Chapter 1089: Championship Battle, Li Ziqi's Invincible First Battle!
The championship battle was on a voluntary basis.
If a person wanted to become famous, what could they do?
They had to fight on a great stage, and the 4-stars personal disciples battle was such a stage!
The top three disciples would definitely get on the Hero Rankings, being able to gain both fame and benefits.
As everyone would be fighting to participate in it, the prize prepared by the Saint Gate was mediocre—a heaven-tier cultivation art.
To most people, this would be extremely attractive. However, to 3-stars great teachers, it was insignificant. The Saint Gate didn't care about that.
After all, the reason everyone participated in the personal disciples battle was for fame!
In the past batches, there'd always be over 64 people signing up for the championship battle. Therefore, they had to let those participants who weren't seeded have another round of battles. However, this year, there weren't enough people.
When Liang Hongda heard his secretary reporting this piece of news, he was stunned for a moment and started to suspect if there was something wrong with these people's heads.
However, he soon knew the reason.
It was because the Skyward Spirit Rune had appeared out of nowhere, allowing Ying Baiwu and Li Ziqi to possess the ability to fly. Moreover, the two of them were also long-distance combatants.
Who'd be able to win against them?
Rather than being tormented and embarrassed on the arena, the other participants might as well avoid the competition completely.
"Go and try to persuade those candidates!"
Liang Hongda instructed.
The audience had spent a lot of money to buy the tickets. If they were to find out that the Saint Gate couldn't even gather enough candidates, wouldn't the Saint Gate lose some credibility?
The secretary received the order and went off.
However, after the three days break, the number of participants was still less than 32. In the end, Liang Hongda had to personally visit some newly appointed 4-stars great teachers and promise them some benefits if they allowed their personal disciples to take part in the battle.
At the very last moment, they finally managed to gather the top 32.
It was a day of clear sky and bright sun!
On this warm morning, the championship battle started!
Sun Mo was a super uprising star in the limelight, having the reputation of being a saint candidate and the originator of the Skyward Spirit Rune. Hence, the amount of attention he had on him was indisputably the highest.
Therefore, in the first round, it was Li Ziqi against Sang Qiao.
The Saint Gate would also hype up the battles.
"Start!"
As the main judge, Tong Yiming called out, and Sang Qiao immediately pounced toward Li Ziqi.
He had brainstormed with his teacher on how he should fight if he were to encounter Sun Mo's disciples. Their plan was to take the initiative and fight them before they flew off the arena!
Thankfully, he had an extremely high cultivation level to suppress her, otherwise, Sang Qiao would have just forfeited the match.
"I must be faster!"
Sang Qiao pursed his lips, gathering his strength. He was about to release it explosively when two three-meter-tall wind elements appeared out of nowhere, blocking him.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Several crescent-shaped wind blades shot out from the wind elements.
(It's over!)
Sang Qiao felt a little despair. If he didn't dodge the attacks, he'd be dismembered. However, if he did, Li Ziqi would be able to fly freely with ease.
(Damn it! Isn't your summoning speed too fast?)
"Why is it so fast?"
Someone under the arena felt perplexed.
"She did a silent incantation, and she also used One Heart Two Uses"!
A spirit controller who knew the trade gasped in surprise. "Genius! She's definitely a genius!"
Everyone knew that spirit controllers' greatest shortcoming was their long chanting period. During this time, they were undoubtedly the most fragile.
However, through silent incantation, Li Ziqi made up for the time difference, and she was able to doublecast using One Heart Two Uses.
Given her age, she was definitely a monstrous genius to be able to reach this level.
As Sang Qiao dodged the wind blades, he saw that Li Ziqi was still standing on the arena. After being stunned for a moment, he was enraged.
"Damn it! She's looking down on me!"
Sang Qiao was furious. (Do you really think that you, a Spirit Refinement Realm girl, can defeat me?)
The White Tiger Guard appeared and Li Ziqi got onto it.
Her small face looked very composed!
(My motor skills might be weaker, but I have a ride!)
The little sunny egg then flicked out her finger incessantly.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Myriad Manifestations Spirit Wave Art!
Sang Qiao charged forward, but before he could get close, he saw three other wind elements appearing.
"Huh? So fast?"
(Why is there one more than earlier?)
"You fool. Once the competition started, she could just chant the incantations normally with her mouth!"
The great teachers were very astonished.
If the silent incantation earlier was the effect of using the One Heart Two Uses halo, then right now, it was purely her personal talent.
This Li Ziqi could use one head to do three things at the same time!
This was spiritual beasts summoning. If her pronunciation wasn't clear or if there were mistakes, she'd receive a backlash and would either be seriously injured or dead. However, she had still done it.
How great was her confidence!
"All hail, Eldest Martial Sister!"
Lu Zhiruo raised her arms and cheered.
Sun Mo didn't allow her to sign up for the championship battle, so she could only be a cheerleader today.
"Eldest Martial Sister is proving to everyone that even without the Skyward Spirit Rune, she can still win!"
Xianyu Wei was so agitated that her little face flushed.
Although she was also a girl, her eldest martial sister's attitude was too domineering.
Sang Qiao attacked fiercely. With great difficulty, he avoided the spiritwave bullets and wind blades, getting close to Li Ziqi.
"Die!"
Sang Qiao sent out a heavy punch.
Li Ziqi raised her slender palm calmly.
Windwave Bullet!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As Sang Qiao was too close, he received a direct hit, and the powerful impact caused him to roll on the ground.
"Be careful!"
When Sang Qiao's teacher saw that the wind blades were attacking his disciple again, he was so scared that his soul almost left his body. He almost cried out that they were going to forfeit.
"He won't be able to win!"
Several people sighed.
Before Sang Qiao had gotten his act together, another three wind elements appeared next to Li Ziqi.
The little sunny egg's best money-spamming battle tactic hadn't been used yet, but Sang Qiao was already beaten up.
Pa!
Li Ziqi finally threw out her first spirit rune rod.
Lightning sea permeated out.
After that, the little sunny egg put one of her hands next to her red lips. She then bit her thumb and chanted an incantation while drawing a spiritual formation in the air.
"F*ck, she can even do a speed drawing of a spiritual formation?"
The spirit controllers present were surprised.
Did she have to be so outstanding?
What people usually saw was destruction caused by various moves and attacks. They had never witnessed such a pure spirit qi blast before.
Everyone knew that this could save time, but who would dare to do that?
If they were to make a mistake, they might die.
Wasn't this young girl afraid?
Faint red blood fog dissipated in the air, forming a strange but profound image. Then, Li Ziqi clapped her hands together!
Pa!
Spiritual Summoning, Ancient Battle Tree!
Boom!
Amidst a tremendous amount of light that was shooting out explosively, a huge ancient tree appeared on the arena. Its roots were like tentacles, shooting out at great speed and wrapping around Sang Qiao's body, which had turned numb and stiffened up after being hit by the lightning sea.
This was the Ancient Battle Tree that Sun Mo had encountered in the ecology garden. Li Ziqi had summoned one with a spiritual control technique.
Li Ziqi raised her right hand and aimed it at Sang Qiao, her left hand grabbing her right wrist. She then started to gather spirit qi.
Zap! Zap!
Golden spirit qi glow shrouded on Li Ziqi's body, and a spirit qi light sphere appeared in front of her right hand.
"What kind of cultivation art is this?"
Many people gasped in surprise.
"I don't know!"
"I haven't seen it before, but it should be some kind of rare cultivation art."
"It feels like it has a great destructive force!"
The spectators discussed fervently, their gazes filled with surprise and doubt. Why was it that Sun Mo's disciples could always come up with such unprecedented new stuff?
"For Teacher's glory!"
Li Ziqi bellowed in her heart!
Ultimate technique! Spiritwave Cannon!
Boom!
The light sphere formed from the spirit qi gushed out. It was a supersonic thrust.
No one knew what species that ancient tree was, but its roots were thick and big, filled with great tenacity. Sang Qiao went through a lot of trouble before he managed to break free when he saw the Spiritwave Cannon shooting over.
Boom!
The Spiritwave Cannon brushed past Sang Qiao's head, hitting several ten meters away and leaving a big hole in the martial dojo's steps.
Splash! Splash!
Dust flew up and the entire martial dojo was silent.
Wasn't this destructive force too great?
Even the great teachers froze up.
A short moment later, the audience near the hole screamed and scrambled away with pale countenances.
If that attack had hit them, they'd have died!
"Everyone, there's no need to panic. I had calculated the positioning before I attacked," Li Ziqi announced loudly and then looked toward Sang Qiao. "Are you going to admit your loss?"
"..."
The great teachers were speechless. You still had the spare energy to calculate this?
(F*ck!)
(Why isn't such an amazing student mine?)
(Secondary Saint Zhou will definitely be extremely regretful if he saw this scene.)
Sang Qiao had been feeling thankful that he wasn't hit by the attack and was about to retaliate when he heard this. A feeling of disappointment immediately crept up his body.
He knew that she had intentionally missed.
(But to admit his loss? I'm at the Divine Force Realm!)
He couldn't get himself to say it.
"We admit our loss!"
Sang Qiao's teacher was more broad-minded.
"This round, Li Ziqi wins!"
Tong Yiming announced.
"Don't be dejected. It's not embarrassing to lose to a spirit controller. It's even less embarrassing to lose to a spirit controller like Li Ziqi."
His teacher consoled.
No one felt that Sang Qiao was weak!
It was just that this battle was impossible to win.
The strength of a spirit controller primarily depended on their spiritual beasts.
Li Ziqi's wind elements might not be that strong individually, but they threw out too many wind blades that could effectively stop the enemies from getting close. Then, she would throw out all sorts of long-ranged attacks.
This was a victory won through aptitude and battle tactics.
"Be happier. If someone else with the same cultivation base was in your shoes, they'd have been defeated long ago."
Sang Qiao's teacher was very positive.
"I've brought shame to your name, Teacher!"
Sang Qiao was having a hard time accepting this.
"What are you talking about?"
Sang Qiao's teacher patted his disciple on the back and then went to look for Sun Mo. (Do you think that I let you participate in the battle for you to win? Wake up! I'm just trying to find an excuse to talk to Sun Mo after you fight against his disciple. I really want that Skyward Spirit Rune!)
"I didn't expect that someone in the Divine Force Realm has no means of retaliating when pitting against Ziqi."
Gu Xiuxun flipped through Sang Qiao's information and felt a little surprised.
She had paid for this. It cost 1,000 taels per set.
These people were too good at earning money. Moreover, they were also very professional. Even the information that Ying Baiwu and Li Ziqi could fly was indicated.
"Suppressed by cultivation arts and a good battle tactic, how could he win?"
Murong Mingyue didn't find this strange.
"Why do I feel that after the Skyward Spirit Rune appears, the usage of cultivation arts will only get weaker in the future?"
Gu Xiuxun felt a little uneasy.
"Revolution of battle tactics, as well as advancement of weapons, will definitely lead to further development of cultivation arts. Don't worry, this is the natural pattern for the world's development."
Murong Mingyue chuckled.
"Why does your way of speech sound so much like Sun Mo?" Gu Xiuxun frowned.
"When you chat with Sun Mo, you can't possibly just be thinking about his face, could you?" Murong Mingyue was speechless.
(Although Sun Mo is very handsome, I admire his thoughts more. They are really transcendent of this era.)
"I didn't! Don't spout rubbish! I'm ignoring you!"
Gu Xiuxun lowered her head guilty and then sneaked a quick glance at An Xinhui. When she noticed that An Xinhui was looking at Sun Mo and Li Ziqi and hadn't paid any attention to the conversation between her and Murong Mingyue, she secretly heaved a sigh of relief.
(Sigh! I feel like a horrible woman to be eying my sister's fiancé!)
The same conversation was going on amongst Sun Mo's disciples.
"The Spiritwave Cannon is too powerful!"
Li Ziqi felt emotional. As they lacked a weaponsmith, they weren't able to make spirit runes equipment. Therefore, they could only tattoo the spirit runes onto their bodies.
"When that time comes, killing anyone who blocks our path, including people of a higher cultivation level, would only require releasing a few more Spiritwave Cannons after being equipped with an Infinity Gauntlet [1]!"
Lu Zhiruo felt that she didn't need to work hard in her cultivation anymore.
She might as well just put on more Infinity Gauntlets.
Xuanyuan Po, who was usually only interested in battles, wore a grim countenance. It was because Li Ziqi's battle tactic was very tricky to deal with.
"Cultivation isn't just to obtain stronger martial prowess. It also tempers the will. Zhiruo, don't misunderstand the objectives."
Sun Mo preached.
"The strength of weapons and individuals is different. Moreover, weapons also have a disadvantage. They will require maintenance. What are you going to do once it spoils?
"Remember this. Weapons are forever controlled by humans. Weapons can become more advanced, but elites can never be mass-produced!"
The higher the weapon's technologies, the higher the requirements on the users.
Take the most advanced fighter jets for example. Would a normal airline's pilot be able to maneuver it?
"Teacher, I was wrong!"
The lucky mascot quickly admitted her mistake.
"Regardless of the reason for our cultivation—be it for a longer lifespan or to become a saint—what we're pursuing comes down to a Dao, a type of surpassing oneself."
Buzz!
When Sun Mo's words ended, golden light spots splattered.
Priceless Advice erupted!
The people in the martial dojo were immediately attracted by the commotion over here.
"I wonder what Great Teacher Sun has taught them? How I wish I could listen to his words!"
Everyone felt very envious.
These students were really lucky to have a saint candidate as their teacher.
...
The second round started and Huang Peng got onto the arena.
There was no doubt about the outcome. He instantly crushed his opponent.
The third round was Zhang Wentao's disciple, Liu Yuzhi, up against a girl. It was also an instant kill.
Next was the fourth round. The disciple of Bai Xiqing—Sun Mo's fangirl—Miao Chuandong was up against a young man. She also clinched a clean victory.
Jin Mujie's disciple, He Ben, was in the last round. He got extremely lucky and met an opponent who had gone all out in the previous two rounds. As a result, he passed the round with great luck.
This beautiful great teacher, who was extremely mature, had finally accomplished her wish and got a 4-stars title.
She knew that He Ben would just be giving away a free victory when participating in the championship battle. However, she still signed it up for him. Her objective was that if he were to encounter Li Ziqi or Ying Baiwu, he could forfeit the match so that they could fight one round less.
As for it being embarrassing?
In order to repay Sun Mo's favor of lending her a helping hand, Jin Mujie no longer cared about the embarrassment, and she had taken the right gamble.
For the fifth round, it was Ying Baiwu against He Ben.
He Ben got on the arena and forfeited the match outright.
No one felt that He Ben was cowardly. After all, who'd be able to win against an archer that could fly?
[1] Reference from Marvel Comics.