16 A triumphant victory before the Heavens

Sounds of cutting and fighting are heard amidst th even bigger sound of a crowd of people in the background, discussing the fight, not that these discussion noises matter to the two boys fighting with all their might.

On one side stands a boy with a common appearance but an exceptional aura, holding a water saber in one hand and a water armor covering his entire body, resembling a noble warrior capable of defeating all in his path. This boy is none other than Jin Gu!

And on the other side stands a tall, handsome boy with a water spear in one hand and a shield of water in the other. He gazes intently at Jin Gu, not letting even the slightest movement go unnoticed. This young man is Xu Shang!

The two boys are now in the penultimate round of the academy competition, with the winner of this match poised to face Chen Wei for the top spot in the final academy competition.

So neither of them is giving up or faltering, despite both being physically exhausted, covered in cuts, and with their primeval essences nearly completely depleted.

The perseverance of both boys to win no matter what has impressed all those watching this fight, as the injuries they both sustain are not light. One of these injuries would be enough to make a weak-spirited person give up, yet both boys have several injuries of this type.

The two boys now stand facing each other, waiting for their reserves of primeval essence to replenish, as well as hoping for their opponent to make a mistake. The slightest mistake could be enough to break the delicate balance between them.

"These guys are really giving it their all," Chen Wei, who is resting after his battle, looks at the two students in awe. "Who do you think will win between the two?"

"Hmmm, I think in the end, who will take the victory this time will be Jin Gu despite his injuries being greater, but he is also the one with more primeval essence."Ma Fei, who is beside Chen Wei, as he was invited by him to discuss and share battle experiences after narrowly losing to Ga Mi, one of Chen Wei's most skilled subordinates, speaks with a serious tone, wanting to impress Chen Wei with his own understanding of the battle.

In fact, he has already impressed Chen Wei with his combat ability and talent, who analyzed that this boy is only behind himself in combat talent. Despite having a low aptitude, Ma Fei is following the Strength Path, known for having the lowest primeval essence consumption among any other path.

Of course, this choice would be detrimental to him if he were to reach the Immortal Realm, as even in this era, Strength Path is in decline, although not comparable to the decline of Fang Yuan's time, it still has a significant impact on the Immortal World.

But this wouldn't affect Ma Fei, who with his talent, will hardly reach Rank 2, let alone speak of the Immortal Realm. In the current mortal world, the Strength Path is still the most common, especially among lone and demoniac cultivators.

"I also agree with you, but this Xu Shang really has impressive strength to be able to put up such a spectacular fight against such a strong opponent," Chen Wei looks at the two who have engaged in physical combat once again, moving throughout the arena, which is now painted red with blood.

"Ahhhhh!! I will cut through the heavens if they stand in my way!!" Jin Gu shouts as he delivers the fatal blow against Xu Shang, who falls defeated to the ground while guardian gu masters rush to heal him.

"Ah..ah...ah.. I made it... to the final... now I just have to... defeat that guy..." Jin Gu speaks while breathing heavily due to the exhaustion of battle, also being healed as he is not in a much better condition than his opponent. Of course, he will receive half an hour to rest and recover from both injuries and primeval essence using primeval stones provided by the academy.

"I... have reached such a deplorable state... to reach the final and that guy hasn't even bled yet." This was the most terrifying fact in Jin Gu's eyes because throughout this time, despite Chen Wei having to fight seriously and exert himself in the semifinals, he has not been injured even once.

"Although this is the result that all well-informed individuals expected, this fight will be truly spectacular to watch," a middle-aged, somewhat bald man speaks as he begins to drink a whole jar of wine.

"So, who should we bet on?" Of course, where there is competition, there are bets, and during these academy battles, various people bet among themselves. Of course, these bets are not official or recognized by the academy, but they are not illegal either.

"Hmmm, today I am feeling like taking a risk, so bet on this Jin Gu." He takes out 10 primeval stones and gives them to the female gu master who is talking to him.

"I will place the bet for the leader!" She bows before going to one of the several betting points to place the bet for her leader.

Quickly, the half-hour rest passes, and the final between Jin Gu and Chen Wei is announced, leading the audience, who were tired of waiting, to shout with excitement.

As soon as they step onto the arena, the two begin to stare each other down, analyzing every slightest movement made by their opponent.

They remain like this until Chen Wei uses the Blood Arrow Gu to start the fight, causing Jin Gu to use the Water armor and advance forward while doing his best to avoid Chen Wei's blood arrows.

In no time, Chen Wei activates three more gu, the Blood Rush Gu, Blood Armor Gu, and Trace of Blood Gu, and advances forward. Even though he could turn this into a long-distance fight if he wanted to, this is not Chen Wei's style or preference.

So he advances forward at a speed that Jin Gu cannot keep up with, leaving bloodstains on the ground, which is now white after being cleaned by the guards, making these bloodstains even more apparent.

This is the effect of the Trace of Blood Gu, which is also a movement gu that caught Jin Gu off guard since this is the first time Chen Wei has used this gu in combat.

"Blood Sword!!" Chen Wei summons a blood sword using the Blood Sword Gu, one of the most recent ones he created.

Jin Gu barely manages to protect himself, starting to exert himself to keep up with the fighting rhythm established by Chen Wei.

But even this was not enough for him to compare to Chen Wei, who was still pressing him more and more, leaving him covered in bruises and small cuts that bleed much more than they should for their sizes all over Jin Gu's body.

'Shit! At this rate, it's only a matter of time until I lose!' And the worst part is that Jin Gu knows that Chen Wei hasn't even revealed most of the cards he has up his sleeve, which to him seems like a contempt for his opponents.

But for Chen Wei, it was the most logical option to not give away his own secrets to his future political rivals and to the spies of the other two clans, which he is sure are keeping an eye on him.

'At least I still have one card up my sleeve... hopefully it's enough to change the outcome of this fight.' Jin Gu begins to prepare to use his trump card, Water Explosive Force Gu, which can only be used three times before dying.

But this gu allows him to explosively increase the strength of any Water Path gu of the same rank or below by up to three times for a time of ten breaths.

This gu was given to him by the elder who is the leader of the second-largest faction of the clan and after recruiting Jin Gu and promising to adopt him as his adoptive son at the end of the academy when he officially becomes a warrior gu master of the clan.

"Explosive Force Water Saber!!!" He shouts in his head as he attacks Chen Wei with all his might, not caring about defending anymore but focusing entirely on breaking Chen Wei's Blood armor and dealing damage to him for the first time.

The onslaught of attacks hits Chen Wei head-on, causing his Blood armor to resist for a short time before collapsing. However, it lasted long enough for Chen Wei to prepare to defend against most of the attacks, but one still hits him, leaving a large but shallow cut on his chest.

"I made you bleed!!" Jin Gu speaks with a focused and determined look as if he can now see a way to win this battle.

Chen Wei looks at the cut on his chest, which is bleeding slightly, and sighs. "So be it, then, I'll go all out!" After saying these quick words, Jin Gu sees Chen Wei disappear, leaving only an afterimage before appearing in front of him within striking range.

But Jin Gu only had time to raise his water saber before hearing Chen Wei roar, "Bloody Sword Cut!!!" and attack him with all his strength, causing his water saber and water armor to collapse instantaneously, while Jin Gu himself was almost cut in two by the attack.

That, along with the shock on the faces of those watching the match, were the last things Jin Gu remembers before he passed out.

"Hmmm, the effect was really satisfactory, but there is still a long way to go to become a Mortal Killer Move!!" This attack was created using the Blood Sword Gu and Blood Killer Cut and is a prototype of a Mortal Killer Move created by Chen Wei.

Quickly, the rank 2 medic gu masters come to treat Jin Gu, who is in critical condition, while Chen Wei treats the cut on his chest by himself.

"Well, well, this generation has really produced an exceptional young man!" The academy elder comes and congratulates him while checking Jin Gu's condition, sighing in relief to see that he is recovering well. "Well, now it's time to announce the winner, right?" After Jin Gu is taken off the stage and taken to the infirmary, the academy elder announces to everyone,

"I, as the elder of the academy, announce that the winner of the academy competition in the year 537 after the creation of the clan is He An Chen Wei!!" He announces, leading the audience into a frenzy of praise and celebration for the successful conclusion of another end-of-year academy competition.