Chapter Thirty-Four: The Stone

The other two matches in the quarterfinals were about to begin, and the disciples below the stage could barely contain their excitement.

On the Eight Trigrams Sun Arena, the second favorite competitor for this tournament, Stone, was taking the stage. His opponent was a man named Zhang Ze. Since the winner between these two would face Li Sibai in the next round, Li Sibai decided to stay and observe their abilities.

Most of the outer sect disciples had not cultivated any martial techniques, possessing only the Xuantian Sword Art. Yet Stone seemed to have joined the Xuantian Sword Sect midway, bringing with him mastery of other martial arts. This gave him a clear advantage among the outer disciples during these matches.

Li Sibai had heard that the day before, Stone had defeated his opponent in just a few rounds, forcing the outer disciple off the stage with multiple broken bones, carried away in alarming fashion. Such methods struck fear into everyone’s hearts.

At that moment, the two men cupped their hands in salute, announcing their names and cultivation levels, ready to begin.

Today, Li Sibai, though not participating, stood at the edge of the arena, never leaving his vantage point, listening intently.

Zhang Ze was at the sixth level of the Phoenix Initial Realm, while Stone was at the first layer of the Heart of the Zither Realm. Li Sibai was quietly astonished, never expecting that the outer sect disciples’ matches had reached such a level. He recalled last year’s tournament, where the champion senior brother was only at the sixth level of the Phoenix Initial Realm. After months of arduous cultivation, Li Sibai had reached the fifth level, confident about this year’s contest. But seeing the strength of these two, his heart sank. It was true—there was always someone stronger, always another sky beyond the sky.

The two fighters on the stage had no idea what tomorrow’s opponent was thinking. At this moment, both stared at each other with unwavering determination, intent on seizing victory with all their might.

A metallic clang sounded from the side, signaling the official start of the match.

Curiously, neither moved after the match began. Their gazes locked, each searching for a flaw in the other.

“Come on, start fighting—what are you waiting for?”

“Stop stalling, hurry up and begin!”

The crowd below jeered and urged them on, though a few discerning disciples recognized this as a contest of momentum.

Both men were tall and robust, clearly practitioners of physical cultivation. Now, at close quarters, whoever’s aura prevailed would win the advantage of the first move.

Thus, the two stood on stage, staring each other down for a full five minutes without making a move.

“Are they planning to stand here until midnight?” someone shouted, eliciting laughter from the crowd.

At last, the tension got to the fighters. In a flash, Stone was the first to act.

He suddenly surged forward, his feet tracing wave-like patterns across the floor.

His sword swept out, enveloping his opponent and instantly transforming into an irresistible attack.

This strike was his strongest technique, intended to end the match in a single blow, leaving Zhang Ze no chance to resist or counter.

A crisp clang rang out as Zhang Ze parried Stone’s sword with his own, neither retreating a step. Instead, Stone was forced back three feet.

At the same time, Stone’s true energy shield flared—an ability unique to Heart of the Zither Realm cultivators, capable of absorbing part of an attack.

Even so, atop the platform, Stone was shocked—he hadn’t expected Zhang Ze’s strength to surpass his own in that exchange.

Before Stone could fully recover, Zhang Ze, seeing his advantage, pressed the attack.

Sword in hand, he launched a sudden thrust, catching Stone off guard. Stone didn’t dare take it head-on; with a deft flick of his sword, he diverted Zhang Ze’s strike and leapt aside.

In that instant, those who understood saw clearly—Stone had lost the battle of momentum to Zhang Ze. Barring unforeseen events, he would likely lose today’s match.

Stone, unsettled by Zhang Ze’s sudden assault, widened the distance between them, still pondering the exchange.

Zhang Ze, unwilling to relinquish his advantage, chased after him relentlessly.

One pressed the attack while the other defended, and soon they were circling around the arena.

The crowd below erupted in laughter—a moment ago they stared at each other for ages, now they were chasing each other for ages. Today’s match was truly bizarre.

Yet Zhang Ze seemed to lack speed, unable to catch up after several tries, growing frustrated.

Stone, meanwhile, was dodging while deep in thought.

Li Sibai watched closely, suspecting Stone was only pretending to evade.

Just as he was contemplating this, Stone suddenly spun around, his sword stabbing straight at Zhang Ze.

This sudden burst of speed was unlike anything Zhang Ze had encountered, catching him completely off guard.

To the audience, Stone’s feet struck the ground, and he seemed to become a gust of wind, appearing before Zhang Ze.

Stone’s body left afterimages, his sword flashing like the sun and moon descending together.

His blade swept across Zhang Ze’s body, and Zhang Ze’s sword fell to the ground.

Tiny wounds appeared on Zhang Ze’s limbs. Soon the injuries widened, and he collapsed, blood pooling beneath him.

The elder serving as referee quickly stopped the match, declaring Stone the victor.

The crowd erupted into discussion.

“I told you Stone was formidable—never thought he had such a hidden move.”

“Good thing I bet on Stone’s victory. That last moment nearly scared me to death.”

“Did you see that final move? It looked like a martial technique—what’s it called?”

“Don’t pretend you know martial arts. Let me tell you—it’s called ‘Returning Horse Spear.’ I read about it in a book.”

“Yes, yes, Stone really is amazing. An outer sect disciple able to use such a powerful technique—the finals are as good as his.”

The conversations below were lively and varied. Li Sibai was also astonished by Stone’s Returning Horse Spear. In the blink of an eye, Zhang Ze had fallen to the stage, and such speed was beyond Li Sibai’s ability.

Zhang Ze was carried off, but fortunately there were healers standing by, so his life was not in danger.

Stone thanked his supporters and left the stage.

Li Sibai remained in shock, thinking to himself that Stone would be a difficult opponent—he’d need to devise a strategy tonight.

Meanwhile, the crowd had already shifted their attention to another arena, where the next match was raging fiercely.