Chapter 180 Ch180 Rigged Trial Rounds

The Ye Clan disciple still has dried blood on his fists and arms from his last match, and he’s punching the air, warming up to fight me.

His name is Ye Tieshao. There is no sign of an Illusory Demon Physique radiating off of him, he only holds the late stage Black Iron Battle Physique.

Out of all of the disciples here, he feels like one of the strongest. My guess is that his strength was right below the 300 point cutoff.

His serious demeanor cracks into a cruel smile when I drop Little Red off by the overseer.

“A 4th-level qi refiner is still around? How’d they even let you enter the trial rounds? Did you land a lucky shot? This is a combat tournament, not a chance to show off shiny tools. Come on, put that thing down and fight me for real!”

I don’t react and walk into the pit, pulling my bow off my back.

His system secret hovers to the front of my vision.

[Holds an Illusory Soul Stabilization talisman gifted from his Patriarch Ye Wuhun. It is an inferior grade tier 2 artifact that can dispel three soul attacks. He plans to cheat and make it far into the combat tournament to subtly raise the Ye Clan’s prestige. ]

I hold back the contempt from showing on my face.

Coming to this combat peak, my only goal regarding the Ye Clan was to gain a little more information about their main public branch.

In my mind, it was possible that maybe the hidden assassin faction of their clan were the only ones causing trouble.

However, it seems to be a growing pattern that may extend to their entire clan. It can’t be a mere coincidence that the first one I meet is already cheating in the trial rounds.

He’s outwardly mocking me for using a weapon instead of bear fists, while he himself uses a tier 2 talisman to protect himself.

I comment back in a dismissive tone. “Just because you’re so scared of my bow, I’ll give you a chance to forfeit now. If I hit you too many times, you won’t be able to fight in the main event.”

He grits his teeth, and a dark black aura surrounds his body.

It has late stage mortal grade fluctuations, but a far greater portion of it is made of pure qi, refined black iron ore, and even subtle wisps of his soul.

“Shut up, I’m not scared of a high grade bow! Who do you think you are to talk back to me like this? I- You know what? I don’t have time for this, overseer, start the match already!”

The intensity of his aura brings a few eyes to our pit.

Unlike my Martial Spirit Physique, most physiques rely heavily on the users qi and soul as anchor points and for the physical makeup of the aura as well.

The Black Iron Battle Physique in particular creates quite the display.

I feel a few of the stronger cultivators at the 9th and 10th level of qi refining that already made it into the main event watching from afar, their spiritual senses already lingering on this match because of the Ye Clan Disciple's presence.

The overseer reacts, showing a dark grin on his face when he starts to count down the match next.

Some voices call out from the crowd.

“What’s the big deal here? The Ye Clan disciple is obviously going to win? Why is he using so much of his power?”

“That 4th level weakling provoked him, he’s wishing for his own death! There’s no rules against accidental killing, and you know what happens when you mess with one of the big three clans…”

“Hey… I don’t know… That late-stage qi refiner from the Gao Clan still hasn’t gotten off the ground… He might be more skilled than he looks.”

Ye Tieshao yells at me again, getting himself more worked up after hearing some members of the crowd aren't on his side.

“How can they compare that Gao Clan to my Ye Clan! I’ll make sure you never fight again after today, no one will doubt my strength again after they see the state I leave you in. It will be worse than death!”

A pulse of black mist dense with black iron qi radiates off him as his physique is fully released, and the overseer puts up a hand to start the count.

He yells, “Begin!”

A blur of black aura streaks forward as this Ye Clan disciple comes at me.

I’m unsure how many more matches there will be, so forfeiting now to stay under the radar would be a risk. I'd like to qualify for this main event to reach the top 8, and gain my own publicly earned named disciple token.

I quickly pull back and release a white glowing arrow, shooting the late stage qi refiner in his left foot.

It directly pierces through the weakest fluctuations in his black iron battle physique.

His physique is quite stable, so it's not easy to find a shot, but at such a close range it's not impossible.

He does not stop running at me, or even react upon the first impact.

Instead, an invisible ripple of vibrations bursts out from his body, masked by a unique Illusory Demon’s enchantment.

I can feel it clearly with my Illusory Demon’s Concealment Art, but to the rest of the audience, it looks like my arrow just stuck into his flesh and didn’t do a thing.

The corners of my lips turn up as I pull back another arrow, and let it fly into his hip, targeting the second weakest portion of his physique.

These shots would normally disrupt the entire flow of his acquired physique, and damage the anchor point, which is his soul.

However, another invisible burst of aura ripples out of his body as the talisman blocks the violent attack.

The Ye Clan disciple's eyes widen this time. The first shot may have been lucky, but he realizes what I’m aiming at with the second.

He’s closed the gap between us by half, but when I pull back another white arrow, and fill it with inferior martial spirit vibrations, he jumps backward trying to dodge.

I simply shift my stance and let my arrow fly again. It pierces his shoulder.

The largest fluctuation yet bursts outward as the third arrow shatters his soul protection talisman.

My senses can see what’s happening inside his soul, but others cannot.

He grabs his chest in fear, and a small greyish white piece of jade starts to fall out of his body. Plumes of black iron aura cover up what’s happening, shielding the perception of anyone weaker than he is from seeing his own fingers digging into his flesh, and storing the broken talisman into a ring.

He yells out, “H-How could you know?! Who are you?”

I don’t say anything back, I simply take advantage of his unguarded raw physique on display and let a fourth arrow fly to hit him in the side while he’s stopped in shock.

It completely disrupts the entire flow of the black mist surrounding him.

In my last match, I went easy on that Gao Clan disciple, leaving him with the equivalent of a deep bruise. He’ll be fine in a few weeks, or months at most.

I don’t hold back on this Ye Clan disciple at all, aiming for the worst possible fluctuation in his physique. It leaves him with a deep crack in his soul anchor point.

A yell of agony bursts out of him. He grits his teeth, attempting to pull the arrow out, but it forces him to completely deactivate his physique. He succeeds, but he still falls to the ground coughing up blood in the next moment, holding his head in pain.

Someone from the crowd points at the man on the ground. “That happened the last time… I saw this archer’s last match… the other fighter fell holding his head…”

“Did you see that white blur on his arrows? It was only there for a second right before impact. Was it qi? Or a mid stage version of that quick arrow technique some of the other combat peak disciples use?”

The Ye Clan disciple on the ground squirms and makes no effort to stand or verbally forfeit.

I sling my bow over my back again and look to the overseer with a calm blank stare, awaiting the verdict.

He scrunches his eyebrows and looks at the fighter on the ground, but he doesn't end the match.

There is a long moment of silence, enough time for a few of the curious 9th and 10th level cultivators watching from afar to step forward.

Many of them are new faces, but I do recognize one very well.

It is a bald dark skinned man, and to my surprise, he walks right up to the overseer judging my match.

“Elder, will you call the fight? Ye Tieshao is clearly incapacitated. Are you saying you want this archer to finish the job?”

The overseer clenches his jaw, and looks away, ignoring him entirely, but the man comments again.

“I think pushing him through to complete another round would be pointless too. This archer clearly deserves to move on to the main event.”

The overseer finally looks at the bald man. “Disciple Bao Zhan, what is your problem here? Do you personally know this archer or something?”

He shows a smile. “Of course I do. He was in my squad in the border conflict half a year ago… It looks like his bow skills have gotten even better since then. You know the new perfect grade black iron ore mine we’ve been sending stewards out to? He was on that mission with me to secure it.”

The overseer’s breathing quickens, and even more cultivators wander in to see what the commotion is.

The overseer raises both hands.

“Alright! Fine! 168 has won the match. He now holds two wins in a row.”

Sweat drips on his forehead, and he looks at the struggling 9th level qi refiner on the ground again. Then, forces out another loud yell in a shaky tone.

“And- I will be granting my one time use token to this disciple number 14, Ye Tieshao. He will be the one moving on to the top 64!”