Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

Liu Longtao's strength, if evaluated by Yan Yu, could most aptly be described as "not having any weaknesses."

Fully-rounded excellence.

His True Yuan was strong, his awareness sharp, and his reactions quick; although he wasn't completely overwhelming others, it was still enough for him to establish a significant advantage over his fellow cultivators.

If there was really something lacking, it would have to be combat experience.

After all, the resurgence of Spiritual Energy only began earlier this year, and the entire world's cultivation research is still at a theoretical stage, so naturally, there aren't many opportunities for real combat.

However, it was unfortunate that his opponent was Yan Yu— I, Yan Yu, am like a bucket with no holes!

And the longest plank, no less, is battle experience!

It's already the final fight, and Yan Yu didn't plan to throw the match like in the previous two rounds, but quickly activated his Shifting Technique.

Seeing that his opponent raised his hand to deploy the Shifting Technique, Liu Longtao silently cursed, "So he's really going for a body slam," and hurriedly maintained the Barrier Charm to prepare for impact.

But when Yan Yu shifted in front of him and suddenly came to a stop, switching to the Wood Bending Charm, Liu Longtao's body jolted.

To stop abruptly in front of the target after initiating the Shifting Technique must be achieved by switching to the Cloud Ascension Technique, he thought to himself. If he was determined, he reckoned he could manage it... maybe succeed five or six times out of ten.

But switching to Cloud Ascension Technique before switching to Wood Bending Charm, that doubled the difficulty at least.

Indeed, being on the field and personally facing such a lightning-fast attack allowed one to fully realize the trouble it presented, compared to merely watching from the sidelines.

Liu Longtao had no time to ponder how his opponent managed it, because beneath his clothes, Yan Yu's right arm, with the help of the Curse Technique, was swelling with muscle.

The Wood Bending Charm wasn't being activated just to scare someone; it was to beat you up!

In the blink of an eye, Liu Longtao had made a decision.

Stand firm and take it!

The most effective method would, of course, be to quickly interrupt the Barrier Charm and switch to the Shifting Technique to dodge the attack. The prerequisite was that you had to switch in time!

If the spell-switching motion was just a little slow, you'd end up with the Barrier Charm dispelled and the Shifting Technique not yet cast, leaving you defenseless and getting punched in the face with a Curse Technique, resulting in falling to the ground foaming at the mouth... Better to stand firm with the Barrier Charm! At least you wouldn't be knocked down with one punch.

Yan Yu threw his fist forcefully, hitting Liu Longtao's left arm, which was protecting his chest. The surge of Wood-Element True Qi burst into the meridians of the arm, instantly destroying the channels of the Earth-Element Barrier Curse.

With his left arm temporarily paralyzed, Liu Longtao retreated with the force of the blow and suddenly raised his right hand like lightning, firing an Impact Curse at Yan Yu's chest.

No, dodged?!!

Yan Yu's figure shifted like a specter, evading the Impact Curse and quickly doubling back with speed so fast it seemed like teleportation, closing in on the unprepared Liu Longtao and slamming a palm towards his abdomen, a faint white vapor twining around his fingertips,

The Runescript!

Runescript True Essence penetrated everything, its control unrivaled. If it landed on the Dantian, it would render the victim utterly unable to mobilize any True Yuan, effectively ruining them.

Liu Longtao wouldn't just surrender without a fight, he promptly activated the Earth-Element Barrier Charm—since among the five elements, earth overcomes water, a cultivator under the Barrier Charm state is directly immune to the Runescript.

But no sooner had he activated the Barrier Charm than Yan Yu pressed down with a palm on his shoulder, his entire body sinking as he lunged towards him.

Iron Mountain Lean!

Liu Longtao tried to retreat, but it was already too late.

Because Yan Yu had switched Curse Techniques once more in an extremely short amount of time, transitioning from the water-based Runescript to the Wood Bending Charm.

Powered by the Wood Bending Charm, the force was robust and powerful; the shoulder charge came on so strong that Liu Longtao felt like he was hit head-on by a rhinoceros, sending him flying on impact.

He flew backward five or six meters, barely managing not to fall on landing. He struggled to stand, feeling pain everywhere, with the meridians in his left arm and chest completely obstructed—the chaotic True Qi left behind when the Earth-Element Barrier Curse was forcefully broken by the Wood Bending Charm.

The fight was over. Discover hidden tales at empire

Liu Longtao fell silent for a moment, then ruefully raised his intact right hand, signaling his surrender and forfeit of the match.

The entire venue fell silent in a split second, only to erupt into a thunderous wave of noise almost immediately, with a sea of chatter engulfing the underground stadium.

In the spectators' section of the Dingbei Army, quite a few cultivators even stood up immediately, craning their necks in disbelieving stares towards the arena, and faintly audible were cries of "This can't be possible."

Given the performance of Yan Yu and Liu Longtao in the previous matches, everyone had assumed that when these two finally clashed, it would be a spectacular and closely fought battle...

Who would have thought that Liu Longtao would start by taking a heavy punch, endure a shoulder slam, and then raise his hand to concede?

It wasn't that they couldn't accept Liu Longtao's defeat, it was that they couldn't accept the speed of his failure!

It was even quicker than Yan Yu's matches against Li Zhaojiang and Zhou Hongyu!

If it weren't for the fact that Liu Longtao was indeed an authentic cultivator of the Dingbei Army, everyone might suspect the match was rigged.

The medical team of the Dingbei Army surrounded the edge of the arena, uncertain whether Liu Longtao's raised hand counted as a surrender and could only hurry to consult the leadership.

In the observation box, the commander of the Zhendong Army, Li Weiguo, looked as serene as a gentle breeze or light clouds, his face even bearing a hint of "Isn't it normal for him to win, what on earth is all that noise about" perplexity and nonchalance. Yet internally, he was brimming with joy.

Yan Yu, oh Yan Yu, well done! You didn't let me down! You lived up to my resolve to stick with you as the representative of the Zhendong Army cultivators, even against the pressure from Chen Tianming! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!