(Thank you to "Ao Hou" and "Dusty" for your votes)
This was Chu Mu's second time participating in a competition at the Inner Sanctum Arena.
The first time was when he had participated in the finals of the Sword King Tournament, and the second time was when he had been nominated as one of the candidates for the Bronze Sword Ranking. He would be competing with the other candidates for the sole spot on the Bronze Sword Ranking.
Although this kind of competition was not as grand as the Sword King Tournament, it was still eye-catching. Thus, aside from the students who were out on missions and those who were in seclusion, most of the students were present.
This time, there was no limit to the number of seats, and the students could sit wherever they wanted. Thus, the students who were familiar with each other sat in groups of twos and threes to discuss and express their opinions.
There were about forty thousand students present, so the arena did not seem that empty. Aside from the students, most of the elders from the ten academies had also arrived. At the very least, the Bronze Sword Ranking was an extremely high honor in the Inner Sanctum, and they were all witnesses to it.
The eighty candidates for the Bronze Sword Ranking from the ten academies were all present, and they were all gathered around the arena. Chu Mu glanced at them, and sure enough, aside from him, the other seventy-nine were all at the Qi Transformation Realm.
The most important thing was that they were not in his current situation and could not use their intent realm.
Intent realm was an important component of an outstanding swordsman's strength. If one was unable to use their intent realm, their overall strength would be reduced by at least fifty to sixty percent.
However, Chu Mu's expression was calm, and no one could tell what he was thinking.
Of course, Chu Mu's sword qi cultivation was only at the peak of the Qi Transformation Dacheng Realm, which was the lowest out of the eighty candidates. Thus, the other seventy-nine candidates did not think much of Chu Mu.
They all knew how Chu Mu had obtained this spot. It could be said that his outstanding performance in the Sword King Tournament had caused the Academy Master to make an exception and give him a spot. At most, this was to let Chu Mu fight against those powerful swordsmen in advance, so that he could clearly understand his own shortcomings.
"Chu Mu's cultivation has increased so quickly?" Some of the elders from Astral-9 were astonished and started discussing amongst themselves.
"That's right. Even though he obtained the Mortal Yang Pill and was able to rapidly increase his Sword Qi, breaking through to the next realm is not that easy. I remember that this Chu Mu entered the inner palace less than a year ago."
"This is really surprising. In less than a year, he actually reached the peak of Qi Transformation Dacheng. This kind of speed of improvement far surpasses others."
"It is indeed very surprising, but I'm afraid it has no fate with the Bronze Sword Ranking."
"That's true. After all, the Bronze Sword Ranking requires overall strength, not a single aspect. Even though Chu Mu's swordsmanship is profound and unfathomable, earning him the title of Sword King, and even an elder like me has to admire his swordsmanship, in this competition, swordsmanship is only a part of it. It accounts for less than 20%, and there are many other factors to consider. "
"Haha, the Academy Master gave Chu Mu a spot because he didn't expect Chu Mu to defeat the other opponents and obtain a spot on the Bronze Sword Ranking. He only gave him a chance to fight against a powerful opponent and let him understand that swordsmanship is not absolute. He also needs to be strong in other aspects to be truly strong. Therefore, I'm afraid that this Chu Mu won't even make it past the first round."
"The Academy Master has really given this a lot of thought."
Not only were the elders discussing this, but the other students were also discussing this matter. Naturally, they were all talking about how Chu Mu would not be able to obtain a spot on the Bronze Sword Ranking. Every one of them spoke with reason.
"Hmph, he'll just embarrass himself if he goes up," a student from Astral-9 said disdainfully with a hint of anger in his eyes.
Originally, Chu Mu's spot should have belonged to him, but the Academy Master had decided to give it to Chu Mu. How could he not be angry?
Most importantly, he had wanted to challenge Chu Mu to obtain a spot on the Bronze Sword Ranking yesterday, but he hadn't expected that Zhuge Ming would also be in Chu Mu's Sword Gauntlet. He had been interrupted by Zhuge Ming on the spot and had been unable to challenge him.
After all, Zhuge Ming was very powerful. He was ranked 35th on the Bronze Sword Ranking and was the strongest existence in Astral-9. He was also an important member of the Golden Wind Alliance. Offending him was equivalent to cutting off one's own path of retreat.
Because of Zhuge Ming's presence, those who had wanted to challenge Chu Mu were all stopped outside. They didn't dare to directly offend Zhuge Ming.
Chu Mu had also gotten some rest to avoid being disturbed. He was able to properly adjust his condition in order to deal with today's battle.
Today, Zhuge Ming was also present.
There were two referees, one of whom was one of the referees from the previous King of Swordsmanship Competition. They stood on the arena and announced that the Bronze Sword Ranking's Nomination Competition was about to begin. The eighty nominees would go onto the arena and draw lots.
This competition's format was different from the King of Swordsmanship Competition. Lots would be drawn, and the loser would be eliminated.
After the first seventy-nine students had drawn lots, the last lot belonged to Chu Mu. Chu Mu looked at the number on it and saw that it was fifty-three.
"Look at the numbers in your hands. The next round will be number one against number eighty, number two against number seventy-nine, and so on," the referees announced loudly. "Now, number one and number eighty will stay on the arena and prepare for the competition. Everyone else, get off the arena."
Chu Mu and the other seventy-seven nominees jumped off the arena and sat down in the candidate seats, preparing to watch the competition.
"The first round of the Bronze Sword Ranking's Nomination Competition: number one against number eighty. Begin."
The referees first opened the seal on the arena, and then announced loudly.
This seal was different from the one used during the Sword Art Is King Competition. It wouldn't restrict the Innate Sword Qi and intent realm of the participants. The main purpose of this seal was to protect the spectators. It would prevent the spectators from being injured if their attacks were too powerful.
The strength of this seal was very high. It could completely block the attacks of a Qi Sea realm sword warrior without breaking.
Number one and number eighty candidates pulled out their swords and pointed at each other from dozens of meters away. They were both using upper grade swords.
Basically, other than Chu Mu, the other nominees were all at the Qi Transformation Realm. They were more powerful than normal Qi Transformation Realm warriors, so they naturally had the ability to use upper grade swords.
In this aspect, Chu Mu was not as good as them.
Number one and number eighty said something to each other and immediately attacked. As soon as they attacked, sword Qi was everywhere.
Their battle looked completely different from Chu Dang Xiong's. Chu Dang Xiong's attacks gave people the feeling that he was trying to be powerful, but in reality, his attacks were very weak. Their attacks, on the other hand, did not look powerful, but their power was concentrated. Every sword Qi that spread out contained a very terrifying power.
Number one and number eighty, the two nominees, started by testing each other's moves. After getting a rough idea of each other's strength, they immediately used their full strength to deal with each other.
But as they used their full strength, they also had to hold back. If they used all their trump cards, they would be seen through by their opponents. At that time, their opponents would be prepared.
In a battle between swordsmen, it was best not to let the opponent know of one's moves. Only some trump cards could be used as a trump card.
Otherwise, once the opponent knew of their trump cards, they would not be able to catch them off guard. Naturally, they would be much weaker. It was even possible that because the opponent knew their trump cards, they would be prepared and the opponent could take advantage of it.
"Clouds in the Sky!" Candidate number one stabbed out with his sword. In an instant, white clouds appeared and rolled out as if they were blown by a strong wind. The clouds contained a sharp killing intent.
He was using the Mortal Level Ancient Sword Art, Clouds Sword Art.
"Good timing! Take my Ardent Tempest!" Candidate number eighty shouted. Sword Qi surged around his body. He waved his sword, and in an instant, a storm whistled and swept out. It was the Mortal Level Ancient Sword Art, Storm Sword Art.
Movement Technique, Footwork Realm, Ancient Sword Art!
And the attainment of the Basic Sword Art was only a part of it. Therefore, many people thought that Chu Mu was just going through the motions.
"Boundless Clouds!" Candidate number one's Ancient Sword Art changed. The rolling clouds formed one, two, three, and filled the entire battle arena. It seemed to have become boundless.
"Storm Tornado!" Candidate number eighty's Ancient Sword Art also changed. With a rumbling sound, the storm suddenly condensed into a huge tornado that kept spinning.
Such power made people tremble in fear, and their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
Chu Mu frowned slightly. Both number one and number eighty's Ancient Sword Art had been cultivated to the Dacheng Realm. Their Cloud Mentality and Wind Mentality were also close to fifty percent. Coupled with the enhancement of upper grade swords, their power was very strong.
Chu Mu thought about himself and calculated in his mind. If it was him facing either of their Ancient Sword Arts, how could he avoid defeat and counterattack to win?
The battle between number one and number eighty was very intense. Not long after, number one let out a scream and his whole body flew out. Originally, he was sent flying by number eighty's Sword Storm. His whole body hit the seal and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Number eighty wins. First round, second battle: number two versus number seventy-nine." The judge immediately announced. Candidate number one and number eighty left the stage, and it was number two and number seventy-nine's turn to go on stage.
The battle continued one after another. Number two defeated number seventy-nine. In the third battle, number three defeated number seventy-eight. In the fourth battle, number seventy-seven defeated number four.
Basically, those who were defeated were more or less injured. Of course, they were also eliminated. Although they were a little unwilling, a loss was a loss.
Those nominated candidates who had defeated their opponents did not dare to be complacent because this was only the first round of the competition. There were other opponents later, and these opponents would be even stronger. Only by defeating all of them and obtaining the final victory would they have the right to be happy.
"First round, twenty-eighth battle: number twenty-eight versus number fifty-three."
(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to come to qidian.com to vote for me. Your support is my biggest motivation.)
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
