Yang Mingwei stood below the stage for a long time, not moving. Not even the commotion amongst the crowd could attract his attention as he stared blankly at the Immoveable Bright King Golden Ring on his body.
The Golden Ring that he was extremely confident in was so useless before Huang Xiaolong.
Until this moment, he still couldn't accept this fact.
Yang Mingwei's expression was like the dark, cloudy sky.
"This round, Huang Xiaolong wins!" Yang Mingwei regained his senses when the presiding teacher announced the result. With a complicated face, he looked at Huang Xiaolong and said, "I admit I lost this time; next year's competition, however, I definitely will defeat you!"
"Next year?" Huang Xiaolong repeated the words nonchalantly and shook his head.
Base on his cultivation speed, by the end of next year, he probably would have broken through to the Seventh Order. And at that point, he would be advancing to the Second Year Class. So, when next year's competition is held, if Yang Mingwei remained in the First Year class, he would have no opportunity to battle against Huang Xiaolong.
Seeing Huang Xiaolong shake his head, Yang Mingwei misunderstood his meaning, thinking that Huang Xiaolong felt too much disdain to battle him again.
"Huang Xiaolong, what do you mean?" Yang Mingwei was angered.
Huang Xiaolong turned around and walked down from the stage, "We'll talk if you manage to enter the Second Year class next year."
Yang Mingwei was stunned by the reply as he stared at Huang Xiaolong's back.
Advance to the Second Year class next year?!
Huang Xiaolong's words meant…? Both of Yang Mingwei's eyes widened in shock when he realized the meaning behind them.
On the guest platform, King Lu Zhe was watching Huang Xiaolong and laughing lightly, he said to Martial Haotian "Didn't expect Huang Xiaolong to reach this level of strength! Truly out of my expectations."
"Yes, this one feels the same," Marshal Haotian smiled and agreed amiably. He knew Sovereign had broken through to the Sixth Order, but the strength Huang Xiaolong had displayed earlier still surprised him.
Initially, he had thought even if Sovereign manages to win, it would be after a difficult and intensive battle, but in reality, it was the opposite.
Honestly, the ease which Huang Xiaolong defeated Yang Mingwei also startled Fei Hou a little.
Not long after Huang Xiaolong defeated Yang Mingwei, the battle results from the other seven stages with the First Year battles also came in.
Since the next round had seven students, an odd number, one of the students was exempted and directly eligible for the next round's competition. This spot, however, wasn't determined by drawing sticks but was decided by the Vice-Principal, Xiong Chu.
And the one Xiong Chu picked was Lu Kai.
Lu Kai was widely recognized by the students and teachers as the Academy First Year's number one person, so there was no objection from the crowd about Xiong Chu's decision. And like that, Lu Kai proceeded to the next round's competition smoothly.
For next round opponent, Huang Xiaolong drew a number six stick.
Number six was First Year Class Six's Hu Dong, and his strength was weaker compared to the previous Yang Mingwei – a peak mid-Sixth Order. Thus, there was no suspense to the battle and the same scene repeated itself. Huang Xiaolong defeated Hu Dong effortlessly.
Standing below the stage, Lu Kai quietly watched Huang Xiaolong's and Hu Dong's battle, his face not showing any of his thoughts.
The truth was he was calm on the surface, but in his heart, waves of shock hit him, just like everyone else present.
At first, his thoughts were similar to his father's; Huang Xiaolong wouldn't have the opportunity to battle against him and would very likely be eliminated halfway through the process. In reality, not even Yang Mingwei is Huang Xiaolong's opponent.
Deep in his heart, Lu Kai felt tangled. Between the many princes in the Luo Tong Kingdom, without a doubt, he possessed the highest talent of all of them; thus, he was most loved by his father. Despite that, the talent that he was so proud of crumbled to nothing when compared to Huang Xiaolong's.
On the other hand, Zhong Yuan who was standing behind Lu Kai, his facial expressions became twisted watching Huang Xiaolong defeat Yang Mingwei and Hu Dong like it was nothing.
A short while later, the second round of the First Year's competition had ended. Huang Xiaolong and two other students successfully entered into the third competition.
Don't know whether it was done intentionally or not, but the stick Huang Xiaolong drew was number three: a Class Three student called Chen Qiang. Once again, Huang Xiaolong did not meet with Lu Kai.
However, Chen Qiang's strength was recognized by the collective First Years, and he was the number two student after Lu Kai, a peak late-Sixth Order. Like Yang Mingwei, Chen Qiang also possessed a top grade ten beast type martial spirit, the Longarm Water Ape.
Although Chen Qiang was much stronger than Yang Mingwei, he ended up losing to Huang Xiaolong like the previous opponents, without releasing his martial spirit even once.
Seeing Chen Qiang lose to Huang Xiaolong, the people around the stage were stupefied.
In the end, it came down to the final round between Lu Kai and Huang Xiaolong battling for the first place spot amongst the First Year!
No one imagined that it would come to this; it would be Huang Xiaolong who would be competition for Lu Kai to grab the title. Prior to this day, the new and older students had talked about this, and everyone agreed at that time that it would be Chen Qiang up on that stage against Lu Kai.
But now, it was the new student, Huang Xiaolong, standing there instead.
Two people stood on the stage, sizing each other up. Both were quiet and neither spoke.
Below the stage, silhouettes tensed up as silence filled the place.
Li Lu fixed her stare on Huang Xiaolong and Lu Kai on the stage and her small hands clenched nervously, a layer of thin sweat on her palm.
"You surprised me." At long last, Lu Kai spoke and cut through the thick silence. "But, you should realize, you can not win over me! Just give up and throw in the towel!"
Hearing Lu Kai's words, Huang Xiaolong calmly retorted, "Just now, Yang Mingwei said the same thing to me."
In the end, Yang Mingwei lost miserably!
Lu Kai heard the hidden meaning of Huang Xiaolong's words and did not get angry; instead, he smiled faintly saying, "However, I'm not Yang Mingwei!" And his battle qi broke out in full force, not holding back. An energy stronger than both Yang Mingwei's and Chen Qiang's swept out from Lu Kai's body.
"Seventh Order! Prince Lu Kai really did break through to the Seventh Order!"
"Based on Prince Lu Kai's strength, the First Year competition's first place is already in his hands. How can Huang Xiaolong win against Prince Lu Kai in this situation?!"
"If it was me seeing Prince Lu Kai's Seventh Order strength, I would have already raised my hands in surrender! This Huang Xiaolong actually dares to stand on the stage-- too overconfident. Stubborn persistence to save face!"
Below the stage, a flurry of discussions was taking place.
Of course, those jealous of Huang Xiaolong couldn't resist ridiculing Huang Xiaolong, their voices full of sarcasm.
Huang Xiaolong's expression remained the same as those ugly words entered his ears, looking at Lu Kai on the opposite side: Seventh Order? This was within Huang Xiaolong's expectations so Lu Kai revealing his Seventh Order strength came as no surprise.
"How is it? Do you still want to fight?" Lu Kai looked at Huang Xiaolong.
"Make your move." Huang Xiaolong's calm voice sounded, unhurried.
Lu Kai didn't expect to get such an answer and was taken aback; knowing that he was a Seventh Order, Huang Xiaolong still dared to fight him? He knew Huang Xiaolong was indeed strong, but he and everyone present can see that he's just a peak late-Sixth Order.
The Seventh Order was a dividing line. No matter how strong a Sixth Order warrior is, it's impossible for them to win against a Seventh Order. This was a well-established fact.
Could this Huang Xiaolong want to use his Sixth Order strength to smash this fact?
Lu Kai stared at Huang Xiaolong and nodded his head seconds later, "Since you're unwilling to give up, then I will personally make you." After he said that, Lu Kai released the martial spirit from his body.
A dazzling light burst out from Lu Kai's body as a gigantic shadow emerged above him.
A huge beast that looked like a part eagle, a part phoenix and a part dragon at the same time materialized before everyone's eyes. A strong, oppressive aura swept out like a hurricane from where Lu Kai was located in the corner of the stage.
"Sky Peng!"
"Prince Lu Kai's martial spirit is actually the Sky Peng! Our Luo Tong Kingdom's first King had a martial spirit that was also a Sky Peng!"
The surrounding crowd clamored aloud, greatly shocked when they saw what Lu Kai's martial spirit was.
Including Huang Xiaolong.
The Sky Peng was one of the strongest martial spirits amongst the top grade ten martial spirits known.
Legend has it, the Sky Peng was from the far off bloodline of the Ancient Sky Dragon. Not only that, Huang Xiaolong noticed Lu Kai's Sky Peng martial spirit differed from the normal Sky Peng's features.
In legends, the Sky Peng was stated to have two wings, whereas Lu Kai's Sky Peng martial spirit had four wings! And when the four wings spread out, countless dots of golden lights glowed underneath them. A Sky Peng martial spirit doesn't usually look like this.
A variation!
This thought flashed across Huang Xiaolong's mind.
It seems Lu Kai's martial spirit was a variation Sky Peng. The Sky Peng was already a top grade ten martial spirits, and now with its variation properties, it can be classified as a grade eleven superb martial spirit!
This was unexpected to Huang Xiaolong that Lu Kai's martial spirit was a variation of the Sky Peng martial spirit.
After calling out his martial spirit, the atmosphere around Lu Kai changed instantly. Sounds of whistling wind could be heard coming from the air around Lu Kai. That's right, the sound when air moved at rapid speed, and the crowd saw azure-colored winds moving around his body.
Nature's wind was something colorless and invisible to the naked eye, but now it can be seen, highlighted in azure.
Azure-colored wind!
Huang Xiaolong's expression tightened a little, turning solemn; he knew Lu Kai's attack would come at him like an angry thunderstorm.
"Huang Xiaolong, if you can take this attack from me, then you have the qualification to compete with me for the first place. If you can't handle even this much, then you are not qualified to fight me for it!" At this time, Lu Kai's indifferent voice rang out on the stage. Then, his silhouette flashed and disappeared from the spot.
So fast!
This was the first thing that crossed Huang Xiaolong and the crowd's mind.
Too fast! Lu Kai's speed had reached a certain threshold, leaving only a residue of an azure shadow when he disappeared from the stage. Everything seemed to fall within expectations until Lu Kai's punch that was about to hit Huang Xiaolong, hit onto an afterimage of him instead-- his body had blurred away, leaving several afterimages on the stage. And Lu Kai's fist passed through this afterimage that he took as Huang Xiaolong.
"En?" As his confident punch hit onto an empty space, Lu Kai couldn't help but feel surprised.
He himself was a Seventh Order warrior. Moreover, he had summoned his martial spirit; although he did not soul transform, his speed was faster than any average Seventh Order warriors' speed. But, Huang Xiaolong actually escaped from his attack!
"Prince Lu Kai's attack actually missed!"
"What skill did Huang Xiaolong use just now? Could it be his martial spirit's ability?"
Even the experts on the honored guest platform, King Lu Zhe, Marshal Haotian, Principal Sun Zhang, and Vice-Principal Xiong Chu were shocked at what transpired on stage. The speed at which Huang Xiaolong dodged Lu Kai's attack was no slower than Lu Kai's speed.
Yes, just now, Huang Xiaolong used his martial spirit's ability – Phantom Shadow!
When Huang Xiaolong advanced to the Fourth Order, his martial spirits had undergone their first evolution. The Phantom Shadow ability allowed his speed to increase by a third of his fastest speed. And with his current strength of peak mid-Sixth Order, this ability had gone up a notch to two-thirds more.
Not to mention that Huang Xiaolong's strength was stronger than the average peak late-Sixth Order warrior. Without a doubt, his speed was also faster than average the average same level warriors. Thus, with a two-thirds increase in speed, his speed could very well match Lu Kai.
Seeing this his own attack missed, Lu Kai recovered quickly after a short moment of shock and did not rush to attack the second time, "Not bad, you're a little bit stronger than I imagined. Since you could avoid my first attack, means you have the right to compete for the first place with me." Up till here, he paused, "But, merely a qualification. So, be prepare to receive my coming attacks, let's see how many times you can hide!"
Lu Kai's silhouette flickered and disappeared and an azure light flashed passed in the air; appearing in front of Huang Xiaolong many times faster than before. A fist punched out piercing through space, producing an azure-colored wind blade!
Huang Xiaolong's eyes squinted as he watched the piercing fist get closer. And this time, he had no time to dodge, thus, the only way was to receive the attack. Battle qi inside his body roared, a Luohan Fist flew out to meet with Lu Kai's fist as the netherworld battle qi rushed out like a flood.
"Bang!"
Huang Xiaolong's fist collided with Lu Kai's and both were thrown backward from the force of the impact at the same time. Lu Kai retreated three steps back, and Huang Xiaolong, a total of five steps.
"Huh?" When Lu Kai saw Huang Xiaolong actually take his attack head on, yet was uninjured he was surprised.
The surrounding people who were watching the battle in all four directions were also astounded.
A Seventh Order warrior's battle qi was a fold higher than a peak late-Sixth Order, yet this Huang Xiaolong could actually resist a frontal attack from Lu Kai!
Although Huang Xiaolong retreated an extra two steps back compared to Lu Kai, showing that he was slightly weaker, nevertheless, this was enough to shock the crowd.
Off the stage, the First Year student that was defeated by Huang Xiaolong earlier -Chen Qiang, was feeling disgruntled over the loss to Huang Xiaolong. Now, seeing that Huang Xiaolong actually could take a direct attack from Lu Kai, his dissatisfaction vanished. He knew, if it was him on the stage, he wouldn't be able to take that punch!
"This Huang Xiaolong's physique is unexpectedly strong, and his battle qi grade is so high!" On the main platform, King Lu Zhe commented.
Every person sitting on the main platform was an expert. Their eyesight could determine Huang Xiaolong's physical body was much stronger than the average peak late-Sixth Order warrior. Furthermore, his battle qi grade was quite high; if not, Huang Xiaolong wouldn't be able to receive the strong punch from Lu Kai and remain unhurt.
"Judging from the situation, to win over Huang Xiaolong, Kai'er can only soul transform." King Lu Zhe subsequently added.
"What Your Majesty says is correct." At this time, a Duke that was seated below the main platform quickly agreed. The Duke stood up, smiling as he continued, "After the Prince soul transforms, it doesn't matter how strong that Huang Xiaolong is, it's impossible for him to win against the Prince!"
The other Dukes immediately showed their support by agreeing.
Marshal Haotian listened but didn't speak-- his eyes were focused on the two figures on the battle stage.
At this time, up on the stage, Lu Kai had turned into a ray of constant flickering azure light, appearing in random places on the stage. His flurry of attacks raged like an angry thunderstorm over Huang Xiaolong, but what made everyone watching stupefied was, no matter intense and violent Lu Kai attacked, Huang Xiaolong could successfully take on or dodge each time.
Huang Xiaolong looked like he had no power to fight back, but that calm and easygoing attitude made hearts go round with suspicion.
After madly attacking over ten times, Lu Kai suddenly stopped. He frowned; by this time, he realized that if he kept attacking this way, it would be almost impossible to defeat Huang Xiaolong in half an hour's time.
"Huang Xiaolong, call out your martial spirit." Lu Kai said, observing Huang Xiaolong, "In the next attack, I'm going to soul transform. You won't be able to deflect or receive my attack at that point!" Like anyone else, Lu Kai was curious about Huang Xiaolong's martial spirit. What kind of martial spirit was it? Could it be like the rumors going around in the Academy, a grade eleven superb martial spirit?
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