Firmament Sword

Xu Luo looked up at the equally dazed referee. The referee snapped back to his senses and loudly announced, "This match... Luo Tian of the Medicine Garden wins!"

Xu Luo gave the referee a small smile, activated the token in his hand, and his figure instantly vanished from the arena stage.

Only then did the crowd in the stands seem to snap out of their stupor, and a fierce wave of discussion erupted.

"Heavens, what did I just see? Can someone tell me if that was real?"

"The Medicine Garden, known for producing pushovers... since when did they have such a ferocious shark?"

"That level of strength... he was just toying with Dingping Zong. It was a complete and utter beatdown!"

"Dingping Zong's unwillingness to accept his first loss only brought him even greater humiliation..."

"If he could see the future, I bet Dingping Zong would never have made such a humiliating request."

"Just think about how Dingping Zong was just shouting about cheating, acting all high and mighty. I wonder what's going through his mind right now?"

How could Dingping Zong, standing below the stage, possibly have the face to remain? The moment Xu Luo left, he had also teleported away.

Standing outside, looking at his now-deactivated token, Dingping Zong wanted to cry but had no tears left.

By now, how could he not realize that his opponent's combat power was far, far greater than his own? There was simply... no comparison between them!

Recalling his earlier arrogance, Dingping Zong felt that if a crack were to open in the ground before him, he would dive into it without a second thought.

This battle caused quite a stir throughout all of Celestial Brilliance.

The first reaction of those who heard about it was disbelief. But as more and more people spoke of it, how could a battle witnessed by several thousand people be fake?

Even the referee, a Great Saint Realm expert, came forward to say that the Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden's combat power was anything but ordinary.

Only then did people believe it. They finally understood that this year's Medicine Garden was, it seemed, no longer the weakest faction.

The developments over the next few days confirmed their suspicions.

The Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden was shining brilliantly in this year's annual competition!

If the combat power of Xu Luo, the Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden, had shocked countless people and made them take notice, then the sensation caused by the other Medicine Garden Disciples led to a startling discovery... the Medicine Garden had changed!

In past annual competitions, almost every Heavenly Brilliance Disciple from outside the Medicine Garden saw a Medicine Garden Disciple as a guaranteed win.

They would swagger up with the mindset of a cat toying with a mouse, play with their opponent for a bit before defeating them to build their own confidence.

But this year... the Medicine Garden Disciples were like madmen. Every single one was so ferocious that it was hard to believe they came from the Medicine Garden. They were more like the lunatics from the Precepts Hall!

What was even more terrifying was that when these people fought, their first move... was to use some kind of Elixir they had never even heard of.

Some of these Elixirs would cause violent explosions, the power of which was no weaker than a strike from a Saint.

This might not sound like much, since most of the Heavenly Brilliance Disciples participating in the annual competition had reached the Saint Realm.

But the problem was... they had so many of these Elixirs!

They threw them out by the handful... Even a Great Saint would frown at the sight and wouldn't dare to face it head-on.

Let alone those disciples who were also in the Saint Realm. They had no choice but to accept a result they found deeply humiliating—elimination!

Some Elixirs, when used, would create a poisonous mist that left one's entire body weak... Those who fell for it could only wear looks of humiliation as they were "escorted" off the stage by the Medicine Garden Disciple.

Then there were the unlucky ones who had faced their opponents in a previous annual competition and had cruelly humiliated them. Now, the tables had turned...

These people were all kicked off the stage.

The vast array of Elixirs truly opened the eyes of the other Heavenly Brilliance Disciples. For the first time, they discovered that the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden wasn't the pushover they had imagined.

Even if they were fish... they were definitely the most ferocious kind!

Definitely not the kind that could be easily tossed on a cutting board to be carved up at will.

There was one type of Elixir that would burst open upon contact with the Wind, releasing a smoke that made one's entire body itch uncontrollably.

Xu Luo personally watched this match.

Before the match, a junior brother named Gu Ta—a Direct Disciple of the Medicine Garden's Third Elder Gu Ning—mysteriously sought out Xu Luo, saying he wanted to invite him to watch a very satisfying match.

Xu Luo agreed. Then, before the match began, the Direct Disciple told Xu Luo the arena number.

Following the number, Xu Luo teleported to the stands of an arena for the first time to watch a match.

At first, when Gu Ta's opponent heard he was a Medicine Garden Disciple, he was overjoyed and even used a Sound Transmission Stone to tell many of his friends to come and watch.

The originally empty stands were suddenly filled with several hundred people—the opponent's cheering section.

This group was laughing and joking, making all sorts of snide remarks and envying their companion's good luck on the stage.

Not long after the battle started, Gu Ta, who had deliberately positioned himself upwind, directly threw out two Elixirs.

The Elixirs burst open the moment they met the Wind.

After bursting, they were colorless and formless, just like two firecrackers.

Gu Ta's opponent roared with laughter and said, "Is your Medicine Garden this pathetic? I'll send you a few strings of firecrackers later so you can play with them to your heart's content!"

But before his words had even faded, the unlucky fellow's entire body began to itch uncontrollably. At first, he could barely control it, but soon it was completely unbearable. He started scratching his body frantically, tearing his clothes to tatters.

He scratched his skin raw until it bled.

This left his cheering section in the stands completely dumbfounded!

Then... the unlucky bastard directly surrendered, crying and begging Gu Ta to give him the antidote.

Also asking for the antidote... was the referee on the stage. He had unfortunately been hit too!

Fortunately, this referee was in the Great Saint Realm and could temporarily suppress it with his power, but not for long. The moment the opponent surrendered, the referee rushed over, fuming, and demanded the antidote from Gu Ta.

Looking ashamed, Gu Ta gave the antidote to the referee first, then apologized profusely, saying that if this ever happened again, he would definitely give advance notice...

The Great Saint Realm referee rolled his eyes. 'There's a next time? Next time I see you, I'm taking a detour!'

And just like that, Gu Ta, whose cultivation realm was much lower than his opponent's, won the match.

This seemingly absurd match was filled with the bitterness of the Medicine Garden Disciples: Why shouldn't we be able to use our own special skills in a fight?

"I am a Pill Master, so I will fight with Elixirs!"

This sentence had already become the new slogan for the Medicine Garden Disciples.

As the battles continued one after another, this year's annual competition produced far too many unexpected scenes.

In previous years, anyone who faced a disciple from the Medicine Garden would laugh heartily, then call over their friends and family to witness their victory.

But this year... while many people did so at the beginning, it wasn't long before no one did it anymore.

Instead, it was the spectators who were lucky enough to catch a match involving a Medicine Garden Disciple who would immediately notify their friends and family.

The result... in every combat zone, the moment a Medicine Garden Disciple appeared, the stands for their arena would be filled to capacity in an instant!

And the Medicine Garden Disciples... never disappointed. The variety of miraculous Elixirs in their hands made them impossible for their opponents to guard against!

The variety was so vast it was despair-inducing!

At this point, some voices of opposition began to rise within Celestial Brilliance against the Medicine Garden Disciples using Elixirs in battle.

"This is unfair! Relying on external items to fight isn't relying on one's own strength at all!"

"The annual competition is a test of a year's worth of cultivation progress. It's about personal strength, not these external items!"

"We call for a ban on Medicine Garden Disciples using those Elixirs to fight! It should be forbidden!"

"Yes, we strongly demand that Medicine Garden Disciples be banned from using Elixirs! This is a blatant challenge to the rules!"

"This is shameless behavior!"

These voices first came from a portion of the defeated challengers. They simply couldn't accept it. The Medicine Garden Disciples who in past years could only lower their heads and admit defeat were now climbing up by stepping on their corpses.

This kind of thing was simply unbearable!

However, most of these people were just complaining within their own circles of friends, and it didn't gain much momentum.

Until... a Direct Disciple of a Celestial Brilliance Elder with Real Power, a young man who had just stepped into the Great Saint Realm, was forcefully blasted off the stage by the Medicine Garden's second senior brother, Zhu Gang, using a variety of Elixirs.

This issue, which had been brewing for many days, finally fermented... and exploded!

"It was so infuriating! My strength... I could have easily crushed Zhu Gang!"

"Three years ago, during the annual competition, I faced Zhu Gang once. It was in the battle for the top 250 out of 500, and I defeated him in less than ten moves!"

"I can't accept today's loss!"

"This fight wasn't fair at all!"

"In terms of strength, I'm leagues ahead of him!"

This Direct Disciple of an Elder with Real Power had considerable influence within Celestial Brilliance. As soon as he spoke out, supporters flocked to him.

Countless people echoed his sentiment, wanting to suppress the newly risen Medicine Garden!

Even if they couldn't be completely banned from using Elixirs, they had to be made to restrain themselves, to have some reservations!

This voice quickly became a tidal wave, and soon almost everyone in Celestial Brilliance was discussing the matter.

Faced with this situation, the Chief Grand Elder of the Medicine Garden was the first to step forward and respond.

"A bunch of trash!"

"What is strength? Strength is the sum of all the trump cards you can play... that is strength!"

"You can use attack Talismans! You can use all sorts of methods!"

"In fact, have you held back from using these methods over the years?"

"How many wealthy disciples have used all kinds of equipment to overpower their opponents and achieve a good ranking in the annual competition? Do you want me to list them one by one?"

"My Medicine Garden Disciples practice Alchemy and Medicine Refining. This is what they excel at. Why shouldn't they be allowed to use it?"

"In the future, when you represent Celestial Brilliance in the Jianghu, if you get ambushed and captured alive, falling into the hands of someone with less combat power than you, are you going to cry 'unfair' then too?"

"I'm afraid at that point, the first thought in you losers' heads would be to get on your knees and beg for mercy!"

"You disgraceful bunch! If you think it's unfair, then withdraw from the annual competition! No one will miss you!"

"Or better yet, just get the hell out of Celestial Brilliance! So you pieces of trash don't go out and disgrace Celestial Brilliance in the future!"

These words from Yuwen Ji were incredibly forceful. The first reaction of many who heard them was: 'Did those words really come from that amiable old man from the Medicine Garden?'

Next, all of them waited in anticipation for their own masters, the upper echelons of Celestial Brilliance, to step forward and refute Yuwen Ji's shameless speech.

But the result left them disappointed.

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