Xiao Wu grinned fiercely and then the purple glow emitted from her emerald-green eyes intensified! She stepped forward and kicked off the ground, stepping on top of the black dragon and began to fly around the Paper Talisman Soldier, like a hunter stalking its prey!

Ku Xong furrowed his brows and then made a simple hand seal: although the Paper Talisman Soldier looked imposing, it was, after all, just a single Talisman! What that meant was that it had no consciousness, it was up to its owner, Ku Xong to control its every move!

He constantly changed hand seals, as if he was controlling a marionette, and the Paper Talisman Soldier was like a puppet pulled by strings, shifting its position and keeping its guard up all the time.

Ku Xong did not dare underestimate the power of the Black Dragon Aura Sword: he was sure that, without the Paper Talisman Soldier, he would be unable to withstand even a single strike!

He called himself a Talisman Puppeteer, as he borrowed the strength of a warrior created through a Paper Talisman to fight more powerful foes. He had been regarded as a genius Puppeteer ever since he had shown his talent in controlling Spirit Puppets and the ability to craft Paper Talismans earned him the title of Talisman Crafter.

Thus he fused the two professions, creating the ‘class’ of Talisman Puppeteer.

This meant that not only his body was weak, his overall strength was pretty low compared to a normal cultivator of the stage, but that did not discourage him: he still had his Talismans!

And yet now, his biggest pride, the Paper Talisman Soldier, his greatest success after countless attempts to mix Talismans with Puppeteer skills, was being suppressed! Just a few breaths after the fight started, he was already on the defensive!

He could only watch as his Paper Talisman Warrior’s paper blade crumbled after the fierce assault of the opponent’s Black Dragon Aura Sword’s fierce assault! Like a bloodthirsty dragon, the Dragon charged and battled against the powerful warrior.

Beneath the cover that was the Paper Talisman Soldier, Ku Xong felt shivers run down his back as he realized exactly how and why he was losing:

“She is… Attacking the weak points of the Soldier before I can reinforce them!”

He stared in shock.

After all, paper was just paper, how could a few drops of blood change anything? Well, in this case, they could: those few drops of blood were a formation that would allow paper to grow more durable as well as sharper.

However, those were after all only a few drops of blood! To be able to distribute the power equally on such a large sheet of paper, all the blood in the body of an adult would still not be enough, let alone a few drops! What Ku Xong could do however was change the spots where he reinforced the paper when he attacked or had to defend, leaving just a mild protection on others.

However… the girl seemed to be able to find those locations, and had enough speed to strike as soon as they appeared, leaving Ku Xong no chance to attack!

The Black Dragon was so fast he could barely keep up with its movements at all! Let alone parrying, barely blocking the blow was already enough! Add Xiao Wu’s ability to heighten her senses and detect her opponent’s weaknesses, and Ku Xong’s found himself in quite the predicament as his fingers tired, his hand seals gradually slowing down...

On the other hand Xiao Wu kept getting faster, not leaving any time for Ku Xong to rest and catch his breath. Finally, Xiao Wu feinted an attack to the Soldier’s head and instead lead the dragon stabbing through the paper giant’s chest…

The paper puppet’s eyes, previously so full of fighting spirit, lost their glow and grew dim until they became completely lifeless. The warrior exploded and smoke rose from its remains as it burned into ashes.

In the mouth of the Black Dragon, its sharp teeth barely a few inches from his neck, was Ku Xong, his face pale and blood trickling down from the sides of his mouth.

He was smiling bitterly: “Amazing power… This Disciple truly expresses his respect and admiration!”

Xiao Wu grinned back and then shook her head, drops of sweat appearing on her forehead “You kidding? That Paper Soldier was awesome! You should totally develop it further! Be sure to show it to me that time!”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Ku Xong’s eyes opened wide: was this truly the same cold, female warrior that had instilled such deep fear in his heart? He sighed and then let out a slight chuckle “I will be sure to do so!”

Xiao Wu nodded and her eyes glinted as the dragon turned back into a sword and her expression turned stern and impassible again.

Right now, the fog lifted and the audience could finally see clearly: from their perspective, Ku Xong was laying on the ground, wounded lightly, while Xiao Wu was domineeringly standing on top of him, her blade pointed right at the man’s chin.

“The winner of this match… Is Golden Emperor Sect’s Sect Third Successor, Xiao Wu!”

The audience cheered as Mu Gu flew from the stalls where he was sitting and then waved his hands, drawing a tree in the air: soon, Xiao Wu’s and Ku Xong’s spiritual power started to recover and the man’s wounds began to heal at rapid speed.

Fu Yin smiled as his eyes flashed with acknowledgement: “Essence… You truly are a genius, Sis! What’s more, to integrate with your own Qi, this talent is most likely unrivalled anywhere in the multitude of Planes of Existence that make up our universe…”

He smiled, his scarred body tensing up “No matter if their cultivation is higher than yours, would anybody aware of your circumstances dare to claim the position of number one genius for themselves, if you announced your spot as the number two?”

The following battle was flashy, as the two fighters didn’t hold back in the least.

However, no matter which powerful techniques were exchanged, which mighty roars the cultivators emitted, the audience didn’t give them the recognition they received. After all, after witnessing the might of true geniuses, would anybody be impressed by anything that is below that? Would you drink water once you tasted the finest of wine?

Still, the two gave quite the good spectacle: one of the two cultivators used some kind of body-shaping cultivation method, allowing him to morph into the shape of many beasts and objects at will.

His opponent on the other hand cultivated a method that allowed his body to duplicate, or at least, one that was not tangible, however that could still attack! It was a very strange technique, it was just his bad luck that his opponents was the perfect match for him, as he could freely change the shape of his body... And attack two opponents at once without too many problems.

In the end, the body-shaping cultivator won and advanced to the next round. yet, he could not help but feel a bit dissatisfied. After all, his next opponent would be…

Xiao Wu nodded and turned to look at Fu Yin.

“Bro! It’s your turn.”

The blue-skinned boy grinned, showing off his perfect row of white teeth. His expression was one of excitement: “I guess it is my turn next… Everyone gave such a great show, I can’t fail you all by being any less flashy, right?”

He grabbed his headband and slid it down all the way to his neck. It now looked more like some sort of scarf. As he did that, his white hair fell down, covering his expression...

“Just kick some ass for your sister here as well!” Sou Rou rolled her eyes: she had not yet grown used to this new brother of hers’s theatrical style.

Fu Yin grinned, his hideous grin hidden by the scarf as, beneath the long sleeves, his hands trembled with excitement. ‘Been a while, hasn’t it… What do you think, Blood? You ready to rumble?’

As if to answer the boy’s question, a wisp of crimson smoke came out of Fu Yin’s forehead. The boy grinned “You sure do look like it, you old guy… Here’s a chance to stretch those all limbs of yours!”

As he walked on top of the stage, many people couldn’t help but mutter in hushed tones:

“It’s Fu Yin! I heard he defeated a peak Superior stage opponent in one blow!”

“Sixteen years old, only sixteen! And yet, he can rock the Earth and shake the Heavens!”

“Seriously… I really feel bad for the guy he is about to face!”

“Unparallelled! He is the number one disciple in the whole Sect! No, the number one Disciple in the whole world!”

Fu Yin smiled arrogantly and waved his fist to the crowd. Arrogant, yet he had the right! Why? Because he was, indeed, the number one disciple in the Golden Emperor Sect! The strength Fang Lu had showed was yes terrifying, but this gave people a way to gauge his strength.

What a human fears the most is the unknown. Fu Yin, unlike Fang Lu, had yet to reveal his hand! He might actually turn out to be equal or even inferior to Fang Lu, however the difference in their age also paid a big role.

Fang Lu was already in his twenties, Fu Yin was still in his mid-teens!

Years!

To cultivators of higher stages this might seem like nothing as years would pass by just like that, however to Mortals…

A day was a single step. A month was a trip. A year was a journey!

Time!

To go above the restrictions of a body made of flesh and bones, to exist forever! The destination is Immortality! Many roads exist, but few reach the final destination!

And because of the countless paths, right and wrong, one has to thread, time is one of the most important things in cultivation!

Thus, years were an unsurmountable gap. A gap that could only be surpassed by talent! And Fu Yin had both talent and power that granted him the right to be arrogant as well as few rivals in the same generation!

Thus, it was unanimous.

Fu Yin had all rights to act overbearing or arrogant!

After all, if Xiao Wu was the Sect's number one genius, Fu Yin was without a doubt the Golden Sect’s number one disciple!