Chapter 276 - 235: The So-Called Izakai Skill

Chapter 276: Chapter 235: The So-Called Izakai Skill

A day later, the tournament for Xiao Mingyu’s group also got underway.

The clashes between Merging Realm cultivators were, without a doubt, far more intense than the previous rounds.

On the very first day, Xiao Mingyu ran into a spear-wielding expert: Ren Qi, the strongest contemporary Merging Realm master from Qiankua Peak.

Ren Qi had reached the Unity Realm Peak more than a decade ago.

She could have broken through long ago but had been stabilizing her realm and constantly consolidating her foundation, aiming for a perfect breakthrough.

This was a choice most geniuses made.

They would patch up any weaknesses, perfect every minute detail of their current realm, and polish their Divine Soul and physical body to the absolute limit before taking that final leap.

Ren Qi could tell at a glance that Xiao Mingyu’s aura was a notch below her own. Without hesitation, she thrust her spear forward at incredible speed.

Xiao Mingyu didn’t dare to be careless. He hastily used the essentials of the *Yuzi Skill* he had just learned, drawing his saber to block!

CLANG!

Xiao Mingyu’s saber deflected slightly, knocking Ren Qi’s probing strike aside. His posture appeared perfectly composed.

But inwardly, he broke out in a cold sweat. His arm was already trembling imperceptibly. That one probing strike had left him in a rather sorry state.

Fortunately, Ren Qi didn’t notice.

Ren Qi frowned. She had watched Zhang Ji’s matches and knew he was a Heavenly Lord’s personal disciple who had mastered the *Nine Marvels Dao Scripture*. Now, she could tell at a glance that Xiao Mingyu was also using one of the Nine Marvels’ ultimate skills.

She truly hadn’t expected Zhang Ji to have taught the contents of this scripture to someone else.

’It’s unclear how much he’s actually learned, but judging by how he handled that strike, his defense is already quite formidable.’ She felt she couldn’t defeat him easily. Even if she won, it would be at great cost.

Without a second thought, she swept her spear along the ground, using the force to launch herself backward in retreat.

’He’s a tough nut to crack, a Profound Turtle in its shell. Just looking at him is annoying. Now’s not the time to gnaw on this bone.’

Xiao Mingyu had already braced himself for elimination. Seeing this, he was left completely stunned.

"Huh? Why did she leave?"

Xiao Mingyu couldn’t understand it. His opponent was so much stronger and had the absolute advantage. He had been about to play his trump card, to go out in a final blaze of glory with his ultimate skill, but who would’ve thought she’d just run away?

Unable to make sense of it, he decided not to dwell on it. He started looking for a place to hide, planning to lie low and survive until the final rounds.

Yet, the more he tried to avoid people, the more he ran into them.

He soon ran into another opponent: a swordsman from Qianji Peak named Bai Xuan, a member of the Guoju race. The blade in his hand was long and thin, clearly specializing in speed—the perfect counter to Xiao Mingyu.

SWISH!

The blade cut through the air, carrying a trail of energy as it descended directly toward Xiao Mingyu’s neck.

Xiao Mingyu once again executed the *Yuzi Skill* to defend. He flicked his saber straight upward, but suddenly felt a disruption in the flow of his Qi and Blood. His strike veered diagonally forward, heading straight for his opponent’s chest.

The attack startled Bai Xuan, who hastily altered his own move to evade.

A moment later, they passed each other.

Xiao Mingyu was completely unscathed, but the front of Bai Xuan’s robes had been torn open. His expression was incredibly grave.

Bai Xuan never imagined that this man was a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

’He looks unremarkable on the surface, but his techniques are vicious and his timing is impeccable. He baited me into attacking, then suddenly changed his move just as my own was spent. He was just an inch away... that seemingly casual strike nearly went through my heart.’

’An expert!’

Bai Xuan abandoned any thought of fighting Xiao Mingyu to the finish. Just like Ren Qi before him, he decided not to waste his energy on this tough nut, turning to find an easier target.

Xiao Mingyu blinked, once again stunned.

’My move was a complete mistake.’ The *Yuzi Skill* was too profound, and since he had only just started learning it, his mastery was poor. That was why his Qi and Blood circulation had faltered.

Who would have thought that his mistake would somehow end up forcing his opponent to retreat?

Shaking his head slightly, Xiao Mingyu turned and resumed his search for a hiding spot.

At that very moment, in the spectator stands outside, Zhang Ji was using the *Izakai Skill* to run calculations.

So far, everything was proceeding just as he had envisioned.

But the data he could factor in was limited, making his calculations incomplete. The further the tournament progressed, the more uncertainties would arise. For now, his predictions were only about eighty percent accurate.

The main issue was the number of external factors that could disrupt his model. This wasn’t a closed, ideal system. Any of the Profound Heart Realm masters watching could spot the anomalies, and a single one of them interfering could shatter this delicate balance.

’Still,’ he thought, ’aside from myself, surely no one else would be shameless enough to interfere in a competition among Merging Realm disciples.’

Soon enough, Xiao Mingyu "coincidentally" forced two more opponents to retreat.

By now, everyone could tell something was off.

"Why does everyone run away after just a brief exchange with him? Is he really that strong?"

"Doesn’t seem like it. I know of him. Divine Peak doesn’t have many strong Merging Realm disciples this year. He barely scraped his way through the qualifying matches, nearly losing several times. He’s not even in the same league as Divine Peak’s previous top Merging Realm disciples, let alone the experts from the other main peaks. He’s clearly a cut below them."

"So it’s just luck, then? It really does feel like he’s got some kind of fortune on his side. His opponents were on the verge of figuring out his true strength several times, but he always managed to bluff them at the last second."

"He just scared another one off! Don’t tell me that’s his actual strategy? He throws out a single, powerful-looking move to bluff his opponents, tricking them into not wanting a direct confrontation, all to climb as high in the rankings as possible?"

"It’s a clever tactic, I’ll give him that. And he actually managed to fool these cultivators, who are known for their sharp senses. Not many people have ever pulled off a stunt like this so consistently..."

Even Xiao Mingyu himself was a bit confused. His plan had been to go all-out against the first opponent he met and just burn out completely.

But instead, everyone would trade a couple of blows with him and then flee. The moment he’d psych himself up for a real fight, they would disappear. He even tried chasing them down, but they’d just run faster, giving him no chance to engage.

’I don’t get it, I just don’t get it!’

While Xiao Mingyu’s encounters were almost farcical, the other contestants were locked in genuine, brutal combat.

They took out all the frustration they’d built up from their encounters with Xiao Mingyu on one another.

Time passed. By the third day of the competition, only four contestants remained.

The other six had all been eliminated.

Among the four, Xiao Mingyu and a four-armed expert from the Mili Race of Six Clouds Peak were in the best condition. The remaining two were exhausted and had barely any combat strength left.

Xiao Mingyu remained well hidden, and soon enough, the two exhausted combatants ran right into each other.

Each saw how weak the other was and planned to knock them out to improve their own ranking. In the end, they took each other out, one right after the other.

And so, only two remained.

Xiao Mingyu and Za Yao of the Mili Race.

A light rain began to fall across the arena.

As the arena’s boundaries closed in, Xiao Mingyu and Za Yao finally met.

In the muddy arena, Za Yao, a blade in each of his four hands, wore an extremely grave expression.

’This opponent has too many openings.’

But the more openings he saw, the more he felt that this opponent was anything but simple.

He had faced two other opponents on his way here, and neither had been an easy fight.

’To have made it this far with his aura so perfectly preserved... Xiao Mingyu is definitely not as simple as he looks.’

’Those so-called openings are probably just bait.’

’If I treat him as a weakling, then I’m the real fool.’

Xiao Mingyu wasn’t thinking that deeply. He was already content just to have made it this far.

At least he hadn’t been shamefully eliminated right at the start.

He figured he was at least in the top five now.

’Above average. I haven’t brought shame to Divine Peak.’

’That’s good enough for me.’

He held his long saber at an angle. Raindrops slid down the blade, catching the light with a cold glint.

He might not be a top-tier prodigy, but he was still a genius in his own right.

After countless hours of practice, he had developed his own way of the saber, from which he created a unique technique all his own.

"Water Mirror Slash!"

In an instant, the surrounding rain coalesced into mirror-like surfaces. Vaguely, six figures surrounded Za Yao, and six slashes descended simultaneously.

All six figures possessed some offensive power, but only one was his true self—the only one that could pose a real threat and eliminate him.

In the rain, Za Yao couldn’t tell which was real and which was fake. His four arms simultaneously parried attacks from four directions, but that still left two slashes unaccounted for.

SHNK! SHNK! SHNK!

Three of the water mirror illusions shattered. Za Yao’s last arm was about to strike the fourth.

But just then, in the spectator stands, an imperceptible ripple of energy emanated from Master Dong Qin of Six Clouds Peak.

Zhang Ji’s gaze snapped over instantly, landing on the woman who also possessed four slender arms.

He cursed her inwardly for her shamelessness.

At that same moment, back in the arena, the blade Za Yao had intended for the water mirror illusion suddenly changed direction, meeting Xiao Mingyu’s true body head-on.

When their blades clashed, a contest of pure power, Xiao Mingyu was clearly outmatched.

CLANG!

SPURT!

A gash opened on Xiao Mingyu’s chest. He was sent flying backward, landing in a muddy puddle.

Za Yao was panting, his face a mask of lingering fear and humiliated fury.

’I was played!’

’Played by someone so much weaker than me?’

"With strength like yours? You think you’re worthy of competing on the same stage as me? You’re just an insect who only knows how to play cheap tricks!"

Za Yao swung his blade, severing Xiao Mingyu’s right leg.

SQUELCH!

"Nngh!"

Xiao Mingyu winced in pain but didn’t cry out, letting out only a muffled grunt.

In this tournament, any injuries could be treated by the Sect after leaving the arena. Even damage to one’s Divine Soul could be quickly repaired.

However, to humiliate and torture an opponent like this showed a complete lack of martial virtue.

SWISH!

Za Yao swung again, aiming for Xiao Mingyu’s other leg.

Qi and Blood surged through Xiao Mingyu. He executed the *Yuzi Skill*, its subtle force blocking one of Za Yao’s blades. But it only blocked one.

Za Yao was of the Mili Race. He had four blades.

SQUELCH!

Xiao Mingyu’s saber-wielding arm was lopped off.

Za Yao sneered, "*Yuzi Skill*? Heh. Did you learn that from the Heavenly Lord’s personal disciple? Is it useful? You, that personal disciple... you’re all just a little lucky, that’s all..."

"Junior Brother Li... is a true prodigy, acknowledged by the Heavenly Lord himself! Shut your mouth..." Xiao Mingyu struggled to interrupt.

Za Yao was about to say more, but his expression suddenly shifted. He realized he had misspoken. Not daring to torture Xiao Mingyu any further, he eliminated him from the arena with a final slash.

.....

.....

The spectator stands outside had fallen completely silent.

Who would dare say that a Heavenly Lord’s personal disciple relied only on luck?

You could think it, but you could never say it out loud.

A Heavenly Lord’s personal disciple held a status equal to that of a main Peak Master. Not even the Sect Leader could punish them at will.

To dare say such a thing... In his fury, Za Yao had clearly let his tongue run wild.

If Zhang Ji or Divine Peak decided to make an issue of it, he would be in for a world of hurt.

Meanwhile, Zhang Ji had already put the matter of this match behind him.

Although someone had interfered with the result, he had made the first move. Her meddling was, at most, a simple tit for tat.

But at this moment, the corner of Zhang Ji’s mouth curved into a smile. He had a new idea.

He could feel a fluctuation in fortune.

Za Yao’s fortune had become disordered.

’Under these circumstances, the calculations for the *Izakai Skill* seem much easier.’

Zhang Ji was suddenly beginning to understand how this technique was meant to be used.

’So, it’s about seizing the fortune of others and making it your own?’