Chapter 29: Advancement to the Next Stage! Xiao Huo’s Contempt! Huo Ling’er’s Resolve!

The battles in the arenas continued, with the twelve defending disciples fully demonstrating their prowess.

Situ Yang, Mu Chen, and Huo Ling’er required no further introduction, while the remaining defenders proved to be nearly as formidable.

...

"Burn!" Xiao Huo roared, hurling a twelve-petal lotus at his opponent.

The breathtaking flower revolved with deadly elegance, its petals shimmering with incandescent crimson flames. Despite its beauty, its murderous intent was impossible to ignore.

The flower smashed onto his challenger, engulfing him in a pillar of fire.

Following a short-lived, agonized scream, the disciple collapsed and was carried away from the arena.

...

Nearby, a cold-looking female disciple conjured a blizzard, raining a storm of ice spikes upon her challenger.

Though the enemy swung their saber desperately to defend, they were quickly overwhelmed.

As injuries mounted, they let out a defeated sigh and jumped off the stage, preserving their remaining challenge opportunities for another target.

...

Across the grounds, the face of another defender twisted in pain.

He took several steps back and stared at the disciple of the Alchemy Peak with utter astonishment.

"You... you used poison on me?" he stammered, but before he could say more, foam bubbled from his mouth, and his vision went dark.

Until the moment he lost consciousness, the defender never imagined that he would fall at the hands of an Alchemy Peak disciple.

Most humiliatingly, he became the first defender to lose his position and had to walk away in shame.

-- 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Following the success of the Alchemy Peak disciple, several other defenders were defeated.

Having witnessed the previous incident, the defenders fought with more caution, realizing they needed to preserve their combat power.

Otherwise, if they were exhausted or worse, gravely injured, they would have no hope of reclaiming a spot later.

Under these circumstances, time passed quickly.

In seemingly the blink of an eye, several hours slipped by.

--

"It looks like the outcome has been decided." Qian Lingxue let out a soft sigh.

Eight of the twelve arenas had already completed one hundred battles each, and the disciples moving on to the next stage had been confirmed.

The four remaining arenas, however, were still open to challenges—yet no one dared to step into them.

’It’s my fault. I never expected four freaks to show up in a single competition.’ Qian Lingxue shook her head, though the smile on her face suggested otherwise.

Clearly, for a Sect Leader, having such trouble was a blessing.

Situ Yang, Mu Chen, Huo Ling’er, Xiao Huo.

Qian Lingxue memorized those names, intending to keep a close watch on them in the future.

"It’s time to bring this to a close, then," Qian Lingxue communicated with the Peak Masters.

Once they had reached a consensus, a transmission was sent to one of the presiding Elders.

She didn’t plan to appear in person again. Showing up at the start had been enough to establish her presence and foster a sense of belonging among the new disciples.

Now that her goal was achieved, the rest was a matter for the Elders.

--

An Elder soon appeared above the twelve stages, looking down at the gathered disciples.

Though only a few people noticed him at first, his booming voice soon attracted everyone’s attention.

"The duration of this stage has greatly exceeded the sect’s expectations."

"The Peak Masters have granted you one last chance. If you do not step forward now, it will be assumed you have forfeited."

His words caught the disciples off guard.

Some frowned, having not foreseen this change.

The hundred-battle format was not advantageous to the stronger disciples. It was actually the weaker ones that benefited the most.

As long as they were lucky and smart, they could wait for the perfect moment to challenge an exhausted defender and snatch the final spot.

Several disciples had already secured their spots using this strategy.

Unfortunately, the Elder’s ultimatum shattered their dreams.

The disciples hesitated, wondering whether to take a risk.

Suddenly, one brave soul stepped out.

He glanced at the four arenas, briefly considering challenging Huo Ling’er, but his knees trembled upon meeting her sweet gaze.

In the end, he gulped nervously and turned toward the other "weakling", Xiao Huo.

"Senior Brother Xiao, forgive me for my offense. I have no other choice—"

Bang!

A lotus of flames smashed onto the disciple’s face, sending him tumbling out of the arena.

A heavy silence shrouded the arena.

The disciples who were still considering whether to challenge instantly shrank back, completely losing their will to fight.

The Elder nodded, having expected as much.

The truly brave disciples had long challenged the defenders, and either won a spot or exhausted their attempts.

Those remaining were either the weakest or the most cowardly.

"Your silence will be taken as a forfeit."

"We shall now proceed to the second and final stage," the Elder announced.

He deployed his Core Formation power to sweep the eliminated disciples into the stands before locking his gaze onto the victors.

"The sect had prepared a different format for this competition. However, given the outliers present today, certain adjustments have been made."

Saying this, the Elder looked at the four "troublemakers" with a hint of satisfaction.

"The Peak Masters have reviewed your performances and established a power ranking."

"First: Situ Yang. Second: Mu Chen. Third: Xiao Huo. Fourth:..."

"Cai Xue. Fifth: Huo Ling’er. Sixth:..."

The Elder continued down the list, though many people stopped paying attention halfway through.

The mere fact that the Peak Masters had created a ranking was shocking, but the shock turned to bewilderment when they actually listened to it.

Shockingly, the demoness, who had been invincible during the previous stage and had become the inner demon of many, was ranked fifth, placed directly below the disciple from the Ice Phoenix Peak.

This caused a stir, with several female disciples crying for injustice.

The Elder ignored the audience, however, and began to explain the rules.

"Just like the first stage of the competition, this one will test your combat power."

He looked at the disciples, who had instinctively lined up according to the order.

"You have heard the rankings. Everyone has the opportunity to challenge those ranked above them. If you succeed, your positions will be swapped."

"There is no limit to the number of total challenges or the changes in the rank."

"Only when no one dares to challenge any further will the final ranking be decided."

The rules were indeed very simple.

The moment the Elder finished, the twelve disciples eyed each other.

Those at the bottom were content.

They had either taken advantage of the first stage’s setting to reach this point or were too exhausted to continue. They were happy just to be in the top twelve.

But the top five were far from satisfied.

They glared at those above them with undisguised battle intent.

Cai Xue, the cold-looking female disciple, radiated the sharpest aura.

Yet, before she could issue her challenge, an ordinary-looking boy stepped forward.

"Since it’s come to this, it’s time to decide the winner once and for all!" Xiao Huo pointed at the first place.

"Situ Yang! I’ve always seen you as my only rival! As for Mu Chen and the rest? Hmph!

While speaking, Xiao Huo leapt onto the stage. He didn’t explicitly state his challenge, but his behavior made everything clear.

Situ Yang remained indifferent. He gently wiped his fingers across his blade before following his opponent.

Xiao Huo’s arrogant facade strangely vanished, and his gaze grew solemn.

But before the battle commenced, he didn’t forget to cast a glance at the rest of the disciples.

"Some of you should be thankful to have reached this point. You don’t have to overestimate yourselves and seek a higher place."

"Today, I’ll show you that tricks and vicious methods are meaningless in the face of absolute power!" Xiao Huo said, casting a disdainful sneer at Huo Ling’er.

This scene was fleeting, and no one else understood his intentions besides the target of his ridicule.

In the past, Huo Ling’er might have stayed silent to avoid causing unnecessary trouble for her Master.

But Chen Xuan’s earlier scolding echoed in her mind. She recalled his harsh gaze and the disappointment in his eyes, and felt a surge of shame.

’No! I can no longer hide behind my Master! I have to prove that I can stand on my own!’

’Master has sacrificed so much for me! I must use this competition to make him proud!’ Huo Ling’er clenched her fists, her fiery gaze sweeping across her peers before settling on one of them.

’Even Xiao Huo dares to challenge Situ Yang. What do I have to fear?’

She leapt onto another stage.

"Elder, I wish to challenge Mu Chen!" Her voice rang out, calm yet colder than it had ever been.

--

I’ve tried to speed up the competition arc while keeping the necessary parts, so please let me know if you’ve noticed anything wrong.

This competition mostly serves as a character building moment for Huo Ling’er and will lead to the destined snusnu between Master and disciple :)

Please let me know your thoughts about the book so far. I will try to adjust the plot depending on your advice! :)