Chapter 53: The Six Powers' Struggle (Part 1)
Time flies, and the two-day period quietly slipped away in Ao Xue and Lu Yun's cultivation. During these two days, Lu Yun carefully measured his own cultivation and found that it had made great progress, already crossing the Indestructible Realm and entering the final layer of the Return to Immortal Realm.
Looking back on the days since Mount Tai Xuan, although it was only a short period of time, many things happened. First, on the banks of the Yellow River, he unintentionally learned the Night Moon Slash technique. Later, in the ancient cave where the five-colored immortal orchid was born, he absorbed all the spiritual energy from the pool water. Then again, in the ancient cave behind the mountain, he fought against the Xuan Tian Mirror, exhausting his entire body's strength and almost dying under the mirror. However, it was precisely because of this that Lu Yun not only did not die but also triggered the hidden Heavenly Dragon Spiritual Energy within his body, causing his cultivation to leap across the Indestructible Realm in just a few short days and enter the most mysterious and unpredictable Return to Immortality Realm.
In the dead of night, it quietly slipped away. When the sun rose again from the east, the most critical battle among the six strong had already arrived. Early in the morning, everyone in Yi Garden's Tian Huo Cave got up early, waiting for Xuan Yu Zhen Ren's instructions.
Looking at Ao Xue and Lu Yun, the True Person of Mysterious Jade encouraged: "Today is the day when the six strong will compete for ranking. This battle concerns the reputation of our Yi Garden in the future. I hope you two can go all out. Among your opponents this time, the one you need to be most careful about is Jian Wu Chen from Tianjian Academy. His cultivation has made great progress this time, so if you encounter him, remember to be cautious. As for your two cultivations, we are all relatively satisfied, so as long as you work hard, there is hope. I won't say much more now, just wish you a successful journey."
Looking at Lu Yun with encouragement, Zi Yang Zhen Ren said in a deep voice: "Remember to work hard, you promised me that you won't let me down. I hope you can do it. At that time, not only me, but all the people in Yi Garden will be proud of you. I will always support you and bless you, go ahead and perform well, the most outstanding disciple of Yi Garden." The trusting gaze sparkled with excitement.
He glanced at Ao Xue, and a hint of determination flashed in Lu Yun's eyes. His gaze shifted to the crowd, looking at everyone's encouraging and blessing eyes, Lu Yun said softly: "Don't worry, I will make everyone proud of me. Yi Garden will be famous all over the world because of me." The soft voice was filled with unwavering determination.
On the side, Master Jingyue spoke up: "This time's competition, you say Lu Yun and Ao Xue, who will they meet? This time's competition list is completely random, will they meet each other by themselves?" The last sentence left everyone speechless. Everyone was thinking in their hearts, if such a situation really occurs, what should be done?
Xuan Yu Zhen Ren said in a deep voice, "This matter is hard to say, the opportunity to encounter it also exists, and for now, it's still unclear. For now, let's not talk about these unpleasant things, let's go to Tian Xuan Cave together. All the results will be known at that time. Thinking too much at this moment will only undermine one's confidence." After finishing speaking, he led everyone away.
In front of the Tianxuan Cave, at this time, except for Yi Garden, everyone from the other five gardens had already arrived. This time, the only one who didn't enter the top six was Ruyuan. However, the disciples of Ruyuan also came because they wanted to know who would be the ultimate winner in this battle of the six strong.
When Xuan Yu Zhenren arrived at the Tianxuandong with his disciples, Hao Yun Ju Shi smiled and stepped forward, looking at Xuan Yu and said: "Old friend, this time it's up to you, I hope they can achieve good results."
With a faint smile, Xuan Yu True Person glanced at the crowd around him and said softly: "Thank you, I hope not to be ranked fifth. Everyone is here, it seems that time is almost up, I'll take them two over first, let's talk later." After finishing, he took Lu Yun and Ao Xue towards the cave entrance.
Li Changchun glanced at Xuan Yu Zhenren and said, "Alright, now that everyone is here, we will begin drawing the competition list in front of everyone. This time, since Yi Garden has two participants, I'll explain first: everything will be the same as before - whoever gets drawn will participate, regardless of whether they are from the same sect or not. Now, there are six slips of paper here; each of the six contestants will write their name on one and put it in the box. I will have someone draw them." After finishing speaking, his gaze swept over the six contestants.
The four masters looked at each other, but no one spoke. They each took three steps back and quietly watched from the side. The surrounding crowd was filled with countless pairs of eyes, all fixed on the six people who had entered the top six. In their hearts, they were all guessing who would be the final winner. Among the six, the most favored to win was naturally Jian Wucheng, followed by Cangyue and Ao Xue. This was because the three of them were the successors of the Three Great Divine Swords, and the power of the divine swords was not something that ordinary people could match.
Very soon, the six contestants stepped back three paces and stood still after putting their paper slips into the box. Looking around at everyone, Li Changchun said seriously: "The Sixth Institute's Martial Arts Competition is holding its final round of the finals today, which is also the battle for the top six rankings. Now, let's randomly draw the competition list on the spot, with two people in each group, all relying on luck. I wish all the contestants good luck here, hoping that everyone will strive hard and make their best efforts to achieve the best results. The drawing of lots is about to begin, take your positions!
As soon as the words were spoken, three disciples of the Tianjian Academy walked up and stood in a row beside Li Changchun. For fairness, Li Changchun asked the other four masters to seal off the acupoints of these three disciples. After everything was ready, the three disciples stepped forward, each drew out two slips of paper, and then retreated to stand aside.
At this moment, everyone present held their breath and remained silent, looking very tense. The few headmasters looked even more serious, with anxious and worried expressions in their eyes. Li Changchun slightly waved his hand, and the first disciple stepped forward, took out two slips of paper, and read: "The first match lineup, Tianjian Academy's Jian Wucheng versus Bodhi Academy's Benyi." After finishing, he handed the two slips of paper to the four headmasters on the side for them to review.
The face of Master Fa Guo, the abbot of Bodhi Academy, changed greatly, and his body trembled slightly, but he immediately calmed down. He glanced at Benyi lightly, and a hint of sigh appeared in Master Fa Guo's eyes, shaking his head silently. Benyi's eyes also changed slightly, but he quickly calmed down. This result was unexpected, but he had thought about it beforehand, only to think that the worst guess would really happen.
Next to him, except for the Bodhi Academy's door with a heavy face, the other three academies all let out a sigh of relief. Among these six academies, which had always been ranked in the top two, finally encountered each other in the first round. The strength of Jian Wucheng was something that anyone could see at a glance, so whoever met him first would be the most unlucky. The first group has already come out, and next should be the second group. And this second group is actually the most critical one, because once the list of the second group is announced, the third group will naturally know as well.
The second disciple of the Tianjian Academy stepped forward, took out two slips of paper and glanced at everyone before softly reading: "The matchup list for the second round, Fenghuang Academy's Cangyue versus Daoyuan's Wuyou!" This short sentence made the remaining three academies' hearts skip a beat. Especially the people from Yiyuan, who couldn't believe that this time, things had actually turned out just as Jingyue Master had said.
