Mo Qingkuang vs. Chen Kong
"Senior Brother Chen Kong, please give me your guidance." Mo Qingkuang spat out these nine words one by one, causing everyone present to be stunned.
He wanted to challenge Chen Kong? A first-rank grandmaster challenging a third-rank grandmaster? Was Mo Qingkuang out of his mind?
Both of them were spirit bodies, with no difference in innate talent. Challenging someone of a higher level was almost impossible.
Moreover, Mo Qingkuang didn't know that in the past year, Chen Kong had mastered the heavenly-grade technique 'Withering and Flourishing Sutra,' making his combat power far superior to before.
Had Mo Qingkuang become arrogant after advancing to the grandmaster realm?
"Qingkuang! Stop this nonsense and stand down!" Zheng Tao scolded.
He understood Mo Qingkuang's desire to prove himself. Chen Kong was the strongest among the selected exchange students. If Mo Qingkuang could prove he could protect himself by defeating Chen Kong, it would be hard for the students at the Royal Academy to deal with him.
But it wasn't that easy.
Mo Qingkuang didn't turn back. "No! Senior Brother Chen, please instruct me!"
He was determined to go to the Blue Flame Empire this time!
The reason was simple.
Because he had just looked at the Young Qilin Ranking, and the name at the top was his long-time rival—Lin Yang.
Lin Yang: seventeen years old, first-rank grandmaster, true disciple of Yuan Sword Sect, fire spirit body, third-grade alchemist.
Mo Qingkuang was shocked! What had Lin Yang been up to this past year?
He had also achieved the fire spirit body and broken through to the first-rank grandmaster!
Even more terrifying, at just seventeen, he was already a third-grade alchemist! This was probably why the Dazhi Gate ranked Lin Yang above Mo Qingkuang.
What if Lin Yang obtained the Dream Flame? That would be disastrous!
Mo Qingkuang had to go to the Blue Flame Empire no matter what!
Not only to destroy Lin Yang's opportunity but to fight him again! Now they were on the same starting line: spirit bodies, divine-grade techniques, and first-rank grandmasters!
Seeing Mo Qingkuang's stubbornness, Mo Fan didn't persuade him anymore.
Learning about Lin Yang's current strength shook him deeply.
He knew that as the chosen one, Lin Yang wouldn't be defeated by losing one or two opportunities.
But he hadn't expected that in such a short time, Lin Yang not only achieved the fire spirit body and became a third-grade alchemist but also caught up with Mo Qingkuang, who had been training hard for a year!
Truly worthy of being the protagonist, Mo Fan thought. All the advantages he had painstakingly gained were wiped out in less than a year.
Mo Fan couldn't help but grumble: This chosen one is really perverse! The protagonist's aura is too dazzling.
Seeing Mo Qingkuang's insistence, Zheng Tao was about to lose his temper when Chen Kong nodded, "Alright."
Fu Qing pulled back the enraged Zheng Tao and said with a smile, "If they want to fight, let them fight. It's normal for junior and senior brothers to spar."
He also wanted to see Mo Qingkuang's current strength. He had great confidence in Chen Kong.
But he had to admit, Mo Qingkuang had more potential. He just wondered how many moves Mo Qingkuang could last against Chen Kong.
"When I make a move, I always give my all," Chen Kong said coldly, showing no intention of holding back because Mo Qingkuang was a fellow disciple.
"That's how it should be," Mo Qingkuang said, brimming with fighting spirit.
You think I can't protect myself?
I'll defeat Chen Kong and see what you say then!
"Let's go outside and fight. We can call the disciples to watch. I've never seen a battle between spirit bodies," Hua Ge said cheerfully, raising his wine gourd.
Although he didn't think Mo Qingkuang stood a chance, he was still interested in seeing how the two spirit bodies fought.
Besides, Mo Qingkuang had been out of the spotlight for a while. It was time to establish his reputation. He was the future face of the inner courtyard.
Losing to Chen Kong wouldn't be shameful, as long as he could show his strength.
The Qingyun Arena in the inner courtyard was already crowded with people.
Li Sheng, Gu Hongyi, and most of the inner courtyard students were all present.
They had received a temporary notice from Dean Zheng Tao that this year's top martial artist, Mo Qingkuang, was going to challenge last year's top martial artist, Chen Kong!
A battle between the Wind Spirit Body and the Earth Spirit Body—this was something they all needed to witness.
Watching Mo Qingkuang, dressed in white and standing on the stage, Li Sheng's expression was complicated. This newcomer, who had crushed him with speed a year ago, had he really grown strong enough to contend with Chen Kong?
A year ago, Li Sheng had watched from the sidelines as Chen Kong, in the Fallen Leaf King's Tomb, defeated Situ Yu and Lu Feng single-handedly. A grandmaster-level battle was something no martial artist could interfere with. Mo Qingkuang daring to challenge Chen Kong—could it be that…
Li Sheng dared not think further.
"Is that Mo Qingkuang?" A soft, sinister voice sounded in his ear. Li Sheng turned to see it was Han Kongming!
"Senior Brother." Li Sheng hurriedly greeted him.
"Senior Brother."
"Senior Brother."
Everyone around also respectfully greeted Han Kongming.
Han Kongming was tall and slender, with a pale complexion. He had a rather good appearance but exuded an aura of eerie grace from inside out.
He was much older than Chen Kong, already twenty-nine, and his cultivation was said to be at the peak of the grandmaster level, just a step away from becoming a great grandmaster.
Despite Chen Kong's rapid progress in recent years, Han Kongming still firmly held his position as the senior brother of the inner courtyard due to his age advantage.
"Senior Brother, the one in white is Mo Qingkuang," Li Sheng introduced, pointing to Mo Qingkuang on the stage.
Han Kongming, of course, recognized Chen Kong, so the other must be Mo Qingkuang.
But his question was merely to assert his presence.
He squinted his eyes slightly and said nothing.
Mo Qingkuang was from Han Yan's faction. According to the royals, Han Yan had already revealed herself to support him, making it impossible to recruit Mo Qingkuang.
Thinking of this made Han Kongming inexplicably annoyed.
He could immediately see the extraordinary explosive power within Mo Qingkuang, and that widely known Wind Spirit Body.
If nothing unexpected happened, both Chen Kong and Mo Qingkuang would surpass him in the near future.
Alas, it was a pity that such talents couldn't be used by him.
"Senior Brother, who do you think has a better chance of winning between the two?" Li Sheng asked in a low voice.
Han Kongming looked at Li Sheng as if he were a fool. "Who do you think has a better chance of winning between Chen Kong and me?"
Li Sheng felt a chill run down his spine, and he instinctively smiled and said, "Of course, it's you, Senior Brother."
He then understood Han Kongming's point. Geniuses were geniuses, but the gap in age and cultivation level was still hard to overcome.
In the short term, Chen Kong could not defeat Han Kongming. By the same logic, Mo Qingkuang shouldn't be able to defeat Chen Kong, who was three years older.
"Junior Brother Mo, I will not hold back," Chen Kong said, his black robe making him look as steady as a mountain.
Mo Qingkuang nodded. "Let's begin."
His heart was surging with battle intent, not only because of his determination to go to the Blue Flame Empire but also due to his unwillingness to accept Chen Kong's reputation.
Ever since arriving in the capital, Chen Kong's name had been constantly mentioned, being hailed as a super genius following Fu Qing.
Today, he finally had the chance to face Chen Kong directly, and it wasn't without the possibility of victory.