Firmament Sword

Xu Luo could only offer a wry smile in the face of Xie Yurou's direct and bold declaration of love. He feigned ignorance, casually saying, "Is that so? Then when I go to your family to propose, will I be kicked out the door?"

If Xu Luo had dodged the subject, Xie Yurou might have pressed him further. But faced with his teasing words, she could only retreat.

She shot Xu Luo a glare and said in a delicate voice, "Propose, my foot! If you go, you'll definitely be hacked to pieces and thrown out!"

"Oh, that sounds terrifying. In that case, I really don't dare to go!" Xu Luo said with a look of mock horror.

Xie Yurou rolled her eyes dramatically. 'You gutless fool!' she thought.

But speaking of which, the heavy pressure that had been weighing on her was now gone. Xie Yurou's mood lightened considerably. What she had told Xu Luo was no lie; everyone in the Xie Family now believed she and Luo Tian were a perfect match.

In the past, the Xie Family would have never agreed to this. But times had changed. Luo Tian had demonstrated qualities outstanding enough to attract the Xie Family's interest. Even a powerful Heritage Clan like the Huyan Family had chosen to back down before him.

Thus, the Xie Family was happy to let their relationship develop.

At the very least, Xie Yurou no longer had to worry about her family suddenly marrying her off.

Afterward, the drawing for the round of 125 advancing to 63 began. The bye, the lot that granted automatic advancement, was not drawn by Xie Yurou, nor by Xu Luo. Instead, it was drawn by Qi Yue, the senior sister of the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden!

The entire Medicine Garden erupted in celebration!

Qi Yue drawing the bye guaranteed that at least two people from the Medicine Garden would enter the top thirty-two!

Don't be fooled by the fact that dozens of the 125 contestants were from the Medicine Garden. While the Medicine Garden's offensive Elixirs were indeed powerful, among those who made it to the top 100... there were no weaklings!

At this stage, nearly every single person was an elite among elites, a genius among geniuses.

Furthermore, by now, most of the Medicine Garden's offensive Elixirs were well known. The previous situation, where a single Elixir could secure an instant victory, was now a thing of the past. Advancing even one step further from the top 100 was extraordinarily difficult!

Every battle had to be fought with one's full strength.

Therefore, Qi Yue drawing this bye was not just her own good fortune, but the good fortune of the entire Medicine Garden!

After drawing the lot, Qi Yue immediately ran over to share the good news with Xu Luo, her eyes shining with a hopeful light.

She hoped to use her strength to close the distance between herself and her Senior Brother. Ideally, even closer!

This young woman, who had once looked down on Xu Luo, had now become his most loyal follower. Deep down, she hoped her relationship with her Senior Brother could become... more intimate than that of fellow disciples.

Xu Luo congratulated Qi Yue, then reminded her not to be satisfied with just reaching the top thirty-two. Since she had drawn such an incredible lot, she should strive to go even further!

Ideally... she should aim for the top sixteen, or even the top eight!

Upon hearing this, Qi Yue immediately went back into seclusion to prepare for her next battle.

Afterward, Xu Luo began to study his opponent for the next battle.

Once the Annual Competition entered the top 100, contestants would know their opponent's identity before the match. Xu Luo's opponent for this battle was Lv Di, the Direct Disciple of Elder Feng Venerable!

Xu Luo already knew a little about this Lv Di. He knew that Lv Di had a somewhat eccentric and reclusive personality, disliked socializing, and possessed a formidable physical body, reputed to be the strongest among Celestial Brilliance's younger generation.

Xu Luo's own physical body had been continuously tempered by the Kaiyang Star Soul in his early years, strengthening it to an unbelievable degree. However, he had rarely encountered an opponent whose physical strength was comparable to his own, which was a source of some regret for him.

Facing Lv Di this time, he could finally fulfill his wish and have a true head-on clash!

Before the battle, the arena where Xu Luo was scheduled to fight was once again packed to the brim. The round of 125... or to be precise, the battles of 124 advancing to 62, were about to begin!

This time, the arena being used was the largest one for the Celestial Brilliance Annual Competition—a colossal stage capable of holding three million people!

The square stage was three hundred zhang long on each side!

The surrounding spectator stands were like four great mountains!

And this time, the stands were filled with many spectators who would normally never watch the Annual Competition. They all came from... the Heritage Clans!

It was the recent uproar that had made many of Celestial Brilliance's Heritage Clans aware of the name Luo Tian and piqued their curiosity about him.

They all wanted to know what kind of peerless prodigy could force the heir of the Huyan Family, Huyan Cyan Mountain, to flee into exile.

Many members of the Xie Family also wanted to see for themselves just how outstanding this Luo Tian was, and whether he was truly worthy... of becoming the Xie Family's son-in-law!

Therefore, even before the battle began, it had already attracted countless gazes.

Xu Luo stood on the stage. Across from him, the somewhat wooden-faced Lv Di had also arrived.

Lv Di looked up at Xu Luo and said, "I hear you're very strong!"

"Just rumors..."

Before Xu Luo could finish, Lv Di cut him off. "I hear your physical body is incredibly formidable!"

Xu Luo raised an eyebrow and said coolly, "Are you finished?"

Lv Di shook his head honestly. "I want to have a close-quarters battle with you to prove who has the strongest physical body!"

Xu Luo smiled. "Alright. I was just thinking I'd like to see for myself the person with the most formidable physical body in Celestial Brilliance's younger generation."

"Then let's begin," Lv Di said bluntly.

"..." Lines of frustration appeared on Xu Luo's forehead. 'This guy is really something,' he thought. 'The Referee hasn't even spoken, and the audience doesn't even seem to be fully seated yet, but you want to start? How are you more of a rookie than I am?'

To Lv Di, the surrounding audience might as well not have been there. In his eyes, there was only his opponent!

Even the Referee was just a passing cloud!

The Referee was a senior figure from Celestial Brilliance, his own strength having reached the Venerable Realm. He had long heard of both Lv Di and Luo Tian, so he wasn't surprised by this and simply said, "Are you both ready?"

Xu Luo nodded. Across from him, Lv Di remained expressionless, probably thinking the Referee was spouting nonsense.

"If you're ready, then... the Celestial Brilliance Annual Competition, the battle of 124 advancing to 62, the Direct Disciple of the Celestial Brilliance Medicine Garden's Chief Grand Elder Yuwen ji versus the Direct Disciple of Grand Elder Feng Venerable, Lv Di... begins now!"

The Referee didn't waste any more words, not even bothering with platitudes about a friendly spar. At this stage, no one would back down.

Every step forward meant a greater achievement in the future. No one would yield.

Furthermore, after entering the top 100, the identities of the two combatants—that is, their master's lineage—were announced before the battle. This was a sign of respect for the young disciples' masters!

It was also a form of promotion!

Elders who could train a disciple to enter the top 100 were always highly sought after.

The moment the Referee's voice fell, Lv Di stomped his feet hard on the ground. Like a Humanoid Barbarian Dragon, he charged straight toward Xu Luo.

He threw a punch without a word!

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged four blows!

The dull thud of each punch sent a chill down the spines of the onlookers.

Many in the stands couldn't help but wince, imagining what would happen if one of those punches landed on them. The thought alone was horrifying.

"What a couple of monsters!"

"Hey, I wasn't even ready, and they already started fighting? Are they going straight into a close-quarters brawl?"

"One has immense strength, rivaling Senior Brother Jin Ming. The other is said to have the number one strongest physical body of the younger generation! A close-quarters fight between these two is bound to be incredible!"

"This is a battle for the title of the strongest physical body in the younger generation!"

"Their attacks are so vicious. A single punch could probably shatter a mountain, right?"

The stands buzzed with discussion. In a short time, nearly everyone had become incredibly excited.

Battles fought with Magic, while spectacular, didn't get one's blood boiling like a close-quarters brawl. It made you wish you could jump in and fight yourself.

In just a few moments, Xu Luo and Lv Di had already exchanged more than a dozen rounds, and the two were evenly matched!

This outcome not only astonished the crowd in the surrounding stands but also shocked Lv Di himself.

Some people joked that this year's Celestial Emperor was Luo Tian, dubbing it the "Year of Luo Tian." Others called it the "Year of the Medicine Garden." In any case, it was impossible to separate the discussion from Luo Tian of the Medicine Garden.

Hearing it so often, some people grew tired of it. It was as if Celestial Brilliance had no other outstanding disciples. 'Why is everyone only talking about him?'

Although Lv Di was eccentric and had few friends, it didn't mean he was uninformed. He, too, felt a certain annoyance toward Luo Tian, who was the talk of all Celestial Brilliance.

For no other reason than the fact that this Luo Tian was a massive troublemaker!

Many Heavenly Brilliance Disciples could spend their entire lives in Celestial Brilliance without stirring up as much trouble as Luo Tian had in a single year.

So, facing him this time, Lv Di was holding back a fierce determination deep inside. He was going to use his formidable physical body to defeat his opponent in close combat!

He would make those people who praised the Senior Brother of the Medicine Garden as the number one of Celestial Brilliance's younger generation shut their mouths!

He just wanted to use his fists to prove one fact: Luo Tian wasn't number one!

BANG! BANG!

Another two punches, two muffled thuds. Both fighters retreated several steps, the ground beneath their feet trembling from the impact!

Xu Luo winced, realizing the skin between his thumb and forefinger had actually split slightly from the impact, with traces of blood appearing.

Lv Di was in even worse shape. The skin between his thumb and forefinger had already torn open, and blood was flowing freely, drawing gasps from the crowd.

"Heavens, Lv Di, the one said to have the strongest physical body of the younger generation, is actually injured!"

"It looks like Lv Di didn't gain any advantage in his close-quarters fight with Luo Tian!"

"Does that mean the Senior Brother Medicine Garden Luo Tian's physical body... is even stronger than Lv Di's?"

"Incredible! Luo Tian's strength is just too immense. It's unbelievable that he didn't cultivate these skills at Celestial Brilliance—he's only been here for a year! Where on earth did he come from? How can he be this strong?"

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