Chapter 9: The Head of the Ninth Rank

  Lu Ping didn't give Li Sheng any more chances, his suppression only increased and never decreased. Li Sheng didn't even have the chance to use the magic tool in his hand, not even the opportunity to release a high-quality talisman. He could only slap out a few mid-to-low quality talismans, but couldn't even break through the layer of golden light on Lu Ping's body.

  In the end, Li Sheng also recognized it. Lu Ping's top-grade talisman was actually a Blood Talisman. This person was willing to spend spirit stones to buy this kind of talisman, and it seemed that he had some spirit stones on him too.

  Li Sheng was stabbed in the shoulder by Lu Ping's sword, and the fairy host had already issued a spell to attach itself to Li Sheng's body, blocking Lu Ping's magic. Lu Ping withdrew his sword and stood up, and the fairy host announced that Lu Ping won and advanced to the next round.

  In the second round of the afternoon, it was still a seven-layer cultivator, but this disciple did not have Li Sheng's family background. He used a high-quality magic soldier to fight against Lu Ping, who took advantage of the opportunity to familiarize himself with his initial grasp of the "Tao" realm and easily entered the top 64.

  At night, under the leadership of Liu Xianchang, everyone returned to their residence in another courtyard. On the first day of the competition, the seventh team's performance was not bad. With a little luck, all twelve disciples who had cultivated the Seventh Layer of Blood Refining unexpectedly advanced to the second round, allowing Liu Xianchang to thoroughly enjoy the surprised gaze of the other Xianchang.

  Unfortunately, in the second round, several disciples drew unfavorable lots and encountered tough opponents. Among the twelve disciples, four of them, including the seventh, eighth, ninth, and eleventh, who had reached the seventh layer of Blood Refining, were eliminated one after another. Even Guo Lin, the sixth senior brother who had just entered the eighth layer, unfortunately met a disciple with a nine-layer cultivation base from the first squad. In the end, both of them used up all their magical tools and high-quality talismans, but Guo Lin still lost regrettably.

  Even so, the Seventh Squad's seven disciples who entered the top sixty-four ranked fourth among the twenty squads. The First Squad had nine enter the sixty-four strong and ranked first, while the Fifth and Eighteenth Squads both had eight and were tied for second.

  What surprised Lu Ping was that the twelfth disciple Zhang Zicheng also entered the top 64, it seems that even the eleventh disciple Li Cheng may not be his opponent.

  Liu Xian's enthusiastic commentary on everyone's performance against the enemy was a huge success, and everyone felt greatly benefited, even the five eliminated people felt much better.

  Lu Ping only then realized that University Elder, Second Academician Elder, and Fourth Academician Sister had also reached the realm of "technique" long ago. It seems that there are many geniuses, and he himself doesn't count as anything.

  Lu Ping also understood this realm, which was surprising to the remaining disciples except for Da Er and Si, who already knew. Li Cheng was even more furious, gritting his teeth and changing color.

  Lu Ping returned to his residence, where he was congratulated by several disciples with whom he had a good relationship. After exchanging pleasantries, Lu Ping carefully savored Liu Xianchang's commentary and cross-referenced it with his own two matches, feeling that he had gained a lot. He then swallowed a Clean Blood Pill and began to cultivate with a piece of spiritual stone in hand.

  On the second day, Lu Ping got up early and felt that his blood had thickened a bit, gaining more spiritual power. He was one step closer to the eighth layer, and he was in high spirits.

  The square in front of the other courtyard was already crowded with people, and when they saw their respective faction's contestants, they cheered loudly. If they encountered a well-known second-level disciple, such as Si Xue's sister, Shi Lingling, who was one of the "Five Beauties", the crowd would become even more excited, reminiscent of Lu Ping's fans chasing after stars in his previous life.

  Lu Ping encountered a disciple of the 8th layer of Blood Refining in the third round, Yuan Zhan from the 17th squad, which made the disciples of the 7th squad who were originally concerned about Lu Ping feel quite disheartened.

  Lu Ping was also nervous in his heart, but when he thought of the two magical instruments in his arms, his heart calmed down a lot.

  Yuan Zhan was twenty-one years old, holding a top-grade sword in his hand. The sixteen or seventeen-year-old boy in front of him was initially tense when facing himself, but suddenly calmed down, did he know that he would definitely lose?

  Yuan Zhan smiled, the two men exchanged greetings, and with a single order from the immortal leader, Yuan Zhan launched a "Soul Flying in the Abyss" attack, directly stabbing at Lu Ping's throat. From the start, they were competing for the upper hand, and as soon as they made their move, it was a killing blow, without any probing or hesitation.

  Lu Ping didn't dare to confront his sharpness head-on, Yuan Zhan's offensive moves were faster and more powerful than the last, one sword move surpassing another, unending like a flowing river; at the same time, his left hand was constantly weaving various magical gestures, his mouth continuously chanting incantations, spell after spell striking towards Lu Ping.

  Lu Ping was busy dodging and weaving, his body hit by spells multiple times, with several holes burned into his clothes. His hair bun had ice shards stuck in it, the sleeve of his left arm was cut off halfway by a wind blade, and his right ankle still had a piece of withered vine wrapped around it that he had severed earlier. Fortunately, Lu Ping's foundation was deeply rooted, and the spells that hit him had been weakened by half before they landed, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to hold on until now.

  On the central stage, Fang Xianchang of the twelve square teams looked at Lu Ping with only defensive moves and couldn't help but smile and say: "Liu Shixiong, it seems that your team's disciple's good luck will end here today!"

  This Fang Xianzhang's twelve-square team originally had similar results to the seventh square team, but unexpectedly this year the seventh square team actually produced twelve late-stage Blood Refining disciples, and more than thirty people entered the third-level disciple assessment, far surpassing their own team. Thinking about how the two were in the same sixth layer of Blood Dissolution, Liu Xianzhang was expected to enter the seventh layer soon after obtaining a large amount of cultivation resources, and he couldn't help but feel a bit sour. Adding to that, yesterday his team's powerful Li Sheng was eliminated by Lu Ping, and he couldn't help but speak with a tone of envy.

  Liu Xianchang smiled and said, "After all, my cultivation is inferior to his by a notch, so losing is only natural." His face showed indifference, but his eyes were fixed intently on Lu Ping's match.

  After refining the blood, every step is a hurdle. Lu Ping's swordsmanship has reached the realm of "technique", but unfortunately, his magical powers are far inferior, and his spells have not reached the realm of "technique" either, so he can only passively endure the beating.

  Lu Ping gritted his teeth, for the sake of the sect's generous reward, and couldn't care about much else. With his left hand, he pulled out two top-grade Blood Talismans from his bosom. One was a Protective Talisman that he slapped on himself, while the other was a Golden Sword Talisman that he threw at Yuan Zhan.

  Yuan Zhan sneered and said, "I've been waiting for you, but it's not just you who has the Blood Symbol."

  As soon as he finished speaking, a blood talisman appeared in his hand and flew out several water swords, causing the golden sword to fly wildly in all directions without hitting its target. At the same time, with a move of "Seven Stars Shining Together" from the top-grade magic soldier in his hand, he stabbed towards Lu Ping. Lu Ping resisted with all his might and dissolved five of the swords, while the remaining two struck against the silver glow protecting Lu Ping's body, causing it to shake violently and almost collapse.

  Yuan Zhan unleashed another "Giant Tree Technique", Lu Ping countered with a "Vajra Shield" spell, but his magic was insufficient and the stray giant tree branch shattered his protective silver glow.

  Lu Ping made a move with "Three Yangs Open the Tai", and three linked swords shot out three sword energies. The sword moves were natural and effortless, without any awkward counterattacks. After winning the empty slot, he hurriedly slapped another "Ice Shield Symbol" on his body.

  Yuan Zhan hummed softly, so this is the realm of "technique" in swordsmanship? Indeed, the moves were sharp and swift, but unfortunately, his inner energy was insufficient.

  Yuan Zhan struck twice with his sword, interrupting the two sword auras. At the same time, a yellow glow appeared in front of him, which was an ordinary high-quality talisman "Earth Wall Technique". The third sword light hit it and only made it shake.

  Lu Ping is also quite annoyed, compared to Fu Miao, then let's compare well, left hand raised, a "Rock Falling Technique", a "Fire Crow Strike", a "Water Binding Technique", three top-grade blood talismans flew towards Yuan Zhan.