Chapter 1647: Really So Big Ga

Zu An, who was sipping tea at the judges' stand, nearly choked and spat it out. What was happening?

The disciples surrounding the arena also looked bewildered. "Isn't that just a toothpick? How is it big?" they wondered. However, remembering Wu Xiaofan's reputation, the crowd wondered if they were missing some hidden mystery, especially seeing Wan Guiyi on the stage looking so solemn.

Wan Guiyi was indeed solemn at that moment, for he felt an inexplicable energy locking onto him.

"Brother Wan, be careful," Wu Xiaofan warned. He then waved both hands forward, and the toothpick-like object transformed into a streak of light, shooting towards his opponent.

A strong sense of alarm rose in Wan Guiyi's heart. He quickly employed his movement technique to dodge to the side, but unfortunately, he was still half a beat too slow. A bloody gash opened on his arm as the toothpick grazed him.

He turned back abruptly. After flying past, the toothpick suddenly turned around and came back, like a miniature flying sword. The crucial point was its sudden, unannounced return and incredible speed, as if it completely defied the laws of physics.

Wan Guiyi no longer dared to casually dodge. Instead, he swung his sword and thrust it towards the toothpick.

*Clang!*

With a crisp clang, he had accurately struck the toothpick. Gasps of surprise rose from the audience below the stage. Everyone clearly admired Wan Guiyi's ability to accurately strike such a tiny toothpick under these circumstances. It was so fast that they couldn't even see it clearly, let alone hit it while it was moving at such high speed.

The toothpick spun away after being struck, but soon attacked again from another angle, like a ghost. Wan Guiyi's expression changed, and he unleashed his sword technique to its utmost limit. The entire arena shimmered with cold light, and sword qi crisscrossed everywhere. The toothpick, however, was even more elusive, forming a spherical attack net around him, striking from all directions with tricky angles. Because of its immense speed, it created streaks of light and shadow as it frictioned with the air.

On the high platform, Guan Chouhai's expression changed. "Is this Sword Control Art?" he exclaimed.

True Sword Control Art could only be mastered by Grandmasters in the Life Soul Realm. After cultivating a Yin God, they could attach it to objects, literally beheading an enemy from a thousand miles away. Of course, within the various Grandmaster realms, some exceptionally gifted individuals could perform a simplified version of Sword Control Art over short distances. Yet, even a simplified version of Sword Control Art was immensely powerful and incredibly difficult to defend against. And anyone capable of wielding Sword Control could be considered a rare genius.

Wang Wuxie humbly replied, "It's not true Sword Control Art; it's merely a natal artifact he cultivated himself." Although he spoke plainly, everyone around could sense his underlying pride.

A group of people stared at Wan Tongtian, curious. Wan Guiyi was now at a disadvantage, so why wasn't his father worried at all? Could it be...?

Soon, they had their answer. Wan Guiyi no longer thrust his sword directly; instead, he held his sword with both hands in front of him. Immediately after, an astonishing sword qi rose, centered around his body, and a magnified phantom longsword appeared on the arena. At this point, no matter how tricky or elusive the toothpick's angles were, each time it struck the phantom longsword, it was bounced away.

Wan Guiyi opened his eyes and sneered, "When it comes to swordsmanship, I'm the true professional!" No sooner had he spoken than he raised both hands and brought them down in a chop, and a massive sword qi cleaved directly towards Wu Xiaofan.

Wu Xiaofan's pupils contracted sharply, and a light shield instantly formed around his body. The sword qi struck the light shield with a deafening boom. Dust flew everywhere, and the entire arena was even cleaved directly in half.

Feng Wuchang of Guanshin Peak's eyelids twitched. "This is all money!" he thought. Apart from him, everyone else was more concerned with the outcome of the match, countless eyes staring at the center of the smoke and dust.

Wu Xiaofan's figure slowly emerged. Compared to before, his clothes were significantly torn, clearly injured by the sword qi. Several parts of his face were also covered in dust and grime. Since the start of this competition, no one had seen him in such a disheveled state.

"He actually blocked it?" Wan Guiyi was momentarily stunned. "But it doesn't matter. Let's see how many more sword strikes you can take!" No sooner had he spoken than he again formed a massive sword qi and cleaved it towards his opponent. This sword qi had completely locked onto his opponent, leaving him no chance to dodge.

Wu Xiaofan's expression turned solemn. With a wave of his hand, the toothpick stopped its futile attacks and returned to his hand. Wan Guiyi secretly sneered, thinking, "Does he think he can block my great sword with such a miniature thing? I'll just cleave him in half with one strike later." He had been annoyed by the toothpick's agile and elusive movements earlier, but now he finally had a chance for a head-on clash. How could he not be excited?

However, his smile quickly froze, and his eyes nearly popped out.

"It's really big!"

Someone exclaimed, and everyone's attention was drawn to the object in Wu Xiaofan's hand. The originally miniature toothpick, as if it had consumed some spiritual elixir, grew directly in the wind, quickly becoming a massive staff several tens of feet long. It was not at all inferior to the great sword opposite it, and even three parts larger.

Wu Xiaofan roared, and swept the massive staff towards the great sword. A deafening explosion sounded, the result of both sides' vital energy shattering and annihilating. Both figures on the stage swayed, and a trace of blood simultaneously spilled from the corners of their mouths. Evidently, both had sustained serious internal injuries.

Wan Guiyi finally understood what his opponent had meant earlier by "Mine is very big, you'll have to bear with it." Despite this, a strong fighting spirit flashed in his eyes, and he again cleaved with the great sword. "Again!" he roared.

Wu Xiaofan also roared repeatedly, no longer maintaining his usual calm and collected demeanor. The massive staff and the great sword clashed countless times in the air. The terrifying vital energy fluctuations even required several judges to work together to reinforce the arena's barrier, preventing the surrounding audience from getting injured.

The disciples of the Nine Sects were all horrified. Such terrifying power – if it were them on the stage, wouldn't they be instantly turned into pulp? Lou Wucheng, Zhi Yin, and other normally arrogant chief disciples also looked grim, asking themselves if they would have been in a very sorry state on the stage.

At this moment, the people of Biluo Palace stood up one after another, exclaiming repeatedly. They saw Wan Guiyi blasted to the ground, covered in blood, trying to get up, but unfortunately, his injuries were too severe, and he failed several times. Finally, he gritted his teeth, propped himself up with his long sword, and shakily stood upright. Across from him, Wu Xiaofan slowly floated down from the air. His clothes were almost as tattered as a beggar's, and he was also bleeding profusely, clearly injured by the opponent's sword qi. However, he could still stand upright so easily, so the winner was clearly decided.

Wan Guiyi's eyes were filled with unwillingness. He tried to draw his sword several times, but unfortunately, movements that were simple on a normal day were now as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Wu Xiaofan sighed. "I had an advantage in today's match. If Brother Wan hadn't been injured in his previous match, I might not have won this one." The crowd praised him silently. This Wu Xiaofan was indeed worthy of being recognized as the top young talent; both in cultivation and demeanor, he truly commanded respect. However, some keen-eyed observers noticed that the hand he had withdrawn behind his back was also trembling continuously. Clearly, Wu Xiaofan's condition was also extremely poor at this moment. Therefore, what he said was probably true; if a fully recovered Wan Guiyi had fought him, he really might not have lost.

Wan Guiyi fell silent. After a long while, he let out a breath. "A loss is a loss," he said, "no need for so many excuses." After speaking, he propped himself up with his long sword and slowly shuffled off the stage, step by step.

Wan Tongtian watched with a pained heart and hurriedly flew over to support him.

"Father, I'm sorry," Wan Guiyi said, unable to support himself any longer, collapsing directly into his arms.

Old tears streamed down Wan Tongtian's face. "No, my child," he said, "you've done exceptionally well."

Seeing this scene, Fire Spirit Master Tai in the distance snorted coldly, then said to Pei Mianman, "Next time, you must win, so everyone in the Daoist Sect can see who truly is dependable in Biluo Palace." Although her foundation was a bit shallow, she had a bye for two rounds, and her advantage lay in being well-rested. She might even win the championship.

Pei Mianman said helplessly, "Senior Brother is, after all, bringing glory to Biluo Palace, so there's no need to kick him while he's down, is there?" Master truly resents the Palace Lord to the extreme.

"He lost, so what glory is there to claim?" Fire Spirit Master Tai snorted, feeling extremely annoyed. However, she did give up the idea of going over to mock him.

Grandmaster Jian Huang of Wuyou Temple suddenly sighed, "Alas~"

"What's wrong, Master?" the young monk Jiese beside him asked curiously.

"I think the future of our Buddhist sect is worrying," Grandmaster Jian Huang said, frowning deeply.

"Why do you say that?" The young monk Jiese rubbed his bald head, feeling somewhat puzzled.

"Look at these disciples of the Daoist Sect," Grandmaster Jian Huang said, glancing at Jiese, shaking his head while sighing with emotion. "They truly have an abundance of talent. Then look at the inheritors of our Buddhist sect." He seemed a little disheartened.

Young monk Jiese remained silent. "In the end, I was wrong to engage. I shouldn't have opened my mouth to respond," he thought.

Feng Wuchang of Guanshin Peak soon announced Wu Xiaofan as the winner of the first match, and then the next bout began: Peng Wuyan of Kongming Island against Shi Dingtian of Taixuan Cave. He looked at the recently destroyed arena, thinking, "Fortunately, I'm reliable in my duties and prepared several backup arenas."

Before Qiu Honglei went on stage, Yun Jianyue's expression was solemn. "Be careful later," she warned. "These Daoist disciples are not simple." Having just witnessed the match between Wu Xiaofan and Wan Guiyi, she also put away her disdain. Mainly because Qiu Honglei couldn't use her charm techniques in front of everyone, and many of her original moves couldn't be used, she might really suffer an unexpected defeat.