Firmament Sword

Dingping Zong... was actually defeated!

No one even knew how he had lost. By the time people saw him, he was already off the arena floor.

Dingping Zong himself stood below the arena in a daze, a look of disbelief on his face. "How... how did I get down here?" he mumbled.

"This is impossible!"

"He didn't even touch me!"

Dingping Zong's voice grew louder and louder, echoing around the arena. Many people... heard his words.

Growing more certain of his own judgment, Dingping Zong shouted, "My strength has already reached the High Tier Saint Realm! There's no way he could have gotten me off the arena without me even realizing it!"

"Cheating!"

"This is shameless cheating!"

"Referee! I want to file a complaint! This is cheating!"

In the stands, which held several thousand people, there was first a dead silence, followed by a massive uproar!

"Could what this Ding fellow said be true? Did Senior Brother Medicine Garden... really cheat?"

"That's impossible, right? How could he dare to cheat under everyone's watchful eyes? Besides... how would he even do it? Can someone please explain to me... how he could have possibly cheated?"

"I also don't think it was cheating, but I honestly didn't see it clearly. I was looking down, using a Sound Transmission Stone to contact someone outside..."

"Me too... Damn it all, I was just bragging to someone that I was here watching Senior Brother Medicine Garden get crushed. And then... then this Ding guy just fell off the stage like that."

"So frustrating! I can't believe I didn't see it clearly..."

Throughout the surrounding stands, countless people wore frustrated expressions as they discussed among themselves.

However, they didn't particularly believe Dingping Zong's words.

The reasoning was simple. On this kind of arena stage, right in front of a referee who was a senior figure from Celestial Brilliance, who would have the guts to cheat?

Most importantly, how... could one even cheat?

At this moment, everyone's gaze focused on the referee.

The referee was also scratching his head. To be honest... even he... hadn't seen it clearly!

This referee wasn't exactly from the oldest generation, but he was still two or three generations senior to these young disciples. His cultivation had long since entered the Great Saint Realm, and he usually spent his days in secluded training.

He only served as a referee during the annual competition.

In fact, this referee had been officiating the preliminary rounds for over a dozen years straight.

Once a contestant fell from the arena, they couldn't get back up. Thus, the brawny, tiger-built Dingping Zong, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, was left shouting below, clamoring about the unfairness of it all.

"Referee, say something!"

"Either open the barrier and let us have a rematch, or I won't accept this!"

"If you don't grant my request, I'll definitely file a complaint with the higher-ups!"

From the surrounding stands, some voices rose in support of Dingping Zong.

"Referee, if it's really an issue, just open the barrier and let him have another go."

"Yeah, none of us saw clearly what happened."

"Just have a rematch. If Senior Brother Medicine Garden truly has the skill, he won't be afraid of a rematch, even ten of them!"

"Right! If it was cheating, there's no way he could cheat twice in a row!"

The referee looked at Xu Luo, somewhat troubled.

Xu Luo sighed softly and said to the referee, "I thought you had seen it clearly and would ensure justice was served."

It wasn't that the referee hadn't seen anything. He had indeed seen Xu Luo approach Dingping Zong, and then Dingping Zong had fallen off the stage. However, he hadn't clearly seen exactly what Xu Luo had done.

Hearing this, he felt even more awkward and said, "This kind of situation... I've truly never encountered it before. How about... I ask for instructions from above?"

Below, Dingping Zong roared angrily, "Luo Tian, do you dare fight me again? With my strength at the High Tier Saint Realm, it's impossible for me to be thrown from the arena without feeling a thing! Therefore... you must have cheated!"

Xu Luo let out a chuckle. He shook his head at the troubled referee, then looked at Dingping Zong below. "I used to think people with thick eyebrows and big eyes were all good people, or at least honest and simple. Today, I realize I was wrong. You want to fight again, is that it? You want to *feel* yourself being thrown off the stage, is that it?"

Xu Luo's words made Dingping Zong's face turn ashen, while a wave of laughter erupted from the stands.

Xu Luo looked at the referee. "Open the barrier. Let him come up. I'll grant his request."

The referee let out a huge sigh of relief and used his authority to open the barrier.

Dingping Zong leaped onto the arena and glared at Xu Luo, shouting, "This time... I definitely won't give you any chance to cheat! I'll show you with facts what true strength is!"

"Are you done talking?" Xu Luo asked calmly, looking at Dingping Zong.

"I'm done!" Dingping Zong replied coldly.

"Then get off the stage," Xu Luo said as he began walking toward Dingping Zong, one step at a time.

This time, Xu Luo's movements... everyone could see them clearly!

Never mind the cultivators in the stands; even an ordinary person could see what Xu Luo was doing... It was clear he was just taking a stroll!

As if he had been greatly insulted, Dingping Zong roared, and a powerful, imposing aura erupted from his body—an aura so strong it was astounding!

"High Tier Saint Realm... he really is!"

"It's no wonder Dingping Zong feels so aggrieved. If it were me, I wouldn't accept it either. Among the younger generation of disciples, while High Tier Saint Realm isn't exceptionally strong, it's definitely not weak!"

"In the entire Medicine Garden... isn't Qi Yue the only one at the Peak of Saint Realm? The rest... it seems there aren't even many at the Mid-level Saint Realm."

Murmurs broke out in the stands, but this time, no matter what they were saying, everyone's eyes were glued to the arena below.

Even the referee, a Great Saint Realm expert, was giving his undivided attention, staring intently at the two combatants.

Xu Luo continued to walk forward, one step at a time. The two weren't far apart to begin with, and now Xu Luo was just a few dozen feet from Dingping Zong. Facing the High-tier Saint's aura erupting from his opponent, Xu Luo remained expressionless and kept walking.

This time, many in the stands finally confirmed one thing in their hearts.

Regardless of whether Luo Tian had cheated just now, his cultivation realm was definitely no weaker than Dingping Zong's!

Because if one hadn't reached the High Tier Saint Realm, they would surely be affected by the mountain-like pressure erupting from Dingping Zong. How could they possibly walk with such ease and leisure?

Dingping Zong wasn't an idiot. He naturally saw this fact as well. With a loud shout, he charged toward Xu Luo.

Each step he took on the arena platform made a heavy THUD, as if a great mountain... was moving at high speed!

The distance of a few dozen feet... was nothing!

In an instant, Dingping Zong was right in front of Xu Luo. A savage, twisted expression appeared on his face as he roared, "Get the hell off the stage!"

BOOM!

A fist viciously smashed toward Xu Luo's face!

It was like a great mountain crashing down from the sky!

WHOOSH!

Dingping Zong's punch... seemed to hit nothing but air. Xu Luo's figure had suddenly vanished from his spot!

This time, many in the stands saw it clearly.

The moment Dingping Zong threw his punch, Xu Luo's figure moved with unbelievable speed, flashing directly behind him!

The Great Saint Realm referee also saw it clearly this time, but his face was filled with shock.

'What kind of Body Technique is this? How can it be so fast?'

The referee on the stage wasn't the only one who had this thought; so did the spectators all around.

Dingping Zong's reaction was also extremely fast. After his punch missed, his body instantly lunged forward as he simultaneously kicked a leg viciously behind him!

A collective gasp suddenly came from the stands.

They saw that just as the kick arrived, Xu Luo's body was somehow suspended in mid-air.

Naturally, Dingping Zong's kick hit nothing but air again.

But this gave Dingping Zong a moment to breathe. He did a side flip, landing a short distance away, and looked back at where he had just been. To his great surprise, there was nothing there!

Just then, a voice came from behind him, but it wasn't speaking to him. It was addressing the referee and the audience.

"This time... did you all see clearly?"

The voice was calm, with no mockery or disdain, as if asking about a very ordinary matter.

A clamor rose from the stands. "We saw it!"

Dingping Zong felt a rush of hot blood surge to his head. He was utterly infuriated!

'Too arrogant!'

'Too conceited!'

'Do you think a High-tier Saint is just for show?'

'Just because your Body Technique is good, you look down on me like this?'

"Today... I will definitely teach you a lesson you'll never forget!" Dingping Zong roared, and a vast power suddenly surged from his body, blasting out in all directions.

"Sweep in All Directions!" Dingping Zong bellowed. "Let's see you dodge this!"

"Why would I dodge?" A calm, indifferent voice strangely floated into Dingping Zong's ears, cutting through his own roar.

The voice, once again, came from behind him.

Dingping Zong suddenly felt a chill shoot up his spine and right to the back of his head.

Despite being a High-tier Saint, Dingping Zong couldn't help but shiver.

Then, a huge force struck him from behind, right on his rear end. And then... Dingping Zong went flying.

He had been kicked off the arena by Xu Luo once again.

As he was being kicked off, Dingping Zong was still trying to stabilize his body, but he found that no matter what he did, he couldn't dissipate that force, which wasn't even particularly strong.

Even after landing below the arena, he still couldn't regain his balance, forced by the momentum to fall flat on his face in a most undignified manner.

"Does that count?" Xu Luo's voice once again rang out from the stage.

The surrounding stands, holding several thousand people, were at this very moment completely and utterly silent!

Everyone was completely stunned, staring at the tall, handsome young man on the stage as if they were looking at a monster.

The first time, they hadn't seen clearly. But the second time, they all saw everything perfectly.

From beginning to end, Dingping Zong, a High Tier Saint Realm expert, had been toyed with like a helpless, pitiful child!

He hadn't even managed to touch his opponent's shadow before being kicked in the rear and sent flying off the stage.

This Senior Brother from the Medicine Garden, who everyone had dismissed as a pushover before the annual competition... just what kind of strength did he possess?

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