Chapter 5185 — Counters to Every Move
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
With those two setting the tone, all four of the peak Foundation Establishment disciples' matches concluded with astonishing speed. The total time for all of them combined amounted to a mere half-hour, a great deal faster than Xin Yi'an had anticipated.
After the peak Foundation Establishment bracket came the matches for the disciples at the very peak of late Foundation Establishment. Naturally, the one drawing the most attention was Ling Tianyou, who had just failed in his challenge across tiers.
Though among cultivators of his own level there was simply no one who could match his strength, he had just expended a vast amount of true qi on Wei Zhao, and his fighting spirit had taken a hit. More crucially, his moves and patterns had been laid bare for all to see, and such a long stretch of time was more than enough for anyone to devise a counter. With every disadvantage piled together, in the eyes of the onlookers he was no longer a fearsome opponent to be avoided at all costs, but a ripe, easy target, and the other peak late Foundation Establishment disciples were all itching for their chance.
If they could defeat Ling Tianyou today, it would mean far more than a mere victory. More importantly, it would make their names in a single battle, bringing both fame and profit, the benefits of which were self-evident.
Yet reality proved that Ling Tianyou was, in the end, Ling Tianyou. Someone who could become the young sect master of the Thousand Blades Sect was absolutely not a man to be trifled with. His loss to Wei Zhao only served to highlight how formidable Wei Zhao was; it most certainly did not mean he was weak.
At least in front of these rivals of his own level, Ling Tianyou was still an invincible presence. So what if his moves and patterns had been exposed? His Thousand Blades in Flight was not so easily broken, and in truth, against these rivals of his level he did not need Thousand Blades in Flight at all. A casual Hundred Blades Unleashed was already impossible to stop.
Like Wei Zhao and Xue Jianming before him, Ling Tianyou settled his fights with ease in a single exchange. Before his overwhelming strength, these peak late Foundation Establishment disciples could only accept their fate of being crushed one-sidedly. As for making a name for themselves in a single battle, they had truly been thinking far too much.
The matches came one after another, ordered from highest strength to lowest. Next in turn were the disciples of late Foundation Establishment, then peak mid Foundation Establishment, then mid Foundation Establishment, and then peak early Foundation Establishment. Since Xin Yi'an was the only judge, and the venues were limited, only one match could be held at a time. The time consumed was naturally considerable, but fortunately the total number of people was not large, and barring any unexpected incidents, a schedule of one round every two days was quite relaxed.
Without the headline-grabbing figures like Wei Zhao, Xue Jianming, and Ling Tianyou to anchor the proceedings, the matches that followed were noticeably duller. The sole exception was a match in the late Foundation Establishment bracket, for it too featured a figure who drew attention: Leng Leng.
Back when she had first come to the mortal world, she had only been at early Foundation Establishment. Since meeting Wei Zhao, however, her strength had shot up by leaps and bounds. One trip out into the world and back, and she was already at mid Foundation Establishment; now, after several months of bitter cultivation in the Transfer Archipelago, her strength had surged to late Foundation Establishment, and she stood but a hair's breadth from its very peak.