Chapter 196: Foundation for victory
A total of fifty-five contestants were going to participate in the second round of the seven sects' competition.
According to the rules of competition, only one-seventh of them would be deemed eligible for scoring points, which meant that only eight of them were going to be able to score two points each for their respective sects.
Since a total of sixteen points were going to be awarded by the end of the second round, if any sect managed to get these sixteen points at once, it would surpass the Qiansi sect's score of twelve points.
Certainly, achieving this ideal situation was extremely difficult.
At least the eight Zhentian disciples of Wudao ninth layer wouldn't be able to achieve this feat.
Soon, all the fifty-five contestants had gathered in the Imperial Martial Arena and were getting the attention of all the viewers who were present there.
Those fifty-five contestants soon formed seven groups, indicating the seven different sects these contestants hailed from.
As soon as Prince Chu Chao Sheng ordered, the fight started and chaos spread throughout the Imperial Martial Arena.
One could clearly see that soon after the fight began, the disciples of Zhentian sect and Hanbing sect had dispersed and stood by the boundary of the martial arena. Some of them stood alone, while the others stood in groups of two or three people.
Feng Hao, Feng Xiaofei and Feng Yuxin stood as one group, while Liao Lele stood alone.
This unexpected situation baffled the disciples of Allure sect, Tibetan Fire sect and Knife Cut sect!
The Sovereign of Allure sect had formed an alliance with Tibetan Fire sect and Knife Cut sect, and according to their collective strategy, they would first eradicate the disciples of Zhentian sect and then attack the disciples of Qiansi sect.
Moreover, these three sects had decided to strictly adhere to their plans and not to get deviated from their destination because of the tricks the Qiansi disciples played upon them.
"Disperse and chase!"
The disciples of Tibetan Fire sect, Knife Cut sect and Allure sect divided themselves into small groups and rushed towards the disciples of Zhentian sect and Hanbing sect.
The Knife Cut disciples released 'Knife Cut domain' which immediately enhanced their speeds manifold, as they all chased down the Zhentian disciples and Hanbing disciples.
The disciples of Allure sect released 'Phantom Allure' charm, which was simply irresistible!
The disciples of Zhentian sect and Hanbing sect needed to be chased down at all costs!
However, the Zhentian disciples and the Hanbing disciples weren't easy to cope up with.
They scattered themselves up in all directions and released 'Zhentian mood' and 'Hanbing mood' as they sped around. Their attacks slowed down the speed of Allure sect disciples and Knife Cut sect disciples considerably.
And that was not all.
"Right now!"
Feng Hao, Feng Xiaofei and Feng Yuxin sped towards the other boundary of the Imperial Martial Arena, with four Knife Cut disciples running after them. As the Knife cut disciples neared them, all three of them launched a fierce attack!
"Zhentian charm!"
Feng Hao shouted loudly as he released a terrific pressure of Zhentian charm.
No one had expected Feng Hao, a disciple of Wudao ninth layer, to have comprehended the powerful Zhentian charm!
Although this was nothing as compared to Long Yu's talent, it still was quite a miracle for any ordinary martial artist.
As Feng Hao released Zhentian charm, Feng Xiaofei and Feng Yuxin didn't hold back either and immediately used their best martial skills.
"Sky waves cross, burst!"
A single blow from Feng Xiaofei caused two of the four Knife Cut disciples to tumble down and receive severe injuries.
"There are two more. Don't spare either of them!"
Feng Xiaofei's eyes flashed with a ruthless color as he used 'Horizon Is Close' and appeared right next to a Knife Cut disciple within a moment.
"Sky waves cross, kill!"
Feng Xiaofei waved his hands and released a stream of white light which struck the Knife Cut disciple and destroyed his cultivation!
Feng Yuxin was dealing with the last one of the four Knife Cut disciples that had come chasing after them. This disciple released Knife Cut domain to counter the effect of Feng Hao's Zhentian Charm in order to be able to escape.
However, Feng Yuxin released Zhentian domain which neutralized the effect of his Knife Cut domain, rendering him completely suppressed by Feng Hao's Zhentian charm!
"Flowing light sword!"
Feng Yuxin swayed her sword. A tremendous burst of white light was released by the sword, which suppressed the Knife Cut disciple thoroughly till he had lost all his strength, and went back crawling on all fours.
This short combat led to the elimination of four Knife Cut sect disciples, which was half of the total strength of Knife Cut disciples for the second round!
Another three disciples of Knife Cut sect were chasing Liao Lele down. However, she was giving those three disciples a hard time since she had been practicing agility-type martial skills of Zhentian sect.
Horizon Is Close, Shaking Air law, Flickering Wind step - Liao Lele displayed all these skills one by one so that none of the Knife Cut disciples could overtake her.
Watching Liao Lele giving a tough time to Knife Cut disciples was a delightful scene for the people of Zhentian sect.
This girl was diverting the attention of Knife Cut disciples.
"Let's get rid of those three Zhentian disciples first."
The excellent performance displayed by Feng Hao, Feng Yuxin and Feng Xiaofei had attracted the attention of Raining Sword disciples.
The Raining Sword disciples had begun with attacking Qiansi disciples. However, their strategy soon failed as the Qiansi disciples used their shadow manipulation techniques to dodge all their attacks.
Three Raining Sword disciples had noticed Feng Hao, Feng Yuxin and Feng Xiaofei by then and soon rushed towards them.
"The Raining Sword disciples practice 'Night Rain' techniques. These disciples have comprehended Night Rain domain, while the disciple who's leading them has comprehended Night Rain charm! "
Feng Hao said sulkily, "Night Rain techniques not only enhance the practitioner's agility, they also obstruct the enemies' vision. This fight depends on you, Xiaofei."
"Don't worry. Leave that to me."
Feng Xiaofei said with a sinister smile as he and his two friends started running once again, until two of them suddenly turned back.
"Zhentian charm!"
Feng Hao and Feng Xiaofei released Zhentian charm simultaneously. The terrifying power of Zhentian charm immediately enveloped the three Raining Sword disciples that had been chasing them!
"Not just one, but two of them have comprehended Zhentian charm!"
The entire audience was in an uproar!
However, it was the Raining Sword disciple, accompanied by two other disciples from his sect, who was astonished the most.
He had presumed that it was only Feng Hao who could release Zhentian charm, and hence he decided to attack them thinking that he would counter Feng Hao's Zhentian charm with his own Night Rain charm.
However, he had made a miscalculated move!
"Suppress them completely!"
Feng Hao shouted as he released the power of Zhentian charm to the fullest, sparing no time for the three Raining sword disciples to think of some other way to escape.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
The three Raining Sword disciples were soon beaten by Feng Hao and Feng Xiaofei. They were injured to such an extent that they had to concede the fight.
"Encircle them!"
The disciples of Tibetan Fire sect and Allure sect had noticed the terrifying strength of Feng Hao and Feng Xiaofei and wanted to get rid of them first.
Within a few moments, Tibetan Fire disciples and Allure disciples surrounded Feng Hao, Feng Xiaofei and Feng Yuxin.
Being surrounded by so many powerful contestants, Feng Hao and his two companions didn't think it wise to stay there and fight them. They immediately tried to escape using 'Horizon Is Close' martial skill.
However, the ten people who were encircling them were quite cunning. No matter what Feng Hao and his friends did, it was impossible for them to escape now.
"We should divert their attention towards the others."
Feng Hao suggested to his companions.
However, they soon realized that the situation had already been reversed.
Earlier, it was only the disciples of Knife Cut sect, Allure sect and Tibetan Fire sect who were chasing the Zhentian disciples down. However, now, even the other sects' disciples had started surrounding Feng Heo, Feng Xiaofei and Feng Yuxin.
Although the disciples of Hanbing sect and Zhentian sect had beaten several other contestants, there were still about twenty-seven contestants remaining in the martial arena.
It was the time for the final attack!
What ensued was a fierce fight, during which Feng Hao and his two fellow disciples injured seven more people, forcing them to walk out of the martial arena.
While ten people were still attacking Feng Hao and his two friends, Feng Xiaofei suddenly shouted out to those ten people, "You needn't fight us."
As the ten contestants looked at him with a puzzled expression, Feng Xiaofei continued, "There are just three of us. We would at most take up three of the final eight positions, leaving five positions still to be filled. Leave us now and we will not hurt any of your fellow disciples."
The ten people stopped and started looking at each other, trying to decide whether to accept Feng Xiaofei's proposal or not.
However, while those ten people were still weighing their choices, the Qiansi disciples launched a sudden attack.
"Kill!"
The Qiansi disciples used their shadow manipulation technique to move swiftly about and released Qiansi charm to suppress everyone who was present in the martial arena.
"It's time!"
Feng Xiaofei said.
The ten disciples of Knife Cut sect and Allure sect were baffled by the sudden attack launched by the Qiansi disciples. This was the only chance Feng Hao, Feng Xiaofei and Feng Yuxin had to escape.
"Ten...! There are ten people! Yuxin, it's your turn now."
Feng Hao said as he observed the situation.
Just one wave of fierce attack could ensure their victory, and this victory now depended upon Feng Yuxin's performance.
"Zhentian domain!"
Feng Yuxin shouted as she released the strong suppression of Zhentian domain, which soon enveloped the ten disciples of Allure sect and Knife Cut sect, as well as some Qiansi disciples.
"Now!"
Feng Hao and Feng Xiaofei took no more than a few moments to kick two Qiansi disciples out of the martial arena.
Next, both of them released Zhentian charm to balance the suppressive attacks launched by other contestants.
The viewers were smitten by the amazing performance displayed by Feng Hao, Feng Yuxin and Feng Xiaofei. Not only were they fighting the ten disciples of Allure sect and Knife Cut sect, they were also fighting the Qiansi disciples at the same time.
"Hmm?"
Chu Chao Sheng narrowed his eyes as the second round was moving towards its conclusion. He had not expected any of the Zhentian disciples to display such an awe-inspiring performance in the second round.
No doubt, these three Zhentian disciples were extremely talented. They had formed a fool-proof strategy and had worked step by step on it, laying a strong foundation for their victory!