The first upset of the competition had arrived. No one expected Zhan Ni, who was originally expected to advance to the finals, to lose in the repechage.
The audience erupted in an uproar. Chuan Manyan supported Zhan Ni as they left, looking somewhat dejected.
Ming Tian and Yuan Yu watched Zhan Ni's retreating figure, both feeling saddened.
"It seems we really can't stop him, that Feng Si Ming."
Yuan Yu murmured.
Could no one truly defeat him? Ming Tian clenched his fist, a determined glint in his eyes.
"Everyone, we'll go first. Zhan Ni must be feeling extremely disheartened right now; we should go check on her."
You Xiaoqing also said with a touch of disappointment. His opponent was Meng Xun, and he had lost as well.
This time, besides Chuan Manyan, no one from the Lingya Team had made it to the finals. Such a huge gap left many people feeling disappointed.
"Take care, Brother You."
"Right, and about this year's three spots, Feng Si Ming and Meng Xun are definitely taking two of them. Only one spot left for the rest, making the competition incredibly intense."
"You two, work hard, I'm rooting for you!"
You Xiaoqing encouraged them before leaving.
"This is terrible, is it already a done deal?"
"Alright, let's go."
Yuan Yu said to Ming Tian, who snapped out of his thoughts.
"Huh? Sister Yuan Yu, aren't we waiting for Brother Yun and Brother Yan?"
"Oh? Right, they haven't finished yet? Who won?"
Yuan Yu looked for Yan and Yuan Yun, while Ming Tian also looked around.
"They're still fighting..."
"They haven't decided the winner yet..."
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!!"
Azure wind blades landed where Yan stood, forcing him to retreat and barely dodge Yuan Yun's attack.
Yuan Yun's azure wings beat behind him, floating in the air, looking at Yan on the stage with a strange expression.
Yan hadn't conceded, maintaining his First Soul Skill, Flame Body, and continuing to face Yuan Yun.
"Enough, Yan!"
"What are you persisting in? Whether it's in soul power or cultivation, you're no match for me. It's over. Do I really have to give you the final blow?"
Yuan Yun felt some reluctance. As a friend, he wanted to preserve Yan's last shred of dignity, not wanting Yan to lose too badly.
This was already enough. He had already persevered for long enough. There was no way he could win, right?
Why hadn't he conceded? Why was he still holding on like this?
"No, I haven't lost yet."
"I still have soul power, I can still use my First Soul Skill, I haven't reached the point of losing."
Yan shouted at Yuan Yun, his first soul ring lit up again, Flame Body activated, and flames began to ignite on his body, making his body stronger.
"Why bother?"
Yuan Yun shook his head, gathering energy as his wings beat, and azure wind blades fell towards Yan again.
This time, Yan didn't dodge, a look of fervor in his eyes.
"Come on! Flame Lord, Flame Body!!"
"WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!!!"
Yan's soul power reached its peak. His entire body was enveloped in flames, and a burning figure stood behind him, seemingly alive, and opened his arms, roaring like Yan.
"OMMMMMMM!!!!"
Yan's small body began to swell with muscle, and these muscles were like stone. Yan's entire body began to change. He grew to over two meters tall and, within the flames, his whole body seemed to be made of stone. He resembled a flaming stone man.
"Earth Attribute?!"
"Your Flame Lord is a dual Fire and Earth attribute?"
Yuan Yun was also surprised.
All along, the Flame Lord, a humanoid martial soul, was thought to be close to an elemental martial soul, purely of the fire attribute. Yan's previous soul skills and martial soul displayed this too. But this sudden awakening of the earth attribute was astonishing.
Fire and Earth attributes meant he wouldn't be easily countered, and his development wouldn't be limited to fire-element skills. In the future, Yan could also use the earth-element cultivation path. The earth element gave Yan greater defensive power.
"Hmph, even if you've awakened the earth attribute, I'm in the air, so how are you going to deal with me? If we're just competing to see whose soul power runs out first, you'll lose first."
"Oh? Is that so?"
Yan smiled and raised his arm, swinging his fist at Yuan Yun. The extended arm instantly grew longer. The next moment, before Yuan Yun could react, he felt a rush of hot air, and a fiery fist slammed into his face.
"What?!"
Yuan Yun was too surprised to react and was directly hit by the punch, his face burning.
"Flame Kick!"
Yan spun in place, kicking out his leg, which also instantly lengthened, directly hitting Yuan Yun's chest. This time, Yuan Yun was prepared and struck out azure wind blades, trying to push Yan's attack away.
But he didn't expect his azure wind blades to be kicked apart, not having any effect. His chest was also struck, and he fell headfirst.
"Don't you understand? After awakening the earth attribute, my body became stone-like. Not only does it give me greater defensive power, but I can also control the length of the stone-like body, such as lengthening my arms, legs, or even my whole body."
"Brother Yuan Yun, the situation is now reversed!"
Yan smiled and quickly rushed in front of Yuan Yun, throwing punches, stirring up a gust of hot air.
In close combat, Yuan Yun was definitely not Yan's match. Yan attacked relentlessly, giving Yuan Yun no chance to use his flying skills. His hands, feet, legs, and head became Yan's weapons, fighting and attacking Yuan Yun. Under the rain of attacks, Yuan Yun couldn't react at all.
"Hah――"
Yan became more and more courageous. Seizing a chance, he performed a shoulder throw, slamming Yuan Yun onto the ground. Yuan Yun was thrown around and dizzy.
"Ouch, stop, stop, I surrender…"
Yuan Yun faced the sky, his face bruised from Yan's beating, truly a different person from before.
"Hehe, really surrendered?"
"I surrendered! I surrendered! Don't hit the face, Yan, you're too ruthless. If I get disfigured, I'll fight you!"
"I won't, I still care about your handsome face."
Yan helped Yuan Yun up, and Yuan Yun really didn't have any intention of fighting anymore, sitting on the stage rather disgruntled.
"Brother?"
Yuan Yu and Ming Tian rushed over, and looking at Yuan Yun's appearance, they couldn't help but laugh.
"What is it? Are you here to laugh at me? I let this kid win, otherwise, he wouldn't have won so easily. Just giving him a chance."
Yuan Yun tried to save some face.
"That's right! Brother Yuan Yun really took care of me! There were several times I was about to lose! Probably seeing me getting beaten too badly, he let me win in the end, Brother Yuan Yun! Thank you for your mercy!"
Yan, being very tactful, gave Yuan Yun face, agreeing with Yuan Yun's words. Seeing the two of them reconciled, Yuan Yu and Ming Tian were also stunned, as if it really was what Yan said.
"Alright, no matter what, Yan has passed. Congratulations!"
"Yes! Let's go, let's go, go celebrate. Yan, you're treating us."
Yuan Yun stood up and patted the dirt off his body.
"Okay! That's a must!"
Yan and Ming Tian were both in a great mood after passing the repechage, although there were factors of the Yuan siblings letting them win.
But they were friends, and no matter who passed, they were happy for the other, not nitpicking these things. They also understood that even if they passed the repechage, a difficult final was still waiting for them…
....
Completed eng PDF of this fan-fic on my Patreon shop if you want to support and own the full fan-fic in one go. Just grab the PDF and binge the entire story from start to finish!
Guys, I've uploaded some High Quality english translated fanfic on my Patreon shop! Feel free to check it out—if you're interested, you can grab a copy and support me there.
Here are a few titles of recently uploaded fanfics:
"Douluo: Heaven-Burning Phoenix"
"Naruto: The Innately Evil Uzumaki Naruto"
"Douluo: Xiao Yan Travels Through Time and Space to Become Tang San's Brother"
"Douluo Strongest Son-in-Law"
"In Douluo Dalu with the Naruto System" many more are available for you,
Your support means a lot—thanks in advance, legends!
patreon.com/UIGOD
(End of Chapter)