Chapter 162 : The Difficult Third Round
Chapter 162: The Difficult Third Round
Afterward, Long Tao chatted with Luo Yusi for quite a while about the local customs and “demon” culture of Myriad Demon Mountains, greatly broadening his horizons.
Though he did not know whether he would ever have the chance in this lifetime to travel across that vast and mysterious land, merely listening to such strange tales and anecdotes was already a kind of satisfaction.
“Oh right, Yusi,” Long Tao suddenly recalled, “the Grand Competition has been so lively these past two days. Didn’t you go watch in person?”
“I wanted to…” Luo Yusi’s enormous golden body shifted slightly, and a trace of helplessness appeared in her compound eyes. “But in this form, it’s truly inconvenient for me to show myself. Setting aside whether I might frighten others, just my size alone would take up several seats. People would surely complain.”
Just then, Long Xi, having finished breakfast, skipped out from the main gate and happened to catch the latter half of Luo Yusi’s words.
The little girl immediately rushed forward and affectionately hugged one of Luo Yusi’s forelegs, tilting her face up as she said coquettishly,
“It’s best if Godmother doesn’t go! You’re so beautiful—if you went, a bunch of clueless men would definitely crowd around you! I won’t go watch today either. I’ll stay home and keep you company!”
Luo Yusi lowered her head to look at her newly acknowledged goddaughter, her eyes instantly brimming with overflowing indulgence.
At once, she gently lowered her body so the little girl could climb onto her back.
“Alright, then Little Xi will keep Godmother company today.” Luo Yusi’s voice softened several degrees. “Let’s take a stroll in the woods to the east.”
“Okay! Brother! You just go do your commentary work!” Long Xi sat steadily on Luo Yusi’s back and waved smugly at Long Tao. “Godmother and I are going out to play!”
Watching the intimate pair—one human, one spider—gradually recede into the distance, Long Tao stood where he was, feeling an inexplicable, subtle sense of having his affection divided.
“Sigh…” He rubbed his nose and muttered softly, “Clearly I was the first to acknowledge her as Godson…”
The sour thought even made him laugh at himself. Shaking his head, he turned and walked toward the Cloudship Dock.
…
The Grand Competition had now reached the third round. Of the original one hundred twenty-eight participants, only thirty-two remained.
Compared to the dense schedule of previous days, today felt much more relaxed—only sixteen matches were required.
The spectator stands around the Martial Arena were even more crowded than yesterday.
By this stage, those lacking sufficient strength had mostly been eliminated.
Formation Masters, Mechanism Masters, Alchemists, and other “atmosphere group” contestants had basically disappeared as well.
The sole exception was Senior Brother Xia, who might one day take his talents to the western coast. Under the meticulous planning and tactical equipment support of his entire “coaching team,” he had stubbornly remained in the competition as a Formation Master, relying on ingenious tactics and formations that perfectly countered his opponents. It was no small feat.
As for the true protagonists—martial cultivators who specialized in martial paths, Qi Refiners adept in spell arts, and Sword Cultivators—they now occupied the overwhelming majority of the remaining slots.
Every spectator understood that the real main course of the Sect Grand Competition had only just been served.
For Long Tao, however, the most noteworthy match today was still that of Nan Yuchen, and this time it had been extremely perilous. His opponent was another martial path cultivator, Senior Brother Wang, whose cultivation had already reached Foundation Establishment Fifth Layer.
With a solid foundation and fierce, domineering fists, he held the absolute upper hand for most of the match.
Aside from certain battle techniques that relied on innate talent, where he was slightly inferior, Nan Yuchen was comprehensively suppressed in every aspect.
The situation had once been extremely passive—he was nearly beaten down without respite.
Watching Nan Yuchen struggle under the storm-like assault, his True Essence Protective Barrier on the verge of collapse, Long Tao on the commentary seat had sweated through his palms, his face pale the entire time. He had nearly believed his System Task was about to be declared a failure.
Yet in the latter half of the match, after a completely unadorned head-on clash, Nan Yuchen, despite his unsteady footing, had caught a fleeting flaw!
Without hesitation, he forcibly altered his move at the cost of his right leg, abruptly dragging the battle into a life-for-life exchange!
And although Senior Brother Wang still had considerable strength remaining, he was forced to follow through, abandoning defense and striking with full force. In the end, the True Essence Protective Barriers over both their chests were simultaneously depleted!
An elder’s figure instantly inserted itself between them and declared the round a draw.
Just as everyone thought an additional match would follow, Senior Brother Wang withdrew his stance first. He raised a hand to wipe away a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled freely at Nan Yuchen.
“Junior Brother Nan, such courage, such decisiveness! My cultivation is two layers higher than yours, yet because of that instant flaw and your reaction on the spot, you forced me into a mutual-destruction situation. Elder Hu, no need for an additional match—I concede.”
He cupped his fists in salute and, with crisp decisiveness, voluntarily admitted defeat.
Nan Yuchen quickly returned the salute, filled with admiration and gratitude for this upright senior brother. Under those circumstances, an additional match would have been a certain loss for him.
Cheers erupted from the spectators at the edge of the arena. The sect’s prodigy Nan Yuchen had once again defeated a stronger opponent and advanced to the next round.
Though everyone knew it had relied partly on luck and partly on his opponent’s magnanimity… such a dramatic scene was precisely what they wished to see.
Among them all, the most excited was naturally Long Tao. Excellent! As expected of the Child of Destiny—such fortune! To encounter such an upright and bold opponent.
If it had been anyone else, they might have chosen the additional match instead. After all, once one entered the Top Sixteen, the sect would issue rewards—and they were by no means meager.
Yet in his heart, he still felt somewhat despairing. If the third-round opponents were already this powerful, what would happen in the fourth round? And to reach the top four, one would still have to win the even more brutal fifth round.
Honestly speaking, Long Tao had absolutely no confidence now. He had already begun calculating how to survive miserably with only a wisp of Divine Soul left once the task failed.
Even so, he did not sink completely into dejection. Joking aside, setting aside Nan Yuchen’s side of things—if his own commentary was despised by the audience due to his low spirits, the task might truly be doomed. Better to focus on his own performance first.
Soon enough, today’s Grand Competition reached its final match.
Unlike usual, it had just passed Wu Hour; the sky was still bright, and the spectators’ enthusiasm remained high as they anticipated another exciting duel.
However, the situation on the field left everyone baffled. Senior Brother Jiang and Senior Sister Lu, after the elder announced the start, both stood rooted in place.
They did not set up formations or mechanisms either, appearing entirely to be stalling for time.
“Th-this… what is happening?” Long Tao quickly spoke up to avoid an awkward silence. “This is already the crucial third round! Judging by previous matches, both Senior Brother Jiang and Senior Sister Lu have performed excellently and favor proactive offense. Why are they engaging in passive competition at this moment?”
He instinctively glanced at Fang Wuqi beside him, only to see the latter’s brows similarly furrowed as he gave a slight shake of his head, indicating he also had no idea.
Just as the two were puzzled, a note wrapped in spiritual energy flew lightly from somewhere in the spectator stands and landed precisely on the commentary desk.
Fang Wuqi reached out to catch it. After quickly scanning it together with Long Tao, identical expressions of sudden realization and wry amusement appeared on both their faces.
Understanding at once, Long Tao picked up the “microphone” again, his voice tinged with teasing.
“Fellow spectators, fellow Daoists! We’ve just received exclusive news—turns out Senior Brother Jiang and Senior Sister Lu on the field are childhood sweethearts!”
He deliberately paused, waiting for the curious murmurs below to rise before continuing.
“It is said that the two were born in the same small town and grew up playing together. Later, they even attended the sect’s Disciple Recruitment Ceremony together, entering the sect hand in hand. They even broke through to Foundation Establishment in the same year! Sigh… I hardly know what to say. Such fate—I truly dare not comment further. I wonder whether everyone present might be willing to give this pair of ill-fated mandarin ducks a bit of time?”
Sure enough, once Long Tao began digging into and narrating the contestants’ background gossip, the atmosphere at the venue immediately became lively.
The vast majority of spectators no longer fixated on whether the match was “passive.”
Instead, whether acquainted or not, they excitedly discussed with those around them this rare childhood-sweetheart bond within the cultivation world.
Though Jiang and Lu could not hear the commentary, they knew full well that such delay was inappropriate.
The two exchanged a glance and nodded, seemingly reaching some tacit understanding before simultaneously assuming battle stances.
Yet at that moment, the spectators by the field actually became reluctant.
“Don’t start fighting yet! Wait for Long Tao to finish!”
“Exactly! Junior Brother Long! Tell us more! What other stories do they have? Spill everything!”