Chapter 76: Nasty Surprise

Chapter 76: Nasty Surprise

Han Lingyun heart sunk as he processed that fact. He wanted to cry inside. I dont need a Yu Tao in my life. Is he haunting me?

Thinking back to Yu Taos cold gaze, his decision was already taken.

I cannot fight him. On a simple stage, my blackbird art loses 90% of its versatility and I cannot prepare arrays in advance. Its a shame but if I reach the top 32, I will just give up if my opponent ends up actually being Yu Tao, which is more than likely. There is no need to fight him to the death for a higher rank at this competition. Plus, there will always the loser bracket to progress further in the rankings. As for Wang Yimo, if shes the type of person to care about the winner between Yu Tao and me, she isnt my type either.

Lets be realistic. In the arena, Yu Tao is definitely above my level anyway. I reckon I could kill him in the wild but that wont be the setting for the duels. Not to mention, my forte isnt my traditional fighting capability. If the rankings were a competition of array creation, I would probably rank 1st.nove(l)bi(n.)com

Plus lets not put the cart before the horses, reaching the top 32 wont be an easy journey. That 23rd position in points scored doesnt mean that much. With 16 top sects plus a couple surprises and 5th grade talents from weaker sects, I will definitely have to use all my cards. It would have been quite ambitious to aim for higher than the top 16 in the first place, even without a Yu Tao to ruin my life.

After, having settled his state of mind, Han Lingyun noted down his probable opponents and headed to the White Tiger Sects information gathering house. Over the week after the 1st half of the competition, many disciples from every sect had been bribed for information on their strong members. All the large sects had similar practices.

Some disciples even volunteered information from sect to sect for payment. When multiplied by 16 or more, the rewards could be huge in comparison to their traditional wealth.

Thus, after exchanging some sect points, Han Lingyun had access to information on most of his future opponents. For any missing names, he could directly make a commission to the Intelligence Pavilion. The fee was much higher though.

Like most of the disciples in the top 512, Han Lingyun was making his homework for the next day.

A cultivation session, a bit of sleep later and it was already time to head to the giant plaza for the duels. The 83 qualified 2nd year disciples of the White Tiger Sect headed their together, accompanied by 40 or so Elders while the others went on their own to spectate.

One thing that Han Lingyun wasnt prepared for was the massive crowd already there. The giant plaza had been transformed to accommodate the more than 50 thousand 2ndyear disciples and their elders. Those that had been eliminated in the pre qualifier were joined by the one that failed to pass phase 1. Massive stands had been erected during the night, creating a giant arena. Nearly all the 2ndyears were present to witness their generations top 1% fight it out or to cheer for their own sect.

These were the culmination of the best talents the Empire of more than two billion individuals had to offer for this age group. A good third of all the Elders that made the trip to the crater were present too. They would be scrutinizing the disciples for potential seedlings as well as evaluating the trends and methods of the different sects. Less than half of all the elders were present though, as the rest were watching the 4th years that simultaneously had their competition.

The group of 83 qualified disciples of the White Tiger Sect were acclaimed like superstars as they made their way through the crowd. As the largest group and with the company of 40 Core formation elders, they did not pass unnoticed. The change of atmosphere was really something else! Nearly all of their qi condensation disciples had made the cut, and nearly as much body strengthening disciples were in the top 512 too.

Rank 1 Mao Enlai from the Cheng Huang School was facing one of the dozen disciples with only 1 point to his name. The last rankings between those tied on 1 point had been attributed randomly. Mao Enlai was a 4th grade talent that was already at the Late stage of qi condensation realm. He had mastered large area attacks, excelled at fast movements, and had a special eye ability helping him see in more detail than his peers. His strategy for the first phase had been to fly high in the air and target large groups from weaker sects he spotted from afar.

His opponent had managed to remain hidden throughout. It was already an honor for him to display his small sects robe. After showing off his colors, that disciple immediately stepped out of the stage and declared his defeat, to the surprise of none.

The next few matches developed in the same fashion. They were more formalities than anything else.

However, the 14th ranked disciple, Mo Nianzu of the Qiqing Sect, didnt have the easy-going attitude of the other best ranked disciples as he entered the stage. On the contrary, he was dead serious and fully concentrated.

When Mo Nianzu had learned about his opponent, Su Xiaoli of the Eastern Warriors Temple, he had been quite shocked and distressed. This nasty surprise was peak misfortune. Su Xiaoli, was by far the number 1 disciple of the Eastern Warriors Temple for his year. A complete weirdo that didnt seem to fit one bit with his sect, often caricatured for being brutes.

Su Xiaoli was a refined young man, a dreamer and a sword user; a sword cultivator to be exact. He didnt find the format of the first phase appealing so he simply sat on a rock and waited for it to end. Incredibly, he would gently beat up and admonish those that attacked him before sending them away. Therefore, in the end, he was among those with only 1 point to their name.

His way of thinking was completely reversed to any normal disciple. I will have to fight against a strong disciple for my first match? Thats great! A true duel would be perfect to sharpen my sword further!

Su Xiaolis sword? The basic weapon he used didnt even qualify as a qi condensation weapon. And yet, his sword comprehension was among the strongest of all disciples his age in the SCA. He had reached the stage where he could incorporate his own understanding to his style.

Mo Nianzu was no slouch either. A 4th grade talent and the best the Qiqing sect had to offer. His greatest strength was his devastating wide area attacks which propelled him to the 14th rank during the first phase. He used the sword as well but it was only for convenience. A duel at that level should have never happened that early: it was the typical example justifying the loser bracket for the rankings.

Most of the audience wasnt paying much attention, expecting another simple abandonment. One can imagine the gasps of surprise as the two rushed towards each other right from the start.

Han Lingyun leaned forward to admire the first shock of the day.