บท 41: Martial Tournament Contest (2)
Jiang Sheng's victory had been a great apetizer for all the Gu Masters that had gathered in the Gu Yue Clan's arena. The whole crowd was in an uproar.
Who would have thought that these academy students would perform so well in combat despite their earlier graduation?
The Academy Elder Zhong Bu calmed everyone, and then announced the following matches. The next four matches were uneventful. They displayed D-grade talents fighting each other with difficulty. Although their close combat abilities were not bad, it was obvious that there was a gap in comparison to what Jiang Shen and Ping Ling had displayed in the first match.
Then, the Elder announced: "Tang Chi, Fang Zheng! Come on the stage"
The whole crowd was in an uproar once again.
"Is Fang Zheng the famous Gu Master with A-grade aptitude?"
"Yes! I heard that he was taken as a disciple by the clan master Gu Yue Bo!"
"Who is the girl against him? The Academy elder said that she reached the upper rank realm! It is quite impressive considering that she was not even a Gu Master seven months ago!"
"She is one of the closest friend of Mo Bei! Perhaps we will get to see a good surprise!"
The atmosphere in the arena was electric.
Fang Zheng and Tang Shi arrived in the arena at the same time. Both wore the academy uniform, but it was pretty obvious that they were different. Fang Zheng's uniform was pristine and clean, whereas Tang Shi's uniform was rough and traces of blood remained on it. From their uniform alone, most Gu Masters could tell that they were very different Gu Masters.
Fang Zheng was a disciple groomed by the clan, and received the direct teachings of the rank 4 clan master, and thus possessed theory and insights that most Gu Masters could only dream of. Yet, they could not help but respect the young woman Tang Shi, who seemingly ventured in the forest times and times again to hunt wild beasts and use her Gu worms in practical hunts.
Tang Shi immediately started to attack, using her agility and experience to her advantage. She leaped and dodged the incoming moonlight blades, using irregular movements. Occasionally, she would counter attack, but Fang Zheng snickered.
"Little Light Gu!"
Not to mention the range, even the size of his moonblade increased two-fold. Tang Shi did not expect such an attack, so soon in the fight. Her thigh was cut, and blood splashed on the ground.
"This is the end", Fang Zheng shouted with excitement, revealing a smile that looked like that of a demon.
Fang Zheng used to be an introvert with self-confidence issues, but without Fang Yuan to suppress his wild nature and unstoppable talent, he had grown into an egocentrical child with limitless ambition. Occasionally, his self esteem would drop due to Mo Bei's interference, but at the end of the day, his ego would only consider Mo Bei as a future elder, as part of his belonging.
Fang Zheng had been completely matrixed by the clan master, who praised him and nurtured him into the fearless leader that the Gu Yue Clan needed.
For the first time in a while, Tang Shi revealed a bit of fear.
However, she was not someone who would be easily intimidated.
In her mind, she kept telling herself: 'I can't disappoint Mo Bei...or else I will be casted aside'
Tang Shi revered Mo Bei. He was a friend, but better than that, he was someone who would rise to unreachable heights. Although he never said it aloud, Mo Bei considered them as tools. He could see his gaze sometimes. Despite displaying her affection times and times again, Mo Bei's eyes were unfazed, as if her beauty never once entered his eyes.
'I will win, and he will look at me afterwards', Tang Shi swore in her heart.
Retreating several steps backwards, Tang Shi spat on her thigh. The whole crowd cheered as they realized that she had just used the [Rock Saliva Gu Worm], a famous healing Gu worm that could heal light injuries at a visible rate. Although it was not instantaneous, it was very useful for prolonged battles, and the primeval essence consumption was relatively low.
But Fang Zheng was no pushover. Realizing that his opponent could heal herself, he charged forwards and unleashed three moonlight blades, two of which were dodged by Tang Shi, one hitting her shoulder.
Then, the two opponents entered a blow. Fang Zheng's body was fine despite some grazes, whereas Tang Shi's shoulder and thigh were still injured, despite the rock saliva Gu. Everyone sighed.
"Seems like this is the end. The girl has no chance to win now, she is injured so badly that she will give up soon", a Gu Master analysed.
However, contrary to their expectations, the fight did not end immediately. As soon as Fang Zheng entered close combat range, he received a low kick in the thigh, causing him to kneel momentarily. The power, the precision and the speed all exceeded his wildest expectations.
However, Tang Shi did not stop here. Diregarding the pain, she charged forward with an elbow strike, causing Fang Zheng to collapse on the ground.
The fight went on for several minutes, with both contestants giving their all. The audience was on the edge of their seats, watching every move with bated breath. But as the fight wore on, Tang Shi began to show signs of exhaustion. Her movements became sluggish, and her attacks lacked the same ferocity they had at the start of the fight. Obviously, the blood loss caused her to weaken greatly.
Fang Zheng sensed her weakness and seized the opportunity. He launched a barrage of moonlight blades. In close range, she had virtually no hope of avoiding them.
Finally, with a final strike, Fang Zheng knocked Tang Shi to the ground. The crowd erupted into a deafening roar as Fang Zheng stood victorious. He had proven himself worthy of becoming a full-fledged Gu Master for the Gu Yue Clan.
As Fang Zheng left the arena, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief and pride. He had faced a worthy opponent and had emerged victorious. But he also knew that he couldn't have done it if not for his bigger primeval essence pool and peak rank stage cultivation.
Gu Masters in the arena, however, all realized that Fang Zheng lacked in experience greatly, and even though he won, everyone could see that he had been dominated in close combat for the most part of the fight.
From the arena, Mo Bei's eyes showed a bit of disappointment.
'I know I did not repress Fang Zheng, but I trained Tang Shi for the past seven months. It is a pity that her Gu worms and cultivation were too low to conclude on a win...', he analysed, 'Perhaps I should not have used affection and goodwill as fuel for training, but fear. According to the book, there is no greater feeling than fear to surpass oneself'
Unknowingly, the fate of the Gu Yue Clan changed with this fight, as Mo Bei questioned his methods to grow subordinates. From a seemingly pragmatic benevolent rising star, Mo Bei set his mind on becoming an efficient machiavelan leader set on using all means necessary to produce results.
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