*Boom!*
Fire erupted from her body in all directions. The Shadow Cat, caught mid-attack, took the blast directly. It yowled and dissipated into spiritual energy.
"Winner!" the examiner called. "Excellent use of area-of-effect technique in close combat!"
The woman clutched her bleeding shoulder but smiled through the pain. dical disciples rushed in to treat her wounds.
More matches proceeded across the various arenas. The quality and results varied wildly.
So applicants showed genuine talent and handled their beasts efficiently. Others barely survived, winning through luck or stubbornness rather than skill.
A stocky young man faced a Stone Turtle in arena five. The beast was incredibly defensive, its shell virtually impenetrable.
The applicant spent five frustrating minutes trying to crack its armor before finally giving up and targeting the head during a brief mont when the turtle extended its neck. His spear thrust ended the match quickly once he found the weakness.
"Took him long enough," soone in the crowd muttered.
"At least he figured it out eventually," another replied. "Better than so of these idiots just bashing away at the shell."
In arena twelve, disaster struck. A cocky applicant faced a Venomous Serpent and imdiately tried to grab it with his bare hands, confident in his body refinent techniques. The serpent bit him on the forearm, injecting venom directly into his bloodstream.
The young man’s confidence evaporated as the poison took effect. His arm swelled grotesquely, turning purple and black. He scread and collapsed.
dical disciples rushed into the arena imdiately. The barrier dropped, and they carried the poisoned applicant away on a stretcher. The examiner’s face was grim.
"Disqualified for reckless stupidity," Elder Zhang announced from the central platform. "Let this be a lesson. Arrogance kills. Respect your opponents, even simulated ones."
The crowd fell silent for a mont, the reminder of danger sobering everyone’s mood.
Then the matches resud.
A thin girl with wind elent affinity faced a Gale Hawk in arena nine. The aerial beast was fast and agile, swooping down in diving attacks.
The girl used wind techniques to match its mobility, creating updrafts and air currents that disrupted the hawk’s flight patterns. She won by grounding the beast and finishing it with a precise strike.
"Clever!" a spectator praised. "She didn’t try to match its strength. She negated its advantage instead!"
More and more applicants cycled through the arenas. The sun climbed higher as the evaluations continued. Sweat dripped from fighters and spectators alike in the afternoon heat.
Then Xian Long’s number was called.
"Number sixty-three, Xian Long. Arena twelve."
Xian Long walked to his assigned arena with asured steps, trying to project confidence he didn’t entirely feel. Xian Tiandi and Ying Yue moved to the edge of the barrier to watch.
The formation array activated. Spiritual energy swirled and coalesced, taking solid form.
A Thunder Lizard materialized.
The beast was roughly the size of a large dog, with scales that crackled with electricity. Its eyes were reptilian slits, and its tail whipped back and forth, leaving small sparks in the air. Lightning elent affinity, matching Xian Long’s own elent.
"Interesting matchup," Xian Tiandi observed quietly. "Sa elent ans his techniques won’t have type advantage."
The examiner raised his hand. "Begin!"
The Thunder Lizard moved first, darting forward with surprising speed. Its mouth opened, revealing rows of sharp teeth, and lightning crackled between them.
Xian Long sidestepped the initial lunge. The beast’s jaws snapped shut on empty air, and it skidded past him. He countered with a palm strike aid at its flank.
*Thwack!*
The blow connected solidly. The Thunder Lizard hissed in pain and whirled around, its tail lashing out like a whip.
Xian Long blocked with his forearm, but the impact sent numbness shooting through his arm. The beast’s physical strength was considerable despite its size.
"He’s matching it in close combat," soone in the crowd observed. "Brave but risky against a rank one beast."
"The Xian Clan trains their disciples well," another replied. "Look at his footwork. Very stable."
The Thunder Lizard backed off slightly, reassessing. Then it opened its mouth and spat a bolt of lightning directly at Xian Long’s chest.
*Crack!*
Xian Long barely dodged. The lightning grazed his shoulder, leaving a burn mark on his robes and making his muscles spasm. He gritted his teeth against the pain.
’Sa elent ans we’re evenly matched,’ Xian Long thought. ’I need to be smarter about this. Can’t just trade blows.’
The beast pressed its advantage, unleashing a barrage of lightning spits while circling to attack from different angles. Xian Long defended desperately, using basic barrier techniques to deflect so attacks while dodging others.
But the Thunder Lizard was relentless. It combined physical strikes with its lightning abilities, forcing Xian Long into purely reactive mode. A tail swipe caught him in the ribs, sending him stumbling. A lightning bolt struck his leg, making him cry out.
"Co on, Xian Long!" soone from the Xian Clan contingent shouted. "You can do this!"
The Thunder Lizard sensed victory. It charged forward for what looked like a finishing blow, lightning gathering around its entire body.
Xian Long made his decision. His spiritual energy erupted, and power flooded his ridians.
A figure materialized behind him.
His martial spirit.
It took the form of a wolf wreathed in both wind and lightning. The Gale Wolf stood as tall as Xian Long himself, its fur rippling with dual elental energy. Wind howled around it while electricity crackled through its body.
"A martial spirit!" soone gasped. "And it’s dual elent!"
"That’s a mid mortal rank martial spirit!" Soone said, "Not bad..."
The mont the Gale Wolf appeared, Xian Long’s abilities transford. His speed increased dramatically as wind elent energy enhanced his movents. His lightning techniques gained new potency as they resonated with the wolf’s power.
The Thunder Lizard’s charge t empty air. Xian Long had moved with wind-enhanced speed, appearing to the beast’s side in an instant. His counterattack was devastating.
Lightning-wreathed palm strikes rained down on the beast’s exposed flank. Each blow carried the combined power of his martial spirit and his own cultivation. The Thunder Lizard tried to retaliate, but Xian Long was too fast now. The wind elent gave him mobility the beast couldn’t match.
*Crack! Crack! Crack!*
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