Chương 213: Li Hu's loss

Long Feng calmly returned to his seat, barely aware of the waves he has set up.

"My greatest profit is my concept breakthrough! Rank seven sword concept… my overall combat power should have increased a bit" he observed. This fight was a good experience for him. Firstly, it made him realize that even with his good offensive skills, he could still lose to an opponent who had a suitably strong defense. To this, he could either decide to even all his fields; focus his attention on offense, defense and speed at the same time.

This was undoubtedly going to waste much of his time, though it would make him versatile in all situations. But nothing was perfect. That could also mean that he wouldn't have one particular aspect that he excelled at. Or he could decide to focus on his offensive skills; hone his sword to the extent that no defense of any kind could withstand his attacks as long as the main cultivation realms wasn't too different.

This was undoubtedly a better choice, but Long Feng didn't feel like abandoning his speed advantage too. But he didn't have to make a decision immediately. He still had time to slowly decide. Then the battle also increased his experience and also enabled his sword concept that was stuck at a bottleneck to reach the next level, the final three levels. Each of these three levels was harder to cross because they were closer to the intent realm, but each level also came with greater power than before.

There was pros and cons to everything.

"It will take a while for me to reach rank 8 concept. So I'll focus more on my demon Dao. It shouldn't lag behind too much or that'll cause more disorder to the demon sword skill." By now, the uproar Long Feng caused was slowly fading away. The a few more rank two spirit realm cultivators made more challenges, avoiding Long Feng this time. Soon though, they realized that none of the top ten were soft persimmons.

The soul cultivator youth actually defeated a rank two spirit realm warrior with the same ease which he defeated a rank one. The opponent also suffered a potentially fatal soul Injury! This instantly raised the soul cultivator's ranking in people's mind to just below the top three, even above Lan yanyue. Even Long Feng had the feeling that the soul cultivator youth was much stronger than he had shown.

He only got that feeling from the youth and Gongsun Hao, and he was sure that both of them were not to be underestimated. At least, the current him couldn't beat them. He didn't bother to watch the remaining fights as he focused on recovering his inner energy untill two hours later. Hua Yao stood up from his seat, his hands behind his back as he spoke"The time for the challenges is over. And I believe there wouldn't be any more changes among the current top ten. So we'll proceed to the next phase."

Pausing, he glanced at the three youths from the Yihua clan who had nothing but indifference on their faces.

"The three juniors of my clan will now have one chance to challenge a top ten participant! Winning would grant them that spot, and losing would disqualify them! If you're able to disqualify them all, rest assured that my Yihua clan wouldn't say anything! The general rules remain unchanged!" With that, he slowly sat back on his seat. His relaxed expression suggested that he had not the slightest worry regarding those three youths. Either he didn't care about them or he was fully confident that they wouldn't lose.

And he had the right to be confident. Two rank three spirit realm warriors and one rank four! This line up alone made other forces blush in shame. And their combat power couldn't be smirked at. They would surely have the best skills and weapons this continent could offer. Defeating them at the same level could be described with one word… Hard!

"Each of them gives me a feeling that they're stronger than the three from the five great sects. Especially the male in the middle… rank four! The Yihua clan truly deserves their position as the overlord! And these are probably not the strongest their clan can bring. The other two spots… there could even be a rank five spirit realm junior!" Long Feng couldn't help but admire the superiority of the Yihua clan. Even their juniors were in a league of their own in this continent. The tense atmosphere was broken.

One of the three youths, the female, rose to her feet lazily. Her eyes scanned the top ten and it was hard not to notice her disdain. Many of the top ten felt angry but no one actually had the courage to face her. Just from her cultivation, only the three strongest could face her.

"They're all so weak. Only that Misty Mountain's guy is worth my time! Oh well. I guess I'll challenge…" her lazy eyes swept over the top ten again and again. Before she could make her choice though, a cold voice from behind her cut her off. This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

"Don't challenge that Gongsun Hao. He's mine!" This was spoken softly such that only she could hear it. Her expression instantly turned respectful after hearing that voice. She turned around and nodded"Yes elder brother" The respect and admiration in her face and tone was enough to shock everyone present, as they already saw each of the trio as a proud and arrogant people.

"Hmmm. Challenge that Li Hu from the tiger sect. Eliminate him. We don't keep weaklings" the person she called elder brother, the rank four spirit realm cultivator nodded indifferently and ordered. She respectfully responded and turned back to the top ten. This time, he didn't waste any time and swiftly made her challenge"I challenge you!" She pointed at Li Hu. Saying this, she jumped into a battle stage and stood calmly, her slender figure causing many people among the spectators to drool.

In terms of bearing, even Lan yanyue was inferior. Li Hu's eyelids twitched as he snorted and rose to his feet. A powerful pressure instantly spread out from him, suppressing those seating beside him. His expression was grim as he jumped into the same battle stage. Staring at his weak looking opponent, Li Hu didn't dare to underestimate her. Who knew what sort of skills these monsters from the Yihua clan had?

"Li Hu. Roaring Tiger Sect!" Li Hu introduced himself as a way of showing respect to his opponent. In response, the lady snorted and attacked without word, disdaining to speak with him. Li Hu naturally felt enraged from this. When had he ever been looked down upon? He was born with the best talent in his sect in the past few decades. His cultivation advanced at a fast speed and he reached the spirit realm at nineteen. Right now, he was barely twenty. His talent was already great in this continent.

He had always been treated with respect, even from those of other forces. Yet this girl dared to disdain him? Truly, arrogance knew no bounds.

"How arrogant of you. Take my punch!" He shouted, his clothes and hair moving with the wind. His aura burst out of his body, causing strong wind to blow on the stage.

"Tiger descending the mountain!" He leaped up like a wild tiger, his aura savage and powerful. A tiger phantom appeared behind him as he lifted his fist and punched at the lady. Loud exclamations echoed in the square. Many people were impressed by Li Hu's strength. Just from this attack, no ordinary rank two spirit realm cultivator without great defense could withstand fist.

"Weak!" The lady smiled coldly and lifted her small palm to face Li Hu's incoming punch. Compared to Li Hu's attack that seemed fierce and overwhelming, her stance was more conservative, and wouldn't seem like much to others.

"Water reflection palm!" A soft glow covered her palm, giving it a weak look. Her aura was completely conserved within her body without pouring out at all. The expected explosion didn't occur. The fist that came down with overwhelming power suddenly went quiet upon meeting the water like palm. It was like throwing a punch only to hit cotton, that was the feeling Li Hu had. The silence lasted for a split second before a powerful rebound force burst out of the lady's palm and into Li Hu's arm.

Li Hu's reaction speed was also commendable. His expression changed an instant before that rebound entered his arm and he began to retreat. He also gathered his energy to his arm to counter the force. But his actions were still hasty compared to the rebound force. He was sent into the air and he had to flip a few times to transfer the force to the stone stage. Deep footprints appeared on the stage, surrounded by cracks.

Li Hu's arm was also shivering slightly, the arm of his robes having exploded to pieces, revealing his arm to his shoulder. He let out a breath after he stopped his retreat.

"The reflection of water… impressive!" The lady smiled arrogantly.

"You ran pretty fast. If you were a tiny bit slower in your reaction, you would have either gotten a crippled arm or flown straight off the stage!" Li Hu's expression turned ugly. To think she wanted to cripple his arm? This Yihua clan lady was really insufferably arrogant!

"You're so young yet so vicious! I held back earlier! Try reflecting this!" He changed his stance so he almost looked like a tiger ready to pounce. Veins popped up on his face as he gathered his inner energy in his throat.

"Fierce tiger roar!" His mouth opened and let out a loud roar that took form of a visible shockwave, shooting towards the lady. The stone stage completely shattered wherever the shockwave passed, leaving broken stones in its path. The lady's face finally changed a bit. Li Hu was right, her reflection skill had a limit. She couldn't reflect such a large range and powerful skill.

"Hmph! Clever tactic. I'll just beat you up then!" She snorted and actually charged right at the attack.

"Shadow Lotus! Rain of petals!" She used a unique skill. A lotus shadow appeared around her, granting her defense, while it's petals fell off and rained down on Li Hu. The sound wave was completely blocked by the lotus shadow, while Li Hu had to face the rain of petals and the lady's incoming figure at the same time. His expression became increasingly ugly as he realized that he really might lose this fight at this rate!

"Crouching Tiger, Ruler of the mountains!" He roared, his voice almost reminiscent of a tiger's roar. A large crouching tiger shadow appeared behind him. It roared at the sky, it's fierce aura dispersing the clouds overhead. It leaped forward, it's paws ripping the petals to dust. The lady was forced to pause her charge and fall back, making new handseals.

"Shadow Lotus! Break!" The lotus shadow actually shattered into pieces and covered every inch of the stage. The lady's handseals suddenly changed.

"Shadow Lotus! Gather!" The lotus fragments suddenly gathered, placing Li Hu and his tiger phantom in the center of the lotus. Li Hu's expression swiftly changed as he tried to escape this place, but he was too late.

"Hehehe! You're done!" The lady laughed as her handseals changed again.

"Shadow Lotus! Explode!" BOOM The large lotus self destructed, the force of the explosion creating a large hole in the battle stage. The whole square seemed to have shaken from the force of that explosion, and everyone was speechless by the sheer power that was released. Just the shockwave required the full strength of a rank two spirit realm warrior to be resisted! When the dust settled, the situation the stage was revealed to everyone.

Seeing Li Hu's state, many people couldn't help but take in deep breaths in shock. Li Hu was laying down in the center of the whole, unmoving. His clothes were shredded to pieces and he was covered in blood. But for his faintly rising and falling chest, many would have taken him as dead. Li Hu lost! And he lost very cleanly, even falling unconscious at the end! Looking at him, then at the lady who looked like she had enough energy to go another round, many people were convinced that Li Hu's loss was justified.

"That girl is so strong! Unbelievable!"

"She beat Li Hu till he's unconscious! I think she can fight a rank four spirit warrior on even grounds without losing!"

"The Yihua clan is really the overlord of this continent. Just their juniors are so terrifying! Which other force can compare?"

"I think the top three position will be taken by these three if the other two are as strong as this lady! They're all monsters!"

"The other two should be at least as strong as her, probably stronger. Don't forget, there's still a rank four spirit realm youth among them!"

"That's right. I think that rank four is the strongest present. Gongsun Hao might be able to defeat this lady and the other young man, but he should lose against the rank four!" Many people discussed excitedly, their blood boiling from the fight that just ended. The result has surprised many people, but the fight itself was very satisfying. Now, they couldn't wait for the next fight to occur.

Although they knew that Ming Dao stood no chance against such strength, they still thought he should last a bit longer so they would enjoy the fight even more. As for Gongsun Hao, if he faced the rank four, then no one believed that there would be any suspense. No one except the Misty Mountain's Master.

He glanced at Gongsun Hao who's expression was calm and nodded"Hao'er, if you can defeat that kid from the Yihua clan, then I'll definitely be able to get you into the outer sect even if you don't shine at the hundred continent meeting. After getting into the sect, your future achievements would be far beyond what the continent zones can imagine! Even reaching the True Spirit Realm would not be totally impossible for you!" Speaking up to here, a look of respect, desire and fear appeared on his face.

What realm the True Spirit Realm was to induce such emotions in him? Only he knew the answer to that.