After transmigrating into the body of the protagonist's childhood friend, he was targeted by a

Luo Yiyan also breathed a sigh of relief, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly.

He didn't want to clash with Zhixu either.

In terms of cultivation, he is currently inferior to Lin Zhixu. If the two of them clash in the first round, regardless of who wins or loses, one of them will inevitably be at the bottom.

If he were to compete, he would want to compete with Zhixu for first or second place.

The first match of the finals was between Luo Yiyan and Gu Qingshan.

When the two entered the arena, the audience was already surrounded by disciples, as no one wanted to miss the battle for the top three.

They even made a bet in private, betting on who would come in first place.

Of course, a little gambling is harmless fun; they just want to earn some pocket money.

On the field, at the elder referee's command, Gu Qingshan launched the first attack.

He wielded a short sword, his swordplay was unpredictable, and his movements were agile.

Luo Yiyan dodged to the side and forced him back half a step with a backhand sword. The two exchanged dozens of blows, and for a moment it was impossible to determine who was superior.

Gu Qingshan's success is certainly not solely due to luck.

His swordsmanship wasn't particularly sophisticated, but his use of spiritual energy was extremely precise.

Each sword strike perfectly blocked Luo Yiyan's path, clearly indicating that the swordsman had done a lot of preparation beforehand.

The system broadcast the battle situation in my mind, its tone tinged with surprise: "[This Gu Qingshan is quite something. He seems to have specifically studied Luo Yiyan's sword style.]"

Lin Zhixu: [His control over spiritual energy is very precise, which is an advantage for an alchemist. However, his swordplay is rather conservative, probably because he knows he can't out-burst outbursts against Luo Yiyan and wants to fight a war of attrition.]

But he miscalculated one thing.

System: [What?]

Luo Yiyan's physical strength was far greater than he had imagined.

After all, the main characters are all like cockroaches that can't be killed.

Sure enough, things changed on the field very quickly.

Luo Yiyan suddenly quickened his attack, his sword light pouring down like a storm, forcing Gu Qingshan to retreat repeatedly.

Gu Qingshan gritted his teeth and tried to use his footwork to create distance and regain his rhythm, but Luo Yiyan gave him no room to breathe.

In the 137th move, Luo Yiyan deflected Gu Qingshan's short sword with a single strike, the tip of the sword stopping three inches in front of his chest.

"You flatter me." Luo Yiyan sheathed his sword, cupped his hands, and breathed slightly short.

Gu Qingshan was taken aback for a moment, then readily cupped his hands in a salute, bent down to pick up the short sword, and laughed, "Junior Brother Luo is indeed worthy of his reputation. I am completely convinced of my defeat."

The two smiled at each other, and the atmosphere was harmonious.

The elders on the high platform nodded with satisfaction.

That's more like it; that's how it should be when fellow disciples spar.

Next, it was Luo Yiyan's turn to speak to Lin Zhixu.

The two stood on opposite sides for the first time, and both were somewhat silent as they stepped into the ring.

The disciples watching from below the stage held their breath in concentration.

Everyone knows that these two are old acquaintances from the same hometown. They climbed the Heavenly Ladder together and entered the sect together. Now they are going to compete on the arena to see who is better.

The two were a little nervous as they stood on opposite sides for the first time.

Luo Yiyan feared that swords and spears had no eyes, and that the outcome of this battle might leave some kind of rift between the two of them.

Lin Zhixu was afraid that defeating Luo Yiyan would cause a deviation in the plot.

[In the original novel, Luo Yiyan became number one. This time, because of me, I definitely won't let him win. Would it cause a plot deviation if he lost?]

The system paused for a moment: [It shouldn't be... right?]

Lin Zhixu was very dissatisfied with the word "吧".

But he had no way out.

In the past, he would have accepted defeat for the sake of the plot, but not now.

Yu Linzhou was watching from behind. If he lost, he didn't even want to think about how angry Yu Linzhou would be, or whether he would torture him even more cruelly.

The elder referee raised his right hand and then waved it down: "The match begins."

The two drew their swords at the same time.

Lin Zhixu was the first to make a move.

With a stomp of his foot, he transformed into a blur, his sword aimed straight for Luo Yiyan's face.

The sword strike was incredibly fast; many disciples below the stage didn't even see when it moved.

Luo Yiyan parried to the side, and the two swords clashed, sparks flying.

Lin Zhixu didn't give Luo Yiyan a chance to sheathe his sword. With a flick of his wrist, the blade slid down the spine of Luo Yiyan's sword and slashed at his fingers.

Luo Yiyan immediately changed his move, drew his sword and retreated, narrowly avoiding the slash.

After the first round of probing, both men took a half-step back, their eyes filled with seriousness.

Luo Yiyan was shocked; Lin Zhixu was much stronger than he had imagined.

He might not be a match for you.

Lin Zhixu gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, a hint of apology in his voice: "I'm sorry, I can't lose."

Luo Yiyan's eyes flickered slightly, and she instantly understood. "Is someone using this to threaten you?"

He didn't say who it was, but both of them knew perfectly well.

Lin Zhixu neither nodded nor shook his head, but his eyes were filled with apology.

Luo Yiyan took a deep breath and then smiled: "It's alright. In terms of cultivation, I am not as good as you to begin with. Let's just do our best in this competition."

Lin Zhixu looked at him and nodded.

In their subsequent encounter, neither of them held back.

Neither of them deliberately gave way; they put their all into every move.

This is the greatest respect you can show each other.

The two drew their swords almost simultaneously, the tips colliding precisely in mid-air, sparks flying as they both retreated at the same moment.

The audience below only saw two sword lights fiercely locked in combat.

In the 172nd move, Lin Zhixu's sword stopped three inches from Luo Yiyan's heart.

Luo Yiyan's sword stopped at his waist, half an inch away from him.

The two sheathed their swords at the same time, each took a step back, their breathing somewhat rapid. They smiled at each other, then turned to look at the referee elder.

The elder referee paused for a moment before announcing loudly, "Lin Zhixu of Qiyue Peak wins."

Suddenly, a thunderclap exploded in the sky.

The thunder came suddenly, making the stone slabs on the training ground tremble slightly.

Everyone looked up in surprise, thinking that some powerful being was about to undergo tribulation.

Even the elders on the high platform stood up and looked solemnly at the sky.

They felt a sense of oppression.

However, the thunder was fleeting, the churning clouds subsided in an instant, and the sky remained clear and bright, as if the thunder had been just an illusion.

"What happened?"

"It doesn't seem like a tribulation; it's more like some kind of restriction has been triggered..."

The elders exchanged glances and whispered among themselves, but ultimately couldn't reach a conclusion and could only wait until after the competition to hold a meeting.

Lin Zhixu withdrew his gaze.

He was terrified; he almost thought he was going to be struck by lightning.

The elder referee announced the final rankings.

Lin Zhixu ranked first, Luo Yiyan ranked second, and Gu Qingshan ranked third.

The new talent competition has now come to an end.

The awards ceremony was held in front of the high platform in the training ground, where the senior referees presented the awards to the top three winners.

The first-place prize is one hundred high-grade spirit stones, three bottles of high-level Qi-cultivating pills, plus a level-earth defensive magic artifact, the White Jade Heart-Protecting Pendant.

For a novice disciple, this reward was already so generous that it would make many people envious.

No wonder they're fighting tooth and nail to be number one.

When Lin Zhixu took the jade pendant, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

This jade pendant is almost identical to the one that Chu Yuxiu lost back then.

This jade pendant isn't that valuable; he's already seen three of them.

Luo Yiyan came in second, winning one hundred high-grade spirit stones and two bottles of pills.

Gu Qingshan came in third place, and his reward was less than that of Danfeng disciples, but he was already a disciple of Danfeng and had no shortage of pills, so he was happy to receive spirit stones.