Chapter 728 709: A Petty Mind

The Celestial Brilliance Annual Competition, the semi-finals!

The first match: Senior Brother Tianhuang, Jin Ming, versus Wang Tong!

Xie Yurou and Su Qianqian sat on either side of Xu Luo. Both women wore clown masks. With their enchanting figures and black hair cascading over their shoulders, the masks didn't make them look ugly. Instead, they added a hint of mysterious allure.

Xu Luo could only be speechless about this. It had been Su Qianqian's idea to hide their faces in the first place.

But as it turned out, this disguise seemed to attract even more attention than their actual faces would have.

Because of them, even though Xu Luo was wearing a discreet black cloak, he was still drawing a lot of attention by basking in the glow of the two beauties.

Fortunately, there were many others in the stands dressed in similar ways. Some didn't want to be recognized, while others... were just doing it for fun, putting on an air of mystery.

"Wang Tong's strength has grown rapidly these past two years. If it weren't for you, Wang Tong... would probably be considered the biggest dark horse in this year's competition!"

Xie Yurou, sitting to Xu Luo's left, whispered in his ear, "Wang Tong first participated in the annual competition three years ago. That time, he made it directly into the top one hundred, earning quite a name for himself throughout Celestial Brilliance."

"In last year's competition, Wang Tong ran into Nie Yunfeng in the round of 64 and was defeated by the Sword God. Many people felt it was a great pity, saying that if he hadn't faced Nie Yunfeng, he had a good chance of making it into the top sixteen... or even the top eight!"

"This year, with both luck and skill on his side, Wang Tong has quietly fought his way into the top eight!"

Xie Yurou's soft, gentle voice kept whispering in Xu Luo's ear. Even though a clown mask separated them, it was enough to make Su Qianqian, on his other side, a little jealous.

She simply grabbed one of Xu Luo's hands and held it tight. Seeing that no one nearby was paying attention, she gently leaned her head on Xu Luo's shoulder and closed her eyes.

Xie Yurou didn't dare to be as bold as Su Qianqian. She just watched them with a few envious glances before continuing to whisper to Xu Luo.

On the stage, Jin Ming and Wang Tong had both arrived.

From Xu Luo's position, he had a clear view of Wang Tong's face.

He had delicate features and looked like a handsome, scholarly youth—perhaps even a bit frail.

But Xu Luo knew that anyone who could fight their way into the annual competition's top eight was no weakling. Whoever was deceived by his appearance would surely pay a heavy price.

Wang Tong clasped his hands in a salute, saying somewhat shyly, "Wang Tong greets Senior Brother!"

"Hello, Junior Brother Wang." Jin Ming put on a reserved, gentle smile. "Junior Brother Wang, you've made great progress these past few years, and this time you've even broken into the top eight. Truly, congratulations. However, to test your strength, this Senior Brother will be very strict!"

Wang Tong gave another shy smile and said aloud, "Senior Brother need not hold back. I also wish to test what I've learned this past year."

Inwardly, however, Wang Tong was cursing, 'You shameless hypocrite! Do I need you to "test" my strength? "Very strict"... You're making me want to puke!'

"Very well, then. Please, Junior Brother Wang, you may make the first move!" Jin Ming declared, looking completely calm and unruffled as he stood there with the imposing bearing of a Grandmaster.

To be fair, if one were to look at him without bias, this Senior Brother Tianhuang truly did possess some of the aura of a Grandmaster.

However, neither Xu Luo, Su Qianqian, nor Xie Yurou had a good impression of the current Senior Brother Tianhuang.

That went without saying for Xu Luo, who was bound to have a fierce battle with Jin Ming sooner or later.

Su Qianqian hated him by association; even though she knew nothing about Jin Ming, she would never admire him.

As for Xie Yurou, she had despised Jin Ming's hypocrisy even before Xu Luo joined Celestial Brilliance, seeing the Senior Brother as an out-and-out hypocrite and a petty man.

Many people had originally admired Jin Ming; otherwise, he never would have gained such high prestige within Celestial Brilliance.

Unfortunately, Xu Luo's arrival had dimmed Jin Ming's luster considerably. That, combined with Jin Xian hiring assassins to kill Xu Luo and Jin Ming's behavior after Jin Xian's death, had left many of his former supporters deeply disappointed in him.

Jin Ming was not entirely oblivious to this, and so, he was trying to change.

He wouldn't let go of any opportunity to promote his positive image.

And the annual competition... was the perfect stage!

As long as his opponent wasn't Xu Luo, he would act with great courtesy and display impeccable sportsmanship.

It was all perfectly in line with his status as the current Senior Brother Tianhuang.

With the Referee's signal to begin, Wang Tong wasted no time and attacked directly.

With a flick of his hand... came a hundred pitch-black... Attack Elixirs!

"Huh? Since when... is Wang Tong a Medicine Garden Disciple?"

"Medicine Garden Disciple my ass! He's never been part of the Medicine Garden!"

"Then how does he have Attack Elixirs?"

"Are you stupid? The Medicine Garden's Attack Elixirs are so popular right now. If Wang Tong has them, he obviously bought them!"

"Holy crap... That guy is too damn crafty!"

A wave of fervent discussion erupted in the stands.

Seeing Wang Tong throw the Attack Elixirs, Xu Luo didn't know whether to laugh or cry. At the same time, a chill ran down his spine.

This was a complete surprise attack. Jin Ming, who was busy posturing and waiting for his opponent to strike first, was probably in for a huge shock.

Jin Ming was indeed shocked. He never expected that Wang Tong, who had absolutely nothing to do with the Medicine Garden, would just throw out a pile of Attack Elixirs.

It wasn't that the rules forbade it, but in the annual competition, the vast majority of Celestial Brilliance Disciples still chose to display their own most proficient skills.

For someone like Wang Tong, who had already broken into the top eight, to just toss out the Medicine Garden's Attack Elixirs... he was truly the first!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The numerous Elixirs exploded upon contact with the air. While not powerful enough to be fatal, not even a Supreme would carelessly face their combined force.

Not to mention that among these Elixirs were many with various debilitating properties!

For example, some lowered agility, some affected Spiritual Power, and others slowed blood flow... a whole variety that was simply impossible to defend against completely.

If it weren't for this, how could those elite Celestial Brilliance Disciples have suffered such major losses at the hands of the Medicine Garden Disciples?

It could be said that no disciple accepted into Celestial Brilliance was weak. Once they found a method that suited them, any one of them could unleash terrifying power.

Just as Jin Ming was scrambling to deal with the Attack Elixirs, Wang Tong drew his weapon—a silver spear!

He leaped into the air, his entire posture radiating heroic vigor, and thrust his spear... directly at Jin Ming!

WHOOSH!

A piercing shriek suddenly tore through the air.

This spear thrust actually pierced the void, causing the space above the stage to twist and distort as if it were moving with the attack!

But Jin Ming was, after all, the strongest of Celestial Brilliance's younger generation. Faced with such an attack, he remained calm.

His palms flew, swatting away the Elixirs that approached him. His methods were exquisite; for example, some of the debilitating Elixirs were instantly sealed by him in a flash!

They froze in the void... completely motionless!

It was as if they had been frozen solid in mid-air!

Then, Jin Ming rose into the air. Still without drawing a weapon, he flew up like a deity and slapped his palm toward Wang Tong's incoming spear.

SMACK!

Just as the incredibly sharp spear tip was about to pierce his palm, Jin Ming flicked his wrist and slapped it directly.

A massive force traveled down the spear shaft and into Wang Tong's arm, making him almost lose his grip!

Then, Jin Ming's figure twisted strangely in mid-air. The next moment, he abruptly appeared right in front of Wang Tong.

Wang Tong's scalp tingled with numbness. Just as he was about to strike again, he felt a slight pressure on his neck.

It was one of Jin Ming's fingers, pressed against a vital point!

"I... I lose." Wang Tong admitted defeat, dejected and deeply unwilling to accept it.

He had made many preparations for this battle, even spending a fortune to secretly buy a large number of Attack Elixirs from the Medicine Garden Disciples.

But he never imagined that it would all be useless against Jin Ming, unable to change the outcome of his defeat.

"Heh, Junior Brother's ingenuity and practical application of what you've learned are commendable. However, a Cultivator should not rely too heavily on external objects. Your own strength is the true path."

As he spoke, Jin Ming used the hand that had subdued Wang Tong to pat his shoulder in encouragement.

Wang Tong thanked him with a look of gratitude. "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother!" Inwardly, he was about to vomit, thinking, 'Easy for you to say! Let's see you act so calm and unruffled when you fight Luo Tian!'

Then again, he felt he was building up someone else's prestige at the expense of his own. 'Why was I so sure that Luo Tian would win?'

But in the next moment, Wang Tong came to a realization: 'Luo Tian is definitely stronger than me. I hope he can avenge me!'

With that thought, Wang Tong gave Jin Ming a final salute, then activated his number plate and teleported away.

The Referee then announced the winner of the quarter-final match: Jin Ming.

Jin Ming's face showed little joy. He waved gracefully to the surrounding stands before leaving as well.

After leaving the stage, Jin Ming's expression turned ugly. He gritted his teeth and muttered, "Luo Tian... I never thought you could be so shameless! Secretly colluding with a top-eight contestant, providing him with Attack Elixirs... trying to catch me off guard? Hmph... How naive! Even if all those Attack Elixirs had hit me, I wouldn't have cared!"

"But... how could you have known my secret in advance?"

The innocent Xu Luo would probably never have guessed that this Senior Brother Tianhuang had such a wild imagination.

The moment Wang Tong used the Attack Elixirs, Jin Ming immediately assumed Xu Luo was behind it.

In reality, Xu Luo didn't even know Wang Tong before this, and had hardly ever heard his name.

But such is the mind of a petty man. It's like a persecution complex; no matter what, he could always find a way to pin the blame on whoever he wanted.

Meanwhile, Su Qianqian was teasing Xu Luo, "Ten to one, Jin Ming thinks you're the one who gave Wang Tong those Attack Elixirs."

Xu Luo looked aggrieved. "I can't even refine medicine. I don't have any Attack Elixirs myself, so how could I have given him any?"

"But you're the Senior Brother Medicine Garden!" Su Qianqian said with a laugh, unaware that her words would prove prophetic.