Upon seeing this, they were greatly shocked. "There are countless cultivators at the late stage of Core Formation here, and even quite a few at the Nascent Soul stage. If he could win all his matches with his cultivation, what an excellent tournament bracket he must have drawn! He probably didn't encounter any true experts throughout."
Jin Yan nodded in agreement.
To widen the gap, the fourth day's matches would randomly pit participants with identical scores against each other.
In the first match, Mo Qi drew Lu Xiaoyue.
Enemies often cross paths!
Lu Xiaoyue was clearly also frustrated, staring at Mo Qi as if he were the murderer of her father.
Lu Xiaoyue was now at the late stage of Core Formation, but she vaguely sensed that Mo Qi's cultivation had also improved, and his progress was not slower than hers! This made her feel a little uneasy, but no matter what, she had to try her best to win.
"Extreme Wind!" Without a word, Lu Xiaoyue formed a hand seal, and countless wind blades merged into a massive torrent, striking Mo Qi with the overwhelming might of mountains collapsing and seas being swallowed.
Mo Qi activated the spiritual energy of his Mo Blade. The Mo Blade formation suddenly surged outwards, meeting the roaring torrent of wind shadows. Upon contact, the Mo Blade formation shattered, and the residual wind blades wrapped around Mo Qi.
Instead of retreating, Mo Qi advanced. Wounded, he ferociously lunged at Lu Xiaoyue.
Simultaneously, he flicked his fingers, and arrow energy silently shot towards Lu Xiaoyue.
If it's about ruthlessness, who can't be ruthless?
Lu Xiaoyue adopted a mutually destructive fighting style, attacking without defending, her eyes fixed on Mo Qi, unleashing wind blades at him. However, after a moment, arrow energy pierced her left shoulder and right leg, the pain searing.
In contrast, no matter how the wind blades cut, they could only scratch Mo Qi's skin. He grew bolder with each exchange.
Lu Xiaoyue was astonished. Mo Qi's resilience seemed to have increased significantly. She hadn't had much of a chance against him to begin with, and with his cockroach-like durability, she was truly driven to distraction.
Lu Xiaoyue hastily dodged and weaved, seizing an opportunity to unleash a barrage of wind attacks. However, her hurried strikes exerted no pressure on Mo Qi. He easily deflected them while continuously firing arrow energy at Lu Xiaoyue.
With "swish, swish" sounds, Lu Xiaoyue was hit by several more arrows, all grazing her skin.
Crimson blood soaked her clothes. Against the snow-white robe, a splash of vibrant red was striking.
As Mo Qi gradually closed in on Lu Xiaoyue, the arrow energy became denser, like raindrops.
Lu Xiaoyue felt increasing pressure, struggling to cope, dodging left and right.
Due to her injuries, her movements slowed, and she was gradually overwhelmed, facing constant peril.
As one side waned and the other waxed, Mo Qi gained complete initiative, pressing his advantage with wave after wave of attacks.
Lu Xiaoyue suddenly cried out, "I surrender!"
Mo Qi immediately stopped attacking. His attacks were swift, and his retraction was just as quick. In an instant, the storm subsided, and he stood twenty feet away from Lu Xiaoyue, looking at her imposingly.
Lu Xiaoyue suddenly crouched on the ground, hugging herself, burying her head in her arms, and sobbing, "You always bully me, you always have since we were kids!"
Mo Qi was stunned and somewhat at a loss. "How am I bullying you? Didn't you always bully me before?"
The surrounding audience, who had initially witnessed an exciting battle and were filled with excitement, found the scene on stage suddenly changing its tone, which they found hard to bear. A wave of boos erupted!
Mo Qi stepped forward to help Lu Xiaoyue up, but she shoved his arm away and hurried off.
Mo Qi watched her retreating back and couldn't help but smile, "Did I finally subdue her?"
Xue Ying watched Mo Qi, who was staring blankly at the stage, feeling a pang of sadness.
Meanwhile, disciples of the Zhenghe Sect were still focused on Lei Bo and Bian Tang. Shui Ling had already been abandoned by them. Other participants like Jin Yan, who had long since lost their competitive edge, were also disregarded.
For Lei Bo and Bian Tang, every subsequent match was crucial. Both still had a chance to qualify, but each loss pushed them further away from that goal.
However, to their despair, Bian Tang lost another match and was effectively out of contention. The Zhenghe Sect was greatly disappointed in him and largely stopped paying attention to him.
All eyes were now on Lei Bo's arena. The crowd was immense, and the noise was deafening.
But Lei Bo was not performing well. He lost this match, drawing a chorus of criticism. "What kind of trash is this? Fails at the crucial moment."
"It's over, it's over. No hope, definitely lost."
"So disappointing. With this level, I had such high hopes for him."
The first battle of the fourth day concluded. Only six participants remained undefeated: Mo Qi, Shi Siyao, Zhong Hua, Qiu Baichuan, Shu Fu, and Jing Xin.
The second battle saw Mo Qi pitted against Qiu Baichuan of the Zhonghe Sect.
Qiu Baichuan was greatly surprised and chuckled, "It's you? You're quite something, to have achieved such a good record."
Mo Qi replied, "It's not time to worship yet. Wait until I defeat you, then you can worship me on your knees."
Qiu Baichuan was furious. He slapped his storage bag, and a demon-slaying flying knife, enveloped in a dazzling red light, shot fiercely towards Mo Qi.
The demon-slaying flying knife weaved at extreme speed, shimmering with radiance. As it expanded, light points flickered from its body.
The light points erupted from a single point and then rapidly expanded, like lightning, exploding one after another, their potent spiritual energy violently colliding in all directions.
Mo Qi dared not be negligent. He immediately released the flying knife he had obtained from the Gu Diao's body.
The flying knife surged, emitting a white light, and mingled with the lightning-infused energy. The lightning energy churned, shattering the white light, which then dissipated like smoke.
The demon-slaying flying knife continued its charge, forcefully knocking Mo Qi's flying knife away. It then continued its assault on Mo Qi. Mo Qi was greatly alarmed, not expecting the opponent's treasure to be so powerful. He panicked and immediately dodged at high speed.
Qiu Baichuan laughed heartily, "Is this your level? You still dare to be arrogant with me? What right do you have to be arrogant with a Nascent Soul cultivator like me? You're just a Core Formation cultivator, relying on luck to achieve a little success, and you're already getting carried away with yourself? If I don't show you some real skill, you'll really think you're invincible?"
Mo Qi narrowly dodged the flying knife but was grazed by the residual lightning energy, rolling to the ground. That wasn't all; after missing its target, the demon-slaying flying knife turned, circled back, and attacked Mo Qi again.
Mo Qi scrambled and crawled, narrowly evading it. The demon-slaying flying knife whizzed past his face.
Qiu Baichuan pushed again, and the demon-slaying flying knife's radiance intensified, striking Mo Qi like a tidal wave. Mo Qi formed a hand seal, intending to activate his Earth Arrow spiritual energy, but with a "clang," the Earth Arrow itself pierced through his body. It surged with a blinding white light, instantly connecting heaven and earth, striking towards Qiu Baichuan.
The next moment, it collided with the demon-slaying flying knife, cleaving it in two.
With a resounding explosion, Qiu Baichuan was sent flying and crashed to the ground. The Earth Arrow, however, continued its charge towards Qiu Baichuan with undiminished speed. Qiu Baichuan, already severely injured, tried to roll and dodge, but his body wouldn't obey.
Seeing the world-shattering force about to pierce his body, Qiu Baichuan's legs turned to jelly in fear.
At this moment, Mo Qi beckoned, and the Earth Arrow flew back into his body.
Qiu Baichuan wore a pained expression, having lost inexplicably. However, he had no choice but to sigh and retreat.
Meanwhile, Lei Bo won his match again, rekindling hope among the Zhenghe Sect disciples, who once again began to fervently follow Lei Bo's matches.
After this battle, only Shi Siyao, Mo Qi, and Jing Xin remained undefeated with seventeen wins.
In the third battle of the fourth day, through matching, Shi Siyao was pitted against Jing Xin, while Mo Qi faced Zhong Hua, who had just lost his undefeated streak.
Shi Siyao defeated Jing Xin quickly and then rushed over to watch Mo Qi and Zhong Hua's match.
Mo Qi and Zhong Hua fought fiercely, almost to a standstill. Shi Siyao hid her hand in her sleeve and, without anyone noticing, subtly pushed it forward. Zhong Hua felt an inexplicable force surge towards him, as if his body were about to be crushed.
Just then, Mo Qi's Earth Arrow spiritual energy struck, causing Zhong Hua to collapse on the ground, unable to stand.
Shi Siyao looked at Mo Qi with a wicked smile and turned to leave.
Mo Qi felt that Zhong Hua, who had been full of power moments before, had suddenly weakened, and he had inexplicably won.
Seeing Shi Siyao's sinister smile directed at him again, Mo Qi seemed to realize that Shi Siyao might have been interfering.
*Unnecessary interference. Even if she hadn't acted, I would have won.*
But why would she help him?
Did she want him to face her? It felt inexplicable.
At this moment, Lei Bo was locked in a tough battle. The surrounding crowd was fervent, their cheers and encouragement deafening.
"Go, Lei Bo! You only need one spot, you can do it."
"Go! We're counting on you, the last hope of the Zhenghe Sect."
"Try your best! If you win, you'll be recommended to the Heavenly Steps Academy next year, and next year, they'll recommend me."
However, no matter how desperately they shouted, Lei Bo eventually lost.
A wave of sighs swept through the crowd. "Alas, it's over, all is lost."
"No hope for recommendations next year, nor the year after."
Everyone was deeply disappointed and lost the mood to watch further matches, beginning to head back.
Suddenly, someone in the crowd said, "I think there's a disciple from our sect who came here for trials and is also fighting for our sect. I wonder how he's doing."
"You mean that Mo Qi? The one who sells pills so well. His cultivation is so low, what kind of record could he have? Getting three points would be good."
"Let's go check the scoreboard."
"Too lazy to look. It'll only dirty my eyes."
At this moment, someone was looking at the scoreboard and, upon seeing Mo Qi's name, was utterly astonished. "Strange, so strange!"
"What's strange?" everyone asked.
"This... this Mo Qi has accumulated eighteen points! He's currently the highest scorer!" the person stammered.
"What? How is that possible?" Everyone found it unbelievable and rushed to the scoreboard to see for themselves.
When they saw Mo Qi's name with eighteen points, their jaws collectively dropped.
"This is truly miraculous! Our Zhenghe Sect has hope of getting a spot again!"
"I might get recommended next year, this is wonderful."
"Who exactly is this Mo Qi? How can he be so powerful?"
Some female cultivators immediately chimed in, "It's that alchemy prodigy! Oh, he's so charming!"
In the fourth battle, Mo Qi faced Shi Siyao. Shi Siyao smiled radiantly, "Brother, it's really not easy to get a chance to fight you!"
Mo Qi always felt he shouldn't provoke her and knew he was no match for her. He even had the urge to concede.
But the cheers from below the stage were too immense. The shouts of encouragement were like a roaring tide, deafening.
Those people's eyes were bloodshot, their cries hoarse, bordering on madness.
If he conceded now, they would surely beat him to death, or at the very least, drown him with their spit.
So, he had to face them with a stiff upper lip.
At this moment, the Zhenghe Sect had mobilized almost its entire force to cheer them on. However, the venue was too small to accommodate everyone. Some watched from the upper levels, straining their eyes from afar.
Xue Renkui also descended from the stage and walked to Mo Qi's arena to watch.
Even participants like Shui Ling and Jin Yan, who had their own matches, abandoned them to come and spectate.
This battle was important, extremely important.
Although Mo Qi had basically secured a spot in the top ten, the outcome of this match made a significant difference.
If he won this battle, even though he had one match left, he would have no opponents. According to the tournament rules, he wouldn't need to play the remaining match and would be directly confirmed as the first place.
But if he lost, he would have to fight another match, and if he lost again, his ranking would be uncertain.
The female cultivators were particularly excited. "Shopkeeper Mo, I love you! I want to be your Dao companion."
As Mo Qi was preparing to form a hand seal, he saw Shi Siyao suddenly collapse onto the ground. She tried to stand up but fell again.
Did she suddenly have a seizure?
Mo Qi found it inexplicable. His peripheral vision caught sight of someone kneeling outside the arena – it was Shui Ling!
Shui Ling would suddenly stand up, then bow again, causing Shi Siyao to stand up and fall, then stand up and fall again.
At a certain moment, Shui Ling looked up and kept signaling to Mo Qi, as if saying, "Go on, attack him!"