Chapter 63: Securing a Spot

　　The ring leader standing before Qi Ying was none other than one of the Four Heavenly Monarchs, Tiger Heavenly Monarch Liu Meng!

　　Everyone was shocked to see that.

　　They had thought that Qi Ying would at most be challenging a Seventh Energy Martial Stage disciple. After all, he would surely try to find someone that was relatively easier to defeat. However, he had instead chosen one of the most powerful ring leaders.

　　Liu Meng was close to twenty-one years of age, and he was considered to be a brilliant prodigy even when he first came to the Celestial River Academy. He was only the young master of a prominent family from one of the small cities in the county, but his outstanding aptitude had made him a force to be reckoned with.

　　Even after he was recruited by Duan Gucheng, he was considered to be the second-in-command among their group, so he called the shots in the absence of Duan Gucheng!

　　The other three Heavenly Monarchs had all willingly conceded to Duan Gucheng, as they wanted to appease the Duan family. However, Liu Meng was the only one who had caught Duan Gucheng’s eye, and had been forcefully recruited, so he was clearly much more powerful than his other three counterparts.

　　In the face of such a formidable foe, Qi Ying remained quite calm and collected.

　　In reality, he was challenging Liu Meng exactly because he was one of the most powerful ring leaders! He wanted to test his new strength against the best opponent available!

　　Furthermore, if he were to defeat Liu Meng, it would eliminate a powerful enemy in the upcoming youth tournament.

　　Even if Liu Meng could still enter the tournament using one of the Duan family’s spots, that would still entail that there would be one less enemy he would have to face from the Duan family.

　　“Hmph!”

　　Liu Meng stomped a foot into the ground and narrowed his eyes. The muscles on his body bulged as he bent over like a beast that was about to pounce. True Energy crackled and exploded around him as he prepared himself for battle.

　　Bam!

　　True Energy erupted from beneath Liu Meng’s feet, and his body shot forth like an arrow. At the same time, True Energy materialized on his hand, and he launched a powerful punch!

　　“Roar!”

　　The projection of a massive fist roared like a vicious tiger.

　　Yellow Tier High-Rank battle technique, Howling Wind Fist!

　　Powerful beings above the Seventh Energy Martial Stage were capable of not only ejecting their True Energy out of their bodies, and creating energy armor, they could even manipulate their True Energy into different shapes and forms, thereby enhancing the power of their battle techniques by thirty percent.

　　Everyone could tell that Liu Meng had already reached the great success level in his Howling Wind Fist!

　　As expected of one of the top prodigies in the Celestial River Academy; even Duan Gucheng at the height of his powers was probably inferior to him.

　　What about Qi Ying?

　　In a fair and square one on one battle, did he have what it took to defeat an Eighth Energy Martial Stage warrior?

　　The answer was about to be revealed very soon.

　　Whoosh!

　　A black shadow flew through the air as Qi Ying’s body split into two. He evaded the oncoming Howling Wind Fist, and the two black shadows he had manifested rushed toward Liu Meng, one from the right, and the other from the left.

　　“Ha!”

　　Liu Meng let loose a loud roar, and the expression on his face suggested that he was already expecting an attack like that from Qi Ying.

　　Bam!

　　The Howling Wind Fist suddenly exploded, sending shockwaves surging through the air.

　　The shockwaves erupted forth, and the black shadow to Liu Meng’s left suddenly disappeared.

　　“There you are!”

　　Liu Meng immediately turned to his right before unleashing a vicious kick, upon which a green leg projection shot forth through the air.

　　Qi Ying’s expression stirred slightly, and a series of purple claw projections burst forth from his right hand!

　　Bam!

　　Following a clash of True Energy, Qi Ying was forced back several steps before barely arresting his backward momentum.

　　Meanwhile, Liu Meng felt a sense of pain shoot through his right leg. He didn’t have time to materialize a layer of True Energy armor around that leg before lashing out with it, thereby resulting in a slightly unfavorable clash for him. However, seeing as he had dispelled Qi Ying’s movement technique, he had to take advantage of the opportunity to land the decisive blow!

　　Following that initial exchange, he discovered that Qi Ying wasn’t as powerful as he had thought. He was many times more powerful than the average Fourth Energy Martial Stage disciple, but there was still quite a large gulf in strength between the two of them.

　　Duan Gucheng and Duan Jinhong must have only fallen prey to him as they were too careless, and were caught off guard!

　　In a direct confrontation, he was nothing to worry about!

　　Boom!

　　Liu Meng immediately unleashed another punch in an attempt to strike Qi Ying before he completely regained his balance.

　　Right at that moment.

　　Qi Ying focused his gaze and extended his left hand!

　　Boom!

　　He crushed down with his fingers, and the oncoming fist projection was immediately shattered. At the same time, Qi Ying unleashed his Flowing Shadow Strike again.

　　However, he had summoned three black shadows as opposed to two!

　　Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

　　The shadows charged toward Liu Meng in unison.

　　Liu Meng had just unleashed his Howling Wind Fist, and was in the midst of a very brief cooldown window. He had not expected Qi Ying to be able to crush his battle technique with his bare hand, and with the very limited reaction time he had, he could only summon several dozen wind blades that rushed toward the three black shadows.

　　He didn’t know which of the shadows was Qi Ying’s true body, so he could only attack them all at once!

　　That was the tactic he had devised against his opponent’s confusing movement techniques.

　　However, after unleashing the wind blades, he was completely defenseless.

　　Right at that moment, a layer of purple True Energy enveloped one of the black shadows, creating a suit of armor that remained resilient through the onslaught of wind blades.

　　Bam bam!

　　The wind blades exploded, but Qi Ying was not slowed down in the slightest as he reached out with his hand.

　　Dark Falcon Illusionary Claw!

　　Whoosh!

　　Qi Ying’s claw projections sliced through Liu Meng’s right sleeve, and his right hand clamped onto Liu Meng’s forearm like a steel clamp. He then circulated his True Energy around his entire body to enhance his strength, before picking Liu Meng up from the ground in one violent motion.

　　His foot acted as a pivot as his entire body spun like a windmill. Liu Meng was also flung into the air and was spun for about a dozen rotations before being released. His body drew a parabolic curve before thumping to the ground, sending dust and debris flying in all directions.

　　“Gasp…”

　　All of the disciples had finally witnessed Qi Ying’s true power.

　　Liu Meng was considered to be quite powerful, even among Eighth Energy Martial Stage warriors; still, he was taken care of in just a few exchanges.

　　It appeared that the legends surrounding Qi Ying were not tall tales!

　　He really was the Nameless Warrior from the Colosseum!

　　The academy elders and Principal Gu Shiwei also looked at one another and nodded in approval.

　　Qi Ying’s combat prowess was definitely sufficient for him to stand out in the upcoming Celestial River County Youth Battle Tournament.

　　If he were selected by those from the capital, it would be beneficial to the Celestial River Academy as well, as he hailed from their academy. In that case, they would be able to receive more funding from the kingdom. They were even beginning to discuss whether they should organize some disciples to form an alliance with Qi Ying, thereby ensuring his safety in the tournament.

　　Qi Ying had then replaced Liu Meng as the ring leader.

　　According to the rules, Liu Meng had lost his chance to earn a spot from the intra-academy tournament. He aimed a resentful glare at Qi Ying before departing.

　　Fewer and fewer challengers remained, and the intra-academy tournament gradually drew to a conclusion.

　　To everyone’s surprise, no one from the Duan, Wang, and Sun families picked on Qi Ying to wear him down. Instead, most of them challenged other disciples and secured spots for themselves.

　　As the sun began to set, the intra-academy tournament finally concluded!

　　Principal Gu Shiwei announced the roster of thirty people before declaring, “The Celestial River County Youth Battle Tournament will be held in four days on the hunting grounds outside the Celestial River County. The thirty disciples that were named are required to gather on the academy drill grounds in the morning, four days from now!”

　　Everyone dispersed, and Qi Ying also turned to leave.

　　At that moment.

　　A figure suddenly appeared and stood in Qi Ying’s way.