As the fight began, Li Lang’s opponent Pei Fong simply stood there with a smirk.

“Come now, Junior. Attack me, I won’t move. Or do you not dare?”

Instead of falling for the provocation, Li Lang slowly circled around him. His experience fighting Qi beasts told him charging straight in when he didn’t have the upper hand in speed usually meant he would open himself up to counterattacks.

Pei Fong was a cultivator in the fifth stage of Energy Gathering, which meant anyone could tell he was superior to Li Lang in every aspect.

However, the more knowledgeable cultivators wouldn’t dare to write off the match yet. People in the Energy Gathering realm were still considered mortals who had yet to really reach the starting line of cultivation.

They had good reason to say that, as Energy Gatherers still shared many similarities with normal humans. They were only physically stronger, and while they could employ some tricks with Qi, they weren’t that powerful.

The higher the cultivation realm, the greater the gulf between minor stages. Energy Gatherers were simply too vulnerable regardless of stage. It was because of this that many experts knew the fight could go either way.

“What’s wrong, Junior? I promise I will properly take your first attack. If you don’t come soon, then I might—”

It was at this moment, while Pei Fong shouted out words of provocation, that Li Lang decided to act.

Li Lang had developed a devious plan as soon as he witnessed his opponent’s confident demeanor. It sealed the deal when Pei Fong offered to take his first attack.

He charged in as fast as he could and prepared to throw out a punch. However, when he entered within range to unleash his attack, he sidestepped away.

Pei Fong smirked at the pathetic attempt at a feint. He simply reoriented himself to be facing Li Lang at all times. When he saw Li Lang about to unleash another punch at him, he quickly concentrated his Qi there to receive the blow, following wherever his fist may go.

What he didn’t expect was the Qi in Li Lang’s fist to drop down before it reached him. He was completely baffled at the strange scene. Taking advantage of the fact that Pei Fong had his entire attention on his fists, Li Lang gathered all his Qi to his leg.

As someone with much higher cultivation, Pei Fong’s relatively quick reaction immediately picked up on the new attack. The main issue was that he had fully committed to receiving the first blow from his opponent. He detected the incoming attack coming right up to the area between his legs. His mind struggled on whether to uphold his promise to take the blow or to dodge the underhanded attack.

This hesitation made him freeze up, allowing Li Lang’s kick to land directly on its intended target.

A loud whimper of pain rang out in the arena.

The sound of the young man falling to his knees could clearly be heard by everyone.

However, no one cheered like they typically would when someone landed a clean blow.

They all stared with wide eyes at the scene on the stage as they processed what happened.

The young boy who was rumored to only have grade one aptitude dared to unleash one of the most dishonorable attacks they’d seen. The junior dared to abuse the right of attack he was given by kicking his senior right in the sensitive area between their legs.

“...J-junior Li!” the previous smug senior cried out as he gasped for breath while trying to retain his balance on all fours. “You dare!”

Instead of responding, Li Lang quickly wound up for another kick and mercilessly repeated his attack on the immobile target. As everyone gasped in shock, only one thing was on Li Lang’s mind.

Ascension Pill, I’m coming for you. Whatever it’ll take, I’ll do it!

More gut-wrenching cries of pain came out of Pei Fong’s mouth as the spectators watched on in horror.

Even the deacon in charge of the fight was hesitant about what to do. There weren’t any rules regarding where one could strike during fights, but few people ever stooped to such dishonorable means to win a fight among fellow disciples in such an official setting.

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While he hesitated, Pei Fong’s suffering continued. It didn’t take long before he lay motionless on the ground. Even with his Qi protecting him, repeated blows to such a weak point proved too much.

The deacon stared at Li Lang for a moment before sighing.

“Winner, Li Lang!”

No applause was given and an awkward atmosphere descended the place. Li Lang paid it no mind and got off the stage with an evil grin.

Now then, that’s one step closer to my Ascension Pill.

The awkwardness only cleared when the cheering from the neighboring arena erupted like a volcano.

“Next match, Ling Xue versus He Quan.”

The noise only drew more attention as people realized they weren’t celebrating a brilliant victory but just the entrance of a jade beauty. Ling Xue had been famous since she had won the previous sect competitions, so many disciples directed their gaze to the most famous newcomer.

“Junior Ling is fighting a senior who is in the sixth stage. Do you think she can win when she is only in the fifth stage?”

“That is hard to say…Junior Ling is so young. It’s hard to believe she would have as much combat experience as someone like He Quan.”

Li Lang glanced over at the man in question and spotted the six-foot-tall man with bulging muscles. The man’s figure was so gallant that many younger disciples doubted if he even belonged in the competition meant for youths. It was only the presence of the nonchalant elders on the podium above that they were reassured that there were no problems.

The deacon in charge of Ling Xue’s arena didn’t bother to wait for the crowd to quiet down and declared the start of the new round.

Unlike Li Lang’s fight, where the fighters slowly closed the distance, Ling Xue instantly dashed forward as if she was gliding across the ground.

She wielded a wooden sword while the man swung a long training poleaxe at his oncoming opponent.

Everyone watched without daring to blink as they witnessed Ling Xue gracefully performing a backflip to dodge the first sweep. She even slashed her sword out in the air, sending a wave of Qi at her opponent.

That’s a Qi art! So she had broken through to the middle stages of Energy Gathering and learned a Qi art already during this year…

As strong as the bulky man was, he wasn’t fast enough to recover from his swing to defend against the ranged Qi attack. However, the glow around his body grew brighter as he directed more Qi to defend against the blow.

He was pushed back several steps and held on strong, but Ling Xue did not allow him to rest.

She dashed at her opponent once again. Having learned his lesson, He Quan didn’t dare to do another full power swing.

As if able to read her opponent’s mind, Ling Xue decided to press forward this time. Her opponent holding back his attack meant it was weaker and came slower, and she took full advantage of that.

She leaped up into the air again, but this time, she advanced forward.

The man swiftly swung again in an attempt to create some distance, but she gracefully ducked under it and closed the distance. Wielding a long weapon like a polearm, it was fatal to have someone so close to him. He could only watch as Ling Xue thrust out at him with her wooden sword.

Li Lang carefully watched the refined technique of Ling Xue who concentrated all her Qi at the tip of her blade within a split second. To her opponent’s credit, he also reinforced his body with more Qi, but her concentrated blow sent him flying.

When the huge body hit the ground, he remained motionless.

The deacon swiftly checked up on him before declaring the results.

“He simply lost consciousness. The winner is Ling Xue! Medical team, please come retrieve him.”

The crowd quickly erupted into louder cheering than before that Li Lang didn’t think was even possible.

As much as the surrounding disciples wanted to continue extolling the feats of the young girl for the next hour, most of them were still active participants in the competition. The crowd soon calmed down as other fights took place.

It didn’t take long before everyone in Li Lang’s arena had fought and the deacon gave them the next instructions.

“I will now be calling out the names of those who should relocate to arena ten for your next match. For the winners of the previous round who don’t hear your name, you simply have to remain here.”

The competition was a single-elimination tournament, but the brackets weren’t publicized. They also mixed up the participants in each arena to prevent them from studying their opponents. This was a habit the sect wanted to instill into their disciples so they could become more flexible and handle any opponent they may encounter in the future.

As Li Lang previously fought first, he naturally did so again in the next round.

“Next, Li Lang versus Mei Long. Please head up the stage. I will be there shortly.”

Li Lang laid eyes on his next opponent. It was a boy that wasn’t much older than him. He had a wide forehead and narrow eyes.

Once they got atop the stage, the two stared at each other while the deacon was busy receiving the oncoming disciples from the other arena.

Mei Long smiled confidently and whispered, so only Li Lang could hear him.

“Young master Lu Hong sends his regards. I may have to get a little rough with you, but I personally have nothing against you. You only have yourself to blame for offending the young master. A word of advice… once you recover from your wounds, I would go apologize if I were you.”

…Why am I only fighting the people who have something against me?