"[Thunderburst]!" Qin Xiao roared out. His blue thunder-attuned genetic energy suddenly turned a deep purple. Directing the attack with his longsword, he released a frightening bolt of purple lightning toward Chu Feng.
"[Wings of Wind]!" Chu Feng was shocked by how much Qin Xiao had transformed within a short month. Wind-attuned genetic energy condensed around Chu Feng as a pair of wings sprouted from his back. Two slender rapiers appeared in his palms.
"Look, who's that? He managed to make Young Master Chu take him seriously!" a spectator exclaimed, instantly drawing attention to the fight.
"[Hymn of Wind]!" Chu Feng continued. Before the bolt of lightning could strike him, he crossed his two blades, triggering a storm around him. Blades of wind, as sharp as the real thing, whipped around him and forced Qin Xiao back.
The hunters present were all astounded at the confrontation between what seemed to be two elites. As purple lightning clashed against howling winds, green and purple genetic energy covered the battlefield. Blinding flashes and explosions left the audience unable to determine precisely what was going on.
After the violent clash, the arena was once again silent. In the aftermath, two figures stumbled out of a rising cloud of smoke.
Just as Chu Feng breathed out harshly and prepared to strike at Qin Xiao again, Qin Xiao spat out a mouthful of blood. He glared balefully at Chu Feng before gritting his teeth and raising an arm. "I admit defeat!"
By then, his hood had been blown back by the force of the explosion, and his features were clear to one and all.
"Ah, isn't that Qin Xiao? Wasn't he announced as Qin Lei?" contemporary romance
"That's right! He does look like Qin Xiao—could he be his twin?"
"No, that can't be: Qin Zongming only has a single son! Could Qin Xiao have... changed his name?!"
"Ah, you might be right! Don't you see how nervous Qin Zongming looks at the moment? I bet that hunter in the arena's Qin Xiao!"
"Really? Don't you know how arrogant Qin Xiao is? How would he be willing to admit defeat just like that?"
"Who knows? Perhaps he knows that he can't defeat his opponent, so he's deciding to preserve his strength instead!"
Some of the hunters had indeed guessed Qin Xiao's circumstances correctly.
Qin Lei—or, more accurately, Qin Xiao—intended on advancing through the stages of the Void Cup while hiding his true identity, but he was unlucky enough to encounter Chu Feng in the first match of the second round.
After the first attack, Qin Xiao realized that he wouldn't have a chance to take down Chu Feng unless he took extraordinary measures, so he chose to surrender instead. In the second round, he would have to fight three battles, and winning two would be sufficient to advance him to the next round. There was no need for him to waste his reserves of genetic energy and show his trump cards against Chu Feng.
The winner of arena #3—Chu Feng!
"Rejoice, Chu Feng. Rejoice that you're not my target, and I'll spare your life for the moment." Qin Xiao smiled at him, showing his teeth.
"Oh? It's not clear to me just who will spare whose life. Qin Xiao, looking at your pitiful appearance—let me give you a warning, even if you don't deserve it. Whatever grudge you have against Zhang Lie, drop it now. He's gone far beyond your comprehension!" Chu Feng whirled around and stepped down the arena, leaving Qin Xiao behind.
Although he had directed his words at Qin Xiao, they applied just as well to him. He could sense that he wasn't much stronger than Qin Xiao; if Qin Xiao was no match for Zhang Lie, then neither was he.
"Was that really Qin Xiao?" Chu Xun asked the moment her brother stepped back into the stands.
"Yes, that was him," Chu Feng murmured, glancing at his lone figure that had vanished within the crowds. He knew that Qin Xiao was hiding something, but he didn't worry about Zhang Lie's safety at all.
"What a pity! Is the young master of the Qin clan in such dire straits that he's lost even his own name?"
Following Chu Feng, the other young clan heads were slowly called to stage to face their respective opponents, but unlike him, they were able to beat their opponents easily. As usual, the citywide stage in the capital was largely a battlefield for the five major clans.
As the second day ended, in each region, the top hundred hunters citywide were quickly identified in preparation for the final round of the tournament the next day.
In Ning, as expected, Zhang Lie and the five present members of Team Zenith all entered the finals. This also meant that the finals, which should have been the most exciting round of the citywide stage of the Void Cup, was sapped of much of its enjoyment for those hunters in Ning: it seemed as though the top six hunters were already determined, and the remaining 94 hunters would have to compete with each other for the final four places.
Although the prizes that these final four participants would receive were very similar, placing in the top ten would allow them to participate in the nationwide tournament.
The moment Zhang Lie and the others returned to the Zenith Dojo, they immediately began to cultivate. Seated in one of the many arenas in the dojo, they cycled genetic energy through their bodies, each giving off a colored glow corresponding to their elemental affinity.
The dojo's new disciples were all staring at the figures on stage admiringly. However, Jun Jiuxiao, Ye Xianchen, and Wu Wei quickly shook themselves out of their reverie, then began focusing on their own training instead.
Meanwhile, Zhang Lie rushed into one of the practice chambers and started a simulation in preparation for his fight against the peak-grade moonlight wyrm.
"Simulating combat against a superior-grade wyrm-type lifeform," a robotic voice began. Light washed over the entire chamber, the walls of which seemed to transmute into the deep ocean.
Amidst a robotic whirring, rays of light swiftly condensed into a glowing ball. The next moment, an earsplitting howl rang from a distance as a large creature suddenly darted out of the water. Its slender, aerodynamic body was studded with purple scales. It held its head erect as it stared at Zhang Lie with eyes the size of lanterns.
"Simulation complete. Simulated lifeform: superior-grade deepsea wyrm," the robotic voice continued.
Zhang Lie suddenly opened his eyes, circulated his genetic energy, and activated his soulshards. The entire surface of the sea began to froth as Zhang Lie released a palpable aura.
"To think it could simulate a lifeform so realistically! This device really is worth the money I paid for it," Zhang Lie murmured to himself.
The wyrm attacked first, sending a wave hurtling toward Zhang Lie with a slap of its tail.
"[Fists of the Silent Sea]!" Zhang Lie thrust forward with his right palm. The wave met Zhang Lie's genetic energy in an explosion, one that rocked the surface of the sea.
The deepsea wyrm generated wave after wave, which Zhang Lie countered with his fists. Suddenly, a blood-red beam of light shone from underwater as a bloody dragon penetrated the wyrm's body, causing it to dissolve into fragments of light.
"Congratulations, challenger! You've overcome the highest-difficulty challenge!" As the simulation receded with the ocean, Zhang Lie deactivated his soulshards. He let out a sigh.
No, this won't do. The simulation only goes up to superior-grade lifeforms, and the moonlit wyrm will be far stronger. I won't be able to learn much from this,?Zhang Lie thought to himself.
The reason he was testing out the simulation chamber was to determine how strong a superior-grade wyrm-type lifeform would be. This was the highest-grade lifeform that could be simulated with the technology that he had purchased, but it still fell short of Zhang Lie's expectations.
After all, the moonlight wyrm could well be the only lifeform in the first realm that had exceeded superior-grade. While the deepsea wyrm was strong even for superior-grade lifeforms, the moonlight wyrm would be on a different level entirely.
However, the fight had at least allowed Zhang Lie to understand that a battle in a water-saturated environment would strongly favor the wyrm. Fortunately, his framework was also water-attuned, and it would help him out as well.
"Tomorrow's the final round of the citywide stage in Ning, and the nationwide tournament will be a week later," Zhang Lie mused.
At that time, most hunters would be in the real world watching the competition, giving Zhang Lie enough time to strike in the dimensional world. In that case, that was when he would have to hunt down the moonlight wyrm.
The next day, Elder Bai expressionlessly read off the ten winners of the citywide stage.
The final round was staged on ten elevated arenas, each with ten fighters on them. The final fighter remaining in each arena would form the top ten competitors in Ning, eligible to advance to the nationwide competition. Of course, the outcome in six of those arenas was readily apparent, but the fights on the other four arenas dragged out for quite some time, almost as if making up for the lost excitement from the first six.
This might not have been the most exciting final the crowds had seen, but it was certainly the one that left them the most dumbfounded.
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