On the arena, the battle was still ongoing.
Li Yuan held a long spear, continuously attacking Wu Luo, who was armed with a knife and shield.
"Whoosh!" With a powerful sweep of his spear, he forced Wu Luo to stagger backward.
"Li Yuan, I was wrong. I didn't recognize you at first and shouldn't have attacked you," Wu Luo said hurriedly while desperately defending himself. "But if we keep fighting, others will take advantage of us."
As a master with both knife and shield techniques perfected to the third level, Wu Luo could still hold off a few of Li Yuan's attacks with all his might.
"Take advantage?" Li Yuan's cold gaze swept across the other participants, who had already retreated far away. Seeing this, they panicked and moved back even further.
It was known that during his pursuit of Wu Luo, Li Yuan had already killed five other participants.
Such dominance and strength made everyone fearful.
Moreover, for the other participating students, Wu Luo was also a big shot. If Li Yuan took him down, their chances of making it into the top ten would only increase.
"This match!"
"No one is qualified to take advantage." Li Yuan's voice was icy. "Die!"
Did he have a grudge against Wu Luo? No!
But he needed an opponent, so why not Wu Luo?
The others on the arena posed no challenge to Li Yuan.
In contrast, Wu Luo was the strongest and could exchange a few blows with him.
"Thud!"
"Boom!" Li Yuan thrust his spear again, the spear shadows shifting, one strike after another, fierce and violent.
"Ah! Damn it!" Wu Luo could only try his best to defend himself, feeling so frustrated he was about to spit blood. "This Li Yuan is simply a madman."
Logically speaking, with Wu Luo's strength, breaking into the top ten in the chaotic battle should have been easy.
"Clang!" The two clashed like lightning. Li Yuan's attacks were swift, like waves crashing one after another.
Wu Luo's defense was impeccable, but each clash left his arms numb, making it increasingly difficult to hold on. After twelve consecutive strikes, Li Yuan seized the opportunity and directly pierced Wu Luo's throat.
Blood splattered everywhere.
"I still can't hold on. Is this the level of the fourth stage spear technique?" Wu Luo's body instantly turned to nothingness.
"My attacks are much weaker than Wu Dongdong and Tian Dazhuang, especially weaker than Tian Dazhuang," Li Yuan thought as he watched Wu Luo's body gradually disappear. "Tian Dazhuang's Mountain-Cleaving Blade is extremely aggressive, and his martial arts skills are indeed much higher than mine, probably around 20% of the fourth stage."
The opponent had broken through at least three months earlier, so it's normal for him to be more skilled.
Moreover, Li Yuan was best at defense, not offense.
If he were to fight Tian Dazhuang in the arena, he believed he might still have a chance to win.
The difference between the third stage perfection and the fourth stage? It was like heaven and earth.
But the difference between fourth stage 2% and fourth stage 20%? Both could achieve harmony of body and spirit; the difference was just how much they could tap into their physical strength, which was not an insurmountable gap.
"Kill!"
Li Yuan swung his spear and continued attacking the others.
On the entire arena, very few could withstand even two of Li Yuan's strikes, each one falling one after another.
Surrounding him? Even if they could work together, it wouldn’t guarantee they could take down Li Yuan.
The final showdown was between Li Yuan and another student, Xiong Xiaocheng, who had been pre-selected as an A-level student by the Five Major Martial Arts Academies.
In reality, Li Yuan intentionally avoided him, giving Xiong Xiaocheng the chance to chase after others.
"I’m already in second place."
"First? This Li Yuan is too fierce; my chances of winning are very slim." Xiong Xiaocheng stared at Li Yuan, feeling like a fierce tiger was watching him.
He was sweating profusely.
"I have only one chance to win."
"At all costs, I must launch a sudden attack; perhaps I can win." Xiong Xiaocheng made up his mind; he also practiced with a long spear.
Being in second place, he might as well go all out.
"Whoosh!"
Xiong Xiaocheng lunged at Li Yuan, thrusting his spear fiercely toward him, swift and aggressive.
"Is that the 'Splitting Gold Spear Technique'?" Li Yuan quickly discerned from Xiong Xiaocheng's starting stance and the way he exerted force. "He’s a master of the 'Splitting Sky True Gold Technique'?"
Like the Starry Spear Technique, it was a second-level spear technique that matched very well with the Rock Foundation Cultivation Method.
The 'Splitting Sky True Gold Technique' was one of the seven high-level cultivation methods, naturally having a second-level spear technique that complemented it.
Li Yuan had fought many skilled opponents on the Star Combat Network and could recognize some techniques.
Especially since he had encountered a Falling Star Rank master who used the 'Splitting Gold Spear Technique,' which was wild and fierce, leaving a deep impression on Li Yuan; he had reviewed the footage many times.
"Boom!"
"Boom!" As Li Yuan became aggressive, his spear whistled through the air, countering Xiong Xiaocheng's attacks. In just three clashes, he sent Xiong Xiaocheng's spear flying.
"Pfft!"
The spear tip grazed, and Xiong Xiaocheng's head flew off, his figure turning to nothingness.
On the entire arena, only Li Yuan remained.
...
"What a steady spear; he must be good at defense," Tian Dazhuang observed Li Yuan from the spectator stand, his eyes blazing with excitement. "Another fourth stage!"
"I was still looking at the world from a small perspective; I can’t trust everything Elder Long said."
"Just in Jiangbei Province, with me, there are already four fourth stages. Are there any hidden ones?"
"How many must there be nationwide? Globally?" Tian Dazhuang thought to himself. "Li Yuan? I will remember that."
...
Whoosh!
Li Yuan appeared back in his seat, immediately attracting the attention of hundreds of students around him, all looking at him.
"Li Yuan?"
"In Jiang City, there’s a Wu Dongdong and a Li Yuan; it’s no wonder it’s the provincial capital."
"But I had never heard the teacher mention this name before."
"Maybe others are hiding their strength on purpose for the January exam?" Many students whispered among themselves.
In the first three matches, the three fourth-stage masters, Tian Dazhuang, Wang Yu, and Wu Dongdong, were all well-known.
Many people didn’t know their faces but had heard their names.
Only Li Yuan was different.
His overall martial arts score ranked over two hundred in Jiang City, which was indeed too insignificant.
After this battle, Li Yuan was bound to gain fame among the students participating in the invitation event.
"Li Yuan, amazing," Gu Qianghan turned around and shouted excitedly.
Li Yuan smiled.
"Li Yuan, impressive! I underestimated you before." Wu Dongdong looked at Li Yuan as if he had discovered treasure and curiously said, "You’re at the fourth stage of spear technique, and I’m at the fourth stage of spear technique too. I’ll definitely find a chance to spar with you later."
"Sure." Li Yuan had no objections.
On the other hand, Lin Lanyue simply smiled and said, "Congratulations on getting first place and winning 500,000 Blue Star Coins. You owe us a treat later."
"Sorry," Li Yuan chuckled. "I didn’t mention it earlier, but I only broke through to the spear technique yesterday."
"Oh?"
"You just broke through yesterday?" Lin Lanyue realized. "So, you fainted in the martial arts room yesterday, and it’s related to your spear technique breakthrough?"
"Exactly!" Li Yuan nodded.
...
The fifth and sixth rounds of the chaotic battle continued one after another.
However, there were no more super experts like Li Yuan and Tian Dazhuang who led by a wide margin.
In a way, this made the two rounds even more exciting, allowing most participating students to have more room to showcase their skills.
After six rounds, the top ten students from Guanshan District High School, besides Li Yuan and Lin Lanyue, secured first and second place.
The other eight students couldn’t make it into the top fifty.
This made Dong Haifeng and the others realize the gap.
Perhaps in terms of overall martial arts scores, some of them had slightly surpassed Li Yuan due to "spiritual bonuses" in the January exam.
But the actual strength gap was vast.
In the 'Jiangbei Martial Arts University Invitation Event,' representing the highest level of third-year students in Jiangbei Province, Li Yuan was still the most dazzling one.
While they had become just ordinary members among thousands of elite students.
...
"I announce that the chaotic battle has ended," the man in black said with a deep voice. "The sixty students who received rewards can check their accounts."
"All Blue Star Coin rewards have been distributed."
With the conclusion of this event, it also marked the end of the first day's itinerary for the invitation event.
...
In the virtual network, within his personal space.
"500,000 Blue Star Coins have arrived," Li Yuan received a bank account notification, unable to help but smile. "The efficiency of Jiangbei Martial Arts University is indeed high."
Timely feedback can really motivate people.
...
Exiting the virtual network pod, Li Yuan chatted with Gu Qianghan while grabbing a can of cola from the fridge.
"Ding!"
"Ding!" The doorbell rang at the entrance of the martial arts room.
"Who could it be at this hour?" Gu Qianghan looked puzzled. "Who is it?"
"I'll go open the door," Li Yuan said with a smile as he walked over to open the door.
When he opened the door, he saw a bald man and an old man in a black robe standing in front of him.
"You are?" Li Yuan felt a bit hesitant, sensing the aura emanating from both of them.
Moreover, he instinctively checked, and both of their life levels exceeded the detection limit.
This indicated that the two were at least Source Martial Artists.
"Li Yuan, student."
"I am the Vice Dean of the Sixth Academy of Kunlun Martial Arts University, my surname is Li," the bald man said with a slight smile. "I’m here to officially extend an S-level special training invitation to you on behalf of Kunlun Martial Arts University."
"Can we talk privately?"
(End of Chapter)