Chapter 517 - 177: A Vast Disparity

Meanwhile.

In the area where the Lingxi Peak disciples had gathered, although the first round of the main tournament was about to begin, there wasn’t a trace of nervousness on anyone’s face. On the contrary, they all seemed quite relaxed.

Yang Jing was gathered with Fang He, Yan Chenglong, Ma Qiang, and the others, chatting about the upcoming matches.

Fang He was the first to speak. "For us disciples in the Qi Eating Realm, the opponents in the first three rounds shouldn’t pose much of a threat. At most, it’s just a warm-up."

Yan Chenglong nodded in agreement. "That’s right. The real danger starts from the fourth round. By then, pretty much everyone left will be a Qi Eating Realm expert. We’ll have to go all out in every single match."

Yang Jing listened to their discussion, nodding along while silently pondering the situation ahead.

He recalled the sect’s rules: today would only consist of the preliminaries and the first round of the main tournament. After that, there would only be one round of matches per day.

By that calculation, this Fushan Grand Tournament wouldn’t be over in just two or three days.

Yang Jing wondered to himself, ’During this Fushan Grand Tournament, can I push my strength to the next level?’

After all, only by becoming stronger would he have a better chance of advancing further in this tournament packed with experts.

But on second thought, Yang Jing shook his head slightly, a hint of resignation in his eyes.

It was simply too difficult to advance his strength another step in such a short amount of time.

Unless he could get his hands on some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures to aid his cultivation—helping him temper his body and enhance his Inner Qi—it would be difficult to achieve another major breakthrough through ordinary training alone.

Yang Jing stopped letting his mind wander and refocused on the matches at hand, joining the others in discussing various potential scenarios.

The sunlight slowly shifted, casting shadows of varying lengths across the green stone ground of the square.

Soon, the half-hour break quietly passed amidst everyone’s idle chatter and preparations.

Just then, the Main Peak Steward who had previously announced the rankings once again strode onto the Fushan Battle Platform.

The moment he stepped onto the platform, the gazes of the several thousand disciples in Fushan Square fell upon him in unison, as if drawn by a magnet.

The originally boisterous square quickly fell silent. Everyone held their breath, waiting for the main tournament to begin.

The Main Peak Steward’s gaze swept over the crowd below. Circulating the Inner Qi in his Dantian, his powerful, resonant voice echoed across the entire square. "The Fushan Grand Tournament, first round of the main tournament, begins now!"

Before his voice had even faded, a low murmur rippled through the crowd, and looks of anticipation appeared on the disciples’ faces.

The Main Peak Steward didn’t pause, continuing to announce in a clear voice, "First match: Celestial Derivation Peak Inner Sect Disciple, Chu Yunhai, versus Main Peak Inner Sect Disciple, Chen Long!"

As the Steward’s words fell, two figures below the platform moved at once, quickly ascending to the stage.

Walking in front was Chu Yunhai. He stood tall and straight, his expression calm and unruffled, as if he were just going through the motions.

Following closely behind, Chen Long’s face was grave and his fists were clenched. He had clearly mustered every ounce of his strength.

Seeing the two in position, the Main Peak Steward simply said, "Begin," and turned to walk off the platform, leaving the stage entirely to the two competitors.

Below, countless gazes were fixed on the platform. Some were eager to see Chu Yunhai’s strength, while others were silently cheering for Chen Long.

Among them, of course, was Yang Jing.

He rose slightly on his tiptoes, his eyes locked on Chu Yunhai with a scrutinizing gaze.

He was ambitious, aiming to take one of the top three spots, or even first place, in this Fushan Grand Tournament. Moreover, Chu Yunhai was close with Yuwen Mingjue, so he and Chu Yunhai were bound to face off sooner or later.

He wanted to take this opportunity, while Chu Yunhai was fighting, to get a rough understanding of his methods and strength beforehand.

However, Yang Jing also knew that with the Main Peak Disciple Chen Long’s level of strength, he wouldn’t be able to force out Chu Yunhai’s true abilities at all. Chen Long would probably be defeated with a single, casual move.

Sure enough, on the platform, Chu Yunhai merely lifted his right hand. A surge of pure Inner Qi immediately covered his palm.

The next moment, he took a single step, appeared in front of Chen Long, and grabbed the wrist of his incoming punch. With a light flick, he tossed him right off the platform.

The gap between them was simply too vast. So vast that there wasn’t even a shred of suspense.

The matches proceeded one after another at a surprisingly fast pace.

The lower-ranked Inner Strength Realm Martial Artists were completely powerless against the Qi Eating Realm experts. Most were defeated in a single move, unable to withstand their opponent’s Inner Qi for even three breaths.

...

Meanwhile, in the gathering area for the Qingxu Peak Inner Sect Disciples, a few female Inner Sect Disciples who were good friends were huddled together, talking.

In the group stood a young woman of average height. She had a well-proportioned figure and a round face dotted with a few faint freckles, giving her a somewhat playful look.

When she spoke, the corners of her mouth would lift slightly, revealing two small, sharp canine teeth. This was none other than the Qingxu Peak disciple who had ranked 188th in the preliminaries, Hu Luoluo.

Watching the Inner Strength Realm disciples on the platform get easily defeated by Qi Eating Realm disciples one after another, Hu Luoluo couldn’t help but subconsciously grind her teeth. She sucked in a sharp breath, feeling a pang in her jaw.

She turned helplessly to her friend beside her—a slender girl with delicate features—and asked with a pained expression, "Bingbing, do you think... I can win?"

The delicate-featured girl named Bingbing was taken aback. She clearly hadn’t caught Hu Luoluo’s meaning and subconsciously asked, "Win what?"

Hu Luoluo’s eyes went wide. With a dead-serious expression, she said, word by word, "Whether I can beat Yang Jing, of course!"

Her friend Bingbing rolled her eyes in resignation. She reached out to feel Hu Luoluo’s forehead and said, exasperated, "Luoluo, how many times have I told you? Stop reading those pulp novels put together by Jianghu swindlers. All those stories about ’the weak overcoming the strong’ are fake!"

But Hu Luoluo shook her head stubbornly, so fast it looked like a rattle drum. "I don’t believe you! Miracles can happen!"

Bingbing threw up her hands, speechless. "In my entire life, I’ve never even seen a case of someone at the Hidden Strength stage defeating someone at the Transformation Strength stage, let alone the gap between the Transformation Strength stage and the Qi Eating Realm! That’s a chasm as wide as the heavens. How could someone at the Transformation Strength stage possibly defeat someone in the Qi Eating Realm? Not unless a meteorite falls from the sky and happens to land right on Yang Jing’s head!"

Hearing this, Hu Luoluo instantly deflated.

She was silent for a long time before slowly lowering her head, her long eyelashes drooping. She sighed and said in a low voice, "Does this mean... my Fushan Grand Tournament is going to end here?"

Just then, the Main Peak Steward walked onto the platform again and announced loudly, "Twelfth match: Zhenyue Peak’s Shen Kuo is the victor!"

After his voice fell, he paused briefly, his eyes scanning the roster in his hand. He then continued to announce in a clear voice, "Thirteenth match: Lingxi Peak Inner Sect Disciple, Yang Jing, versus Qingxu Peak Inner Sect Disciple, Hu Luoluo!"

Down below, when Hu Luoluo heard the Main Peak Steward call her name, her body suddenly stiffened. She shivered involuntarily, and her already pale face turned even whiter in an instant.