Chapter 195 - 191: The Opponent for the Grand Competition Finals, Waiting at Ease

Du Youqian won his match easily, but Meng Xiao had to struggle for his victory.

As he slowly descended from the Life and Death Arena, his face deathly pale, he cupped his fists at Du Youqian and said, "I’m glad I didn’t fail you."

Everyone in the Holy Blood Sect knew Du Youqian’s spot in the finals was all but guaranteed.

The Mingfa Hall Stewards arranging the matches would never place Meng Xiao and Du Youqian in separate brackets.

This was to prevent a scenario where both reached the finals and Meng Xiao forfeited, which would compromise the integrity of the Sect’s grand competition.

It was no secret that Meng Xiao was one of Du Youqian’s followers, nor was there any need to hide it.

Many True Successor Candidates had followers participating in the grand competition, hoping to clear a path for their masters. They just weren’t strong enough to succeed.

Sure enough, Mingfa Hall soon announced the semi-final matchups: Meng Xiao would face Yu Fei, while Cai Qikun, the top-ranked True Successor Candidate, would fight Wu Suping, a veteran Perfect Foundation Establishment Cultivator of over one hundred and fifty years.

The very next day, Meng Xiao informed Mingfa Hall that he was injured and would be forfeiting the match.

Du Youqian advanced to the finals without a fight.

This minor event caused no stir.

Everyone’s attention was focused on the other match.

Who would come out on top between Cai Qikun, the prodigious True Successor Candidate, and Wu Suping, the late-blooming senior, to face Du Youqian in the finals?

But to be honest, Du Youqian didn’t care.

’It doesn’t matter who my opponent is... I’m going to be the one who wins, anyway.’

Right then, he was joking with Gu Xiaofang.

"Look at that sly grin. Don’t tell me that Xiaoyin girl agreed to be your Dao Companion?" Du Youqian couldn’t help but tease, seeing Gu Xiaofang grinning from ear to ear after receiving a Jade Slip.

Gu Xiaofang pursed his lips, feigning indifference, but his eyes were practically sparkling with joy. "What would I need her as a Dao Companion for? That’s not why I’m smiling. By the way, Brother Fei, she was asking about you in her message."

"Asking what about me?" Du Youqian asked casually.

Gu Xiaofang chuckled and said breezily, "Oh, she was just joking around. She asked if you had some kind of fortuitous encounter in the Relics, since your Cultivation has advanced by leaps and bounds since you came out. Her Taihe Sect has specialists who analyze our Sect’s intelligence, and apparently, none of them thought you’d even make it to the top eight. Who knew you’d tear through the competition and reach the finals? All those pundits in the Taihe Sect must feel like they’ve been slapped in the face."

Du Youqian paid it no mind.

He just gave a few words of warning, telling Gu Xiaofang not to leak Sect secrets just to show off for a woman, and not to posture and pretend to be more important than he was.

He went on about how if you want to woo a woman, you have to let her know you have money but not actually spend it on her, string her along... and so on and so forth.

Gu Xiaofang laughed awkwardly. "Brother Fei, when it comes to wooing women... I think I’ve probably got you beat. Maybe you shouldn’t be the one giving me advice."

"How could I possibly be worse than you?" Du Youqian asked, surprised.

Gu Xiaofang replied, "You’re popular with women because you’re handsome, powerful, and your pockets are overflowing with Spiritual Jade. I, on the other hand, am ugly and weak, yet I’m also very popular with women. Why do you think that is?"

Du Youqian couldn’t be bothered to argue with him. "In any case, it’s not because you’re better at wooing women than I am. Let’s drop it. End of discussion."

Gu Xiaofang wasn’t convinced, but he knew better than to keep arguing with Du Youqian.

While they were good brothers and friends, their relationship was fundamentally one of master and subordinate.

And how could a subordinate not show his master some respect?

Just then, Meng Xiao came over to speak, and Gu Xiaofang took the opportunity to excuse himself.

"Master, could you please reassign me from the Wu Kingdom? The Spiritual Qi there is too thin, and I have to spend a fortune in Spirit Stones on a Spirit-Gathering Array for Xi Mengran’s cultivation. The cost is just too high."

Meng Xiao started complaining the moment he arrived.

Du Youqian was left speechless. "She’s just a minor Ghost Cultivator at the Qi Cultivation Realm. Her type of cultivation doesn’t even rely much on absorbing the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth. Are you using a Spirit-Gathering Array for her because you have too many Spirit Stones and just want to burn them for fun?"

Meng Xiao’s handsome face flushed. "It’s... probably a little useful, more or less."

Du Youqian said, "I was researching Human Dao Fortune recently, and I discovered it might be an excellent cultivation resource for Ghost Cultivators. But I don’t know much about it myself. You could go to the Great Compassion Temple and ask about it."

"’To burn my broken body is great mercy, great compassion’?" Meng Xiao mused.

"It’s ’To burn my broken body, great sorrow is as joy’!" Du Youqian corrected, shaking his head.

"Close enough. Well, once the grand competition is over, I’ll make a trip to the Great Compassion Temple!"

Du Youqian had no objection.

A few days later, a winner was decided in the battle between Cai Qikun and Wu Suping.

Wu Suping, who represented the late-blooming cultivators, ultimately lacked that final, sharp edge and was narrowly defeated by Cai Qikun.

Moreover, because their fight was so intense, neither could pull their punches—or perhaps it was because Cai Qikun had long been coveting Wu Suping.

In any case, Wu Suping herself was absorbed into the Ten Thousand Souls Banner in Cai Qikun’s hands, becoming one of its primary souls.

As for Cai Qikun, it could only be called a pyrrhic victory. He had not only used the Blood Burning Art but had also sustained heavy injuries.

The kind of grievous injuries that would take several years of slow recuperation to heal.

But of course, the Sect’s grand competition would not be delayed for several years just for him.

Ten days later, the final match of the grand competition proceeded as scheduled.

Cai Qikun used a Secret Technique to forcibly suppress his injuries, but it inevitably affected his condition.

Du Youqian, on the other hand, was well-rested and waiting, in peak spiritual and physical condition.

After Cai Qikun stepped onto the Life and Death Arena holding a Ten Thousand Souls Banner of extremely high quality, the Mingfa Hall Steward announced the start of the Magical Combat.

But Du Youqian wasn’t in any hurry to attack. He simply rode his Flying Sword, showing off as he flew back and forth. He was as slippery as an eel, refusing to clash head-on with Cai Qikun, instead just constantly harassing him with Magic and his Flying Sword.

For a moment, the fight was a flashy, kaleidoscopic display. The dazzling array of various kinds of Magic was dizzying to watch.

It was the complete opposite of his fighting style in previous matches.

In reality, it was all for show; he hadn’t used any of his real skills.

Du Youqian was using ninety-nine percent of his energy on evasion.

He knew what he was doing, and the observing Core Formation Masters and veteran Foundation Establishment Cultivators, all experienced in Magical Combat, understood as well.

Since Cai Qikun was using a Secret Technique to suppress his injuries, he couldn’t possibly last long.

All Du Youqian had to do was stall for time to win. Why would he risk an aggressive assault?

After a hundred breaths of this, Cai Qikun understood the message Du Youqian was sending.

’I can do this all day without breaking a sweat! If you want a war of attrition, then let’s have one!’

What could Cai Qikun do?

He could only give a bitter smile and unleash his ultimate move.

Well, he activated his Blood Burning Art and revealed a trump card.

One of his trump cards... was a Hundred Ghosts Banner!

The Hundred Ghosts Banner, the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, and the Soul-Devouring Banner have similar appearances and all exude a sinister, ghostly aura.

To cultivators of the Profound Sects Orthodox Sect, they were all unsavory Demon Artifacts, and most couldn’t even be bothered to learn the differences between the three.

In reality, the differences between these three Demon Artifacts were massive.

The Hundred Ghosts Banner works by binding the souls of cultivators and forcibly converting them into Fierce Ghosts, rapidly increasing their power.

These Fierce Ghosts cannot retain their memories from life, and thus, they also lose their former Magic and Divine Abilities.

However, they can be nurtured using ghost cultivation methods, allowing the Fierce Ghosts in the banner to learn Ghost Cultivation Arts and even be fitted with Ghost Cultivation Equipment.

But the backlash from a Hundred Ghosts Banner was no laughing matter.

The more Fierce Ghosts one tried to control, the more likely one was to suffer from the backlash.

Therefore, the Hundred Ghosts Banner did not require a large quantity of souls; it valued quality over quantity.

The Ten Thousand Souls Banner, on the other hand, did not necessarily require the souls of cultivators. The souls of ordinary people would suffice, although the few primary souls needed to be from cultivators.

The number wasn’t fixed at ten thousand, either—the more, the merrier. If you were capable enough, you could gather a hundred million souls.

There was also no need to convert the souls into Fierce Ghosts.

Its method of attack was similar to a Divine Sense assault, using its vast number of souls to batter and erode an opponent’s Divine Sense and their very soul.

The Soul-Devouring Banner also required a large number of bound souls, though not as many as the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

Its attack method was somewhat similar to the Ten Thousand Souls Banner’s, but its ability to directly erode an opponent’s Divine Sense and devour their soul was not actually that powerful.

Instead, Arrays for Illusion Techniques and Enchanting Soul would be inscribed within the banner to enhance its support capabilities.

It could be considered a "lite version" of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.

That was why most Demon Cultivators used the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and Soul-Devouring Banner openly, while keeping the Hundred Ghosts Banner in reserve as a hidden trump card.

This was because the Hundred Ghosts Banner’s offensive power was far greater, but so were the disastrous consequences of using it.

Du Youqian couldn’t say he had anticipated this specific trump card from Cai Qikun, but in a way, it was an open secret.

After all, which True Successor Candidate from the Holy Blood Sect didn’t keep a Hundred Ghosts Banner as a trump card?

If you didn’t even have one, could you really call yourself a True Successor Candidate of the Holy Blood Sect?

Du Youqian had learned as much back when he killed Liu Chixin.

And knowing this, how could Du Youqian not be prepared?

As Cai Qikun activated his Blood Burning Art and charged forward, raising the Hundred Ghosts Banner.

Du Youqian raised his hand and unleashed a Thunder Technique.

A blindingly brilliant thunderbolt was followed by a continuous, deafening RUMBLE.

Cai Qikun was completely stunned.

’If he could, he would be screaming bloody murder right now.’

’You’re a Holy Sect cultivator, what the hell are you doing practicing a Thunder Technique?’

’Have you got nothing better to do?’

’Don’t you know most of the Holy Sect’s Cultivation Techniques clash with Thunder Techniques?’

’Oh, wait, I heard this kid cultivates the Shangqing Purple Qi Divine Pill Creation Technique... In that case, never mind.’

The way Thunder Techniques countered Fierce Ghosts was like an eagle to a chick, or a blazing sun to ice cream.

You couldn’t even call it a counter... It was a complete hard counter.

Of course, an ordinary Thunder Technique cast by an ordinary person wasn’t so overwhelmingly effective against Fierce Ghosts.

It was like how water can extinguish a fire, but a raging inferno can also evaporate the water.

But it all depended on who was casting the Thunder Technique... and this one was Fire Yang Thunder.

In a single exchange, over a dozen of the Fierce Ghosts in Cai Qikun’s Hundred Ghosts Banner were reduced to ash.

Helpless, Cai Qikun could only recall the banner.

It wasn’t that he was unwilling to sacrifice his Hundred Ghosts Banner.

If the banner could have bought him even a little time, it would have been worth it.

But it was clear that against Du Youqian’s Thunder Technique, the Hundred Ghosts Banner couldn’t even serve its purpose of stalling for time.

If this went on, Du Youqian would simply destroy the banner in short order.

Then, in the instant Cai Qikun’s Divine Sense was damaged from his Demon Artifact’s destruction, Du Youqian would press his advantage and finish him off.

With no other choice, Cai Qikun revealed his second trump card.