abnabooks Chapter 163 Internal Selection
Chapter 163 Internal Selection
On the day the selection competition began, the martial arts plaza was packed with people. The stands were filled with students, with teachers from various academies in the front rows and younger students in the back. Even the corridors and steps were crowded with people. Some held up homemade support signs with the names of the contestants and words of encouragement written on them, the characters crooked but written with great effort. Some whistled, some shouted encouragement, and some simply stood, tiptoeing towards the ring.
The five-person team drew their first opponent—a three-person team from the Martial Arts Academy.
The other group went on stage first. All three were senior students, at the early stage of the Transformation Realm, wearing the red training uniforms of the Martial Arts Academy with black belts around their waists. As soon as they stepped onto the stage, applause and cheers erupted from the stands. After all, the Martial Arts Academy was the strongest practical academy at Star Martial University, and many of the top ten on the previous genius rankings came from there.
When Lin Chen stepped onto the arena, he could feel the slight vibration of the array nodes beneath his feet as he stepped onto the bluestone slabs—the defensive array had been activated, and a faint golden light shone through the cracks in the stone slabs, enveloping the entire arena and preventing the aftershocks of the battle from injuring the audience.
The three opponents exchanged a glance and attacked simultaneously. Three crimson fist energies slammed in from three directions at once. The fist energies were condensed and solid, carrying the fierce aura unique to high-grade Xuan-level techniques, and the sound of them tearing through the air was sharp and piercing. One attacked the upper body, the fist energy heading straight for Lin Chen's face; another attacked the middle body, the fist energy blocking his chest and abdomen, his retreat route; and the third attacked the lower body, the fist energy attacking along the ground at a tricky angle. The three had clearly practiced their coordination countless times; their speed, angle, and force were all perfectly controlled.
Lin Chen did not draw his sword. His left hand was behind his back, and his right hand held the scabbard. The Star Sword remained sheathed, the scabbard held horizontally in front of him. Star Qi surged from his dantian, flowing through his meridians to his fingertips in less than half a breath, so fast that there was almost no delay. The Star Qi of the mid-stage Transformation Realm was liquid, silvery-white, as thick and heavy as mercury. The moment the Qi was poured into the scabbard, a faint silver light appeared on its surface.
He raised his hand and swung his sword. No technique, no charging, just an ordinary sword strike. A silvery-white sword rainbow shot out from the tip of the scabbard, not a line, but an arc of light, fan-shaped, enveloping all three fist-shaped energies. The fist-shaped energies collided with the sword rainbow; there was no explosion, no loud noise, only a soft "hiss"—like a red-hot iron bar piercing a snowdrift. The three condensed fist-shaped energies couldn't even withstand a moment before the silver sword rainbow; they were sliced, melted, and vanished into nothingness like paper.
A moment of silence fell over the arena. A moment of silence fell over the stands as well. The three men opposite him froze, staring at the unsheathed sword in Lin Chen's hand, their expressions changing.
Lin Chen gave them no chance to catch their breath. He unleashed the Star-Stepping Technique, his figure vanishing from his spot—not teleportation, but sheer speed, too fast for the eyes to follow. The three on the opposite side of the arena only saw a flash of silver before Lin Chen was already before them. With a light tap of his sword sheath, the first point landed on the wrist of the man on the left—his true energy was scattered, his hand went numb, and he couldn't clench his fist; the second point landed on the shoulder of the man in the middle—half of his body felt like it had been struck by electricity, his true energy circulation sluggish; the third point landed on the elbow of the man on the right—the bone made a slight crack, and his arm went limp. The three crisp sounds rang out almost simultaneously, and the three men's weapons—gauntlets, brass knuckles, and wrist guards—fell from their hands, clattering onto the bluestone slab, bouncing twice, and rolling to the edge of the arena.
Lin Chen took three steps back, sheathed his sword, and the scabbard hung at his side. From the moment the three men threw their punches to the moment their weapons hit the ground, it took no more than ten breaths.
A moment of silence fell over the audience, then erupted in thunderous applause. It wasn't just polite applause; it was heartfelt, deeply moved, and irresistible. Some clapped until their hands were red, some had their mouths agape, and some turned to talk to the person next to them, their mouths moving, but their voices were drowned out by the applause.
"Thank you for your concession." Lin Chen said calmly, nodding slightly to the three people opposite him before turning and walking off the stage.
Su Ling'er jumped up from below the stage, grabbed Lin Chen's sleeve, her eyes shining like stars. "You're amazing! You won without even drawing your sword!"
In the following matches, the five players took turns playing.
Leng Feng faced a power-type martial artist. His opponent was eight feet tall, broad-shouldered and muscular, with arms thicker than an average person's thighs. He cultivated earth-attribute techniques, possessing astonishing defensive capabilities. Upon entering the arena, he unleashed his true energy, his body covered in a thick layer of yellowish-brown armor, like a moving iron tower. As he charged, the arena floor trembled slightly, each step leaving a shallow footprint. Leng Feng neither dodged nor circled, meeting him head-on. His battle blade was drawn, dark red runes on its surface glowing. He unleashed his Breaking Formation Blade Technique—one strike, two strikes, three strikes. Each strike landed on the same spot—the thickest part of the martial artist's chest armor. The first strike cracked the armor; the second, the cracks spread like a spiderweb; the third, the armor shattered. The back of the blade struck the martial artist's chest, sending him staggering back several steps, his foot slipping, and he landed heavily on the arena floor, unable to get up for a long time.
Chu Fan faced off against Shen Qing from the Array Formation Academy. Shen Qing was a genius student in the Array Formation Department, renowned throughout the entire school. Her array-setting speed was incredibly fast, earning her the nickname "Array in Ten Breaths," and her masterful illusion array was unbreakable even by many teachers. As soon as they stepped onto the stage, Shen Qing set up a triple illusion array in front of her, its runes layered upon each other, shimmering with spiritual light, dividing the entire arena into countless chaotic spaces. Chu Fan stood still. He closed his eyes, his spiritual energy emanating from his body like countless fine threads, probing into the runes of the illusion array. He followed the runes, finding the array's core, then opened his eyes and pointed a finger into the air. His spiritual energy precisely pierced the core, and the runes, like a punctured balloon, collapsed and disappeared layer by layer. From the activation of the array to its breaking, less than half an incense stick's time had passed. The teachers from the Array Formation Academy nodded repeatedly in approval from the stands.
Su Ling'er faced off against a disciple from the Pill Refining Department. This disciple was skilled in instantly unleashing pill fire, capable of suddenly detonating pills during combat, making him difficult to defend against. Su Ling'er didn't engage in a battle of pill fire; her fighting style was far more cunning—she first feinted with a Gu-Expelling Pill. The disciple instinctively dodged, but realizing it was a deception, he was about to retaliate when Su Ling'er's second pill arrived. It wasn't a Blazing Flame Pill, but a Bewitching Pill. The powder exploded in the air; the disciple inhaled it, and his eyes immediately became unfocused, his steps unsteady. Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in concentration, Su Ling'er unleashed three Blazing Flame Pills in quick succession, exploding in front of him, forcing him to retreat repeatedly until his heels touched the edge of the arena. The referee declared Su Ling'er the winner.
Su Muyue faced five opponents alone. The five came from different academies, their cultivation levels ranging from the peak of the Meridian Opening Realm to the early stage of the罡化 (Gāng) Realm. Some practiced swordsmanship, some fist techniques, some were skilled in ambush, and some excelled in ranged attacks. They stood scattered, surrounding Su Muyue in the center. Su Muyue stood in the center of the arena, a powerful defensive array beneath her feet, golden runes spreading out from her feet and enveloping the entire arena. She didn't attack first, simply standing still, the array flags slowly rotating beside her, the runes on them glowing with a soft golden light. The five attacked simultaneously from five directions: swords, fists, palms, legs, and hidden weapons—five attacks from five angles, blocking all her escape routes. The array runes suddenly lit up under the golden light, and the five seemed to have simultaneously crashed into an invisible wall, bounced back. Some hit the arena railing, some rolled twice on the ground, and some were ejected directly from the arena. The five were enveloped by the golden array, struggling left and right, unable to find an exit or discern directions. The distance between them was distorted by the array's patterns; though only a few steps apart, it felt like being separated by a maze. In less than the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, all five exhausted their inner energy and voluntarily conceded defeat. Su Muyue retrieved the array flags, nodded slightly to her opponents, and stepped off the arena. Throughout the entire process, she had not injured a single one of them.