Chapter 211.2: The Treasure Contest Begins! Lu Changsheng Calmly Withstands the Lightning, Stunning All! (II)
The gate of the Yin-Yang Annihilation Pagoda opened.
The eighteen did not hesitate. Having decided to take part in the Treasure Contest, they would not shrink back, and in an instant they flew inside.
"Hehe, I wonder which house's expert will distinguish himself this time?"
"Whether anyone manages to distinguish himself, I can't say. But for this first trial, my expert should last even two hours in the Yin-Yang Annihilation Pagoda."
"Indeed. Elder Qing's Yin-Yang Annihilation Pagoda is famous, but so long as he doesn't use the Yin-Yang True Lightning, holding out for even two hours should be no problem."
"Elder Qing certainly won't use the Yin-Yang True Lightning. That's a true Golden Core Realm power of annihilation. If he used that, all eighteen participants would be wiped out."
"Li Guang seems awfully confident this time. The guy he brought must be quite strong. Where did he dig him up from?"
Watching the contestants rush into the pagoda, the eighteen nobles murmured among themselves.
Whoosh.
By now, Lu Changsheng had entered the Yin-Yang Annihilation Pagoda. The pagoda did not look especially large from the outside, yet the space within seemed impossibly vast, as though it was a separate dimension.
The eighteen stood within, boundless space stretching all around them, and they quickly spread apart. This was not the time to fight one another; the objective of this trial was lasting fifteen minutes in the pagoda. Naturally, the supreme Dao Foundation cultivators and Dao Lords who had managed to join the Treasure Contest were all battle-hardened veterans, so they all knew that maintaining distance in this situation was the way to go.
Rumble!
Suddenly, the Yin-Yang Annihilation Pagoda shook violently, and lightning poured down in an instant.
"Is that... a lightning net?"
The contestants looked up. The dense lightning above them had formed an enormous net, which came crashing down in a mighty deluge.
Dodging the net would be impossible; the only thing they could do was withstand it. After all, this first trial of the Treasure Contest was meant to test the contestants' tenacity and survival skills.
Wasting no time, the eight Dao Lords brought out defensive enchanted treasures and swiftly arranged their formations. In terms of pure defense, Dao Lords were unmistakably superior.
The Dao Foundation martial artists, on the other hand, had only one option against the lightning net: withstand it with sheer force. All of them unleashed their Mind Spaces at once, just before the lightning net reached them.
Some martial artists had techniques meant purely for defense, able to fend off the lightning net. However, most Dao Foundation martial artists possessed no defensive divine techniques at all.
As far as Lu Changsheng, he had practiced numerous divine techniques purely to raise his Perception, so he was confident no one here possessed more techniques than him. When it came to choosing and practicing techniques, most martial artists had to consider their power and usefulness. Lu Changsheng, however, did not; he only needed the technique to be divine.
As the lightning net fell, Lu Changsheng swiftly unleashed five defensive divine techniques. Even if they were individually weak, the five of them combined could hold for a while.
The Dao Foundation martial artists with no defensive techniques in their arsenals went pale, their Mind Spaces on the brink of collapse against the lightning net.
"How can it be this powerful?"
"Agh, my Mind Space won't hold out for much longer! No way I can do fifteen minutes!"
"Damn it, am I really going to be eliminated before getting a chance to use my technique?!"
Faced with imminent elimination, some Dao Foundation martial artists were filled with regret. They realized they should have made an effort to practice some defensive techniques, but now it was too late.
Outside, the nobles watched the situation within the Yin-Yang Annihilation Pagoda intently. By some means of Elder Qing's, the scene inside the pagoda was displayed for all of them, so that everyone could clearly witness what was happening within.
"This pagoda's lightning net is truly formidable. A supreme Dao Foundation cultivator with fewer than six Principles would likely be slain by it in an instant."
"Every supreme Dao Foundation cultivator who makes it to the Treasure Contest has at least seven or eight Principles, some even nine or ten. But I'm afraid that's not going to make up for a lack of defensive techniques."
"He's dead. A Dao Foundation martial artist just died. Was that the Chen Clan's expert? Eliminated in the first round, and the first to go at that."
"The Chen Clan really fell off, if all they can recruit is incompetent individuals like that one."
Many turned their gazes toward the Chen Clan's people. Naturally, having your competitor be the first one to bite the dust, and in the first round, was not a good look. Due to this humiliating performance from their competitor, the entire Chen Clan faced disgrace, and they could do nothing about it.
In truth, everyone else was shaken by the death of the first martial artist. With clenched jaws and fists, everyone's eyes were fixed on the scene, scared that their competitor might be the next to fall.
Li Guang was no exception. Confident as he was in Lu Changsheng, every man eligible to take part in this was an expert; the martial artist who had just died was also an expert. The fact that Lu Changsheng had become the King of the Battle Arena did not mean he could not fall here.
"You must hold out..." Li Guang murmured under his breath.
Qi Tianyi appeared utterly calm, and Li Guang felt a flicker of suspicion as he glanced at him.
Look at him, so sure of himself despite being a good-for-nothing fool...
There was only one possible explanation for someone like Qi Tianyi to be so composed in a situation like this: the martial artist he had brought into the Treasure Competition had to be incredibly strong, to the point of filling him with utmost confidence.
"There goes the second one! The Zhao Clan's expert has died too."
"The Zhao Clan? If I recall correctly, their contestant put up a good performance in the last Treasure Contest. Heh, to think he wouldn't even make it past round one this time around."
"Yeah, well, if you don't have a defensive technique, you're screwed in there."
"Look, the guy Li Guang recruited... Lu Changsheng, was it? Looks like he's also about to fall."
"Indeed. He's unleashed five defensive techniques, but they're all so mediocre. Quantity won't make up for poor quality here."
"He's dead once his defensive techniques are spent. He has to surrender."
Many had their eyes fixed on Lu Changsheng. After all, Li Guang belonged to one of the larger factions here, so he naturally drew more attention—especially since Li Guang was at odds with Qi Tianyi, the two locked in a quiet contest.
The martial artist under Qi Tianyi's command seemed steady; he would likely make it past round one. So, if Li Guang's martial artist died in the first round, his reputation would take an even bigger hit.
As time went on, Lu Changsheng's defensive techniques showed signs of collapsing. One, two, three... Soon, four of them were spent.
"Hah, just one lousy technique left. Hey, Li Guang. Seems like your martial artist is quite the disappointment. Look, he's about to fall in the first round," Qi Tianyi taunted with a nasty smile, his tone utterly unsparing. He loved seeing Li Guang on the brink of failure.
Li Guang made no response, his face dark. He could not believe that Lu Changsheng would fall here.
No way the King of the Battle Arena would just die here!
Indeed, there was nothing he could say in that moment, for results spoke louder than words.
Even Wu Shun shook his head slightly. Lu Changsheng's performance left a lot to be desired. At this rate, he would soon collapse, marking yet another humiliating failure for Li Guang.
Creak!
The last of Lu Changsheng's defensive techniques shattered, but before the lightning net could hit him, beams of light surfaced over his body.
Hum...
The light shone with a riot of colors, and ten divine techniques surfaced in an instant, each of them defensive.
"What the...?!" Qi Tianyi nearly cried out, his arrogant composure cracking at once.
It wasn't just Qi Tianyi. Everyone else was taken aback, staring in disbelief at Lu Changsheng. They could hardly believe what they were seeing. Lu Changsheng, who had seemed on the verge of collapse only a moment ago, had suddenly eliminated the danger posed by the lightning net.
"Ten techniques...?
Practicing a divine technique took time, and the ones Lu Changsheng had unleashed were all ordinary and unremarkable. What sane martial artist would spend so much time and effort practicing so many mediocre techniques? It was pure madness.
Was Lu Changsheng not planning to condense a divine ability? If he wished to condense one, then wasting so much time on so many divine techniques was the height of folly.
"Hmph, what an idiot. Talent is meaningless if you don't know how to use it. Wasting your time with ordinary divine techniques like these, and for what?" Qi Tianyi sneered again, recovering somewhat from the shock.
"Well, fool or not, he's certainly doing better than you. Can you even practice an ordinary divine technique, you worthless moron?" Li Guang shot back.
"Li Guang, you..." Qi Tianyi shot to his feet, glaring fixedly at him. However, his reaction only widened the smile on Qi Tianyi's lips.
This time Wu Shun did not intervene. After all, he was nothing to Qi Tianyi, so why would he clean up after him every time? They were all direct-line scions of great powers, and so they ought to know their limits. Those who did not would only bring loss upon themselves.
Soon, Qi Tianyi calmed down, his glare switching back to Lu Changsheng.
He has another ten divine techniques, huh? So what? That must be his last card. Those ten techniques are not enough for him to survive for the remainder of the time. The lightning will consume his techniques and kill him!
Qi Tianyi convinced himself of Lu Changsheng's apparent weakness and inevitable downfall. Those ten techniques did not look like they could withstand the lightning until the end of the round.
Li Guang said nothing either. Who could say what other tricks he has up his sleeve?
After all, he had never seen Lu Changsheng use those divine techniques in the arena. Perhaps Lu Changsheng still had many surprises in store for him.
Time passed bit by bit, and eventually, the third Dao Foundation martial artist died. As the minutes wore on, every Dao Foundation martial artist and Dao Lord was under tremendous pressure. In the case of Dao Lords, they would be in deep trouble once an enchanted treasure crumbled.
However, almost everyone was focused on Lu Changsheng, as if waiting for his ten techniques to collapse. Would he reveal another trump card, or was he simply awaiting his doom?
Crack!
Sure enough, almost all of Lu Changsheng's ten divine techniques had been broken by the lightning net, and there were still around seven minutes left.
"Hahaha! Lu Changsheng's done for! And there's still so much time left! The lightning's going to reduce him to dust!" Qi Tianyi erupted with boundless excitement.
The moment he had anxiously waited for had finally come. His gaze was fixed on Lu Changsheng as the lightning net was about to break through the last bit of his defenses.
Many others shook their heads and sighed. They were convinced Lu Changsheng was a dead man.
Hum...
But then, everyone's expression froze.
As soon as Lu Changsheng's last defensive technique collapsed, another burst of multicolored radiance surged to life.
"More... divine techniques?"
Indeed, Lu Changsheng had just released another set of divine techniques—twenty, to be exact.
The whole manor fell utterly still. Everyone was dumbfounded, staring with wide eyes at the formidable figure within the Yin-Yang Annihilation Pagoda.
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