MJWCATFPITWOC Chapter 41

Chapter 41: Fate

[Golden Core Group First Match: Li Juemu Wins]

Li Juemu sheathed his sword and stepped down from the arena. He walked to Shi Wen’s side, slightly out of breath, “Fortunately, the gap between us isn’t too big.”

On the arena, the man he had just defeated was being carried away, his wounded body drawing heated discussions from the surrounding spectators.

“As expected of someone from the Li family,” someone sighed in a low voice, “After the eldest son of the Li family, another monster has appeared.”

Li Juemu lowered his eyes, staring at the hilt of his sword, his knuckles white from gripping it too tightly. His voice was almost inaudible, “Not enough…”

.

Nascent Soul Group—

“Li Yuan, isn’t that the eldest son of the Li family?” The spectators below the arena discussed animatedly.

“I heard he awakened his talisman path at the age of seven and mastered it by ten. Such a genius is truly beyond our reach.”

“This match is definitely going to be a good show.”

From among the male cultivators of the Dingxu Sect, Li Yuan slowly walked onto the arena, his steps steady and leisurely, his gaze surveying the entire audience, his aura unshakable.

The male cultivators below the stage shouted, “Young Master Li is the strongest!”

However, Lingyi on the other side snorted, “What’s so great about it?” Clearly displeased with Li Yuan’s early appearance.

The cultivators below the stage also began to discuss in low voices, “Who will he choose to duel? Although it’s a rare opportunity to spar with a talisman path genius, I don’t want to die so early.”

“Young Master Li was among the top five masters last year. If he picks an opponent who is also in the top five this time, then this match will practically be the finals played in advance.”

Just as everyone was discussing, Li Yuan raised his hand and slowly pointed in a certain direction. The crowd’s eyes followed, wanting to see clearly which cultivator he had chosen.

“Brother Yucheng.”

“Wait for me.” Mo Yifeng struggled to move against the crowd, trying to catch up with Shen Yucheng in front. The crowd was too congested, and his speed was hindered, so he could only laboriously squirm through the throng.

He finally approached Shen Yucheng and reached out to grab his sleeve. Just as he was about to speak, the surrounding crowd suddenly parted like the tide, clearing a path for them.

Mo Yifeng was filled with excitement, his mind still replaying Shen Yucheng’s earlier “confession.” His cheeks were slightly flushed, and his lips moved, finally squeezing out a sentence: “Brother Yucheng, I… I’m willing!”

However, before he could finish speaking, the spinning disk in the air suddenly made a sound, interrupting this rare atmosphere.

[Round Two – Li Yuan vs. Mo Yifeng]

Mo Yifeng was stunned, holding Shen Yucheng’s hand, and looked up at the huge spinning disk in the air, bewildered, “?”

Shen Yucheng raised an eyebrow, his gaze indifferent, “Hmm?”

At this moment, Li Yuan on the arena was pointing at the two of them. When he heard the result announced by the disk, his fingertip trembled slightly, and his whole person froze in place, his mind blank.

Lingyi, who was watching this scene from the side, couldn’t help but curl the corners of his mouth and sneer, “Hilarious.”

Li Yuan’s face instantly turned ashen, the veins on his temples throbbing. He no longer cared about his usual image and roared at Mo Yifeng in a low voice, “Mo Yifeng! Are you doing this on purpose?”

Mo Yifeng looked blank, “Huh?”

Everyone didn’t expect Li Yuan’s goal to be so serious, actually picking last year’s top five masters. They exclaimed, “This is going to be a good show!”

“It’s only the first day of the competition, how can it be so exciting!”

“I should have brought some snacks to watch the show!”

Shen Yucheng saw the latest instruction and reminded Mo Yifeng calmly, “Looks like you have work to do again.”

Mo Yifeng scratched his head and looked at Li Yuan, “So you want to fight me this much?”

Li Yuan’s face flushed red, suppressing his anger, but he couldn’t say a word, his whole body trembling with rage.

However, just as Mo Yifeng was preparing to go on stage, the spinning disk started spinning rapidly again.

[New Rule: The same contestant cannot participate in two consecutive matches]

[Detecting that Mo Yifeng is a contestant from the previous match, he cannot participate in this match]

[Cultivator Li Yuan loses the right to choose. The opponent will now be randomly assigned]

This change was unexpected but also reasonable. Last year, the seamless connection of Mo Yifeng and others made the competition unfair, so the cultivation world directly revised the rules of the competition.

Everyone held their breath and stared intently at the pointer of the spinning disk. For those cultivators who had no interaction with Li Yuan, they could breathe a sigh of relief just now, but now the random selection rule made it impossible for anyone to stay out of it. The atmosphere was unprecedentedly tense, and everyone’s eyes were fixed on the rotating pointer, no one daring to blink.

Finally, the spinning disk stopped. Shen Yucheng looked up at the air and raised an eyebrow in surprise, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned.

Mo Yifeng’s expression was indescribable, as if he had seen the worst combination in the world.

And Li Yuan felt his heart turn cold. He had thought that no matter who he drew, he would quickly take care of it and go back to rest. But the moment the result came out, he had a premonition that this would be the most exhausting match of the competition for him.

Below the stage, a figure stepped onto the arena, unhurried and unperturbed. Amidst the shouts of the surrounding female cultivators, Lingyi closed his eyes and shook his head, “Your luck is still the same.”

The person stopped, followed by a gentle voice, “I thought we wouldn’t fight again this year.”

Fu Lingxuan wore a faint smile, seemingly unsurprised by the result, “It seems that fate has linked us together after all.”

Li Yuan’s face was full of black lines, “Shut up!”

Shen Yucheng looked at the two people on the stage and asked softly, “Was it also these two who competed last year?”

Hearing this, Mo Yifeng’s face became a little strange, and he hesitated, “…How should I put it, there were several times last year when Li Yuan’s opponents were temporarily absent, but as long as it was randomly assigned, the opponent would eventually choose Fu Lingxuan.”

Shen Yucheng’s jaw almost dropped to the ground after hearing this.

Mo Yifeng scratched his head and continued, “It’s not just that, actually these two have had a strange magnetic field for a long time. No matter how the sect’s actions are arranged, they can always meet in different situations.”

Speaking of this, Mo Yifeng couldn’t help but mutter, “It’s really terrifying.”

Shen Yucheng imagined that if he also had such a destined person, no matter where he robbed whose money, this person would track him down…

He couldn’t help but sigh in a low voice, “…How scary.”

.

The horn sounded, and the competition began. However, the arena of the Nascent Soul Group was unusually quiet, the buzzing of flies passing by could be clearly heard.

“What’s going on?” Some spectators were puzzled. What they had originally expected was a fierce competition, not such silence.

“Don’t worry, just wait,” an old spectator who had also watched the competition last year said lightly, “The battle of the Nascent Soul often decides the outcome in an instant.”

Shen Yucheng’s gaze moved between the two, his mind racing. Fu Lingxuan was a formation cultivator, while Li Yuan was a talisman cultivator. Both were ranged attackers, so it was natural that such a duel would not form a fierce melee battle. The scene was momentarily quiet, which was also reasonable.

Suddenly, the arena shook violently, as if something was about to erupt from the ground. Even Shen Yucheng, standing in the distance, could clearly feel the tremors under his feet. The cultivators in the front row of the arena were even more unsteady, falling one after another.

Shen Yucheng steadied himself, and suddenly his waist tightened. A hand gently climbed onto his waist.

“Brother Yucheng, I can support you.” A warm breath came from his ear.

Shen Yucheng’s face darkened, and he slapped the hand away in a second, “Get lost.”

Above the arena, a huge yellow formation appeared on the ground, its light flashing. This was the source of the vibration.

Shen Yucheng frowned slightly, and Fu Lingxuan’s formation flashed through his mind in an instant. Blue formations represent attack, purple for defense, black for immobilization, orange for transfer, but this yellow formation was something he had never seen before.

He was about to ask Mo Yifeng, but he saw an excited look in the other’s eyes. Those starry eyes were staring straight at the arena, clearly deeply attracted by Fu Lingxuan’s new move.

On the arena, Li Yuan stabilized his body, staring at the yellow formation under his feet, his brows tightly furrowed, “What new trick is this?”

“I had a premonition that we would meet again, so I created this move specifically for you.” Fu Lingxuan chuckled, spiritual power lingering around him. He waved his right hand lightly, and the yellow formation glowed brightly, with a black formation appearing under Li Yuan’s feet.

“!” A cold light flashed in Li Yuan’s eyes, and his figure quickly darted up, avoiding the black formation under his feet.

If he hadn’t dodged just now, this match might have ended here.

Seeing this, Fu Lingxuan was still unhurried, a smile on his lips, “How is it? Not bad, right?”

Li Yuan was too lazy to waste words with him. He quickly pinched out several talismans with two fingers, and with a flick of his finger, the talismans turned into sharp arrows, shooting towards Fu Lingxuan.

As the command was shouted, the talismans instantly exploded, and dozens of talisman characters turned into flames, blooming on the arena. From the outside, they looked like dozens of crimson flowers, and the dense trajectory made it impossible to escape.

The shockwave of the explosion swept across the entire arena, scorching the air. The audience held their breath and paid attention to every change in the battlefield.

Shen Yucheng watched the arena. What he had just seen was a duel between two real powerhouses, different from Mo Yifeng’s one-sided attack. In this match, both sides were doing their best, and every move and every style was full of killing intent.

“Wonderful!!!” The audience cheered.

“Is this really just the opening?”

“Who said they were boring just now!”

Shen Yucheng was also infected by the atmosphere of the scene, and his heart was beating faster. However, a heavy panting sound came from his ear. He turned his head and saw that Mo Yifeng was panting heavily, his eyes shining, and a disturbing smile on his face.

He looked like a pervert.

Shen Yucheng wanted to stay away from this thing.

Above the arena, the light of the yellow formation faded, and Li Yuan stood in place, staring blankly at Fu Lingxuan in the thick smoke. He unhurriedly circulated his spiritual power and pinched out several talismans again, waving them away, and the talismans disappeared into the air.

A moment later, the thick smoke gradually dissipated, but Fu Lingxuan’s figure was gone.

“Could it be… that he was blown to death?” Someone exclaimed.

“It’s not impossible. These are talismans personally written by a talisman path genius, and their power far exceeds those ordinary goods outside.”

Li Yuan turned a deaf ear to the surrounding discussions, still focusing on scanning his surroundings.

Just then, a trace of movement came from above. Li Yuan drove the talismans in his hand, and the top of the arena suddenly exploded. Fu Lingxuan had been hiding in the high sky.

“The reaction is much faster than last year.” Fu Lingxuan appeared from the smoke, coughing non-stop from the thick smoke, but his face still carried a provocative smile.

“Have you hidden enough?” Li Yuan said coldly.

Fu Lingxuan shrugged helplessly, revealing his back, which was covered with several detonation talismans, “If I hide any longer, I’m afraid I’ll really become a charred corpse.”

Li Yuan had been prepared earlier, and before the smoke dissipated, he tracked the talismans to Fu Lingxuan’s back, ready to detonate them at any time.

“Then you go first.” Li Yuan made a beckoning gesture with his fingers, sneering.

Fu Lingxuan was about to take a step when suddenly his legs went numb, and his whole person knelt on the ground, supporting himself with his hands, his body trembling.

Exclamations rang out from the audience, everyone was stunned. Fu Lingxuan was clearly unharmed just now, how could he suddenly lose his strength.

Shen Yucheng couldn’t see how Li Yuan had caused such serious damage to Fu Lingxuan in such a short period of time.

At this time, Mo Yifeng frowned slightly, sniffing the air, “The smell of the smoke… is a little different from ordinary detonation talismans.”

On the arena, Li Yuan coldly looked down at Fu Lingxuan, “It’s finally taking effect, you really are an elephant, it took so long to react.”

Fu Lingxuan’s whole body was stiff, and he wanted to exert strength to get up, but his body completely refused to obey. He recalled the attacks he had suffered just now, and smiled knowingly, “I didn’t expect the upright Young Master Li to also learn to tamper with the talismans.”

“I don’t need upright means to deal with you.”

Cold sweat oozed from Fu Lingxuan’s forehead, “I guess, you added paralyzing medicinal materials to the detonation talismans.”

“Not only that, but I also attached a slight electric shock, so that it can take effect faster.” Li Yuan’s talisman in his hand changed, turning into a pair of chains, binding Fu Lingxuan’s hands, “These chains can lock the flow of spiritual power. You cannot break free until you surrender.”

Fu Lingxuan lowered his head and remained silent.

After a long time, when Li Yuan thought that the other party was bluffing, Fu Lingxuan reluctantly raised his head, a bitter smile on his face, his handsome face with a bit of embarrassment, but his charm was still there.

Many female cultivators in the audience couldn’t help but exclaim in low voices.

“Ah… how can someone be so good-looking even like this…”

Li Yuan looked at Fu Lingxuan’s watery eyes, his heart trembled, and a sense of guilt surged out. He touched his neck, just about to speak, when Fu Lingxuan suddenly chuckled, “You’ve become a lot stronger, Li Yuan, I admit…”

Before he could finish speaking, the yellow formation that should have disappeared on the arena suddenly reappeared, its light suddenly intensifying, and the entire arena was instantly shrouded in a sense of oppression of spiritual power.

Li Yuan reacted extremely quickly and immediately jumped back, but the speed of the formation was even faster. As a blue formation appeared, several spiritual power transformed into sharp swords, flying out of the formation, cutting across his body, bringing up several bloody wounds.

Li Yuan clutched his wound.

At this time, Fu Lingxuan wore a sly smile on his face, peeling off the mask of pretending to surrender just now, “Once this formation is activated, it no longer needs the support of spiritual power.”

The moment the victory or defeat had been decided, the battle situation changed again, becoming stalemate again.

The audience outside the arena was blood boiling, shouting hoarsely.