Outside the stage, Li Cheng fainted on the ground with no more movements from him.

The hosting instructor, upon seeing such a scene, announced, "The victory goes to Ye Mo."

Ye Mo was unfazed as he removed the bloody sword that was still embedded in his hand and tossed it.

"That's why i don't like weapons, take them out of their hands and they become little wimps." Ye Mo didn't understand why cultivators put so much emphasis on weapons.

For him they were just pieces of metal to help mortals kill each other but cultivators have the potential to destroy mountains and level seas with their fists alone, why would they need it?

It could be seen in this fight when Li Cheng was stripped of his sword, he could only run and threaten Ye Mo until he exhausted all his qi and got knocked out.

Liu Huan was more thoughtful as he mastered a hand to hand battle skill even though he was a sword cultivator. Thanks to this he was able to dangerously menace Ye Mo in close combat and almost killed him but without the use of his sword a huge part of his skills were unusable and he still died in the end.

For Ye Mo, strenght had to come from yourself. Even if he attained his goal and became a peerless cultivator, if most of his fighting abilities were lost because he wasn't holding a blade then there was no point to it.

From his perspective, they were handy indeed but unnecessary.

Maybe he would come to use weapons in the future but they would remain as expendable tools and nothing more.

While he left, servants from the Li Clan came to retrieve the sword and carry their young master to the healing instructor.

They sighed in relief as they found out Li Cheng didn't suffer any grave injuries.

Obviously Ye Mo restrained his strenght.

The Li Clan elder and other members were watching and from his point of view, there was no reason making ennemies out of them. They wouldn't try anything if he just defeated their young master but if he suffered permanent injuries or died then even as a member of an institute, the clan wouldn't abandon the thought of killing him.

This way, Ye Mo made it to the top 20 of the competition and officially became a student of the Tiger Martial Institute.

Various reactions occured among the spectators from the result of this fight.

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"Cancel the operation and tell our men to go back."

In the bleachers, a man in his forties spoke to his servant accompanying him. He wore a light white robe and a dignified air emanated from him indicating his background wasn't ordinary.

"Yes, master." The thin servant acknowledged the order before scurrying away.

The man watched Ye Mo receiving treatment for his hand with a complicated expression.

His name was Tie Shi, the younger brother of the Tie Family head. When Ye Mo killed Tie Tao, he has been enraged, not because of Tie Tao death but the fact that Ye Mo dared viciously kill him even after hearing his name.

There was a popular idiom saying, you should always ask the master permission before beating the dog.

No matter how low his standing was, Tie Tao was still a member of the Tie family. Ye Mo disregarding this was the same as trampling on their reputation. To regain face, the only choice would be to deal with him and make an exemple out of Ye Mo.

Tie Shi reacted immediately and posted experts from his family around the Tiger Martial Institute.

He didn't think much of Ye Mo and thought he would get eliminated pretty quickly as well.

Once the competition ended and he left the institute grounds, the experts had for order to eliminate him and set his body on display in one of the busy street of the city.

But now that he reached the top 20 and joined a Martial Institution, not only did Tie Shi withdrew his men from their position, even if Ye Mo killed ten Tie Tao, the Tie family wouldn't lift a finger.

This was what it meant to become a member of an institution, outsiders were unable to act against you without answering for their actions to the cultivators of your institute and who would dare go against them in this place?

Even the four clans would rather avoid that given another choice.

On the platform reserved for vip a discussion started.

"Haha, brother Yun, it seems like Li Cheng underestimated his opponent." The Gao clan elder said in a mocking tone.

"He's still young after all, at least he didn't suffer huge injuries."

"He will try again next year so nothing to worry about and Li Qiang made it to the top 20."

The Yan and Shen Clan elder tried to confort Li Yun but he knew better that behind their fake sympathy, they were probably roaring in laughter.

"Such a shameful loss." The Li Clan elder nails dug deeply in the wooden rail of the platform. Li Cheng running around and threatening his adversary tarnished the name of the Li Clan. As an elder, he couldn't tolerate any actions that could harm the clan interests.

If his opponent became afraid and gave up it could somewhat be accepted but now they became the laughing stock of the four clans for nothing.

But Li Yun knew his anger would be nothing compared to the one of the patriarch when he will learn of this matter and Li Cheng will be severely punished.

"I can only hope for Li Qiang to put a good performance and regain some face for us." Li Yun like the other elders was an old sly fox that have been through much. He quickly calmed down and awaited for the next matches.

Beside them stood Hong Li and Han Zhen Jun indifferent to the elders quarrel.

"Dean, this kid body refining cultivation technique is very powerful, it's at least of high tier yellow class." Han Zhen Jun commented.

"You're right. I have been in Azure Water City for more than 70 years and i can't recognize which martial art it is. Assuredly it's not something he got in a conventional way."

"Indeed, i can find a few similarities with other body refining arts but it stays vastly different. Im curious to see how far he can go." Both Hong Li and Han Zhen Jun were puzzled about the origin of Ye Mo's strenght but they kept it in and quietly observed.

The fights for the top 20 were fierce and a lot of blood was shed. Contestants were beaten to the brink of death before giving up if the instructor didn't intervene already.

Only the four clans young masters and Ma Shinfei were unscathed through this savage round. The unknown spear wielder didn't fight once as his battle was interrupted and he was declared victorious another time.

The round of matches for the top 10 started. For the twenty remaining participants, the fights would happen one at a time on the central battle stage.

It was bigger and more elevated than the others, bringing a better view and focus for the spectators.

Ye Mo who has recovered to peak condition was waiting for his turn but in the meantime he noticed Li Qiang coldly glare at him multiple times since his bout with his brother, like a warning he would come for him soon.

"Does he want revenge because i defeated Li Cheng? So petty..." Ye Mo wondered if it was a family trait or a common characteristic of high birth cultivators to create grudges this easily.

"But i already joined the Tiger Martial Institute so he can't use his clan to deal with me and since he became a student as well he will have to consider the institution regulations, he would be greatly restricted. Hmph, regardless of what he does, i will deal with it as it comes."

The sun shined brightly spreading it's warmth on the inhabitants of Azure Water City but only cold darkness reflected in Ye Mo's eyes.