Chapter 286: The Luckiest Draw Ever
Translator: Sparrow Translations Editor: Sparrow Translations
"Coming up next, second match of the third round! Yue Hongyan from the Celestial Sect of Wonders against Yang Qing from the Celestial Sect of Wonders!"
The crowd murmured, all eyes on the stage. Some were predicting the outcome of the match while others gloated and glared at members of the Celestial Sect of Wonders.
Is this the price to pay for glamour and glory?
In the quarter finals, Celestial Sect of Wonders filled three out of eight slots, putting immense pressure on the other participants.
Lin Feng's camp expressed a bitter smile, especially Yang Qing.
Xiao Budian glanced at Lin Feng and whispered, "Master, did someone set us up?"
"No. It's really just our luck" replied Lin Feng blatantly, shaking his head.
Lin Feng was familiar with this sort of trickery and rigging. Even though he was certain that the Qin Emperor would not resort to such means, he still kept an eye on Vivant Joy Holy Man and Shi Zongyue.
After all, Celestial Sect of Wonders had displayed supremacy in the Foundation Establishment Stage competition, making it almost an in-house practice.
But it was proven, that Shi Zongyue and the other immortal soul elders were transparent, notwithstanding the various opinions of the aurous core stage and nascent soul stage warriors.
It was pure coincidence that these two met in the quarter finals. Besides, a three out of eight would give a rather high probability of meeting in the quarters.
That said, not everyone was discontented with the draw. The Royal House of the Northern Tribes and the Heaven Lake Sect definitely were not disappointed.
"The draw cannot be better!" cheered the two gloating sects in unison.
Zhamu Zeluo glared murderously at Dao Yuting.
She, donning white robes with hair let down until her shoulders, maintained her icy cold expression until she felt Zhamu Zeluo's invasive stare, and expressed her enmity.
Shi Shaogan was called shortly after, his opponent being the fighter who wore purple robes. Both of them looked lost at first, but Shi Shaogan regained his composure shortly.
The opponent in purple seemed bent on winning. In the previous round, Shi Shaogan stood in his way before the quarter finals, ultimately defeating him. This time, he was all out for revenge.
Six, out of eight names, had been called out. The final and remaining draw was clear to all based on elimination.
Wang Lin lowered his head and let out a cold grin.
"In the final and last match of the quarter finals! Wang Lin of Celestial Sect of Wonders against Huo Chen of the Huo Family!"
Both parties stared at each other, with each side beaming with the intent to win.
"The draw cannot be better indeed" both muttered at the same time.
Nearby the group of immortal god elders, Prince Xian of the Left from the northern tribes and Cao Wei, head of the Heaven Lake Sect took their place.
"Cao Wei, please don't say that I'm bullying you. I'll bet a piece of Polar metal. Are you up for it?" mocked Prince Xian of the Left. Shots were fired at the first instant, and Prince Xian of the Left's target was Cao Wei immediately.
"I'm just afraid that you will not pay up after you lose! If you're so keen on losing, I'll gladly let you lose! What say you wager your Snow Tassel?" mocked Cao Wei.
"So full of yourself?" replied Prince Xian of the Left. "In return, if you lose I demand your Ice Mirror"
Zhuge Guang, who was standing at one side, suddenly added, "Prince Xian of the Left, that's rather demanding"
Prince Xian of the Left bellowed, "He has already lost all his Ice Ember, and I don't have time to wait for ten years for him to harvest more!"
"The bet is on" commented Cao Wei, his gaze switching from Lin Feng to Prince Xian of the Left.
Lin Feng, who had been lying low during the altercation, thought to himself, "What an underhanded fellow Prince Xian of the Left is. Despite his burly stature, he's secretly quite the scheming fox, rubbing salt onto Cao Wei's wound and driving the wedge between us two"
Be it the Ice Mirror or Ice Amber, both were precious rare items that already exceeded the previous quantity in the bet between Lin Feng and Sun Radiance Swordmaster.
In monetary value, this wager was no less than the hundred pieces of Ice Amber that Lin Feng had won.
Dao Yuting and Zhamu Zeluo entered the ring and were immediately evenly matched. No one could determine who was superior.
Those outside the ring were quickly immersed in the fight. However, in a fight between beauty and the beast, more audience, especially the young men, supported Dao Yuting.
Lin Feng looked back at his disciples and thought, "why haven't my students woken up yet?"
But on further inspection, each of them had their reasons.
Xiao Budian was out of the picture. To be harsh, he was still not fully independent. He had spent most of his time and effort on this supposedly sacred career.
For Wang Lin, apart from training, all he did was train. His peers gave him so much pressure that he had no time to think about personal issues.
Yang Qing carried too much of a burden, becoming an emotional wreckage over his lost junior.
The most normal and perhaps most carefree of them all was Zhu Yi. But although he appeared polite and gentlemanly, he was in fact proud and full of himself. No woman ever came close to his requirements.
Lin Feng shook his head and thought "You punks, need I worry about your relationships? Yang Qing aside, the other three should have no problems given their calibre and women should be flocking towards them!"
Lin Feng's mind was still on his disciples though his eyes remained on the fighting ring. Shortly, things in the ring began to stir.
Dao Yuting's body gave off an icy cold white mist, and the mist, once in contact with Zhamu Zeluo, burst into flames.
Zhamu Zeluo was an examplar of the northern warriors. His body was beyond strong, all his training and magic had been focused on his physical strength. Not even Dao Yuting's previous ice attacks could penetrate his hide of an exterior.
This time, his body was thoroughly on fire. No matter how he tried, he could not extinguish the flames. His anguish was pertinent and plastered all over his face.
The audience began to stir, those who knew martial arts murmured among themselves, "Isn't this the Ice Burn technique from the Heaven Lake Sect?"
"The Ice Burn technique is one only mastered by the Nascent Soul Stage masters of the Heaven Lake Sect. Not even the Aurous Core Stage warriors can perform it yet. And yet, she, only at the Foundation Establishment Stage, can already grasp all of it? Unbelievable!"
"Genius! Absolute genius! What a rare sight!"
The whole audience flew mad with excitement. Even the immortal god elders who were sitting at one side, despite being at a much higher level than Dao Yuting, started paying attention to her. It was more her potential than actual power that attracted them.
Prince Xian of the Left's expression turned a pale green and he exclaimed, "Cao Wei! It's your lucky day today!"
Cao Wei could not be bothered.
Inside the ring, the normally composed and expressionless Zhamu Zeluo started to flinch at the burns that grew in intensity.
Dao Yuting did not let up and continued her stream of vicious attacks, knocking Zhamu Zeluo to the ground. The magical fighting ring instinctively blocked Dao's next attack, though the burning on Zhamu Zeluo continued.
Zhamu Zeluo had been defeated and exited the ring. Only then, in a forceful wave by Prince Xian of the Left, did the fire extinguish and the burning come to a stop. Zhamu Zeluo's skin sizzled like water poured on hot coal.
Zhu Yi inquisitively looked at Lin Feng and asked, "Master, what on earth is this Ice Burn technique?"
Lin Feng calmly replied, "The white mist that she's letting out catches fire once it latches onto the magical aura let out by her opponents. It's using their own power as fuel."
"The fighters from the Royal House of the Northern Tribes all pump their magic power into their physical body, strengthening themselves. Therefore this aura exits all around them, and ignites their body once in contact with that mist"
"Since it uses magic aura as its fuel, it's almost impossible to extinguish. This Ice Burn technique is practically Heaven Lake Sect's counter to all of the Royal House of the Northern Tribe's fighters who pump magic into their bodies"
"It is precisely because of its lethality that it's such a revered technique within the Heaven Lake Sect"
Yang Qing replied softly, "It must have its weakness too, am I right?"
Wang Lin thought about it for a moment, and added, "For one, this technique is difficult to master. As the elder mentioned earlier, only those in Nascent Soul Stage are supposedly able to handle it. I've observed that the mist spreads rather slowly, so anyone with ample preparation should be able to evade the mist"
Xiao Budian interjected, "The big burly guy from the northern tribes kept on moving in for close combat because he did not expect this mist from his opponent, as a result causing him to be unable to evade it"
"If he had known about it earlier, he would have kept his distance from the start. Given his speed, it would be no problem for him to evade the mist"
Yang Qing sighed, "There's still a way to counter it."
Zhu Yi nodded, "Since only the masters in the Nascent Soul Stage can use it, it must be very taxing for the user, hence once a user fails on his first attempt, it should be hard to create a second try."
Xiao Budian suddenly broke into a laughter, "Fifth senior, I think you'd better not think too much about that lady. Maybe you would want to think about fighting fourth senior first"
Yang Qing's expression turned bitter instantaneously, almost as though tears were going to fall.
Xiao Budian patted Yang Qing's shoulder and casually commented, "You're not planning to give up the match and send fourth senior straight to the semi-finals, are you?"
He meant it purely as a joke, but Yang Qing considered for a moment and nodded, "Rather than embarrass myself, this sounds like a good idea".