Unlike the ordinary ghost messengers who were merely spectators, their faces blank with confusion.
The high-ranking ghost messengers, who stood suspended in the air, replayed the recent events in their minds.
This was because Nan Ming had suppressed his realm to the early Ghost King stage, and many present were in the mid to late Ghost King stage, or even冥使境 (Ming Shi Jing).
Naturally, they could discern Nan Ming's movements.
But here lay the mystery.
Jiang Lin had been watching the arena intently, not blinking once.
He hadn't figured out how Nan Ming subdued Liu Buwei.
In fact, Nan Ming had only used one hand throughout the entire process.
Facing Liu Buwei's fierce assault, Nan Ming seemed to have merely used leverage to deflect Liu Buwei's attack.
Then, he accelerated, appearing behind Liu Buwei.
With a single hand chop, he knocked Liu Buwei unconscious.
The actions were simple.
Just two moves, back and forth.
However, Liu Buwei's ghost body possessed the solidity of a Ghost King, so how could he be subdued by a mere hand chop?
Even two Ghost Kings of the same level would require a significant battle to determine a winner.
Even if one lost, they wouldn't necessarily lose consciousness.
'A one-move victory against an opponent of the same realm... how was this achieved?'
This was the question on the minds of almost all the high-ranking ghost messengers.
It was too fast, too simple.
So simple that anyone could perform the actions, but no one could replicate the result.
"Has extreme complexity evolved into extreme simplicity?"
Shen Luo murmured, watching the stage.
She wore a long robe of cyan, her hair pinned up with a hairpin of the same color.
Her face was gentle, giving her the appearance of a delicate young lady.
She looked no different from when she had guided Jiang Lin to the Heavenly Palace that day.
...
On the arena.
Nan Ming retracted his hand.
He turned and used his spiritual power to awaken Liu Buwei, who lay on the ground, saying, "Get up."
"Your explosiveness is good, but you rely too much on brute force."
Liu Buwei stood up, his heart filled with astonishment.
One move?
He had lost in just one move?
Although bewildered, he still cupped his hands in submission and said,
"I lost."
"Thank you for your guidance, sir!"
Even as he leaped off the arena, the hand he had used for the attack was still trembling slightly.
If his strength had merely been deflected, he wouldn't have experienced such a strong counter-force!
Something must have happened that he hadn't noticed the details of!
...
"I'll go!"
After Liu Buwei's swift defeat, the second contestant to enter was the captain of the Ox Head guards, Chu Yong'an, who lived next door to the Eighteenth Hall.
He seemed to have just returned from outside, still holding a trident in his hand.
He didn't put away his weapon as he flew onto the stage.
As he stood firm on the arena, Chu Yong'an directly asked,
"Can I use weapons?"
If it were other ghost messengers, there might have been concerns about accidental injury.
After all, weapons could always lead to accidents.
But facing the King of the Southern Palace, Chu Yong'an had no such worries.
Nan Ming was indifferent to this and nodded, saying,
"Yes."
"The Southern Palace is a place that excels in the use of ghost energy and ghost techniques. Using weapons is not against the rules."
"Just play to your strengths."
"In that case, I won't hold back!" Chu Yong'an spun the trident in his hand.
He adjusted his internal ghost energy to its optimal state.
"Please bestow your guidance, sir!"
At the same time, Nan Ming adjusted his strength to the late Ghost King stage, matching his opponent's realm.
"Come on!"
As he spoke,
Chu Yong'an's trident pierced the wind and attacked him head-on.
In the blink of an eye, it was in front of Nan Ming.
However, Nan Ming seemed to have anticipated this, slightly shifting his body.
He dodged the trident.
He raised his hand and lightly tapped the shaft of the trident.
*Hummm—*
The trident in Chu Yong'an's hand immediately hummed and vibrated violently.
He loosened his grip but quickly tightened it again.
With a flick of his wrist, he deflected the force Nan Ming had applied.
At the same time, he leaped backward with the trident, instantly putting distance between himself and Nan Ming.
After establishing a safe distance, Chu Yong'an quickly placed the trident in front of him.
He channeled ghost energy into it, making it spin.
It spun faster and faster, and faster.
Trails of afterimages appeared.
In an instant, it seemed as if more tridents had appeared in the air.
...
"Am I seeing things?"
The ordinary ghost messengers below the stage rubbed their eyes. "Why are there three tridents?"
A ghost messenger next to him said, "There are clearly ten!"
"Why do I only see six?"
...
"Here they come!"
Chu Yong'an shouted, driving his ghost energy with both hands and pushing forward.
The several spinning tridents in front of him attacked Nan Ming in unison.
Nan Ming raised his right hand, and ghost energy transformed into a sword in his grasp.
He charged towards those tridents.
*Clang!*
The weapons clashed.
One trident was flicked onto the arena, embedding itself diagonally.
Wisps of white smoke rose from it.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
Nan Ming's figure weaved among the numerous tridents.
With every flick of his wrist, a trident was knocked onto the arena, emitting wisps of white smoke.
The ordinary ghost messengers below the stage could barely see his movements.
All they could hear were the sounds of weapons clashing, one after another.
Seeing the tridents being knocked away, the ghost messengers were astonished.
"Those tridents aren't illusions?!"
"There are actually that many weapons?!"
They had initially thought he was using a tactic of true and false, real and illusory.
They had been wondering which one was the real weapon.
Who would have thought that all of them were real?!
How was this achieved?
At this moment, a ghost messenger dressed in gray suddenly thought of something.
"When I was helping in the logistics department before, I saw a ghost that had been stabbed into a sieve."
"Could it have been this captain who did it?!"
If it were him, it would be terrifying!
Who would have imagined that a single trident could split into countless others?
...
*Buzz buzz buzz—*
The tridents on the stage continued to split and transform.
Each split had a different size and speed.
Countless tridents surrounded Nan Ming; wherever he moved, the tridents followed.
In a short while, like a beehive, they enveloped him.
Every time he created an opening, new tridents would split out.
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
The sounds of weapons clashing continued to ring out.
Chu Yong'an, with complete focus, circulated his ghost energy, his gaze fixed on the rapidly moving Nan Ming.
His opponent was a King of Hell; a moment's carelessness could lead to an escape.
He would not stop splitting the tridents until the end of the match.
However...
Despite his vigilance, Chu Yong'an looked at the wisps of white smoke emanating from the tridents that had been knocked away, like icy mist.
What were those?
Were they techniques or skills of the Southern Palace?
Or were they meant to obscure his vision?
But no matter what, they had no effect on him.
This was because his tridents directly locked onto the opponent's ghost energy for tracking.
Even if he closed his eyes, it wouldn't make a difference...
Wait!
Chu Yong'an's heart lurched violently. The presence, had vanished!
The presence of the King of the Southern Palace was gone!
*Clang! Clang! Clang!*
The sound of weapons clashing still echoed in his ears, and the surroundings were filled with a hazy icy mist.
No matter how he sensed, he couldn't find Nan Ming's presence!
Where did he go?!
...
Jiang Lin, who was watching from the sidelines, was stunned.
Not just him; all the high-ranking ghost messengers lost sight of Nan Ming at that moment.
Both visually and through their spiritual senses...
Suddenly, Jiang Lin's gaze shot towards a specific spot.
He was there!
...