By the fourth day of the competition, the first round of competition was complete. On the evening of the fourth day, a new drawing of lots was held. The next morning, Shi Feng was about to take the stage. His opponent was a short, thin man with an unremarkable appearance, whose cultivation level was at the sixth level of Qi Refining.
This man had obviously heard about the confrontation between Shi Feng and Ling Yun. He did not attack at first, but instead cast several protective shields on himself. Then he muttered something, and a demon wolf jumped out of his bag, rushing towards Shi Feng with its fangs and claws bared.
When Shi Feng saw that it was a monster, he did not take the bow, but just used an unknown martial art and stretched out his arm to block it. The man was overjoyed, and when he saw the monster wolf biting Shi Feng's arm, the people around him exclaimed in unison.
Then, it was not Shi Feng who was covered in blood, but the demon wolf howled and was thrown out by Shi Feng. Looking at Shi Feng's arm again, apart from a few teeth marks on his sleeve, not even a drop of blood was seeped out.
The man hurriedly communicated with his pet with his mind, and found out that it was fine. He recited a spell, urging it to attack again, but the wolf shook its head and tail, just circling and refusing to go up.
The short man was helpless and muttered something. An eight-foot-tall mountain ape jumped out of the bag. As soon as it came out, it beat its chest with its hands and let out two loud roars. Then it slapped Shi Feng. Shi Feng moved sideways to avoid him, and he also punched out. Boom, boom, boom, Shi Feng took three steps back. The demon ape lost its balance and sat down on the ground.
Everyone gasped, thinking, "What a strong body this kid has!"
The short man finally grew anxious, mumbling something again. A giant python, several feet long, emerged from the bag. Shi Feng also noticed that the man's storage bag was different. While most people's were gray cloth bags, his was a turquoise leather bag. Shi Feng recognized it as a pet bag specifically designed for storing living creatures. It seemed the man was also an eccentric, specializing in collecting and training pets.
Shi Feng saw the giant python coming and jumped lightly. The giant python whooshed and quickly wrapped around Shi Feng's body. Shi Feng reached out and grabbed the seven inches below the giant python's neck to prevent the other's sharp teeth from biting him.
The python's victory wasn't based on its fangs or venom, but rather on its strength to wrap itself around its prey and strangle it to death. The snake curled up, tightly gripping Shi Feng, making a chirping sound. A golden light flashed across Shi Feng's face, and he suddenly exhaled and shouted. With a "bang," the python's body snapped in two. Shi Feng casually tossed the remaining head to the ground.
Now, the short man was completely dumbfounded. He always used his monster pets to defeat the enemy. He himself did not have any magical powers, but only knew some defensive spells. Seeing that Shi Feng's physical strength was far beyond that of his pet, although he still had four or five monsters, he didn't expect that he could do anything to Shi Feng. It was not easy for him to collect these monsters. If Shi Feng killed a few more of them, it would be a big loss.
Right now, he was in a situation where he could neither win nor lose. Although he had cast a shield, the shield's power would disappear after a while. How could he avoid the opponent's arrows?
The short man was also straightforward. After thinking about it, he took the initiative to admit defeat on the spot.
On the sixth day of the sect competition, the first two rounds had ended, but the top 250 disciples had not yet been decided. The first challenge round would be held next. All disciples who had been eliminated before could challenge. If the challenge was successful, they would immediately replace the opponent's position and enter the top 250.
Of course, each eliminated disciple only has one chance to challenge.
At that moment, a stone tablet on Chaoxiantai shone with a brilliant light, reflecting the names of the top 250 disciples. The disciples who had lost in the previous two rounds stared intently at the tablet, wondering whether they should challenge and who to choose as their opponent. After all, the chance to challenge only came once, and if they picked a tough opponent, they would miss out on the top 250.
In fact, there were quite a few lucky people among the first 250 disciples. Some of them were only at the fifth level of Qi Refining. They met a disciple at the first level of Qi Refining in the first round, and the opponent voluntarily admitted defeat. In the second round, they were lucky enough to meet a disciple at the third level of Qi Refining and won again.
Such a person immediately became a hot commodity, with countless people eager to choose him as a challenge target. The challenge competition was also held simultaneously in eight arenas. One by one, disciples who had previously passed through by luck were eliminated.
By the afternoon, the first 250 disciples were basically at the seventh level of Qi Refining and above. At this time, fewer and fewer people dared to challenge him.
Strangely enough, no one challenged Shi Feng while he was sitting on the stage.
On closer inspection, it wasn't surprising. After two rounds of fighting, everyone knew he was formidable. His victory in the first round wasn't a deliberate act of letting Ling Yun win. This man was a physical cultivator, capable of severing a giant python with his bare hands. His physical prowess was formidable, and his archery was truly astonishing. With a single arrow, he'd destroyed Ling Yun's Nine Seal Spiritual Weapon—a feat few possessed.
In fact, not only the eliminated disciples, but also the disciples who have entered the top 250, secretly prayed in their hearts: I hope that I will not encounter this freak in the next round of draws. Although the opponent has no power, after calculating all the means, I am not sure that I can win.
After the first challenge on the sixth day, the draw began. This time, Shi Feng was unlucky, unexpectedly drawing Liu Suifeng. This was the top Qi Refining disciple at Diecui Peak, fifth in the previous competition, and extremely powerful.
Shi Feng looked at the young man opposite him. He was tall and thin, like a bamboo pole, with a rather dull expression. He was completely different from the elegant name Liu Suifeng. Shi Feng didn't care much about winning or losing, so he wasn't afraid of the other party.
The two men bowed to each other and the competition began.
Liu Suifeng had reached the ninth level of Qi Refining, a stage of great perfection, and was only a step away from Foundation Establishment. With a flick of his hand, a palm-sized wooden shield flew out, swirling upward and downward, shielding his entire body. Then, with another lift of his hand, a massive, dark tree slammed down from the air. His spellcasting speed far surpassed anything his previous opponent had achieved.
Seeing the massive tree's heaviness, Shi Feng didn't dare to use his body to block it. He took off like a flying bird, dodging the opponent's weapon, and casually drew his long arrow, whizzing it past. Liu Suifeng didn't dodge, the flying wooden shield beside him automatically met the arrow, and with a puff, the feathered arrow was deflected and fell.
This was the first time that Shi Feng failed to shoot into his opponent since the Iron Dragon Bow was reforged. He was secretly surprised. This wooden shield was inconspicuous, but he didn't know what kind of magic weapon could be so powerful.
He pondered this while dodging giant trees in the air and simultaneously shooting arrows at Liu Suifeng. The two men, one standing still while the other sprinted across the field, were locked in a stalemate.
Shi Feng also stole a peek at the giant wood artifact. It was only restricted by the eighth level, and its rank was even lower than Ling Yun's Ice Ring. But it was clearly Liu Suifeng's weapon specifically for dealing with him. While the giant tree hadn't changed much, its strengths lay in its hardness and massive size, making it impervious to even a single arrow or two.
Shi Feng could only target Liu Suifeng. His arrows flew faster and faster. Often, with a flash of cold light, the arrows were already in front of him. Liu Suifeng kept urging the wooden shield. Obviously, he did not expect Shi Feng's arrows to be so fast, and it became more and more difficult for him to parry.
In the end, he pushed his skills to the limit, but he could only barely block the flying arrow. His magic power was greatly consumed, and the light on the wooden shield gradually dimmed.
Shi Feng was shooting with great enthusiasm when he suddenly reached out and touched his quiver, only to find it was empty. It turned out that although he had cast hundreds of arrows before, he had used up seven or eight out of ten of them in the battle of Wulong Valley. Now there were only three or four arrows left, and he had used up all the arrows in the previous round of rapid shooting.
Without his feather arrows, he couldn't think of any way to deal with the opponent. He could only try his best to dodge the opponent's giant tree and was about to use his nameless martial arts to fight against the opponent.
Liu Suifeng quickly uttered an incomprehensible spell. Shi Feng's feet tightened as a swarm of thorny vines suddenly emerged from the ground, binding him. Just as Shi Feng was about to use his strength to break the vines, the vines and thorns seemed to be alive and flung him forward. As he stood on the ground, the referee, the Foundation Establishment cultivator, coldly declared, "Disciple of Diecui Peak, Liu Suifeng wins."
Shi Feng looked down and found that he had left the Tai Chi circle. He had lost the battle inexplicably.
On Yuxiu Mountain, Shi Feng was slightly disappointed. Neither he nor Zhang Qingyuan made it to the third round, while only Changqing made it to the next round. However, Liu Yunzi didn't blame him and asked, "You still have two more chances to challenge. Do you want to continue and strive for a good ranking? Of course, I leave it to you whether to challenge or not. After all, you have already qualified for the trial, and the sect will also reward you." Zhang Yuanqing immediately expressed his willingness to continue the challenge. Upon hearing that it was up to him, Shi Feng immediately said he would not challenge again. After all, the trial had nothing to do with him, and he had no intention of participating.
The sect competition continued. On the tenth day, all the Qi Condensation stage competitions concluded. Chang Qing made it into the top twenty, but not the top ten. The next five days were for the Foundation Establishment stage competitions, which Qi Condensation stage disciples were not allowed to watch. Shi Feng heard that his master Liu Yunzi had given up participating in the end due to seclusion, so he didn't pay much attention.
Lasting for fifteen days, Tai Chi Sect’s most grand sect competition came to an end.
On the day the competition ended, Shi Feng was called over by Liu Yunzi. There were no other disciples in the square room.
Liu Yunzi said, "Shi Feng, you've been my disciple for three years. We're nominally master and disciple, but I've always neglected you. Thinking about it today, I feel quite guilty." Shi Feng hurriedly bowed his head and said, "Master, taking me in is a great favor. I'm forever grateful."
Liu Yunzi smiled and said, "Taking you in was the intention of the Master and my predecessor, Master Danyang. It has nothing to do with me. I didn't teach you any martial arts or magical powers, and I didn't give you any magical weapons or treasures. How can I say that my favor is as heavy as a mountain. But you have earned face for me, and I have also benefited from it. This time, because you defeated Lingyun, I earned five thousand crystals, and I will give you half of them." As he said that, he threw a bag of crystals directly in front of Shi Feng.
Shi Feng felt more relaxed after hearing Liu Yunzi's gentle tone. He smiled and said, "Master earned these crystals. Why are you giving them back to me? I don't need to practice, so I don't need crystals." Liu Yunzi said, "Oh," and then he said, "I heard from Changqing that you repair spiritual weapons for others. You must have a pretty good family background." Shi Feng chuckled and said, "How can my family compare to Master's? But if my brothers are short of money, it wouldn't be difficult for me to borrow two or three thousand crystals."