Chapter 148: End of the Tournament (1)
Chapter 148: End of the Tournament (1)
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The roar caused by the explosion was so strong that even the instructors couldn’t help but feel a little dazed, but that wasn’t the main problem. What truly was, was the fact that the barrier around the arena had been destroyed, and that instantly set off alarm bells in all of them.
If it had only been a few cracks, then those specialized in rune formations would have acted and reinforced the barrier further, but the problem was that everything happened so fast that there wasn’t even time to react before the barrier was destroyed in the blink of an eye.
They were already fearing the worst, as the scale of this explosion was far beyond their expectations.
None of them could have ever imagined that an all out clash between two students, one at the third stage and the other at the fourth, would produce such a reaction. It was unthinkable even for them.
They were racking their brains, desperately trying to find an alternative to stop the explosion and prevent it from hitting the audience as well,
They could feel the force of the explosion was so devastating that even they weren’t sure they could come out of it unscathed without some protective artifact.
Right when everyone was going into panic, the blinding light released by the explosion of energy began to fade, little by little, and slowly their sight started to return as they were finally able to open their eyes and look at the scene before them.
And as soon as they did, all their expressions turned incredulous as they looked toward a massive glowing sphere, with swirling yellow orange energy sealed inside, big enough to swallow the entire arena and even the surrounding ground.
It had practically reached the spectator stands and stopped only five meters away from them, but even so, those nearby could feel the destructive power radiating from it, and instinctively couldn’t help but shiver, some even finding the courage to stand and back away.
The students let out a sigh of relief, thinking the instructors had stepped in to stop the explosion,
But they couldn’t have imagined that even the instructors were looking at each other with puzzled expressions, wondering who had stopped it.
’Could it be that the headmaster intervened? It must be. Under his supervision, there’s no way a disaster like this could happen.’
This was the thought running through all their minds, or at least most of them. Liang Yuexing, who had risen from her seat ready to intervene, felt a familiar energy wrapping around the explosion, and she couldn’t help but have her doubts.
Meanwhile, high above in the arena where the headmaster sat, he was on his throne prepared just for him, watching the scene below with a surprised expression.
’Oh? It seems I’ve still underestimated you. Looks like you’re an even bigger monster than him.’
He thought this as his eyes, full of intrigue, observed the scene unfolding before him.
His gaze was sharp, as if he could pierce through the explosion of energy with a single look and see what was hidden inside.
At first, he had been about to intervene when he felt a powerful fluctuation of energy coming from one of the two launched attacks. But in that moment, he noticed something and decided not to act for now, and seeing this result, it seemed he had made the right choice.
The explosion had caught everyone off guard. After all, none of them expected something like this to happen.
Now though, as things calmed down a little, everyone began to wonder what had happened to the two people at the center of it.
After all, they could all guess the destructive power of this explosion, and they knew there was no way to escape if caught in it directly. That’s why everyone was now worried about how the two on the arena were doing.
The referee of the battle, who had dashed out of the arena at the moment of impact between the two attacks, looked at the scene before him with a serious expression, before glancing at his colleagues as if silently asking them what to do.
But right at that moment, the sphere of energy that had formed at the center visibly trembled, and under everyone’s curious yet confused eyes, it started to shrink bit by bit.
That caught everyone’s attention, and with their eyes glued to the arena, they all watched, trying to see the condition of the two on the field.
Even the instructors, all now standing, were watching with serious expressions as the sphere of energy kept shrinking little by little, and soon the edges of the arena began to come into view.
A few seconds passed, and the sphere had already shrunk enough to begin revealing the arena, until finally the first figure was shown.
As soon as it appeared, shock painted the faces of everyone, instructors and students alike, while a deep commotion stirred once more.
All their bodies trembled as they saw the charred, unrecognizable figure of one of the fighters lying in the center of the arena.
He was completely burned from head to toe, with hair reduced to ash, utterly unrecognizable.
Seeing this, some of the weaker students almost fainted at the sight, while others seemed to lose strength in their legs and slump back onto their seats. But despite all this, everyone kept watching as the sphere of energy, which had been shrinking all along, finally reduced to the size of a ball before vanishing into nothing.
Yes, it was gone, as if nothing had ever happened. An explosion powerful enough to shatter a protective barrier resistant even to attacks from cultivators at the peak of the fourth stage had completely disappeared, laying bare the scene on the arena for all to see.
To say it was disastrous would be an understatement.
The floor of the arena was completely shattered, with deep cracks visible everywhere.
But even so, no one cared about that. All eyes were on the two figures on the arena: one charred and lying motionless on the ground, the other standing in stark contrast, completely intact, without a single burn or wound, staring at his opponent with an impassive expression.
As soon as they saw who this person was, everyone’s eyes widened, and another uproar swept through the crowd.
"Heavens, how did he come out unscathed?" said a second year student, staring at the figure standing calmly on the arena, relaxed as if he hadn’t just walked out of a disastrous explosion, but rather as if he had just finished taking a stroll outside.
And if that weren’t enough, the figure who had come out unscathed among the two contestants was none other than Zhu Rong, the second year student who had been shocking everyone from the very beginning, the one who had reached the finals, defeating all his opponents with extreme ease.
That very same student who had faced someone not just a year above him, but also with higher cultivation, and who had mastered spear aura, was now standing there, completely unscathed, as if nothing had happened.
This set everyone off, as they all wondered how in the world he had survived, and not only that, but without a single wound.
All sorts of speculation started to spread, but none of that mattered right now, because there was something far more urgent to take care of immediately.
Swish. Swish. Swish.
Soon, several figures appeared on the arena, all of them instructors. One of them, the instructor specialized in medicine who had treated everyone during the previous matches, rushed straight to Li Duoji and wasted no time, instantly channeling a thin stream of greenish energy into him.
No one said anything as they all watched him work, and as they did, some of the other instructors who had appeared couldn’t help but glance at Zhu Rong, only to see him watching everything unfold with an indifferent expression.
’This boy... how can he stay so calm in a situation like this?’ one of them thought.
One of them was none other than Chen Ao, Li Duoji’s instructor, who at this moment was staring at Zhu Rong with murderous eyes.
Zhu Rong, feeling everyone’s eyes on him, didn’t seem the least bit bothered. On the contrary, he observed it all with extreme calm.
He could see the strange, cautious, yet confused looks being thrown his way, but more than anything, they were investigative gazes.
He felt all of this and could immediately tell what they were thinking.
He felt a faint smile form on his face as he sensed all those sharp gazes pinned on him.
’Tch, what a pain. If only that trash had kept his mouth shut,’ he thought, his expression slightly annoyed but still hidden.
"He’s alive," the voice of the instructor checking Li Duoji’s condition suddenly rang out, instantly easing the tension in everyone’s hearts.
The battle had been fierce and thrilling, but the final blow was too sudden and disastrous. As soon as it happened, everyone had been worried about the two fightinhg on the arena,
but when they finally saw the them, it was another shock, both because one of them was in critical condition, and because the other wasn’t even scratched.
That threw many into confusion, but for now everyone just wanted to know if Li Duoji, who was lying there with his body completely charred, was still alive or not.
Many had already lost hope, yet they kept watching anyway. That’s why, when they finally received confirmation that he was still alive, they all felt a heavy weight lift from their hearts.
Li Duoji was a rare talent, without a doubt superior to those of his same age. He was a prodigy that only appeared once in a very long time,
And his outstanding performance in the tournament had proven that. Losing him would have been a tremendous blow to the academy, but even more importantly, it would have sparked an unpredictable reaction from the Li family, one of the ruling families of Qiyan City.
Everyone knew that the events of this tournament would surely cause a stir and ripple effects later on, but just how serious it would all turn out to be depended entirely on Li Duoji’s condition.