Welcome to Ability Store-Chapter 103 - 102: Consecutive Arena Battles

Chen Xuan used the Celestial Mist Skill to sense, the person’s level of Spiritual Qi was on par with Lingdang, likely also a disciple who had just entered.

"Alright, go ahead."

After he finished speaking, he reached into his chest with one hand and activated the pre-prepared Wind Riding Talisman—in an instant, an invisible wind surged from beneath his feet, lifting him gracefully onto the top-floor balcony of the manor in full view of everyone.

To achieve this, he had wasted five Wind Riding Talismans last night.

The reason is simple; if the Sect Leader announced the start of the competition and then had to turn around and walk back to the manor, climbing from the first to the third floor, it would undoubtedly be quite awkward.

To fly a mere ten-meter distance requires so much practice; who knows how Liu Shuyue manages to ride the wind like a roc.

On the balcony stood not only Liu Shuyue, but also Jiu and Hua, Fu Jiaolu, Du Niu, Xue Xiaojin, other Hunting Team members, and Marina... all candidates decided to participate in the sect competition were called over by Chen Xuan.

This was their chance to witness the Immortal Alliance’s symbolic combat firsthand.

The rules of the competition were simple, no use of external objects, including Pills and Dharma Artifacts; no fatal moves, weapons must not have blades; surrendering, losing consciousness, or leaving the arena results in loss.

These rules were determined based on the Immortal Alliance’s conventions.

It can be seen that the Immortal Alliance encourages sparring but does not encourage cultivators to engage in fatal duels. Rather than relying on Dharma Artifacts, it promotes cultivators fighting based on their own Spiritual Qi.

Zhou Xubai leaped into the arena.

A round of applause erupted from all around.

Chen Xuan felt a bit regretful, he should have invited Old Gu as well, otherwise he had no impression of the sects in Chang’an City, nor did he know the ranking of entry-level disciples from Jinglan Sect.

Zhou Xubai clasped his fists and said coldly to Lingdang, "If you’re afraid of pain, it’s not too late to admit defeat now."

In his view, the girl before him was barely over ten years old, and it’s normal for the Qi Sensing ability to awaken around that age. Although the sects in Chang’an are numerous, and families with cultivation heritage are indeed plentiful, no matter how many spells she knows, the amount of Spiritual Qi will severely limit her performance.

He was twenty-one this year, age was his advantage!

Lingdang also clasped her fists, "Please guide me."

Once the two clasped fists, the battle officially begins.

You learned quite well!" Zhou Xubai stopped wasting words and directly began forming formations, "Heavenly Spirit, Earthly Soul, heed my command!"

Lingdang’s response was simple too, drawing her sword, she dashed at her opponent, and in the blink of an eye, the ten-step distance was covered. Yet, the Peach Wood Sword she swung was blocked by a Talisman.

Zhou Xubai was using both hands simultaneously, his left hand was casting Array Talismans, quickly painting the seals, while his right hand manipulated the Artifact Talisman, blocking Lingdang’s attacks.

This technique of dual handling was a pleasure to watch.

Understand that Lingdang’s sword strikes were swift and tricky, sometimes lifted upwards, other times slashing down diagonally, truly overwhelming. Yet, these relentless attacks couldn’t break through Zhou Xubai’s defense, every time they closed in on him, they were deflected by the glowing blue talisman paper.

"This guy is not bad, likely ranks among the top disciples in Jinglan Sect."

"I’ve seen spell arts using Talismans as shields, generally it’s good for cultivators to use it alone, but he can block attacks simultaneously while forming arrays, he must have practiced hard."

"The young girl is also impressive, to have refined her swordsmanship this well, it must have taken three to five years at least."

The audience discussed among themselves.

Chen Xuan, watching from the vantage point on the top floor, thought that their fight was quite lively, with one quick attack and one quick defense, but essentially it was still a melee with cold weapons. He turned to Liu Shuyue, "What formation is Zhou Xubai deploying? Have you seen it before?"

Liu Shuyue mused softly, "I haven’t seen it, but from the distribution of Spiritual Qi and Talismans, it seems to be a type that boosts oneself and weakens the opponent. Once formed, he can control the flow of Spiritual Qi in the arena, rendering the opponent’s attacks ineffective."

In other words, this formation just so happens to counter Lingdang’s current style of fighting.

At that moment, Lingdang suddenly changed her tactics.

Or rather, she added a step before attacking—

"Left!" the girl shouted, swinging her sword towards Zhou Xubai’s left shoulder.

The latter immediately shielded the left side with a talisman!

"Right!" After striking with one sword, she immediately stabbed to the right, also blocked by the opponent.

Moreover, her sword speed was increasing, and the arena was suddenly filled with a rhythmic shout, "Left, up, up, right!"

Just as Zhou Xubai focused entirely on defense, one of Lingdang’s swords suddenly brushed past the edge of the talisman paper, nearly hitting his right arm.

Everyone could see clearly, Zhou Xubai was a beat too slow!

Because Lingdang had just shouted "left up"!

The seamless rhythm was abruptly disrupted.

The next two consecutive sword strikes almost slipped past him—even though the direction his opponent swung the sword and the direction he shouted were completely aligned.

"So impressive..." murmured Jiu, who was watching the fight, "That big brother is forced to split his focus. Now he not only has to watch the position of the sword but also must consider the truth of his opponent’s shouts."

"But he could clearly keep up with the bell earlier," Hua was puzzled, "Why not just ignore the sounds?"

"The problem is, now he can’t ignore them," Xue Xiaojin deeply noted, "The sounds can not only indicate the direction of the opponent’s attack but also help determine the distance. Any focused hunter must use all senses: eyes, ears, and nose. Because hearing is so crucial, his brain won’t overlook any ’information’ it receives, even if he wanted to pretend he didn’t hear it!"

Before, Zhou Xubai only needed to watch the movements and listen to the sound of the wind. But now, not only was the swoosh of the sword disrupted by the shouts, but his mind also got muddled with judging truth from falsehood. The gap in efficiency became apparent.

If he merely concentrated on defense, his awareness might have kept pace, but he chose to set up a formation while defending, which inherently demanded his attention on two tasks. The busier he was, the more mistakes he made.

"...Right right!" Suddenly, the bell shouted loudly.

The two consecutive "Right, right" caused Zhou Xubai to pause. Directions like upper left and lower right are understandable, but what direction is "right, right"?

Driven by instinct, his body reacted: treating this call as a feint, the artifact talisman flew directly to the left.

Meanwhile, as the bell shouted, it also swung the wooden sword, aiming straight at Zhou Xubai’s lower right ribs.

This strike sharply sliced into the opponent’s waist, deeply denting his outer garment.

The intense pain turned Zhou Xubai’s complexion instantly pale!

The completely disordered rhythm could not recover.

The bell slashed upward in a reverse grip, striking his left wrist that was setting up the formation, then followed by chopping down on his right shoulder. The three continuous hits made Zhou Xubai scream in agony, collapsing directly to the ground. The half-laid array talismans lost all their spiritual energy.

Without a doubt, the victory in this match went to the bell!

A thunderous applause erupted from the audience seats.

Although most people came here hoping to see the Only I am Venerable Sect make a fool of themselves, the exciting competition among cultivators still drew genuine acclamations from them.

Even for those not participating, such a battle brought them great benefits.

"But doesn’t the bell also have to split focus to keep attack and shouting separate?" Hua suddenly realized, "I tried it in my mind just now, and I found it hard to adapt... my attack direction always aligns with what I’m thinking."

"Exactly," Liu Shuyue confirmed, "Generally, if someone does that, either the shouting is faster or the hands are quicker. To achieve simultaneous execution isn’t that easy."

In other words, the bell defeated Zhou Xubai using his own fighting style.

After the Jinglan Sect disciple, unable to rise from pain, was carried away, another cultivator stepped to the edge of the field, "Disciple of Heaven-Burning Hall, Yan Mingye, would like to give it a try!"

Heaven-Burning Hall? The name isn’t much less modest than the Heaven and Earth, Only I am Venerable Sect.

"Fine," Chen Xuan stood with hands behind his back, "You may step onto the stage."

Yan Mingye jumped into the ring and performed the customary gesture of respect, "Please guide me."

The bell retracted the wooden sword, "Please guide me."

"Watch closely! I suggest you immediately withdraw from the ring!" Yan Mingye, seeing her finish the courtesy, at once pulled a handful of powder from his waist pouch, throwing it into the air, "Fire Flame Technique: Flaming Cloud!"

The sparkling powder instantly transformed into vibrant flames, gradually drifting toward where the bell stood.

This move, in terms of both the spell’s potency and its actual effect, exceeded Zhou Xubai’s by a good margin. The surging heat forced the audience seated on the benches to retreat, while the bell, standing in the ring, was practically sunken in a sea of fire!

The key is, these flames, like clouds, could continue burning, floating three feet above the ground and moving, incinerating everything in their path.

Even the wooden planks surrounding the ring began to char and ignite.

If this were a real fight, the bell could indeed navigate around the flames to continue battling, yet the competition’s rules constrained the area, leaving her without retreat.

The three-feet-high space below the cloud of fire seemed passable, but in reality, it was a dangerous trap. The searing heat, even at a distance of dozens of meters, made the audience scamper away in panic, let alone trying to pass within a meter?

"Stop struggling! The later you retreat, the more severe the injury you’ll sustain!" Yan Mingye shouted triumphantly, "Getting burned all over isn’t a joke!"

A dark shadow shot out from the fiery clouds, darting toward Yan Mingye at lightning speed!

The latter had no time to react.

The shadow hit him squarely on the forehead! At this moment, everyone realized the flying object was the bell’s peach wood sword!

Just as the fire cloud was about to cover half of the ring, the bell made the most decisive move—positioning accurately through the gap below the cloud of fire, she hurled her weapon with all her might.

Yan Mingye clearly did not anticipate this move.

Or perhaps even if he did, in terms of body technique combat, he was far inferior to Zhou Xubai. This fiery peach wood sword struck him unconscious, and the Fire Flame Technique dissipated accordingly.

The bell, two victories!