Chapter 788: Easy Win for Li Yun!

"Extreme Frost Chill Sword."

As soon as the battle began, Ye Wuhen directly used his full strength.

A thick layer of frost covered his eyebrows, and an incomparably icy aura spread from his body. Holding his white precious sword, he swung out, and the entire arena was instantly covered in freezing cold. In the blink of an eye, the battlefield became a world of ice and snow.

"Great Pudu Zen Light."

The Wine Monk made his move.

Layers of halos emerged behind his head. Those halos were formed entirely from Buddhist light, and they augmented his body, making him appear solemn and dignified like a compassionate Buddha descending to the mortal world.

He pressed his palms together and chanted a Buddhist name.

In an instant, golden lotuses bloomed one after another in the air. The sound of countless Buddhas chanting rang out faintly, making people feel an urge to kneel and worship.

A beam of Buddhist light suddenly rose from behind him and pushed forward.

In an instant, it melted the ice and snow, dissolved the Sword Qi, and filled the entire arena with dazzling Buddhist radiance.

"Break."

Battle intent erupted in Ye Wuhen’s eyes.

He felt as if he had been strongly provoked, and under that stimulation, he swung his sword frantically. His strength erupted to its fullest extent.

Unfortunately, no matter how much Sword Qi he unleashed, it was directly dissolved the moment it touched the Buddhist light.

Finally, that Buddhist light struck his body and knocked him directly out of the arena.

With only one move, Ye Wuhen, who possessed the strength to reach the top ten, was directly defeated.

The strength displayed by the Wine Monk was not inferior to Huang Tianlin or Luo Zhenting at all. All three of them were terrifying to the extreme, as if they stood high above all other heroes.

Even though they were all considered first-tier experts, many people in that same tier could not withstand even a single blow from them.

Placing them in the same first tier was clearly somewhat inappropriate.

These three should be the three poles of this Heaven’s Chosen Assembly.

Or rather, they should be called super-tier experts.

In front of them, even figures like the Four Devil Princes and Su Zimo seemed to pale by comparison, clearly standing one rank lower.

The next battle proved this point.

The fourth battle was between Su Zimo and the black-robed figure.

Although Su Zimo eventually won, the process of victory was not easy. Compared to Huang Tianlin, Luo Zhenting, and the Wine Monk, he was clearly inferior.

In the fifth battle, the First Knight faced Chen Wanshan.

As expected, the First Knight secured victory.

The sixth battle was Li Yun’s turn, and his opponent was Lu Yuchen from Heaven Mandate Academy.

Truthfully, Lu Yuchen’s strength was not especially high. His ability to qualify had much to do with being placed in the relatively less competitive tenth group.

Of course, no one who could enter the Ranking Matches was simple. At the very least, within the second tier, Lu Yuchen could be considered a top expert.

"Who do you think will win this battle?"

"It is hard to say. The strength of these two should be about the same. Either side could win, so the result is difficult to predict."

"I am more optimistic about Li Yun, but even if he wins, I think it will be a tough victory. He will probably need to struggle bitterly before taking the match."

Amid the discussions of the crowd, the battle between the two began.

"Boundless Sea of Learning."

Lu Yuchen attacked first.

An ancient book scroll appeared in his hand. As his voice fell, characters flew out from the ancient scroll.

Every character was the size of a tadpole, yet each word seemed as precious as a gem. They emitted brilliant light and formed a vast ocean that pressed down toward Li Yun.

"The mountain of books has a path, and the sea of learning is boundless."

These were the two basic martial skills of Heaven Mandate Academy, and every disciple cultivated them. Many of the academy’s more powerful martial skills were derived from these two foundations.

Those tadpole-like characters shone with pearl-like radiance and resembled a boundless ocean that wanted to submerge Li Yun completely.

"Slow Sword."

Li Yun swung his sword.

After integrating twenty percent of the Mountain River Sword Art, the power of his Slow Sword had improved further. It was no weaker than the previous Five Elements Wind and Thunder Sword.

Then, Li Yun’s figure flickered.

He appeared instantly in front of Lu Yuchen, and a burst of Sword Qi shot toward Lu Yuchen at lightning speed.

"Boat of Bitter Crossing."

Lu Yuchen’s expression changed.

The ancient book in his hand flipped rapidly. The small pearl-like characters condensed in the void and formed a ten-zhang-long boat, blocking in front of him and receiving the Sword Qi.

"Break."

But Li Yun swung his sword three times in succession.

Three bursts of Sword Qi, each as fast as lightning, overlapped and directly tore the boat apart before sending Lu Yuchen flying.

After only two moves, Lu Yuchen was defeated.

"So fast."

"Although I guessed Li Yun would win, I did not expect him to win in only two moves."

"His strength has improved again compared to the Group Stage. This guy’s speed of progress is truly astonishing."

This scene shocked everyone.

Although Lu Yuchen’s strength was not outstanding and might only rank near the bottom among the twenty contestants in the Ranking Matches, defeating him so quickly meant that Li Yun’s strength had at least reached the middle level of the first tier.

At the start of the Group Stage, Li Yun’s strength had only been between the second and third tiers.

This speed of progress was truly astonishing, almost exaggerated.

"This is getting interesting."

Xie Wushang glanced at Li Yun, and a faint trace of seriousness finally appeared in his eyes.

Before this, Li Yun had been completely insignificant in his eyes, no more than cannon fodder he could defeat at will.

Now, although he still considered Li Yun cannon fodder, he felt it would take a little effort to crush him.