90: Chapter 90 The Battle is Underway

Twilight pressed down upon the Songshan competition grounds.

Tens of thousands of spectators filled the circular stands, and the noise was deafening.

Billions of live broadcast viewers across the entire network waited online, barrage comments scrolled incessantly, and the popularity of the entire competition grounds surged to the top of the entire network.

As the cruel screening of the first round concluded, only three hundred elites remained out of the three thousand Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

After the rest period ended, the Foundation Establishment repechage officially began.

The competition format remained simple and brutal: a free-for-all melee of ten people fighting independently. Anyone knocked off the arena stage, suffering from spiritual power exhaustion, or losing combat capability would be instantly eliminated. It was an amicable sparring match throughout, and lethal blows were strictly prohibited.

Qingyun raised his hand to form hand seals, and spiritual light barriers rose one after another, covering all the floating arena stages.

The cameras of the entire venue instantly locked onto Arena A, and the lineup of this group could be called the ceiling of the repechage.

Two Elf mages, one Dwarf battle-qi martial Cultivator, three water, fire, and lightning elemental mages, plus four orthodox Daoist Sect Foundation Establishment Cultivators from the Shangqing Sect, Shenxiao Sect, Tianshi Mansion, and Wudang.

At the high viewing platform, the big figures of various Sects quietly watched the battle.

The barrage in the live broadcast room rolled wildly:

[This group is definitely a match of immortals, not a single substandard one!]

[The three alien systems versus the four orthodox Daoist paths—in the end, it will definitely be internal competition within the Daoist paths!]

[Waiting to watch authentic Daoist Magic crush the miscellaneous streams!]

[You can't really call them miscellaneous streams. With three thousand Great Daos leading to the same destination, one can only say that magic and battle qi haven't produced any big figures.]

[Who says that? Didn't the Martial Ancestor blend magic and battle qi to create a new martial dao?]

[Mainly because we've never seen the Martial Ancestor make a move; who knows how strong he is?]

[You're going to see it very soon. I saw him draw lots yesterday; tomorrow should be the Golden Core Stage showdown.]

[Really? Looking forward to it!]

The battle began without a shred of probing, instantly turning white-hot.

Relying on their racial talent, the two Elves combined wind-type magic with the martial dao's lightness technique, their figures flashing across the entire arena instantly.

"Swift Wind, Wind Blades!"

Azure wind whistled, and countless wind blades cut through all four sides of the arena.

They didn't fight head-on, instead roaming and launching sneak attacks throughout the entire match, specifically targeting the spell-casting rigidity gaps of others to consume them, retreating immediately after attacking, maximizing the kiting rhythm.

On the stands—

Immortal Master Qinghe of Quanzhen spoke: "Are both Elf Races wind-type? Their speed gives them the advantage, but unfortunately, they lack a finishing killing move. They can only exhaust, not decide."

Celestial Master Zhang: "If there were also a fire-type Elf, it would be hard to say. Wind aids fire, after all."

In the center of the arena, the sturdy Dwarf stepped onto the ground as if taking root, and earthy-yellow battle qi burst forth violently from his whole body.

"Mountain Suppressor!"

The heavy battle qi condensed into solid armor, taking all the wind blade cuts head-on without moving an inch.

He held a giant axe, guarding the center. Anyone who approached was hacked back with brute force, maximizing close-combat suppression.

Watching the Dwarf's offensive, Daoist Master Xuanyang of Chunyang Palace voiced out: "Physical Body battle qi in close combat fears crowd control, fears Formations, and fears continuous magic consumption. He'll be eliminated soon."

Sect Head Lin of the Shenxiao Sect also nodded in agreement: "Battle qi? However, the Dwarf Race is naturally physically robust; perhaps they are good timber for a Body Cultivator."

On the three sides of the arena, the three elemental mages acted on their own, holding each other in check, with none willing to yield to the others.

"Heaven-Incinerating Fireball!"

"Mystic Water Defense Boundary!"

"Startling Thunder Desolation!"

Fire suppressed the field, water protected itself, and lightning cut off spell-casting. The three elemental systems bombarded the arena chaotically; the scene was ferocious, but consumption was extremely fast.

Immortal Master Jingyan of the Shushan Sect shook his head: "Elemental magic systems rely on bursts to make a living; in a chaotic melee, they will be the first to collapse."

Daoist Master Xuanyang looked at the mages and was also speechless: "Only cultivating the Heart-Nature without cultivating life—total glass cannons."

Amidst the chaotic battle, the four Daoist Sect Disciples consistently maintained steady footing, each displaying their Sect's unique ultimate techniques.

The Shangqing Sect Disciple Xifeng, who was Senior Brother Qingcang's apprentice, pinched a hand seal and shouted in a low voice: "Qiankun Spirit-Binding, Formation, rise!"

Spirit-Binding Talismans covered the ground stealthily, setting up a concealment and speed-locking trap Formation.

It specifically countered high-speed movement techniques. The Elves' multiple instantaneous movements were all locked and hindered by the Formation's power, directly shattering their roaming rhythm.

Master Yuanxin said: "Speed-locking via Formation, good idea."

Wudang Sect Leader Wang: "These few juniors are all not bad. Hehe, what a pity, they've run into a match."

"Hmm?" Hearing Sect Head Wang's words, everyone on the stands focused their gazes. "Old Daoist Wang, what do you mean?"

"Shen Qingyan is this old Daoist's closing Disciple." Sect Head Wang stroked his beard and smiled.

——On the arena stage

The Shenxiao Sect Disciple Zihua's gaze turned fierce: "Shenxiao Imperial Decree, Purple Thunder Exorcises Evil!"

Purple-gold thunder serpents pierced through the air and bombarded; Shenxiao Lightning Magic inherently countered all alien techniques.

As the thunder arcs struck down, the Elves' wind shields trembled violently, their magic power disordered as they retreated, no longer daring to roam willfully.

Zhang Yufeng of Tianshi Mansion chanted a spell to condense his gang qi: "Heaven and Earth mysterious Sect, root of ten thousand Qi, Golden Light protect the body!"

Golden radiance covered his body, and ten thousand laws could not invade.

Water, fire, wind, and lightning striking the golden light shield were all completely dissipated.

After stabilizing his defense, the Five Yang Divine Lightning struck out consecutively, pressing and forcing back the people fighting chaotically on all sides.

Celestial Master Zhang on the stands nodded slightly: "Only with a solid foundation of self can one fight for a long time."

Wudang's Shen Qingyan stepped out the positions of the Qimen Dunjia, and the Taiji circular force flowed around her body.

She did not vie for the attack nor covet kills, relying on Qimen positioning to avoid all ferocious offensives, and then using Taiji transformation to deflect force. The brute force, fire strength, and lightning momentum from all directions were all easily neutralized by her.

Wudang Sect Leader Wang chuckled: "Qimen determines positions, Taiji defuses ten thousand laws; it is most advantageous in a chaotic melee."

The battle situation completely entered a state of disordered slaughter, with the ten people attacking each other without any mercy.

The ones who collapsed and were eliminated first were the three elemental mages.

High-frequency bursts, mutual restraint, and zero endurance—in just dozens of breaths, the magic power inside the three people's bodies was completely hollowed out.

Fire could not burn, water could not gather, and lightning could not be guided. One after another, they were forced off the arena stage by attacks from all sides, eliminated and leaving the field in the first round.

The live broadcast room barrage scrolled:

[Indeed! Elemental mages cannot survive in a chaotic melee!]

[Their burst is fierce, but they are too fragile and consume too much mana—pure disposable players!]

[Mainly they're glass cannons; without mana, they can only wait for death.]

[At the end of the day, one still needs the Dual Cultivation of Nature and Life.]

[Look, those two Elves are about to kneel too.]

After the elemental mages were eliminated, the battlefield pressure entirely shifted to the Elves.

Without the magic system to restrain them, the two Elves were completely targeted by Daoist Sect spells.

The Shangqing trap Formation locked down their displacement, the Shenxiao lightning magic continuously blasted their shields, and the Tianshi golden light suppressed the field head-on.

Through continuous high-intensity battle of attrition, the Elves' magic power quickly withered, and their movement techniques became increasingly sluggish.

After several failed attempts to break through, they could only helplessly leap off the arena stage, both being eliminated.

Following closely, the remaining sturdy Dwarf could not prop up the sky alone.

No matter how thick his battle qi was, he couldn't withstand the four Sects' Daoist Magic grinding his HP in turns.

Lightning magic broke battle qi, Formations locked movement positions, golden light suppressed head-on, and Taiji borrowed force to counter-shock.

His body-protecting battle qi dimmed layer by layer, and his Physical Body trembled and went numb.

Knowing that the general trend was gone and that holding on any longer would only vainly consume his cultivation, the Dwarf gritted his teeth, put away his axe, leaped off the stage, and conceded defeat.

At this point! The elemental magic systems on the field were all cleared to zero!

On top of the arena stage, only the four Daoist Sect Disciples from the Shangqing Sect, Shenxiao Sect, Tianshi Mansion, and Wudang remained!

The entire audience instantly boiled over!

Hundreds of thousands of spectators' cheers shook the competition grounds, and the live broadcast room barrage directly dominated the screen!

[It really is internal competition! A grand showdown of authentic Daoist Sects!]

[The top Disciples of the four Sects fighting for first place in the group—this is the real main event!]

[What comes next is the real skill!]

The big figures on the high platform all looked squarely at the arena stage, their expressions no longer casual.

Immortal Master Qinghe: "The cultivation levels of the four people are about the same; in the contention of the Righteous Path, it all depends on their performance."

Master Xuanyang: "The Cultivation Techniques of the four Sects each have their strengths and weaknesses; victory or defeat depends entirely on their state of mind and on-site control."

The four people inside the field took their respective positions, and the atmosphere was grim and murderous.

Xifeng of the Shangqing Sect took the lead in opening the Formation, the Formation patterns spreading beneath his feet, intending to use the trap Formation to lock down the positioning of the other three and seize the initiative of the overall situation.

Zihua wouldn't indulge that; raising his hand, all-sky purple thunder bombarded, violently breaking the Formation and forcibly tearing open the battle situation.

Zhang Yufeng of Tianshi Mansion had golden light protecting his body, striking thunder seals continuously with both offense and defense, pressing forward steadily.

The three parties each displayed their ultimate techniques, instantly fighting into a ball.

Formation imprisonment, thunder magic roaring, and golden light clashing—the collision of authentic Daoist Magic had a might far surpassing the previous alien chaotic melee.

Shen Qingyan still roamed the battle situation, Qimen rotating beneath her feet, standing in a lucky position herself, not participating in the first round of hard clashes.

She watched coldly as the three of them exhausted each other, her Taiji force ready to deploy at any moment, specializing in catching flaws.

The Shangqing trap Formation was violently torn apart by the Shenxiao lightning magic, and its true essence consumption was huge, revealing a flaw.

Zhang Yufeng of Tianshi Mansion used the Golden Light Incantation to resist the lightning magic head-on, pressing back the Shenxiao Cultivator, but his figure was tripped up by the remaining Formation power of the Shangqing Sect.

The three parties suffered mutual damage, and their true essences were all exhausted.

Right at this moment, Shen Qingyan moved! Stepping onto the Qimen absolute-kill position, her body cut into the battle group like flowing clouds.

Her Taiji transformation was fully opened, using four taels to deflect a thousand catties!

She raised her hand to defuse the Five Yang Divine Lightning force, pushing along the momentum to suppress its power right back.

Following closely, she turned sideways to avoid the Shenxiao thunder arc, her palm wind's soft force adhering to the opponent's shoulder, using the force to shock them back.

The final style of circular force swept out, directly crushing the residual Formation of Shangqing's Xifeng. Smooth and flowing, clean and neat!

All three Daoist Sect Disciples were shaken back repeatedly, their breaths disordered and true essences disconnected.

Zihua of the Shenxiao Sect stabilized first, wanting to raise lightning magic again, but was locked down tightly by Shen Qingyan's spell-casting rhythm.

Zhang Yufeng's spiritual power was also more than half depleted with no strength left to continue, and Xifeng's Formation was broken and momentum decayed, powerless to deploy a new Formation again.

In a mere few rounds, superiority and inferiority were instantly judged.

The three knew they couldn't win and successively withdrew their energy to concede defeat.

The dust settled across the entire venue!

First place of this group's match—Wudang's Shen Qingyan!

The spectators' applause exploded across the entire competition grounds.

The various big figures on the high platform commented out loud.

Celestial Master Zhang: "Knowing how to sit back and reap the profits, her Heart-Nature is extremely excellent."

Master Yuanxin: "Not impatient nor impetuous, grasping timing extremely accurately, she is a sapling of the Righteous Path."

Master Xuanyang revealed a smiling expression: "Sect Head Wang, her Qimen position-controlling and Taiji force-defusing have already obtained true transmission."

The repechages completely concluded, filtering out thirty people from the three hundred elites to advance to the semifinals.

Master Yuanxin looked at Ye Qingxuan, who had a lack-interest expression, and asked: "Qingxuan, after watching until now, do you have any thoughts?"

As for this bout, watching it until now, how should Ye Qingxuan's evaluation be put? It was all flashy and showy. When he was at the thirteenth layer of Qi Refining, he could have swept them all away.

"Pecking among rookie chickens!" Ye Qingxuan said with a serious face.

Everyone: "..."

After a night of rest and reorganization, the final schedule of the Grand Ritual of Luotian's Foundation Establishment stage opened the next day.

The thirty Foundation Establishment Cultivators who broke through from the repechages stood separately on the magic platforms, starting the competition of the semifinals and finals. Massive offline spectators and countless online Cultivators gazed together at the high-altitude competition grounds, and elders of various Sects also took their seats on the viewing high platform.

Ye Qingxuan sat in the VIP seat, his gaze sweeping across all participating Cultivators, seeing through everyone's bottom lines at a single glance.

These geniuses who were highly sought after outside each had flaws; some blindly urged strong offensive spells, causing their spiritual power consumption to be too fast;

some only relied on defensive Talismans to desperately hold their ground, having zero countermeasures for close-quarters spell-fighting;

and some had Divine Sense control of spells that wasn't meticulous enough, making it extremely easy to reveal flaws during battles.

Among all people in the entire venue, only Wudang's Shen Qingyan had both offense and defense, stable tactics, and spiritual power allocation managed just right. The final champion of the Foundation Establishment group would undoubtedly be her.

The spell-fighting on the mid-air magic platform officially began, and various colored spell spiritual lights constantly collided against the Restriction protective shields. Thunder light, wind blades, and fire radiances crisscrossed, and Cultivators continually ran out of spiritual power or were blasted flying by spells, falling off the magic platform to suffer tragic elimination.

The referee immediately proclaimed in a loud voice, "The champion of the Foundation Establishment tier of this Grand Ritual of Luotian is Wudang's Shen Qingyan!" Below, the entire viewing area instantly stirred up earth-shaking cheers.

"The Golden Core Stage bouts might be a bit interesting." Ye Qingxuan looked at Lin Lei behind him, who was eager to try.