Martial Arrogance Dragon Soul-Chapter 226 - 216: Challenge Who? (Seeking Subscriptions)
Xu Ping’an’s swordsmanship was extremely fierce.
This sword came with a whoosh, heading straight for Qin Qing’s front.
However, Xu Ping’an did not manifest his Martial Soul, clearly, as he said, this battle was meant as a sparring match with Qin Qing.
Thus, there was naturally no need for Qin Qing to manifest his Martial Soul either.
But no matter how you look at it, Xu Ping’an was of the Golden Core Realm. Though he had only broken through to the Golden Core Realm less than three years ago, his grandfather was Xu Qingyuan, and he had received guidance on his swordsmanship from Xu Fang, which speaks volumes about Xu Ping’an’s strength.
"Buzz buzz!"
The void trembled lightly, and the Azure Dragon Spear once again hovered into Qin Qing’s hands.
"Primordial Unity Breath!"
Qin Qing’s spear instantly swirled out of his hands.
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh..."
The spear’s gleam twinkled with azure flames, and bunches of spear flowers appeared out of thin air, looking like azure flames, and were quite beautiful.
"Ding ding ding ding..."
The tip of the spear and the edge of the sword constantly collided.
The two exchanged blows at an extremely fast pace, and in a moment’s time they had clashed over a hundred rounds.
However, through this hundred-or-so exchanges, Qin Qing had already gained a rough understanding of Xu Ping’an’s swordsmanship.
He also had a corresponding estimate of Xu Ping’an’s strength.
Xu Ping’an’s ability was indeed not bad, and was even stronger than Guan Xing.
But both his strength and his swordsmanship were inferior to Qin Qing’s.
"Whoosh!"
Qin Qing’s arm shook violently.
The Azure Dragon Spear screamed again, and a blinding azure gleam suddenly enveloped Xu Ping’an.
"Mountain Splitting Sky!"
Qin Qing’s spear was like a startling thunderbolt from flat ground, bursting forth violently in an instant, attacking Xu Ping’an with the momentum of thunder.
Xu Ping’an was too slow to retract his sword and hastily urged his full spiritual power to form a defensive shield around himself.
"Boom!"
The spear gleam struck the defensive shield, which instantly collapsed.
But Qin Qing also withdrew his spear at that moment, so he did not injure Xu Ping’an.
However... that wild blast of force still sent Xu Ping’an staggering back more than a dozen meters.
Xu Ping’an was also staggered to the edge of the platform.
"Thank you, Brother Qin, for holding back!"
Xu Ping’an looked back and saw that his heels were actually standing on the edge of the arena.
But he did not fall off.
Xu Ping’an was very clear that it was because Qin Qing had held back in that last shot.
Otherwise, he would not only have been wounded by Qin Qing’s spear but would also have been directly blasted off the platform.
Qin Qing smiled wryly and cupped his fists towards Xu Ping’an.
"I admit defeat!" Xu Ping’an shouted to Qin De.
"Good! It’s been recorded!" Qin De nodded.
Xu Ping’an smiled at Qin Qing, who was carrying the Azure Dragon Spear, and they left the platform together.
This scene, however, made many people feel surprised.
Since the first round, there hadn’t been a battle as relaxed as this, or to put it precisely, as peaceful.
Thus, Qin Qing hadn’t expended much in this battle.
"Just my luck!"
Lu Yuming saw Qin Qing come down and couldn’t help muttering a curse under his breath.
Qin Qing looked at Lu Yuming with a half-smile but did not bother with him, instead continuing to chat with Xu Ping’an who had come down beside him.
"Brother Qin, what do you think is the biggest problem with my swordsmanship? I’ve heard from my grandfather that your swordsmanship is also quite impressive," Xu Ping’an said.
Qin Qing was slightly taken aback, "My swordsmanship is impressive? Why would your grandfather say that?"
"Haha. He heard it from Elder Bai. You don’t know, but right now those old guys like my grandfather, each one of them is so envious of your master. They all envy him for accepting such a good disciple like you."
Qin Qing smiled helplessly and shook his head, then turned his gaze back to the platform.
The battle quickly began again.
This time it was Hong Hu against Peng Qian.
Hong Hu was recognized as the top disciple of the Red Sun Martial Institute.
However, that title belonged to him three years ago.
Three years ago, Hong Hu being the top disciple of the Red Sun Martial Institute didn’t mean that someone else had taken the title from him, but rather that Hong Hu had chosen to graduate from the Red Sun Martial Institute.
Therefore, that title naturally no longer belonged to him.
His claim to the top disciple spot of the Red Sun Martial Institute three years ago was sufficient to demonstrate Hong Hu’s talent and strength.
And in these three years, Hong Hu didn’t stay in the Great Qian Dynasty; instead, he started in Tianjue Forest and traveled along the mountain ranges, visiting many countries. These travels greatly improved Hong Hu’s strength over the three years.
Indeed, the battle between the two did not last long.
Once Hong Hu’s Martial Soul was manifested, the fight quickly tilted in one direction.
In the end, with a "Tiger’s Fury Over the River," Hong Hu’s fists bombarded fiercely, directly knocking Peng Qian to the ground.
Before Peng Qian could react, Hong Hu had already pounced like a fierce tiger, stepping on Peng Qian’s chest.
"I admit defeat!"
Peng Qian immediately slapped the ground with his palm and shouted loudly.
At that moment, Hong Hu’s eyes were blood-red, and his body was overwhelmed with murderous aura.
Peng Qian, fearing that Hong Hu would suddenly strike to kill, announced his surrender loudly the first chance he got.
And sure enough, as Peng Qian was declaring his defeat, Hong Hu’s massive fist, still shrouded in terrifyingly hot spiritual power, smashed viciously towards Peng Qian’s head.
If that punch landed on Peng Qian’s head, one could easily guess that his skull would have exploded on impact.
Fortunately, at that moment, a grey shadow suddenly leaped up and grabbed Hong Hu’s wrist.
"Roar!"
Hong Hu let out a furious roar. With wild spiritual power swirling around him, he swung his fist to smash the interloper who had flown towards him.
But the figure sternly shouted,
"Calm down!"
This shout, as if imbued with some magical power, caused even Qin Qing and the others standing below to feel a jolt in their divine sense, as if their minds were directly struck by some force.
Only then did Qin Qing see clearly that the grey shadow was none other than an old man wearing the grey robes of a Great Qian Dynasty eunuch.
He was an old eunuch, his hair and beard silver-white, his body thin and desiccated, giving the impression of extreme frailty at a first glance.
But upon a second look, this frailty gave way to a sense of extraordinary potential, as if his scrawny frame hid an incomparable explosive power.
This was a Nascent Soul Realm martial arts ancestor!
Qin Qing thought to himself.
The aura emanating from the elder exerted a huge pressure on him.
"That shout he just made... it must be some cultivation technique—a technique that can directly attack a person’s mind..."
Qin Qing pondered.
He had never before seen such an attack, one that could assault a person’s mind directly through sound.
If that was the case, then in a fight, if one were to suddenly shout in close quarters, and through the voice alone distract the opponent, wouldn’t that be a terrifying trump card?
Meanwhile, on the platform, Hong Hu, who had been in a frenzy, his eyes blood-red, gradually recovered his senses as the redness in his eyes faded after a brief spell of confusion.
"Sorry. I got too carried away!" Hong Hu said to the elder and Peng Qian, who was still gasping heavily on the ground.
"Enough," the elder waved his hand and stepped down from the platform.
"Hong Hu!" Qin De spoke, "If there’s a next time, you’ll be disqualified immediately!"
"Yes!"
Hong Hu nodded, then bowed to Peng Qian to apologize once more before leaping down from the battle platform.
The next four battles were between Lu Yuming and Yue Jiang, Su Dongxue against Zhao Qilin, Xu Wenjian versus Mo Yu, and Yuan Xiu against Huang Ying.
Lu Yuming still forcefully crushed his opponent, cruelly defeating Yue Jiang and even breaking one of his arms.
Su Dongxue, on the other hand, lost to Zhao Qilin.
As for Xu Wenjian and Mo Yu, their fight was highly contested.
Both were very strong: Xu Wenjian a sword cultivator, and Mo Yu a saber cultivator. Both were stronger than Guan Xing, and the difference in strength between them was minimal.
In the end, after nearly two hours, the battle concluded, with Xu Wenjian barely coming out on top with a single strike.
Last were Yuan Xiu and Huang Ying, a fight that was just as grueling. Neither was weaker than Xu Wenjian or Mo Yu, and the clash was equally splendid and fierce, with Huang Ying emerging as the fortunate victor.
Therefore, the winners of this round were: Du Yuan, Qin Qing, Hong Hu, Lu Yuming, Zhao Qilin, Xu Wenjian, and Huang Ying, along with Chu Qing, who had a bye.
These eight now had the qualifications to move on to the next round.
However, according to the previous rules, there was still a revival challenge match.
Any martial artist who had previously lost could choose to challenge any one of the victors: if they defeated them, they could take their place in the next round.
"The revival challenge match now begins. Does anyone wish to issue a challenge?" Qin De asked those like Lin Song who had just been defeated.
"I do!"
One among those defeated martial artists stood up.
It was Su Dongxue, who had been vanquished by Zhao Qilin.
The battle between Su Dongxue and Zhao Qilin had ended very quickly, and in less than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, she was sent flying from the platform.
Su Dongxue was not reconciled. She believed her quick defeat to Zhao Qilin wasn’t due to a gap in strength but because she had been careless, as she had never heard of Zhao Qilin before. Moreover, according to the information she had, Zhao Qilin was just a loose cultivator, so she hadn’t taken him seriously, a fact she attributed to her loss.
"Very well! Su Dongxue has challenged. Are there any other challengers?"
Qin De looked towards the others.
The rest remained silent.
They looked at the ones on the platform, realizing they stood little chance of victory. Moreover, several fighters, including Peng Qian and Yue Jiang, lacked the courage to continue the fight.
"Since there are no other challengers, Su Dongxue, you may now select whom you wish to challenge." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
Su Dongxue nodded, her gaze shifting to the eight individuals standing on the platform.
Du Yuan, Qin Qing, Hong Hu, Lu Yuming, Zhao Qilin, Xu Wenjian, Huang Ying, Chu Qing...
Who among these eight should she choose?
"Zhao Qilin?"
Su Dongxue thought that carelessness was a major factor in her defeat to Zhao Qilin.
But she didn’t want to challenge Zhao Qilin.
Because despite her previous carelessness, her brief encounter had given her a general idea of Zhao Qilin’s capabilities.
Even if she were more cautious, her chances of winning were not high.
The other seven...
All eight standing on the platform were formidable; at this stage, all were of no ordinary strength.
"So — choose the youngest, Qin Qing?"
Su Dongxue’s eyes landed on Qin Qing.
