It wasn’t just the audience. Even Du Lingfei was feeling a bit jealous of how lucky Bai Xiaochun had gotten. It was the same with Chen Zi’ang. The other four people who had reached the top 5 had all spend a lot of energy already. If they had managed to get the blank marble, it would have given them a bit of breathing room to rest, which would have been an immense advantage during the rest of the fighting.
Elder Sun looked at Bai Xiaochun and smiled, whereas Li Qinghou’s expression remained the same as before.
Bai Xiaochun looked on excitedly as the next round of fighting began. Du Lingfei’s opponent was a fierce disciple who frequently left the sect on missions to slay wild beasts, and was the type of person who was used to seeing a lot of bloodshed. On the other hand, Du Lingfei’s skill with Lightness-in-Heaviness was quite fear-inspiring. Not only did it provide her with powerful defensive capabilities, but she was also able to move with incredible speed.
The audience was completely focused on the match, and occasional ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’ could be heard. Both fighters were clearly in danger of being injured, and yet… there happened to be a certain voice calling out, taking the lead in the cheering.
“Whoah! Nice sword move!
“Look at that reverse Dragon Tail attack! Oh no! Look behind you! Quick, look behind you!
“Rah rah rah!” Bai Xiaochun was really getting sucked into watching the fight, to the point where he even started applauding at key points. It wasn’t an act either; he really was impressed by Du Lingfei’s performance, and by now, had forgotten that he was actually one of the competitors.
When Elder Sun saw what was happening, he coughed dryly. Li Qinghou’s face was completely expressionless, but inwardly all he could do was shrug his shoulders. After all, Bai Xiaochun had already accomplished the assigned task.
Facing such a powerful opponent, Du Lingfei had no time for distractions. She focused completely for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, and after using Lightness-in-Heaviness three times, she finally secured victory.
However, she ended up exhausting over half of her spiritual energy. Sweating, she was just about to walk out of the arena to rest up a bit, when she heard Bai Xiaochun cheering her on. Then she thought about how incredibly difficult it had been for her to get into the top 3, whereas Bai Xiaochun had done it without any effort at all. Irritation rose up in her heart, and she wished she could simply blast him with a powerful attack right then and there.
When Bai Xiaochun noticed that Du Lingfei was glaring at him angrily, he blinked a few times, feeling a bit offended. Then he glared back at her, which seemed to push Du Lingfei to the point where she almost couldn’t restrain herself from attacking.
Chen Zi’ang’s next fight went a bit smoother. However, he still fought for about the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, and wasted quite a bit of spiritual energy.
He was also feeling quite envious of Bai Xiaochun.
“We now have a top 3. All three of you are Outer Sect… celebrities.” Elder Sun cleared his throat. “Please come to determine the fighting order. This time, the number three marble counts as the blank marble. Whoever picks it will advance directly to the final match.” Elder Sun waved his hand, causing the bag to appear once again.
Chen Zi’ang was the first in line this time, and when he pulled out the marble and saw the number ‘two’ written on it, he sighed and stepped off to the side.
Du Lingfei took a deep breath as she stepped forward. But then she stopped in place and turned icily to Bai Xiaochun.
“You go first!” she said coldly.
Bai Xiaochun, who had been watching the exciting fights this entire time, didn’t refuse. He reached into the bag as Du Lingfei looked on with an icy expression. It wasn’t just her that was waiting to see what would happen, all eyes in the audience were fixed upon Bai Xiaochun.
Even Elder Sun and Li Qinghou were craning their necks.
Being the focus of attention in this way caused Bai Xiaochun to feel a bit embarrassed. Actually, he didn’t even really care which marble he pulled out, and yet when he finally did remove his hand, his eyes went wide with shock.
Number three.
Bai Xiaochun looked back at Du Lingfei, coughed dryly, and said, “Um, hey, you asked me to go first.”
Eyes gleaming ferociously, Du Lingfei clenched her hands into fist and stared murderously at Bai Xiaochun. Her chest rose as she took a deep breath; she seemed to be on the verge of exploding.
Chen Zi’ang’s eyes went wide, and his jaw dropped. The idea of someone being so incredibly lucky simply exceeded his imagination. Yet again… Bai Xiaochun would skip an entire match.
When the surrounding disciples saw the marble in Bai Xiaochun’s hands, they couldn’t restrain themselves. Instantly, a huge commotion broke out.
“He advances automatically again! His name is Bai Xiaochun, right? How… how could he be so lucky!? He got the blank marble twice in a row!”
“How shameless of this guy! He hasn’t done anything, and yet has made it all the way to the final match….”
“How could a guy like that make it to the finals? Dammit, if I was as lucky as that, I could do the same thing!” Everyone was in an uproar, and the people who had been eliminated from the competition earlier seemed especially envious.
Elder Sun hesitated for a moment and then looked over at Li Qinghou. Li Qinghou let out a long sigh; he had to admit that Bai Xiaochun really had gotten lucky.
In Bai Xiaochun’s mind, there was no reason for the crowd to react in such a way. Smiling awkwardly, he hurried out of the arena, standing outside with an embarrassed look on his face.
“Ai. I was planning to concede anyway….” he thought, looking incredulously at the marble in his hand.
Du Lingfei took a deep breath to suppress her extreme irritation. Gritting her teeth, she looked at Chen Zi’ang, simultaneously settling her Qi and clearing her mind. She had done her homework on Chen Zi’ang, and knew that he was a very powerful opponent.
Chen Zi’ang smiled bitterly, taking a deep breath as he gazed back at Du Lingfei.
After staring off for a few breaths of time, they sprang into action. Almost instantly, booms and bangs began to ring out. This was actually the most spectacular fight in the entire competition so far. Chen Zi’ang erupted with his full power, going to the lengths of throwing out some seeds, which he then catalyzed into full-grown plants with attack powers. When Bai Xiaochun saw him use his skill in plants and vegetation in such a way, his eyes glittered.
As for Du Lingfei, she used Lightness-in-Heaviness to send her flying sword whistling through the air. After they had fought for a bit, she then produced a wooden sword, which swirled about in conjunction with the ordinary flying sword, turning the battlefield into an even more spectacular scene than before.
The two of them couldn’t keep using their trump cards for very long, and were rapidly running out of spiritual energy. The fighting only continued to grow more bitter.
Bai Xiaochun was watching excitedly, whooping and hollering the entire time.
The battle went on for about an hour, until a massive boom rang out as Du Lingfei pushed the wooden sword so hard that it exploded. The resulting fragments were then propelled by Lightness-in-Heaviness in a huge attack that Chen Zi’ang simply couldn’t dodge. He was forced into retreat and ended up drawing on all of his spiritual energy. Finally, he sighed and conceded.
The surrounding Outer Sect disciples were quite impressed by the intense battle, and their eyes gleamed with admiration as they gazed at Du Lingfei. They were now fully convinced of how amazing she was. As for Chen Zi’ang, his reputation also improved because of the fight.