Figures swayed constantly above the ring.

Shi Mu and Yun Xiao were both rushed out by the black and purple light and slammed into the blue light curtain. The impact caused the light curtain to tremble once again.

Yun Xiao coughed a few times before spitting a small mouthful of blood. He reached his hand up to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth as the light of the feather fan in his other hand seemed to die down.

Shi Mu held onto the Wishful Steel Staff in front of him as his chest slightly undulated. He seemed to be in a much better condition compared to Yun Xiao, though his face was slightly pale.

He questioned whether he was weaker than the other.

“Brother Yun Xiao has fallen?!”

“What is this Shi Mu made of…”

Close to the platform, the audience was amazed. Discussions began to rise among the crowd.

“Yun Xiao may be strong physically but he is of the wind attribute. Seeing him in this state is so embarrassing!” Qing Zhangtian muttered to himself, seemingly unable to believe what he was witnessing right now.

“Shi Mu taking up the challenge of the Enchanted Road showed that he possessed a degree of skills and strength. However, I am sure Yun Xiao has yet to unleash his actual power and strength. It’s hard to determine who’s going to win,” said Chinizi.

On the other side, there was a hint of surprise in Long Zhanye’s eyes as a smile appeared in the corner of his mouth. Not far from his side, Ling Feng’s eyes flashed slightly, and there was barely any expression on his face.

…

“Very good! I admit that I’m not your match. However, let’s see how you deal with this!” Yun Xiao said coldly and waved back to collect his fan.

“We will see if you have that opportunity then!”

Shi Mu snorted as he charged straight at Yun Xiao.

Before his figure even arrived, the staff in his hand emitted a ray of black light and burst into a myriad of dense shadows. It charged toward Yun Xiao at great speed before he could even make another strike.

Yun Xiao spread out both arms with his head slightly raised and closed his eyes.

Blue light appeared around his body, turning him transparent, directly into the air.

A gust of wind swept across the platform.

Shi Mu’s staff was now in midair.

“Escaping into the Wind Charm?”

A void appeared behind him and Yun Xiao’s figure looked strange.

Shi Mu turned around and an eye appeared behind him. He swept his staff through the air without hesitation.

Yun Xiao’s feet landed lightly on the ground. His body was like the wind, able to escape the deadly blow without any hesitation.

“Art of The Sweeping Wind of Leaves!”

Shi Mu’s body flew up and the Wishful Steel Staff broke out with a storm as it criss-crossed like a shadow.

However, Yun Xiao dodged every attack to the point that it was nearly impossible to land a blow on him.

And as the cloud swayed, a bagpipe-like melodious voice came out from its body.

Something seemed to be wrong and the feeling was unpleasant.

“Not good!”

When Shi Mu suddenly realized what was happening, he turned around and his facial expression changed drastically.

Even though his body was strong and covered with a layer of red light, it did not help as the sound swept from his ears into his mind.

He could only feel a sizzle in his mind. His body was bloody as images in his eyes shook violently.

“Soul attack!”

Shi Mu finally understood what Yun Xiao’s silent kill actually meant.

He bit on his tongue and the tingling pain cleared his mind instantly. As he tried to summon the Crimson Ape Energy Construct, the suppressing blood tried to urge his inner qi to protect his spirit sense.

Fortunately, as a Moon-ranked sorcerer, his mental strength was not weak. In addition, he had been training in the Heavenly Shrine for several months so his Qi had been greatly purified. He was able to suppress the situation within his body.

Shi Mu stumbled as if he was drunk. However, he did not give up in performing the staff technique as he launched multiple attacks toward Yun Xiao.

“How is it possible? Could it be…”

Shock appeared on Yun Xiao’s face.

After a moment, he bit his teeth and his body flashed through several sticks of shadows, charging toward Shi Mu.

“Art of The Demented Sound!”

With a low groan, the purple fan was released as it emitted a circle of strangely wavy circles at Shi Mu.

Shi Mu resisted the demented sound but it was unbearable. Everytime his body encountered the strange ripples, his surroundings would appear to change. In the next moment, he found himself in a boundless sea of fire.

Around the entrance were waves of fire. The heatwaves rolled in, making it extremely hard to breathe.

“No… this is just a fantasy!” Shi Mu thought as he looked around.

He quickly tried to release the power of his spirit sense to wrap around it while he brandished the Wishful Steel Staff, as if he was trying to crack the surrounding illusion he was caught in.

At the same time on the top of the platform, Yun Xiao’s body shook a little before he took two steps.

Not far away, Shi Mu’s eyes appeared entranced as the staff on his hand continued dancing wildly.

There was a lot of chatter in the audience around the platform.

“Looks like Shi Mu is about to lose”

“Well, he is of Earth rank and he’s challenging someone at Heaven rank.”

“Brother Yun Xiao is known for his physical and spiritual attacks. Anyone, stronger or not, is sure to be caught in his silent attack. Even someone like Shi Mu.”

“I had such high hopes for him… Hmph!”

Long Zhanye snorted and looked at Shi Mu from a distance with scorn in his eyes.

…

In the corner of the platform, Yun Xiao gasped a few times. It slowly subsided as he looked at Shi Mu who was standing in a distance.

In the illusion, Shi Mu seemed to have lost his mind as he roared in anger and the staff in his hand danced faster than ever.

Dong dong dong…

His heart beat fiercely as a powerful infuriating wave of inner qi spread across and continually collided with an invisible force.

“You have nowhere else to go now. Try to resist all you want, you will die!” Yun Xiao’s hand flashed and the feather fan once again appeared in his hand.

“Let me send you to your death!”

Yun Xiao groaned. With the feather fan in his hand bursting into a ball of purple light, he slammed it right toward Shi Mu.

As a deep purple wind swarmed out from the feather fan, the madness rose to a few dozen feet and swept at Shi Mu.

Shi Mu’s body suddenly burst into flames that condensed into a fiery shield.

Rumble!

His body tumbled with a raging sound.

His heart beat violently like a heavy hammer.

Shi Mu tried to break free from the illusion. His spirit sense caused ghosts to appear in the illusion.

The hallucinations swiftly flashed before his eyes. He was entranced when he grasped a hint of enlightenment. The power of his spirit sense turned strange as the surrounding fires fluctuated violently.

“Yes! It’s this feeling…!”

Shi Mu suddenly screamed and the golden light flashed in his eyes. A sense of coolness swept across his entire body. The illusion of burning flames had disappeared.

Instead, a huge purple wind came at Shi Mu.

As soon as he was within a thousand miles, his hands slammed down onto the steel staff and turned it into countless black-and-white staff beating back against the purple wind.

There was a loud noise as the shadows of the black staff clashed with the purple wind in the sky. The pressure strained the nearby light curtains.

Under the great earthquake, the both of them took a few steps back. However, Shi Mu’s flame shield did not dissipate at all.

“How is it possible for you to break free?!”

“Sorry for disappointing you!”

Shi Mu’s eyes were now clear, though he was still slightly shaken by the attack.

A black light appeared in the air behind the clouds which slammed into his waist.

The black light was none other than the Wishful Steel Staff that had grown in size!

Peng!

Yun Xiao began to spurt blood from his mouth and flew a short distance with the feather fan still in his hands.

Even after struggling twice, he failed to stand on his feet.

“You…”

Yun Xiao was stained with blood as he looked at Shi Mu in disbelief.

Shi Mu retracted the Wishful Steel Staff with one hand.

He had already been merciful. If he were to put in more force, Yun Xiao’s ribs would have broken and his internal organs would be damaged beyond recognition. Even with the help of medicinal herbs, it would still take a long time to recover.

He held no grudge against his opponent so he would not land more punches than necessary.

The situation in the ring made a sharp turnaround. Shi Mu had been on the brink of defeat, yet turned the tide and took down one of the top three disciples. It was so unbelievable that everyone was too shocked to respond. For just a moment, there was a dead silence among the audience.

The silence was soon broken in cheers over Shi Mu’s victory.

“Yun Xiao has been defeated…”

“This Shi Mu is extremely strong to have defeated one of the top three disciples. He didn’t show much strength in the championship before. What an eye-opener…”

At the same time, the crowd began to gaze somewhere in the platform.

“This kid isn’t any ordinary person, is he…” Ling Feng blinked and muttered to himself.

“Hmph. I’ll see you tomorrow then!” Long Zhanye looked at Shi Mu as his eyes burst into dazzling light.

On the top of the ring, Shi Mu suddenly turned around and his eyes met Long Zhanye.

Long Zhanye and Shi Mu looked at each other and immediately turned away.

The single-horned old man flew down and immediately announced the result.

“Shi Mu has successfully won today. The second challenge will be held here tomorrow!”

There was some discussion in the ring, and two attendants flew up on the platform to carry out the heavily injured Yun Xiao.

Shi Mu sighed with relief as he walked down the platform, drifting out from the crowd’s sight.

There was not much time left for him as he was required to recharge as soon as possible to prepare for the coming battle.