Long Yi and Wei Ping’s matches started and ended uneventfully. Their opponents weren’t anyone notable, and while they had sufficient cultivation, they were outmatched in practical combat experience or tactics.

As the second and most important round continued, the trio contemplated together on ways to handle Liang Po.

“...There’s just no way,” Long Yi sighed. “How can we come up with countermeasures for something we know so little about? The guy just holds his weapon up and everyone freezes in place against him.”

“W-wait. Has anyone e-even seen Liang Po f-fight properly before? Or d-does he immobilize h-his opponents every time?”

“...I don’t think we’ve seen him do anything other than that move. He did move quite quickly back in the first round, but during fights, he’s done the same thing throughout the tournament.”

“W-what stage of c-cultivation is he even in?”

“...I’m not sure,” Li Lang frowned. “I can’t get a good sense of it. How about any of you?”

Both his companions shook their heads.

Then he has a way to block our perception of his strength somehow…

“Then…the only hint we have is that Liang Po always raises his weapon up, in preparation to slash down, before his opponents stiffen,” Li Lang muttered.

“So what if you don’t look when he does it?” Long Yi suggested.

“L-looking away during a f-fight would j-just be as bad.”

“...Maybe it’s some invisible Qi attack, then?”

“Is there some way I can test it? My main goal is to investigate how this martial intent works,” Li Lang muttered.

“...”

Time flew by quickly and the second round soon ended. Many cried either tears of joy or disappointment at the results. For most competitors, the significance of the tournament was to get into the top sixteen. There were additional prizes for the top places, but mere artifacts and Qi stones paled in comparison to the opportunity to enter a pocket realm.

While Wei Ping and Long Yi pulled their hair out to think up countermeasures for their friend, the awaited third round began. With only sixteen people remaining, all eight fights began at the same time.

Liang Po lazily strutted up onto the platform where Li Lang and the referee were. The two competitors spoke no words as they waited for the referee to get things started.

During their discussions, the trio came up with various theories on how martial intent had worked and how one could counter it. They were all theories based on nothing concrete, but it was better than going in without a plan.

The only thing Li Lang was sure about was the existence of a counter. If it was invincible, martial intent would be a lot more famous and a bigger deal.

“Start!” the referee declared.

Seeing how laid back his opponent was, Li Lang decided to take this opportunity to talk instead, aiming to glean any useful information.

“Liang Po, do you mind sharing your experiences in attaining your martial intent?”

“Hmm… It’s a long story, so I’d rather not. Just know that anyone could do it if they get good enough with a weapon. Or with the laws of an element, but that’s not something I know much about.”

“Interesting…Would you say you’re the strongest among our generation with it?”

Liang Po let out a chuckle before he responded.

“There’s always people who are better. The last time I dueled some stuck-up righteous brat, I got completely thrashed. Enough talking. I’ll show you the real deal if you’re so curious about it. It may even spur you on like it did with me.”

Immediately after saying those words, Liang Po drew his sword and began raising it.

Seeing this, Li Lang quickly maneuvered away, dashing toward the referee. He didn’t hesitate to duck behind the young man, ensuring the referee was between him and Liang Po at all times. He also immediately enveloped himself with as much Qi as he could muster.

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When the youth with white hair completed his action of raising the sword, Li Lang found himself still able to move. That was only until the referee decided to fly up to get out of the way.

Instantly, Li Lang felt all his muscles tense up. However, the most debilitating effect was how his mind felt frozen. His heart rate went up, and it was difficult to form a thought. It almost felt like the mind fog Li Lang had experienced when his life as Langley had just ended.

Having experienced something similar, Li Lang gritted his teeth and summoned forth all his strength to snap out of the mind fog he was placed into. It felt like he was put in a dream, but he was aware of it, so he managed to wake himself up.

He broke out of it in time just to see Liang Po slowly stabbing out toward him with a nonchalant expression.

The only action he could do from the sudden predicament he found himself in was to drop down to the ground.

The inelegant move he performed somehow caused the entire crowd to roar in excitement.

“That kid with the big head broke out of it! Will we finally see an opponent that can cause Liang Po some trouble?”

“Yes, yes, yes! This counts as surviving more than one move, right? I’m rich now, rich I say!”

While the commoners cheered and jeered, the experts in the audience all remained expressionless. They kept their conversation at a low volume among themselves.

“That kid has strong willpower for his age. He recovered during that split second afforded to him. It’s hard to believe someone like that is still only at the fourth stage.”

“Yes, too bad he doesn’t know the correct method to defend against martial intents. He can’t be blamed, though. That isn’t something you would normally encounter under the Foundation Establishment realm.”

Meanwhile, Liang Po was the one who was most surprised by the new development. He believed he had already won, and simply needed to stab out to force the referee to take action.

He didn’t even consider anyone in this small competition would be able to break through his martial intent.

It was this moment of surprise that allowed Li Lang to lunge forward from the ground, thrusting out his spear at him. The sudden attack may have caught Liang Po off guard, but his superior cultivation and training pulled through for him with his superior speed.

It was easy to forget that Liang Po wasn’t only defined by his martial intent. It was also at this moment that Li Lang discovered his opponent was a genuine sixth stage Energy Gatherer.

He was able to back away and raise his sword in time to call forth his martial intent once more.

It caused Li Lang to freeze in place in the middle of his attack.

This time, Liang Po didn’t leave it up to chance and swiftly swung down his sword at his foe. As if the referee could read his mind, he instantly appeared beside him, grabbing his blade with his hands.

“Winner, Liang Po!”

Li Lang regained control of his body shortly after that, but collapsed from his unstable position as soon as he did.

This martial intent…It shouldn’t be a physical phenomenon, but a mental one! I may not know the mechanics of it, but I’ve never seen anything like it before!

Just as Liang Po began descending from the stage, Li Lang quickly moved to catch up to him.

“Wait, can you tell me how I can learn this martial intent of yours?”

“Go ask your master. It’s not my place,” the white-haired youth replied without looking back.

Li Lang followed along without hesitation.

“I don’t have one.”

“...I’m sorry, but I’m not a qualified teacher myself. I just know that it came naturally when I attained partial achievement in the first stage of the Way of the Sword.”

Despite claiming he couldn’t help much, his words gave Li Lang a lot of food for thought. He quickly fell into his old habits and lost himself in his ruminations. It was something that always happened whenever his curiosity overwhelmed his rational side.

By the time he snapped out of his deep contemplation, he found himself standing on top of one of the stages, alongside the other contestants. They were all standing at attention before an old man with a head full of white hair. His robes were also a pristine white, and he was in the middle of giving a speech.

“...you should all stand proud of your results. You have all earned yourself a valuable opportunity to continue to improve in five month’s time. I look forward to seeing your growth.”

The old man quickly floated away after giving his speech, and Li Lang couldn’t help but lean over to his companion to inquire what had happened.

“Who was that?”

“...You really weren’t paying attention, were you?” Long Yi sighed. “That was Liu Haiping, the Head Councilman of The Orchid Covenant.”

“Oh…”

Before they could converse further, the tournament staff began calling them out to handle the rewards. Those placed in the top eight got further rewards, but Li Lang and his crew only received the privilege of entering the pocket realm. This meant they had to leave the stadium empty-handed for now.

However, just as they were passing through the interior of the stadium, a middle-aged man suddenly appeared before them. He wore purple robes and had a bold and pronounced eyebrow that was arched sharply.

“You three are Li Lang, Wei Ping, and Long Yi, correct? The ones who had recently joined our covenant?”

The three exchanged a quick glance before Li Lang stepped forward and clasped a fist in greeting.

“That’s right, Senior. I am Li Lang. How may we be of service to you today?”

“Dispense the pleasantries and follow me. The Head Councilman wants to talk to you three.”

Surprised by the sudden invitation, Li Lang couldn’t find the words to form a response.