before ending the video... The next morning.

The stadium was still packed with people.

As ten o'clock approached, all the important figures had arrived.

On the main spectator stand.

There were more than twice as many people as yesterday.

Tap... tap... The experts seemed to sense something and turned to look at the stairs.

Min Huaixun was the first to come up, followed by a person wearing a cloak—it was the Azure Dragon Divine Envoy.

"Principal Xia, can the match begin?" He Qingqing asked from the side.

"Yes."

"Wait!" the Divine Envoy said.