Chapter 1911 - Last Match

Nie Zhenghao's role was to strike from the shadows, while Cheng Wende delivered the decisive blows.

Like a venomous viper springing from concealment, Cheng Wende caught the Celestial Moon Dao Hall completely off guard. Sheltered by the formation, he attacked without warning, cleaving their ranks into two groups.

The moment the Celestial Moon Dao Hall students were divided, their combined combat strength began to decline.

Sword rays flashed across the arena as Cheng Wende swept his blade horizontally, spraying blood through the air. Its tip had sliced across the chests of several Celestial Moon Dao Hall students.

"You would already be dead. Leave the arena," Cheng Wende said. He had pulled back his sword at the final instant and deliberately spared their lives.

The wounded students exchanged glances before leaping from the arena without hesitation.

"Thank you for showing us mercy!" they shouted.

With several opponents eliminated, the Azure Flame Dao Hall intensified its assault and weakened the Celestial Moon Dao Hall's defenses even further.

"Switch to the Coiling Dragon Formation!" Cheng Wende commanded.

Under the joint control of Cheng Wende and Nie Zhenghao, the formation swiftly transformed into a divine dragon and rampaged across the arena. Within moments, it blasted several more Celestial Moon Dao Hall students from the stage.

"What terrifying formation-transformation speed! The Celestial Moon Dao Hall's overall strength is no weaker than the Azure Flame Dao Hall's, but its versatility is clearly inferior," several Stormcloud Sect elders said loudly, indirectly alerting the Celestial Moon Dao Hall students to their weakness.

Sure enough, the Celestial Moon Dao Hall students immediately adjusted their formation after hearing those remarks, driving the battle into a temporary stalemate.

"Six Armor Formation!"

"Celestial Compass Formation!"

Nie Zhenghao and Cheng Wende suddenly separated, and each assumed control over a different formation. The unexpected division caught the Celestial Moon Dao Hall students utterly by surprise.

"What the hell is happening? How can the Azure Flame Dao Hall manipulate so many formations this proficiently?"

Maintaining one fixed formation was hardly remarkable. Switching among several formations within such a short period was another matter entirely, and even Origin Immortals would struggle to accomplish it.

"Liu Wuxie teaches spiritual arrays, so formations should naturally rank among his greatest strengths," the Kang Clan's patriarch said meaningfully.

It would have been truly strange if Liu Wuxie had lost this match.

Trapped within the pincer attack of two formations, another seven or eight Celestial Moon Dao Hall students were blasted from the arena. With a clear numerical advantage now secured, the Azure Flame Dao Hall’s victory was only a matter of time.

Zhu Gaoyang stood beside the arena, his entire body trembling with rage.

"Why are you standing there like idiots? Attack them," Zhu Gaoyang roared when he saw the students retreating, forcing them back into the assault.

With no other choice, they charged forward. Their decision only accelerated their defeat.

Several more students went flying from the arena, leaving only ten Celestial Moon Dao Hall representatives standing.

"Rampage Formation!" Cheng Wende commanded, raising his sword toward the heavens. The two formations swiftly fused into one and charged the remaining Celestial Moon Dao Hall students like a ferocious tiger.

"Run for your lives!" the survivors shouted as their courage shattered. They leaped from the arena before the Azure Flame Dao Hall's formation reached them.

The spectacle made Zhu Gaoyang cough up a mouthful of blood angrily, yet he remained powerless to stop them.

The final students abandoned all resistance and were hurled from the arena within a few breaths. The Azure Flame Dao Hall had claimed another victory.

Only one match remained in the student competition.

Nearly every mentor who had defected from the Azure Flame Dao Hall to the Celestial Moon Dao Hall was dead. Zhu Gaoyang snapped the neck of the last remaining defector as well.

Xiang Rulong leaped into the battered arena. The final battle of the student competition had arrived, and the Azure Flame Dao Hall absolutely couldn't afford to lose.

After cultivating for several months, Xiang Rulong had advanced to the fifth level of the True Immortal Realm. His combat strength had become so formidable that even ordinary cultivators at the eighth level of the True Immortal Realm couldn't match him.

"Baili Ye, everything rests on you now," the elder beside the Celestial Moon Dao Hall's hall master said as he approached a young man.

The young man named Baili Ye hadn't left his seat once throughout the competition. He resembled a sword resting within its sheath, revealing no emotion. A closer inspection, however, exposed the faint sword intent radiating from him and revealed that he was unquestionably a formidable swordsman.

"He's as good as dead," Baili Ye declared as he rose.

A powerful current surged around him while he walked slowly toward the arena.

Cries of astonishment erupted throughout the venue. "That's Baili Ye. I heard he's the Celestial Moon Dao Hall's once-in-a-century prodigy!" Even the various clan patriarchs looked visibly shaken upon recognizing him.

Discussions spread rapidly through the crowd. "Baili Ye killed a fifteen-year-old cultivator with a sword when he was only three. A mercenary later discovered him and took him in, and he spent every day fighting wild beasts. That's how he developed such extraordinary battle instincts."

Those rumors alone made it obvious that Baili Ye was no ordinary student.

"After he entered the Celestial Moon Dao Hall, no one could stop his rise. Elder Gu accepted him as a personal disciple, and within only a few years, he advanced from the high levels of the High Immortal Realm to the pinnacle of the True Immortal Realm."

Baili Ye appeared no older than seventeen or eighteen, making him considerably younger than Xiang Rulong.

"What a pity he spent so many years with that mercenary group. Had he entered the Celestial Moon Dao Hall sooner, he might already have reached the Profound Immortal Realm," someone commented.

The elder who had spoken to Baili Ye was Elder Gu. He was the most trusted confidant of the Celestial Moon Dao Hall's hall master and their chief strategist.

"Do not underestimate Xiang Rulong," Elder Gu warned.

He understood his disciple's aloof temperament, which compelled him to offer one final reminder.

Baili Ye ignored his master's warning and sped toward the arena, landing upon the stage.

The moment Xiang Rulong saw him, his eyes narrowed. Crushing pressure descended upon him immediately. He already had little confidence to face an ordinary peak True Immortal, and his chances against a monster like Baili Ye appeared even slimmer.

"I'll carve you into eight pieces and toss what remains off the arena," Baili Ye declared, drawing his sword and pointing the tip directly at Xiang Rulong.

Murderous intent surged through Xiang Rulong's eyes in response to the provocation.

"Then stop talking and fight!" he retorted, shooting forward like a meteor and slashing his sword toward Baili Ye. Knowing his cultivation was inferior, his only option was to attack first and seize whatever initiative he could.

"You're begging to die!" Baili Ye roared, sweeping his sword horizontally and effortlessly neutralizing the incoming strike.

The two began exchanging blows immediately. Xiang Rulong remained on the offensive through most of the battle, launching one attack after another, while Baili Ye calmly defended against every strike.

Cheers erupted from the Celestial Moon Dao Hall's contingent. After enduring one defeat after another, they could finally see the possibility of claiming their first victory.

Everyone from the Azure Flame Dao Hall watched with mounting anxiety. Losing this match would allow the Celestial Moon Dao Hall to demand Liu Wuxie's life under the terms of the wager. They also understood that without Liu Wuxie, their prospects in the coming mentor competition would plummet.

"The Azure Flame Dao Hall is in serious danger. What the hell was Liu Wuxie thinking? Why didn't he send a peak True Immortal in the final match?"

Many spectators couldn't understand Liu Wuxie's decision. His strategies throughout the previous events had produced extraordinary results, yet his choice for the final battle defied every expectation.

The Azure Flame Dao Hall certainly didn't lack students at the pinnacle of the True Immortal Realm. It had quite a few, but Liu Wuxie had excluded every one of them.

Xiang Rulong possessed extraordinary talent, but Jiang Hongran's mediocre instruction had delayed his progress for several years. Only after Liu Wuxie's arrival did Xiang Rulong's bloodline finally awaken.

Most people still chose to trust Liu Wuxie. "Keep watching. Liu Wuxie must have a reason for arranging the match this way." After all, he had calculated every earlier match with astonishing precision, so how could he overlook the final battle?

Concern flickered within Xiang Zicheng's eyes. As a Divine Immortal, he could clearly see that Xiang Rulong's fierce and relentless attacks hadn't earned him the slightest advantage.

If every attack continued to fail, impatience would inevitably invade Xiang Rulong's heart. The instant that happened, Baili Ye would seize the opening and counterattack.

Baili Ye had already used his footwork technique to evade nineteen of Xiang Rulong's attacks. Meanwhile, Xiang Rulong's breathing grew ragged as his immortal energy depleted at an alarming rate. If the battle continued this way, he would exhaust himself without Baili Ye needing to attack.

"Your swordsmanship is pitifully weak. Let me show you the true sword path," Baili Ye said. He effortlessly avoided another incoming strike and flickered to Xiang Rulong's left.

The moment Baili Ye finished speaking, his sword moved like a serpent and locked onto the area beneath Xiang Rulong's left underarm. If the strike landed, Xiang Rulong would immediately lose every ability to resist.

The longsword drew closer while the Celestial Moon Dao Hall's students and mentors held their breaths. Victory already appeared to be beckoning them forward.

Xiang Rulong had consumed a tremendous amount of immortal energy, and his techniques lacked Baili Ye's ruthlessness. Under those circumstances, avoiding the incoming attack wouldn't be easy.

An explosive boom tore through the air as the sword accelerated.

Even Qian Yao revealed a hint of surprise. He clearly hadn't anticipated such formidable power from Baili Ye's sword technique.

The Celestial Moon Dao Hall students discussed excitedly among themselves. "Even a third-level Spirit Immortal might fail to withstand Senior Brother Baili's sword, let alone a fifth-level True Immortal."

Recently, they had personally watched Baili Ye defeat a third-level Spirit Immortal with one strike, and his name had reverberated throughout the Celestial Moon Dao Hall.

Within a fraction of an instant, Baili Ye's sword arrived only several inches from Xiang Rulong's underarm.

At that moment, Xiang Rulong closed his eyes.

Just before the longsword pierced him, Xiang Rulong mysteriously vanished. No one saw how he disappeared.

Everyone shot to their feet when Xiang Rulong vanished from the arena.

"What the hell..."

Many rubbed their eyes, unable to believe what they had witnessed.

Throughout the previous three days, Xiang Rulong had trained entirely alone, and no one knew what he had learned.

The Origin Immortals couldn't conceal their bewilderment. "What terrifying speed! Even a Spirit Immortal would struggle to move that quickly!"

Only the Divine Immortals had barely caught a glimpse of Xiang Rulong's disappearance.

It hadn't been an ordinary footwork technique. His movement resembled spatial teleportation.

Baili Ye's sword struck nothing but empty air, and he could only frown at Xiang Rulong's sudden disappearance.

While the surrounding spectators continued debating what had happened, Xiang Rulong abruptly appeared behind Baili Ye and thrust his sword forward. The attack naturally caught Baili Ye off guard, since he had never expected Xiang Rulong to materialize directly behind him.

"What just happened? How did Xiang Rulong disappear like that?" Many Profound Immortals clutched their heads in confusion, unable to comprehend the scene.

Xiang Rulong had executed the fifth form of the Divine Ninefold Step, which Liu Wuxie had personally taught him.

Over the past three days, Liu Wuxie had given Xiang Rulong only one requirement. He needed to grasp this movement technique. Xiang Rulong had been cultivating without sleep throughout this period and consuming countless pills before finally succeeding.

Liu Wuxie had also modified the fifth form of the Divine Ninefold Step because Xiang Rulong's cultivation couldn't support the complete version. The altered form moved faster and consumed far less immortal energy, but its range was limited. Liu Wuxie could move freely within a radius of a hundred meters, whereas Xiang Rulong could traverse only a little over a dozen meters.