Chapter 652: Voluntarily Conceding

In contrast, Ling Bi'er, who had drawn unfavorable lots in the previous round, had better luck this time—she'd drawn an eighth-level Origin Realm genius from a fifth-rank sect.

For Ling Bi'er, this round was a rare chance to readjust.

An eighth-level Origin Realm genius from a fifth-rank sect basically stood no chance against a peak ninth-level Origin Realm genius from a fourth-rank sect.

What's more, Ling Bi'er was on the verge of breaking through to the Saint Realm. That explosive state of imminent breakthrough would undoubtedly give her a tremendous boost.

Under these circumstances, Ling Bi'er's combat condition would be far stronger than usual.

Meanwhile, Shen Qinghong and Jun Mobai were both Saint Realm geniuses. In their current bracket, they were under a protection system and couldn't possibly face opponents of the same level.

As for opponents below the Saint Realm—no matter who they drew, it was all the same to them.

Shen Qinghong walked up to Nie Chong. "Junior Brother Nie, act within your means. Don't push yourself. We can afford to win, and we can afford to lose. There's no point in fighting a pointless battle of pride."

Even though Nie Chong was at the peak of the ninth level of the Origin Realm, compared to Jin Feng—a peak first-level Saint Realm fighter—there was obviously no contest.

Under normal circumstances, Saint Realm geniuses had a sense of proportion. They wouldn't use their superior strength to mercilessly crush a weaker opponent.

Unless the weaker opponent deliberately provoked them and angered the Saint Realm genius.

But this time—

Unfortunately, this particular Saint Realm genius was also from the Holy Sword Palace. And that complicated things.

The Holy Sword Palace and Dan Qian Palace were mortal enemies. When members of the two sects met, the battles were always brutal.

Take Wang Jing's battle with Jiang Chen, for example.

The stance Wang Jing adopted right from the start was far beyond what a friendly sparring match called for. And Jiang Chen's counterattack clearly hadn't held back either.

Nie Chong took a deep breath, set his jaw, and nodded. "I'll be careful."

He was a man who wore his edge openly. Asking him to concede the moment he stepped into the ring was clearly something he couldn't do.

"Alright, all fighters—take the ring!"

On the Dan Qian Palace side, Jun Mobai passed by Nie Chong and gave his shoulder a pat, but said nothing.

Ling Bi'er said coolly, "Be careful."

Jiang Chen walked over, extended his hand, and said, "Good luck."

Nie Chong knew that fellow disciples wouldn't gloat over his misfortune. Something stirred in his heart. After a moment's thought, he stopped hesitating and strode toward the ring.

By the time Jiang Chen stepped onto the ring, his opponent from the Great Sage Hall's Holy Wolf Clan had been waiting there for quite some time.

"Mu Gaoqi?" This Li Xin of the Holy Wolf Clan was, to put it bluntly, not much to look at. A pointed chin, classic triangular eyes, hollow cheeks—the whole package gave off an extremely sinister vibe. And his voice carried a strange metallic quality that made one's scalp tingle just listening to it.

Jiang Chen nodded but didn't say much.

In a ring match where there was no personal grudge and no need to curry favor, everything was best left unsaid. Let their strength do the talking.

The corner of Li Xin's mouth twitched, and a bizarre, eerie smile suddenly appeared on his face. "Mu Gaoqi, I've heard of you. Superior innate Wood Spirit Constitution—a future King of Alchemists."

Jiang Chen's expression remained blank. He glanced at Li Xin, unsure what the guy was trying to get at.

"I don't want to hurt you. How about this—I'll let you have ten moves, then let you last for an hour, and then I'll knock you off the ring. You get to leave with your dignity intact. How does that sound?"

Hearing this, Jiang Chen didn't know whether to be annoyed or amused.

"Why?" he asked, genuinely curious.

"I don't want to offend a future King of Alchemists. Is that explanation enough?" Li Xin seemed very confident, as though Wang Jing's defeat the previous day hadn't bothered him in the slightest.

"You're that confident you can beat me?" Jiang Chen asked calmly.

Li Xin was stunned, as if the question itself was absurd. A genius of the Great Sage Hall beating a seventh-level Origin Realm disciple of Dan Qian Palace—wasn't that the most natural thing in the world?

As for Wang Jing's defeat—what did that have to do with him?

Li Xin was at the ninth level of the Origin Realm, a man of the Holy Sword Palace. The only people who truly caught his eye were Saint Realm fighters like Wang Han. As for Wang Jing, who stood at the peak of the eighth level of the Origin Realm—he hadn't given him a moment's thought.

So whether Wang Jing won or lost, he simply didn't care.

The people of the Great Sage Hall possessed absolute confidence within the Myriad Forms Region—confidence that bordered on the blind.

So at Jiang Chen's question, Li Xin couldn't help but laugh. He regarded Jiang Chen with leisurely amusement. "In that case, you actually think you have a chance against me?"

Jiang Chen sighed softly. Why were the geniuses of the Myriad Forms Region always so blindly overconfident?

Jiang Chen had clashed with geniuses from the first-rank Nine Sun Heavenly Sect several times, and among those geniuses, he had never encountered this kind of blind confidence.

Neither Cao Jin nor that fatty Wu Heng—Jiang Chen hadn't seen this sort of blind arrogance in either of them.

The geniuses of the Nine Sun Heavenly Sect were also confident, but they didn't lack prudence. They conducted themselves with measure, with composure—neither blindly overconfident nor needlessly self-deprecating.

Though they were enemies, Jiang Chen had to admit that the geniuses of the first-rank sects far surpassed those of the Myriad Forms Region—both in temperament and in strength.

"Enough with the lip service—bring it on." Jiang Chen frowned.

Li Xin sneered. "Are you sure you want me to make the first move? Once I start, you may not get the chance. I'm giving you one last chance—I'll let you have ten moves, and you get a chance to leave the ring with dignity."

"No need," Jiang Chen said coolly.

"So you'd rather refuse the kind offer and force things the hard way?" Li Xin's voice turned cold.

He wasn't the patient sort. The only reason he'd made the offer was that he didn't want to offend a future King of Alchemists—what if someday he needed pills from the man?