Chapter 31: Refusing Emotions (Part 2)

  The next day, the competition venue was crowded with disciples from the seven sects. Today's rematch was about to begin, and each sect's disciples were full of confidence in their own high-ranking members who had entered the rematch. The surprise of the preliminary round still lingered. Lianyun Sect, which had not shown any outstanding performance in the first two rounds, unexpectedly produced three top-notch disciples, all of whom entered the rematch with a perfect record, plus Hai Long, who was added later, and they occupied one-fourth of the top 16 seats, surpassing the other six sects. The other six sects that entered the top 16 were: Fangxin Sect with two people, Lianhua Sect with one person, Wuzhao Xian with three people, Wentian Liu with two people, Yuanyue Liu with three people, and Qianhui Valley with one person. Among the 16 disciples who entered the rematch, the most attention was focused on the three female cultivators: Yuhua and Yuping sisters from Lianyun Sect, and Tianqin from Qianhui Valley. They had all won their previous matches very easily, and with their beautiful appearance, they naturally became the objects of pursuit for the disciples of various sects. Today was the first day of the rematch, and the arena where the three women were competing also gathered the most attention. In comparison, Hai Long's match on court 8 seemed much colder. After drawing lots, Hai Long's opponent in the first round of the rematch was a young girl from Wuzhao Xian Shui Sect. Neither of them was a hot contender for the championship, so naturally, there were fewer people paying attention to this match. If it weren't for the fact that the Shui Sect girl's appearance was not inferior to Yuhua sisters, and she was also from Wuzhao Xian, perhaps Hai Long would have attracted only a few spectators.

  Lightly floating down onto the eighth competition stage, Shuiling blinked her big eyes and looked at her opponent. Her opponent wore a green robe, and apart from being slightly taller than average, there was nothing particularly special about him. As soon as she thought that her opponent had been added later, Shuiling filled herself with confidence. After entering the rematch, each match would have five elders from various sects jointly supervising. The main referee in charge of Shuiling and Hailong's match was none other than Lianhua Sect's Sect Master, Lianshu. After Liyun Sect's Tian Dao Xun declared the start of the competition in mid-air, Lianshu waved her jade hand lightly, laying down three layers of Buddhist power restrictions before indicating that they could begin.

  Shuǐ Líng's entire body emitted a faint blue glow as he bowed to Hǎi Lóng and said, "I am Shuǐ Líng, disciple of the Wǔ Zhào Xiān Water Sect, here to pay my respects."

  Hai Long smiled slightly and said: "Daiyu, a disciple under Tian Shi Dao Zun of Lian Yun Sect, requests guidance from his senior sister."

  Her heart moved slightly, although the opponent in front of her was not handsome, but his smile was full of warmth and friendliness, and a few points of goodwill rose in her heart. Before the game, several of her senior brothers and sisters had said that this Dao Yu, a disciple of Lianyun Sect, was not good at speaking, with a stick-like magic treasure. But now it seems that he doesn't seem as cold as others described. As she thought, Shui Ling summoned her own magic treasure, a crystal blue Ruyi sword, and with a wave of her hand, the blue Ruyi sword transformed into a virtual shadow in mid-air, moving with her body, and in an instant, seven Shui Lings appeared in front of Hailong. Seven gentle and soft light beams floated out at the same time, wrapping around Hailong's body.

  Hailong was slightly startled in his heart, and secretly thought that those who entered the rematch were indeed masters. Although the opponent's technique was different from their own sect's shadow clone technique, they could instantly create a virtual image that even they themselves couldn't recognize, which showed their incredible strength. Not daring to be slow, Hailong let out a low growl, and his hands changed into a series of seals, as a golden light burst forth, enveloping his body like a giant transparent bell under the astonished gaze of Shuiling. Seven purple lights simultaneously hit the golden light shield, but it only slightly rippled without being affected by the attack. This light shield was not formed by Hailong's own magic power, but rather one of the three magical artifacts given to him by Tian Shi Dao Zun, named "Golden Bell Shield", a powerful defensive treasure. In this newcomer tournament, Hailong had used it for the first time.

  Shuiling's face changed slightly, her hands waving the Ruyi staff in a blur of blue light that struck the "Golden Bell Shield" again and again, but to no avail. The attacks were all for naught against this treasured defensive artifact. Hailong, inside the Golden Bell Shield, secretly clenched his fists, his cultivation far surpassing Shuiling's. Even if he allowed her to continue attacking like this, he wouldn't suffer the slightest injury.

  A flash of light, the seven illusory figures merged into one. She let out a soft cry, and a massive amount of spiritual energy poured into the blue Ruyi, apparently preparing for a final blow. At this moment, the Sea Dragon moved. Under the protection of the "Golden Bell Shield", his body shot up like an arrow. The small iron rod instantly lengthened, suddenly pointing forward, aiming directly at the Water Spirit's Ruyi.

  Water Spirit is gathering her magic, and as the Sea Dragon charges towards her, she doesn't show any signs of panic. "Water contains the sword, the sword is like water. Condense ice sword, ascend." A faint blue light appears, and in Water Spirit's triumphant smile, it suddenly shoots towards the Sea Dragon. This is her most treasured magic treasure, and the previous gathering of magic was just a show for the Sea Dragon. She wants to take advantage of the Sea Dragon's attack to break through the "Golden Bell Shield" defense. On the surface, the Sea Dragon has already fallen into a completely passive state. The Condense Ice Sword is an extreme treasure of the Five Shining Water Sect, and although it's not a divine artifact, it has reached the level of a top-grade treasure. Compared to the Golden Bell Shield's defense, its attack is even more sharp.

  Lian Shu lightly shook her head on the judging platform and said in a low voice, "Shui Ling lost." Yes, just as Bing Xue's sword was about to strike Jin Zhongzhao, Shui Ling suddenly discovered that the figure rushing towards her had turned into an illusion. Her Bing Xue sword had struck empty air. She immediately came to her senses and realized that her opponent had used a technique to split herself into multiple bodies. Just as she was about to turn around and attack with her Ruyi, her shoulder felt like it was carrying the weight of a mountain, making it hard for her to move. The dark iron rod appeared on Shui Ling's shoulder, its weight alone enough to crush her, even without any additional force being applied. Her legs went soft, and just as she was about to kneel to the ground, the heavy burden on her shoulder suddenly disappeared. Hai Long reappeared in front of her, smiling and saying, "Sister, I concede." From the start of the Seven Sects' New Disciple Tournament until now, this could be said to be the most peaceful conclusion, with neither side suffering any injuries, and the match ended just like that.

  She stood there, her icy sword deeply embedded in the arena floor. She knew she hadn't lost due to her cultivation, but rather due to tactics. She stared deeply at Hailong and asked, "Can you tell me when you summoned your clone and when it appeared behind me?"

  Hai Long still had a smile on his face, saying: "Sister was too careless just now. When you summoned the flying sword, there was a slight oversight, and that's when I summoned my clone. As for how I got behind Sister's back, it's our sect's secret method, so I won't explain. Actually, if Sister could calm down a bit, she should have been able to detect it. Little brother just won by luck, no need to mind."

  Shui Ling snorted, saying: "Lost is lost. But don't be smug, next time I'll teach you a lesson." After finishing speaking, he recalled his Cong Bing sword and floated down from the stage. The Wu Zhao Xian disciples below naturally understood that Hai Long had gone easy on him earlier, otherwise Shui Ling would have been seriously injured long ago. His mercy earned him the goodwill of these Wu Zhao Xian disciples.

  Hai Long took the sign from Lian Shu, bowed to the five elders who were supervising the match, and then floated down from the competition stage. Today's eight matches, his side was the first to end.

  "Big brother, let's go take a look over there. It seems like Yu Hua and her opponent are fighting fiercely!" Hong Zhi's voice sounded beside Hai Long. Hai Long looked in the direction that Hong Zhi was pointing towards. Indeed, not far away, within the restricted area where Yu Hua was located, bursts of dazzling light were constantly erupting, causing the restricted area to tremble violently.

  "Let's go, let's take a look." The two of them quickly arrived at the outer edge of the competition stage where Yu Hua was located. The area had already gathered a large crowd, and Hai Long could barely see the situation inside the restricted area after infusing his eyes with spiritual power. Yu Hua was simultaneously commanding three magical artifacts, fiercely battling her opponent. He was a disciple of the Mantra Sect, who like Hai Long when he first started fighting against Shui Ling, only defended without attacking. Layer upon layer of solid defensive restrictions were supported by two defensive Buddhist artifacts, as sturdy as a mountain range, and no matter how Yu Hua attacked, she couldn't break through his defenses.

  In the outer circle of people, Hailong saw Daoling who hadn't entered the rematch and walked up to him, asking: "How's it going?"

  Dao Ling glanced at Hai Long, he obviously didn't think much of this junior brother and didn't ask him about the outcome of the match. With some anxiety, he said: "Today, Yu Hua's technique was somewhat off, her Dao methods were messy and disorganized. She used seven or eight different techniques in succession, including Split Body Technique, Immobilizing Curse, Ten Thousand Swords Decision, and Shocking Mountain Method. Although she clearly had the upper hand in terms of strength, she still can't win. If this continues, once her spiritual energy is depleted to a certain extent, I'm afraid today's outcome will be very unfavorable." In his heart, Yu Hua was the greatest hope for Lian Yun Sect in this tournament, if she lost, it would likely mean that Lian Yun Sect would miss out on the championship again this year.

  Hai Long's heart slightly trembled, and he thought to himself: Could it be that Yu Hua's abnormal behavior is related to me? I hope she won't be affected by my presence and have her future cultivation impacted. Thinking of this, Hai Long suddenly had an idea, using the transmission method to send a message to Yu Hua on the stage: "Junior sister, I've already won the competition. Don't you think your cultivation is very profound? Why are you still entangled with your opponent until now?" Although the soundproofing on the competition stage was ineffective against voices, using the transmission method to penetrate the soundproofing and enter Yu Hua's ears still consumed a significant amount of Hai Long's spiritual energy. The chief judge on the monitoring platform was Wu Zhao Xian Huo Zong, the sect master of the Five Luminaries Fire Sect. His eyes flashed with light as he swept his gaze over Hai Long, who felt his Golden Elixir tremble and his entire body suddenly produce a scorching heat, startling him into hastily lowering his head.

  Yu Hua on the stage heard the voice of Hai Long and suddenly her whole body shook, abruptly stopping her attack. Her hands quickly changed in front of her chest, one after another, a series of spells being rapidly input into the air in front of her. The Fang Xin Zong disciple suddenly lost his pressure and was stunned for a moment. In just this brief moment, Yu Hua had already completed more than ten spells.

  Dào Líng said excitedly, "Dào Yǔ Shīdì, look quickly, Shī Jiě is going to use the special Dào Fǎ of Zhìyún Dào Zūn!" As soon as his words fell, the light silk-like treasure that had been attacking from mid-air returned to Yú Huá's side. A layer of faint mist floated around her, and Hǎi Lóng clearly saw that Yú Huá's temples were already sweating, obviously having consumed a large amount of magical energy.

  That Dhyana Sect disciple also saw that things were not going well and didn't dare to slack off. With a wave of his hand, the seven green-glowing Bodhi beads flew out in the shape of the Big Dipper, heading straight for Yu Hua's canopy.

  Yu Hua didn't control the other two flying treasures to block the opponent's attack, and a blue-green light suddenly burst forth from his body. A cold voice rang out: "Clouds disperse, fog disperses, Cloud Decision!" The cold voice shook everyone's heart on the scene, and the treasure that was as thin as gauze suddenly expanded, spreading white mist in an instant to cover the entire competition stage like a large net. Everything within the seal became blurry, even with the eyesight of a dragon, it was impossible to see what happened inside. The last thing he saw was the seven jade Bodhi beads being swallowed by the treasure that had turned into a web-like shape.

  The stage shook violently, and the sound of drums echoed. The disciples of the Fanxin Sect shouted in anger. Suddenly, all the clouds and fog brightened up, turning from white to blue. Another violent tremor occurred, and the five elders who were monitoring the competition stood up. A sharp whistle sounded, and the clouds and fog disappeared instantly. The disciple of the Fanxin Sect fell to the ground, with a few strands of blood at the corner of his mouth. The two treasures he had been holding dimly fell to the ground, clearly indicating that he had lost. Yu Hua stood opposite him, gasping slightly, her pretty face pale. She found Hai Long's figure in the crowd and gave him a provocative glance, as if telling him that she had also won.

  After the first day of the rematch, except for Dao Yan who was seriously injured and lost to Yi Feng's gun, the other three disciples of Lianyun Sect all returned triumphantly. They occupied three seats in the top eight, and Tian Dao Zun was overjoyed. He called Hai Long and the others into his room to encourage them to strive for better results.

  Out of the room of Tiān Dào Zūn, Yù Huá didn't even glance at Hǎi Lóng and pulled her sister back to their own room. Hǎi Lóng knew that his words that day had greatly hurt her self-esteem. He let out a sigh of helplessness and turned to head towards Dào Yǎn's room. Dào Yǎn and Dào Líng lived together, and upon seeing him, Hǎi Lóng couldn't help but be startled - Dào Yǎn's face was as pale as paper, his lips had no blood color, the divine light in his eyes had long since disappeared, making him look like an ordinary person who was seriously ill. Dào Líng was feeding him water and quickly made room for Hǎi Lóng to sit down when he entered.

  Hailong frowned and sat down beside Daoyan, saying: "Brother, how is your body?"

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