Chapter 1006: Qin Cangliu

His face was burning hot, his head was buzzing, and Wu Ming was completely muddled.

"Is this... the Fireball Technique?"

"It was so far away, how did it hit me in an instant?"

He couldn't figure it out. He had clearly seen only a wisp of firelight, just a not-yet-condensed, fuzzy fireball.

In the next instant, this fireball had already exploded in his face?

What kind of ghostly speed was this?

Moreover, was this even the Fireball Technique?

This power, this aftermath, was simply too "violent", wasn't it? It was like a "shell", making people's scalps tingle.

With the protection of the Lun Dao Jade, the disciples participating in the Lun Jian would not directly suffer harm.

But the lingering burning and pain, as well as that impact, could still be felt.

This fireball was very tricky, sudden and unexpected.

Blasted by this one, Wu Ming almost fell head first, stumbling several steps before barely regaining his balance. He shook his head for a long time, recovering from the shock of the Fireball Technique.

Then Wu Ming's eyelids suddenly twitched, and his heart cried out:

"Not good!"

He immediately looked up and indeed saw a sword light as clear as water condensing.

Ling Hu Xiao, who had been suppressed and fighting the entire time, had already become enraged and would not let Wu Ming off the hook.

He and Mo Hua cooperated tacitly. Taking advantage of the time Mo Hua used the Fireball Technique to create chaos, he had already started accumulating power.

By the time Wu Ming recovered, the sword energy was already fully charged.

Ling Hu Xiao's gaze was icy cold, looking at Wu Ming as if he were a dead man. He gave a clear shout, waved his long sword, and unleashed a Chong Xu sword light more than one zhang long.

This sword light was extremely sharp.

Wu Ming was not stupid; he immediately wanted to run.

The effect of the Iron Clothes Symbol was still active and could reduce or nullify the power of the sword energy, but he still didn't want to directly endure Ling Hu Xiao's strike.

A sword dao genius rarely seen in five hundred years, unleashing a full-power sword light, might truly be no joke.

As long as he avoided this sword light, Ling Hu Xiao's spiritual power would be exhausted, and he would become a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

The other few people would also be fish on the chopping board.

He could also find that boy who sneak attacked him with the Fireball Technique and settle accounts.

Wu Ming turned around, tapped his foot on the ground, and his body was like flowing fire, just wanting to escape.

But just at this moment, a whistling sound broke the air.

A fireball drew a straight red line and hit Wu Ming's back before the sound of it breaking the air even rang out.

"Damn it, what is this..."

Wu Ming was furious, but his body was struck by this, yet he couldn't stop losing his balance and fell to the ground.

The surging Chong Xu sword energy arrived in an instant, fiercely chopping onto his body.

A faint blue light floated up from Wu Ming's body, resisting the power of the Chong Xu sword energy, but at the same time, the light of his Lun Dao Jade on his forehead was rapidly receding.

Finally, the light disappeared, and the Lun Dao Jade shattered.

Wu Ming's face turned pale, but he was powerless.

Along with a flash of light in the void, his figure completely disappeared, having been transmitted out of the Lun Jian arena.

Wu Ming was defeated.

Ling Hu Xiao held his sword in one hand, gasping for breath.

Although he was a sword dao genius and his sword energy was very strong, this "strong" was only in terms of cultivation.

Actual combat was ever-changing, and the situation was completely different.

He had just personally experienced what his junior brother had told him before: a powerful cultivator must not only have powerful fighting force but also powerful actual combat ability.

His junior brother also mentioned a strange term called:

Actual combat conversion rate.

Powerful strength, plus a high actual combat conversion rate, only then was one a truly powerful cultivator.

If one only had profound cultivation and clever sword techniques, but lacked actual combat experience, couldn't withstand pressure, and became helpless as soon as they were targeted, then they were just a weakling who "talked on paper".

No matter how strong the fighting force, if it couldn't be displayed in battle, it was like a chicken rib.

Through the Lun Jian assembly, using matches to train, interacting with various heavenly talents, dealing with various situations, improving actual combat experience, enhancing the actual combat conversion force of sword techniques, and fully unleashing the power of the Chong Xu Sword Art, one could become a truly powerful sword cultivator in the future.

This was also his junior brother's expectation and plan for him.

Ling Hu Xiao calmed his emotions, silently summarized his gains and losses, then raised his sword and pointed it at the other four cultivators of Ling Fu Men.

His spiritual power was almost exhausted, but now, they were five against four, and the outcome was already decided.

With Wu Ming defeated, Ling Hu Xiao was free to join other battles. Even if he didn't have much spiritual power left, the battle situation instantly became one-sided.

Mo Hua added several more fireballs, and the dust settled on this Lun Jian match.

Tai Xu Gate won.

Above the Fang Tian Hua Ying, the figures of Mo Hua and the others gradually disappeared.

The audience in the outer area was also quiet for a moment, then scattered sounds of messy discussion arose:

"Ling Hu Xiao is still strong..."

"Tai Xu Gate narrowly won a match..."

"That Mo Hua, he really does have something. His Fireball Technique seems... acceptable?"

"Hmm, not bad," some people nodded and said, "The situation was in a stalemate. His Fireball Technique broke the deadlock and saved his teammates from danger."

Some people disagreed: "Is it not possible that his teammate was put in danger precisely because of him?"

"If you swapped in anyone else, five against five, they would have won early. Why drag it out like this?"

"Furthermore, it's just a mere Fireball Technique, isn't it readily available?"

"Among cultivators in this world, as long as their spiritual roots touch upon fire, who doesn't have a Fireball Technique?"

"Have you seen which family's genius disciple relies on the Fireball Technique in the Lun Jian assembly? They're really not afraid of making a fool of themselves..."

"But his Fireball Technique seems a bit different..." some people pondered.

As he said this, quite a few careful cultivators also revealed thoughtful expressions.

The Fang Tian Hua Ying was only a "projection" of a picture. No matter how clear it was, there was always some distortion.

The audience in the outer area still had a global view.

Under the distortion of the image, they could see Mo Hua casting the Fireball Technique, but it was difficult to see the essence of this fireball with the naked eye.

They only vaguely detected that this Fireball Technique had a hint of abnormality.

However, most cultivators didn't think much of it.

Especially those who had previously held prejudice and harbored some malice towards Mo Hua, they said with even more disdain:

"What's so different about the Fireball Technique? It's as if everyone doesn't know how to use it..."

"It's just a mere Fireball Technique. Even if you play it with flair, so what? It's still the Fireball Technique, isn't it?"

"Those few Ling Fu Gate clowns, in my opinion, were just for show. They actually fell to this Fireball Technique, it's simply ridiculous..."

"Isn't it just throwing a Fireball Technique? I can do it too..."

In the crowd, Gu Chang Huai glanced dismissively at these remarks.

He just focused on watching the Fang Tian Hua Ying, thinking about Mo Hua's Fireball Technique just now...

As well as the ten or so human traffickers who were killed by the Fireball Technique outside Qingzhou City in the thatched hut at the very beginning, and then burned to ashes after being charred, he couldn't help but twitch his eyebrows and sigh helplessly:

"This kid, he can really hide..."

As the Lun Jian match with Ling Fu Gate ended.

The discussions about Mo Hua also temporarily ceased.

Mo Hua, this person, couldn't be said to be completely useless.

He had some use, but only a little.

Perhaps only the use of one or two "Fireball Techniques".

The crowd's impression of Mo Hua also changed from a nobody who only dragged people down in Tai Xu Gate, a "crown prince", to...

"An array master who can use the Fireball Technique."

Outside Lun Dao Mountain.

Mo Hua and Ling Hu Xiao packed up and prepared to return to the sect, but they had only walked a few steps before bumping into several people from Ling Fu Gate again.

The person in front was still Wu Ming.

He had a sullen and defeated look on his face, mixed with anger. His spiritual armor flowed with red light, displaying a colorful display like a defeated "rooster".

Wu Ming stared intently at the crowd, especially at Mo Hua.

His previous hatred was still directed at Ling Hu Xiao.

But now, because he had been "mocked" by the Fireball Technique and humiliated, the hatred was successfully transferred.

"Mo Hua..." he read Mo Hua's name aloud, with some gnashing of teeth in his shame and annoyance:

"If it weren't for you sneak attacking me with the Fireball Technique, I wouldn't have been defeated."

"If it weren't for you, Ling Hu Xiao would already be my defeated general."

"I'll remember you, you wait for me..."

After saying these harsh words, he left.

Mo Hua frowned, somewhat confused, then looked at Ling Hu Xiao and said strangely:

"Even if I used the Fireball Technique to blast his face, in the end, it was your sword technique that defeated him. You were the one who defeated him, why did he hold a grudge against me?"

Ling Hu Xiao was a bit awkward and remained silent.

"Perhaps... he'd rather die under a strong person's sword than suffer the humiliation of the Fireball Technique?" Si Tu Jian said.

After all, when heavenly talents competed in the Lun Jian, being defeated under a sword dao genius's Chong Xu Sword True Art, even if defeated, there was a sense of tragedy, of being defeated but still glorious.

But when heavenly talents competed in the Lun Jian, if they were defeated under the Fireball Technique... thinking about it, it just felt like "comedy".

"It wouldn't be that extreme, right..." Mo Hua frowned, "Dao laws are ten thousand, each has its strengths and weaknesses. Their wonder lies in the heart of the user."

"That's true, but the Fireball Technique is, after all, just the Fireball Technique..." Si Tu Jian said softly.

Mo Hua shook his head solemnly, "You can't dismiss the Fireball Technique as a technique... I will prove to them that the Fireball Technique is also a very powerful technique!"

Mo Hua's expression was serious, as if he were defending the reputation of the "Fireball Technique".

After all, the first offensive technique he learned, personally taught by the puppet elder, was the Fireball Technique.

He would not allow anyone to look down on the Fireball Technique!

"Let's return to the sect and prepare the tactics for the next Lun Jian match!"

Mo Hua instructed, then left with a serious expression.

Si Tu Jian looked at Mo Hua's back and silently sighed.

He always had a premonition in his heart.

This person named Wu Ming was just the first "enemy" who had been "defeated" by his junior brother's tactics.

This was just the beginning, and his junior brother hadn't even put in much effort yet.

More means that made people feel stifled were yet to come.

If this situation continued, when his junior brother finished the Lun Jian, he didn't know how many more "enemies" he would accumulate...

No one was wrong, one primary, one secondary, one included, one contained within another, one by one!

Returning to Tai Xu Gate, Mo Hua rested for a while, then began to prepare the plan for the next Lun Jian match.

His opponent in the next Xuan-level match was one of the eight great sects.

But the name of this sect was very unexpected...

Gui Shui Gate.

Mo Hua's eyes showed thoughtfulness.

Gui Shui Gate, originally one of the twelve flowing sects, originated from the Water Prison Gate of that year. It was the main sect involved in the matter of the Rouge Boat, violating Dao laws and Qian Xue Gate rules, secretly operating the wind and moon business, with corrupt internal discipline, and was thoroughly cleaned up by the Dao Court.

Now, Gui Shui Gate, from the high-level to ordinary disciples, had already undergone a "major blood change".

The Gui Shui Gate after the blood change, what flowed within it was "Dao Court Division", and it could even be said to be the blood of the central "Dao Court".

During the last Lun Dao assembly, the sect underwent its first reform.

Tai A Gate and Chong Xu Gate fell in rank and had to merge with Tai Xu Gate. This also meant that two positions among the eight great sects were vacated.

One of these two positions was given to the "Gui Shui Gate" among the twelve flowing sects.

The other position was given to an "old acquaintance".

Break Gold Gate...

Once a position among the twelve flowing sects, with the Break Gold Imperial Sword Art as the core inheritance, the disciples under the gate had repeatedly clashed with Mo Hua. Even after the matter of the Ten Thousand Monster Valley, the power of the Break Gold Gate was replaced, and it also underwent a blood change.

Mo Hua also had a deep connection with the Break Gold Gate.

The human trafficker Jiang Lao Da, whom he first encountered when entering the borders of Qian Xue State, was a traitor of the Break Gold Gate.

Mo Hua possessed both of the Break Gold Gate's core inheritances: the Break Gold Imperial Sword Art and the Break Gold Sword Array.

"Break Gold Gate..."

Mo Hua's gaze flickered, and his thoughts stirred slightly.

It could be said that whether it was Gui Shui Gate or Break Gold Gate, his connection with them was not shallow.

The "major blood changes" of Gui Shui Gate and Break Gold Gate were also caused by him single-handedly.

And now, Gui Shui Gate and Break Gold Gate were both promoted to the "eight great sects"... Mo Hua felt somewhat strange in his heart.

Gui Shui Gate's promotion to the eight great sects, besides the sect's not-low rank, must have been orchestrated by the Dao Court behind the scenes.

The mastermind behind this was probably Xia Jian Cha.

Xia Jian Cha, or rather the Dao Court, wanted to intervene in the matters of Qian Xue State. The core of their power lay in the four sects, eight gates, and twelve flows.

The four sects were too strong. At that time, the next level down was the eight great gates.

Penetrating an existing eight great gate was far less direct and thorough than supporting a new eight great gate.

Gui Shui Gate was an open card; it was now a "pawn" of the Dao Court.

What about Break Gold Gate?

After the matter of the Ten Thousand Monster Valley, Mo Hua didn't have much contact, and he hadn't seen Song Jian for a long time. He didn't know if anything had happened within.

Was the Dao Court also supporting the Break Gold Gate?

If so, did that not mean... all these events, everything behind them, had a high-level figure from the Dao Court observing from behind and silently calculating?

So, that means...

He also unintentionally became a "chess piece"?

His actions, unintentional, also promoted the changes and development of the chess game?

"This high-level figure from the Dao Court behind the scenes... who is it?"

"What is his purpose?"

Mo Hua frowned, unable to grasp it, but he kept it in mind, so he could be alert in the future.

Heaven's mysteries were just like this. As you spied on heaven's mysteries, heaven's mysteries also spied on you.

You calculated others, and others also calculated you.

You treated others as chess pieces. In the twists of fate, perhaps some people were also taking you as a "chess piece" for a larger game...

Mo Hua's gaze brightened slightly, cause and effect floated and sank in his eyes, and his comprehension of heaven's mysteries deepened by a point.

After he calmed his mind, he focused on being a "chess piece" and continued to prepare for the Lun Jian assembly.

"As long as I can eat the 'bait', being a 'chess piece' for a while doesn't matter..."

Two days later, Lun Dao Mountain.

Another Lun Jian match began.

The merged Tai Xu Gate, consisting of three sects, was up against the newly promoted eight great sect, Gui Shui Gate.

This time, the random match system finally changed.

This time, it was the "beheading match".

Each side selected one disciple as the "leader" of the opposing side.

Regardless of whether the other disciples were alive or dead, whether the battle situation was good or bad, as long as they could kill the enemy's "leader", it counted as a win. This was the "beheading".

During Dao soldier warfare, sometimes dead soldiers were selected to carry out "beheading" tasks, killing cultivators of noble identity and special status on the enemy side.

This was also the origin of the "beheading match" format.

Before the "beheading match" began, both sides would first determine their "leader".

This kind of "leader" was generally the strongest heavenly talent disciple in the team.

On the Gui Shui Gate side, the disciple selected as the "leader" was named "Qin Cang Liu".

The Qin family was a fifth-rank family in Qian Xue State, and at the same time, it seemed to have some connection with the central Dao Court.

Qin Cang Liu was a direct descendant of this branch of the Qin family and was also one of the top one or two heavenly talents within Gui Shui Gate.

The current Gui Shui Gate was directly under the central Dao Court.

With the Qin family having this connection and the sect being directly under the Dao Court, if there were no accidents, this Qin Cang Liu would eventually become the head of a Dao Court Division in a state boundary.

It was even possible for him to enter the central Dao Court and be promoted to a Dao Court "Jian Cha".

Therefore, the "leader" of the Gui Shui Gate team was none other than him.

On the Tai Xu Gate side, Mo Hua was the "leader".

Those who knew the inside story were not surprised.

But in the outer area, the cultivators watching the match felt very puzzled.

"What is Tai Xu Gate doing again?"

"This is a beheading match. Do they understand the rules or not? Do they know what 'beheading' means?"

"It's fine if they don't choose Ling Hu Xiao as the 'leader', choosing Ou Yang Xuan would also be acceptable. Or that little brother carrying the sword, they could even choose that 'silly big guy'... at least his skin is thick and he can take a beating."

"What is the meaning of choosing this Mo Hua?"

"His Lun Dao Jade is as brittle as a paper-skinned walnut; it shatters with a touch. How can they even compare?"

"Are they fighting the Lun Jian without their brains?"

The discussion in the outer area started again.

The disciples of both sides in the arena had already begun to take their positions.

On the Gui Shui Gate side, Qin Cang Liu was at the front, wearing a black water Daoist robe and a "first" character card on his chest.

He cultivated water-attribute techniques, was rather yin and soft, and exuded a sense of yin coldness.

Because he aspired to serve in the Dao Court Division and joined Gui Shui Gate, under his observations and experiences, he already had a trace of the authoritative aura of a "palm division".

Several elders of the Qin family who served in the Dao Court and had extraordinary experience had all predicted:

This child will surely hold a high and important position in the future.

But now, he was still just a disciple.

He wanted to showcase his real strength in the Lun Jian assembly, become famous, and use this as a foundation to gradually practice his future grand ambitions.

Now, his opponent was Tai Xu Gate.

The person he wanted to "behead" was named "Mo Hua".

Qin Cang Liu was also somewhat confused by this.

Who could Tai Xu Gate have chosen other than him? Why did they choose this array master who would die with one strike and become useless with one pinch, to be the "leader"?

What was their reliance?

Were they relying on his Fireball Technique?

But no matter what, the target was clear:

"Everyone, go all out, regardless of the cost, kill Mo Hua!"

Among their five people, as long as one person could get close to Mo Hua, they only needed one strike, one sword, or even just one punch, to end his small life and shatter his "Lun Dao Jade".

Like this, if they succeeded in the beheading, Gui Shui Gate would win this match.

And he would also take another step towards his future.

"Yes, Senior Brother Qin!"

The other disciples of Gui Shui Gate bowed their hands and said.

On the Tai Xu Gate side.

Mo Hua, with the "first" character card hanging around his neck, instructed Ling Hu Xiao and the others:

"The match system has changed, the way we play has also changed, so we need to change our tactics as well."

"You guys will mainly attack, I will provide support."

"That person opposite... who is he?"

"Qin Cang Liu," Si Tu Jian said.

Mo Hua nodded, "Qin Cang Liu. If we kill him, we win."

This Qin Cang Liu had an unusual background and was very talented. He might have a boundless future, but now, since it was the Lun Jian, they should "kill" him once first.