Chapter 742: Route 742 has reached its end!
The Douling Commerce originally was divided into two groups: the Spirit Vein Realm and the Qi Seeking Realm. But now, the majority of people’s attention was focused solely on the Qi Seeking Realm group.
Firstly, the group of the Spirit Vein Realm was considered too low-ranked; many cultivators in the arena had reached the level of the strong in the Qi Seeking Realm, and they found such low-rank competitions uninteresting.
Secondly, it was because of a young man named Yun Xiao. Compared to the champions of every conference who were always at the peak of the Qi Seeking Realm, could this Spirit Fighting Conference hold any surprises or excitement?
Indeed, in everyone’s heart, even if Yun Xiao could overpower the crowd and win the championship, it would only be considered a surprise, since his cultivation was known to be only at the early stage of the Qi Seeking Realm.
Under such widespread scrutiny, familiar figures sat neatly on the high platform in the North, and with a raised right hand from Xu Huang, the chairman of the Yuyang City Commerce, the arena quieted down slowly.
"Ladies and gentlemen, today is the last day of this session of the Douling Commerce. Today we will determine the champions of the two groups, each will receive an extremely generous reward!"
Xu Huang glanced over someone in coarse clothes, then the words he spoke excited those cultivators who had made it into the top ten. Wasn’t this the ultimate reward they all came for?
Swipe!
Amidst everyone’s eager gazes, Xu Huang’s right hand suddenly brushed his waist, and immediately a fist-sized crystal appeared out of thin air in the palm of his hand.
Buzz... buzz... buzz...
The crystal that suddenly appeared in Xu Huang’s palm emitted a special aura, and streaks of silver thunder wrapped around it, leading everyone to make an extremely certain conjecture.
"A Seventh Rank Advanced Thunder Spirit Crystal!"
Even Yun Xiao, upon seeing the crystal wrapped in silver lightning, couldn’t help but brighten up, because he had taken great risks this time, repeatedly offending Douling Commerce, all for this Seventh Rank Advanced Thunder Spirit Crystal.
With Yun Xiao’s soul sensing, he naturally knew the Thunder Spirit Crystal was genuine. Only now did his heart finally settle down, given that, up until now, the rumor that the championship reward was this Thunder Spirit Crystal mostly came just from hearsay by Lin Xuanhao.
"This is the championship reward, whoever wins the champion of the Qi Seeking Realm group will truly possess it!"
Seeing the fervent expressions of the crowd below, Xu Huang was quite pleased, even catching the fleeting gleam in Yun Xiao’s eyes, so he added fuel to the fire before tucking the Thunder Spirit Crystal back into his Waist Storage.
"This championship, I must have it!"
Even a swift glance made the cultivators who had broken into the top ten boil with passion. The fighting spirit in their eyes was unprecedentedly intense, and they looked at their surrounding opponents as if they were mortal enemies.
"Hmm? That old fellow!"
Yun Xiao withdrew his gaze from Xu Huang and immediately felt several gazes cast toward him, one of which felt somewhat special.
It was an old man with white flecked hair. Although, in Yun Xiao’s sensing, this person was at the peak of the Qi Seeking Realm just like Ruan Shiming before, there was always something strange about him.
After several days of fighting, Yun Xiao’s entry token, number three hundred twenty-six, had ended up among the foremost, probably because Xu Huan was defeated yesterday, and those Qi Seeking Realm cultivators who registered before him had all been eliminated.
So, Yun Xiao directly stepped onto the Qi Seeking No. 1 platform, and as the crowd saw his movements, interest surged in them, continuously sizing up the remaining nine people, guessing who would be Yun Xiao’s opponent in this round.
"Eh? Is it him?"
As everyone saw an old man leisurely walking toward the platform, many exclaimed in shock, some with darker thoughts pondering deeply.
"Douling Commerce’s Peng Muxin? His strength isn’t necessarily higher than Ruan Shiming or Shi Shaoqing?"
Another group recognized the identity of the old man, voicing their confusion because, in their impression, Yuyang City’s Douling Commerce’s Peng Muxin was also only at the peak of the Qi Seeking Realm.
Having defeated Ruan Shiming and Shi Shaoqing, Yun Xiao facing Peng Muxin probably wouldn’t be under too much pressure.
"It seems Douling Commerce has run out of tricks!"
The less scheming among them couldn’t help but shake their heads secretly, also guessing that since even the peak Qi Seeking Realm mighty didn’t stand as a match for Yun Xiao, the Douling Commerce probably had no other options for dealing with the young man.
"This guy..."
On the high platform in the North, when Xia Yong saw the old man walking towards the platform, a glint of brilliance flashed in his eyes, then quickly shifted his gaze to someone beside him.
"Xu Huang, you’ve got quite the nerve!"
From Xia Yong’s mouth, such a phrase suddenly escaped, causing Xu Huang’s figure to shudder sharply, but at this moment, how could he admit his underhanded methods?
"Lord Special Envoy jests!"
Although Xu Huang was aware of Peng Muxin’s true cultivation, which might have been seen through by Xia Yong using some special method, by observing his non-confrontational demeanor, it seemed like he was prepared to turn a blind eye.
"I won’t interfere with your affairs, but remember one thing, do not harm the dignity and reputation of the Spirit Fighting Commerce!"
Indeed, Xia Yong did not expose Xu Huang’s maneuvers on the spot, but instead uttered these words. This made the latter overjoyed, and he nodded repeatedly.
"Rest assured, Lord Special Envoy, not everyone possesses your discerning eyesight!"
It must be said that Xu Huang is indeed very astute. His remark not only answered Xia Yong but also subtly complimented the Special Envoy, achieving two ends with one stroke.
From this, Xu Huang could infer that the Special Envoy probably had a low opinion of Yun Xiao and wished to nip him in the bud at the Spirit Fighting Conference, employing some tactics without too many concerns later.
"Indeed, it’s that old man!"
Compared to the crowd beneath the stage, Yun Xiao’s heart jumped when he saw that slowly ascending old figure, as it was the very person he had found odd earlier.
From the surrounding murmurs, Yun Xiao also gathered the old man’s name and details, and surmised in his heart that this might be another trickery from the Spirit Fighting Commerce.
"It’s probably not as simple as just being at the Peak of Qi Seeking Realm!"
Yun Xiao’s Power of Soul had reached the peak of Spiritual Rank Advanced, just one step away from advancing to Earth Rank Low Level. Coupled with his past life experiences, even though the elder’s aura was somewhat vague, he made many guesses.
Furthermore, Yun Xiao believed that after sustaining several significant losses, if the Spirit Fighting Commerce sent yet another cultivator at the Peak of Qi Seeking Realm, wouldn’t they follow in the footsteps of Ruan Shiming or Sè Xiè Chancellor?
"Yun Xiao, facing me, Peng Muxin, your journey in this Spirit Fighting Conference has come to an end!"
Looking at the calm-standing young man not far away, for some reason, Peng Muxin felt a distaste rising inside him. The words he uttered carried a sense of superiority.
Perhaps it was due to the chairman’s orders, or maybe it was because the young man, a whole Great Rank lower than himself, could still remain so serene in his presence.
In any case, both publicly and privately, Peng Muxin’s goal this time was to defeat this young man’s Meridian Spirit, and see if he could leave him on the stage forever.
"Haha, some people said the same thing a few days ago, but in the end, they all lost!"
A glimpse of sharpness flashed in Yun Xiao’s eyes, indicating he might have noticed something subtle. His words, however, were spoken lightly, without much disguise, causing some in the audience, including Ji Fu, Ruan Shiming, Xiè Chancellor, and others who were present in Yuyang City North Gate to watch, to clench their teeth in frustration.
As for Xu Huan, the young master of the commerce, knowing certain things, although he was enraged by Yun Xiao’s words, he was confident. He knew that rustic kid wouldn’t be able to jump around much longer.
"Yun Xiao, let’s see if you can still laugh in a moment!"
A venomous voice came from Xu Huan, his mind already conjuring how Yun Xiao would be captured by the Spirit Fighting Commerce after his defeat, wishing to make the boy who embarrassed him suffer a fate worse than death.
"I am not them, and you cannot be the same as you were a few days ago!"
As a powerhouse who had already advanced to the Seeking Origin Realm, Peng Muxin on the stage was not provoked by Yun Xiao’s words but instead replied calmly, his voice filled with a thick confidence.
Swoosh!
Peng Muxin seemed not to be a man of many words. Without waiting for Yun Xiao to reply, he stretched out his right hand, and a peculiarly shaped special Meridian Spirit appeared in front of him.
"Is that... a tree?"
Once it appeared, many in the audience exclaimed in surprise, including former cultivators of the Spirit Fighting Commerce like Ruan Shiming.
These cultivators, also from the Spirit Fighting Commerce, knew that Peng Muxin’s previous Meridian Spirit was just two powerful Vein Demons, nothing like the tree-like thing before them.
"Could it be another Strange Spirit?"
Many eyed the seemingly tree-shaped Meridian Spirit, entertaining such thoughts in their minds. On this Continent, trees and plants typically lack Spiritual Wisdom, but Peng Muxin’s summoning of this tree Meridian Spirit clearly suggested something.
"Indeed, it’s a Strange Spirit!"
Relative to the spectators under the stage, Yun Xiao, who had a better understanding of Strange Spirits, recognized the tree Meridian Spirit immediately as identical to the tree spirit he had seen in the Demon Realm, albeit its aura was vastly different.