Chapter 51: The Collapse of the Mountains and Hills

Before the battle of the fifth-year students began, the overworked Wei Quji and Dong A arrived at the scene.

To them, battles between students of the City Dao Academy were fundamentally lacking in entertainment value. However, the battles between fifth-year students were of great importance to all three cities.

Firstly, the fifth-year students essentially represented the upper limit of the City Dao Academy's combat strength. Secondly, the Three-City Dao Debate offered a single slot that provided direct entry into the National Dao Academy! One would not need to participate in next month's grand examination or travel to the prefectural capital; they could go straight to Zhuangdu!

Naturally, this slot could only be awarded to the champion of the fifth-year students in the Three-City Dao Debate.

As Wei Quji and Dong A took their seats in the stands, the venue noticeably grew quieter.

It had to be said that experts like Dong A had a massive effect on elevating the overall strength of the Dao Academy.

In this Three-City Dao Debate, the first-year champion was Jiang Wang of the Fenglin City Dao Academy, and the third-year competition had almost become an internal civil war within the Fenglin City Dao Academy.

With Dong A, a powerhouse of the Fifth-Grade Inner Mansion Realm, presiding over the Fenglin City Dao Academy, it was undoubtedly a blessing for the entire academy.

Now, as long as they secured the fifth-year championship, Fenglin City could indisputably be said to sweep the other two cities, securing the lion's share of the resource allocation in this year's Zhuangting distribution.

Consequently, Zhang Linchuan felt as if he were about to rub a hole through his forehead.

"The pressure is immense..." he murmured in a low voice.

Of the three battles on the field, the one drawing the most attention was, of course, the duel between Lin Zhengren and... Sun Xiaoman.

One was the composed, first-ranked figure on the Wangjiang City Dao Honor Roll; the other was a petite, cute little girl who looked as fragile as a breeze.

"Is this little girl... even ten years old?" Zhao Rucheng remarked with wonder.

The Sanshan City cultivators were seated not far from them. At some point, Sun Xiaoyan, who had once again donned a hooded black robe, turned around indignantly and shouted, "I look like I've been smashed! It's like I've been beaten!"

Zhao Rucheng didn't quite catch it clearly, so he leaned in closer, only to suddenly recoil and gasp.

He had clearly seen the bruised and swollen fat face beneath the hood. It was unclear what had happened to this heavily-defended little fatty in the short time since he had left the stage, but his entire face was swollen, his eyes were invisible, and he could barely speak clearly.

*Is it a side effect of that Kun-Skin Drum?* Zhao Rucheng wondered.

Seeing that even his face could scare people, Sun Xiaoyan retreated dejectedly, using his chubby hands to pull the hood down hard. His older sister had insisted on finding a corner to give him a beating before the match—where was he supposed to go to seek justice?

While Jiang Wang showed no emotion on his face, he felt a flicker of anxiety in his heart.

This little fatty was only thirteen, while he was already seventeen. The little girl on the field was the fatty's sister; if she could represent Sanshan City's fifth-year students, she would only be stronger.

At this early stage of the cultivation path, had he already fallen too far behind?

...

The barefoot girl leaped onto the field with such lightness that the small silver hammer hanging from her wrist swayed gently. She possessed an incredibly innocent and cute face; by comparison, Lin Zhengren's handsome appearance failed to win him much support.

Nearly half of the audience below the stage hoped for Sun Xiaoman to win, while the remaining small fraction hoped she wouldn't have to work too hard to do so.

"I heard Chu Ping died at the hands of Xiong Wen, his heart gouged out. I feel regret for him," Lin Zhengren said leisurely before the battle began.

"Life and death are predestined," Sun Xiaoman replied expressionlessly.

Jiang Wang clearly sensed that the atmosphere among the Sanshan City cultivators nearby had turned significantly colder.

Previously, when Xiong Wen appeared in Sanshan City, he was besieged by the students of the Sanshan City Dao Academy. However, he not only escaped successfully but also killed ten cultivators, including the Sanshan City Dao Academy's senior disciple, Chu Ping, gouging out each of their hearts to accompany his meal—an event that shocked the entire prefecture.

This had prompted the Criminal Investigation Department to mobilize the forces of the entire Qinghe Prefecture to hunt him down.

Lin Zhengren's mention of this matter was, of course, not out of regret.

Looking at the little girl before him, Lin Zhengren smiled. "He lost to me by a single move last year. I wonder if you can win it back this year?"

Chu Ping was already dead; naturally, he could not win it back.

But for those who were still alive, would they have such an opportunity?

Sun Xiaoman stepped forward barefoot, her translucent, fair jade feet crossing as she moved.

The battle began.

Lin Zhengren pulled back his right hand and drew a jade-green long whip from his left sleeve.

The whip flowed like water, but its tip suddenly extended, piercing the air toward Sun Xiaoman with the cunning of a venomous snake!

With a push of his left hand, he stirred up waves on level ground, which instantly swelled into raging torrents that surrounded Sun Xiaoman. This strike of surging waves was incomparably swift.

At the same time, keen observers would notice something emerging from the empty ground in front of Lin Zhengren, breaking through the floor tiles.

To fight such a young girl, he first employed a psychological offensive. While some might find it contemptible, it further demonstrated Lin Zhengren's stability.

A stability that refused to let go of even the slightest advantage and gave his opponent not a single opening.

In the heat of battle, this stability was even more vividly displayed.

Lin Zhengli's fighting style might have been an imitation of his, but the gap in actual strength was far too wide.

Sun Xiaoman leaped into the air. With a tap of her toes, she easily evaded the sudden whip tip, and then, incredibly, she stepped upon the incoming waves, walking atop the surging water.

Zhao Rucheng raised his sword-like eyebrows, his eyes filled with surprise.

That was a Daoist technique with significant damage, yet there wasn't a single scratch on her jade feet. Most notably, there was no trace of the release of Daoist energy.

Either she possessed a permanently solidified Kun-Skin Drum like Sun Xiaoyan, or her body tempering had reached a certain level of intensity.

At this stage, it seemed only those reckless martial artists could achieve the ability to isolate the damage of Daoist techniques with pure physical flesh.

The barefoot girl walked upon the waves, using Lin Zhengren's Daoist energy to leap toward the front in a few strides.

Lin Zhengren loosened his grip, and the jade-green whip suddenly lashed its tail, making a sound like it was breaking the air. Then, it transformed in mid-air into a giant python, baring its fangs to bite at Sun Xiaoman.

This long whip was originally made from a living demon python and was a family heirloom of the Lin family of Wangjiang City, named the Jade Python.

Simultaneously, the ground in front of Lin Zhengren exploded, and countless vines surged out like a swarm of snakes! This Daoist technique was an instant-cast! It was the technique Lin Zhengren had inscribed within his Heaven-Reaching Palace after completing his first Minor Heavenly Circuit.

Such techniques were generally not revealed easily. Because low-grade cultivators could only inscribe two instant-cast Daoist techniques within their Heaven-Reaching Palace—one after completing their first Minor Heavenly Circuit, and another after completing their first Great Heavenly Circuit of Heaven, Earth, and Man. These were essentially a cultivator's trump cards, rarely shared with others.

Sometimes, when a cultivator fought, they would perform elaborate hand seals for an instant-cast technique just to maintain the pretense of casting.

But Lin Zhengren, seemingly feeling some pressure, did not hesitate to reveal his hidden card.

These snake-vines interlaced in the air, weaving into an indestructible wall of vines in an extremely short time, blocking the path before Lin Zhengren.

Wood-element Daoist technique: Vine-Snake Entwining Wall!

As Sun Xiaoman soared in front of Lin Zhengren, facing the giant python chasing from behind and the wall of vines blocking her path, she simply raised her small hands.

The tiny silver ornament hanging from her wrist expanded against the wind.

Everyone saw the petite, barefoot girl suspended in mid-air, her hands already gripping two silver hammers as large as her own body. She spun her body and swung!

The giant hammers whistled in a full circle, slamming heavily into the Jade Python behind her, carrying the giant python along as they continued to rotate.

Sun Xiaoman spun once in the air, the hammers still hooked to the jade-green python, and with an undeniable momentum, they crashed down upon the Vine-Snake Entwining Wall.

The moment they made contact, the entire Vine-Snake Entwining Wall—a technique condensed at the Grade B Mid-Rank level—shattered instantly.

One strike, the Collapse of Mountains!

The cannon fodder, Chu Ping, has made his appearance!

...

Chu Ping is dead.

(End of Chapter)