High-Martial World: System Arrives 30 Years Late-Chapter 342 - 284: The Grandmaster’s Final Piece, Golden Wheel
"The drawing for the fourth round of ranking matches begins!"
The voice of a Grandmaster from the Martial Arts Association resounded throughout the mountaintop plaza with Qi and Blood infusion, and the remaining twenty-five people took the stage, making the crowd on the scene feel invigorated.
"First match, third on the Celestial Pride List, Gu Chen, versus Zhou Lie from the Southern War Zone."
"Second match, Sun Ming from the Overlord Blade Saint Martial Hall versus Ye Wufeng from the Ye Family."
"Third match, tenth on the Celestial Pride List, Xiao Changhe, versus eighth on the Celestial Pride List, Duan Xue."
...
"Twelfth match, Zhao Xue from First Saint Martial University versus Lin Yun from the Lin Family."
"In this round, Xia Yu from the Martial Arts Association has a bye."
The drawing of lots for the twenty or so participants quickly ended. Everyone who had made it to this round was a standout among the younger generation; on a normal day, each had the strength to be in the top ten of the Celestial Pride List, or even challenge the top five.
In an instant, not only the contestants set to compete, but the audience in the stands were all excited, knowing the upcoming head-to-head battles would be exceptionally spectacular, the real highlight of the day.
Su Mu slowly opened his eyes.
"Lin Family... Lin Yun."
He noticed a name that piqued his interest.
The grievances between Su Mu and the Lin Family had long been settled. In fact, the Lin Family Ancestor had gifted him the Silver Lotus Healing Ointment, allowing his teacher Wang Shuheng to resume the path of martial arts. In this regard, the Lin Family Ancestor had done Su Mu a favor.
Hearing that someone from the Lin Family had made it to the fourth round, Su Mu couldn’t help but take another look, feeling a bit reflective.
Once upon a time, the Lin Family was a colossal entity in Su Mu’s eyes, an existence not to be provoked.
Yet now, at the exchange meet, almost no one paid attention to the Lin Family’s participant, and all eyes were on figures from top forces like the Overlord Blade Saint Martial Hall and the Ye Family.
In the presence of these top forces, the Lin Family from Guangshen Province was insignificant.
"Strength determines perspective."
"Unknowingly, it seems I’ve already walked a considerable path in martial arts."
"But if I want to overlook all mountains, I can only ascend to the peak!"
Noticing Su Mu’s gaze, Lin Yun showed a hint of nervousness, then forced an awkward smile.
This scene was familiar to Su Mu; he had seen it in the selection matches with Cui Jian and Xing Fang.
The two were no longer people from the same world...
So, after nodding slightly to indicate his acknowledgment, Su Mu quickly withdrew his gaze, to avoid putting too much pressure on Lin Yun. As a Lin Family member, getting this far was no easy feat.
"Is that Su Mu? Truly terrifying, just one glance makes me feel completely seen through."
"The Ancestor was right after all."
Back when Lin Yun was with the Lin Family, the Ancestor had mentioned Su Mu, evaluating him as someone whose future achievements might not be lesser than Huangfu Tian.
At that time, Lin Yun was dismissive, thinking the Ancestor overestimated Su Mu. Now it seems, the Ancestor was not wrong.
"A dragon cannot be contained in a pool; it transforms when it encounters wind and clouds!"
Withdrawing his gaze, the aura surrounding Su Mu became subtle and elusive. As his control over his own strength grew stronger, there was a faint sign of returning to simplicity and purity.
At this moment, Su Mu could clearly feel the path to becoming a Grandmaster within reach, separated by just a window, forcing him to suppress the increasingly strong and clear premonition of breakthrough.
"Soon, it won’t be long now..."
"Once the transaction with the Ye Family is completed and ’Formless Three Flowers’ is acquired to complete the final piece of the puzzle, I can start working on breaking through to Grandmaster!"
Su Mu took a deep breath to quell his excitement, continuing to absorb the martial arts of hundreds of schools.
"The first match begins!"
Colonel Zhou Lie was a participant of the Southern War Zone in this exchange meet, but his luck was sour, directly facing the former number one on the Celestial Pride List, Gu Chen.
With the referee’s start signal given.
Zhou Lie unhesitatingly unleashed the Three Flowers, with powerful Qi and Blood, spiritual power, and sword momentum soaring to the sky. His resolute eyes glimmered with brilliance, fully aware that his strength was inferior to Gu Chen, grasping only at the opportunity for the first move.
A step forward, as the Martial Arts Arena quaked, his body moved with his blade to instantly span hundreds of meters, wielding the blade for a fierce slash.
"Blood Sea Technique of the Blood Burning Overlord Blade, Third Form!"
In the instant of the slash, Zhou Lie also activated a certain secret technique, instantly causing the fluctuation of Qi and Blood around him to surge massively. From his battle blade, which was over 1.5 meters long, burst forth a solidified, blazing red blade glow.
In an instant, the fierce blade Qi engulfed the entire arena.
This single slash alone showcased Zhou Lie’s power far exceeding that of an ordinary peak Sixth Level Martial Artist.
But his opponent was Gu Chen, the former number one on the Celestial Pride List!
Confronted with this slash, Gu Chen neither dodged nor avoided but rather stepped forward, his figure momentarily flickering, instantly closing the gap beyond the capture of the naked eye.
As the wind surged in Gu Chen’s hands, the Wind Rule was invoked, transforming into a green dragon.
This slash unexpectedly struck first despite being launched later.
Boom!
The flames were instantly extinguished by the fierce wind.
With just one strike, Zhou Lie was directly defeated.
"Gu Chen wins this battle!"
The referee from the Martial Arts Association quickly announced the result loudly,
As the referee’s words fell, the sound of gasping in shock echoed through the crowd. The sudden end of this battle caught many off guard as it was over before they realized it.
"So strong, worthy of being the former top of the Celestial Pride List, Gu Chen."
"Gu Chen has become much stronger than before!"
Many people discussed energetically, but no one mentioned the critical point.
"This is Wind Breathing, capable of enhancing speed to some extent... his control is slightly better than Ye Wufeng’s."
"But it’s still too weak."
Su Mu observed keenly; in that instant just now, he caught Gu Chen entering the Wind Breathing state, but due to Gu Chen’s immense speed under Wind Breathing, many people failed to notice.
However, Gu Chen’s breathing, like Ye Wufeng’s, mobilized a vast amount of spiritual power to protect his flesh.
This not only wasted a large amount of spiritual power but also greatly limited the power of Wind Breathing. To drive it in such a way and achieve even one-tenth of its full power is considered fortunate.
"A frail body cannot bear the true power of Rule Breathing Techniques, and moreover..."
Su Mu frowned slightly. Whether it was due to Ye Wufeng and Gu Chen’s lack of mastery, their attribute breathing techniques always gave him an indescribable awkward feeling, filled with stagnation.
It completely lacked that smooth, fluid ease.
"Could it be that the two... are concealing their strength?"
Such a thought arose in Su Mu’s mind. If Ye Wufeng and Gu Chen knew about this notion, they would probably vomit blood on the spot.
Rule Breathing Techniques are high-tier breathing techniques almost monopolized by the Martial Saint, rare even for Great Grandmasters to access. The two barely initiated them under the guidance of their family’s ancestors.
Moreover, being able to begin learning them is already extremely difficult, and this is one of the greatest assurances for them to compete for the top of the Celestial Pride List!
Additionally, Su Mu had another doubt; until now, he hadn’t seen anyone exhibit more than one Rule Breathing Technique.
"Most likely, they’re concealing their strength."
Su Mu didn’t dwell on it. He narrowed his eyes slightly and began trying to imprint Gu Chen’s sword move after activating Wind Breathing into his Sea of Consciousness.
The battle between the two intensified the atmosphere among the watching crowd, and the conflicts continued, quickly leading to the conclusion of the fourth round.
At this point, three celestial prides mastering Rule Breathing Techniques had emerged on the field: Ye Wufeng, Gu Chen, and Li Huo.
Usually, one who masters a Rule Breathing Technique without becoming a Grandmaster can often ascend to the top of the Celestial Pride List, and now, three such individuals appeared directly at this exchange meeting.
And it was still far from the final match. Eliminating two out of three would be too wasteful.
So, before the fifth round began, a few individuals at the referee’s seat discussed and made a temporary decision. Grandmaster Lu Heng stood up and spoke.
"In the upcoming fifth round, a series of arena matches will occur. The three with the highest points will earn the chance to challenge Su Mu and Ye Wanqing tomorrow."
As the fifth round’s lottery ceremony began, a figure approached Su Mu.
"Su Mu, I hope you win tomorrow, and I wish you great martial luck!" the person speaking was Lin Yun. In the previous battle, he was defeated by his opponent in three moves, looking somewhat disheartened and with his Martial Arts Heart slightly unstable.
"Thank you, and please send my regards to the ancestor."
"Alright."
Lin Yun did not remain at Celestial Cloud Mountain’s peak any longer and silently left unnoticed.
The twilight descended, and as the setting sun’s glow spread across Celestial Cloud Mountain’s peak, the final three contenders emerged from the fifth round.
No surprises here; it was indeed the three who mastered Rule Breathing Techniques.
Su Mu returned to his senses, somewhat reluctant for more. At this moment, his Sea of Consciousness was filled with quite a few martial arts fragments, among which shone several with a faint cyan glow, the glow of Wind Breathing.
"Time flies... If only there were a few hundred more matches."
As the organizers announced the end of today’s ranking competition, various forces quickly departed from Celestial Cloud Mountain’s peak, choosing to return to the dedicated hotels at the mountainside.
This martial arts exchange meeting was jointly hosted by the Huaxia National Martial Arts Association and the Southern War Zone. The hotels accommodating various forces provided Grandmaster-level Fierce Beast meat for free.
Su Mu entered the cafeteria, and amidst the astonished gazes of others, he consumed dozens of plates of Fierce Beast flesh before returning to his suite.
With a thought, confirming there were no cameras in the room, Su Mu drew the curtains and enveloped the room with his spiritual power, isolating it from unexpected surveillance.
The next second.
A massive wheel appeared in the void before him, the brilliant golden light on it instantly flooding the room.
Su Mu squinted slightly, observing the golden wheel in the void, pondering for a while before retracting it.
He glanced at a newly received email on his phone.
Then he dialed his mentor Wang Shuheng.
"Teacher, I’d like to ask you for a favor tomorrow."
...
