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Chapter 255: Truly, It\'s Just One

The public square on Heaven-Reaching Peak was crowded. There was only one fighting stage in the center, ensuring that all the duels would receive maximum attention. Every candidate for the position of head disciple had to be acknowledged by their fellow disciples before they could rise to the position!

This was the first round of the main competition, where the sixty-four candidates would be reduced to thirty-two. Chu Liang would be taking the stage later.

Lin Bei was stronger than some of the top sixty-four, but he had failed to make it past the first three tiers of the Stairway to Heaven due to being burdened by his many attachments. So, he, unfortunately, did not make it through the preliminary round.

The same was true for Lackey B.

Among Chu Liang\'s team members for the Mountain God Memorial Ceremony, Shang Ziliang was the only one who had made it into the first round of the main competition.

Now, he was about to step onto the stage.

Earlier, Lin Bei had run out to discreetly inquire about the duel.

Upon his return, he told Chu Liang, “Shang Ziliang\'s opponent is named Ling Ao. He is Solitude Peak\'s only disciple, and he\'s at the later stage of the Spiritual Awareness Realm.”

Solitude Peak... So, that\'s Old Man Sikong\'s disciple?

Chu Liang couldn\'t help but take a closer look at Ling Ao, who was currently standing on the fighting stage.

Dressed in black robes, Ling Ao was of a medium build and had a fringe that covered one of his eyes. He had a rather nonchalant expression.

In recent years, Old Man Sikong had been focused on finding a dragon for Mount Shu, so he hadn\'t put much effort into training disciples. He only had one disciple that was part of the current generation of the Mount Shu Sect\'s disciples. Consequently, that one disciple, Ling Ao, entered the main competition.

Ling Ao was only at the late stage of the Spiritual Awareness Realm, so theoretically, Shang Ziliang, who was at the pinnacle of the Spiritual Awareness Realm, should have no problem defeating him. Yet, when Chu Liang saw Ling Ao, his heart jumped like he\'d sensed a threat.

Could it be that this guy has some peculiar abilities?

Right then, an old man in long robes stepped onto the stage and gave the order for the duel to begin.

Without any delay, Shang Ziliang formed the hand seal for the Hundred Swords Seal several times.

Simultaneously, he shouted, "Rise!"

His flying sword flew out of its sheath with a clang and transformed into several hundred beams of swordlight aimed at Ling Ao.

The disciples of the Mount Shu Sect often used the Hundred Swords Seal, which could be used for both offense and defense, as a way to test their opponent\'s abilities.

Ling Ao narrowed his eyes. Without even drawing his sword, he darted forward, facing Shang Ziliang\'s multitudinous beams of swordlight head-on!

The sight of Ling Ao charging over so dauntlessly startled Shang Ziliang, weakening his resolve to attack. After all, this was just a spar between disciples of the same sect. He couldn\'t make a lethal move against a fellow disciple.

Seeing Ling Ao face the flying swords with just his body, Shang Ziliang couldn\'t help but hesitate. Nevertheless, he quickly regained his composure, focusing on controlling the beams of swordlight.

Since Ling Ao seemed determined to charge through the sword formation, Shang Ziliang would do his best to avoid striking Ling Ao\'s vital points and only injure him enough to make him incapable of fighting back.

Yet, while Shang Ziliang was worrying that he might unintentionally deal Ling Ao with fatal injuries, Ling Ao suddenly sped up. Looking like an evil spirit, he darted through the multitudinous beams of swordlight in the blink of an eye! He was so fast that he even left behind a trail of afterimages!

The spectators were stunned. What\'s this insane speed??

Shang Ziliang witnessed that speed up close. Ling Ao suddenly appeared before him, setting off his alarm bells. Shang Ziliang swiftly formed a different hand seal, and an invisible breeze enveloped him and transformed into a solid protective barrier.

For the fighting tournament, disciples were only allowed to use one enchanted tool in addition to their flying sword, and they had to report it to the sect elders for approval before the tournament. Using any other enchanted tools would be a violation of the rule.

This rule prevented participants from using numerous powerful enchanted tools to overpower others, ensuring fairness in the tournament. After all, the aim of the Mount Shu Summit was to select the most outstanding disciples, not the wealthiest.

The problem was that this rule left disciples like Shang Ziliang in a bad position. He had chosen an offensive enchanted tool for this duel.

In fights against an opponent of the same cultivation level, offense was undoubtedly more important than defense, so he hadn\'t made the wrong choice. Nevertheless, that meant Shang Ziliang couldn\'t do what he was accustomed to—use an enchanted tool for defense.

That placed him at a significant disadvantage in this situation where his opponent was closing in on him much quicker than expected. The best Shang Ziliang could do was rely on the Cool-Breeze Barrier for the time being.

However, Ling Ao charged over to Shang Ziliang and punched him.

Wham.

Shang Ziliang\'s barrier was shattered instantly, and in the next second, he was sent flying high into the air.

Then he crashed heavily onto the ground.

Thud.

The duel ended in an unexpectedly straightforward and efficient manner.

Ling Ao had charged straight through Shang Ziliang\'s beams of swordlight and punched Shang Ziliang, defeating him in one simple move.

That ending left the spectators flabbergasted. Is this the speed and power of a cultivator at the later stage of the Spiritual Awareness Realm?

Chu Liang muttered, "He probably had some fortuitous encounter..."

It certainly wasn\'t normal for someone at the later stage of the Spiritual Awareness Realm to possess such great speed and power.

In fact, it was likely that Ling Ao hadn\'t even used his full strength against Shang Ziliang, yet the physical strength he displayed seemed to be on a similar level to Chu Liang\'s. Chu Liang was at the Golden Core Realm and even had additional enhancements. How could Ling Ao be as strong as Chu Liang?

It appeared that there were some unknown but talented individuals participating in the Mount Shu Summit. Chu Liang had made significant progress in his cultivation, but he couldn\'t afford to be complacent in the slightest.

...

"Silver Sword Peak, Chu Liang!"

"Knowledge Keeper Peak, Cheng Jian!"

After waiting for a long time, it was finally Chu Liang\'s turn to take the stage. He\'d been itching to get on with it this whole time.

Chu Liang\'s opponent was a youthful-looking disciple from Knowledge Keeper Peak. He seemed to be a couple of years older than Chu Liang, but his cultivation was only at the pinnacle of the Spiritual Awareness Realm, which was the average for his age group.

Despite that, Chu Liang didn\'t dare to underestimate his opponent.

He respectfully cupped his hands together in greeting. "Senior Brother Cheng, I look forward to receiving your guidance."

Opposite Chu Liang, Cheng Jian returned the courtesy. "Junior Brother Chu, same here."

After the exchange of pleasantries, the sect elder in the middle gave the command for the duel to begin!

Chu Liang took the initiative to attack. He raised his hand, and a beam of green light emerged!

"Hisssss."

A slithering green snake soared through the air, aiming ruthlessly for Cheng Jian\'s head!

Seeing as Chu Liang could only take one enchanted tool into the duel, he had obviously picked the Green Leaf.

Chu Liang raised his hand to control the green snake. The sight of its massive fangs sent shivers down Cheng Jian\'s spine!

Cheng Jian quickly raised his hand as well and conjured a golden jade talisman. A curtain of light immediately appeared in front of him, stopping the snake\'s attack with a steady block!

Bang.

As the green snake bit the light curtain, it made some unhappy sounds.

It turned out that Cheng Jian had brought a defensive enchanted tool with him into the duel.

After blocking Chu Liang\'s attack with the jade talisman, Cheng Jian immediately launched a counterattack, unwilling to miss the opportunity to fight back.

He raised his right hand, with his index and middle fingers pointing toward the sky. A split second later, nine beams of black swordlight shot out like streaks of lightning! They flew toward Chu Liang from all directions, leaving him no way to dodge them!

However, the green snake had already returned to Chu Liang. There was a flash of light, and the green snake transformed into a large green umbrella, continuously blocking the barrage of black swordlights.

Then Chu Liang raised the green umbrella high into the air and leaped.

Whoosh.

He was rushing toward Cheng Jian like a gale!

Astonished by Chu Liang\'s speed, Cheng Jian recalled his flying sword. The nine beams of swordlight merged into one, forming a slender black longsword. With it in hand, Cheng Jian prepared to unleash a sword seal.

Yet, before Cheng Jian could act, Chu Liang stopped in his tracks. There was another flash of light, and a curved saber suddenly appeared in his hand. He hurled the curved saber forward, and it flew so swiftly that an afterimage was all that could be seen!

Greatly alarmed, Cheng Jian instinctively conjured the jade talisman again, forming a curtain of light in front of him.

However, at the very next moment, he felt a sharp pain in his back.

Huh?

Cheng Jian paid more attention to what he was feeling and confirmed that it was indeed pain.

"Aaahhh!!" Cheng Jian finally cried out in agony, falling forward onto the ground.

There was a radiant object embedded in his back. It was the Razor Leaf!

Attendants from the Alchemy Hall surrounded Cheng Jian at once. They stopped the bleeding and treated the wound, swiftly healing the simple saber wound.

Cheng Jian had lost the match, but he was unwilling to accept the loss.

He approached the sect elder on the stage and asked, "Aren\'t we only allowed to use one enchanted tool? He clearly used three!"

The sect elder\'s expression darkened. "I can confirm that Chu Liang only used one enchanted tool."

When Chu Liang informed the sect elders of the Green Leaf earlier, it had sparked a dispute among the sect elders. Some thought that the Green Leaf had too many abilities, making it unfair to the other disciples. Nevertheless, others argued that the rule about only allowing one enchanted tool meant to prevent disciples from taking legendary artifacts or annihilation artifacts into the fighting tournament. Normal enchanted tools made from common materials should not be restricted.

Ultimately, when the sect elders discovered that the Green Leaf was the work of a junior disciple from the Hall of Weapons, they decided not to intervene any further. If even the enchanted tools that had been made by the Mount Shu Sect\'s very own disciples couldn\'t be used, then what should they allow to be used?

However, the sect elders had no idea that the Green Leaf would allow Chu Liang to have such an easy victory.

Cheng Jian looked at Chu Liang in disbelief. "Is that truly just one enchanted tool?"

"Senior Brother Cheng, please forgive me." Chu Liang wore a humble smile. "Without putting my enchanted tool\'s abilities to good use, I would indeed have had a hard time defeating you. But this is... truly just one enchanted tool."