Chapter 22: Dragon and Phoenix Rankings Knockout Match

  "Jian Chen, we should have done this a long time ago. You want to lead the geniuses of the Southern Domain out into the world, but if you can't even defeat me in an all-out battle, what makes you think you can lead everyone else? I'm stronger than you, so why should I listen to you? To achieve all this, one must have unparalleled strength. That's why I said it before - you're not good enough. The Southern Domain has been weak for far too long, and this situation isn't something that you or I can change. Do you think I'm willing to stay in this place where geniuses are scarce? Do you think I don't want to lead everyone out into the world? But I couldn't, because I didn't have the strength." Xu Ning's face was solemn, with the same determination and discontent, but he couldn't do it. His heart was filled with so much pain, but after this outburst, his heart suddenly became more at peace.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  "Well said, Xiangchen's enlightenment is not as high as yours, but no matter how difficult things are, there is only a possibility of success if you try to do it. If you give up because of the difficulty, then there will never be a possibility of success."

  Everyone was shocked, who is this? Who has such a big tone, actually pointing fingers and painting in front of Sword Dust and Xu Ning.

  When they saw Xu Hua, everyone was shocked again. It turned out that he was the popular figure rumored to be competing for the position of Holy Son.

  Not bad, it's Xu Hua, at this moment, regardless of other people's gaze, he continued to clap his hands and said.

  "Jian Chen has mentioned you to me, and I originally thought you didn't have the qualifications. But now, I'm giving you this qualification." Xu Hua looked at Xu Ning with a face full of admiration. This time, he must use absolute strength and momentum to intimidate all the students, and it would start with Xu Ning.

  Xu Ning looked at Xu Hua with great displeasure in his heart. If Sword Dust had said this himself, he might have accepted it, because he acknowledged Sword Dust's strength. But now, someone else dared to say this to him, which was a provocation. If this person didn't have the strength that made him acknowledge, then he must be severely suppressed.

  "Who are you? Your tone is getting out of hand."

  Someone beside Xun Ning came over and whispered a sentence in his ear.

  Xu Ning nodded, his eyes never leaving Xu Hua, and at this time he also took a look at Jian Chen. It was only then that he discovered Jian Chen was standing half a step behind Xu Hua, and he had a thoughtful expression in his heart.

  It was just half a step, but the relationship between the two could be seen. The young man named Xu Hua was definitely stronger than Jian Chen, and at this moment, Jian Chen was looking at him with a faint smile on his face, without any intention of refuting.

  "What's with you, Xu Hua? I've heard about your deeds as soon as I came back. I admit that you have some abilities, but up until now, the power you've shown hasn't earned my recognition yet. I don't know why Jian Chen would support you, and it doesn't matter how high your talent is. As long as your current strength isn't stronger than mine, you'll have to pay a huge price for what you say." Xu Ning walked up to Xu Hua's face, expressionless, and said while looking at Jian Chen behind Xu Hua: "Jian Chen, do you think he can bear the responsibility that you can't fulfill? I'd like to see if he has this kind of strength. If he gets hurt, don't come crying to me."

  Jian Chen smiled faintly, his expression unchanged as he said: "If you have the ability, then I have nothing to say. As for Xu's strength, it will naturally give you a big surprise. I don't know what your current strength is, but I don't think you're his match. Rather than being defeated miserably at his hands, why not we have a good fight? Otherwise, defeating an injured you would be utterly uninteresting to me."

  As soon as this was said, the whole room fell silent, and after a moment, there was a huge uproar.

  "Are you kidding me? Is Xu Hua a god or something? How is it possible for him to completely defeat Xu Ning?"

  "It shouldn't be fake, right? After all, it was Senior Jianchen who said it himself."

  "I think Sword Dust senior is exaggerating a bit, I believe Xu Hua senior's strength is indeed very strong, but at most it's on the same level as Xu Ning senior and Sword Dust senior."

  This time Xu Ning did not have the idea of arguing again, withdrew his gaze, and slowly walked away.

  "I hope you made the right choice."

  After Xun Ning left, the master of Dan Tang, Li Mu, came over to greet Jian Chen. Xu Hua also saw Li Fengfei beside him and mentioned that he had a rumor with Li Fengfei! However, Xu Hua didn't care about rumors, so he just nodded lightly, which made Li Fengfei feel a bit sad in her heart. She still had good feelings for Xu Hua, and besides, Xu Hua's strength was strong and his talent was high, so what woman wouldn't like him? It's just that now Xu Hua's actions have already shown that they won't produce any results, so she let out a quiet sigh in her heart. At this time, Li Mu beside her also noticed the abnormality of his little sister, looked at Xu Hua and then looked at Jian Chen and said: "Jian Chen brother, who is this young man?"

  Li Mu, although the master of Dan Tang, was infatuated with alchemy and usually stayed in his secret chamber to practice it. He didn't ask about what happened in the school, so he didn't know Xu Hua existed.

  "Li brother, you're still so obsessed with alchemy! And to think that even Xu Hua brother didn't know about it! He's the most talented genius our school has seen so far." Jianchen made no attempt to hide his admiration for Xu Hua.

  Li Mu's expression changed, then he revealed a faint smile.

  "It turned out to be Brother Xu Hua, Li Mou didn't ask about the school affairs all day, so he couldn't recognize Brother Xu, please forgive me."

  Xu Hua nodded towards him. "Brother Li's reputation is still like thunder in my ears, Brother Li will wait with us for the start of the martial competition."

  Li Mu nodded and then chatted with Jianchen for a while, but as for Xu Hua, he didn't think of opening his mouth.

  After waiting for all the students, the high-level officials of the school finally arrived.

  Six figures emerged from the northern sky, arriving at the main stage of the Martial Arts Square. One of the elderly men spoke up, "The Dragon and Phoenix List has officially begun, with a total of 602 students signing up to participate. Following tradition, we will first hold an elimination round, eliminating 512 students. The remaining 100 students will then compete in a ranking tournament to determine their rankings. Do any of you have any questions? If not, the participating contestants may take the stage immediately."

  For the higher-ups of the Academy, Xu Hua only knew Old Jiang, and as the master of the Academy, he would not normally show his face. This was also Xu Hua's first time participating in such a trial, although he had already learned about the competition format of the Dragon and Phoenix List from Jianchen, but at this moment, he still felt a bit novel.

  After the old man finished speaking, no one spoke for a moment, and the martial arts arena was silent.

  At this time, the leading elder said again: "No one speaks, that is no questions, I declare that the Dragon and Phoenix List competition starts now."

  "Xu brother, let's go up, Li Mu will follow us."

  Xu Hua and Jian Chen walked slowly towards the front of the martial arts stage, while other contestants also went on stage. Xu Hua could clearly see that the contestants on the entire martial arts stage were divided into many small groups. In this initial elimination round, students generally formed teams to participate in the competition. After all, the elimination round was quite cruel. If you were alone, even if you were very strong, you might be surrounded and eliminated by others.

  After no one else came up, four of the six elders stood on the four sides of the martial arts platform, unfolding their unmatched aura, stirring the vast heavenly and earthly spiritual energy, threads of light entwining together, a moment later the entire martial arts platform was enveloped by a layer of energy seals.

  At this time, the leading elder continued: "This energy boundary can withstand the attack of the Martial Emperor in his later period, so you can go all out and don't worry about causing huge damage to the Martial Square. When only one hundred people are left standing, the elimination match will end, I declare that the elimination match is now beginning."

  After the elder announced the elimination match, many students on the martial arts stage took action. The energy boundary was filled with chaotic energy, and the sound of fighting was everywhere. Xu Hua was also ready to take action and solve some of the contestants, but seeing that Sword Dust, Ning Xuan, Li Mu and others had no intention of taking action, and no one came to trouble them, he did not take action either. Instead, he watched the various fights in the arena with them.

  Outside of the martial arts arena, many students watched the battle within the energy boundary, their blood boiling with excitement, as if they were participating in the competition themselves.

  On the martial arts stage, six old men were chatting at this moment.

  "Lao Ye, why did the master send us this time? We are all late-stage Wu Huang after all! Usually, the ones in charge of the Dragon and Phoenix List are at most mid-stage Wu Huang. The position of Holy Son is important, but with these students, shouldn't a mid-stage Wu Huang be able to handle the situation?"

  "Right, Old Ye, I was originally in seclusion contemplating, and now I've been called out, it can't be for something as trivial as this!"

  "Lao Ye, you must know the master's intentions, tell us about it, so we can have a bottom line in our hearts."

  The leading old man also looked at the fiery eyes of the other five people, and said helplessly: "Well, I don't know much either. Originally, I was contemplating the secrets of Wu Zun, but unexpectedly, I was directly pulled into this by the master of the mansion. The master only told me that no matter what, we can't let any of the disciples have an accident."

  Said as he nodded towards Xu Hua within the energy boundary.

  "No way! It's just a small matter. I've also heard of that kid, who joined the school and severely injured his mentor on the first day as a student. He's only 18 years old and already has the strength of a Martial Emperor. Although he is indeed an extraordinary genius, our school has never had a precedent for elders secretly protecting students!"

  "And with his strength, only Sword Dust and Xu Ning can put pressure on him. Moreover, it seems like he has a good relationship with Sword Dust, so to say, the master of the mansion is wasting his efforts, he doesn't need our protection at all. But honestly, he's really terrifying! In over a hundred years, I've never seen such a monstrous genius, no wonder the master of the mansion is smitten."

  When they were excited, Old Ye shook his head helplessly. "You've misunderstood my meaning, what I meant was that not only this time, but also in the future, we can't let him have any mishaps, got it? Simply put, from now on, we'll be that kid's bodyguards."

  "What? You want us six to be bodyguards for a junior? Old Ye, are you kidding me?" The five of them were shocked.

  Lao Ye rolled his eyes and said with some helplessness, "I also hope this is a joke."