Big Data Cultivation-Chapter 1957 - 1959: The Tycoon Battle Strategy

Li Shishi’s opponent conceded; there was no hidden reason, it was purely because of an injury.

During the round of sixteen to eight, those two fought fiercely— the difference between the top eight and the top sixteen was indeed significant.

As a result, the loser was covered in bruises, and the winner wasn’t in much better shape. If he could rest for a month, he wouldn’t mind facing Li Shishi, but now... withdrawing seems to be the straightforward choice.

Li Shishi was given a bye into the semifinals, and her opponent was Kunlun’s transcendent disciple, Ma Feiyu, in his early thirties, at the eighth level of transcendence.

Strictly speaking, Ma Feiyu was not purely a Dao cultivator but dual-cultivated in both Dao and martial arts. His martial cultivation level was slightly lower, but it was at the initial stage of a Martial Master. In previous matches, when he faced weaker opponents, he often won with his fists and feet.

He was a promising candidate for Qi Refinement, but Kunlun’s spiritual energy was declining, and cultivation time couldn’t be guaranteed; otherwise, he might have already reached Qi Refinement.

Right now, he couldn’t even bear to use talismans casually, indicating that Kunlun’s resources were truly lacking.

Luohua Dao cultivators versus Kunlun Dao cultivators—this battle needed no promotion, as many awaited to watch.

The other battle was Kunlun martial cultivators versus Wudang martial cultivators. In the top four, Kunlun took two spots, which was quite impressive, and the Wudang martial cultivator was precisely Wang Dapeng from the Xiuzhen Courtyard.

So, one could say Luohua barely made it, producing two participants, with the top four divided between Kunlun and Luohua!

However, the most impressive was Luohua, with just one spot. Although she was given a bye into the finals, Li Shishi, a young girl, managed to fight into the semifinals with a very straightforward fighting style.

Therefore, the match between Li Shishi and Ma Feiyu drew a great deal of attention,

and the two did not disappoint. After stepping on the stage, they first boosted themselves with various statuses and then initiated the fight.

Ma Feiyu was instructed by Kunlun not to rush in this fight and to win openly without using off-record tricks. Only then did the spectators realize... Kunlun wasn’t lacking in treasures!

Li Shishi had a Thunder Talisman, and so did Ma Feiyu. She had a Defense Talisman, and Ma Feiyu did as well. She had anti-thunder gear, and Ma Feiyu had the same!

So what everyone witnessed was essentially a battle of talismans and protective gear.

Ma Feiyu occasionally used some martial arts techniques, but they could at most cause Li Shishi minor trouble. Martial artists stronger than him couldn’t get the better of Li Shishi.

Meanwhile, Li Shishi’s moves thoroughly demonstrated what it means to be "rich and powerful!"

Feng Jun once envied Ten Directions’ way of combat greatly. Before his departure, he had instructed that if faced with Kunlun Dao cultivators, just bombard them with talismans.

Li Shishi’s six matches, only in this match, did she implement Feng Jun’s directive.

The audience was in for a treat, watching Li Shishi unleash one talisman after another as if they were free, showing an array of offensive talismans—Thunderclap Talisman, Water Tornado, Blazing Flame Talisman, Ice Arrow Talisman...

For a while, the arena looked like a fireworks display, bustling with excitement.

After over half an hour of combat, including using three Defense Talismans each, Ma Feiyu still lost in the end—he had one Defense Talisman left, but his anti-thunder gear, the Yin Yang Dual Magnetic Rings, had cracked.

This gear was already broken when it was handed to him. However, it had barely been usable after being refined for over a hundred years in the Fierce Wind Cave. Now, cracking once again, if he didn’t concede immediately, it would soon be completely damaged.

Once completely damaged, Ma Feiyu would no longer be able to defend against the opponent’s Thunder Talismans and, in the end, would still have to concede.

Indeed, his Defense Talisman could block various attacks, but its effectiveness against thunder was poor.

Hypothetically, even if the Defense Talisman was highly effective against thunder, what difference would it make? He only had one Defense Talisman left!

As for how many talismans the opponent still had... Ma Feiyu felt that he didn’t need to guess; just based on the opponent’s fighting style, he wouldn’t doubt it if it turned out there were ten times the stock left.

Simply put, Li Shishi purely adopted a lavish way of fighting. If the equipment was swapped, Ma Feiyu would definitely win more beautifully!

Anyway, since he had exhausted his resources, he conceded decisively, preserving the dual magnetic rings and the final Defense Talisman.

After this match ended, some shouted it was enjoyable; others regretfully said, Li Shishi’s victory was merely due to wealth, not real skill.

Someone immediately refuted, "Why shouldn’t wealth be considered true skill? How many Qi Refinement practitioners does Luohua have? Gao Qiang withdrew from the competition after becoming an Innate Expert. They hardly had someone eligible to participate, and yet you all have something to say."

This semifinal was interesting, and so was the other semifinal.

Wang Dapeng was initially at the Middle-Stage Martial Master level. His accumulation was actually very substantial, and after two months of cultivation at Xiuzhen Courtyard, he smoothly ascended to the High-Rank Martial Master level, and his opponent was also a High-Rank Martial Master.

Kunlun’s legacy wasn’t given for nothing; the guardian martial master also had true skills, and having been at High-Rank Martial Master level for years, just in terms of experience, he was stronger than Wang Dapeng.

However, Wang Dapeng had considerable combat experience. His single saber dazzled the eyes, and although he gradually fell behind, an occasional unexpected move could turn the situation slightly back in his favor.

Most people focused on the saber techniques, but those who truly understood watched the power output. At the level of a High-Rank Martial Master, one couldn’t say the techniques were useless, but often what was being assessed was the understanding of martial arts.

Ultimately, cultivation level, understanding of martial arts, and bodily reactions—none of these three could be neglected.

The master from Kunlun wielded a staff as tall as his brow. As the old saying goes, "A year for the saber, a month for the staff, a lifetime for the spear." It seemed learning staff techniques wasn’t difficult. However, those who thought so were wrong. Staff techniques were easy to understand and practice, but mastery still required great achievement.

To achieve great mastery in staff techniques is truly not an easy task, hence the saying, "The fist fears the young and strong, the staff fears the old and sly."

The battle lasted over half an hour, and Wang Dapeng was increasingly struggling, looking as if defeat was imminent.

Inwardly, he couldn’t help but sigh. If only the Xiuzhen Courtyard had opened earlier. If they had opened a year earlier, he could outlast and wear the opponent down. Currently, he simply couldn’t win in a fair fight, so he had to resort to unorthodox tricks.

He was concerned about martial artist honor. If it were just his personal match, conceding would be no problem. But the organizer of this Dragon Gate Tournament was Wudang, and Wudang disciples couldn’t fail to make it to the finals, could they?

Reaching the semifinals could barely suffice, but Wang Dapeng knew well that if he lost this match, his chances against Ma Feiyu were low. That guy was a Dao Cultivator with martial arts cultivation!

Reaching the semifinals without making it to the top three would just look too bad!

However, his unconventional tactic wasn’t overly despicable, just a bit cunning. Otherwise, he would’ve been embarrassed to use it, especially with so many spectators present.

The next moment, his saber head was once again caught by the staff, and the opponent applied sticky force, aiming to disarm his saber.

This move had been used multiple times and was a very skillful technique of using a small force to overcome a greater one. Although Wang Dapeng wasn’t phased by it, every time this technique appeared, he had to exert extra effort to counter it, which disrupted his rhythm.

The opponent knew this too, so they used it occasionally, not to win, but to exhaust him.

This was another routine move. He was already prepared to drain the opponent a bit more. Victory was in sight; he just needed to remain steady. It’s said the staff fears the old and sly, right? Even people from Kunlun would play it safe.

However, as he sought stability, it was far from stable. Wang Dapeng let go, and the single saber flew out.

This left him in discomfort... planning to exert some force and withdraw quickly, he nearly sprained his waist.

It was unexpected, but he didn’t panic because the tactic of letting the saber go was something he had considered. Although without a weapon he’d be passive, his fists and feet were now free, and using this unexpectedly might yield surprising effects.

Though uncomfortable, he raised the staff vertically, assuming a defensive stance. "You may counterattack with your fists and feet, but I can slowly regain control. Let’s see how you defend without your saber."

But in the next instant, a bright, snow-white saber was already poised at his neck.

Though the blade wasn’t sharp, it was still chillingly threatening!

He was instantly stunned, not because he was frightened by the saber, but because he found it entirely unbelievable. "This... this... this... a Storage Bag? You’re cheating! What happened to the martial ethics? Such a grand Wudang can’t afford a loss?"

He was somewhat speechless because what was happening before him was completely beyond his imagination.

Firstly, the opponent was a Martial Cultivator. How could a Martial Cultivator use a Storage Bag?

In fact, whether there was even a Storage Bag in all of Wudang was uncertain; could this person actually be given one?

He had already realized that this Storage Bag must have come from Luohua. To prevent Kunlun from advancing to the finals, it was entirely possible that Luohua temporarily lent Wang Dapeng a Storage Bag—after all, he was cultivating at Xiuzhen Courtyard.

And whether Luohua had a Storage Bag usable by ordinary people was beyond his imagination—at least Kunlun didn’t have any!

Kunlun didn’t even have a Storage Bag usable at the Mortal Shedding stage—alright, the entire Kunlun only had four pieces of Storage Magical Artifacts.

Regardless, this saber was utterly unexpected to him. He hadn’t made any similar preparations. In battles between masters, often it’s a thin line. He had made many preparations but truly hadn’t thought that the opponent would employ such an unorthodox trick.

Now, it seemed defeat was certain, but he was genuinely unconvinced—even if I knew beforehand that you had a Storage Bag, I would still beat you in another round.

The referee, Guan Shanyue, announced, "Wudang’s Wang Dapeng wins this semifinal match!"

The man was infuriated, "I don’t accept this, he used trickery, how can Storage Bags be used in battles between Martial Cultivators? Winning like this is disgraceful!"

"Not accepting is useless," another referee, Yang Hu of Chicheng Mountain Cave, spoke. The relations between Chicheng Mountain Cave and Kunlun were average, and he merely addressed the matter, "The contest has never banned dual-cultivation of Dao and martial arts. Doesn’t Kunlun also have a dual-cultivation among your semifinals?"

The man became even more exasperated, "But he didn’t use a Storage Bag."

Yang Hu glanced at him, "That’s because he doesn’t have one!"