“Xu Jiao, Twenty-two breaths of time!”

After Liang Po’s powerful display of vanquishing a Qi beast, more and more competitors soon completed their fight after him.

Neither Wei Ping nor Li Lang was worried about Long Yi’s match, so they scouted out their other prospective opponents. When they just happened to glance over at a ring, they caught sight of a familiar name.

“Next, Bai Yuchen. Please hurry over!”

Li Lang immediately looked over at Wei Ping.

“Bai Yuchen, isn’t that the guy you dueled half a year ago?”

They both glanced over at the ring and watched a young man sauntering up the stage before Wei Ping nodded.

“Yes…That s-should be him.”

“Hmm, does that mean the person who got Sheng Haoran to target us in the first round is him?”

“M-most likely…”

The two stared over at the ring in silence, carefully watching the fight between Bai Yuchen and a stag-like Qi beast.

Whenever the beast charged at the young boy, Bai Yuchen would swiftly disappear just a moment before contact, as if he could teleport. He would then slash out at the beast from its flank, but couldn’t land a decisive strike. He had to repeat this same tactic several times before finally wearing down the Qi beast.

“Bai Yuchen, twenty-seven breaths!”

As fate would have it, the next person to be called to the same stage was Wei Ping. It was almost impossible for that to escape Bai Yuchen’s notice as he made his way down the arena.

Inevitably, the two boys reunited just at the bottom of the stairs up to the arena.

“You again! I’m surprised you managed to get so far in this tournament. Did you employ every dirty trick in the book to have come so far?” the young boy taunted.

“Bai Yuchen, d-did you g-get others to target us?”

“Hmph, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Those underhanded methods you speak of sound more like your thing.”

The two stared at each other for a few moments before another voice called out to them.

“Wei Ping? Hurry on up here!” The referee called out as he peeked down at them from above.

“Well, good luck. You’ll need it.”

Bai Yuchen flung his sleeve as he took his exit while Wei Ping ignored him and went up the stage.

It didn’t take long before a boar-type Qi beast was unleashed as Wei Ping’s opponent. A similar scene replayed itself as the new competitor also nimbly sidestepped from the boar’s charge before striking the flanks, or so everyone thought, but Wei Ping simply kept up his guard and let the beast charge past him.

On the next charge, Wei Ping almost failed his dodge, and a tusk tore a hole through the front of his robes.

It was only on the third attack that Wei Ping finally counterattacked. However, he employed an attack that made all the nearby spectators gasp in fear for him.

He dared to concentrate every last bit of Qi into the tip of his blade when he was up against a real enemy that was out for his life. The empowered dagger smoothly embedded itself into the neck of the boar before Wei Ping twisted it, causing a torrent of blood to gush out. The fight was quick and efficient.

“Wei Ping, fifteen breaths!”

Having secured his victory, he glanced over to where Bai Yuchen was standing and nodded at him before returning to where Li Lang and Long Yi were.

“Good job. Looks like our training paid off.”

“Y-yes…” Wei Ping glanced over at the six-foot giant. “You finished, too?”

“Yep, I got it done in twelve breaths. Beat you by three breaths!” Long Yi gloated.

“It would seem all the Qi beasts they make us fight are all at the fourth stage, so it stands to reason that you would have an easier time than Wei Ping.”

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The trio didn’t get to converse for long, as it was Li Lang’s turn next.

Now that Li Lang had grown a little more, his large head didn’t draw as much attention. However, everyone soon turned to him when they heard his results.

Li Lang’s fight turned out shockingly similar to Wei Ping’s, where he dodged the first few attacks, before thrusting out his spear that was empowered by all of his Qi. It was enough to end the fight in one blow.

“Li Lang, eleven breaths!”

Many may have missed it, but his friends for sure didn’t. They watched him perfectly execute the all-out attack they had been training after a splendid dodge.

As both Li Lang and Wei Ping had fewer spiritual roots than others due to their aptitude, the amount of Qi they could unleash in an instant was less than others. It didn’t mean they couldn’t exert the same strength, but they needed more time to build up the power. However, that was fatal in a fight that could be decided in milliseconds.

That was why the two had been training in a risky technique to observe their opponent before unleashing a risky all-out attack that ignored all defense. To most cultivators, this was a suicidal move to be employed only when one was forced into a corner.

Li Lang had naturally arrived at this conclusion, as it was a simple solution to their woes. If their overall Qi was less, they just needed to overpower their opponent at the point of contact.

It was also a good training method to control Qi.

Over the past half a year, Li Lang studied how the middle stage of the Energy Gathering realm worked. He believed the reason one needed to master Qi control before breaking through to it was because it was how one broke past their bodily limits.

Once one reached the peak of the third stage, their body had already stuffed as much Qi as it could with the maximum force it could exert. However, when one trained Qi control, one also increased the maximum force one could exert on Qi, allowing more of it to be jammed into the body.

“Good job.” Long Yi said upon Li Lang’s return. “You beat me.”

“It’s only this easy since we’re going up against mindless Qi beasts. It’s going to be hard for me and Wei Ping to perform well if we fight the other competitors.”

As if the organizers had heard Li Lang’s words, the announcer soon spoke out once again.

“The second round is over. Those whose names we will be announcing will be moving on to the third round that will take place tomorrow. Liang Po, Tong…”

“It seems like the third round really will be one-on-one fights…” Li Lang muttered.

“Why do you think so?”

“It’s the classic format to attract gamblers. Them delaying the third round to tomorrow means they want more time for people to place bets and build up excitement.”

As Li Lang expected, after announcing the names of those who qualified for the next round, they declared that one-on-one fights would be the third and final round.

The three soon exited the stadium, along with the other contestants. They didn’t return to their inn, but instead followed Li Lang to a stall just outside. They joined the long line for the lone stall there and waited over half an hour until it was their turn.

“Here to redeem my bet.” Li Lang placed a slip of paper down.

The clerk didn’t bother to look up and just grabbed it and marked off the entry in his notebook before calling out to his companions. He only looked up when he handed over a bag full of Qi stones.

“Here—wait! You’re that contestant, Li Lang!”

Li Lang glanced around awkwardly at having been recognized now. The people in the line began to murmur about him.

“...That’s right. There shouldn’t be a rule on betting on yourself, right?”

“Oh, no, there isn’t. I was just surprised.”

“Good, then can I place a bet on myself for tomorrow again?”

“Yes, yes, of course. We are currently only doing bets on who will make it to the top sixteen. The bets for the next round won’t start until tomorrow when the matchups are announced.”

“That’s fine. Let me place a bet on myself again, this time to make it into the top sixteen.”

“...Are you sure? You may face your companions here.” He glanced over at Wei Ping and Long Yi on the side. “Since it is obvious you guys are acquainted, we will simply refund your bet if you end up facing them. We won’t return the processing fee, though.”

“Hmm, then split the money evenly into three. We will each bet on ourselves.” Li Lang tossed the bag of Qi stones back on the table.

“...Okay.”

----------------------------------------

Meanwhile, in the distant city of Night Shade, a lively and innocent-looking girl was currently kneeling before an old man in black robes.

“Sima Xue, you will be leading our disciples into the pocket realm this time. I want all of them to survive. Is that understood?”

“But Master, that would mean I will have to use up my precious cultivation time to—”

“I made myself clear. With your talent, this small distraction shouldn’t affect you, much less be your downfall, correct?”

“...Of course. Your disciple has received your order,” Sima Xue managed to squeeze it through her gritted teeth.

As soon as she spat out those words, she darted out of the main hall. She turned the corner and rapidly collided with a man, but they both managed to keep their balance despite the impact.

“...Sima Xue, are you throwing a tantrum again? How many times have Master and I told you not to run around like that?”

“Hmph, if Senior Brother Jian wanted to dodge me, you could’ve done it with ease. I should be the one complaining why. You stood in my path on purpose!”

“That is because you are being so rude in Master’s presence again! I thought after your mission this time, you would grow up, but I was obviously mistaken. I guess I won’t be treating you to any more tofu pudding, then.”

“What? No! You can’t threaten me like this! I won’t be able to have anything like it for years once I enter the pocket realm! Please, senior brother. You wouldn’t bully me like this, would you?”

Jian Beiyun could only sigh at the sight of his junior’s sudden change in demeanor.