226: Chapter 226 Only One Strike

In the time that followed, the other groups completed their final matches.

By evening, when the setting sun had dyed the martial arts arena a deep crimson-gold, all battles across the seven arenas finally concluded.

The Referee Elders tallied the results for each group, and then the Head Referee Elder stepped onto the central arena to announce the results in a booming voice.

Seven groups, with the top five from each. A total of thirty-five people would advance to the finals.

As the names were read out one by one, a burst of cheers erupted from the direction of the corresponding Peak whenever a name was called.

On the Zixia Peak side, three names were called in succession—Shen Haoran, Qiao Yiyi, and Lin Tian. All three successfully advanced, and the Disciples of Zixia Peak cheered jubilantly, while the Elders also wore smiles.

Once the list of thirty-five people was finished, the Referee Elder waved his hand: "The Disciples who have entered the finals will have one hour to rest. After one hour, the finals will officially begin. Go and regulate your breathing."

The Disciples dispersed, returning to their respective rest areas. Some sat cross-legged in meditation, some consumed Medicinal Pills, and others closed their eyes to rest, all racing against time to recover their strength.

The elimination rounds had lasted for a whole day, consuming significant physical and mental energy, yet no one dared to slack off, for everyone knew—the real hard battle had only just begun.

One hour passed in the blink of an eye.

The sky had turned completely dark, and countless torches and spirit lamps were lit around the martial arts arena, illuminating the entire field as if it were daylight. The flames flickered in the night wind, making every young face appear in varying light and shadow, while a tense and scorching atmosphere filled the air.

The Referee Elder returned to the central arena, his gaze sweeping over the thirty-five Disciples who had gathered again, his voice ringing out clearly.

"Now, I will announce the rules for the finals."

The entire arena went silent.

"The finals will adopt a one-on-one duel format, using a points system. The winner gets one point, and the loser gets zero. The final rankings will be based on the total points, and the one with the highest points will be the champion of this Seven Peaks Tournament."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the high platform where the Seven Peak Masters were seated: "The distribution of the Martial King Treasure Trove will also be determined based on the final point rankings of the Disciples from each Peak."

As soon as these words fell, the expressions of the thirty-five Disciples changed.

A points system. Every win or loss was directly related to the distribution of the Treasure Trove. This meant they not only had to win, but they had to win as much as possible; they could not easily give up any match.

"The first match of the finals—" the Referee Elder lowered his head to glance at the matchup list in his hand, then announced loudly, "Zixia Peak's Shen Haoran, against Jinxia Peak's Zhao Yan."

Shen Haoran took a deep breath, stepped out from the Zixia Peak team, and climbed onto the arena. Opposite him, a sturdy youth also walked onto the stage; it was Zhao Yan of Jinxia Peak.

The two cupped their hands in salute to each other, then began to fight.

Zhao Yan wielded a pair of iron fists, his punches fierce and powerful, each blow accompanied by a dull, wind-breaking sound.

Shen Haoran, as always, used his long spear. The spear thrust out like a Dragon, its tip gleaming with a cold light under the firelight. After exchanging a dozen moves, Shen Haoran seized an opening, flicked his spear, and struck Zhao Yan's waist with the shaft, forcing him back several steps until he finally stepped off the edge of the arena.

"Zixia Peak's Shen Haoran, winner!"

Cheers erupted from the Zixia Peak side.

The subsequent battles continued one after another. No one who could enter the finals was a soft target; the weakest were at the Middle Stage of the fifth grade, most were at the Late Stage of the fifth grade, and there were even two at the Peak of the fifth grade holding the fort.

Every duel was a brutal clash. On the arena, fists flew and blades flashed, with people being knocked off the stage from time to time, drawing continuous gasps from the crowd below.

It was Late Stage vs. Late Stage, and no one dared to hold back; every move was executed with full force. A few Disciples even fought until they were both exhausted, with victory hanging by a thread. The watching Disciples dared not even breathe, their palms sweating.

It was in this tense and intense atmosphere that the names for another match were called out by the Referee Elder.

"Jinxia Peak's Senior Brother Wang Yidao, against Moxia Peak's Xu Fei."

As soon as the names were spoken, the entire arena erupted in a commotion. Everyone's gaze turned in unison toward the seventh arena.

Senior Brother Wang Yidao.

This name itself represented a sense of oppression.

Xu Fei stood up from the Moxia Peak team, his face looking somewhat bitter. He had entered the finals as the runner-up of his group, and his strength was not weak, but he had happened to draw Senior Brother Wang Yidao in the first round; such was his luck.

However, he did not shrink back. He took a deep breath and walked steadily onto the arena.

Opposite him, Senior Brother Wang Yidao was already standing there. He still wore that cold, stern expression, his arms crossed, and the black-sheathed long saber on his back gleamed with a cold light under the reflection of the spirit lamps.

Xu Fei knew this battle was ominous, but he did not intend to concede directly. Conceding was too cowardly; even if he couldn't win, he had to at least hold out for a few more moves so as not to embarrass Moxia Peak.

He took a deep breath and instantly activated his Shadow Movement Technique.

Without any probing, Xu Fei pushed his movement technique to the limit right from the start. His figure transformed into several blurred afterimages on the arena, circling Senior Brother Wang Yidao at high speed.

Sometimes on the left, sometimes on the right, sometimes behind; he was so fast that the crowd below could only see clusters of blurred black shadows flickering unpredictably on the arena.

He didn't expect to win.

But he wanted to make this battle last a little longer.

Senior Brother Wang Yidao stood in the center of the arena, expressionlessly watching the afterimages weaving around him at high speed, his eyes devoid of any fluctuation. His palm gripped the hilt of the saber on his back.

His gaze was as calm as water, only occasionally flickering, as if looking for something.

Suddenly.

Senior Brother Wang Yidao moved.

Without any warning, his drawing motion was so fast it almost exceeded the range of the naked eye.

A snow-bright blade light suddenly bloomed in the night sky, like lightning tearing through dark clouds, slashing fiercely toward one of the afterimages.

Boom!

As the blade light fell, it was as if a thunderclap had exploded on the arena. The few high-speed afterimages were split apart by this single strike, shattering one after another like foam.

And one of the afterimages was clipped by the edge of the blade light, emitting a muffled sound. A black figure was forced out of the afterimage, his feet carving two long tracks into the bluestone ground as he slid backward uncontrollably, falling directly off the arena.

One strike.

From start to finish, he only used one strike.

Xu Fei fell under the arena, and although he wasn't injured, he was completely stunned. He lay on the ground, looking up at the night sky, gasping for breath.

His Shadow Movement Technique was like paper in front of Senior Brother Wang Yidao; he couldn't even block a single strike.

The whole arena was silent for a moment, then it exploded into chaos.

"Such powerful saber technique!"

"Too fast... I couldn't even see the blade light!"

"Is this the strength of the Peak of the fifth grade?"

On the Zixia Peak side, the faces of Qiao Yiyi and Shen Haoran turned pale. They had witnessed Xu Fei's movement technique before, and even Lin Tian had to deal with it seriously to break it. Yet in front of Senior Brother Wang Yidao, he hadn't even lasted one move.

The Genius Disciples of other Peaks also revealed bitter smiles, whispering to one another.

"Forget it, if you meet Senior Brother Wang Yidao, just concede directly."

"If even Xu Fei's fast movement technique couldn't block one strike, we probably won't fare any better."

"Rather than getting injured, it's better to conserve strength. Anyway, we can't fight for first place; getting a top three or top five is enough."

This thought silently took root in many people's hearts. Even Shen Haoran and Qiao Yiyi exchanged a glance, seeing the same plan in each other's eyes—do not clash head-on with those at the Peak of the fifth grade, conserve strength, and fight for the remaining rankings.

In this atmosphere, the voice of the Referee Elder rang out again.

"Next match—"

He glanced at the matchup list in his hand.

"Zixia Peak's Lin Tian."

As the words fell, everyone's gaze on the Zixia Peak side fell upon Lin Tian.

Lin Tian opened his eyes and stood up from his state of meditation. He flexed his wrists, his expression calm, and walked toward the arena.