Chapter 285: Chapter 285: The Curtain Falls

On the stage, Xu Wuyi made his third appearance.

His opponent was Qin Rui.

The two faced off, ten meters apart. The atmosphere in the arena was tense to the extreme.

In the audience, everyone held their breath.

This was the most anticipated battle of the tournament. The match between these very two last year had been an absolutely spectacular duel.

"Xu Wuyi," Qin Rui began slowly. "I lost to you a year ago. I know I’ll lose again today. But this time, I want to understand my defeat."

Xu Wuyi looked at him and nodded, saying nothing.

"Begin!"

Qin Rui moved.

Instead of rushing to attack or defend like the others, he slowly raised his longsword.

A golden light began to coalesce on the blade, a sign of the Golden Radiance Sword being pushed to its limit.

More importantly, an incomparably sharp Sword Intention began to rise from Qin Rui!

The True Intention of "Sharpness"!

Though not yet fully formed, it already carried the implication of being able to pierce through anything.

Qin Rui focused his entire spirit onto his sword, attempting to counter True Intention with True Intention.

Then, he struck.

The flash of his sword was like golden lightning, tearing through the air as it shot straight for Xu Wuyi!

Into this one strike, he poured all of his power, spirit, and will.

Yet all Xu Wuyi did was meet it with a simple thrust of his spear.

In his sea of consciousness, the fused True Intention of "Mountain" and "Burn" exploded forth!

Qin Rui’s expression changed dramatically.

He felt his "Sharpness" True Intention shatter like fragile glass against a steel wall before his opponent’s, instantly pulverized!

What was more terrifying was that this intention was not just heavy and searing; it carried a horrific power that could suppress the very soul and incinerate the will!

Qin Rui felt as if his brain was about to explode. His mind went blank, his Qi and Blood surged uncontrollably, and his Sword Momentum completely crumbled.

The spear passed unimpeded through the dissipating sword light and came to rest on his chest.

"East Courtyard, Xu Wuyi wins!"

Qin Rui staggered back and fell to one knee, gasping for breath. He looked up at Xu Wuyi, his eyes filled with shock.

"That... what was that?"

"Intention is Spirit," Xu Wuyi said after a moment’s thought. "You’ve only recently become Martial Masters. You’re still using the True Intent Techniques from the Martial Artist stage. There’s no way you can win like that."

Qin Rui was silent for a long time before slowly nodding. "I’ve lost."

He disappeared in a flash of white light.

In the West Courtyard’s rest area, Tana and Ding Haichuan exchanged wry smiles.

"Still going up?" Tana asked.

Ding Haichuan shook his head. "We have to at least go up and try."

The two went up one after the other. The outcome was never in doubt.

Xu Wuyi took them both out with two thrusts.

"East Courtyard, Xu Wuyi wins!"

"Third round, East Courtyard wins!"

"Winner of this year’s Second-Year Elite Tournament, Team Competition—the East Courtyard!"

The electronic voice echoed throughout the stadium.

In the audience, the cheers were sparse.

Because most of the crowd was simply staring dumbfounded at Xu Wuyi on the stage—at the figure who had just achieved a clean sweep, winning nine fights with nine thrusts of his spear.

Xu Wuyi retracted his spear, then calmly walked off the stage.

His face showed no sign of pride or excitement. In truth, this result was entirely within his expectations.

It would have been more surprising if his classmates had actually managed to give him any trouble. But clearly, no such surprises were in store.

In the East Courtyard’s rest area, Shen Wei and Zhou Mingxuan finally snapped out of it.

"Old Xu... won?" Shen Wei murmured.

"He won," Zhou Mingxuan nodded. "A clean sweep of nine."

The two exchanged wry smiles.

They had prepared for so long, but in the end, they didn’t even get a chance to enter the arena.

Yet for some reason, they felt no resentment—only a profound sense of shock and a touch of bewilderment.

Xu Wuyi had already reached a level they could only look up to in awe.

It was a height they might never reach in their entire lives.

On the stage, Xu Wuyi’s figure slowly faded, teleporting back to the rest area.

The moment he appeared, Shen Wei rushed over and slapped him hard on the shoulder. "Old Xu, that was insane! A nine-person sweep! Has that ever happened before?"

Zhou Mingxuan approached as well, a complex look in his eyes. "Xu Wuyi, what you used just now... was that a Spirit Shock?"

Xu Wuyi nodded. "Spirit Shock is just a general term. The point of learning different Martial Arts is to master various techniques to enhance your Spirit Shock."

"So that’s how it is." Zhou Mingxuan gave a wry smile. "Only now do I understand what ’Refining Spirit’ truly means in the Martial Master Stage."

Xu Wuyi didn’t elaborate, simply looking at the two of them. "You both worked hard. I know you prepared for a long time, even if you didn’t get a chance to fight."

Shen Wei waved it off. "Hard work? We just sat back and watched you put on a show. But seriously, Old Xu, what’s the deal with those thrusts? What’s the principle behind them? Why couldn’t anyone stop you?"

Xu Wuyi thought for a moment before explaining, "To put it simply, you condense your Spiritual Power to its absolute limit, then unleash it in an explosive burst the moment you engage, directly striking your opponent’s consciousness. If the gap in Spiritual Strength is large enough, they instantly lose all ability to resist."

"Then what if you face someone with higher Spiritual Strength than you?" Zhou Mingxuan asked.

"Then you just have to rely on a direct clash of True Intention, Martial Techniques, and Qi and Blood," Xu Wuyi said. "Among our year... I suppose someone might catch up, given time."

’He was thinking of Chu Shanhe.’

During their previous spar, he had intentionally avoided using the explosive burst of the Shocking God Spear. He had wanted to see the Blood Nerve in action, not win with a cheap shot.

But he believed that, given a little more time, Chu Shanhe would use that Miraculous Technique to overcome his own weaknesses.

Shen Wei and Zhou Mingxuan exchanged another wry smile.

’Someone might catch up? Not a chance.’

Shen Wei couldn’t help but sigh. "Old Xu, you’re completely famous now. A nine-person sweep... I bet in less than half a day, the news will be all over the school."

...

The day after the tournament ended, eight hundred points were promptly transferred into Xu Wuyi’s account.

Watching the numbers tick up on his communicator’s screen, Xu Wuyi finally allowed himself a small smile.

Regardless of how easy the battles were, the points were real.

"Anna," he summoned the artificial intelligence.

"I am here," a gentle female voice immediately replied.

"Pull up my current stats and create a new cultivation plan. The objective is to reach a Life Energy Level of approximately 34.9 by early February, pushing right up to the Level 35 threshold. I’m willing to spend extra points on resources if it will accelerate the process."

A light screen unfolded before Xu Wuyi as a stream of data scrolled past.

A moment later, Anna’s voice sounded again. "Analysis complete. Based on your current Life Energy Level of 33.0, your normal cultivation speed is insufficient to reach Level 34.9 in approximately two months. I recommend investing additional resources to accelerate your progress."

"What’s the specific plan?"

"I recommend two parallel paths."

Two charts appeared on the light screen.

"First, Life Energy supplementation. I recommend upgrading your daily B-Level Life Potion to the ’Dragon Blood Body Refining Potion’ (B+ Level). Each dose increases Qi and Blood Melting efficiency by about 15%. The cost is 120 points per dose, and the recommended usage is three doses per week."

"Second, Spiritual Power catalysis. Your progress with Heart Fire Refining Spirit is good, but your Spiritual Power growth has plateaued. I recommend purchasing a ’Concentrated Spirit Crystal Soul’ to aid your Visualization. Each soul provides a high-concentration Spiritual Energy environment for approximately 72 hours. The cost is 160 points each, and I recommend using one every ten days."